Who Am I ?

by BlueSapphire24

It has been sometime since the war ended thanks to the sacrifice of Kaname. Will this the end of Zero's agony? No! With his worst nightmare coming back to life and deep secrets he tried so hard to keep hidden starting to get revealed, Zero finds himself in a very messed up situation. How could things go so wrong after one dinner? hermaphrodite MPREG implied-rape

54. Chapter 54

Hey guys! I noticed some of you were getting overwhelmed with the details and talking about rereading because you seem to forget some detail, so I thought about putting some crucial information here and there from now one so that you memory is refreshed without the need to go through the extra reading, hopefully. (I would be happy if you were rereading for the pleasure of it of course.)

You will find the information in the author notes at the bottom of the chapter.

Before I start, I wanted to thank the random guest who dropped an encouraging review warning me about getting dependent on the reviews. I will certainly take your advice to heart about staying true to my vision and persevere to the end! and to put your mind at ease, I am not the type to give up writing because I do not get a 53 reviews per chapter (that made me laugh hard btw, I loved it), I was just particularly insecure about the last couple of chapters (information overload and all), and had a momentary state of insecurity that went away with the first positive review. Thank you for the wonderful feedback and concern *big hug*

Now! On to the chapter that I enjoyed writing for some reason ;)

∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞ five days later ∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞

"Hana~ You have to let go of me someday, I hope you know that?" Ichiru whined.

"Not now." His lover reciprocated with a tighter squeeze around his waist.

"Silly." Ichiru chuckled.

"Cruel." Hana countered.

"How so?" The silverette acted innocent.

"You know the answer." Hana buried his face in the crook of Ichiru's neck, inhaling deeply before his lover felt the warm dampness spread across his skin.

It was only a second later that Ichiru felt his own tear glide over his cheek as he reciprocated the hug.

∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞ Back to the present time ∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞

Zero kept pressing on his temple, trying his best to concentrate on the conversation.

"Woow! That is quite a lot of stuff happening in less than forty-eight hours since I left." Gin spoke over the phone.

"Tell me about it!" Zero rolled his eyes, "Enough about me… How are you doing there?"

"All good… I am actually heading out to see a relative." The older man chirped.

"Can we omit the words relatives, siblings and parents from this conversation because I might seriously pop a vein this time?" Zero groaned.

"That bad?" Gin worried.

"I just… I don't like it when…"

"Overwhelmed?"

Zero paused for a moment and his lips curled up slightly, "You are getting good at finishing my sentences."

"hmm? Can I take that as a compliment?" Gin smiled in return while stretching his arm inside the sleeve that his attendant was holding up.

"I see it as a threat." Zero teased, "I don't like it when I feel that I have become easy to read."

"Oh no! That, you are absolutely not." Gin reassured.

"Yeah right!" Zero snorted.

"Trust me when I tell you that I am really good at figuring out most people, but you? You gave me a lot of trouble and still do… Always keeping me on my toes."

"That is good to know." Zero sighed, "Gin… I have to go… I will call you tomorrow."

"Oh Zero!" Gin prevented him from hanging up only to be interrupted by someone knocking and entering his hotel room, "Master, the car is ready and waiting for you" The foreign voice spoke.

"pffft… Master?" Zero let out a loud laugh.

"Do. not. tease." Gin warned, "Anyways… I am not exactly sure about what is going on there but I will tell you two things. First, trust your instincts. Second, trust those of your brother. Do not let the unknown come between you two. Your strength is in your union." Gin's voice sounded more serious than usual.

Zero was silent for a moment, letting the words sink. He did not tell him everything, just that their grandmother came back suddenly and asked Ichiru to reclaim the heritage of the heir. He improvised the fight as him not wanting Ichiru to go with a so-called family, which did not bother to check on them when they were torn apart.

"What if our instincts dictate opposite paths?" He breathed out.

"Then," Gin smirked as he imagined the hunter's reaction, "Those paths are bound to converge at some point. You just have to find it."

Zero blinked few times, puzzled by the riddle like answer, "How can you sound so sure anyways?" He was slightly amused if not for the discomfort he had been feeling.

"Because you were meant to be one from the start and that alone make you inseparable by history and destiny." Gin answered.

"History?" Zero was confused.

"I have to go now… We talk tomorrow?" Gin was reluctant to ending the call but he had to, especially after checking the time.

"Yeah… we do that. Have a nice meeting. Oh! and please do not make me meet the in-laws as soon as I land there in the future, you sound like you have a lot of them over there." Zero hung up and bolted from the bed of his bedroom and jumped from his window, too irritated to bother using the front door. He stomped towards the source of his fool mood.

∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞ Kaname's penthouse ∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞

"The idea is not that bad, but there are too many flaws to work on and too little time left." Ichiru pointed to the main issue.

"That is why we need a third person to help out. I am afraid that you will have to convince him." Kaname pointed to the door opening from his office to the living room.

"Who?" Ichiru tilted his head in confusion, already unfazed by the fact that Kaname's eyes remained glowing red. His question was answered almost immediately when said door flung open and a miffed twin of his barged in.

"I swear, if this is your new method of harassment, Swiss cheese will look so much prettier after I am done riddling you with bullets." Zero all but snarled, "I was trying to have a fucking international call in peace after all the crap I had to deal with today…" He glared in direction of Ichiru, "And you had to go and play with your fucking powers to piss me off! And you are still bloody doing it!" he screamed, almost pulling on his bangs from frustration.

Taking it as his cue, Kaname finally retracted his aura and the lights of the room were back on. That is when Ichiru realized that every object of decoration was floating and twirling midair until it went back to its original location. He immediately understood that the pureblood was activating the seal by pushing the boundaries of the power threshold he was allowed to use. Zero, being the warden of the ritual, will of course feel the impeding threat by the tattoo reacting to the seal.

"I see that you kept the access card." Kaname let out a small smile while pointing to the object in Zero's hand.

Ichiru gave a quizzical look that made Zero squirm under his gaze and unconsciously hide the card in his back pocket.

"Have a seat, Zero." Kaname ordered softly.

"You think you can order me, Kuran…" Zero seethed.

"Here we go again…" Ichiru whined while digging his elbow in the armrest and cradling his face with his palm, waiting for the spat to finish.

"I am not ordering you as much as looking after your wellbeing." Kaname corrected.

"No kidding! Is the part of pushing the limit of the seal to have the tattoo on my back itch to the point of wanting to grab a stick to rub it part of your plan of looking after my wellbeing?" Zero was beyond furious. The perks of the binding curse they put on Kaname is that any excess power that Kaname uses would be channeled to the 'warden', namely Zero. However, the channeling is what annoyed Zero the most, it starts by the rose tattoo on his back glowing, warmth spreading across his back. That much was okay, but he hated the part where Kaname decides to push the limits, which would make the tattooed part of his shoulder blade itch like crazy before literally burning as if the irritated skin could not tolerate the fabric on top of it. "Maybe you are developing some masochist side these days?" Zero snorted, knowing that Kaname was suffering from his own mischief.

"Nii-san~" Ichiru begged.

"Oh you are in the mood to talk to me so soon?" Zero snapped at his brother, "What are you doing here anyways?"

"That is what I was trying to tell you, so now. Can you please have a seat?" Kaname finally held his temples. He expected Zero to be irritated after the fight with Ichiru and his stunt with the seal, but it seemed like he pushed the hormonally charged pregnant vampire a bit too far.

"I am not. Make it short!" Zero crossed his arms over puffed chest.

"Sit down, Zero!" Kaname finally ordered with a dark look on his face.

"No."

"You will not be standing for too long." Kaname explained through gritted teeth. Ichiru started to worry when the temperature dropped slightly in the room. This can never be a good sign!

He was about to say something but his brother continued the challenging nonetheless, "Are you threatening-" Zero suddenly started blinking, his vision growing blurry before he started losing balance because of shaky legs.

"Nii-san!" Ichiru shrieked and jumped to hold him, feeling the distance stretching as his brother leaned sideway in slow motion.

In an abrupt movement, Ichiru found himself halting midway when the pureblood who was sitting on his comfortable desk chair behind him was now in front of him, holding his brother up.

"I warned you." Kaname was downright annoyed with the hunter, "Now…" He maneuvered the light-headed silverette to the seat in front of Ichiru's over the desk, "Sit and keep quiet." Ichiru sat down as well, worry obvious in his expression as he looked from his brother to the pureblood.

"Easy for you to say…" Zero groaned, "How did you-"

"I said keep quiet." Kaname repeated with a calmer voice as he pulled a glass from the liquor cabinet, poured water and dropped some greyish powder that he stirred.

