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Chapter 1 – Time Vortex! Silence reigned. The stinging scent of blood lingers on within a desolated villa building, standing tall on a hilltop of the countryside. Bodies of corpses lay forgotten and scattered about the interior and the outside of the villa house - taking a minute before they turned into nothing but sheer dust. Deeper within the villa house, two men fought valiantly against the swarming troops of enemies. The two men were none other than the king of the pureblood society – Kaname Kuran, and the infamous vampire hunter – Kiryuu Zero. Slightly further behind them, stood a trio of youngsters - one teenage girl, and two little boys of six. Currently, the girl seems to be busying herself with the drawing of some unknown runes with her blood while chanting a spell in a low murmur. The boys, on the other hand, seemed to be in a daze-like condition. Likely, still in shock about the current situation at hand. [Flashback to an hour ago...] Their family had been at a family meal when the attack happened, and immediately, the two adults reacted without delay. First, the pureblood king had shared a meaningful look with his mate, the silver-haired vampire hunter before heading out to detain the first wave of their attackers. Meanwhile, the silver-haired vampire hunter, Kiryuu Zero turns towards the teenage girl and the two little boys of six and speaks. “Akane, do you still remember the ritual I showed you in the spell book the other day?” Kiryuu Zero begins, his expression one of solemnity. “Yes.” The teenage girl named Akane nodded in response, while the two boys tightened their hold on the leg of the silver-haired man in their family dining room. “Good, I want you to get started on the ritual right away without delay. Once the ritual is ready, take them with you and get to the past. Can you do that for me?” Kiryuu Zero told the eldest of the trios as he queried. “But dad... isn’t the ritual you showed me the other day in our home library supposedly banned for use by the clan?” Akane began, her tone apprehensive as she addressed the silver-haired man in front of her. “The situation is too dire for me to even give a damn about how the ritual was a banned practice among the clan. Yes, time meddling is highly frowned upon but right now, I would prefer for you three to take a trip to the past and risk the possibility of changing the timeline as opposed to keep you three around. As you can see, we are currently under attack and your father and I, cannot afford to have you three around while we fend off the attackers. We wouldn’t be able to concentrate on ending the ongoing conflict within our society if we had to be constantly worrying about the three of you. So, please... Akane – don't waste any more time and hurry up with the preparation. I’m sorry to put you through this, but I’m needed here and so, I could only send you off with the boys. Take care of your brothers for me, I’ll have Fujiwara Yuka send a message off to her past self when the situation has calmed and that it’s safe for the three of you to come back.” Kiryuu Zero said as he pulled his adopted teenage daughter in for an embrace loosely before letting go to peck his two boys on the forehead. “Daddy...” The two boys started, as the situation finally dawned on them and immediately, they both shook their heads at the silver-haired man – not wanting to leave. “Akira, Subaru. Listen to me, given a choice – neither your father nor I would want to send you guys off to the past. However, the thought of losing either of you in this ongoing conflict is even more unbearable for us. So, please go with Akane for now.” Kiryuu Zero said as he knelt to the level of his sons and spoke to them patiently, despite knowing for a fact that time was running out. While Kiryuu Zero is addressing the twins, Akane has finally started on the preparation for the time ritual in the back of the room. As Akane cut the palm to draw the blood necessary for the writing of the runes required for the time ritual to work, she spared a glance in the direction of her adopted parent and asked. “Any word of advice to me, if we ended in a time that’s too far back in the past?” “...” For a while, Kiryuu Zero was stumped but upon the remembrance of that old tale in the family of his mother. The silver-haired vampire hunter sighed inwardly, as he told Akane. “Well, supposedly the three of you ended up in a time whereby my hatred for the vampires is at its peak. Then, I would suggest that you confiscate the ‘Bloody Rose’ gun from me before launching into any explanation about their identities.” Kiryuu Zero eventually said as he patted the heads of his two sons tenderly, while keeping his senses on alert for the happening, taking place outside. ‘Zero, a couple of them got past my defense. They're likely on their way over to you and the kids, tell Akane to hurry up with the ritual. I’ll be coming over to assist you once I’m done pulverizing the lot crowding me now.’ - The sound of Kaname Kuran’s voice sounded through the open link of their bond, alerting the silver-haired hunter to the change in developments. ‘Got it! Be careful.’ - Zero, sends back in response, before picking up his two boys and depositing them right in the middle of the ritual circle where Akane is currently standing. “Dad?” Akane begins, sounding a tad confused by her adoptive parent’s actions. “Some of the attackers got past the defense of your father, I’m going to be the second point of defense. So, Akane... hurry up with the ritual and get them and yourself out of here as soon as possible. Until you’re done, I’ll be holding them back.” Kiryuu Zero told Akane in a tone of utmost seriousness, before shifting his focus back to the front of the room as he started calling upon his power as he stood guard for the kids. [End of Flashback] "Akane, take them and go - immediately! Never mind which point of the past you guys end up returning to, in particular. Just get the two of them out of here, right now!" Kiryuu Zero ordered as he lashed out at the incoming swamp of enemies with his rose vines – the power his anti-vampire weapon, Bloody Rose had taken on after he had ‘devoured’ his younger twin, Ichiru about a century ago during the battle with Rido Kuran. The enemies were none other than what was known to the rest of the vampire's society as the 'Level E'. The ultimate end level for an ex-human vampire, which just happened to be on the very last position within the vampires ranking chart. About more than one and a half centuries had passed since the battle against Rido Kuran - that took away the life of the Pureblood Princess, Yuuki Kuran. Though unbelievable, somehow both Kiryuu Zero - the former ex-human and the Pureblood - Kaname Kuran, had found love along the way. Life has pretty much continued since then, and Kaname Kuran continues to promote peace and co-existence among humans and vampires alike. With the passing of Kaien Cross sometime after Yuuki herself, Kaname Kuran took on the responsibility of keeping the school operating himself - while engaging another trusted candidate from the human world to continue leading the school as the Chairman. The night class still existed within the Cross Academy - only it was now no longer led by Kaname Kuran. Instead, it was now under the lead of a new batch of students comprising the offspring of the majority of the original night class members. Still, that ultimate aim of attaining co-existence among humans and vampires was still far from being accomplished. Now and then, things are bound to get nasty. This time around, the situation was simply getting out of control. Not wanting to have the kids hanging around to witness just how 'gloomy' and grim the current situation is, Kaname and Zero had both arrived at a consensus that the kids needed to be sent elsewhere for their safety. In particular, their two boys – they are still too young, too inexperienced for Kaname and Zero to leave them to fend for themselves in the current world. The two boys had been a miracle for both of them, seeing as they had been their flesh and blood - created and made possible with the aid of an ancient spell from centuries ago. Due to that sheer fact itself, the two boys were always been seen as an outcast by the New Vampire Council and the hunters' association - alike. The elder female child had been their daughter since they decided to adopt her, exactly a century ago - when her family members were brutally slaughtered by the hunters' association. Her mother had simply decided to go against the family ideals and associated herself with a noble-ranking vampire. The girl, herself had a narrow escape from the fate of 'death' only because - she had been away visiting a family friend's house when the massacre happened. "Akane, hurry up with the process." Kaname Kuran called out to the group of youngsters, hovering at the back of the room. At the back of the dining room, Akane did hear what her adopted parents were telling her; but she did not respond to any of their calls. For what she had been entrusted to do was something that required a whole lot of attention and focus, a moment of distraction was enough to ruin things for them all. "Alright, here it goes ... Heed my words and my commands - the time of gate, I hereby summoned you to me - Time Vortex!" After what seemed to be an eternity, when in fact - only an hour had gone by since the start of the preparation ritual; the girl finally cast the spell for the time ritual. Almost immediately, following the end of her words - a giant black hole appeared in the middle portion of a wall in front of the trios. "Done! The two of you hurry up and get in there, I'll follow shortly." Akane barked out an order to the two boys who seemed to be in a daze-like manner; and when she failed to get any response from them. She had all but dragged the two boys towards where the hole was and dumped them both in - roughly. Turning back to the two adults who were still fighting off the enemies, trying to gain them time for their escape - Akane called out for their attention. "Dad ... Father ... Please do take care!" With that said, Akane turned away and stepped within the black swirling hole herself - before murmuring yet another spell chant to close off the gate of time. "Kaname - I think that's the first time, Akane had ever called you 'father' since we adopted her." The silver-haired man commented dryly. "...I know, and Zero - On the count of five, please turn and run. I'm going to bring down this whole place." Kaname Kuran told his silver-haired companion, as he started counting mentally before releasing his powers in full-fledge. --- Meanwhile, at another period in the past - a giant black hole opened up and deposited the three time-travelers from the top of the sky. "Ouch!" "Damn!" "Shit!" All the three voices called out at once, as they landed hard on their bottoms upon the rough bald surface of the grasses within the woods of somewhere - in the past. "... Where are we now?" The boy with wavy brown hair and lilac eyes peered about their surrounding area warily and asked. “I think the better question would be when exactly are we?” The other boy of six remarked as he picked himself up from the ground. Though he appears to be in a daze-like manner before they depart from their original timeline, he does pay enough attention to the conversation between his dad and his sister, to gather the fact that they would be sent to the past timeline. The eldest of the trio stood up and surveyed the area - narrowing her eyes as she tried to pinpoint their exact location amidst the dark. Thus far, all she could decipher was that the time vortex had dropped them off somewhere outdoors, and likely amidst the woods of the Cross Academy based on her impression of the school layout. Even though the Cross Academy of her times has undergone multiple renovations one thing has always remained the same – the layout of the campus grounds. "...I think, it’s rather clear that we are somewhere in the Cross Academy. I could see the building of the Moon Dormitory clearly from where we stood at present. So, I think... the best question to ask is actually when exactly in the past did the time ritual deem fit to drop us off.” Akane deadpans as she responds to the queries coming from the wavy-haired boy of six. “How far back do you reckon we ended up in, Akane?” The boy with silver hair asked as he took in his surrounding area. “No idea, it could be a decade or even a century depending on the version of the spell used. Either way, I believe we will be getting our answers soon enough.” Akane shrugged in response until she saw the owner of the rapid footsteps heading in their direction. She had no way of telling when exactly the time ritual spell had decided to send them back. "Hey! It's nightfall now, and you people should not be out here. Get back to your dorm - right ... " Yuuki Cross's voice faded, once she registered the fact that the group of trios that she had come across while conducting her routine patrolling check - was not anyone whom she had seen before in the academy. ‘I guess that answers the question of how far back we’ve gone...’ - Akane thought with an inward groan when she recognized the female guardian that she had never met in her life, from the old photos belonging to her adopted parents. "... Under usual circumstances, I would have taken your advice and headed back to the dorms - but I'm afraid that would be kind of impossible, at this point. Seeing as I had no particular idea of whether my dorm room existed - in this particular time frame. Ms. Yuuki Cross - I believe?" It was Akane who had spoken out since neither of the two boys had any idea as to just whom exactly the female standing in front of them - was. Given the boys were born into the Kuran-Kiryuu family when the relationship between the mated couple was already iron-clad and stable. By then, old mementos such as old photo albums seldom found their way onto the coffee table of their household. Instead, it’s the newer photo albums that were commonly laid out in the open when the twins were born. Akane, on the other hand, who was adopted into the family when the couple’s relationship was still relatively new was the one that was often shown - the old photo album when her silver-haired parent was in a mood for reminiscence. Of course, she’s also the unfortunate one to bear witness to all that explosive argument between her adopted parents at that particular point in time. Just then, Akane frowned for she sensed several vampires heading towards their location. For a while, she had nearly panicked - but she forced herself to remain calm. Turning towards the two boys, Akane asked. "Did any of you injure yourselves - while landing? I hope not, 'cause' I'm in no condition to hold back several noble class vampires who are amid a bloodlust." The two boys shared a look among themselves, before shaking their heads in unison and speaking. "Come on, give us some credit - Akane. As though, we're stupid enough to injure ourselves before we even figure out just where exactly - did we ended up. " "... If it's not the two of you, then who's the one bleeding now? For I can sense at least four nobles, one pureblood, and one level D heading towards us ... " Akane responded, before realization dawned as she turned towards the female guardian who was still standing in front of them, apparently in shock. "...Ms. Cross, you're bleeding." Akane commented, drawing the said female out from her daze-like manner. "What? ...Oh, shit!" Yuuki Cross groaned aloud and nearly slapped herself hard on the forehead. "..." The trio said nothing but sighed inwardly at just how clumsy and absent-minded, the female guardian was. --- That was exactly how Kiryuu Zero; Kaname Kuran and his group of vampire friends - found them, later on. The unknown trio stood together and looked on in amusement as Yuuki Cross tried desperately to stop her wounded knees from bleeding. Yuuki had gotten her knees scratched across a rough surface earlier while jumping down from the higher trees, upon discovering the trio's untimely arrival from the middle of nowhere. Hence, resulting in her bleeding injury. "Yuuki - is everything alright?" Kiryuu Zero asked, looking towards his guardian friend for an answer. He knew it could not be the fault of the night class, this time around - since he had arrived at the site together with those vampires. So just what exactly is the reason behind Yuuki's blood being scented in the air? "Ah ... Zero, nothing to worry about. I kind of fell and scratched my knees on the rough surface of the ground, a while ago." Yuuki Cross hurried to reassure her childhood friend, as she continued to work on applying pressure to her wounded leg so to stop the blood flow from her injured spot. "I see ... and Yuuki, who are these people?" Kaname Kuran asked, politely while eyeing the trio standing by the side with wary eyes. Meanwhile, Yuuki Cross sweat-dropped as she answered meekly. “I have no idea as well. I was just about to ask them when they notified me of the injury, I’d sustained without knowledge.” “...” Kiryuu Zero’s only reaction was to stare at Yuuki with incredulity, as he wondered just how exactly one fails to realize that an injury has occurred. Was there no pain when Yuuki scraped her leg against the rough surface of the ground during that earlier fall that she took? “How on earth could you not know to check if you’ve injured yourself amid that earlier fall? Never mind, don’t answer that. My question now is – who are these unknown vampires?” Kiryuu Zero narrowed his eyes at the unknown trios in suspicion as he commented, making sure to place extra venom in his words as he mentioned the term ‘vampires’. "..." Akane fought to keep herself from wincing upon sensing the underlying disgust hidden behind Kiryuu Zero's words - when he mentioned the term 'vampires'. ‘... of all the possible times, it just has to be exactly 150 years ago that the time vortex chose to drop us in.’ - Akane sighed inwardly as she thought, and the reason why she was so certain that they had landed in a time that 150 years ago. Well, the fact that Yuuki Cross is alive and breathing in front of her was evident proof enough. ‘Great, just great! We’d managed to land ourselves during a time before Kuran Rido was defeated. I wonder which is worse, facing the conflict back home in our timeline or facing that granduncle Rido of the twins in the past?’ - Akane couldn’t help but wonder inwardly to herself as she cursed her rotten luck. Feeling the start of a headache creeping in, Akane felt the intensity of her headache heightened when she realized the twins were no longer in sight when she came out from her thoughts to focus on the present. Instead, the boys are now making a beeline for the direction of the pureblood king and the silver-haired hunter, their parents, or at least, the younger versions of them. No sooner had Zero finished speaking, there was a movement of swift action followed by the pressure of something crashing into his person and when he looked downward to where his legs were. The silver-haired guardian of Cross Academy was met by the sight of a vampire child with wavy brown hair attached to the front of his pants, hugging his legs - preventing him from moving. Judging from the aura leaking out from the child, it wasn’t any vampire child but a pureblood vampire child, too. The same could be said for the opposite side of the woods, where the vampires of the night class had been standing together. Kaname Kuran was now facing the other child with silver hair, the only difference was that the child did not attach himself to the pureblood's legs. Namely, because - Aidou Hanabusa was in the way; hindering the child's initial actions. Akane felt her eyes widen when she noticed her younger siblings starting to open their mouths, likely to address the younger versions of their parents. “No, wait! Akira! Subaru! Don’t!” Akane started but it was too late. The wavy-haired vampire child that was hugging the leg of Zero Kiryuu had already uttered the term ‘Daddy’, as he stared up at the male guardian of the Cross Academy with watery eyes. On the other side where the night class members were standing, the silver-haired child glanced up at the younger version of the pureblood king as he greeted politely. “Good evening, Father.” Silence. Dead silence hung in the air, following the end of the boys' greeting to the vampire hunter and the pureblood king. "Shit!" was the only word Akane could utter aloud before all hell break loose and chaos reigned. ~to be continued~ Date started: 26/04/09 Date completed: 26/04/09 Date edited: 26/04/09 Date Revised: 17/02/2025
