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: Now this is where I yield to your reviews and give you more lemon. ^^ I am really, really, really sorry about the long wait. Summer vacation consumed me with work and then a few personal issues made my life difficult, but I hope now it will somehow become less of a mess.
Nonetheless, I'll try not to take it out on this story and I hope it will be to your liking. As usual, don't hesitate to comment if you'd like to. ^^
I have also completed the subtle rephrasing of certain mistakes I've made in past chapters (of course you're right, Takuma's eyes are green, what was I thinking - sorry about that) so that now I can concentrate on orchestrating the final chapters and finale. Yeah, uhm, sorry again for the long wait... seriously. I promise I already have the concept for the next chapter ready so you won't have to wait as long.
Chapter 18: A Rising Hunter
Tingles of satisfaction kindled in Kaname's groin as he felt the shudder that travelled tangibly through his mate's body. That was enough to push all thoughts aside. To drown all of those hideous whispers about how this might be wrong. That it was not acceptable for his status, that he, a pureblood, was giving himself to a hunter and a Level D, mated to him or not.
Just knowing how Zero reacted to that seductive demand of his made all of that irrelevant. It was enough for Kaname to know that this was no subservience on his part - this was something they both wanted. Something to share. Zero's body heat flared in his pureblood senses that were - of course - all bent on the hunter. HIS hunter. Kaname may be on the receiving end - but it was a victory for him nonetheless - a victory for both of them. To rise above the hatred they had once born for each other to lie in each other's arms like this, about to make love...
It was something rare indeed. Something to treasure.
Reverently, he traced his fingers across Zero's chest and watched the hunter swallow hard, his breath increasing. Zero's thudding heartbeat thrummed loudly in his pureblood senses, intoxicating him, swallowing him into a wonderful trance. Kaname now had a very good grasp on what had happened last night. Though he may have had trepiditions about having to actually trust a hunter with his heart, though he may have had countless worries that led him to still consider enslaving the Level D ex-human to his pureblood will, all of that was now pushed aside as the events just hours earlier hat put it all into perspective.
This hunter here in front of him was even more scared of their relationship than himself. That much he had already known. Both emotionally and sexually, Zero was even more reserved than the pureblood, but - and this was something Kaname had found out only now - Zero wanted this. And to know that the hunter wanted their intimacy, that even lucid and unintoxicated, Zero wanted it, wanted to touch his mate, longed to share pleasure with him, THAT was a powerful turn-on. And that, by all means, was not even the end of the pureblood's luck.
No... Zero's character was a gentle one. Not that Kaname wouldn't have guessed it already, but having it shown to him in such a way as he had gotten to see the night before... Even pumped up to the brim with aphrodisiac and in total control of his his mate, Zero had merely needed that dominance to feel safe enough to make love to him. Zero could have done so much damage, could have taken advantage of Kaname in so many other ways, could have torn apart their trust for a long time to come. But he hadn't. Zero was safe to be around. Only now was that so blatantly apparent to the pureblood that he dared to trust in it - now that he wasn't handcuffed and drugged, now that he had heard from the hunter's lips that last night had not been a mistake on his part.
There was hope.
And Kaname's heart drank that up and drowned in it. It was unbecoming for him to long for such a thing, to wish to trust into such a fickle emotional attachment, but god help him, he did. There was hope for them, hope for a relationship, hope for a million things that Kaname had never dreamed of ever truly having, not even with Yuki. He knew it was too early to allow himself such hope, but his heart never did listen to reason.
Zero's lips touched his and pleasantly interrupted his train of thought - soft, warm velvet molding itself across his own sensitive lips. Kaname allowed himself to feel, allowed himself to lower his guard, to let the hunter get to him like no one before, because he knew that every touch of his would in turn let the hunter tremble. Zero had proven to him that he would not take advantage of his weakness, even if he could. Closing his eyes, Kaname allowed himself to be overwhelmed by all of his senses as they registered Zero's kiss.
He could feel the heat radiating from the hunter's lips and the softness of Zero's skin, he could feel the strands of fine silken silver hair fall lightly against his cheeks as the hunter moved over him, he could trace every tendril of Zero's warm breath as it curled against his own skin. It was nothing like it had always been in his dreams - it was so much better, so much more intimate. Kaname could have indulged for hours in nothing but these sensations, but he wanted to participate. He had been robbed of that option the night before, but now he would not be restrained because he wanted to touch, to explore and to taste.
Happy to have the use of his hands, he let his fingers trace the prominent muscular features of the hunter's torso even as Zero deepened their kiss. Kaname wanted to have his hunter in his hands, to feel him as he breathed, as he kissed, as he moved. He wanted to feel Zero right then and there in his hands. And he was rewarded instantly - the hunter shuddered against him, the contact between them too hot, too hungry and too sensual to be ignored as their hips met unexpectedly. Kaname's breath hitched as his naked arousal was pressed flush against Zero's, burying itself somewhere against Zero's burning skin. The hunter slowly rocked above him, moving his hips against Kaname's in a slow rhythm. Kaname followed the motion without second thought, their bodies moving sinuously between the rustling sheets. The pureblood relished the intimacy as both their hands began simultaneously to explore each other, gently but with growing need.
He opened his eyes to watch the hunter as they broke apart to breathe. Zero's movements were hesitant, slightly insecure, and his cheeks were tinted in a blush while occupied with the seduction of his pureblood mate. Kaname couldn't help finding that adorably cute... and deeply attractive. The hunter's fingers where caressing the planes of his chest and his eyes spoke volumes of curiosity and desire but still, Zero nervously bit his lip. Kaname smiled to himself. His fierce and stubborn hunter was insecure. But that small gesture sparked a dual need inside the pureblood - both in his groin and in his heart. A need to be connected. His body lept into action, thrusting against his mate, the heat in the small space confined between their burning bodies unbearable. But there was also this longing inside the pureblood to make this work - more than just sex or being bonded. Kaname longed to make THEM work. But first and foremost that adorable nervousness of Zero's would need attention. And everything inside the pureblood begged to catch those lips between his own again and take it from him.
He pulled the hunter toward himself again and they kissed - hungrily and deeply this time, fingers tracing hungry patterns across their skins and hips rubbing more needily against each other. When Zero's fingers brushed one of Kaname's nipples Kaname's mouth opened into a soft moan. Searchingly, Zero's tongue slid into the pureblood's mouth to explore and Kaname answered likewise. Wet velvety tongues twisted and slid against each other as their panting breaths mingled. Neither of them was out to dominate, each of them only striving to taste as much of the other as they could.
~{}~
Zero's mind blurred as Kaname drew him ever further into a searing kiss, his perfectly smooth hands tracing his skin like it was something valuable, like it was something worth touching and treasuring. It turned him on much more than he'd thought it could. Even after their lips parted, his heart hammered, his breath laboured and he could only helplessly grind his hips against Kaname's equally needy body. He couldn't help himself, though Kaname's touches were wonderful - he wanted to be the one giving pleasure, he wanted to see bliss on the pureblood's perfect face - all his thoughts were bent on burying himself into the pureblood, he wanted to thrust inside his tightness, he wanted to be sheethed in that delicious warmth...