"Drink this, you will feel much better." He offered the glass, but Zero did not take it. He fixed him with a suspicious stare instead. Kaname sighed, "It is safe, for you and for your baby. Unlike your situation right now if you let it be."

Zero looked at the glass that Kaname put on the desk and followed the pureblood while he turned around and sat on his desk. Whatever he was coming down with left an unpleasant sensation of weakness and shakiness. He did not like it, and Kaname looked like he knew exactly what was going on with him.

Conceding defeat, he finally gulped it down and waited for less than two minutes for the symptoms to vanish completely.

Kaname kept following his expression intently along with Ichiru.

"Feeling like the fog in your head had cleared up yet?" Kaname asked

Zero nodded, frowning, "What was that?"

Kaname reclined on his seat and interlaced his hands under his chin, "Aconite poisoning. To be more precise, you inhaled the steam of a certain specie called Aconitum vulparia, which is a type of Aconite that tend to irritate the central part of your nervous system. It is not life-threatening per se, but it can take quite the toll on vampires."

The twins gave him a confused look, "How did it happen?" Zero finally asked.

"During your visit at the hotel, did you notice anything about the scent of the room?" Kaname asked the question as if he already knew the answer for it.

"hmm…" The twins hummed.

"There was the scent of the air freshener, I would say that it smelled pretty good. Not flowery though" Ichiru shrugged.

"The perfume of the old hag was so strong it almost made me gag." Zero complained.

"Exactly as Aido mentioned." Kaname nodded.

"Hana?" Ichiru perked

Kaname leaned on the desk and started explaining, "I saw him down in the parlor earlier. He did not look so good and we talked a bit, that is when I noticed the dilatation of his pupils as well as the fact that he felt as if the room was getting warmer."

"Hana never really feels warm. His power keeps him-" Ichiru interjected.

"Cooled down at all times." Kaname finished his sentence, nodding when the younger twin confirmed, "The initial reaction differs from a vampire to another, especially if the dose was small. I was able to notice it because of an incident during our high school days. Aido was looking into some sort of vaccine that will render us immune against it because this aconite was used as a tool of interrogation and the overdose had some nasty long-term side effect. Let us say that it was during the days where his only goal was to piss off the scientists at the hunter's association." Kaname explained with an amused tone.

"He is still doing it though, pissing them off." Zero snorted.

"Maybe," Kaname shrugged, "But that particular experiment did not go so well since he accidentally inhaled some of it. Luckily, I came just in time to notice the weird state he was in and looked for a quick fix from what I knew about it. That is the medicine I gave you earlier, it would be effective as long as one takes it on the same day." He reassured when Zero placed a hand over his belly with a worried look.

"Are you sure?" the hunter inquired.

"Positive." Kaname affirmed.

"Did Hana take it?" Ichiru was worried for both of them.

"Immediately." Kaname gave him a relieved smile.

"Why would that bitch do something like this?" Zero clenched his fist, his instinct of a mama-bear kicked in with the intention of ripping that woman apart, grandmother or not.

"Well…" Kaname was relieved when they finally reached the main topic of discussion, "First of all, I should be grateful that you prevented me from attending the meeting in person. Secondly, I assume that your honorable grandmother would stop at nothing until she gets what she wants." He looked at Ichiru.

"Can you please not put the words 'honorable' and 'grandmother' in the same sentence?" Zero pointed sarcastically, amusing the other two companions.

"She probably used the strong scents on purpose to cover up the faint one of the Aconite. The purpose I could think of would be the following scenario. She wanted to ensure that her deal would go through. For that to happen, she needed Ichiru-kun to be pressured in the right direction. However, for that to happen, he needed to waver first."

"She did not need special intervention for that." Zero mocked.

"Yes. She did not need it for the brief waver that happened inside the room, but she needed it to be permanent for her plan to work. That is where this special kind of hallucinogen comes in handy."

"How so?" Ichiru asked, ignoring his brother's sarcasm.

"You will sway toward her suggestion. Why? Because it is well known that, you are the weaker twin. She is your grandmother, so she might have an idea that you would want to get rid of that unpleasant label. Therefore, she tapped into that weakness to pull you away. However, if they investigated you as well as they seemed to have, they are certainly aware of the strong bond you share with your brother as well as how deep your involvement with Aido is, to the point of making those ties almost unbreakable." Kaname explained smoothly.

"I still don't get the point." Zero was now curious to see the end of this explanation.

"Simple really!" Kaname started drawing pattern with his fingers on the table, "Let us say that the Aconite heightens your emotions in that situation and keep them that way. It accentuated the insecurities of Aido when his secret was revealed. He probably thought that Ichiru-kun would doubt his commitment. That will leave him with the nagging fear that his lover will leave him and go with his clan. Aido would eventually convince himself of that possibility and let Ichiru-kun go without putting up a fight or finding other solutions to save his friend without sacrificing his relationship." He paused for a moment to wait for any question that never came, "As for Zero. He was obviously outraged by the suggestion, and more outraged by the fact that Ichiru was even considering it. That rage was intensified and turned into blame, especially when Ichiru was weighing his option, which was unacceptable for Zero. Under different circumstance, you would talk it out calmly and try to get over it together while keeping Takuma's wellbeing in mind. However, Zero was too engrossed in the possibility of losing his brother and his anger stemming from all the history of his clan to see the big picture. If this dragged on any longer, Ichiru-kun would start feeling cornered, isolated and blamed for everything. He would finally shoulder the responsibility of throwing himself in the fire to salvage at least one thing after his relationship with Aido and Zero turns sour, is that of saving a life, Takuma's life. Basically, the plan was to break you guys apart and ensure that you are never getting back together as a family."

"That fucking conniving bitch." The twins seethed at the same time.

"We can trash her all we want later." Kaname stopped the onslaught of cursing and swearing that was about to erupt.

Zero sighed after breaking a pencil he took from the penholder earlier, "I assume that you two cunning minds concocted a tactic already."

Kaname and Ichiru gave each other a knowing look.

"First things first! Are we good?" Ichiru asked his brother.

"As long as you do not become their puppet." Zero stated flatly.

"That may not be entirely possible." Ichiru winced.

"What do you mean by that?" Zero started feeling his genuine irritation building up this time.

"Well… The plan would be…" Kaname started explaining.

∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞ The next day ∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞

The tense atmosphere over the breakfast table was suffocating. Cross regretted the idea of having the twins come over to sort things out.

"I am leaving." Ichiru stated flatly after putting down the napkins, "thanks for the food."

"Ah! Ichiru-kun!" Cross called out but Zero already went up the stairs back to his room by the time his twin came back.

"Is this going to last for too long?" Yagari complained.

Ichiru sighed, "We tried sorting things out last night, but it only ended up in another fight. There is no reasoning with him as long as he does not understand the gravity of the situation and how much stress I am under, same thing applies to you by the way." Ichiru snapped at his lover who was about to say something.

"Me? wha-" Aido stuttered.

"Well… It would be helpful if you said something instead of moping around like an abandoned puppy! Last time I checked, you wanted me to take your name and be with you for the rest of my life. Did you suddenly start having second thoughts?" Ichiru crossed his arms.

"No.. I…"

"Forget it!" The silverette stormed out of the house.

"What was that about?" Aido pondered, looking at the confused old hunters.

The dejected noble hurried after his lover, walking in silence until they reached their apartment. Aido was very exhausted since he did not sleep a wink since the day before. It felt even worse when he went up to his place and did not find Ichiru after Yagari left.

He crawled into the bed and spooned his silver lover after wearing his pajamas. He felt as if Ichiru was slipping away and he had no clue how to fix this rift.

"Ne? Ichiru." He whispered against the silver hair.

"Hmm…" Ichiru hummed.

"What are you thinking about right now?" He tested.

"Sleep." Hanabusa was slightly disappointed.

"Can you hear me out?" he begged, "Without getting angry at my first words?"

Ichiru grumbled for a bit before shifting and turning around to face his worried lover.

"What is it?" He rested his head on Hanabusa's shoulder, giving him a bit of courage as well as anxiety about what he was about to say.

"I think you should go along with their offer." He blurted out and felt Ichiru stiffen instantly.

"Why is that?" Ichiru allowed him to elaborate. It was obvious that Hanabusa had something in mind, but Ichiru's tone was obviously cold and irritated from the suggestion.

"uhm… I was thinking… Refusing outright will only make matter worse and they obviously have quite the few tricks up their sleeves."

"Tell me about it…" Ichiru trailed, looking away from his lover.

"So… I was thinking of getting some of our own." Hanabusa chirped.

"How so?" Ichiru asked curiously.

"Well… They want an heir, right? Let them have one." The vampire shrugged.

Ichiru pondered before his eyes narrowed on his lover, "Hana… I am not putting my nephew in the cross fire and Zero will never accept that his unborn son would become their center of attention, besides-"

"Wooah! Hold on there… who said anything about Zero's child?"