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Silence. The entire woods were surrounded and engulfed in complete silence; everyone appeared to be staring at the wavy-haired boy in shock. "What did you just call Zero? " It was Yuuki Cross, who had finally gathered up her courage to ask the little boy who had taken to 'attach' himself, to the front of Kiryuu Zero's pants. The little boy in question looked up at the female guardian with his beautiful lilac eyes, and a boyish smile as he repeated the word 'Daddy'. This time around, he said it loud enough for everyone to hear the word coming out from his lips - just fine. "..." The silver-haired guardian said nothing, merely continuing to stare down at the vampire child with an unreadable look. All the while sensing that practically everyone's gaze was upon him - even those members from the night class were looking on in anticipation as well. In particular, the pureblood's gaze upon him was the hardest to ignore - since it takes up all his self-control to not simply point his hidden bloody rose gun towards the former; and react to the situation based on his flaring hot, strong hunter's senses. Honest to speak, Kiryuu Zero was puzzled beyond reasoning. The more he observed the boy standing in front of him, the more he found the said boy resembling a certain pureblood whom he had grown accustomed to loath in every sense. He would have preferred the term 'hate' if possible, but unfortunately, the level of his hatred towards the said pureblood was nothing but mild if he were to compare them to Shizuka Hiou. The only other pureblood whom he had gotten to come into close contact with previously, and unfortunately enough; just happened to be the very same pureblood who had wiped out his family members and turned him into an ex-human, much to his ire. How Zero wished he could have simply told the boy that he was not who the boy had thought him out to be, but somehow that would be impossible too. Since the boy had inherited his family's unique lilac eyes; that alone was enough to increase the chance and possibility of the boy being related to him. Unless, he had some unknown family members loitering somewhere out there still living and breathing - and the boy had somehow mistaken him for someone else; Kiryuu Zero found himself unwillingly stuck in this particular strange situation as the boy's 'Daddy'. Pinching the bridge of his nose wearily, Kiryuu Zero’s mind raced as he tried to come up with a possibility that might explain the situation at hand. Knowing full well that he can’t have a vampire child this old at present, the only plausible explanation for the situation at hand would be that the child attached to his legs calling him ‘Daddy’ with blatant adoration is likely from the future. ‘Future... time-travel, that shouldn’t have been possible unless...’ - Kiryuu Zero thought as he kept his unwavering gaze upon the vampire child in front of him, as a sense of dread crept in on him. --- "What was that, again?” Ruka Souen bristled as her mind finally registered the words coming forth from the silver-haired kid directed towards their pureblood leader, earlier. “Oh, but I think you heard me perfectly fine – the first time around. Aunt Ruka?” The silver-haired boy commented in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “... he does have a point. You wouldn’t be reacting in this manner if you hadn’t heard how he’d greeted Kaname-sama, earlier.” Akatsuki Kain couldn’t help but comment in response to the bristling figure of Ruka Souen. “How’re you so calm? Haven’t you heard what he’s calling Kaname-sama?” Ruka Souen was beyond incensed as she hissed out in frustration. “...well, I do agree that I’m surprised by the way he’s addressing our leader but I think we could count ourselves lucky as compared to what happens on the other side.” Akatsuki Kain paused briefly as he took in the happening on the other side of the woods clearing before responding. While the hush-hush conversation between Ruka Souen and Akatsuki Kain was taking place at the back, Aidou Hanabusa planted himself firmly in front of their pureblood leader as he deterred the silver-haired child from coming any closer to where Kaname Kuran stood. "Kid, stay where you are ... I'll not have you moving any closer to Kaname-sama. Although, I probably shouldn't be saying this to a mere kid but who knows what you might be capable of doing - being a vampire child and all ... " The silver-haired boy blinked twice, before lifting his head slowly and looking up at the blue-eyed blond vampire. For a while, he seemed to be thinking about something - before he finally made up his mind to simply take a page out of his twin siblings' earlier actions, and dropped yet another bombshell piece of information upon the whole lot of them. "Aa ... Uncle Aidou, it's nice to see you - again. Though, you look far younger than what I remembered - that is ... " The silver-haired boy said, smirking inwardly as he knew exactly which buttons to push to irritate the said vampire. Indeed, no sooner had he finished off that sentence of his - Aidou Hanabusa was off into yet another of his rants. Thus, Aidou had effectively forgotten about the idea of preventing the boy from approaching his beloved pureblood leader. So, while Aidou started ranting and raving about being called an uncle, the silver-haired child swiftly darted past him and came to a stop directly in front of the younger version of his father – the pureblood king, Kaname Kuran. Kaname had to refrain himself from smirking outright, he had heard and seen how the silver-haired boy had managed to steer Aidou's attention and focus away from them both. He had to admit, the boy was good at manipulation - or the very least, the boy knew how to 'irritate' and 'distract' Aidou from carrying out an initial task that the former had set out to accomplish from the start. "I know this probably isn't a good time to comment about something like this ... but heck, who cares? Once again, 'Father' - you're right when you claim that Aidou Hanabusa makes a very fun candidate to tease and poke fun at. " The silver-haired boy, commented with a smirk of his own as he looked up at the pureblood - Kaname Kuran, whom he knew was currently eyeing him with intent. If Akatsuki Kain and the rest of the night class members had not been surprised by the boy's words to Aidou Hanabusa prior, they certainly were stunned now. Initially, they had all thought that the boy was calling Aidou 'Uncle' just to spite or perhaps, irritate the former. Now though, they have a suspicion that the boy had meant what he said to the usually hyperactive vampire before. Since the boy had done something which neither of them had thought the notion of it possible - before now. The boy had called their beloved pureblood leader, Kaname Kuran - 'Father'. Not just calling, the boy had addressed the former as such – more than once, face to face, in person. Behind Kaname Kuran, Ruka Souen was so angered by the silver-haired kid's guts to refer to their leader as his potential 'Father' that if it hadn’t been for Akatsuki’s constant hold on her, she might have stalked forward to interrupt the ‘staring’ session between their pureblood leader and the unknown kid. The Vice-President of the Moon Dorms, Ichijo Takuma - was busily flickering his gaze between the two little boys. Observing each of them in detail; before he opened up his mouth and spoke hesitantly. "Erm ... guys, don't you people just find it creepy that the two boys look so much alike with Kiryuu-kun and Kaname-sama? " "... Now that you've mentioned it, the boy in front of Kaname-senpai does look a little similar to how Zero had appeared to be when he was first adopted and brought in by the Chairman - several years ago. Though, the eye color is different." Yuuki Cross commented as she stepped closer to inspect the silver-haired boy in detail. “Yuuki, I’ll have you know – I was not that young when I was brought in by Chairman Cross.” Kiryuu Zero who had happened to overhear the comment of his childhood friend, promptly butted in with a tone of annoyance while he tried to get the vampire child hugging his legs to let go of him, but it was in vain. “Maa...maa... don’t get so agitated, Zero. You know as much as I do that, I wasn’t talking about the age but the physical appearance. You can’t possibly dispute with me that the two of you do share some uncanny similarities in terms of physical appearance.” Yuuki Cross pointed out objectively, causing the silver-haired hunter to fall silent at her words. "Yes, and the boy in front of Kiryuu-kun looks just like how Kaname had looked when he was younger - too. Of course, I’m talking about the physical appearance because there’s no way Kaname would behave so childishly in public." Ichijo Takuma added as he ventured closer toward the silver-haired guardian such that he could assess the other boy's appearance at a closer distance. Upon hearing the comment from Ichijo Takuma about his childish behavior, the wavy-haired boy who was latching onto the pants of the silver-haired guardian promptly pouted as he turned his face away from the noble-ranked vampire to face the other side. As he did so, he couldn’t help but take a deep sniff of the younger version of his daddy’s scent before asking innocently. “Daddy, why do you smell and feel so different from what I’d remember?” The question was innocent enough, but it was not an easy question to answer. So, for a moment, every single person who was present in the clearing wisely held their tongue as they shifted their uneasy gaze towards the silver-haired hunter as they waited for the former to respond. “Well duh... Akira, you’re such an idiot. Given the fact that Daddy is younger than the last time we’d seen him, I would think that you would’ve enough sense to gather that the events to brought on the change in Daddy’s scent have yet to occur at present.” The silver-haired child who has been involved in a staring match with the pureblood king and just so happens to overhear the question coming from his younger twin, couldn’t help but respond from his position in front of the younger version of his father. “...” --- Akane, who had been hiding in the shadows and watching the whole scenario play itself out over the past few minutes - decided that it was simply time for her to make her entrance; before the situation got more chaotic out here. She had, after all, no intention to be dealing with a whiny Aidou Hanabusa - since that would require a lot of patience and self-control to prevent herself from blasting the said vampire to hell, with one of her favorite nasty anti-vampire charms. The chances of witnessing a vampire using one of those anti-vampire charms from hunters' origin were kind of rare, except Kiryuu Zero - thus far. However, that was merely because Kiryuu Zero had been from a line of well-known clan of vampire hunters. Therefore, it would not be that strange to chance upon the said silver-haired guardian using such charms - for this little piece of information was already considered common knowledge, among both the hunters and the vampires community. However, that rule would not have applied to Akane - herself. Thus, she knew if she were to lose her patience and started using one of those charms, she would have ended up getting herself into deeper trouble than she already was having on her plate, now. Even up until this point in time, Akane still had no idea how she should go about explaining the reasons behind the sudden appearance of the two boys and herself, to the group of humans and vampires alike that were busy observing them. Frankly speaking, even if she were to come outright and inform them that they were from the future and had somehow managed to get themselves landed back in the past - while trying to get away from certain dangers back in their timeline. Akane highly doubted that anyone would have believed her words for it, since the idea of time-traveling did sound a little too extreme for the humans to digest, and a little too unbelievable for the vampires to stomach as well. Still, she knew the need for her to explain herself would be unavoidable; and now she could only cross her fingers and hope that they could simply listen and hopefully, take her words for it. "Alright, pardon me for interrupting. Are there any chances of us having the discussion or upcoming conversation, somewhere else perhaps? I'm not sure about you people, but it's kind of getting colder around here. Oh, and I should probably apologize on behalf of the two boys' crude behavior, if any ... " Akane said, as she stepped out from her hidden position within the shadows of the night. The sudden intrusion of her voice caused several startling reactions from the people who were present, Kiryuu Zero had all but gone for his hidden gun - only his logic of wanting to refrain from scaring the little vampire child who was still hugging his pants, preventing him from revealing the said gun. Yuuki Cross had aimed her anti-vampire weapon - the 'Artemis Rod' towards her, again. The night class members were namely, staring at her with wary; trying to see if she would be a danger to their pureblood leader. Kaname Kuran, the pureblood leader, himself was the only one who was still calm and collected as he addressed her. "So, you had finally decided to speak up ... Here, I was thinking just how long you intend to simply stay in the shadows and watch us all in silence. " Akane winced, though there were no hints of anger coming from the pureblood - the warning in the words was clear enough to her. Still, she shrugged before responding to the former's words. "Well, I certainly had not been expecting them to wander off by themselves. Towards you people, no less. I thought they had had better sense in them, to try something like that. But I guess, their emotions at this moment in time had somehow overridden their logical mind. Thus, pushing them to attempt such a reckless act on their part. " "Then, perhaps - you might have the answers to most if not all of our inquiries? " The pureblood asked or rather demanded it eloquently. "... Well, I had to admit - I do have them, the answers to your doubts and queries. However, I must insist that we move our conversation elsewhere. Dawn is breaking, I might add - and it's late for your kind of people. Perhaps, it might be better if we shifted ourselves towards the Moon Dorms, such that the conversation may be carried out in a more comfortable setting?" Akane suggested, glancing over to where the Moon Dormitory building had stood before turning her attention back to the pureblood. "Kaname-sama? " The Vice-President, Ichijo Takuma prompted. The green-eyed blond vampire had thought the girl's suggestion to be wise but dared not speak or act upon it - until their pureblood leader gave him the cue to do so. Slowly and warily, Kaname Kuran nodded. Both Akane and Ichijo Takuma heaved a sigh of relief at the pureblood's actions, the former wanting to avoid drawing more attention to herself, than necessary. Whereas, the latter wanted to avoid staying out in the daylight; since the sun's rays would give him a headache which he wanted very much to avoid, unless necessary. "Good, please do lead the way - then. Speaking of which, Ms. Cross - I would appreciate if you could head off and fetch the Chairman. He needs to be present during