He wanted to hear the pureblood moan again and again, Zero had never felt so needy before, so trapped in wanting...
They kissed again, harder this time and they remained fused at their lips, bodies entwining further and further, until there was no more room for the sheets between them. It was all skin on skin, slightly moistened and deliciously hot to the point of burning. Zero slid his fingers between their panting bodies, grasping the pureblood's throbbing length firmly. When Kaname groaned and bucked feverishly, Zero began to rub his fingers up and down the firm rod. Kaname's head fell back with a low groan under the hunter fangs. Zero was greatly tempted to taste what flowed beneath the pureblood's exposed throat, so close to the tips of his suddenly elongated fangs. But he restrained himself and concentrated instead on how Kaname's dark hair tumbled across the pillow as he groaned deply and his eyelids fluttered over the no doubt lust-blackened irises.
It was a good thing that the pureblood was so incredibly sensitive - it helped Zero to forget how nervous he truly was. Seducing Kaname while in a state of intoxication had been so much easier. Now he felt much more self-concious about it. It wasn't like he had much experience to offer... and to complicate things, their closeness did a million things with his senses. His hunter senses shied away from the pureblood and were intrigued at the same time to have such a powerful creature in his grasp. And his vampire senses burned with the need to taste his mate, wanted to give pleasure to this perfect creature and wanted to feel Kaname's body respond.
But there was no denying that his vampire and hunter senses could feel and touch and taste the strength of his pureblood mate - their inequality pervaded their bond, saturated the air and wove about them with the slow rhythm of their movements. He knew in his heart that Kaname was playing tame, was making an effort to build trust in allowing the hunter to take control. It didn't make his pleasure any less honest, Zero was certain that the pureblood was truly enjoying himself, but it made Zero want to make this worth it. Perhaps somewhere in his subconscious mind he knew that he would not always be allowed to be in control, that he would have to submit to the pureblood and he greatly feared that day. Perhaps that was why he wanted to be gentle, in the small hope that the pureblood would return the favor when it was him underneath the pureblood's spell.
But such thoughts were not really at the forefront in his current mind. Right now he wanted to enjoy the pureblood's reactions, and he wanted to taste every inch of his skin, wanted to hear the pureblood's moans and he wanted to be buried inside him again. Kaname had been so good last night, so warm and moist, so responsive to every thrust... Zero shuddered as his body ached for that moment of penetration. But he was a bit hesitant, perhaps it was stupid to the pureblood - but to him who had been hurt so badly it was a precious thing to share one's body and pleasure with another person. And though the hunter would never in a million years have admitted to it, it was slightly intimidating to have none other than Kaname Kuran moan underneath his touches.
Thankfully, his need and the mirrored need of his mate proved a formidable guide. Zero wanted to see the pureblood come undone and followed all of his reactions with the utmost attentiveness that he could muster while their bodies slid against each other. With curious delight, he kissed his way down to Kaname's nipples. With the pureblood so wonderfully responsive to every small contact, Zero found himself fascinated with the brunette's reactions. Still remembering from the night before how Kaname liked to be pleasured most, Zero leaned in to kiss the pureblood's chest, to tease his nipples with his tongue. Then, without warning, he slowly slid his fangs into the unblemished skin, right above the pink nub he had just lavished so lovingly. Like the night before, Kaname writhed suddenly underneath him, shuddering bone deep as his tongue licked against his hard bud to catch the droplets of pure blood.
"Uuuhhhgn... Zero..." Kaname groaned languidly, his arousal leaking freely between them.
Zero moistened his fingertips with the pureblood's milky precum and slid them between his legs. He would give Kaname no reprieve. Dipping his head between the pureblood's thighs he let the tip of his tongue travel the entire length up Kaname's arousal as he pressed his wet finger against his rear, slowly sliding past the tense ring of muscles. Though he was certain that he moved very slowly, he relied on feeling in his own body whether the pureblood felt discomfort or not.
When he looked up though, he found that the pureblood's eyes were watching him with an intensity that would have ignited the air. Zero felt himself blush at the attention. He wanted to look away but he couldn't. Kaname's gaze held him captive. Carefully - their gazes still looked - he slid his finger in deeper, bending it against the hot and soft walls. Then, without breaking eye contact, he lowered his lips to the pureblood's leeking tip.
~{}~
Kaname clung to the vision of his mate pleasuring him, though indeed the delicious shudders running through his entire nervous system made that quite impossible. But he wanted to watch the hunter prepare him, wanted to burn those images into his mind to last for eternity. Zero's lilac eyes promised volumes of hungry pleasure though he was still moving slowly. Kaname felt no pain as a finger stroked his insides while the tip of Zero's tongue carressed the needy skin of his arousal to further relax him. Zero was rythmically sliding his finger in and out of his rear already as the pureblood looked gazes with the hunter. Then Zero blew softly across his leaking tip. Kaname's vision swam with the shudders of pleasure that shot through his entire body. Suddenly, before he could even catch a breath, Zero's mouth was pressed tightly around his tip.
Kaname's sanity blurred to incoherence and then bled away completely as he writhed under Zero. There was only burning need in his groin now, the sensations of the hunter's moist cavern suckling his skin blowing all rationality away. Careful not to thrust too deeply into the hunter's wonderful mouth, he barely registered the second finger entering his passage as he felt himself consumed with pleasure.
He had attributed most of the intensity of last night's pleasure to the aphrodisiac ingested through Zero's blood or the sensitivity of his pureblood body. But without having to waste a thought on the reason why he was now so lost, he understood now that it was their bond. Them making love satisfied so many hours of being parted, satisfied so many things unsaid between them and this burning pleasure must be how their bond was rewarding them. Kaname just knew it. And he revelled in it as he let it happen. He arched into Zero's warm mouth and groaned wantonly as the hunter began to suck ardently at his sensitive flesh. For what seemed like forever, Zero held him in thrall until suddenly, he pulled out three fingers and released his arousal.
Kaname was more than ready and managed to at least catch his breath, though he did regret the sudden loss of contact. Still, he knew to anticipate what was to come next. He spread his legs wider as Zero aligned his throbbing length to his quivering entrance. Their lips met hungrily and then the hunter pushed in gently. Kaname could feel the tremble in the hunter's body as he tried hard not to plunge uncontrolled into the warm and tight heat. He could feel in his own body how good it felt to the hunter and the way Zero looked so utterly lost and vulnerable in his struggle against the overwhelming intensity.
Kaname felt much more ready than Zero gave him credit for. In part annoyance and part adoration, he growled softly. Zero's restraint exasperated him - so he took matters into his own hands. Cupping the hunter's firm cheeks with both hands, he pressed the hunter into himself. He pulled him deeper with the force of his own burning need to be connected until the hunter's length was buried firmly inside him.
Zero gasped with pleasure as his length filled the pureblood to the hilt and his thighs connected roughly with the skin of Kaname's begging rear. He clutched at the pureblood, desperate for purchase as his body shook. He let his head fall to the pureblood's chest, trying to reassemble his control. Kaname couldn't believe he was still trying to hold back. He grasped the hunter's heaving sides, both loving the way he was worked up and slightly annoyed at his hesitancy.
