Chapter Eight: The Forbidden Act

-Five Years Ago-

Zero P.O.V

"It was my fault...your eye...I'm sorry master." I apolgized. "You told me to run away...but I came back."

Huh?" She sat up. "Are you gonna make me regret that I risked my life to protect? Sheesh. Damn brat." She reached over and ruffled my hair. "I didn'tsave you so that you could make a face like that."

"Master...why do vampires hurt humans?" I asked.

"Because they are pitiful beings who live only by instinct That's why we hunt them. Vampire hunters like me and the Kiryu family exist for that purpose." She closed her eye and rested her hand on my shoulder. "Vampires can only ever be our enemy."

-Present Day-

Kaname P.O.V

"AAH!" Zero cried out in pain.

"Zero!" I said, grabbing her.

"Even if the bullet only whizzed by you, it must hurt like hell," said the woman holding the gun. "A spell was put on that bullet to kill vampires." The clouds were blown away by the wind, revealing a full moon. "...Zero...even if you are hungering for blood...do you still have a reason to brace yourself for this?" She asked.

Zero shook her head and the woman raised her gun. I put my arms around Zero and stood between her and the gun.

"You're...the adopted son of that retired twit?" The woman asked.

"I don't know what your relationship with Zero is...but whether Zero lives or dies is not for you to decide! I won't let you kill her!" I shouted.

"Are you saying she hasn't fallen to a Level E yet?" The woman narrowed her eye.

"Kaname." Zero gently pushed me away. "It's all right." She said, gripping her shoulder as she looked over her shoulder.

"YOU TOOK THINGS TOO FAR! THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I HATE VAMPIRE HUNTERS!" The headmistress yelled, running over to us. "I dropped by because I was worried and this is what I find! Hey, put that thing away! How much longer are you going to keep a boy in cold water?!" She pushed the gun away from us and knelt down, holding her hands out. "You must be freezing. Here, grab my hands."

Me and Zero ignored her offer and pulled ourselves out. I stood up and looked at the woman in front of me. "Who...are you?" I asked her.

"I'm Tonya Yagari. I'm the former master of Zero..." She said and took her cigarette out of her mouth. "I'm a vampire hunter. Right, Zero?"

"Yes." Zero answered and I looked over at her.

"You really are the adopted son of that silly twit..." She said and I walked away. "Zero was about to attack you...yet you consider me as your enemy."

I sat on the bed in my dorm room. "Let me take of things...you go home, Kaname." The headmistress told me. They went to the Headmistress's room...I was the one who was shut out. The headmistress said there's nothing to worry about...but that woman said she'd kill Zero...Zero can't tolerate blood tablets...so her body will continue to lust for blood...and her mind is being eaten away...if things continue like this, Zero will...

"Kaname?" Shino asked, sitting up.

"I woke you up. I'm sorry..." I said, looking over at him.

He came over and sat in front of me. "Kaname...you've had something on your mind recently. Is there anything I can do to help?" He asked.

I looked at him and dropped my head into my hands. I can't...do anything, either. Zero...

"Kaname...it's all right." Her words echo in my head. "It's all right."

-The Next Morning-

All morning I kept looking for Zero, even when it was time to monitor the switch over. Zero didn't come to school.

When it was time for classes to start for the Night Class, I grabbed the back of Yagari's shirt. "What happened to Zero?! She's not at school, or the dorm. The headmistress isn't around either...what did you do to her?!" I demanded.

"We quarantined her." She said.

"Quarantined?" I asked.

"She's to the point where she'll attack at any time. We quarantined her so that there won't be any victims until I settle things."

"But Zero is for now, right? Where is she?!"

"let me go! I've got work to do!" She said, holding a book over her shoulder. "That retired twit told me I wouldn't be able to stay here unless I did something! She forced me to become...a temporary lecturer of ethics for the Night class." She walked into the classroom.

I stared at her in disbelief. "You're...a lecturer?" I asked and tried to follow her in.

"Do your own job." With that, she slammed the door and locked it.

Yuki P.O.V

The sound of a book slamming onto the desk made the Night class turn their attention to the front of the room.

"I'm Tonya Yagari. I'll be your temporary lecturer for this ethics class. Nice to meet you, vampires..." She said.

"'Yagari'? She has the same name as the woman who's the NO.1 vampire hunter right now..." one of the students said.

"So it was you shooting last night..." Aidou said.

"Relax." Yagari said. "Today I am an official teacher...with a teaching certificate."

"I heard that you were somewhere far away, but you've returned?" I asked. "You've come back to check out the Night class?" I turned the page in my book. "Or is there a vampire among us who you want to kill...teacher?"

"Hello, Yuki Kuran." She smiled. "Unfortunately my execution list is empty right now. If you fall asleep because my lecture is boring, I can add you to the list, you know."

"I'll be careful...teacher." I chuckled.

Kaname P.O.V

The door to the classroom opened and Yagari stepped out. "You waited all this time?" She asked, closing the door behind her. "I thought you'd go off to find Zero."

"You said Zero was okay...I was afraid the Night class would tear you to shreds. I don't want to pretend to overlook things like that...as a guardian." I said, stepping away from the wall.

"...How good of you. However...there's nothing..." She leaned towards me. "...a good little boy like you can do. If you still want to see her...go." Yagari held up the book with a knife sticking out of the cover. "She's in the guest room of the headmistress's private living area."

I turned on my heel and went in that direction until I reached her door and knocked several times until she opened the door. She looked surprised to see me.

"I'm fine, Go home, Kaname." She tried to close the door but I stopped her.

"Wait, Zero! Why are you staying here...just because that woman told you to?" I asked her.

"That woman...took care of me and my younger sister. She was my guardian and my teacher when my parents weren't at home. Back then I saw a Level E vampire for the first time..." She said and I gripped the door. "The doctor at our elementary school...was a really nice, handsome man. But he was a former human who had run away from an aristocrat. One day, he suddenly transformed into a ferocious vampire right in front of us. I blocked my masters way...pleading with her that he was a good person...she lost an eye to my ignorance. Even when his neck was smashed, he kept baring his fangs until the moment he died...and I became afraid of vampires for the first time. My master taught me things through her actions. So if she's going to kill me, I..."

"No! Zero, you're just...trying to give up on everything! You're giving up on yourself! You gave me that gun...so don't run away from me!" I shouted at her. "Zero...why won't you look at me?" I asked and she stayed silent. "Let me in."

She narrowed her eyes and opened the door long enough for me to walk in and closed it again. I took her hand and brought her into the bathroom.

"Kaname?" She asked.

I closed the sliding door to the shower and took off my uniform jacket. "Let's continue...where we left off last night..." I said and lowered my head.

Yuki P.O.V

I leaned back against the edge of the window, turning the page in my book as Ichijo poked her head out of the classroom.

"The Night class is starting. You're not coming back to the classroom?" She asked.

"I'm not interested in that old woman's macroeconomics." I said, not looking up.

"By the way...Kaname went off somewhere. Is something bothering him?" Ichijo wondered and I looked out the window, closing the book. "Yuki?"

"Kaname...is a kind boy..." I said.

Kaname P.O.V

I avoided Zero's gaze as I spoke. "I realize now that this is the only thing I can do for you."

"What...are you saying?" She asked.

I pushed her against the wall. "This is the best way...Zero." I said and we slumped to the ground. "You'll feel better...even if only for a little while..."

"Please...don't...I won't be able to forgive myself..." She said.

"Yes...I know." I told her. "I'm sorry...we'll do...the most forbidden act of all..." I said as her fangs pierced my neck.