They both blinked in confusion before Hanabusa smacked his own face, "Sorry… Now that I think about it, that was quite an ambiguous way to phrase it. What I meant was that you will have a child with that girl."

"Hana!" Ichiru was about to bolt but Aido held him.

"By donating your sperm!" He rushed the words that made his lover halt, and look at him as if he grew another head, "Artificial insemination? Ever heard of it?" Hanabusa waved a hand in front of his stunned lover, cautiously explaining his point.

Ichiru finally slapped the annoying hand away and gave the idea a serious contemplation, "I don't like it. I am sure they won't either. Their aim is to get me back and keep me so that I do not turn on them." Ichiru pointed, "In addition to the heir. Besides, do you see me fathering a child and forgetting about them?"

Hanabusa flopped back on the pillow, hating the fact that Ichiru was right. His lover refused to give up on Keiichi when Zero wanted nothing to do with him, he could not imagine him keeping away from the life of his own child.

"Then I will wait for you…" He whispered.

"What?" Ichiru asked in a tone of disbelief, he had hard time understanding what his lover was saying even when he was obviously out of the drug effect.

"Just promise that you will come back to me."

"Hana! What in the world, have you been spouting since the fucking morning? Are you really letting me go? Just like that? Did it ever occur to you that I might refuse the deal?" Ichiru was beyond furious.

"I would not allow you to refuse." Hanabusa fixed him with a determined gaze, "because I do not want to see you crippled with guilt and remorse, convinced that whatever may happen to Ichijou would be your fault alone."

The silverette clammed up; he had no words to say. Everything his lover spoke was on point. Ichiru would never forgive himself if Ichijou were to become a victim of his selfishness. However, he was still not ready to accept that it was the only way out.

"I had a plan B, actually." Hanabusa spoke hesitantly.

"It seems like you did a lot of thinking last night." Ichiru mumbled.

"Kind of…" Hanabusa shrugged, "I did expect you to want to be part of your child's life. I honestly do not like picturing you together with that girl or anyone else for that matter."

Ichiru could not help the small smile when his lover's eyes glowed red for a moment, showing the extent of his jealousy, "That is why I suggested the artificial insemination. As for the problem of being part of your child's life… Well… It is a bit of a stretch."

"I am listening." The younger twin was starting to find amusement in the situation.

"I was thinking of claiming your right for custody." Aido spoke quickly to the point of making Ichiru blink a few times.

"You mean…" the human lover trailed.

"You do not get married to that girl of course. After the child is born, we would have finalized our marriage by the human laws. Automatically, we acquire the right for adoption. Since the mother will be technically a minor, that would be a big flaw in the eyes of the court and you can use it as an advantage to win full custody of your baby. That way, not only you do not have to separate from your child, but we get to raise him as ours." The electric blue eyes were sparkling at the image of a family he was weaving in his mind.

"Hana…" Ichiru trailed.

"hmm?..."

"I am drowning financially just to open a new bar and will need a couple of years to restore my accounts to a stable state. You have been cutting down on your personal budget and putting it into your research budget because the raise you asked for did not come through yet. This condo sucked the life out of you to purchase because you did not want either your father or Kuran to pay for it. Can you tell me where are you planning to get the money for hiring lawyers that will go against a clan who not only know no boundaries to get what they want, they probably have millions lying around waiting for them to dangle and bribe the government itself with it. Trust me, if this child get conceived and is as magically charged as they claim they would be, there is no way the Kiryuu clan will give it up without a fight, a bloody fight that we can't counter because of a fucking asylum." Ichiru voice was dark and sinister, crushing every hope of the custody plan ever working.

Heavy silence surrounded them as Ichiru turned around and pulled the cover to sleep, or try to.

Hanabusa crossed his arm under his head on the pillow and stared at the ceiling. He was not mad nor disappointed, instead, his brain was working out other solutions knowing that Ichiru was probably doing the same.

One detail ticked him off all of sudden, "You know, Ichiru… As the heir to the clan, I can tap into our wealth if I had to. You know that right?"

Ichiru did not bother opening his eyes, "What wealth? A family of doctors that does not own a hospital or a tiny walk in clinic." He teased in a joking tone. Chuckling when Aido spooned him again and hugged him in a suffocating squeeze.

"We do have plenty of assets." Hana nibbled the now laughing silverette.

"Yeah! Wait for it… When the court ask for you to show them your financial resources, you father will bring the deeds to the villas and halls that he owns."

"So?" Aido asked with confidence in their real estate fortune.

"They are all underground Hana… Believe it or not, humans do crave the sun." Ichiru explained sarcastically.

"Oh~ right. I forgot!" Hanabusa all but smacked himself.

"Lack of sleep is making your brain shrink hubby. Get some rest…" Ichiru reached a hand back to stroke the golden hair blindly, a gesture that became natural over the years.

"Don't wake up and leave me alone." Aido yawned.

"I won't." Ichiru mumbled.

Half an hour later, Ichiru could feel the breath against his neck steadying. He carefully unlocked the strong arms and tiptoed to the living room. Flipping his laptop open, he started typing. It took him about an hour to finish what he had to do, satisfied, he stretched and tiptoed back into the bed and brought the loving arms around him. It can be convenient when you have a heavy sleeper for a lover!

∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞ The next day ∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞

Zero waited in the lobby until his grandmother joined him, wearing a traditional Japanese kimono. He noticed that all her wardrobe consisted of such clothing each time he met her.

"I am surprised to see you coming here on your own." She sat next to him, but Zero backed away subtly when she tried to place a hand on his knee.

"You should not be. Just like I know that you have an idea about what I want." The hunter taunted with a fake smile.

"What might that be?" She gave him a small smile, "I believe that I told you about the purity being an important part of the deal."

"Yeah… Yeah… However, you are forgetting something," A gleam of mischief showed in his amethyst eyes, "Even before turning vampire, I have always been the stronger twin, and I am the rightful heir to the heritage. So~ I believe that you are making a huge mistake allowing someone like Ichiru to wield your magic when he can easily turn on you… Anytime." The hunter explained.

His grandmother looked into his eyes, as if looking for something, "I thought you were quite tight together."

"More like tolerating each other." Zero rolled his eyes.

"Is that so?" She hummed, "What makes you think that I will believe that you will not turn against us either if we chose you?"

"So it is possible to choose me." Zero smirked when he caught the slip.

The grandmother straightened softly and gave him a defeated smile, "Of course it is. You are both the precious children of my beloved son, and you are both of the coveted generation that is destined to take our clan to a whole new level of power."

"What will it be then?" Zero inquired, already claiming victory when she started to have second thoughts.

"What about your partner?" She asked, "I seem to recall that you are living with your lover as well."

Zero snorted, "A relationship that is a few months old is much easier to break than one of years. Besides, I am not into Gin as much as Ichiru is into Hanabusa. Another advantage as to why you should choose me instead. You will also not have to worry about the Aido clan coming after you in any way possible. Gin, on the other hand, does not really have the kind of drive to cause trouble when threatened a bit."

The grandmother all but laughed aloud, "Oh goodness! Here I thought that you were the softhearted one. I guess that I miscalculated."

"And… What would be the rectification?" Zero asked expectantly.

"Lets see…" She pondered, "Well… It would make me look even more ridiculous if I were to force your succession upon our clan when they are already averse to having Ichiru as the heir, so here is what I suggest."

"I am all ears."

"We unleash both your powers. It can be done simultaneously. The members of our clan can sense your magical aura, so we will be able to determine the strongest out of the two pretty easily. If you are as strong as you claim to be, they will oversee the fact that your blood is tainted." She leaned in to whisper the last words, "Besides, it is not like Ichiru has not been consuming vampire blood himself."

Zero was a bit surprised that she would know about such an intimate detail but he did not bother looking into it.

∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞ The third day ∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞

Takuma's health was no getting any better, and Kaito was starting to lose his nerves because of the dragging.

A meeting was finally agreed upon for the twins' power to be unlocked so that they determine the heir to the clan. Both parties were surprised and annoyed by the sudden change of conditions. However, the words of the grandmother and the leverage she held were too strong to deny.

They gathered at an old house by the outskirt of town where the Kiryuu woman waited for them.

"Okay then! Let's get started." She held a scroll and stood over the bed where Ichiru laid. The chanting conjured small beads of light that floated above the silverette before finally sinking in his body leading to his skin giving off an ethereal glow as he drifted off to sleep.

The same was done to Zero and she instructed to leave them alone until they woke up by themselves.

The Kiryuus left the room, leaving Yagari, Cross and Kaname alone with the sleeping twin.

"I don't like this." Yagari grunted.