"Move..." he groaned, meaning it.
~{}~
Zero had no way of refusing that command. Literally. He needed the friction so badly now that his body just pulled out and thrust deeply into Kaname without waiting for his conscious decision. His control went out the window as the pureblood spasmed beneath him, the already tight passage rythmically massaging his length in its warm, wet grip. He could feel it in his own body that he had struck gold and so he continued in that angle, thrusting deeply into his mate, feeling the bolts of Kaname's pleasure in the core of his own loins. Kaname moaned helplessly beneath him, spilling incoherent groans and writhing with the overwhelming pleasure.
He had no idea when exactly he returned to kissing Kaname's throat while he thrust inside the tight and moist heat, all he knew was that the pureblood's moans spurred him on and the answering rise of Kaname's hips to his every motion was bringing him closer and closer to a mindblowing orgasm. He had meant to keep it at kisses, but the pure blood was such an unbelievable lure - he couldn't control himself any longer as the surging pleasure shredded his sanity. His fangs, already unsheethed at the untamable pleasure in his blood, broke the pale skin.
With a shout of extasy, Kaname came violently at the double penetration, spilling his hot seed across their shuddering bodies. The resulting pleasure in their bond combined with the hot, sweet, intoxicating pure blood sliding down his throat made Zero come as well. Burying his length deeply in the pureblood's passage he filled it entirely with everything he had to give, his fangs embedding themselves even deeper in Kaname's throat with every spurt of cum shooting deeply into the willing body.
Kaname gasped and trembled in his grasp and Zero found that the pureblood continued to do so as he fed. With every lick and every draught, Kaname's orgasm was prolonged and he mewled in delight underneath the feeding hunter. Even long after he had actually come, liquid kept trickling out of his semi-hard arousal with every draught Zero imbibed. While the hunter found himself slowly cooling down from their combined high, Kaname still moaned and writhed in his grasp. Zero hadn't realized the pureblood was so... susceptible to pleasure.
Feeling a bit uncertain about exploiting such sensitivity, but way too entranced to stop, Zero decided to caress him gently while he prolonged the pureblood's exctasy. Because he enjoyed having Kaname this undone, enjoyed providing such pleasure while being in control. He wouldn't have admitted to it, but he thought Kaname was very beautiful this way. Still, he felt apprehensive at enjoying his control over the pureblood.
But he needn't have worried. Slender fingers, trembling from exertion found some strength and softly traced his back in answer. So the hunter continued to feed - but he didn't look to take much for the sake of feeding, he intended only to give pleasure. And it was a long while before Kaname's body seemed spent and the writhing subsided.
~{}~
The minute he stepped into his office, Hanabusa knew something was wrong. His gaze swept across the mountains of data print-out and towers of books. His brow furrowed. Though the piles might seem entirely random and chaotic to anyone else, to a trained eye - and the one who had created them - they weren't. Hanabusa may be blind at times when it came to other people's emotions or reasoning, but his office was a different world. This was where he reigned and that sovereignty had been disturbed.
Someone had been here. Unauthorized.
It wasn't difficult for the genius to know what had been stolen. He didn't even have to see the tiny evidence left by the intruder, he didn't need to follow the minute misplacements, the slightly altered scent of his stuffy office air or the more obvious crumbs of dirt hinting at footprints to know what was missing. Much of his research - and even he admitted that much - wasn't imminently interesting to anyone but himself. So there really was only one object that could have gone missing.
He knew he should probably call Seiren immediately instead of disturbing even an inch of any possibly useful evidence left by the intruder. But he couldn't resist the urge to carefully step toward the drawer that had formerly kept safe a box with objects of immeasurable value.
Gingerly he slid the drawer open.
It was empty.
~{}~
Kaname found himself waking next to the sleeping hunter. He didn't need to check the time to know he had missed at least three meetings. But he didn't care about that at all right now. He hadn't felt this content in years. His gaze strayed to the hunter asleep next to him. Kaname's body grew warm at the wonderful image that was presenting itself to him. Zero's silver hair was touseled and hid one half of his face as he lay on his side sleeping soundly. Kaname's eyes traced his soft lips longing instantly to touch them with his own. His gaze wandered further, across the defined yet lean muscles of Zero's arm, his torso and his thighs...
A certain part of his own anatomy reacted very obviously with the pureblood's memory of those thighs in action. Kaname swallowed quietly trying to control his breathing. He wouldn't have minded waking the hunter for another round. Not in the least. He smiled in spite of himself.
But there was also something else that stirred in him when his gaze traced Zero's body. Something that went beyond the appreciation of their recent physical intimacy. Even his pureblood instinct could not rival this, even his hungry instinct that demanded something more rough and less gentle, the instinct that delighted in the fact that his mate was a hunter, someone dangerous, someone who could satisfy darker tendrils of lust inside his pureblood groin...
Kaname struggled not to groan at his fantasies.
No, there was more than that. The sleeping hunter in the moonlight held something beautifully captivating for the pureblood. This was HIS hunter, HIS mate. Infuriatingly stubborn and defiant but at his core so beautifully true. And that was something that Yuki had not had. Yuki had been like an empty page, white and innocent. But anything innocent can be tainted and is ultimately destroyed by life and its burdens. Zero was not a white page. But Zero would not be tainted. A hunter turned vampire, who had lost his family to the vengeance of a pureblood, his humanity stolen in child years of helplessness, betrayed by his brother and his virginity raped - he should not have anything white left in him. And yet this hunter's heart was still so... true, so gentle and in reality, so pure. It was breathtaking and incredible at the same time.
In the quiet of his room, Kaname regarded the hunter's sleeping form struggling with himself. Uncharacteristically for him, his emotions roared with a protectniveness that startled him, scared him even. If he ever caught anyone harming his mate... anyone... even the hunter doctors... he couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't tear apart the world to protect this hunter, so strong was this feeling. But that wasn't what he struggled with most. No, it was the underlying emotion that he felt most deeply that tore at his innermost core of being. It was something infinitely soft and gentle, something that even though he struggled to keep it small was stronger than anything he had ever felt before.
And that was something he didn't dare yet wake the hunter with.
~{}~
"Toga, do you really think it's a wise idea to already confront him?" Kaien asked while he stroked the unruly dark hair of his hunter companion. They were lying in bed neither sleeping nor having sex, something that didn't actually happen too often. No matter how much Kaien would try to persuade his lover, Toga Yagari simply didn't cuddle. End of discussion. So, lying side by side in bed - preferably in brooding silence - was the closest he'd get. The former hunter watched the steady rise and fall of Toga's chest, quietly admiring the variety of scars adorning the hunter's skin. Sometimes he did wonder why he had to be attracted to such a difficult character as Toga Yagari of all people.
The gruff hunter frowned and turned to face to his partner with a serious expression. Kaien regarded him silently. Even for him, it wasn't too often that he got to see him without his mask covering the scars across what used to be his right eye. The sight didn't bother him. He knew that few would have gone so far to protect one of their students. To Kaien, the scars across Toga's face were the proof of his strength of character and dedication. As difficult as he was to argue with at times, there was no one as loyal, dedicated and honorably true as Toga Yagari. Kaien admired this greatly - even while his stoic silence would drive him up the wall with frustration. Though the brooding hunter never admitted to it, Kaien knew how hard it had truly been on him to lose his eye sight, and how that transcended even to this day, when he still often refused to take off the mask that covered the terrible scars, even if it was just in Kaien's presence.