the discussion as well, and I might as well get the explanation process over and done with, in one go. I do not wish to repeat them, to the Chairman at another point in time." Yuuki need not be told twice, she was gone as soon as Akane diverted her attention away from the said female guardian of the Cross Academy, turning them towards the direction of one very grumpy-looking - Kiryuu Zero. "As for Kiryuu-san, please come along with us as well. I know you detest the idea of spending time in the presence of the night class members - but please, do me a favor and just tag along for now. While you're at it, do pick up Akira as well - I believe he's having trouble keeping his eyes open, already. " Akane instructed, still eyeing the silver-haired guardian with intent. She watched with mild amusement glinting at the back of her eyes, while Kiryuu Zero seemed to be battling with his inner conflicts upon the sheer notion of the need to carry a 'vampire' in his arms. Akane knew whatever nasty feelings that the silver-haired guardian may have against 'vampires' of all nature, the said guardian was still a caretaker by nature. Therefore, she did not doubt that the silver-haired guardian would cave eventually - especially when Akira was to pull on his best 'puppy-eyes' look upon the former. A smirk tugged at the corner of her lips as she watched the silver-haired guardian bending down, such that he could reach the little boy of six. Then straightening himself upright again, with the boy settled nicely within his arms and hugging his neck to remain balance. Turning back towards the members of the night class, Akane nodded towards the pureblood leader to start leading the way. While she reached for the silver-haired boy's hand, and tugged the said boy along with her as they walked towards the gate of the Moon Dormitory. --- Upon their arrival at the front gate of the Moon Dormitory building, the members of the night class finally noticed the girl's attire. The girl had been wearing the summer version of the day-class uniform of the Cross Academy, and it was practically winter - these days. No wonder the girl had been complaining about being cold, a little while ago when they had been back in the area of the woods. "Akane ... Can I have hot cocoa before retiring for the day? " The silver-haired boy was not faring too well himself and had finally spoken up with a slight shivering against the cold weather. "... " Akane blinked, before responding. "I don't know - I guess you had to ask Kaname-sama, yourself. This is the Moon Dormitory, after all. " The reaction was prompt enough, following the end of Akane's response - the silver-haired boy had shifted his glance towards the elder pureblood vampire and asked. "So, may I have a cup of hot cocoa before retiring for the day - Father? " Upon the silver-haired boy's statement, Akane had to bite her lips to prevent herself from grinning. Practically everyone's eyes were upon the pureblood now, waiting to see the former's reaction at being called 'Father' the third time in the night. It took Kaname Kuran a great deal of his self-control to simply not just snap, upon feeling everybody's eyes upon him. To make it worse, the Chairman and Yuuki had arrived at the gate of the Moon Dormitory - at this particular moment in time, as well. "Why?! I didn't know that you had a son this old, already ... Kaname-kun?! Who's your wife, and why haven't you invited me to your wedding ceremony? " The Chairman had all but gushed out in pure delight and enthusiasm upon hearing the silver-haired boy's statement. "... Daddy, who's this weird man? " As if the situation had not been tense enough, the boy who had been in the silver-haired guardian's arms had to speak up and make his presence known too. "... " Kiryuu Zero felt a vein popping up somewhere on his forehead, as he felt his nerves pulsing with irritation and frustration. Too bad, the Chairman had already heard the other boy's statement and was now looking at Kiryuu Zero in a new light. "Why, he's such a beautiful boy ... Is that your child, Zero?! Hey, but he looked more like Kaname than you - though ... Then again, the other boy was the exact opposite ... " Akane would have laughed aloud if it were not for the dark look that was flashing on the pureblood's delicate features, and the pure aura of fury rolling off a certain silver-haired ex-human vampire, standing some distance away from her. "Chairman Cross, If I hear one more stupid word from you ... adopted father or not, I'll kill you! " Kiryuu Zero had all but growled, and would have sent a punch towards the former’s way if it had not been the fact that he had a vampire child clinging on to him for support. "Yes, Chairman Cross. I can very well assure you that I have yet to be married. Believe me when I said I would send you an invitation to my wedding ceremony if I ever decided to get myself hitched to a bride. " Kaname Kuran responded, keeping his face blank and void of expression despite his darkening mood that was threatening to spill, any minute now. The Chairman of the Cross Academy gulped nervously, facing the wrath of his adopted son was one thing. Risking the anger of the pureblood was another thing entirely, and thus he wisely opted to remain silent for the next hour to come, if the conversation was to take that long - eventually. "... Can we just get in there, already? The issue of hot cocoa aside, hot water would be just fine. " Akane interrupted, for she was starting to feel the backlash of the use of 'Time Vortex' setting in on her. "Aa... and who is this charming little girl? " The Chairman started, only to be silenced with a threatening glare from Akane. "Akane, that's my name. Secondly, I'm not a little girl - I'm fifteen now. " Akane gritted out in frustration, before deciding to simply take things into her own hands and pushed open the gate to the Moon Dormitory without waiting for the lead of Kaname Kuran. If the members of the night class were surprised by just how familiar Akane had been with the layout of the Moon Dormitory, they certainly did not make any comments about it. In reality, Akane just knew where to go; and which way to turn - to reach the front door of the Moon Dormitory building. Since she had known the layout of the Cross Academy by heart - in her timeline. The front door had been locked on the inside of the building, and Akane had no intention of getting anyone who was within the building to open the door for them. Seeking assistance from the current inhabitants of the said building who were standing behind her was the very last thing on her mind, and so - she decided to do things her way. Turning towards the silver-haired boy standing by her side, Akane asked. "Subaru, if you want your hot cocoa ... then please do me a favor and open up this door, for me. " The silver-haired boy nodded and shifted his attention towards the door. Focusing his sole attention upon the lock of the door, Subaru willed his powers to cooperate with him as he mentally instructed his blessed powers to 'open' up the door for him. Once successfully achieved, he stepped aside and allowed the elder girl to push open the doors with her hands. The first thing Akane did upon entering the Moon Dorm was to hole herself up in front of the fireplace, heaving a sigh of relief as she did so. Leaving behind a whole group of people who were staring at her with unreadable expressions on their faces. "Akane ... " The sudden sound of Subaru's voice jarred her out of her trance-like mood, as she shifted her glance towards the awaiting group of vampires and humans. "Aa... I almost forgotten about where we are. I apologize for zoning out on you people, but well ... can't blame me. The ritual of summoning forth the 'Time-Vortex' took more energy out from me, than what I've been expecting it to be. " Akane said, as she desperately tried to force herself out of the sudden drowsiness that seemed to be setting in on her. --- "Time-Vortex? What's that? " Yuuki Cross asked, tilting her head to the side as she tried to comprehend the idea of it. "... A giant hole that ripped through time - apparently. " Zero responded, dryly as he quoted an explanation off from an ancient book of spells that he had somewhat chanced upon back in his childhood days. Inwardly, the silver-haired guardian could only sigh at having his conjecture regarding the trio's arrival proven right. That book of spells had been found in one of his mother's family home libraries; and was considered a book of taboo practices among his mother's family clan members. That portion of the library had been off-limits to all, except selected members of the family - and he would have never found that book if he had not been playing hide-and-seek with Ichiru in that library, back then. "Huh? " Yuuki blinked, confused by Zero's sudden desire to speak. However, Zero refused to elaborate and instead turned his gaze towards the girl named Akane, again. This time around, he was no longer confused, merely feeling baffled. By now, he had managed to get the idea that the trio had arrived from somewhere far into the future, through the use of the 'Time-Vortex' spell. What he failed to comprehend was why the ritual spell of 'Time Vortex' was used and activated. Based on his knowledge about the said ritual spell - it usually takes a lot of life energy out from the caster; and if the preparations steps were not being made carefully with accuracy. It might end up resulting in the death of the caster, and the spell came attached with a special requirement. The caster would need to be both a hunter and a vampire, for it to be cast properly. From what his hunter's senses had been picking up from the girl's aura, Zero knew that the girl was at least a noble-rank vampire. Yet, there was something different as well, something which he had trouble explaining. "Zero? " Yuuki prompted, as the silver-haired guardian felt a poke in his ribs – the handiwork of his childhood friend. Kiryuu Zero blinked, before realizing with a start that he had subconsciously moved towards the front where the girl named Akane was seated in front of the fireplace. Pretending that he aimed to place the little boy named Akira down on the ground, Zero, stepped back slightly after settling the boy down from his arms. Straightening himself up, Zero, regarded the girl with an assessing look as he voiced his doubts across. "You mentioned using the 'Time-Vortex' earlier ... Are you a member of the Fujiwara clan? " ‘Fujiwara clan... sounds familiar, but where did I hear about that clan from?’ - Aidou Hanabusa who prided himself as the genius of all things frowned as he thought hard on the subject. " ... Erm, no. Although, that’s a good guess. My birth mother used to be a member of the Fujiwara clan before her parents disowned her for her association with my father." Akane responded, with a sigh. "Figures that you would be the first to catch on and believe my words - no matter how ironic and unbelievable that this whole thing had seemed to be. " "Zero, what's going on? Do you know what's happening or who they are? " Yuuki Cross asked, looking at her friend and fellow guardian with earnest anticipation. The night class members had decided to shift their glance over to the fellow silver-haired guardian, as well. There was obviously, something which the said hunter knew and that they had no idea about going on, at work down here. "... I have an idea of it ... " "Zero, somehow, I sense an underlying 'but' somewhere in your statement... " Yuuki continued to press on. "I think, they are from the future ... " Kiryuu Zero eventually said with a complicated look on his face. "Huh? Zero, are you kidding me? From the future? How could they be here then? " Yuuki looked at her friend as though Zero had thought her stupid to believe such an obvious lie. "... Yuuki, I'm not kidding you. They are indeed from the future, and I know it sounds unbelievable. However, it's the truth. The 'Time-Vortex' ritual spell brought them here ... and the theory and concept for the 'Time-Vortex' did exist somewhere in the records of ancient ritual spells. Look them up, if you want to know more ... I'm sure Chairman Cross would have one of those books lying around somewhere, probably hidden. I’m pretty sure any of the long-standing vampire hunters' families have one of those spell books lying around." Zero said as he turned away from the girl whom he had grown to care for and look after like a little sister since he was turned into an ex-human by Shizuka Hiou. "Chairman? " The pureblood, Kaname Kuran shifted his attention away from the silver-haired ex-human towards the Chairman of the Cross Academy. Being an ex-hunter, Kaname was certain that Kaien Cross would know what Kiryuu Zero had been talking about, earlier. The Chairman sighed, he had been hoping that his adopted son would continue with the elaboration of the issue instead of throwing them to him, like a sack of potatoes. "... The 'Time-Vortex' is an extremely complicated ritual spell to cast, since ancient times. It had first been created and made possible by a vampire turned hunter, during the times of war. The said vampire had fallen for a human despite his heritage, and when the first blood war came into play. He had turned hunter and faced off his race, just for the sake of protecting his love from harm's way. Still, he had been too late - by the time he arrived by the side of his love, the former was too far gone to be saved. Thus, he came up with the spell - hoping that he could go back in time to save his love's life. Still, the spell had proved to be too unstable for it to function properly. Thus, instead of the few hours which he had wanted to go back to, he had ended up going back a good old ten years before the birth of his lover. " "And what happened next? " Yuuki asked, curious to see which way the story goes now. "... That vampire ended up marrying his lover's mother, and his lover ended up being his daughter - instead. From then on, that spell had been classified as a forbidden spell to the members of his family clan and had been kept hidden within his family home library, and continue to be passed down the generations. After a while, the book in which that spell had been recorded was listed as a taboo subject within the members of that particular clan, itself." "And that clan would be what the public known as the 'Fujiwara' family - these days." Kiryuu Zero finished for the Chairman, dryly. "Tampering with time had been classified as a taboo issue because it may have very well changed the past or the future, be it intentional or unintentional. That was why it had been so highly frowned upon by the authorities of the hunter's association and the vampires' council. " Kaien Cross continued, with a sigh of weariness as he regarded the girl named Akane - with an unreadable gaze. "I know ... but then Chairman Cross, the story which you had been telling before had another version. As you know, vampires can live on for quite a few centuries. He still ended up together with his initial lover, once his first wife passed on. All he needed to do was to fake his own 'death' and come back alive using another name. No one would know about it, save for a certain few whom he had trusted enough to know about such issues. " This coming from Akane, who quoted the other version from what she had seen being recorded in her birth parents' family library. "That's true - too ... After all, that's a story of legend. No one knew the full extent of that story, what we knew was merely what had been passed on for generations between the hunters' families. Each family's version differs from one another, believing in what they choose to believe. Although, I've to say that I'm curious - are you the one who activated the spell?" Kaien Cross shrugged his agreement, easily. Akane nodded wearily and spoke. "Yes, it was indeed me who had activated the spell. Before you start, I'll have you know it was Kiryuu Zero who told me to go ahead with it, and the suggestion had come from the lips of Kaname Kuran - himself. Therefore, if there's anyone whom you felt the need to blame - it's not me, but them both. The caster would need to be me since I am the only one who met all the basic requirements for the spell to work properly." "Huh? What do you mean by that - you're the only one to meet the basic requirement for the spell to work? " Yuuki asked, having not caught on to everything about the spell - just yet. "Yuuki, you have to be both a vampire and hunter to cast the spell ... remember what was being mentioned at the beginning of the story? " Kaname Kuran prompted, reminding Yuuki of the Chairman's story from before. "Ah!? Does that mean you are like Zero? " Yuuki had all but blurted out, causing the silver-haired hunter to frown. Thankfully, none of the night class members had caught on to Yuuki's slip of the tongue, save for the pureblood king who was already in the know about the silver-haired guardian being an ex-human. The rest of the night-class members simply thought Yuuki was referring to Zero's hunter heritage and not the fact that Kiryuu Zero was a vampire. Since it was by far common knowledge that each hunter had a little vampire in them - thus allowing them to hunt the vampires. "... No, not exactly. I'm a vampire born of noble blood, but my mother was a hunter - or used to be one ... from the clan of the Fujiwara's hunter branch of the family. As mentioned earlier, she was disowned by her family when she associated herself with my father. She awakened her sealed-up powers from her vampire heritage after she allowed my father to feed from her.” Akane responded, wearily. “Wait, now I’m even more confused. I thought only the pureblood could turn someone into a vampire with a bite. And what do you mean by from the hunter’s branch? Aren’t the Fujiwara family made up of vampire hunters?” Yuuki Cross started, frowning as she voiced her thoughts aloud to the room’s occupants. “That’s the norm for most people, but something that doesn’t apply to the members of the Fujiwara