Days had come and gone, and the three younger brothers remained home. Zack had ventured out, not only for work, but to do whatever investigation he could for the situation.

Zexion also worked on trying to dig up information, albeit with what limited information he found online, and the old newspapers he still held onto. Though initially he still didn't want Saru or Riku to help, he was eventually convinced to let them also help with the research.

Currently, Saru, Zexion, and Riku were sitting on the couch, each of them reading through the piles of newspapers Zexion had pulled out from the basement.

"So we can confirm for sure that the hunter that we saw is related to the one that attacked Saru years ago, and the one who started up the neo supernatural hunter group back in your time, Zeixon?" Riku asked as he set down one paper.

"The pieces do seem to align that way. Silver hair at a young age isn't entirely common in humans, yet the founder of that group had it, and the other two encounters also shared that trait," Zexion replied.

"Something feels… off… about these hunters." Saru spoke.

"Like what?" Riku asked.

"The hunter we met. He strongly resembles the one from before, but the timing makes it strange."

"How did the other look to where the timing would seem strange?" Zexion questioned.

"The resemblance between the two hunters implies that they're closely related, either siblings or father and son. Both looked young, and were alone at the time, so typical hunting traditions would put them at youngest, 25 years old."

"And the issue you have is that it feels almost too short of time between the two of them showing up? Zexion asked.

"Not necessarily. The age gap between them would probably be more like father and son, but that would mean the younger one would have been born before they came for me."

Saru paused, double checking his math. "No sane hunter would hunt alone when they have a young child at home, and I doubt that they're brothers with a twenty plus age gap between them."

"Maybe he had a brother?" Riku suggested. "This could be a nephew?"

"What part about closely related did you misunderstand? Unless we have inbreeding hunters, which most of humanity finds revolting, a nephew wouldn't bear such a close resemblance to their uncle."

Riku gave a short hum. "Sorry, guess it's hard for me to wrap my head around it. Never knew what the other guy looked like. But if you're saying he looks a lot like the one we saw… then it does seem pretty weird."

"There's probably more threads here that we need to unravel…" Zexion muttered. "But trying to find them in the hunters tracks is nearly impossible."

"Do we even know how many members this hunter group has currently?" Saru asked.

"Currently? That's where the tracks grow thin. As far as I can tell from these readings, there are at least four… maybe five," Zexion answered.

"That's… a bit large for a hunter family group, isn't it?"

"There's a chance that some of them joined the group right?" Riku asked. "Not family, but someone who wants to hunt supernaturals?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that hunters don't stray from their family group? And that includes inducting outsiders into the trade? Even when you have a newcomer, they only hunt alongside a single mentor, not a full group."

Zexion nodded. "That was the old tradition. But I haven't kept up to date on hunter rulings, not for several decades. It's possible something could've changed."

"So outside of obvious physical similarities, and the rough size of the hunter group, we know practically nothing about them."

"And somehow they've discovered we're vampires… targeting us," Riku added, sighing deeply.

"We did have that whole reveal with Tatara in a public space."

"You mean when we first found Tatara? Or… when he recognized us at the carnival?" Riku asked in a soft voice.

"If that is how he found us, I would assume the carnival. With how many people around, it would be easy to eavesdrop on us. Though, instinct is telling me he knew for a while before approaching us. If anything, hearing us at the carnival was the confirmation he needed."

As the unsettling thought floated in the boys minds, the front door opened. They all turned to look, watching Zack step in with Cloud following behind. Zack gave them one of his usually friendly smiles as he closed the door behind him.

"Don't mind us. Just coming home after work, going to make a quick meal and hit the shower," he said before stepping into the kitchen.

Cloud gave a nod to the boys before heading down the hallway, presumably to head to his and Zack's bedroom.

Zexion looked back to the other two, placing another newspaper on the table. "So if he's known who we are for a while, who's to say that he didn't discover us via our father."

"So our father is either a sellout, or dead… or both." Saru commented.

"Well if he is dead, then good riddens," Riku huffed.

"Maybe it's for the best if he is," Zexion added.

Saru scowled. "Our sperm donor isn't worth the passing thought, but if he got us into this mess, then he deserves to rot in hell."

"Whoa hey now," Zack interrupted. "Let's not get too harsh there. I don't like hearing that kind of talk from you guys."

"And what would you prefer us to say?" Zexion asked. "That we're thankful for him possibly exposing us?"

"When all he's done is create us and leave to never have any part in our lives?" Saru added.

Zack walked over to the boys, placing his hands on his hips. "I'm still not going to allow such harshness to be said. You can… hate him and stuff, but this isn't something to blame him for. He's… he is still alive, so I'm sure the hunters didn't find you because of him."

Riku raised an eyebrow. "And how do you know he's still alive?"