"We've been through this, Kaien. There's not much of a choice. There's a lot of crap brewing out there and he's in the middle of it. He needs all the strength he can get. So I'll have to find a way to pull it out of him to see how strong he really is."
"Toga... why don't you...?" Kaien tried again - though he knew it would be just as pointless as the last three times he'd tried.
Yagari only grunted. "You know exactly why, Kaien. Whoever effectively contests the President and succeeds will be first choice as his successor. There's no way in hell I want to sit in that stinking chair..."
"And what makes you so sure that Zero won't refuse? It's not like you encouraged him to want that responsibility... All that ever comes out of your mouth is loathing for that position. He echoes almost each of your opinions word-for-word, so what makes you think he'll ever consider it?"
Toga's frown deepened.
"It's his place. Whether he knows it or not. And no one would be better suited than him. If anyone ever understood the struggle between hunter and vampire, than it would be him. He doesn't glorify hunting like all those hotheaded fools, and for some reason he is able to tolerate vampires if they haven't committed a crime without forgetting his purpose. I am far to old and prejudiced, Kaien. You think I don't know that and that I don't care to change. But I am as mild and mellow as I will ever be and I know its not enough. New times are coming. And I am not a suitable part of that. It is my duty to teach Zero all I know or to enable him to learn all he needs to know. The two of us, Kaien, are from the past. We are only stepping stones to the future now. And to tell you the truth - I'm glad about it."
Kaien smiled softly. Toga Yagari was never one for the long speeches. But when he bothered with them, even in private, they were never lightly spoken. Kaien knew well how much thought had gone into that statement. And he found it to be true. Toga's sharp mind combined with his ever-practical attitude brought forth amazing insight, despite his continuing refusal to acknowledge it as philosophy.
"You're too young to say things like that, Toga. Speeches like that are for old men."
"Just wait until I really get old and cynical, Kaien - then you'll wish I'd be saying more of this... Here, I'm just being realistic. This new world will be full of politics. No more skirmishes to test your skill, just blurred lines between bad hunters and good vampires, no more old times... things aren't as simple anymore as they used to be. We need a president with brain and heart and skill. Having strong allies wouldn't hurt either."
"My poor little boy..." Kaien heaved a sigh. "That's a lot of expectancies to fullfill..."
Toga answered with an eyeroll of his one piercing blue eye. His lips thinned in part annoyance and part exasperation.
"Kaien, really... the boy's smart enough. He has talent and brain and skill. With a little more trust in himself he'll be fine." he growled.
"Promise?" Kaien promted smartly, snuggling up to the grumpy hunter.
"Of course." Toga growled fondly, allowing the closeness.
There was a moment of silence.
"Kaien?" Toga ground out slightly annoyed.
"Hm?" the blond hunter answered nonchalantly.
"If you don't stop brushing my hair like a girl, I'll make sure a certain part of your anatomy won't forget that I'm a man - and not an old one at that." the darkhaired hunter said in a bland voice.
"Is that a promise?" Kaien grinned hopefully.
In a swift movement, Toga pinned the blonde to the sheets, fixing him with a piercing gaze of his one clear blue eye. He grinned wolfishly, knowing exactly how Kaien absolutely loved that.
"I had thought more along the lines of it being a threat... or punishment..." he said in a low voice. "... but then again, I would only be rewarding your behavior even more..." he added seductively.
"Do your worst." Kaien whispered, his eyes shining.
~{}~
"Kaname-sama..." ice-blue eyes were trained on the floor as the voice wavered slightly. "I... I... I must apologize... Yuki-sama's earrings... they... they... have been stolen..."
Kaname regarded the fidgeting noble calmly. He was not disconcerted in the least by this news. Actually, he had been expecting it. He had placed a small spell on the earrings for precisely that case. Nevertheless, it didn't exactly speak for the security of Aido's laboratory that they had been stolen that easily. Seiren had already informed him about the latest events and she had busied herself instantly with the newest security issues. Kaname kept his usual unrevealing gaze trained on the scared noble.
There was no need to explain any of this to him. Aido had to learn the difficult way. He had always had that type of personality. Eventually it would form the noble into a great mind of his time. But right now, Aido was still young and hot-headed, without a sense of direction in his life. He would get an emotional outburst and break a rule, or immerge himself into something until exhaustion made him incapable of continuing with what would have been necessary to complete his task in a rested and collected mind. No, Aido was not the type to first think and then act. If he were, he wouldn't have fallen into a coma-like state enabling the prescious artefacts to be stolen.
Kaname sighed internally. Perhaps in the long run, his efforts with the noble might pay off and bring forth a truly powerful loyal follower. Until then, he would spend much time letting him learn the error of his ways on things that weren't life-threatening to himself and his mate. Unfortunately, he was running out of options for safe learning-experiences.
Seiren would work on finding out who the actual thief had been - it was a matter better left in her competent hands. Not that Kaname had any doubt about who currently had the priceless artefacts, but there was still the question as to how Rido could have known where to look for the jewelery in the first place and whom he had entrusted this little endeavor. Kaname had his suspicions, but Seiren would soon have investigated more. No, this wasn't a job for the perfectly brilliant and yet so foolish young noble genius in front of him. But there was something else that Aido could do to atone for his lack of much needed vigilance.
"Aido." Kaname said in a smooth, cool voice. "You have failed me."
The noble looked crestfallen, his shoulders drooping. Kaname smelled the scent of tears.
"I... I am... so sorry... Kaname-sama..." he said through a thick voice.
Unperturbed, the pureblood began his lecture.
"As you have no doubt learned through your analysis, those earrings were manipulated in more than one way to serve not me, but Rido Kuran. Through them, he has been able to keep a part of himself in the world of the living, even though we had otherwise succceeded in killing him. Moreover, they were the only piece of evidence as to how my sister could have been affected enough to lead to her illness and subsequent death. And now this trophy of the enemy has been stolen. I congratulate you, Aido. If you were a traitor to me, you would have done a perfect job in returning one of the most powerful artefacts to my greatest enemy that he needed to make himself invincable against me."
Aido fell to his knees. "Kaname-sama... please... if you have no more use for me... then kill me now. But if I could... if there is any way... how can I ever make up for that... Is there something that I...?
Kaname remained impassive for a long time.
"There is." He said finally.
Aido's ice-blue eyes looked up, filled with equal parts of guilt and hope.
"But before I give you another task of any importance to me, I must confirm your loyalty to me."
Aido nodded in agreement. "Anything, Kaname-sama..."
Of course Kaname was entirely certain of Aido's unwavering loyalty. But with such a serious slip as the noble allowed himself, Kaname wanted to give Aido a form of punishment that would motivate him and endebt him to Kaname for a long time to come. Any other pureblood might have gone with physical punishment such as torture or rape. But Kaname had something else in mind for Aido.
