Sorry if there was some confusion regarding the last chapter. Essentially, it is a flashback to the time they first met, written in Yuki's point of view. All of it was Yuki's thoughts except for one paragraph which is Zero's. You'll know who is who when you're reading it. This chapter is a flashback written in Zero's point of view, sort of a continuation of the previous chapter. Thank you for your patience and enjoy =)

I slumped against the door, clutching my chest long after you had left. You were standing on the other side of my door for so long, probably with this 'what the hell just happened' look on your face. I didn't know then, that the following times you give me that same look; I would find it in me to patiently explain to you what exactly just happened. Little did I know that I would later find that look to be so endearing. I sat there on the floor, praying that you would leave while hoping that you would stay. I didn't trust myself enough to stand up. I knew I would kick the door down and devour you. I made the mistake of trusting myself to breathe the air around you. I wouldn't repeat it again. I couldn't afford that kind of mistake anymore. The price was too costly; my entire humanity would be mortgaged. Little did I know that it wouldn't be my humanity that would be lost, it would be my sanity, my will to live.

The moment I couldn't smell you anymore, I still couldn't trust myself to get up. I could escape a gang of vampires who obviously were directed to target me, wielding weapons that I never expected them to have. I could somehow get away with this god-awful wound, somehow control my thirst enough for me not to drink from you while you were lying right on me, somehow find it in me to throw you out of my room, what was two doors to me? They said that if you think of doing something you shouldn't, this urge to do it would dissipate a little. So I tried to think of me bursting through your door and drinking your sweet blood. The mere thought of it made me tremble, both from the pleasure I knew it would give me, but also from disgust at myself.

I sat on the floor for hours until I was absolutely sure I wouldn't go running breaking doors. But just to make sure, I dumped my head under the cold shower for a good ten minutes. When I got out, I was shivering, but not from the cold. I was starved. I've been starving for so long, almost 5 years. I wished that I had died by now, I wished I had died the night Shizuka bit me. I thought I could withstand it, withstand the scent of blood. All I had to do was to resist…resist until the day I meet that bitch and kill her. But then, I had to meet you.

Your scent was different, so much sweeter. You may not have noticed it, but you were bleeding when I first met you. In your haste to hide under the counter while I was giving the bar a facelift, you had inadvertently cut your hand on something. It was small; probably nothing more than a bad paper cut, but the moment your skin sliced open, I could smell it clearly. I shouldn't have gone so near, but I was curious as to what it was. Secretly, I hoped that Carl had created a brew that smelled like blood, hoping it could act as my placebo. Instead, I found you, cowering under a bar. That was why when I walked home that night, I had prayed that the person following me from behind wasn't you. I would rather be ambushed by a pack of hungry vampires than for it to be you. When you entered the same building as me, I had hoped that you were crashing at a friend's place. When you climbed up the stairs behind me, I had hoped that your friend's place was on a different level from mine. But in a building with only four storeys, each storey having only 2 apartments; the chances of that happening were pretty slim. When you landed on the same floor as me, which was the third and topmost floor, I had become so agitated, so angry, so pissed, that I snapped at you. You should have expected that.

Why now? Why now when I am so close to falling to Level E? Why now when the hunger attacks are becoming increasingly frequent? I tried to shake of all thoughts of her as I lay on my bed. At least, during her brief time in my apartment, there were still miniscule traces of her left after her departure. Although her warm body wasn't temptingly close anymore, at least I could smell the tiny remnants of her. This would be my placebo for now.

I slept fitfully again, only to be awaken all too soon by this annoyingly persistent banging on my door.

You stupid girl. You just wouldn't stop trying. I kept quiet, trying to make you think I wasn't in. But you were so annoyingly stubborn. You banged on my door continuously, trying to get me to open, bribing me, threatening me... Silly girl. Why wouldn't you just give up? Why wouldn't you just leave me alone? You tried bribing me with breakfast. Yeah, I'll make a breakfast out of you alright. You tried threatening to break my door down. That was almost laughable, but I remained silent. So imagine my surprise when the door actually crashed open.

Oh shit.

Not only were you in my room, but I was faced with the two other people I didn't really want to deal with at the moment. "Poor Zero, are you okay? Why didn't you come straight to the hospital? What happened? Do you need any more pills?" Chairman sat on my bed, pelting me one annoying question after another while trying to take my blanket away to check on my injuries. Do you want your gun to shoot with? Yes, of course. First I'll shoot you, and then I'll shoot myself. Thank you very much.

Yagari cleared his throat. "What happened?" I sat up, the Chairman still fussing over my wounds. I looked at Yagari then pointedly looked at Yuki. "Sorry, but you need to leave now. You'll talk to him once we're done." He ushered Yuki out. "Why isn't your body healing normally?" Chairman asked a reasonable question.

"They're using hunter weapons now. And they're not Purebloods."

"Someone's setting us up."

"So you were injured by a hunter weapon?"

"Yes."

"How many were there?"

"About 8 vamps and 5 weapons."

"The Vampire Council believes we are the ones supplying those weapons."

"I know and it's understandable considering the circumstances."

"They're already retaliating."

"Do I look like I'm stupid?" I was starting to lose my temper.

Chairman chose this moment to speak. "We're having diplomatic talks with the Vampire Council but they seem unwilling to believe that the mastermind may be one of their kind."

"The mastermind may be one of our kind too." Yagari, ever the optimist.

"All we can do now is damage control. Get to the bottom of it while you're at it if you can."

"I'll go tonight."

Chairman protested. "No! You can't. You're still injured and you're healing terribly slowly. Humanly slow if I may say. Let that nice girl next door take care of you," he grinned widely, that slightly mad-hatter look in his eyes.

"I don't need..."

Yagari cut in. "You can't go out tonight. That's final. Look at yourself. You'll jeopardize yourself and others. Stay in."

"The girl was holding a tray of breakfast. Eat some." Chairman insisted.

Yagari turned to leave, "Don't do anything reckless, Kiryuu." He opened the door and Yuki rushed in.

Chairman, clearly unhappy with being ignored by me made a last ditch attempt through Yuki.

"Dear girl, our Kiryuu's not doing very well. Do you mind taking care of him until he gets better? I know, it may be a hassle but we're willing to compensate you for your time and effort. What do you say?"

Yuki, clearly bewildered by the Chairman's proposition, nodded hesitantly. Chairman almost danced with glee, thrusting the keys into her hands and calling out, "Have fun!" while being dragged by the collar by Yagari. And Yuki was left to tend to me.

Dear God, you didn't let me die when Shizuka attacked us. The least you could have done was to let me die the moment I started loving her. Why me? Hadn't I suffered enough already? Apparently not.

Next few chapters would shed more light over their relationship back then. Stay tuned =D