clan. The Fujiwara clan is a special entity of its own within our society. And yes, there’s more than just vampire hunters in the Fujiwara family.” Kiryuu Zero started before giving up as he glanced over to Chairman Cross for assistance, he figured the guy could probably explain the situation to Yuuki better. Because if it was up to him to explain, he might end up giving a lecture about the history of his mother's clan instead. “Yuuki, do you remember the story I told you earlier about that vampire-turned-hunter who meddled with time?” Kaien Cross sighed as he took over the job of explaining the genetics of the Fujiwara clan members to his adopted daughter. “Erm... yes.” Yuuki Cross nodded in response. “Good, that vampire-turned-hunter from that story came from the Fujiwara clan. He was already in the prime of his age when he met the love of his life, who’s a human. So, before that, he has already procreated with his vampire mate. The descendants from his union with his vampire mate made up the vampire branch of the Fujiwara family. Now, after he meddled with time while attempting to save his human lover and changing the past in the process... he created the hunter’s branch of the family. The human branch of the family didn’t come into play until the daughters from the hunter’s branch married out of the family, I reckon? I wouldn’t know... since I’m not exactly part of the Fujiwara clan. Despite knowing the clan head of the Fujiwara family on a personal scale. Okay, coming back – in short, the members of the Fujiwara clan have the dormant genes of their vampire’s heritage hidden away and are mostly born humans. However, should they get careless and allow themselves to be bitten by any vampires – even the Level E prowling the streets at night. There's a possibility of them being turned, as the bite from the vampires would have kick-started the dormant vampire genes in them.” Kaien Cross eventually said as he explained the logic behind how Akane’s birth mother could have been turned simply because a noble-ranked vampire had bitten her. “I see...okay, that explains why Akane’s mother got turned after allowing a noble-rank vampire to feed from her. Coming back, how does the governance work for the Fujiwara family then? Are they under the jurisdiction of the hunter’s association or the vampire council?” Yuuki Cross inquires out of sheer confusion, generating an audible sigh out from the silver-haired guardian and Akane, at the same time. “... neither.” Kiryuu Zero said after a minute of silence. “Huh?” Yuuki Cross blinked up at her childhood friend in confusion. “The Fujiwara clan doesn’t fall under the governance of the hunter’s association nor the vampire council. This is why it's been said they are a special entity in our society because they are under the arrangement of self-governing. The hunter’s branch keeps the vampire branch in check, and vice-versa – the vampire branch keeps the hunter’s branch in check as well. Neither party will take direct orders from the association and the council, instead, the hunters of the Fujiwara clan take up vampire-hunting missions on a freelance basis. In short, they can choose which mission to take.” It was Akane who eventually answered this question from Yuuki, as she could see that her future adopted parent was not in the mood for elaboration. “Oh... and are the hunter’s association and the vampire council okay with this arrangement?” Yuuki Cross blinked as she soaked up the information provided before voicing yet another query of hers. “No. I’m quite certain that the chairman of the hunter’s association is not happy about the arrangement in place for the Fujiwara clan, but it’s not something they could change so they simply had to suck it up. I presumed it’s the same for the vampire council...” Here, Kiryuu Zero allowed his voice to fade off as he threw an inquiring look toward the figure of Ichijo Takuma, the grandson of the current head of the vampire council. “...Given how grandfather was always muttering and cursing about the old hag from the Fujiwara, I presumed – he's not happy with the arrangement as well.” Ichijo Takuma sweat-dropped before responding. “Right, anyway... the clan heads have regular meetings at the ancestral house. Some of these meetings took place during the festive season, which makes the New Year gathering quite a chore to attend. Either way, I’m glad my attendance is not required at such events.” Kiryuu Zero shudders at the sheer thought of sitting through a meeting that involves not just the vampire hunters, but also the vampires regularly. “You say that now, the situation might change in a year or two when you reach the age of majority. You do need to deal with your mother’s inheritance at some point, you know?” Akane couldn’t help but butted in then, reminding the silver-haired hunter of something that had completely slipped his mind all this time. “...” “What has Zero’s inheritance from his mother got to do with the Fujiwara?” Yuuki Cross blinked as she took it upon herself to voice the query that crossed the minds of a couple of nosy night-class members who were too proud to pry into the issue. “I would have thought the reason is obvious enough, grandmama Yukari is from the Fujiwara clan.” The little boy of six with wavy hair and sleepy eyes took it upon himself to spell things out when it was apparent that the younger version of his daddy had no intention of doing so. ‘Darn...there goes another possibility of the boy mistaking me for someone else, given that he knew the name of my mother.’ - Kiryuu Zero fought against the urge to face-palm at the response coming from the vampire child who was adamant on calling him ‘Daddy’. “Eh? Really? Zero, is your mother from the Fujiwara clan?” Kaien Cross promptly shifted inquiring eyes upon the figure of his adopted son as he voiced his query across. “...Yes.” Kiryuu Zero closed his eyes momentarily, willing himself to just roll with it since the cat was officially out of the bag before growling out a short reply to Kaien Cross. “And why wasn’t I told of that?” Kaien Cross blinked as he voiced his next query across to the visibly annoyed Kiryuu Zero. “First, you’re the one that’s friends with master and my father. My father probably didn’t think it necessary to inform you about my mother’s origin because he knew it would only serve to irk my master, given how negatively my master viewed the members of the Fujiwara clan in general. And you tend to blab to my master when drunk, so. I reckon that’s why you weren’t informed of it. Second, have you ever stopped to wonder why you were called in to pick me up from the Fujiwara following the tragic event that befalls my family? Do you think the Fujiwara clan has so much free time on hand that they would involve themselves in affairs that have no relation to them?” Kiryuu Zero rolled his eyes momentarily before he started listing out the various reasons why Kaien Cross hadn’t been informed about his mother being part of the Fujiwara clan before her marriage to his father, his tone one of irritation. “Regardless, I think we’ve gotten off-topic for some time now. Can we return to the main purpose behind our presence here, at this hour?” Feeling his patience level being stretched to its limit, Kiryuu Zero turns his eyes back onto the figure of Akane as he addresses the eldest of the trios. ~ to be continued~ Date started: 28/04/09 Date completed: 28/04/09 Date edited: 28/04/09 Date revised: 18/02/2025
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"Yeah, who are these boys? Are they your siblings? Why are they calling Kaname-sama and Kiryuu, 'Father' and 'Daddy' respectively?" Akatsuki Kain promptly took the words of the silver-haired guardian as his cue to start firing questions about the boys. As informative as the first half of the explanation session was, it didn’t exactly provide the answers to the number one question they had on their minds. "Yes, and maybe you might be able to tell us why those two boys bear so many similarities to the physical appearance of Kaname and Kiryuu-kun." This coming from the green-eyed blond vampire, Ichijo Takuma. For a while, Akane did not react. Rather, she did not want to react - for all she felt like doing now, was to curl up in one of the comfortable beds upstairs within the guest rooms of the Moon Dormitory and sleep her fatigue off. Yet, somehow, she knew that would be impossible. At least, not until the night class members get their desired response from her. How Akane wished she could have just dumped the task of explaining the two boy's identities to the boys themselves. Yet, she knew that would be impossible - too. Since the boys had no idea how their beloved parents had seemed to be loathing one another's presence at this point. Therefore, it was up to her - alone, to carry out that mundane task of explaining the situation, again. "... I guess, you can say that. They can be considered as my siblings, seeing as their parents adopted me following the death of my parents." Akane took her time responding to the first half of the questions that came from the fire-wielding vampire of the night class. At the same time, she was also trying desperately to see if there were any possibilities for her to wriggle out from having to explain the similarities in the physical appearances between the boys and the younger versions of their parents. Unfortunately, there was none and now she could only hope that both Kiryuu Zero and the rest of the night class members could let her finish her explanation without any bloodshed. The pureblood, she was not too worried - for she knew, Kaname Kuran would never allow his temper to get the best of him. Therefore, she knew despite how disturbed the pureblood may be feeling during the midst of her elaboration on how those two boys had come about - Kaname Kuran would have enough sense in him to remain calm, at least until she finished her story. "Well ... I would suggest for the whole lot of you to take a seat first - before I launched into the story of those two little boys. For, I feared it might be too much of a shock for quite a few of you. Kiryuu-kun, may I suggest that you hand over your 'Bloody Rose' to the Chairman for safekeeping, I want to have no bloodshed around here until I am done with the storytelling. Kaname-sama, it would be best that you seated yourself down for this story - too. It's nowhere easier for you to stomach them, despite how level-headed you may be; at all times. " The night class members shifted their glances among themselves uneasily, before heading for the sofa couch and seated themselves down. Somehow, they have a feeling that what the girl has to say regarding the boys' identities would be something that could be considered earth-shattering for them. Yuuki was already seated down by the side of the Kaien Cross from before, and Kiryuu Zero unwillingly released his hold on the 'Bloody Rose' to the palm of the ex-hunter, and his current guardian. After which, Kaien Cross proceeded to pocket the 'Bloody Rose' into one of his coat's pockets; fully aware of his adopted son's gaze upon himself while he did so. Not wanting to be anywhere near the vampires, Kiryuu Zero settled on taking a seat on the high bar stool situated in front of a bar counter within the front lounging area of the Moon Dormitory – putting as much distance as possible between the vampires and himself. Kaname Kuran, on the other hand, settled himself into his 'chair' - the only single sofa armchair situated within the room; as he waited patiently for Akane to start talking. Beckoning towards the two boys, Akane started with the introduction of the boys' names to the audience crowd. "I guess, we've better started with our names first - then. " "First of all, as I’ve mentioned earlier to the Chairman. I’m Akane, born a Kanzaki but now I’m going by the name Kiryuu Akane. Now, moving on to the boys – despite their differences in physical appearances, the boys were twins. The silver-haired boy goes by the name Kiryuu Subaru, whereas the wavy-haired boy goes by the name Kuran Akira. And I’m sure you people would have figured out by now, who exactly are their parents and my adopted parents. They haven’t been exactly discreet since we arrived in this timeline." With that said, Akane waited for a moment. Giving everyone a couple of minutes to digest the fact, there was no other way to get things across but to merely drop off the piece of information like a bombshell. She knew it would have caused an uproar, for it certainly did - when the two boys were first born in their future time frame. Claiming the reaction to resemble anything like an uproar was putting it mildly, too mildly. It would have caused bloodshed within the area of the Moon Dormitory itself - if it were not for the fact that both Ruka Souen and Aidou Hanabusa had been held back by Ichijo Takuma and Akatsuki Kain, the moment they caught on to the meaning behind Akane’s words. ‘Holy hell, how on earth did that come into play?’ - Akatsuki Kain was thinking as he restrained the bristling Ruka Souen from decking the silver-haired guardian of Cross Academy. ‘Well... talk about unexpected developments. I’ll wager, that this is something Kaname hasn’t foreseen happening in his gameplan.’ - Ichijo Takuma mused inwardly to himself as he kept a tight grip on the agitated Aidou Hanabusa. Kiryuu Zero, on the other hand, would have pulled out his 'Bloody Rose' if it had not been handed over to the Chairman for safekeeping earlier under the suggestion of Akane. "What the hell?! The sheer idea of being related to that .../Kuran/ was just ... impossible! " Kiryuu Zero would have snarled out the term 'repulsive' or 'disgusting', but since neither of the terms he could have uttered aloud when the two boys were staring up at him. Zero would have to settle with the word 'impossible', instead. "...But the fact that we are both in front of you right now, had pretty much proven it - otherwise though. " Kiryuu Subaru, pointed out coolly and calmly, as he looked up bravely into the eyes of his furious 'Daddy'. " ... " The sight of having his little mirror-image staring back up at him with a challenging glint shining within those red-brown eyes that seemed to remind him painfully of a certain pureblood vampire going by the name of Kaname Kuran was unnerving for Zero. Eventually, Zero found himself on the losing end of the staring 'match' with his supposed 'son' from the future and ended up dropping himself back onto the bar stool wearily. Somehow, he felt all his energy depleting from him like a deflated balloon - thus leaving him alone to run on an 'empty tank'. On the other hand, Kaname Kuran was more disturbed, than being angered by the sheer idea of what had been hinted at by Akane on the future prospective of his relationship with the ex-human. By claiming that the boys had been twin siblings and were named Kiryuu and Kuran - respectively. The underlying message was clear enough, Akane was trying to inform them all that the two boys had been the future offspring of both Kiryuu Zero - the ex-human, and himself. It was no wonder that Aidou and Ruka had snapped, for those two had always seemed to adore him to the extent of idolization and worshipping. Thank goodness, Takuma and Akatsuki had enough senses to pull them back before they launched themselves at Kiryuu - who appeared to be still feeling the urge to kill something or someone. "...Alright, people ... please do calm down. As I said, it's hard to accept such an idea when it was first brought to everyone's attention. However, I must insist that the whole lot of you at least hear me out, with patience. After that, you guys can have your 'go' at one another but please, leave me out of it. " Akane started as she addressed the room’s occupants in general. Aidou and Ruka still appeared to be struggling against Akatsuki and Ichijo's wanting very much to break free from the two vampires' restrains and had their 'go' at the silver-haired guardian for 'tainting' their pureblood leader, in such a manner. Even though it would only be something that took place years into the future, and not anytime soon. Still, the very notion of it had pissed them off and they felt the need to tear the silver-haired guardian to strips before the former even had a chance to 'taint' their pureblood king. "Aidou, Ruka - I would very much appreciate it if the two of you could just calm down and refrain from any bloodshed within the academy grounds." Kaname Kuran eventually said, his tone hiding an underlying hint of warning being directed to the two agitated nobles. "Yes, Kaname-sama! We'll do as you wish ... " Both Ruka and Aidou calmed themselves down, unwillingly. However, since their pureblood leader had openly denied them the authority to simply head up to the silver-haired guardian and attempted to have their very much desired 'go' at the former, all they could do now was to obey. Heaving a sigh of relief that the two had somewhat calmed down now, Akatsuki Kain and the vice president of the Moon Dorms released their tight grip on the two previously bristling vampires. Although, they had both retained their gaze upon the two - lest they attempted to try something reckless, again. --- "Is that the reason why you had wanted me to surrender my 'Bloody Rose' over to the Chairman earlier? You'd known from that very moment, that I would resort to grabbing that gun of mine - once you started revealing the mystery behind the boys' parentage? " Kiryuu Zero asked, sometime after he had managed to get his temper cool off, or at least under mild control. Akane shrugged and replied wryly. "Well, you did warn me in prior. I remember you mentioning that your temper had not been the best when being irritated, especially so during this period of timeframe whereby your level of hatred for vampires is at its peak. Thus, you reminded me before the start of the ritual spell that I should perhaps 'confiscated' the ‘Bloody Rose’ from you if the 'Time Vortex' had brought us this far back in time." "I see that you had decided to take