Slowly, he walked toward the blond noble kneeling on the floor, not once breaking his stern gaze on the repentant blue eyes. He towered over him, unable to entirely close himself off to the allure of such a hopelessly devoted gaze staring up at him. It was just a vampire's instinct, but the way such obvious subservience appealed to the predator inside of the pureblood, the noble was very lucky it was Kaname staring him down. Aido's gaze wavered. Then his pupils dilated and his body went limp as Kaname's will raked through the noble's mind. Without paying heed to privacy, Kaname leisurely stimulated any of Aido's memories he chose to infiltrate. The helpless noble could only watch in emotional distress how all of his fantasies were laid bare to the pureblood in full clarity.
Kaname thoroughly enjoyed himself at the noble's expense. Being someone who spent so much time on studying the way others thought, Kaname decided this opportunity was to be savoured. Still, he remained careful to inflict just enough pain and humiliation to serve his educational purpose without damaging the noble's cognitive abilities too much. He wasn't surprised to find some of Aido's sexual fantasies involving himself, nor was he surprised to find out how exactly Aido had reacted to touching the earrings. He languidly pulled out episodes of Aido's frustrated whiskey consumption, chiding him on his behavior as he did. After no more than a few seconds - which he made certain to last for ages to Aido - Kaname let go of the noble's mind.
The pureblood gave him a full five minutes to recuperate, seeing how he was too dazed and disoriented to understand an order at the moment. When he had somehow collected his shaking body into a silent kneel, Kaname began to speak again.
"So your loyalty appears unquestionable. Perhaps you can be of use to me, then after all." Kaname said making certain the noble understood him.
"You will find the jeweller of those earrings. I want to know everything that man has to say about how the earrings ended up having Rido's spell instead of my blood in them."
Aido nodded. "Yes, Kaname-sama."
"You may leave now. You will rest for 12 hours, eat and then find the man. Take a weapon of your choice as well. It will be dangerous."
"Yes, Kaname-sama. I will not fail you again..."
The noble turned to leave. But before he reached for the door, Kaname looked up again.
"... and Aido..." the noble turned, his gaze still on the floor.
"... do us both a favor and don't die." he finished, his tone a little less cold than before.
For a full minute, Aido stared back at the pureblood as though he had heard something entirely insane. He swallowed and then nodded.
"Yes, Kaname-sama."
~{}~
Zero stood in the slowly crumbling ruins of his parent's house, quietly trying to come to terms with his emotions. He felt guilty. He knew he would feel this way before he came, but it didn't stop it from being terrible. Between flashbacks of the horrible murder he had witnessed here so many years ago, he felt inadequate. It felt inapporopriate somehow to touch any of the things in his parents' house and so he merely strode through the hall and into some of the rooms, wondering if the disturbance of this silence wasn't actually a desecration in itself.
With quiet, yet laden steps he roamed the building, wondering why he had bothered to come in the first place. He stopped at a cracked photo on a broken table. It was his parents' wedding photo, barely recognizable under the dust, but by the frame he knew it anyway. Biting his lip, Zero reached out, intent on wanting to wipe away the dust to see the image that had been captured so many years ago.
Another feeling moved inside his heart. A soft and gentle warmth. Kaname must have felt his distress, though he had done much to conceal it. But the pureblood was becoming more and more accurate at reading his emotions, even if he chose not to share himself. It stirred a certain resignation inside him, but his mood was too melancholy to be irritated. Zero understood easily that their closeness would only increase and that having slept with the pureblood was bound to accelerate that effect. Naturally, he had enjoyed it - Kaname's perfect body under his - what's not to like. But he wasn't certain he was emotionally able to handle a relationship. As though reading his trepeditions, the pureblood's end of their bond cocooned him with warmth and softness, tempting him to share his mind, his heart and soul with his bond mate.
Zero shrugged it off, albeit with difficulty. His wandering mind returned to the cracked photo in front of him. His outstretched fingers were trembling slightly now, the overwhelming memories crowding into him even though his mind had tried so cleverly to evade them. He frowned and dropped his hand again. God, what would his parents say if they knew he had bonded with a pureblood vampire?
But his self-loathing wasn't quite as strong as it had been in the past. Some things just happened. And sometimes, they couldn't be changed. He stuffed his hands into his pockets.
Time had not been kind on the house. It was ruined, the roof leeking in many places. But Zero felt no need to conserve or protect any part of this place. All the time in the world could not erase in his mind what had happened. He would let the elements slowly take apart this place until nothing was left but indefinable rubble. He was more than glad that the many years of abandonement had diluted the scent of his parents' blood to barely discernable traces, but still, as he came to stand in the room where his parents had been brutally murdered, he fought the bitter reminder of what he now was along with his thirst.
He swallowed against the cold dryness in his throat. The past was the past, he told himself. There was no going back.
~{}~
Yagari watched quietly as his student walked through the ruines, leaving everything untouched. He had known the older Kiryu would come here eventually and was waiting. Zero didn't know yet that he was here, Yagari could easily mute his presence as only few hunters could. Though the senior hunter had no reason to spy on his student, he wanted to give the young hunter a little space with his memory before he would let the presence change everything once again.
Resisting the urge to light a cigarette, Yagari let his gaze sweep the perimeter. The former Kiryu mansion was nothing but ruins now and though Yagari had seen many a desolate remainder of former family lives, this one got to him in a special way nonetheless. He didn't like to be reminded of the Kiryu's deaths any more than his student did. Aside from that, it was well past midnight and it wasn't a really bright idea for him to be skipping a meeting at the Association. But he knew what it was all about already anyway and there wasn't really a point in him being there other than setting a good example - which truthfully, he'd never been too good at, anyway.
He huffed in silence. Zero hadn't moved for some time now and Yagari decided he'd at least make his presence known by lighting a cigarette. Zero would be able to smell the scent a mile off. Not that Yagari envied him for that.
After another ten minutes, when his student still hadn't moved, he finished his cigarette and entered the house.
"I knew I'd find you here." he growled in his usual tone, well... perhaps a bit softer than usual.
Zero didn't turn but nodded quietly to his teacher's presence. Yagari knew what Zero was looking at and what it was that he was seeing. There was nothing there, now. But over twenty years ago, on a fateful night in the spring when the Sakura trees were in full bloom, there had been something there. Someone. Three someones to be precise.
"Why did you come?" he asked his student.
Gruff and hardened by the years, Yagari still felt great compassion for the young hunter, even if he didn't show much of it. No child should have to watch their parents being slaughtered...
Zero didn't speak for a bit. Then he shrugged. "Stupid idea..."
Yagari grimaced. Yeah... Kaien was right. The kid was every bit as stoic as he was himself. Maybe he had rubbed off on the kid more than was good for him.
"I know what you were looking for." Yagari said. "But it ain't in this house."
"Cross said there was stuff connected to the Kiryu name, to the heritage... But there's nothing here." Zero answered.
Yagari huffed. "Yeah... Cross gets sentimental sometimes. The Kiryu heritage is in you, kid. It's not in a house or a vault - it's not even so much in your blood as it is in your heart. It can only be in you. And now that you finally came looking for it, we're gonna find it."