Zack opened his mouth, almost hesitating for a beat. "I… Well, I still keep tabs. In case… you know, there's another?"

"So you have a way to track him down and never once confronted him about us? You defend him when we know almost nothing about him," Saru stated.

"Listen," Zack said, gritting his teeth. "I didn't want any of you doing anything reckless if you knew. I… I'm not defending him, but I know he isn't the cause for the hunters showing up."

Zexion leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "You still know things we don't. You could at least inform us about him, if not his whereabouts."

"How old were you when he abandoned you?" Riku asked.

Zack straightened up, his muscles tightening. "Uh… that's… he was… when I was…"

"Alright, that's enough!"

Cloud stormed back into the room, taking Zack into his arms. He sent a harsh glare towards the others.

"I get you're all frustrated, and I understand the situation. But you shouldn't be hounding Zack like that," he growled.

Saruhiko whipped out a knife and drove it into the table.

"After everything we've been through together, he shouldn't be hiding something this important from us." Saru all but shouted before getting up from the table and quickly walking out of the room.

"Saru wait…" Zack said softly, even after watching him walk down the hallway to the backyard.

He lowered his head a moment later. "I know I've kept this from you… from all of you… but you have to understand that I did this to keep you guys safe and happy. Knowing… what I know, would only make it harder on you guys."

"But why?" Riku questioned.

"It is… trust me on that," Zack sighed.

"I suppose right now it's hard to comprehend new information," Zexion said as he pulled Saruhiko's knife from the table. "Maybe it's best to call it here for the night."

Riku shrugged as he pushed off the couch. "Guess so… Sorry Zack."

"Nah.. it's fine. Can't always expect everything to be perfect all the time," Zack replied, leaning more into Cloud's hold.

Cloud started nudging him towards the hallway. "Come on, let's get you to lay down for a bit. I'll make your food, okay?"

"Right. Sounds like a good idea."

Cloud and Zack left, leaving Riku and Zexion alone.

"Someone should go check on Saru," Riku muttered. "He looked pretty pissed."

"Are you implying you want me to go?" Zexion asked.

"I dunno… I feel like I should, but I'm still a little uneasy that Zack's been hiding that from us. Trying to wrap my head around some of it considering I…"

"You're a pure blood, and most likely it was an arranged marriage. Meaning Zack likely knew of it? If that is your implication."

Riku nodded. "Yeah…"

"I suppose I should try and connect more with Saru. I'll handle him, you do whatever you need for yourself," Zexion replied.

"Thanks, Zexion," Riku whispered before heading towards his room.

After a few moments, Zexion took in a deep breath and headed down the hall to the door that would lead out into the backyard.

When he stepped outside, he looked around, trying to see where Saru could've stormed off too.

Finally he spotted an odd clue; the tortoise that lived in their backyard was oddly scratching at the base of one of the larger trees on the outskirts of their yard. Walking over to the reptile, Zexion looked up and spotted Saruhiko. He was sitting on one of the larger branches that were high up, and was twirling one of his knives around his fingers.

"Are you intending to stay there all night?"

Saru turned to look at his older brother and sighed before responding. "I don't know."

"You know it would be rather childish to try and hide out here all night… Even with the resentment you probably feel, you know you'll have to go back inside soon enough," Zexion replied.

"I'm aware." Saru commented. "I needed to get out."

"It's understandable," Zexion sighed. "But sometimes lately, I don't understand things. Everything between us has shifted so much in so little time."

"It's a whirlwind of revelations and emotions. It's so much to process, and yet there's still secrets being kept." Saru spoke.

Zexion nodded. "A few months of change can't dig up everything from the past… but each new revelation throws us for a loop. Wouldn't you agree? First learning about each other's mothers… and now Zack knowing where our father currently is."

Saru hummed, as if in agreement.

"Will you be okay up there? You know if you stay there too long, Zack inevitably will come out to get you."

"I'll be fine." Saru answered.

Zexion waited for a few minutes, watching the tortoise repeatedly try to climb the base of the tree. After the tortoise fell back for the seventh time, Zexion sighed. "I'm sorry if I'm not very good at this."

"You don't have to apologize. Neither of us are great with communication."

"And yet Zack always encouraged us to be open and talk to one another…"

"He can't force a bond between us. It has to happen on its own."

Zexion nodded. "And I am thankful for the moments we've had over these past few months."

Silence befell the two of them after that, implying Saru either had nothing to say, or didn't care to say anything more. Zeixon knew it would be difficult to try and talk to Saru, he had expected it as he walked into it. But part of him wished it was easier, wishing for conversations that didn't have to end on an awkward note.

"Well, if there's anything else you need, you'll know where to find me. Please, don't stay out here for much longer, okay?"

"I'll come back inside in a bit."

Zexion nodded before turning back around, starting his walk back towards the house.

"Zexion… Thank you."