the advice coming from my future self to heart ... and may I know, just how far back did you three end up traveling through? " Kiryuu Zero let out a sigh of resignation before steeling up his resolve to ask. Akane paused, her eyes searching Zero's for a moment before a frown set in on her features. "Are you sure you want to know? Not that I would have minded revealing that, but are you sure you want someone else to know your 'secret'?" For a while, Kiryuu Zero had no idea what Akane was going on about - until he recalled that aside from the pureblood, nobody else within the night class had known of his status as an ex-human - yet. The keyword here is ‘yet’, because with the existence of the twins between Kuran and himself in the future... the members of the night class probably figured that he would eventually end up as a vampire. Despite how disturbing the notion of being bonded to Kuran appears to him at the moment, the silver-haired ex-human couldn’t help but find himself being amused by the idea of the night-class members assuming that he was turned by their pureblood king in the future. Still, since the majority of the night class is unaware of his status as an ex-human at present – Kiryuu Zero intends to keep it that way. "... Never mind, forget that I'd asked." Zero muttered aloud, before shaking his head at his stupidity to be asking something that might threaten to blow his cover as a human being away. "So Akane-chan, does that mean that the two little boys down there ... are the sons of Zero and Kaname-kun?" The Chairman finished weakly as he cowered under the glares of the night class members and his adopted son, Kiryuu Zero. Akane had to bite herself to hide a smile that was threatening to tug at the corner of her lips, as she nodded her response warily. "Oh, so who's the 'mommy' then?" This coming from Yuuki Cross, who seemed to have digested the fact that those two boys were the potential future sons of the pureblood and her friend, far easier than she could have adapted herself to the idea of time-traveling. Upon her question, everyone turned startling eyes toward the naive-looking female guardian. To which, Yuuki Cross merely rolled her eyes in response and spoke. "Well, the boys were twins. They called Zero 'Daddy' and Kaname-senpai, 'Father' - unless there's a female somewhere out there who's willing to be 'bed' by two males at the same time. There has been no mention of a 'mother' figure, thus far. Therefore, it's only understandable that between Zero and Kaname-senpai ... one of them must have been fulfilling the role of the 'Mommy' - isn't that, right?" "Yuuki!" Both Kaname Kuran and Kiryuu Zero had started at the same time, aghast by the sheer idea that Yuuki had brought up such an uncomfortable topic of discussion. In response to both the pureblood and the silver-haired hunter's reactions, Yuuki Cross merely looked up at them with her most innocent expression. "..." Akane was speechless, she had a sudden urge to pity both her adopted parents. Kiryuu Zero's current expression was a cross between annoyance and embarrassment. Although, Kaname Kuran's expression had betrayed nothing of his innermost feelings; Akane was willing to bet that it would be something like the silver-haired guardian, too. After all, it was practically common knowledge among the inner circle of Kaname Kuran's group and the Chairman, himself - that both Kaname Kuran and Kiryuu Zero had been arch-rivals when it came down to the issue of winning the heart of one Yuuki Cross, by now. What they had not known was that Yuuki Cross was Yuuki Kuran - a pureblood princess, the sister, and a potential fiancée to their pureblood leader. That and the reason why Kaname Kuran had decided to continue letting the silver-haired hunter off the hooks, despite the numerous times the former had attempted to challenge the pureblood's patience - was simply because Yuuki would be hurt, if Kiryuu Zero had been harmed by anyone else. Well, there were also other possible reasons as to why Kaname had continued letting Zero live on - but that would only be happening at a later stage of time. 'Who knows, if I'm lucky enough - I might get to witness how those two found and discovered the love which they had for one another, along the way ...' Akane thought, grinning inwardly at the alluring prospect of observing the two 'enemies turned lovers' adopted parents of hers', upfront. --- "... You know, I think Yuuki's right. Then again, both Kaname and Kiryuu-kun had been males ... so how did they end up having children?" Ichijo Takuma questioned aloud. Upon Ichijo Takuma's statement, Kiryuu Zero had blanched whereas the pureblood leader started to turn pale at his friend's words. Kaname had seen how Subaru had opened up the door to grant them all entry into the building just now, and he knew enough to gather up the fact that Subaru must have been a pureblood, to wield such powers. Since the boys had been born twins, then Akira must be a pureblood as well. For the boys to be born a pureblood, under usual circumstances both parents must be of equal bloodline status. However, Kiryuu Zero was merely an ex-human and a male, on top of that. So how is it that between the two of them, they could have even pro-created among themselves in the first place? Unless ... his future self had decided to use an ancient spell that one of his ancestors had somehow created by 'mistake' - back during the period of the First Blood War. During those times, pureblood females had been rare and thus often resulted in bloodshed between different pureblood clans as they fought for the hand of the said female. For those families who had every intention to keep their bloodlines pure, they had resorted to making use of all their resources to attain their aim of not tainting their bloodlines. His family could be said the same, as well. And it was during those times when one of his ancestors had an unhealthy obsession with an ex-human boy which was highly frowned upon by society back then. However, since his family clan had been pacifists for centuries, the other members of the clan had not made many comments on the subject. Nonetheless, it had been rumored that the spell had been discovered and first cast successfully by that ancestor of his, unintentionally. However, in Kaname’s opinion – the ancient spell was created by one of his descendants instead of his ancestor because he’s the true ancestor of the Kuran Clan woken up from his slumber by Kuran Rido who had offered up his nephew, the real Kaname Kuran as a sacrifice. Of course, this was something he had no intention of letting anyone know, period. It would appear, that a particular descendant of his had been exploring the idea of combining the use of a blood ritual and a charm to enhance the chance of fertility for unexpectant couples, within his family compound when his ex-human lover had been unfortunate enough to get 'hit' by that charm, upon walking in on one of his experiment attempts. The former had meant to cast the spell as 'Fertilitas Nam Domina' - which meant 'fertility for a lady' but had ended up saying 'Fertilitas Nam Compleo' (fertility for man), instead when he had somehow mixed up the Latin terms for a man and a lady. Funnily enough, the blood ritual runes drawings which he had drawn earlier on - had somehow reacted to his mispronounced charm, thus resulting in a new spell being created. Although further research work had been made upon the said spell after the end of the war. Its results had shown that, for the spell to work 'well' on the males; the two people involved in the spell would need to have quite a high level of 'love' for one another, and they must be bonded by both the blood and the soul. No ... don't even go there ... Kaname Kuran forced himself to snap out of his trance, not wanting to even consider the sheer possibility of the ex-human and himself, having 'love' for one another or being bonded in that manner. For it would have seemed too disturbing for him to stomach, at this point. Shifting his attention back to the situation at hand, Kaname Kuran interrupted the ongoing discussion of whom was to be the potential 'mommy' in the relationship - drawing the discussion firmly, to a close. "I believe that would be enough for tonight. It's late, and we should not be holding the guardians back anymore longer than necessary. I believe they would need some time to clean themselves up, before heading for their first class of the day." Kaname Kuran spoke up, his tone firm with the indication that there would be no rooms for further arguments. "And what about them?" Kiryuu Zero started, eyeing the group of trios who were trying very hard not to fall asleep from their position in front of the warm fireplace. "..." Kaname Kuran looked at the trio for a moment, before speaking up - again. This time around, directing his words toward his friend and the Vice-President of the Moon Dormitory. "Takuma, please make the arrangements for them to stay in the guest rooms of our dorms - on a long-term basis. Since we would have no idea when they would be leaving for their own time." With that, Kaname started to make his way towards the direction of the staircase. Pausing mid-steps, he turned towards Akane and added. "You may wish to speak to the Chairman with regards to the issue of your education while being here in this period. I'm sure, I need not brief you on the rules and regulations of the Moon Dormitory - or do I have to?" Akane nodded to the pureblood's words and responded. "Yes, I'll be speaking to the Chairman in a while. And no, you do not need to brief me on the rules and regulations. I had them memorized from where I came from ... " "Good, see that you break neither of those rules while you're staying here." Kaname Kuran finished, as he continued his journey up the stairs. The arrival of the trios from the future has given him quite a lot to think about, and he intends to do just that during the next few hours before he retires for the day. Silence reigned, as nobody dared to speak until the figure of Kaname Kuran disappeared completely from their visual range. Turning towards the green-eyed blond vampire, Akane was about to make her request known when someone who had been masking their presence in the room suddenly spoke up – startling the remaining occupants in the front lounge of the Moon Dorms. “Erm... pardon me for interrupting, but you are a noble-rank vampire. Aren't you?” Just then, a new voice spoke up as the owner of the voice who had been eavesdropping on the conversation behind the wall that separated the dining hall and the front lounge of the Moon Dorm finally made her presence known. “Holy shit! Since when were you here? Did you happen to overhear all those conversations from before?” Aidou Hanabusa yelped aloud upon the appearance of the common class vampire that suddenly joined the crowd, in agitation. “...Given the fact that I was here since the beginning, of course, I’d heard all the conversations that took place just now.” The common class vampire who goes by the name Risa Miyazaki deadpans at Aidou Hanabusa, before returning her focus of attention to the figure of Akane. “Yes, Aunt Risa. I’m indeed a noble-rank vampire.” Akane nodded in response, unlike the members of the night class who were startled by the newcomer. Akane and her siblings appear rather calm to the sudden appearance of the common-class vampire who had eavesdropped on the private discussion from earlier. “Right, earlier you mentioned that you were born a Kanzaki. However, based on my knowledge of the Kanzaki – they have always belonged to the common class hierarchy among the vampire community. So, the fact that you’re a noble...who exactly is your father?” Risa Miyazaki, a common class vampire from the night class who had somehow hidden her presence from the group occupying the front lounge of the Moon Dorms before spoke as she voiced her query across to the eldest of the visiting trios from the future. “...My father was adopted by the Kanzaki, and he’s a noble-rank and that’s how I’m also a noble-rank. Does that answer your question?” Akane sighed as she responded, giving out the bare minimal information about her birth father while fervently hoping that it would be enough to stem any inquiries concerning her birth parentage. “Yes, it does.” Risa Miyazaki nodded in response before shifting her eyes to land upon the patiently waiting figure of Kiryuu Zero. Meanwhile, Kiryuu Zero, who was about to depart the Moon Dorms when the newcomer made her presence known suddenly halted mid-steps. Turning around to face the newcomer, Kiryuu Zero was patient enough to wait until the girls were done with their little conversations before speaking up. “Can I trust that you would be keeping the information about their presence in our timeline away from the knowledge of Fujiwara Haruto?” Kiryuu Zero spoke as he kept his unwavering gaze upon the figure of Risa Miyazaki. For someone who has an aversion towards vampires in general, his reaction towards Risa Miyazaki of the night class was rather subdued which surprises many. “Of course, Kiryuu-dono. I’m sure, my grandfather would have utmost pleasure in keeping Haruto-sama busy back home.” Risa Miyazaki responded with a serene smile on her lips, while Kiryuu Zero felt his eyebrow twitching in annoyance at the way Risa Miyazaki was addressing him. “Can you stop addressing me as such? It’s unnerving.” The silver-haired guardian frowned as he commented in response. Akane who has been observing the interaction between Kiryuu Zero and Risa Miyazaki couldn’t help it, she let out a snort before butting into the conversation between the duo. “Don’t bother changing Aunt Risa’s mind, it’s either Kiryuu-dono or Zero-sama. Take it or leave it. Given how her mother used to be a subordinate of your late mother, Yukari... and that she’s currently under the guardianship of the Fujiwara clan. Of course, she’s going to address you as such, your rank in the clan is higher than hers.” “...” In the end, Kiryuu Zero simply gives up and turns to stalk out of the Moon Dorms. He does still need to prepare himself for the classes that are due to begin in a few hours. Behind him, he could distinctively hear Yuuki calling for him to wait up and so, he slowed down his pace for a bit but didn’t stop moving. With the departure of Kiryuu Zero and Yuuki Cross from the Moon Dorms, Akane then turns her eyes upon the green-eyed blond vampire as she finally makes her request known. "Do you mind bringing the boys up to the guest room? I would like to speak with the Chairman first, but I don't think those two are in any condition to keep up with me ... They looked like they are going to fall asleep, in front of the fireplace - anytime soon." Ichijo Takuma blinked, before answering in a light-hearted tone of voice. "Sure, I don't mind.” Akane smiled, before adding on. "Thanks ... Uncle Taku ..." The last bit of her words had come out sounding a little hesitant but still, she managed. Ichijo Takuma had to refrain from grimacing when he heard the term 'Uncle' coming out from someone who's nearly as old as himself, finally, he said. "Erm ... Akane-chan, do you mind if you dropped the 'uncle' thing? It makes me feel old, and I'm not that old - yet." "Aa... I apologized, Takuma - then. If you don't mind me being rude, that is ..." Akane responded, feeling herself relaxing now that the hardest subject to be explained had been over and done with, for the time being. "No, that would be just fine." Ichijo Takuma said anything would be better than being called and referred to as an 'uncle'. At least, that was what he felt - at this point of time. With that said, he gave the only female time traveler a quick nod before heading towards the two boys and picking them both up effortlessly in his arms. "I'll be situating them in the room down the hallway of the second floor." The Vice-President of the Moon Dormitory said as he passed by Akane. Following this, Ichijo Takuma signaled for Risa Miyazaki to follow him, they were going to pay their pureblood leader a little visit after he’d dropped off the boys in the guest room of the dorm. If it hadn’t been for the sudden appearance of Risa Miyazaki earlier on, the notion that they would need to brief the rest of the residents in the Moon Dorm about their visiting guests from the future timeline would have slipped his mind entirely. For that, Ichijo Takuma would risk disturbing the precious resting time of his pureblood friend to get the matter of briefing the common class vampires residing within these walls about the trio's presence in their timeline, without delay. The earlier they can get the briefing out of the way, the better – Ichijo Takuma believes his friend wouldn’t want to risk the information getting out. In particular, information that pertains to the twins. The green-eyed blond vampire had no doubts that if such information were to ever reach the ears of that grandfather of his, his pureblood friend’s game plan might end up in a greater state of disarray. Akane waited until the two boys had been picked up by Ichijo Takuma and sent upstairs to the guestroom before she started heading in the direction of Kaien Cross, the first chairman of the Cross Academy. “Yes, Akane-chan. How may I be of assistance to you?” Kaien Cross, the chairman of the Cross Academy inquires in a goofy manner. “I believe you heard what Kaname-sama told me earlier, I need to get the issue of my education while being here in this timeline sorted out. And then, there’s also another thing that I would require assistance from you. As you can see, we’ve arrived in the past with no additional baggage – so, we are going to need clothes that fit. What we have now isn’t exactly suitable for the chillier climate.” Akane nodded as she stated the purpose of her approach to the ex-hunter and current chairman of the Cross Academy. “Of course, we wouldn’t want to disrupt your education. I’ll draw up the transfer paper for you to join the day class shortly, as for the clothes... perhaps, you could join me