Zero looked at him in a quiet, thoughtful manner. Yagari was beginning to like that look. It meant there was something going on in that head, something that didn't only include self-depricating thoughts, there was something calculating and unreadable about that look. Maybe Zero wasn't that far from who he needed to be after all. Yagari straightened his hat.
"Come on. Let's get outta here." he said.
~{}~
Miyazaki fumed in anger, her long fingernails - perfectly manicured and painted a dark crimson - remained dead set on scratching the smoothness of the invaluable surface they were drumming on. How? How could it be so difficult to get a hand on one stupid hunter? One hunter! Not the Association's president, not even a senior hunter, just another stupid hunter. Granted, Zero Kiryu wasn't untalented which was, of course, the reason why he was the center of all of this fuss, but he had been drugged and sedated. The equivalent of incapacitated. How was it possible that two of their own ranks couldn't apprehend ONE drugged hunter?
HOW?
Finally, her nails dragged a long and deep rent into the antique glass table, an eery scratching sound grating on the ears of her servants. But she didn't seem to hear it. Nor did she care for the now spoiled piece of furniture. Frustrated, she got up from a priceless baroque french chair and collected herself. Rearing in her anger, she stared across the city skyline from where her penthouse suite overlooked the skyscrapers around her.
Really, if you didn't do everything yourself, you were bound to be disappointed. This time she couldn't even blame Ojima, because things had gone wrong so much earlier along the line, he didn't even have a chance to fail. Besides, she was certain, he was thoroughly motivated. How was it possible that the Hunters Association managed to kill off dangerous vampires when there were obviously so many imbeciles among them?
She really had a mind to call the Association's president this instant and demand an explanation. But she wasn't anything if not calculating.
No... her mouth twisted into a smile. No, she wouldn't let him off the hook so easily now. Let him wait for her angry call until his nerves give out. Actually, she mused, it would be much better if the president called her... If he became anxious enough to finally pick up his phone and call her. Certainly, he would then be much more obliged to her needs... Yes, she decided... Him calling her, that would indeed be preferrable. And just to make the whole thing more interesting, she would make certain that he did...
A soft knock on her door brought her attention to one of her servants.
The maid bowed. "Lady Miyazaki?"
"What is it."
"You requested Dr. Ueda."
"Yes."
The maid bowed again and gestured the doctor to enter. The haggard man walked up to her and came to stand beside her, his eyes staring out the window like her own, seemingly enjoying the view. But his stiffness of his posture betrayed the tenseness in the atmosphere.
"So." she said in a dead voice. "What went wrong this time?"
"My lady. When we began the testing procedures our prototypes were weak-minded and in general their psychology was very frail. There was no way they could even survive the transformation. No wonder they were outcasts - who needs a weak hunter..."
"Your point?"
"Our newer testsubjects are now much more resilient. They survive longer. However... they cannot be controlled as easily. I have spoken with our psychologists. It is possible to train them. But their will must be broken. We have experts for that, but such a step only brings them to Level E very quickly. In short, their life expectancy is not yet satisfactory. We need the blueprint - until now, only the original Level D ex-human hunter, Zero Kiryu, has been resilient enough... "
"How long?"
"I would expect them to last perhaps a few weeks. Two, maybe three. Then, unfortunately, their addiction becomes a problem and they will destabilize to Level E, if our data..."
She turned and grabbed his throat. Her perfectly manicured fingernails slowly dug into his skin as she glared at him. "That wasn't what I meant." She hissed. "I want to know how long until I can use them, you imbecile. Stop wasting my time. I don't care if they live or not. They aren't supposed to have a life. They are supposed to die when and how I want them to and do as much damage in the process as they can. When I'm done I don't need any more hunters around. They can all go to hell for all I care."
The doctor swallowed, a sheen of sweat gathering on his forehead. "Two to four weeks, my lady." he stammered.
She studied him intently, the fear in his eyes and the scent of his sweat - his weakness in general - disgusting her. Then she let him go.
"You were very, very lucky to be the lone survivor of that unfortunate lab accident." she said. He nodded carefully. "Yes, my Lady."
She turned back to admire the view from her window.
Taking it as a sign of dismissal, the doctor bowed and turned to leave. But as his hand closed over the door handle, he felt a small prick into the palm of his hand. Hastily, he pulled his hand away. But it was already too late. A small, black scorpion fell to the ground catching intself on its many legs only to race straight back to his feet. It was only milliseconds before the poison began to do its job and the doctor heard rather than felt his body fall to the floor with a loud thump.
"Then again..." Miyazaki continued as she walked over to the body with measured stride. "... you are the only one who knows all about my involvement in this project. And that makes you..." she peered at him without a shred of regret. "... less lucky."
Her calculating eyes watched coldly how he fought the venom in his system, foam collecting at his lips and his body twitching. His horrorstriken eyes glazed over in inevitable resignation as the small poisonous animal continued pricking his skin over and over again. She waited patiently until the writhing and kicking slowed and then stopped. Then she knelt down and let the scorpion crawl onto her lower arm.
"It is inconvenient that hunters don't disintegrate into ashes..." she mused, petting the scorpion thoughtfully. Her gaze turned to the corpse on her floor. "Well then, we'll just have to have an adequate disposal arranged."
With a smile, she called for her assistant, just as the scorpion slowly changed color, melted and returned back into her body.
~{}~
Zero trembled under the strain. Sweat poured down his face as he continued to control the vines around his mentor. He wasn't used to employing both his vampire and hunter strengths simultaneously. Scratch that - he wasn't at all trained with any of his vampire skillsl. To make matters more difficult, he had charmed his hunter vines from the Bloody Rose with a combined vampire-hunter charm which was rapidly draining him of his strength. In addition to that, Yagari was bleeding. Zero struggled desperately to keep the crimson in his eyes at bay. So far he was holding it all together and had locked his mentor into a cage of charmed vines.
Yagari nodded approvingly.
"There's more vampire in you." He growled. "I know it, go on, show me, Kiryu. Show me what you look like when you want my blood."
Zero furrowed his brow in confusion managing barely not to let his vines slip from his control.
"Sensei?"
Yagari's crystal blue eye sparkled. "We're not done yet, that was a warm up. We're just getting started."
Then suddenly something changed about his mentor. Zero couldn't pinpoint it at first, but something changed radically. Yagari's hunter aura flared with energy. He had never felt it before. The senior hunter twisted and jumped from the hold of his vines as if they hadn't been touching him at all.
Zero stood dumbfounded, regaining control as quickly as he could. He stared at Yagari. His mentor, the same one he'd been sparring with for years, looked incredibly fierce and menacing and his strength seemed to have multiplied out of nowhere.
"Just started?" he questioned in utter confusion.
Yagari was radiating strength in waves and it clashed badly with Zero's vampire senses. He gnashed his teeth against his mentor's aura trying to comprehend what had happened.
Instead of a clear blue, Yagari's one eye burned with the purple glow of hunter charms from under his unruly hair. From beneath his now tattered white shirt, Zero could see that there were symbols on his skin running up from his hands across arms. Zero recognized them as ancient hunter symbols as they glowed eerily with the same purple glow of a hunter charm.
He knew of no charm or spell to invoke such strength, but his sensei had obviously not taught him all there was to know.