"Neither do I." Cross nodded

"Why did they decide to drag Zero into it as well? After she degraded him that much during that last visit?" the one eyed hunter stared at his disciple, worry obvious in his eye.

The young girl interrupted their conversation by bringing in a bunch of pillows.

"I am sorry to intrude." She nodded and made her way inside. She adjusted one under Ichiru's head and lifted his eyelid to check on the state of his iris. From his angle, Kaname's eyes narrowed when he perceived a soft golden glow in Ichiru's eyes, but he took it as a good sign when the girl's face lit up in a shy smile. She continued putting pillows around the sleeping man.

She did the same with Zero, however, Kaname grabbed her wrist in time when she was about to tuck one by the hunter's waist. "I will take care of it, it seemed quite hard to put one under Ichiru-kun, allow me." He acted like a gentleman that she could not refuse.

Kaname did not see the point of the pillow in that place but he gently lifted Zero's midsection and placed it, careful not to put too much pressure over his bump or the props that Zero wore to hide his pregnancy, making him look a little more buff than his brother. He could not help sliding his hand against the stomach of the sleeping hunter and take the chance to concentrate his senses while Cross and Yagari were busy talking.

*ba-thump*

*ba-thump*

*ba-thump*

His lips curled up in a tight smile, relieved that the muffled heartbeat was as strong as it should be. He could see Zero's anxiety when they asked him to lie down while explaining how the ritual would go. The hunter wanted nothing more than to ask if it would harm his baby, but was unable to. Kaname made a point to monitor the child thanks to his acute hearing and intervene if anything were to go wrong.

"Everything is all right in there," He thought internally.

They later understood the purpose of the pillows when the twins started jerking violently in all direction, hitting the soft cushions each time. Anyone who would try to calm them down would end up flying to the nearest wall by the protection field surging around them.

There was a few moments of panic, but the grandmother looked as calm and composed as ever. The young girl by her side only nodded with a reassuring smile when Kaname looked her in the eye. Hanabusa came in time with the ruckus and was lost as to what was happening. Luckily, the following explanation calmed his panicked mind.

"Their parents bound their power at a young age, the surge of the suppressed magic could manifest in various ways. We half expected them to destroy the room itself if it got out of control. The pillows she placed were dipped in relaxing scented oil that dried on them; they lessened the impact of their hits as well as the sudden surge of power."

Her explanation was interrupted by a groan that Ichiru let out while getting up from his bed.

He rubbed the back of his head and rubbed his still closed eyes. Hanabusa was by his side in a heartbeat. The silverette clutched the arm of his lover and squinted to look at him.

"Woah! What the hell?" Aido tumbled back and almost fell on his behind from the shock.

"What?" Ichiru was confused by the reaction.

"Did anyone else see that just now?" The golden vampire looked around the room to see equally shocked expression.

"Yeah…" Cross whispered.

"What?!" Ichiru urged.

"Your eyes were glowing gold just now, like really glowing…" Hanabusa answered, barely believing his own words, "Not anymore though…"

All eyes landed on the old woman who kept observing the younger twin; there was a hint of amazement in her expression that she quickly hid when she became the center of attention.

"That is what happens when we are about to use our magic, just like vampire's eyes turning crimson when they are about to use their power." Her explanation was brief but effective.

"What about Nii-san?" Ichiru wondered, still not liking the idea of Zero going through such risky experience as well.

"Is it normal that he is not awake yet?" Cross shortened the distance to Zero's bed.

The grandmother frowned at his question, "They should have woken up at the same time." Her voice was uncharacteristically laced with worry as she approached the hunter in time with Yagari trying to wake him up.

"Oi… Zero… Wakeup… Zero!" He shook his shoulder, panicking when no answer came through.

He only stopped when Kaname squeezed his shoulder to get his attention, "Yagari-san, wait! Listen…"

The room quieted down and allowed the non-vampires to actually hear the soft breathing as well as the mumbling of the hunter, "Five more minutes… wanna… sleep s'more…"

Relief washed over them, but Yagari's turned to anger instead as he clenched his fist and whacked the head of his disciple.

"Ngh… What was that for?" Zero jolted, nursing the non-existing bump on his head.

"For sleeping at times like this." Toga barked the answer.

"I was not." Zero denied.

Everyone noticed that his eyes were still the familiar amethyst color, assuming that the ritual did not work.

"You were…" Cross confirmed.

"Even snoring a bit." The grandmother added, surprising everyone by her teasing smirk.

"I do not snore." Zero growled at her, remembering what was going on before he passed out.

"You do."

"Do not"

"You do." She insisted.

"Uhm… Kiryuu-san…" Cross tried to come in-between to calm things between the two short tempered persons.

"I said, I DO NOT SNORE!" Zero's scream made the frames hung on the wall rattle and fall and his eyes glowed a deeper yellow than Ichiru's.

"Is that so? I guess I was wrong." She shrugged.

"What?" The ex-human blinked in confusion, unaware of the changing of his eye's color and how they changed back right after.

"Some manifest their power by the will of their mind," She looked at Ichiru, "and some channel it through their emotions." She looked at Zero.

"Seeing that the second case is quite fluctuant and needs more practice to control, I guess we are sticking with our first decision, that is to have Ichiru as the heir to our clan." She announced the verdict despite the massive effort she exerted to hide her trembling when she came in contact with Zero's aura.

Zero muttered profanities under his breath while getting up from his bed and putting on his shoes.

"Does this mean that you will show me how to save Ichijou?" Ichiru inquired.

"Certainly, after you sign an agreement that you will leave with us after you made sure that he is out of danger." She smiled at the shocked expression.

"Leave?" Aido stepped in.

"You will be provided with blood from our clan to sustain you in exchange for giving up on him. We are not that heartless, after all." She stated sarcastically.

"I am sure that it was not his point." Cross interrupted the onslaught of the golden vampire, "I thought you sought asylum and went through all this trouble to come back to your old dwelling."

"That is partly true. However, we are not planning on residing where we can be easily found just yet. Only when we are sure that no one will come after us, then we will go back to the mountain dwelling. Meanwhile, Ichiru will join us where we are hiding."

The atmosphere suddenly turned tense, leaving everyone on edge all of a sudden.

"What if we refuse?" Zero asked through gritted teeth

"You may have reawakened your magic but do not think that it will give you an advantage over us when you do not even know how to use it. Which means that you will not be able to save your friend or find us to seek possible revenge. I would say that it is a losing choice that no one would advise you to make." She sneered.

"Fine!" Ichiru's voice surprised them, "I will do it."

"What?" Aido shrieked.

"Well then, you will have to sign here." She gave him a document.

"Ichiru, hold on a minute? Do you realize what you are doing?" Hanabusa held his wrist before he signed, eyes distraught and begging him to reconsider.

"Making the right choice." Ichiru gave him a wistful smile and glanced at Kaname who immediately pulled his underling away and kept him from interfering.

The face of the old woman shone with glee when Ichiru finally scribbled on the paper. Having acquired the papers for the asylum earlier, her ambitions were about to come true in due time.

She turned back to face the rest of her guest, "I will kindly ask you to leave, except Ichiru because his training will begin right away so that he can save your sick friend in time." She looked at the setting sun outside the window.

"I am not leaving without him." Hanabusa seethed, looking at his lover who averted his enraged gaze, "Ichiru!" He tried reaching out but Kaname was easily holding him down with one grip over his arm.

"What if I wanted to join in the training?" Zero suggested, reluctant to leave his brother alone.

The grandmother gave him an undecipherable look before the young girl by her side spoke, "There should not be a problem. The only ones advised against practicing this particular spell or any spells for that matter are the huntresses carrying a child because it could put them in great danger as well as the life of their child." she explained, "Some of us lose our ability to use our powers during such times." She was looking away from the scrutinizing eye of her grandmother.

The old woman sighed and looked into the determined eyes of the silver hunter, "Seeing that you are one of us, there is no reason to deny you the privilege. However, you will have to wait for another time and allow Ichiru to teach you when he learns enough himself. I do not mean to be rude, but your control would be harder to master and you will be dragging him down when time is not really your best ally at the moment. Please understand…" She spoke calmly.

"Well… All other matters aside, I see no need for us to leave." Yagari crossed his arms.

"You will leave." She snapped at him, "We are about to divulge the heritage of our clan to the heir and no other prying eye should be around."

"Oh please~" The one eyed hunter scoffed but stiffened when the woman started muttering something.

"By the power of the moon and the sun, as this night merge into the day, we break the spell, cast it away. Let the dream come to an end, let the unseen reveal itself."

Kaname, Aido, Zero, Cross and Yagari took few steps back when the room was suddenly filled with armed men pointing their swords and guns their way.