on a trip to my residence on campus grounds? I’m sure there’s something that would fit you and the boys from Zero’s wardrobe that he has outgrown over the years, for the time being.” Kaien Cross suggested that they raid the wardrobe of his adopted son at his residence to find something that would fit the trios, for the time being. He figured the visiting kids would probably need to buy something that would fit them properly as they’re probably going to be hanging around for some time. But that can wait for a day or two after they have gotten themselves settled in. “Sure, that’ll be very much appreciated.” Akane nodded as she followed the chairman out of the Moon Dorms towards the direction of the chairman’s residence situated on campus grounds. --- Approximately, an hour later - Akane found herself heading back towards the direction of the Moon Dormitory with a paper bag full of Zero's old clothes as a kid, thanks to the Chairman's wonderful donation. Her other hand carries another bag, only this time around, it just happened to be a new set of the long-sleeved black uniform for the day class. The Chairman had decided to let her join Yuuki's class as a transfer student, and school will start officially for her, the following day. At the same time, she would be required to help Yuuki and Zero out in their usual duties of controlling the crowd of fangirls during the change-over timing of the classes. Staring at the now tightly closed door, Akane was wondering just how on earth could she get herself inside the said building, when she found the door being opened promptly by the Vice-President of the Dormitory - Ichijo Takuma, himself. "Aa... Thanks. I was about to consider the option of 'breaking in' through the windows if you had not opened the doors for me." Akane commented her expression a mixture of relief and wonder. "It's alright, I figured someone else would have to sacrifice a little bit of the sleeping hours to wait for your return. Since neither of the night class members would be volunteering themselves, I can't very well expect Kaname to wait for your return. So, I guess, I'll have to be the one ... " The good-natured, sunny blond vampire responded, with a cheerful vibe in his tone. Akane could not help but smile in response, "I know. Thanks again, and now that I'm finally back. You can go back to your room and hopefully catch some winks, before having to wake up and start a new day again. " "Good, I'm so tired that I could just drop 'dead' to the world. What do you have there in the bags? " "Nothing much, just a set of the winter version of the day-class uniform and some clothes that belonged to Zero when he was younger. I can't expect Akira and Subaru to keep wearing the same attire, daily - Can I? The clothes do need to be laundered, eventually ... and I'm rather tired myself. Maybe we can continue the conversation, at another time - perhaps?" Akane responded, as she started to head up the stairs - turning towards the room where Ichijo Takuma had told her, that the boys would be staying in, earlier on. Behind her, Ichijo Takuma mirrored her actions of heading up the stairs after he had closed the door that he had opened to allow the former's entry earlier. "Right, and my room's down the left hallway of the third floor. Let me know if you need anything, during the period of your stay here in the Moon Dormitory." "Sure, I'll keep that in mind," Akane said, as she placed one of the bags down on the floor and opened up the door leading to the guest room; before picking up the bag and slipping into the room - trying her best not to wake the two boys who were now cuddling up to one another on the large canopy bed as they slept soundly. Dropping off the two bags on one side of the room, Akane shrugged herself out of her summer school uniform but left her underwear on. After searching through the bag of clothes raided from the wardrobe of Kiryuu Zero for a while, Akane finally managed to find an old t-shirt that belonged to Zero that fitted her and pulled it over herself. With that done, she dropped herself wearily onto the large canopy bed and fell asleep promptly when her head hit the pillow. Before she felt her subconscious drifting off to the land of oblivion, Akane mentally made a note to head out shopping for clothes, once she had the chance to speak with the Chairman again. There was no way she could have kept on wearing the uniforms around, at the very least, she would have needed necessary garments such as the undergarments and the nightwear. Akane highly doubts that Yuuki's size would have suited her, and she hardly thinks that the females from the night class would let her borrow any from their wardrobe. --- While Akane was sleeping off her fatigue from the use of the ‘Time-Vortex’ spell in the guestroom of the Moon Dorm at Cross Academy. Over at the Fujiwara’s ancestral home based in Kyoto – the 14-year-old pureblood princess of the Fujiwara clan, Yuka woke with a start from her dream. “Onee-chan?” The 9-year-old Fujiwara Sayaka who was startled awake by the sudden movement of her elder sister, inquires sleepily. “It’s nothing, go back to sleep – Sayaka. I just have a dream with my future self passing on a message to me is all.” Fujiwara Yuka responded as she dismissed the concern of her younger sister who was sharing a room with her in their family home. After a moment of silent contemplation, Fujiwara Yuka padded out of the bedroom that she shared with her younger sister and headed straight for the direction of her mother’s room. “Okaa-sama, are you awake?” Fujiwara Yuka asked as she came to a stop outside the shoji door separating her mother’s room from the hallway of the traditional Japanese house. “Yuka? Is anything the matter?” The voice of Fujiwara Yumi comes from within but made no move to open the door for her daughter. “I just received a message from my future self, she told me that the taboo spell of the clan has been activated in her timeline by the adopted daughter of Kiryuu Zero.” Fujiwara Yuka responded to the query of her mother in a low tone. “... Yuka, come in and explain the situation to me in detail.” Fujiwara Yumi finally said as she gave her permission for her daughter to enter her private chamber. And so, Fujiwara Yuka spent the next half an hour passing on the message she’d received from her future self to her mother – enlightening the clan head of the family about just why exactly the taboo time ritual spell has been activated in the future. “I see. I'll check in with Kaien Cross later in the day to see if the visitors from the future timeline have made an appearance in our time. If they had appeared here, you can send a confirmation response to your future self, so, they could mark down the time frame to make it easier for the retrieval of the visitors when the time comes.” Fujiwara Yumi eventually told her daughter, before sending the girl back to bed. The hours are still too early for people of their kind to be up and about. ~to be continued~ Date started: 28/04/09 Date completed: 28/04/09 Date edited: 28/04/09 Date revised: 19/02/2025
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"Akane! Come on, Wake up ... You can go back to sleep after you get us some food!" Kuran Akira tugged hard on the hair of his adopted sister, knowing that this would no doubt wake the sleepy girl from her 'dead' slumber. "Ouch! Damn it, Akira - How many times must I tell you, not to pull my hair!" Akane grumbled as she sat up unhappily in bed. Akane was annoyed, and her temper had never been good after she was rudely awakened from her sleep. She knew that she probably should not blame the twins for waking her up, for her to get them some solid food. Since they were still 'new' to the environment of the Academy. Unlike Akane, who had pretty much memorized the layout of the academy by now and would know where to go in search of food or blood tablets, if she needed any. "Subaru, what's the time now? " Akane asked, as she combed her fingers through her sandy brown hair - the only trait which she had inherited from her birth father. "Five-thirty ... in the evening," Subaru added the last bit when he noticed how disoriented Akane had looked when he had first mentioned the time. "... Three minutes. Get out now." Akane muttered aloud, shooing them both out of the room such that she could get herself changed into a more presentable attire. There was no way that she would simply head outside dressed up in Zero's old t-shirt, it would simply look too 'sloppy' and untidy. Might as well get herself ready for the night, since there would be no way she could have gotten back to sleep now that those two boys were up and about; to drive her crazy for the rest of the night. Akane thought. Three minutes later, Akane was dressed up nicely in her newly acquired set of day-class uniform. Finally, something that would keep her warm at night. The uniform which she had been wearing from her time, had not been doing a good job around here. Since that had been meant for summer's use and not for the chilly seasons of Autumn and Winter. Looking at herself in the full-length mirror which she had not noticed it being around when she went to bed earlier in the day, Akane nodded in satisfaction having decided that she looked presentable enough to head outside. Stepping out into the hallway from the guest room of the Moon Dorm, Akane frowned when she realized that the boys weren’t anywhere within her sighting range. Realizing that the two boys had not been waiting for her outside as she had told them to do so, Akane merely sighed aloud as she closed her eyes for a moment. Allowing her senses to run wild and free around the dormitory, Akane tried to focus on the presence of the pureblood within the building. After some time, she opened her eyes and allowed her senses to lead her toward the direction of the front lounge where the majority of the night class members had gathered around, waiting for the class change-over timing to arrive. "Akira, Subaru - what did I say about having chocolates before mealtimes? " Akane started before the two boys could reach for the offered piece of chocolate candy that was being handed out to them by the two newly returned members of the night class - Shiki Senri and Touya Rima. The two models had been away for a photo shoot earlier that morning and had only just arrived back in time for classes - thus missing out on all the happenings that took place since late last night, till early this morning. However, they had been filled in on the details by their friendly Vice-President of the Moon Dormitory - Ichijo Takuma, upon their return to the academy alongside the rest of the common class vampires residing within these walls. "See! I told you, Akane's going to lecture you on the 'having chocolate before meal' issue again." Subaru shot his younger twin sibling a look of triumph, only to be met by his sibling throwing him a mock glare. "Please, change your lines - will you? You said that every time, we ended up being caught red-handed by Akane or 'Dad'... " Akira threw back a sharp retort of his own. "... " Akane counted mentally to 'three' before speaking up, again. "Both of you, stop it! Aren't you guys whining about wanting food - earlier on? Wasn't that the reason why I had been forced out of bed? Now that I'm ready, can we please just go and get those solid food now?" Knowing the traditions of the day-class students, the hour immediately after the night-class change-over timing would be considered the peak hours for the school cafeteria. That was something that Akane had hoped that she would be able to avoid while being here in this time-line for when she had been back in her own time, she had been unfortunate enough to be appointed as one of the school guardians thus making it impossible for her to avoid the crowd. Not that she had anything against the idea of visiting a crowded place, it was more of her intention or desire to avoid the crowd of fan girls who would be no doubt commenting and spreading all sorts of rumors about the members of the night class during those peak hours of the cafeteria's operating timing, which makes her want to avoid joining the crowd - altogether. "...What's up with her? Get up on the wrong side of the bed? " Aidou Hanabusa commented, somewhat unhappy with the way Akane was displaying her displeasure, openly in public. "No, Uncle Aidou ... Akane's just mad at us for waking her up when she's still feeling tired." This coming from the younger twin, Kuran Akira. "Yes, that and the fact that Akane had a nasty temper when she's been rudely awakened. What did she used to call it ... Low blood pressure?" Kiryuu Subaru added on, frowning as he tried to recall the exact terms that Akane had often mentioned back in their own time. "... " Akane could feel her veins popping up somewhere on her forehead, and her head was starting to ache from her obvious lack of sleep while she waited for the twins to be ready for departure. Finally, deciding that she had had enough of the chatters and the idea of waiting around, Akane felt herself snapping at the twins with irritation. "On the count of five, I'm leaving. If the two of you were still not ready to go by then, please settle the issue of the hunger - on your own! You can either try drowning yourselves with a gallon of blood tablets or if you dared - go and pester our 'Daddy' into cooking dinner or whatever meals for the two of you! Otherwise, you two can simply go and have a try at the Chairman's cooking. From what I've gathered - it should be worse than what that 'Father Dearest' of ours can do, in the kitchen. Should he feel the sudden need or urge to cook us dinner or something else!" "...But Akane, we are hungry ... not feeling blood-thirsty! Drowning ourselves with blood tablets would not change anything ..." Akira protested, trying to keep himself from sounding whiny. Behind Akane, a certain pureblood who had just arrived on site paused in his steps slightly before continuing on his journey towards the front door with ease. Akane knew Kaname Kuran had heard her words, and she would have winced if her mind had been thinking clearly. Unfortunately, that was the very last thing on her mind - right now. Besides, it was not as if she was trying to curse the said pureblood behind his back or anything, so she had nothing to fear by commenting on the pureblood's lack of culinary skills. Truth be told, Kaname Kuran's first reaction to Akane's comments about his lack of culinary skills had been nothing but bewilderment. Having been born and raised a pureblood, he had had his every need being attended to with a wave of his hand. Thus, there was no need for him to learn any of those housekeeping skills. Therefore, his initial thought had been 'Why was he even attempting to cook in the first place?' However, that was only a passing thought and therefore he wisely chose not to say anything as he passed by the agitated girl and headed for the front door, with the entire group of night-class members following his lead. "Damn!" Akane cursed aloud, knowing that there was no way in hell that she was going to be heading for the cafeteria now that the members of the night class had set off for their classes. For a while, she threw a glare in the twins' direction before she was suddenly hit by the brilliant idea to head off to the town for some shopping. Thus, a ghost of a smile started to tug at the corner of her lips as she turned toward her adopted siblings. "You know, I have another idea of where we could get our food from ... Why don't I take the two of you out with me into the town for dinner and perhaps get some shopping work done? However, before that - let's pay a visit to the Chairman, shall we?" Akane suggested, smiling sweetly now. Both Akira and Subaru shared a look among themselves before sweat dropping in unison. Inwardly, pitying the Chairman for they both knew, that whenever Akane smiled that sweetly - that would mean that someone's wallet would be flattened by the end of the day when Akane was done with her shopping spree. --- "Wait a minute, Shiki! Let us out there, we are going to pay the Chairman - a visit!" Akane hurried after the group of night-class members, with the two boys in tow while she said cheerfully. Upon her words, the group of night-class members stopped in their steps. The group of fangirls crowding outside the Moon Dormitory paused amid their screaming, wondering who might the newcomers be as they had never seen any of them before. The two guardians reacted differently too, upon the sound of Akane's voice. Yuuki Cross had turned toward the owner of the voice in surprise and curiosity, but Kiryuu Zero had tensed slightly before forcing himself to shift his glance toward the newcomers. "Akane-chan?" Yuuki started, wondering why the former was heading towards them. "Hey, Yuuki-chan! Nice to see you looking so energetic, despite the obvious lack of sleep." Akane commented, with a smile before shifting her glance towards the silver-haired guardian. "Kiryuu-kun! Can I take up a little while of your time?" Akane started, her tone a little far too cheerful for the ex-human's liking. "What the hell do you want now?" Kiryuu Zero responded, feeling somewhat uneasy. Thus, causing his words to come out sounding more like 'resignation' rather than its' usual annoyance. "Accompanied us to the town for a quick shopping trip, but before that - we need to pay the Chairman a visit to gain permission to leave the academy's ground." "No way!" The silver-haired guardian had initially thought to respond but changed his mind at the very last possible minute. The very idea of having either one of the boys attaching themselves to him, while calling him 'Daddy' in front of the fangirls from the day class was anything but appealing. It was one thing with the night class members, and completely another when it comes down to the day-class students. At least with the night class, he knew none of them would dare to go around speaking about the issue of the twins' existence to any random students - for