"Come on, kid. Don't let me wait all day. Here's the deal. You beat me - I'll teach you how I did this."
Zero nodded. Composing himself again, he let his sensei wait no longer and attacked systematically with full concentration.
He experimented with a few simple punches but quickly found them to be ineffective and realized he had to dodge his mentor with incredible speed. It wasn't fast enough and Yagari's fist slammed into his unprotected body a few times, connecting very painfully. He vaguely registered Kaname's query if everything was ok and only answered that he was training, trying not to lose his concentration. Next, he tried a few moves with his vines, but Yagari blocked and shredded them as though his student was only throwing grass at him.
The senior hunter not only kept evading and countering him, but also continued to taunt him verbally, blocking his attacks without effort, prodding him painfully and challenging him until Zero really began to feel annoyed. He wasn't used to this much verbal engagement when training with his mentor. After a little more, he began to be very irritated. Though he tried to keep his cool, he found it exceedingly difficult as Yagari spurred him on and on until he began lashing out without thought and more on instinct. He understood this was his vampire side taking over and he quickly tried to reign it in again, but there was no way around it.
He was angry.
It had been so long that he'd truly been angry, that he'd been anything else other than hopeless, miserable or guilt-ridden. It had been so long that this new aspect of his psyche was very difficult for him to deal with. He really wanted to hurt someone. He wanted to pay back the countless times he had been ridiculed and taken advantage of in his life. He wanted to challenge all the pain and desolation he felt instead of just giving in to the numbness of not caring...
It had been so long that he didn't know how to handle it at first. He struggled to keep the growing wrath below the surface, but that only meant that he was fighting himself and his sensei as well.
~{}~
Yagari observed his student. He knew the stubborn kid better than he did himself. He could read his emotions clearly, even if no other could. He had seen Zero in just about every stage of his life and if anybody knew how to trigger a true reaction from him, it was his mentor. Zero needed to be there - in the fight. He needed to be in it with his heart and soul.
Yagari wanted to see what Zero was capable of when he was entirely himself. By regular hunter standards, Zero had trained enough to be a senior hunter. He had fought enough Level E's to be considered experienced, more so than certain other senior hunters who wielded a stack of paper or a glass of liquor better than a hunter weapon.
No, Zero's skill had never been his weakness. His determination had ensured that much in his early years already. In reality, Yagari had known all along - from the moment Ichiru and Zero had become his trainees - that the older Kiryu kid was the only one of that generation with the talent to beat him.
For most mentors that would have been a reason to keep their student slow on progress, to stall their learning efficiency, just because they feared to loose respect once their student outshone them. But Yagari wasn't one for that. A real hunter didn't pass on their legacy to the weakest. A real hunter passed on their legacy to the one most worthy of it. And who would be more worthy than the one who was better than their mentor?
Yagari wanted to be the one to train the kid that beat him. He wanted to be the mentor for the best. He was getting older and he'd begun to feel it. He was only in his mid-thirties now, but in another five to ten years his strength would begin to wane, if he didn't die beforehand. Yagari wanted to face the strength of the next generation while he himself was in his prime. The necessity for a strong future generation of hunters blended perfectly with the prospect of a real challenge.
Those were the best reasons for him to continue training the silver-haired boy even after he'd become a vampire. There was a lot more hunter in this kid than in most of the others who called themselves hunters and shunned someone of his talent. Zero was the embodiment of the millenia-old struggle between human and vampire. The kid had it in him to become the strongest hunter alive. Yagari just had to find a way to bring it out.
"Stop pretending to be just an ordinary hunter. I know you're more and you know you're more than that. I want you to fight. What are you afraid of? I expect you to beat me, Zero Kiryu. I expect you to give this fight all of what you are. I mean all of it."
He waited a second to let the message sink in. Then he attacked his student.
~{}~
If it weren't for his sensei's insistent prodding, Zero wouldn't have fought back. He would have let Yagari beat the crap out of him just to prove that he couldn't win. He would have been a heap of broken bones, but a peaceful one. The world would have been right for it. Because Yagari was his sensei and he was just the student. And that was how things were meant to be. But that resignation didn't work anymore.
Yagari had told him he was a coward. And he was right. Zero didn't want to be stronger than his sensei.
He had been afraid of being able to outdo his mentor.
And Yagari had known all along.
Zero feared no one but himself.
There was no more Level E in him now. He couldn't pretend that he was loosing his sanity to a monster he had no control over. His vampire side was his responsibility. It was a part of him. And as long as he feared it, he feared himself. And as long as he refused to face himself, he was a coward.
Yagari had known all along.
But now his sensei had challenged him. This was the moment - Zero could feel it. This was the moment to decide whether he could truly stand up and fight, or the moment in which he'd back down, giving up on himself for the rest of his days.
He had been giving up on himself for years. He was good at that. That was safe territory.
But now he was angry. Yagari had challenged him, had goaded and prodded until Zero's anger at himself was at a limit. In effect, this was a breaking point entirely opposite to the day when he came apart in front of Kaname, needing his blood after being injured.
Zero gave in.
But this time he gave in to a different need. It was like a fire inside him now. A fire that was fueled by both his hunter and vampire side. He burned with the need to survive, to win, to dominate. And he burned with the refusal of being stomped on any more. The fire of his anger consumed him. He would not give up. He would not be beaten by anyone. Not even Yagari. He would not turn away this time.
This time he would fight.
His eyes blazed.
His hands morphed into claws and they itched to deliver pain, twitching at his side.
He bared his teeth in anger, his fangs drawing blood from his lips.
It was a very fine line he was walking now.
At any moment, the vampire inside him might break free and truly claim control over his actions. Zero had never shown anyone the beast inside himself since the day he had nearly fallen and Kaname had saved him by feeding him his pure blood in the dark dungeon of the Associationn's building. Zero had not allowed it to be a part of himself. He had kept it locked away. He had built up his strength around it by keeping it caged. But now, he was taking it out for a walk on a leash. He would tame it and use it. He would put a leash on this beast inside him and use it.
It was indeed a very delicate balance to keep - he needed a clear mind for what he wanted to do and to use the blind rage inside himself to achieve that goal was going to be very tricky. But there was no turning back. He had made up his mind. This was the moment of truth.
Yagari's bullets met only air as he dodged them, Yagari's fists didn't connect to his body, not even once. Like always as a hunter, Zero began calculating his sensei's strength, sizing up everything new he was learning about him as he continued dodging the furious speed of attacks. But unlike a hunter, he was really enjoying it, hungering for the thrill, thirsting for blood.
Zero didn't strike one single time until he had completed the assessment of his opponent: He was beatable.
His eyes blazed.
His lips curled into a grin.
A low growl rumbled in his chest.
Like an animal, Zero pounced towards the senior hunter, feigning punches and raining kicks, feigning kicks and landing punches. The sting of hunter metal only spurred him on as Yagari defended himself against the vicious onslaught. He wasn't quite sure if he had lost his control to the beast already because it seemed to him that he was only operating on instinct toward the goal he had set himself.
Beat. The hunter.