"That is a basic spell that we teach our children. You only need to have the Kiryuu blood running through your veins to perform it though." She shrugged, amusement obvious in her voice. "Now… Shall we escort you out gently or resort to unnecessary violence."

"Everyone, just leave… I will be fine." Ichiru finally took Zero's hand and squeezed it while guiding his brother out.

∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞ The fourth day ∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞

The tension in the room was extremely thick as the waiting game stretched.

Zero kept flipping his phone restlessly. Kaname contended himself with sipping on a glass of wine that Cross provided. Toga busied himself with work he brought from the association and Aido buried himself in his lab, telling them to contact him if there was any news.

They felt pity toward the noble who was cut off that abruptly by his lover. There was no worse way of breaking up than taking such one-sided decision like Ichiru did, and nobody could imagine the impact it had one the blue-eyed vampire. To make matter worse, he found his father waiting for them when he got back yesterday, eager to see his son in law because Ichiru was not answering his calls during the past week. Kaname cringed when he found himself to be the one explaining the situation to the doting father. He could see the fury blazing in his eyes when he realized how hurt his son was, but the older Aido surprised him by showing compassion for Ichiru.

The wise noble was currently sitting across the table facing the pureblood, mirroring his actions. Cross Kaien, fidgety as always, kept pacing around the living room.

"Sorry we are late!" Three different voices resonated from the entrance, leading to all eyes directed that way.

"Did you come together?" Cross welcomed them.

"Nah~ Kind of bumped in each other at the gate." Ichiru took off his sling bag and took a seat, feeling out of breath.

"Then? What do we have?" Yagari finally asked.

"We will start with Nao." Zero pointed to the prefect pulling out his laptop.

The prefect stuttered a bit when all eyes landed on him, he knew that he would be in for a long tedious lecture for what he was about to show them, but he could not keep quiet knowing that it could be important.

"Actually… I have been into… gaming… online gaming… and other stuff lately… like… uhm…" He looked from one pair of scrutinizing eyes to another, starting to lose his wits.

"Hacking?" Zero caught the drift, and Kaito patted on his shoulder, "Don't worry pal, we've all been there at some point."

Relieved, the teen tapped an address and some code before turning the screen around for them to see, "I stumbled on this video in a section known as the underground of the internet… It is famous for being the cesspool of-"

"Of the worst cyber-criminals in the world." Both Kaito and Zero finished his sentence, having dealt with it before in their lines of work.

"What are we about to watch?" Cross asked, impatiently waiting for the video to load.

Naoto bit his lips, "Something I wish I did not have to see, ever."

"It better be good for dragging me out here." Kaito grunted.

"I don't think it would be… good." Nao mumbled before hearing gasps that signaled the start of the video.

Kaito felt his heart stop when everything turned white in the screen and it showed his lover standing in the middle of what seemed like an illuminated cubicle.

Words started typing in the corner and disappearing right after.

The first section was.

:: "Name: Takuma Ichijou… Rank: B… Element: disintegration… bounty: 25k… requirement: Alive… request: Decapitation"

They started having second thoughts about watching any longer.

:: "Start!"

They all but flinched when an ice disk flew and slashed the side of the noble vampire. Something that looked like an arrow scraped his face before an icicle stabbed his thigh.

There was a lot of blood, a lot of cutting. However, what puzzled the watchers who got over the first shock was that Takuma was not reacting.

His eyes were dull, merely looking at his injuries every time an object found his way inside or through his body. Someone seemed to be talking to him from time to time, Zero assumed that it was the ice wielder, since Takuma's eyes will look as if staring at someone behind the camera.

"Why is he not moving, not attacking…? He is not restricted at all." Kaito gritted, frustration getting the best of him.

"He might be drugged." Ichiru pondered.

Kaname stared closer to the screen, "He seems… disoriented… but not drugged… that amount of pain would have sobered him up long ago."

A sudden distortion of the screen interrupted their observation when Takuma was shown again, standing without restrain, in the same clothes but with no blood or injuries, as if someone pressed on the rewind."

This time, the ice-wielder showed himself, visibly wiping the red liquid from his hands before tossing the tissue aside. The red dot stood out in the middle of the now pristine white cubicle, as if it was never smeared in the first place.

Kaname started reading his lips since no sound came through.

"Stretch your arm for me."

They saw Takuma raising his arm sideway until his hand was at shoulder level with the vampire standing by his side. The ice-wielder conjured a sharp icicle and started dragging it slowly from the shoulder bone to the wrist, leaving a gashing wound on its trail while Takuma merely stared at it through hooded eyes.

"Such…" Kaname gulped and dug his fingers on the wood, "beautiful and healthy color your blood has. I wonder if I can make a beautiful canvas if I spilled some more." The brown haired male was beyond incensed but worked hard not to blast the computer in front of him.

"I can't watch anymore." Kaito turned around.

It was gruesome, cruel and painful to watch, but the others forced themselves to continue until the end.

"Kaname-sama, if my knowledge is accurate enough. Weren't the first vampires able to control various elements of nature?" The father of Hanabusa pointed. He did not have time to talk to Ichiru since they seemed absorbed with the video, so he opted to help them out instead.

"Yes. That is correct." Kaname nodded, still watching as the hateful criminal slashed the arm of his best friend.

"Would they be able to numb the nerves of their victim?" The old noble suggested.

Kaname literally blinked few times, realizing how emotionally involved he had been that he missed that one point, "Actually… That is possible… Ichijou may have trained to fight mind control, but if his nervous system is specifically targeted."

"That would make him unable to feel or react even if he wanted to." Zero finished the idea.

"Like a stranger caged inside his own body." Ichiru concluded, sending a shiver of terror through everyone.

"That is not the only thing happening." Naoto turned the computer and pointed to the shadows, "Notice something?"

"They are shifting." Zero answered.

"He said something about the light hurting his eyes, but he said that it was neon light." Kaname was puzzled.

"No. It is sunlight, which is why it was hurting him." Zero added.

"But, how come the other is fine." Kaito finally joined them again.

"He is not." Ichiru denied, "If you look carefully, he is not as relaxed as when we confronted him, his discomfort is obvious, especially here." He paused at a specific position.

"Wait… go back there." Kaito played back the video and played again and again until the patience of the others grew thin.

"Kai-" Zero was about to urge him but Kaito lifted a hand and stopped him.

"Wait, look carefully at the shadows."

Everyone complied and numerous gasps entailed.

"Kaname-sama!" Aido's father all but shrieked, "That last part!"

"… was certainly painful enough to jolt his senses." Kaname pointed to the painful expression on Takuma's face while the abductor was cutting his stomach open.

"But there was no wound or stab in that part of his body." The old noble immediately took out his phone, "I think I know whom to call."

"What is going on here?" Kaito wondered.

Ichiru gave him a victorious smirk, "He is about to be saved, that is what is happening."

∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞ The fifth day ∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞

"I do not see the point of my being here neither my father's." Hanabusa grumbled, glancing discreetly at his lover who got out of the car to lead the group into the old house where his grandmother was waiting for him.

An upside smack over his head made him glare at his taller red-haired cousin who stood beside him, "If you did not sulk like a child and haul yourself in that lab of yours, I would have had the time to explain everything to you. I can't believe that I had to cut my trip short just to drag you out of there. If not for my uncle, you would find yourself hanging from a tree with a blazing fire lit under you for as long as you try to freeze it."

Aido had a positively frightened expression on his face, if anyone could manhandle him as well as Kaname did, it would Akatsuki Kain, the one who had to deal with him during the worst years of his rebellious youth, "You are angry."

"Not really~" Kain pushed his hands in his pockets and gave his shorter cousin a smile that made his skin crawl in terror, "I am just thinking of what to tell Ruka when we miss our dinner date tonight, no~ thanks to you~"

"Forgive me" Aido clapped both hands over his head. His bitter mood made Akatsuki argue with him for over an hour before he finally snapped and threw him over his shoulder to leave.

"We will see about that." Kain muttered as they entered the parlor.

"Welcome… I should assume that we are all here to celebrate the recovery of your friend. It is a shame that He could not be present himself." The grandmother gestured with her hand to the open buffet she prepared, "as well as the welcoming of the rightful heir back to his loving family." She hooked a hand around Ichiru's arm. The gesture made many eyebrows twitch in disgust and irritation.

"I am afraid that I cannot let that happen." Nagamichi Aido stated firmly, interrupting the gleeful announcement of the old woman.

The lady Kiryuu flicked him with a degrading look before speaking, "And who might you be?"

"Nagamichi Aido. The father of Hanabusa Aido. Ichiru-kun would be my son-in-law, though I prefer calling him my son instead and I am not about to stand here watching them part ways because of a deal that will benefit only you." The noble lifted his chin and puffed his chest in an intimidating posture, unaware of the way his son was gaping at him from behind until Kain smacked the dropping jaw up back in place.