they would risk facing the wrath of their pureblood leader then. However, with the day-class students - it would be another thing entirely. After all, the day class had no one with that much authority to make everyone listen and play by the rules. Else, both Yuuki and his job as the school guardians would be far easier to handle than it was now. "Fine! Come along then!" Zero muttered aloud unwillingly, and with a scowl in place on his features. The silver-haired guardian started leading the way towards the Chairman's office. "... What's wrong with Kiryuu - today?" One of the random day-class students commented, somewhat stunned by the lack of hostile treatment from the silver-haired guardian towards another girl. "Yeah ... I thought, he treated every girl with hostility and impatience. With the sheer exception of that Cross girl ..." Another female student commented aloud. "Who knows, maybe he woke up on the wrong side of the bed - this morning?" Another girl responded, trying to make a joke out of the situation. "..." Yuuki stared speechless at the crowd of fangirls, initially she had thought it would be harder for her to hold back the crowd with the silver-haired guardian being absent from the duty. Yet, it was the complete opposite. The girls had been so surprised by Zero's strange behavior that neither one of them had noticed the fact that the night class members had passed them, for they were too busy discussing the possible reasons behind Zero's unusual behavior. By the time, the fangirls came back to the reality. It had been too late, for the night-class members were already in the school buildings having their first evening lessons for the day. Thus, the day class students had no choice but to leave for the cafeteria as they continued to gossip among themselves about the day's happenings. --- Kiryuu Zero wondered just how exactly he ended up being the 'baggage man' for the trio walking ahead of him, seeming to be completely at ease despite the town being so much different from their own time. On one hand, he held the bag of basic necessity items such as the toothbrushes and basic grooming set; several pajamas and night-wear gowns set for the two boys and Akane; towels and some winter wear. His other hand held another bag that was filled up with more feminine items, much to his chagrin and Akane's amusement. "Alright, dinner up next - where to? No restaurants though ... since Kiryuu-kun would be the one paying for us, so it can't be anywhere where it's too luxurious." Akane asked, directing her words to the two boys' instead of Zero who would be the one paying for their dinner. "Hey! Why should I be the one to pay for the dinner?!" Zero protested, for he was already annoyed by the idea of being the 'baggage man' for the trio and now they had been expecting him to pay for their meals, too?! "... Well, I would have paid for it using the Chairman's supplied budget if possible. However, we had already used up the funding from the Chairman on those necessary items. Moreover, we are kind of penniless since we had not been thinking about the money issue when we decided to take a trip through the time ... Besides, it's not as if we'll be using your money all the time. So, would you just cooperate with us, and pay for our dinner - this one time? I swear, I'll pay you back another day ... " Akane said, turning pleading eyes upon the silver-haired hunter. This was a tactic of hers that never failed to work back in her time, whenever she used it on the silver-haired man. Therefore, Akane was willing to bet against the fact that if the tactic works fine in the future, then there should be no difference if she were to use it in the past, too. "Fine!” Kiryuu Zero threw the girl a look of annoyance, before gritting out his reluctant agreement through his teeth. "Thanks!" Akane beamed, smiling up at the silver-haired hunter happily before turning back to the twins and pressing for their decision. The boys seemed to consider the options available for a minute, before responding. "Burger King then ..." Unknowingly, Kiryuu Zero let out a breath that he had been holding before the boys made up their minds. For a while, he had wondered if the boys were going to pick somewhere that he would not be able to afford with his miserable weeks of pocket money. "Let's go then ..." This time around, Kiryuu Zero was the one leading the trio - hoping to make his way over to the said fast food restaurant without much delay. All he wanted to do now, was to get the hell back to the academy soon, and fast. He had had no intention to spend any more of his time in town, other than the necessary. Upon their arrival at the fast-food restaurant, Akane told the boys to go and wash their hands. Turning back to Zero, Akane said. "Please place the orders for every one of us, it's only fair since you are the one paying for us. Fret not, neither the boys nor I am picky about the food menu. Just order for us, what you would have ordered for yourself. " With that said, Akane headed towards the less crowded area of the restaurant and went in search of a table space that would accommodate the four of them and their earlier purchases. Fifteen minutes later, Kiryuu Zero arrived at the table by the furthest left corner of the restaurant and set down the tray of food without a word being uttered to any one of them. Honest to speak, Zero was feeling downright uncomfortable about his current predicament. If anyone had tried telling him months ago that he would be seen having dinner in a fast-food restaurant with three vampires seated closely by his side ... he would simply think that person crazy and would have sent them off to the nearest medical center for a check-up in the brain. Yet, here he was - surrounded by the vampire trio who seemed somehow related to him, in one way or another. The two boys were supposedly his 'sons' from the future, with a certain pureblood going by the name 'Kuran'. Much to his horror and chagrin. However, since the silver-haired hunter had yet to accustom himself to the prospect of being involved with the pureblood in any sense other than trying to kill each other. All he could do now was to force himself not to dwell on the twins' parentage issue and simply look at them more objectively. Kiryuu Zero still had no idea how he felt towards the twins. He supposed there was no feeling of 'hate' or 'loathing' being involved, despite what he should be feeling towards the vampires or rather, the pureblood vampires in general. Even while the twins' presence had somehow 'annoyed' him now - he figured that it probably had something more to do with the fact that the other parent was, rather than the twins' being pureblood. Well, Zero knew he should be hating all vampires alike especially pureblood, in his case. Still, he found himself caring for the twins, albeit unwillingly. 'Damn!' Zero thought, for he had no doubts that his dead parents were probably rolling in their graves now - if they knew what was happening to him now. Well, maybe his mother's reaction may not be that 'bad' - but his father's reaction would not be anything welcoming. For the first time in his life perhaps, Zero was thankful that his parents were no longer around. Who knew how would they have reacted if they had known what was implied behind the possibilities of the twins' existence? Casting aside the issue of the twins, for now, his feelings towards his future adopted daughter - Akane, were even more confusing. Judging from what he had been feeling from the girl's aura and the sheer fact that Akane's birth mother was a member of the 'Fujiwara' clan. Zero knew, Akane must be somehow related to him through his mother's side of the family tree. This, apparently was something which he had not bothered revealing to any acquaintances of his, be it Yuuki or Chairman Cross. Heck, he highly doubted that his master - Yagari Tooga, who had been invited by his father to teach him the proper skills when it comes down to hunting the vampires, knew about his mother's family name. Of course, now only his master remains in the dark about his mother’s heritage – seeing as Akira, one of his future sons had outed that little piece of information earlier in the day, in front of the pureblood and his inner circle as well as Yuuki and Chairman Cross. His father probably didn’t think it wise to reveal the heritage of his mother to his master, Yagari Tooga, as the former had always made it known of his dislike towards the members of the 'Fujiwara' clan. When being pressed on for an explanation, Yagari had said something about the aura emitting from the hunters of that clan reminded him too much of its' similarities to some vampires that he had somehow encountered over the years of his hunting. His mother had been a member of the 'Fujiwara' clan before her marrying into the Kiryuu family. Although, after the marriage, his mother had still gone back to her family home for regular visits, his father had always been absent from those meetings. Usually, Zero and his twin had been asked to stay home while their mother visited the home of the 'Fujiwara'. However, when it comes down to the point that their father would be away on missions then they would be allowed to tag along with their mother, and the visit came attached with certain rules and regulations which Ichiru and himself had to obey. Among them, included the fact to stay away from the home library of the 'Fujiwara'. However, the rules were meant to be broken at some point in time, isn't that so? Thus, Ichiru and himself would always disregard that sheer fact and often ended up using the said library as their playground for games, which ultimately resulted in his discovery of the taboo books of spells that contained the 'Time-Vortex' ritual spell, that Akane had evoked to bring the twins and herself, back here in time. So, what does that make him? Just what kind of relationship does Akane share with him - aside from the obvious 'adopted' parent-child relationship, that is? --- "... " Akane had been observing the younger version of her adopted parent from the corner of her eyes, for quite some time now. She knew the former was probably thinking about something, it could be seen from the obvious way that the silver-haired hunter was furrowing his brows in deep thoughts. With an audible sigh, Akane set down the burger that she had been chewing earlier and turned her eyes towards the former. "Alright, go ahead and fire your questions away. Though, there's no guarantee that everything will be answered and explained in detail. However, I simply had had enough of you shooting glances towards my direction whenever you thought that I wasn't looking in your direction." Akane explained when she noticed the look of incredulity on the said hunter's face. "Right, so who's your father? " "... Not anyone from the current night class, if that's what you're trying to ask. " "... Your mother? " "Fujiwara Hitomi, currently a first-year in the day class at Cross Academy." "Wait, Hitomi’s your mother? No wonder she was disowned when she decided to associate with the likes of your father. Miyako-san's stance on vampires is quite negative, though Fujiwara Akashi’s stance towards vampires in general is a bit on the lenient side as he falls under the faction that supported Uncle Satoshi but because he’s henpecked...he probably decides to disown Hitomi to spare himself from the headache of being sandwiched between his wife and his daughter." Kiryuu Zero shakes his head at the piece of information he’d just obtained from his future adopted daughter, with regards to the identity of Akane’s mother. "Yeah...anyway, the Chairman said he would be transferring me into Yuuki and your class. Please tell me my mother isn’t in the same class as well. I can handle being in the same class as you, but it’s quite another thing when it comes down to being in the same class as my birth mother.” “... No worry, Hitomi’s in another class. Okay, this is truly getting odder by the minute.” Kiryuu Zero took a sip of the cola drink from his cup as he tried to wrap his mind around the idea that he had essentially adopted his cousin into his future family as a daughter. Yes, Akane is his cousin – Zero had confirmed after being given the name of Akane’s birth mother. Fujiwara Hitomi, despite being the same age as Yuuki, at present – was a cousin of his late mother. His mother – Fujiwara Yukari, shared the same great-grandfather as Akane’s mother – Fujiwara Hitomi. That, in turn, meant that his mother’s grandfather and Fujiwara Hitomi’s grandfather were siblings, thus making his mother’s father and Fujiwara Akashi, the father of Fujiwara Hitomi - cousins with a very obvious big age gap in between. Since his late mother and Fujiwara Hitomi were cousins...; that makes him a cousin to Akane as well. “I see you’re still reeling from the fact that you’d adopted your cousin as a daughter in the future, but it’s fine – you know? It's not as though you truly addressed my mother with the use of the term ‘Aunt’ whenever the two of you crossed paths. Furthermore, I would think the idea of being the bonded mate of Kaname Kuran, the pureblood king, and producing two biological sons with him would disturb you more than the notion of adopting a cousin as your daughter at this point.” Akane smirked at the disturbing look that crossed the face of the silver-haired hunter at the end of her words. “... Akane, please. I do not need to be reminded of that, right now. Moving on, what makes it necessary for me to adopt you into the family?” Kiryuu Zero decided to neglect the fact that his family would include a certain pureblood for now, and focus on extracting the information concerning the necessity for the adoption of the vampire girl seated opposite him, at present. “They were murdered while I was out visiting a family friend. Traces of anti-vampire weapons could be found in the house, so, it was suspected that their deaths were by the hands of the hunters. You did some digging around but there wasn’t any substantial proof about the culprits behind their deaths, so, to put me under your protection – you decided to adopt me. Well, that was the version of the events you told me about – and I could only take your words for it since I wasn’t at home when my parents were killed.” Akane shrugged in response, before deciding that it was about time for them to return to the academy. "... Are there any more questions? If not, can we please make our way back to the academy now?" Akane asked believing that she had unloaded enough information about the future to her silver-haired cousin from her mother’s side of the family and eventual adoptive parent, for the time being. Shifting her eyes away from Kiryuu Zero, Akane focused her attention on the twins - this time around. "Akira, stop playing around with your food. Either you eat them, or you don't." "Subaru, don't wipe your mouth with the back of your hand. That's unhygienic ... Go to the washroom to get yourself clean up." Akane instructed as she started to clear up the mess that the twins had made during the midst of their eating. Realizing that he was probably the only one who had yet to finish his meal, the silver-haired guardian hurried through the last few bites of his burger efficiently before making a move towards the washroom, himself. --- By the time the four of them arrived back at the academy, the night had completely fallen. Although, most of the night-class members were still in their classes; there would always be a few strays who had somehow wandered out from the class, by themselves. Tonight, it was of no difference. The group of four had been walking through the woods when they scented Yuuki's blood in the air. Hurrying through the woods, they were hardly surprised to find two day-class females fainting upon the sight of Aidou's lengthened fangs as he stepped forth to lick the blood of Yuuki's off the said female guardian's injured hand. Almost immediately, Kiryuu Zero went for his 'Bloody Rose' and directed the said gun towards the blue-eyed blond vampire. The twins who had been by the side of the silver-haired guardian shook their heads in mild disapproval, before commenting. "Uh oh ... Uncle Aidou's in trouble again ... " "So what?! What's he going to do to me - then?! Shoot me?!" Aidou Hanabusa exclaimed, trying to challenge and dare the fellow guardian into shooting him. "... Aidou, do yourself a favor and stop provoking him ..." Akane said, glancing at Zero warily now. The sudden sound of a gunshot froze the blue-eyed blond vampire to the spot, behind the former - Akatsuki Kain was equally shocked by the silver-haired guardian's actions. "What the ...! How dare you, Kiryuu?!" Akatsuki Kain stepped forth, protesting on behalf of his still shell-shocked cousin with unhidden fury rolling off his body aura. The former would have thrown a punch toward the silver-haired guardian if the twins had not stepped forth and placed themselves in his way. "Get away, I'm not going to let him off the hook - this time around." Akatsuki Kain had all but snarled in anger. Despite the anger rolling off him in waves, he could not simply push the twins away from his path for that would have meant that he was challenging the authority of a pureblood. Children or not, do not matter. The fact remains that they were purebloods, from the lineage of the infamous 'Kuran Clan' too. "No, you are the one who should be stepping away from him! We did warn Uncle Aidou of the dangers of challenging 'Daddy' and gloating in his presence ... but did he listen? No, he did not ..." Kuran Akira was speaking firmly and maturely now, no longer displaying that whiny attitude from before. "Yes, he had no one else but himself to blame that things had escalated down to this point. Besides, 'Daddy' didn't blast a 'hole' through him - merely fired a shot of warning. Nobody was hurt, and no one was killed. Therefore, why don't we just leave things be?" Kiryuu Subaru added, trying to calm and drill the 'logic' back into the mind of the fuming Akatsuki Kain. Just then, another