~{}~
Yagari pulled hunter charms and knives. He shot and dodged. He moved twice as fast as he usually did, giving his student every resistance he had to offer. This was not a fair fight by any standard. Yagari was a senior hunter who had invoked the ancient spells to kill a pureblood though he was currently fighting a Level D vampire. He should have had no difficulties in killing Zero instantly.
He had only done it to see what his student was capable of. Yagari had wanted to see the combination of hunter and vampire in his student. He hadn't expected it to work as flawlessly as it was. He had expected Zero to either loose himself to the vampire inside him or to refuse that side of himself entirely, like he had up until now.
Yagari had invoked his strength only in case Zero lost himself to the beast and needed to be contained. He hadn't really believed he would see his student succeed in combining his opposing natures.
But this was unexpected.
This was breathtaking.
This was exhilarating.
It had been a long time since Yagari had found himself challenged like this. And with the ancient hunter power screaming through his veins, he found it exhilarating beyond measure. Because there was a little bit of vampire in every hunter and the raw power he was currently feeling fueled his spirit.
~{}~
Kaname had chosen to seclude himself in his office during the hunter's training. Currently, he was regretting that he hadn't left the office. For one thing, his body had obviously decided it would not suffer being parted with its mate, no matter the distance. Kaname was feeling the hunter so clearly now, that it was unnerving. If he closed his eyes and calmed himself he could almost mirror each of his mate's movements. Pain resulting from Zero's thrusts and kicks didn't surprise the pureblood anymore, he anticipated them. Having this much connection with the hunter was indeed very distracting and he wished he'd had more time to leave the office.
But their connection wasn't limited to that. Kaname had felt the hunter's distress earlier very clearly though there were no precise thoughts he could have tapped into. It was a gut wrenching pain in his chest that could only have been triggered by perhaps the murder of his parents or thoughts of his brother, but Kaname wasn't certain. He tried to counter that with his own emotions, but Zero appeared resilient to that.
What Kaname was currently most concerned about, however, was the fact that Zero was very, very different all of a sudden. Kaname knew the hunter bottled his emotions up to the point that their intensity was impossible to handle. But somehow, he was handling this. The pureblood was blown away by the sheer power of his mate's anger and will to fight that he would have seriously doubted it was still his mate.
He was slightly frustrated that he couldn't ask what was going on, because it might interrupt his concentration - but damn, the hunter definitely had a lot of energy. There was no end to his surprise when he found his own eyes burning red with the battle fury his mate was exhibiting.
What had Yagari done to the hunter?
~{}~
They fought like two high class nobles would. And though they lacked any noble vampire abilities, their physical strength was comparable. No one was there to witness it. But they wouldn't have noticed even if there had been. Instead, they were caught up in sizing up each other's strength and giving the moment of this fight every ounce of energy they had.
At the very end, Yagari lay on the torn ground, his strength utterly spent. Their fight had gone on for what he guessed had been over two or three hours at least and there was nothing left in him of the ancient hunter strength. He doubted now - after the length of their battle - that Zero was still truly in control of the beast that his mentor had forced him to release. He stared up at the crimson eyes above him. But at this stage it didn't trouble him much anymore. He was prepared to die at the hand of his student. He fleetingly thought that Zero might get into trouble for killing his sensei - but then again, who could stop Zero if he could beat Yagari? The senior hunter was at peace with this idea. In his eyes, there was no worthier way to go.
His musings were cut short as the claws tightened around his throat, digging painfully into the soft flesh.
Zero lifted him up holding him at arms length with his clawed hand drawing blood from the hunter's neck. Yagari fought the black spots in his vision as he watched his feral student regard him calmly.
"What are you waiting for?" he growled, his voice hoarse. "Sink your teeth into my neck and drain me. You've won."
Zero grinned, his fangs long and menacing. But even Yagari had to admit, Zero as a vampire was beautiful. He had never looked at his student that way. Never. But with the lethal vampire beauty he was exhibiting, even Yagari was captured. He knew it was just a trick that vampires used. But it was breathtaking to behold nonetheless.
He felt Zero's breath on the skin of his throat. Yes... Zero had lost himself to the vampire inside. It was his own fault, Yagari berated himself, he had woken the beast inside his student and now he would be killed by the same silver-haired boy who had tried all he could do to avoid becoming this monster.
Yagari's breath hitched as he felt Zero's breath so close on his skin.
He cursed himself for the irrational fear he felt. Of course it would be painful to be bitten, but that was nothing to be afraid of.
There was no reason to fear death. And there was no reason to fear the bite of a Level D, because he couldn't turn him into a vampire.
There was. No. Reason. For fear.
But suddenly Toga Yagari felt scared.
"I can smell your fear..., sensei..." Zero purred very quietly.
Yagari didn't answer. This was dangerous. Vampires reacted to fear of their victims in the most unpredictable and gruesome ways. Zero squeezed him a bit more, digging the sharp ends of his claws deeper into his mentor's throat.
The senior hunter controlled his breathing, refusing to black out with all the energy he had left. But he couldn't quite shake his fear off, try as he might.
Zero chuckled and ran his tongue across his own claws and proceeded to the bleeding wounds on Yagari's neck, tasting his sensei's blood.
Yagari closed his eyes, a sense of inevitability clearly written across his face. He prayed that Zero would simply kill him and not play with him in some sick way, as was the vampire custom.
"You appear to be terrified, sensei..." the tone was softly lethal. Yagari shuddered at his feral pupil's calculating gaze. It held a mix of hunger and curiosity that the senior hunter didn't like at all. But then again, if this went on any longer, he'd black out in a few seconds anyway.
Zero's fangs grazed his skin at his ear. "I know you don't fear death..." Yagari's heart raced in terror even though his vision faded into lazy black and gray spots. It appeared that Zero was going to play with him. This might become very nasty and very painful...
"So do you fear me?" Zero asked amused. Yagari tried to ignore his tongue lapping sensually at his blood again. It was almost a caress.
"You're in luck, sensei..." Zero said in a whisper close to his ear, as his hearing slowly faded. "I would never kill you unless you asked."
Then - nanoseconds before he lost consciousness - Yagari felt the hold on his throat lessen and he was lying on the ground again.
He breathed deep breaths, his body hungrily demanding the oxygen it brought. With effort, he opened his eyes.
Zero was looking down at him, panting slightly.
His eyes were a pale lilac again and there was no trace of the vampire that he had seen just a moment ago. Zero's face was tired and worried. There was blood on his lips, but even though he unknowingly ran his tongue over it, his eyes remained lilac and filled with concern.
"Sensei?" he asked hesitantly, almost fearfully.
Regarding his student silently for a moment, Yagari's face spread into a wide grin.
"Well played, Zero Kiryu. Well played." he chuckled. "I knew I'd find a Kiryu inside you somewhere."
A look of confusion crossed Zero's face. His voice sounded doubtful as he asked:
"You're not angry, sensei?"
Yagari laughed. It was a sound Zero hadn't ever heard. Toga Yagari laughing freely.
Zero looked even more confused. Then his expression turned very worried.
"Are you... ok... sensei?"
Zero reached out to his mentor's forehead as though expecting a fever.
Yagari would have face-palmed if he hadn't felt so weak.
"Just give me a minute, kid." he growled fondly.