"Aha~" The grandmother nodded in understanding and inhaled sharply before answering, "I am afraid there is not much you can do. A deal was already agreed upon and dire consequences shall arise if anyone tries to break it." She warned with a threatening undertone accentuated with a golden hue flickering in her eyes.

"Consider that deal void." Another female voice resonated along with the tapping of a cane that followed. The guests shifted away to allow the Kiryuu grandmother to see who was addressing her.

Midori-sensei took a few steps and blatantly smacked the hand clutching Ichiru's arm while nudging him away like a kid back to Zero's side.

"How dare you?" The grandmother seethed when the cane blocked her way.

"I dare to do anything I want when a fraud claim to be the savior of my lord's protégés." Midori-sensei seethed back, allowing her eyes to morph red and her aura to darken, "Your deal is void because your witchy mojo did not save Ichijou Takuma, I did!" She tapped her cane on the floor, almost breaking the wood to silence the murmur that erupted.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" The huntress was peeved, "You bloodsucker would go to any lengths to keep hold on his power now that he unleashed it. This is all a ploy for your spoiled young master there to keep my grandson as his blood bank." She looked at Ichiru in effort for him to side with her.

"My son may have been a playboy, and had little control over his bloodlust, but that was because humans offered it willingly." Nagamichi started explaining, "I don't find it weird since he is a natural charmer for you to think that he is playing around with your grandson. I think that might be because he grew up as the only son amongst three sisters-"

"ehem… Uncle-"

"Dad~" Aido whined "You are not helping much by saying that."

The doting father caught himself blabbering thanks to Kain and Hanabusa's nudge, "Uhm… What I meant to say is-"

"What he meant to say is" Midori took over the speech, "We are not low enough to claim merits for something that we did not do."

"Kiryuu-san!" Cross intervened when the host was about to lash out once again, "We figured out what plagued Ichijou-kun and removed the root cause of it without using any kind of magic or power, just pureblood and surgical intervention."

∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞ Flashback of the previous day

They were lucky enough that Midori-sensei was in town and did not waste time to drive her to the Ichijou estate.

Kaname ordered the complete evacuation of the room leaving only Kaito, Ichiru, Zero, Nagamichi and Midori inside. Cross and Yagari stood guard outside the door.

In swift movements, the twins spread the sheets after Kaito helped Takuma out of his top garments and explained the procedure.

"Stop being difficult and drink." Kaname ordered in a frustrated tone. Who knew that Takuma would be the hardest to tempt when it came to biting and drinking from the vein.

"Why do I need to? It is not like you are all so sure that he has control over me." the sick blonde vampire pressed his lips stubbornly when Kaname squeezed his cheeks with his arm pressed against his mouth.

"Did you hear anything Takamiya-kun said?" Kaname whispered against his face, "The time lapse of the video, the way your injuries healed to be reopened again, it all points to fast healing. You and I both know that you are not one to heal fast because you never consumed fresh human blood in your entire life. Now, you tell me how you healed that fast from all those injuries that left no trace whatsoever?"

Takuma gulped and stared into the incensed eyes of his friend.

Through puckered lips he asked, "Are you sure that nothing will entail from this bite?"

Kaname understood his worry, "As long as you do not desire for it to happen, my blood will only negate any hold that vampire might have had on you when he influenced you to bite him."

The sight of Takuma's fangs sinking in Kaname's flesh sent a weird surge of anger inside Kaito that he had hard time suppressing even after looking away. The only comforting thought that soothed him was knowing that it will help save his lover, and that is all that mattered to him.

Takuma pulled away suddenly and pressed his temples, wincing.

"Did you feel a jolt going from the back of your head to the front?" Kaname held his wrist and waited for the nod that drew a smile on his lips, a smile of relief, "He was still controlling you, idiot! But not anymore…" He ruffled the fine hair of his friend; the tender gesture sent a warm feeling through everyone witnessing it, including Zero who found himself smiling at the action.

Ichiru had to nudge him so that he snaps from his trance, "You can gawk all you want later after we are done." The younger twin teased.

"I was not gawking!" Zero shrieked, leading to everyone looking at him, including a surprised Kaname and Takuma.

"Daydreaming…" He explained sheepishly, "You guys were taking too long that I drifted to sleep."

He was fully aware of how stupid he looked but he made a mental note to make his twin pay for it when all of this was over.

"Make sure to keep your eyes open for what is to come, we are shorthanded as it is." The mother of his gynecologist grunted as she beckoned them to get in position.

Nagamichi injected the anesthetic and watched as Takuma counted down from ten. As soon as the patient was out cold, Midori-sensei proceeded with preparing the skin over his stomach for surgery.

"Nagamichi, are you sure you want to be around?" The woman asked.

"Hmmm?" The old Aido asked back, confused by the question itself.

"I am about to cut him open and look inside his stomach, you are aware of that, aren't you?" She teased as the noble paled.

"Oh right! I think I will keep watch to help the others in case that problematic uncle swings by." He all but bolted out, leaving the woman chuckling as she disinfected the skin.

"Like father, like son." She muttered.

"Two peas in a pod I guess." Kaname shrugged.

"Is he as squeamish as Hana with blood and organs?" Ichiru asked, amused by the idea.

"Those two may be outstanding scientists but they never qualified as doctors let alone surgeons." Midori-sensei spoke fondly of the two.

Zero could not help but notice the familiarity she shared with the nobles and Kaname.

It was Kaito's voice that interrupted the pleasant silence that followed,

"Wasn't she the gynecologist that took care of Yuki during her pregnancy? Is it safe for her to be cutting him?"

Kaname had hard time keeping himself from laughing aloud when the doctor fixed Kaito with a murderous look.

"Takamiya-kun…" He tried explaining without them noticing the mirth in his voice, "Midori-sensei is old enough to have practiced any kind of medical specialty you can name from the top of your head. She is a walking medical encyclopedia. If anyone can 'cut' him without risking any spying activity on us, that would be her."

Kaito's mouth shaped in an 'o', amazed by the bit of information before he dropped his second blunder of the day, "How old?"

Her brow twitched noticeably to the point that Ichiru and Zero feared for the safety of their friend, "Would it satisfy you to know that the late grandfather of Hanabusa Aido is actually my brother. That I have been the personal tutor of both Nagamichi and his son and that I pity Ichijou bocchan for having an insensitive lover like you to waste his time with?"

It was Kaito's turn to twitch an annoyed eyebrow at the insult, but he was taken aback by the last bit.

She gave him a victorious laugh, "Worry about others finding out after you deal with the sparkly eyes you give each other constantly. You are lucky enough that his hyena of an uncle is dense when it comes to this kind of things. I will have your head if anymore grief were to befall this kid." She spoke with a threatening but motherly tone as she held the scalped to make the first incision.

A little over an hour later, she stitched him up and they gathered to look into the white bead she extracted from his intestines. They tested the solution they brought on it and almost jumped in a happy dance when they got the reaction they needed.

∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞ end of Flashback

"The cause of the hallucination that Ichijou-kun was seeing and would be seeing if not for Kuran's intervention would be because of the powerful mental hold the blood of the culprit still had over him. As for the physical symptoms, they were caused by this." Cross lifted the jar that made the eyes of the old woman widen in recognition, "This bead is made out of the concentrated extract of a certain plant. It was jellified to ensure that its effect would last long enough for you to strike your bargain. Meanwhile, a mole ensured the fluctuation of the effects by administrating the right doses of stimuli." Having taken off his glasses, the ex-hunter gave her a threatening glare.

∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞ Flashback after the bead was extracted

"Does this mean that it's over?" Kaito asked in disbelief. He was half expecting them not to find anything. He had hard time believing that the last wound, just before cutting off Takuma's arm was meant to place a lethal object inside of him.

"We have to monitor him for few hours before celebrating." The doctor advised with a smile on her face, "But I am positive that he is out of imminent danger for now."

"All right!" Zero clapped, "Time for the next step of the plan." Ichiru nodded while they hurried to clear the area of any surgical evidence that Midori-sensei tucked in her medical bag.

Zero opened the door and whispered to Yagari so that he calls for the medical team to enter.

Ichiru assessed all doctors and nurses present with a serious look that made some of them squirm, before he burst into a goofy laughter.

"Well… This is going to be quite embarrassing." He sputtered.

"What seems to be the matter?" The stern doctor asked, pushing his fake glasses while going over to examine his patient, "Why is he unconscious?"

Ichiru blocked his way while acting all sheepish, "I might have tried something that backfired."

"What?" The words elicited a lot of murmur around.

"That is why he called you in." Zero snapped in a loud voice that shut them up.

Ichiru thanked him and turned to face the medical staff, "Okay… I know that this is not going according to the plan, but it seems that I need any extra help I could get for the ritual to succeed. Therefore, as grandma told me, I am reaching out to the people of my clan who were positioned here to ensure the success of the plan. The plan to save my friend's life" He talked in a cryptic voice and waited for anyone to come forward.

When no one reacted, he gave a quizzical look to his brother. Zero shrugged and looked away.

With puffed cheek he looked back and placed his hands over his hips, adapting an authoritative posture, "All I am saying is for those of the Kiryuu clan to step forward and perform their duty towards the rightful heir of their clan." He all but growled the order, allowing his eyes to glow golden to show his power for their perceptive eyes.

The vampires backed away in fear and a couple of human nurses shrieked, but four other stepped forward and knelt at his feet. They looked up with eyes glowing a shade similar to Ichiru's before they reverted back to the original color. Kaname dismissed the rest again, but followed them out along with Nagamichi, Midori and Kaito this time.

The woman and three men stood by Ichiru's order and waited for his instruction as he paced the room. They watched as he untied his hair and looked at Takuma before fixing them with a hard look.

"Who was the one responsible for keeping his health going through that downfall?" He asked curiously.

The four looked at each other before the taller one spoke, "We took turn injecting him with the vial to keep the constipation as well as the bead from disintegrating fast."

"I see…" Ichiru squinted his eyes as if trying to remember something, "She wanted me to praise the one keeping the communication secret and precise, but I cannot seem to remember the name… How embarrassing, it feels like it is at the tip of my tongue."

"That would be me, my lord!" The woman chirped, "I have been responsible for bringing the medical supplies to be able to come and go as I please and inform the mistress of anything new. No praise is needed as I was performing my duty." She bowed deeply.

Ichiru smirked all of a sudden in time with Zero pulling out his gun, "Well… Here is the news guys! You just failed that fucked up duty of yours and you will be escorted as criminals to the association, that is your bloody praise!" The hunter found pleasure in announcing their demise.

Everything that followed happened suddenly and fast as a fight erupted and the four disguised nurses tried to attack the twins. Three went down with grave injuries but the woman managed to slip out and open the door to escape only to bump into Kaname who was blocking the exit.

Her eyes widened in horror when a wire slipped around her neck and intense heat seared against her skin. It was a horrifying sight to see her slowly getting beheaded by the thermos-cut wire that Ichiru squeezed around her neck. The strong smell of blood alerted the residents and the elder Ichijou came running only to wail like a woman when he saw the head rolling on the expensive carpet.

Kaname gave him an exasperated look, "We just disposed of the mole that threatened your nephew's life."

After calming down the crowd, Ichiru looked at his father in law.

"Father," Ichiru felt awkward calling him that after almost breaking thing off with his son.

"Yes dear mischievous son of mine." The lord Aido ruffled his loose hair with adoration despite the blood covering Ichiru's hands. The action comforted the shaky silverette beyond limit.

"I need a small favor." Ichiru asked shyly.

"Anything as long as it is not leaving the family."

∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞ end of Flashback

The old Kiryuu had a difficult time keeping a straight face with all the scrutinizing gaze seizing her after her conspiracy was exposed.

She let out a hilarious laughter, "Took you long enough to figure it out. It shows how limited your resources can be and how easy it was to breach your barriers as well as to shake the foundation of your trust in each other. Give me a break! You think you won? Who is the one holding the contracts binding all of you against harming us or going against our words?"

"Talking about this?" The grandmother was floored when she saw her young protégé holding up the contract stating the commitment of Ichiru as the heir.

"Silly child!" The mother grounded, "What do you think you are doing?" She could not believe her eyes.

"Oh! You are probably meaning to scold this one." Ruka came in dragging a tied girl identical to the one handing the contract to Akatsuki.

"What? What?" The grandmother as well as all clansmen present were dumbfounded.

Ruka pushed the girl to the grandmother's feet after removing the gag from her mouth, "Mistress! I am soo sorry, I don't know what happened." The young girl was terrorized to the point that Zero had to give a quizzical look in Ruka's direction. An action mirrored by everyone from Cross campus.

Ruka shrugged, "I merely showed her a good dream where she brought the contract to her grandmother who would praise her for doing such a good job, and she did, didn't she." her voice dripped with mirth as she looked at the replica by Akatsuki's side.

The air around her blurred and what came forth made the old woman drop her jaw as she recognized the aura of a pureblood, "Of course she did and she praised her more for allowing the borrowing of her appearance. Nice to meet you, Kiryuu-san! I am Yuki Kuran. Although I am not sure if this should be a greeting or a goodbye."

"What is the meaning of this stupid masquerade?" The men of the family finally stepped forward, enraged from the sight of their head being humiliated beyond redemption.

"This is the meaning." Kain shoved his hand forward and halted their footsteps when they saw the contract burst in flames, "Take another step and this shall be your fate."

It took a while for the grandmother to regain her composure and have a witty retort, "Hmph! That would violate our asylum, who would be stupid enough to lay a finger on us."

Kain quirked an amused eyebrow.

"You didn't!" The grandmother turned around and walked quickly to the safe that she opened and sighed in relief when she saw the folder containing the documents still untouched. It was a careless mistake to leave Ichiru's contract out in the open but she was glad that she kept the others locked up.

"Oh that is not the fun part." The fire wielder snapped her attention back to him, "I was the one who wrote those contracts and I may have mistakenly used a special kind of ink."

The woman was confused, so she pulled out the documents and checked them only for her head to pound because of the rising blood pressure, threatening to pop a vein.

"What kind of Ink?" Ichiru asked curiously, as he was not aware of that part of the plan.

"Fading ink." Akatsuki smirked victoriously. "Extra measures since we could not possibly falsify the stamps. The blood was red fading ink as well, which leaves her with a blank sheet."

"Nifty!" the younger twin whistled amazed by the craftiness of the lawyer.

"I could say the same about you." Akatsuki pointed to the ashes in his palm, "Improvising with a fake signature on the contract that they wrote. Quite the smart move in case we failed to retrieve it."

They both laughed, oblivious to the ruckus that the enraged head of the Kiryuu was throwing.

"You insolent fools! You think you can walk out just like that after humiliating us?" She howled, while all her people prepared their weapons.

"Zero." Yagari tapped on Zero's shoulder after checking the sky through the window.

Right on cue, Zero chanted the spell to dispel the illusion they casted before coming.

Kaname stepped forward, "I would advise you to put down your weapons because we are not here to hurt anyone today." He spoke with a low threatening tone, "However, if you insist on starting a fight, take a moment to weight your options."

The grandmother gritted her teeth and gestured for her underling to drop their weapons.

Kaname nodded, "Wise choice. I assume that you can sense that this house is completely surrounded with no escape route. The auras of dozen vampires from noble class and up as well as hunters with weapons ready to fire. Deciding to withdraw from such losing battle is certainly a wise choice."

"I could not agree more." Nagamichi stepped up by Kaname's side, "Now, you do not have to worry about threats whatsoever."

"What is that supposed to mean?" The old woman snorted.

"What I mean," The noble spoke a tone darker, "We will not threaten to kill every last one of you," it grew menacing, "Neither chase after you as you run for your lives. Do you know why?"

"Why?" She stuttered, starting to fear for her life.

Nagamichi gave her a sinister smile, "Because my sons happen to dislike it when I interfere in their personal matters more than needed."

Kaname held back a snort as he pulled a paper from his pocket that he gave to Yagari.

The one eyed hunter pulled one of his own before spreading them on the table, "These are the actual asylums granted by the vampire and hunter societies. You can take them and disappear from our sight once and for all."

Every individual of the Kiryuu-clan blinked a couple of times in confusion.

The grandmother clutched the papers and read them, disbelief written all over her face when everything turned out to be true.

"What is this part about internal conflict being the exception?" She asked, noticing the additional clause that did not exist in the previous one.

Ichiru was the one to answer her with an ice ball that he kicked her way. He snapped the string between his fingers when she finally saw the head of the mole she sent in the Ichijou estate caged in ice. "It means that this will be the fate of anyone trying to harm those dear to us like you did with Ichijou-san. I have no qualm eradicating every last one of you next time you pull a dirty stunt like this."

He turned around to leave but halted midway along with the others, "Oh right! I expect every scroll, grimoire and reference to be sent my way by next week. If I suspect that you are still hiding something, I can always hunt you down wherever you hide. Just so you know… I am well aware that you came back from a small village located in Eastern Europe."

His grandmother stiffened at the revelation of one secret hideout they used, "I also know that your current hideout is exactly a fifty nine miles south from here, the area is populated by a Yakuza group that I am well acquainted with. You can say that the head is an old friend of mine that I still share a few drinks with. I will also figure out your next location in no time in case you thought of escaping."

They paled when faced with his accurate information and his menacing tone. "The main point is that I want nothing to do with any of you. As long as you give up what I need and stay out of my business, Zero and I will not bother coming after you anytime soon."

They flinched when Zero locked the safety of his gun again before tucking it in his pants, "I am hungry…" The silver hunter yawned and stretched while leaving the house towards the car.

The old woman finally fell on shaky legs to the floor when the house was vacated of any stranger. The mother of the young protégé rushed to her side, "Are you alright?"

She found herself thrown away with sheer force, "Am I alright?" The old woman stood on her feet, "With everything falling through, you are asking me if I was alright?" She heaved while using the table for support.

She looked at the open door where only the dust of the leaving cars remained, "I will be alright after I am done with those insolent fools?" She yelled on top of her lungs, rattling everything in the house.

Her underlings shared worried glances with each other, deciding to tiptoe around the sore loser for a while.

∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞ Cross campus, Ichiru and Hanabusa's apartment ∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞

Ichiru came out of the bathroom, peeking at his lover who was sitting on the couch of their living room.

"Hana~"

"…"

"Honey~"

"…"

"Cutie pie~"

He could see Aido's nose crinkling but the stubborn vampire would not budge.

"Come on~ How long are you going to sulk." He sauntered and flopped by his side on the couch, tilting his head in effort to face the vampire who was doing his best avoiding his gaze.

"Until you come clean." Hanabusa muttered.

Ichiru huffed; "So much for celebrating the small victory." he grabbed a pillow on his lap.

"…"

"Fine!" The silver lover conceded, "What is it that you want to know?"

"Who did you conjure your plan with?"

"Zero and Kuran."

Hanabusa suspected as much, "What was it about?"

"Tricking the trickster." Ichiru stated flatly.

"Hah?"

Inhaling sharply, the younger male aimed for a fast, short and concise explanation, "After the stunt of the Aconite thing, we figured that she was aiming to trick us into reaching something. We were not absolutely sure of her true motive so we decided to play along while waiting for her to make a mistake. All while tricking her into believing that she was succeeding. We were going with the plan of the fake contracts to avoid the problem of the asylum, as unethical as it may have sounded. However, things spiraled out of control when she made me sign the commitment. Luckily, the discovery that Nao-kun came out with gave us the much needed breakthrough."

Hanabusa mumbled the last question, "When did everyone get involved."

Ichiru chuckled, "When you were sulking like a child in your lab. Since day one, Zero and Kuran practiced the illusion spell on larger scale, especially when she displayed it herself that day. That is how Ruka and Yuki snuck into the house, the night Takuma recovered from surgery, and retrieved the contract that I signed. We worked separately until the fifth day where everyone combined their tasks. Zero and I camouflaged the small army stationed outside since early morning, the day to night and night to day thingy. The climax is what you witnessed earlier. Pretty good job, wouldn't you say so?"

"I would have liked it better if I was not under the impression that you tossed me aside." Hanabusa dropped his head into the crook of Ichiru's neck.

"Oh~ poor baby! Were you sad?" Ichiru cooed while ruffling the golden locks, it hurt him just as much to make his lover endure such harsh treatment, but tricking your allies would be the first step to trick your enemy and for the plan to succeed.

"I was, very…" Hanabusa whined, pushing Ichiru into the couch like a moping puppy.

"hmmm… Well… I just drew a bubble bath," Ichiru pushed him off with difficulty and stood to walk toward the bathroom while Hanabusa watched his every move, "How about you come take your revenge by doing whatever you fantasized about all these years."

Electric blue eyes widened, "What- are you… now way!"

Ichiru faced him, walking backward while unbuttoning his shirt to let it slide over his shoulder, allowing his lover the luscious sight of his pale supple skin and perky nipples "I just happen to be in the perfect mood for a make out session in a bathtub." Ichiru bit his lips, suppressing a laugh at the almost drooling expression of his lover as Hanabusa gulped.

"But… but… We never agreed on a temperature and you always complained about… how… how dangerous it was to do it in the wet space." Hanabusa all but pinched himself to check if he was dreaming.

"Hmm? Did I say such a thing?" Ichiru acted innocent all while stripping slowly, "I don't remember… Why would I go through the embarrassment of buying the appropriate lube for the occasion then?" He tilted his head before bending seductively to pull down his pants and jump out of them to hide behind the bathroom door.

It was at that moment that Hanabusa threw caution to the wind and ran after his lover, forgetting all about sulking and getting angry with him in favor of grabbing the cute bottom that disappeared behind the annoying walls. He gasped when He found his lover naked and about to go into the tub. He took off his clothes in a frenzy and jumped in with a big splash.

"Hot!" He screamed as his skin turned pink.

"Warm for me." Ichiru gave him a tongue out before Hanabusa pushed him back against the tub to cover him with his own body and claim the naughty lip and tongue that escaped inside, "Where was that item you purchased for the occasion?" Hanabusa asked in between the kisses.

Ichiru stretched a hand and picked a transparent bottle that he handed to his lover while Hanabusa parted his legs and placed butterfly kisses on his neck down to his collarbone.

∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞ Back to the present time ∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞

They slept tangled in each other, without bothering to wipe the trace of tears covering their faces. Despite everything that happened and how well it ended. Ichiru and Hanabusa felt like their bond underwent a harsh test that made them stronger for sure, but frightened them to no end nonetheless.

Meanwhile, in Cross' house, Kaname sat across from the silver hunter who was having a late night snack.

"I don't really like it when you stare like that." Zero complained.

"You were not joking about being hungry earlier." Kaname teased the flustered hunter who shoved yet another sandwich that Kaname wondered if the combination inside it was even edible.

"I was literally starving." Zero complained.

"What do you think?" Kaname asked suddenly.

"About the food?" Zero verified.

"No, the earlier debriefing." Kaname clarified.

"Annoying as hell. The thought of that bastard alive and running loose seems like it will give me trouble sleeping." Zero grunted at the mention of the ice-wielder. They worried that he was still alive since his hold on Takuma was not broken until Kaname's blood negated it.

"Do you mean that it will make you sleep more?" Kaname teased again.

"How did you reach that stupid conclusion?" Zero huffed.

"You seem to sleep more when under stress."

"do not!"

"do too"

"do not"

"You do"

"do not"

"We can go at it the whole night." Kaname warned,

"That should be my line," Zero challenged with a fierce bite of his alien sandwich to emphasize his point, making the pureblood chuckle uncontrollably.

∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞ TBC ∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞

I hope that you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. The next update will be after I post a pending chapter for another story, but it will not be for long :)

As promised, I will be putting reminders of important clues at the end of certain chapters that will help refresh your memory, I hope that you find them helpful.

∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞ Reminder of the day ∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞

About First-borns:

They will be known as the first vampires later in the story. The purebloods are actually the vampires from the second generation onwards.

The ancestor of purebloods and of all vampires for that matter are known as the first-borns. A handful of them existed ten thousands years ago (Kaname's first memory after the apocalypse).

The bite of a firstborn can turn a human into a vampire and after providing their blood; the vampire becomes a stable level C immediately without the risk of falling ever. That is how they formed their army.

The descendant of a firstborn and level C resulted is the noble class of level B.

They have an immense amount of powers that allows them to control various species.

The major difference between a firstborn and a pureblood is that, if a human ingested the blood of a firstborn, there was a chance for them to acquire the powers to fight vampires, thus becoming a hunter if they did not perish.

However, if a human were to ingest the blood of a pureblood, they have no chance of becoming a hunter.

Ten thousand years ago, few problematic firstborns rose for supremacy aiming to make humans their slaves and rule the world. Other pacific firstborns did not agree with it and sided with the humans, the first parent (hooded woman) was the prime example of them. It took around three thousand years of discontinued battles to eliminate the problematic firstborns. Some of the pacifists perished during battles, others could not handle the repetitive bloodbaths and decided to go into slumber escaping everything…

The hunters and purebloods joined hands once again to eliminate the slumbering firstborns as well. Even those who helped saving them previously because they were scared they might awaken and become power hungry like their vicious kin… However, they seem to have missed some of them while thinking that they eradicated everyone.

A fellow firstborn can kill another by taking his heart out or cutting off his head, which is the same between purebloods. However, if hunters wished to take one down, they have the only option to rely on one weapon that should be wielded by a descendant of an old bloodline that possessed powers that can subdue the strongest vampires ages ago. The weapon and the bloodline is still unknown because Kaname does not remember accurately.

∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞ the end for the reminder of the day ∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞

See ya next chapter

Love ya all!