voice of authority came ringing out from the deeper parts of the woods. It was none other than the pureblood king, Kaname Kuran - himself. "What is the matter here?" Kaname Kuran had asked, but neither of the people had bothered to respond to his query. A glance about the surrounding area was enough to notify him of what had most probably taken place earlier, with a wave of his hand he beckoned for the Vice-President of the Moon Dormitory to check on the conditions of the two girls from the day class. He nodded with relief once he was told that the students had not been hurt, merely fainted from the shock of the situation. Turning towards Yuuki, Kaname shot the girl a look of apology before glancing over to the other fuming guardian who still had the 'Bloody Rose' out and pointed towards them. "Kiryuu, do you mind putting that 'Bloody Rose' away for the time being? That gun of yours was no doubt considered a danger to us - the vampires, in general. I assured you that Aidou would be receiving his fair share of punishments from me - later on. Could you please escort the two girls to the Chairman's place, Ichijo will be in charge of removing tonight's events from their memories. Do let the Chairman know that I'll be heading over personally at a later point in time, to apologize personally for tonight's event and Aidou's behavior as well." Kaname Kuran said, his tone cool but laced with an undertone of warning and authority that was not to be argued with. Zero stared at the pureblood for a minute, before he allowed himself to drop the 'Bloody Rose' and stuff it back to the gun holster hidden behind his day class uniform coat. "Yuuki, let's go." Zero said to the fellow female guardian, while he headed over to the spot where the two day-class girls had fainted. Picking one of them up with a scowl marring his features while allowing Ichijo Takuma to do the same for the other girl - the duo their way towards the Chairman's office, with Yuuki Cross following after them. Kaien Cross was just getting off the call with Fujiwara Yumi when the two guardians entered his office with the vice-president of the Moon Dorms following them from behind. Upon noticing the two unconscious day-class girls in the arms of Ichijo Takuma and his adopted son, Kaien Cross immediately knew something had happened. And so, as soon as he ended the call, Kaien Cross indicated for the trio to start explaining the situation. “Chairman, these two girls had the misfortune of witnessing the fangs of Aidou-senpai when he was licking off the blood from my hands where I had accidentally nicked it across the sharp branch of the trees in the woods.” Yuuki Cross was the first to give her report on the matter of the two unconscious girls from the day class. “I see, so, I reckon they simply fainted from the shock of witnessing the fangs of Aidou Hanabusa then?” Kaien Cross nodded as relief flooded through him that there hadn’t been any blood-sucking incidents taking place on the campus grounds. “Indeed. I was sent over by Kaname to remove the memories of the incident from the two girls.” Ichijo Takuma then said as he declared the reason for his visit to the Chairman’s office, this evening. “Ah, by all means – do what you need to do, and don’t let me deter you from your duty.” Kaien Cross then said as he gestured for the vice-president of the Moon Dorm to proceed with what he was told to do, under the instructions of Kaname Kuran. “Zero, where are the kids? You didn’t lose them on the way back to the academy, did you?” Kaien Cross started exaggeratedly, causing a tick of annoyance to form on the forehead of Kiryuu Zero. “Of course, I didn’t lose any of them. We chanced upon the episode in the woods upon our return to campus ground and nearly got into an altercation with Aidou Hanabusa and Akatsuki Kain. After Kaname Kuran arrived on site, he told us to bring the girls over to your office and have Ichijo remove the memories of tonight’s event from their minds. Kuran also said to inform you that he would be visiting you personally at a later time, to apologize for the misbehavior of Aidou Hanabusa and that he would ensure Aidou got the punishment he deserved later on, in the day.” Kiryuu Zero rolled his eyes in annoyance as he responded to the inquiry from his guardian, before launching into a report of his own about the incident that took place in the woods earlier. “I see, so, the kids are with Kaname-kun then. Good, it’s good that you didn’t manage to lose them in the crowd during that earlier trip to town – otherwise, I’m going to be in trouble with the Fujiwara clan. Speaking of the Fujiwara clan, I just got off the phone with Fujiwara Yumi. She has informed me that she is now aware of the taboo spell being activated and that we had three visitors from the future in our care. In any case, she would send us an update when it’s time for the trios to return home. Her daughter, Yuka would be playing messenger as she’s the only one with the ability to keep a linkway open with the future timeline through the use of dreams and communication with her future self. Until then, the kids would be in our care.” Kaien Cross then said, as he filled his adopted son in on the information, he’d gathered from the earlier phone call with Fujiwara Yumi. “Ah... so, the trip through time wasn’t exactly a one-way trip. I had been wondering why my future self would authorize the use of the ‘Time-Vortex’ spell.” Kiryuu Zero nodded, feeling relieved that the kids wouldn’t be stranded in the past without a way home unlike that ancestor of the Fujiwara clan as recorded in the old books. “It’s only possible after Fujiwara Yuka was born, before that - any trip into the past using the spell is equivalent to a one-way trip. Either way, the return trip would require your future self to open up the portal from the future timeline, with accurate runes dictating the exact timeline to open up the gateway for the kids’ return trip. Henceforth, as soon as the kids were sent to our timeline – your future self sent word to Fujiwara Yuka seeking her assistance to pinpoint the exact timeline in which the kids had landed. Either way, I expect that there’s going to be quite a fair bit of communication going on between the Fujiwara Clan and us from here on until the trios return to their timeline. So, I’m giving you a head-up now to avoid you flying off the handle when you sense unfamiliar vampires loitering around the school.” Kaien Cross then added, recalling the information about the Fujiwara clan sending in some ‘specialists’ to check out the campus ground to determine the best spot for the time portal for the kids’ return journey to be set up. “Wait... you mean to say that they are going to send in their guys to check out the academy grounds?” Kiryuu Zero blinked when he finally caught on to the message that his guardian had wanted to relay to him from that whole chunk of narration about the content of the phone call between Kaien Cross and the head of the vampire branch for the Fujiwara clan. “Yes. That's exactly what I meant. They need to assess the campus grounds to determine the best spot to open up the new time portal when it’s time for the kids to return home. For that, they need the coordinates of the timeline as well as the location for the time portal to be activated. To do that, they would be sending over a team to check out the grounds using the excuse of an inspection check by the landlord. Because the team would likely be made up of vampires, I thought it necessary to inform you ahead of time so you’ll know what to expect – given your aversion towards the vampires in general.” Kaien Cross nodded in response. “I see, well... I’ll bear it in mind to avoid flying off the handle when I detect an unknown vampire presence on campus grounds then. Did Fujiwara Yumi give you a date for the scheduled inspection visit by their team of specialists?” Kiryuu Zero inquires next, it would be best if an actual date for the inspection has been given. That would minimize the chances of him flying off the handle due to the sudden increase of vampires on campus grounds. “Not yet. She just called me up to ascertain if we are housing the visitors from the future at present. Now with the information confirmed, she would need to get her daughter to pass on the message to the future timeline before anything else can be done. I'll keep you updated on the subject, I'm sure she’s going to call me before sending the team of specialists over. So, once I hear from her, I'll be relaying the message to you as well.” Kaien Cross then responded. The conversation between Kaien Cross and Kiryuu Zero draws to a close just as Ichijo Takuma is done with extracting the memories of tonight’s event from the minds of the two unconscious day-class girls. “Alright, I'm done here.” Ichijo Takuma announced as he stood back up after completing the process of extracting the memories of tonight’s event and replacing the memories with something random that might explain away the girls’ sudden state of unconsciousness that resulted in them being carted off to the chairman’s office for recovery by the guardians of the Cross Academy. “Excellent. Now, please head back to rejoin your friends. You should still be in time to make it for the last period for today’s lesson.” Kaien Cross beams up at Ichijo Takuma in response, as he merrily sends off the vice-president of the Moon Dorm with his usual goofy behavior. Ichijo Takuma sweat-dropped at the chairman’s words, inwardly thinking that it was very likely that none of the night-class members would be attending their last class for the day – given what happened in the woods earlier. Kaname is likely to assemble the members of the night class back at the dorm to make an example out of Aidou’s misbehavior. --- Sure enough, true to Ichijo Takuma’s speculation - back within the walls of the Moon Dormitory, Kaname Kuran slapped Aidou twice, hard on the cheeks. Berating the blond for being careless and allowing his bloodlust to gain control against his better judgment. After this, he moved on to berate Akatsuki Kain for not attempting to put a stop to his cousin's ridiculous acts, instead had attempted to challenge the school's guardian to a fight when it had been Aidou's fault, since the very beginning. Throughout the whole session, Akane and the twins had been standing by and watching the sight taking place in front of their eyes, on one side of the room. Their facial expression was neutral and masked up with indifference, unlike the other members of the night class who had been looking on with slight apprehension. "Aidou, if I ever caught you attempting to taste the blood of Yuuki Cross again ... You'll find yourself in very deep trouble ..." Kaname Kuran warned, his voice though sounded controlled was laced with an unmistakable hint of displeasure. Aidou nodded hesitantly to the pureblood's words, trying his hardest to ignore the pain emitting from the swelling of his cheeks as he left for the privacy of his assigned dorm room which he had been sharing with his cousin. Following the departure of Aidou Hanabusa, neither of the night-class members had dared to linger on in the lounge for fear of crossing paths with the infuriated pureblood. Eventually, the lounge was emptied leaving behind the pureblood himself and the three, time travelers; who seemed to be rather accustomed to the pureblood's temper for neither one of them seemed to be feeling the pressure of being in the same room with an irate pureblood. Kaname had to admit, he was rather surprised when he sensed that he was not as alone as he had thought it out to be. Today had been the first time he allowed himself to display such anger in public. Thus, he had been expecting to find everyone fleeing from his presence as soon as he had had them dismissed from his sight. Yet somehow it seemed that there had been some exception to the case, after all. Akane and the twins had remained behind, neither of them appeared to be affected by his dark mood from before. If anything, they appeared to be totally at ease. Akane was even snooping around the piles of books that had been laid forgotten and spread out on the coffee table, probably left behind by some other members of the night class while in a rush to get themselves away from the lounge when Kaname dismissed them from his presence. The twins, on the other hand, had somehow managed to get their hands on the remote control to the flat-screen television situated within the lounge and were currently flipping through the channels at random while ignoring his presence, altogether. "..." Kaname said nothing, not trusting himself to speak - yet. Still, he could not help but wonder about the reason behind the trio's calming reactions when the rest of the night class students had felt apprehensive over his unusual display of fury. As though sensing his thoughts, the elder twin had turned towards his direction and asked. "Yes? Is there anything that you wish to talk to us about - Father? " Kaname felt his eyebrow twitching faintly, trying his hardest to ignore a particular strange feeling which seemed to be tugging at the bottom of his heart, each time he heard the term 'Father' emitting from the lips of the boys. Clearing his throat awkwardly, Kaname started. "... Aren't you boys supposed to be feeling scared or something? " This time around, it was the twins' turn to be feeling bewildered. The two boys shared a look among themselves, before turning back to Kaname and speaking. "What exactly are we supposed to be feeling scared about?" The twins asked back, in unison. Silence stung the air before Akane sighed aloud and decided to cue the twins in on just what exactly the elder pureblood had been fretting about. "I think, what Kaname-sama had meant to ask was why the three of us weren't affected by his dark mood or his earlier display of rarely shown anger ..." A light of recognition finally dawns on the twins, upon the sound of Akane's voice from behind. Soon after, Subaru took up the responsibility of explaining things to the younger version of their father. "... Is that all? If so, I'm just going to be completely honest with you. What you've displayed in front of every member of the night class just now, was nothing really scary. Rather, we have grown so accustomed to the idea of witnessing it on regular occasions that it no longer frightens us anymore." "On regular occasions?" Kaname frowned slightly, as he pressed on for an elaboration from the elder twin. "... Well, regular occasions such as Uncle Aidou pissed you off by doing something that you had forbidden him to do ... or another verbal fight with 'Daddy' that turned violent and physical for a while, before it evolved into something else that is unsuitable for kids like us to witness ..." Subaru was about to start quoting more examples when Kaname put a stop to the silver-haired child's words. "Enough, that's enough for now ... I don't need all the details ... yet." "Okay then ..." The boy fell silent, immediately and moved his eyes back to the television screen. "Akane, aren't you going to retire for the night? You would be joining the day class for lessons, starting tomorrow morning... right?" Deciding to change the subject of conversation, Kaname shifted his attention towards the elder girl and asked. If Akane had been surprised by the sudden change in conversational topic, she did not show it. Instead, Akane merely nodded in response and said, "Yes, I am ... but I can't simply just head off for bed when the two of them are awake. Who knows what they could be capable of doing without anyone watching over them? " "Perhaps ... I can help to watch over them for you? In that case - you would be able to head off for that long overdue rest which you seemed to be whining so much about, earlier this evening? Wouldn't you?" Kaname started, wincing inwardly when he realized that he had sounded a little too eager for his liking. Somehow the sheer idea of how Kiryuu had already spent some quality time with their supposed 'sons' makes him feel like doing the same thing, too. Honestly, Kaname had no idea why he was feeling the way that he does, right now. The feeling that he felt towards the twins' sheer existence was somewhat indescribable, it seemed to be a mixture of disbelief and strangely enough - the feeling of joy. However, when it comes down to the issue of the twins' other potential parent - Kiryuu Zero, an ex-human vampire; a vampire hunter, and someone whom his beloved Yuuki had cared a great deal about. Kaname had to admit, he was floored by the feeling of lost. Never had he felt so bewildered in the whole of his life, before. Before the twins and Akane's arrival, he could very well classify his feelings towards the fellow silver-haired hunter under the category of 'loath'. Now, he simply had no idea anymore. Not to mention, these days whenever he looked at the said guardian, aside from the usual feeling of irritation; there was something else at play, too. Something which he had yet to come up with a probable explanation for - that would be his sudden urge to 'concern' himself with the former's special health-related 'conditions'. In other words, how the silver-haired hunter was coping with the body stress of the turning process - from a human to a vampire, on the whole. "Well ... if you're sure about it ..." Akane's inquiring tone of voice jarred Kaname from his thoughts, causing the pureblood to return to the realm of reality. "Yes, I'm certain that I could handle them - just fine. I did have my share of baby-sitting experience with Yuuki when she was younger ..." Kaname assured the worried-looking girl, as he stood by his decision to watch over the twins while Akane could head upstairs for some rest before heading off to school, early next morning. "Alright then ..." Akane eventually agreed, she was tired, and since the pureblood king had offered to babysit them for her. She might as well seize the opportunity to catch some sleep before departing for school in another seven hours' time. Besides, with her out of the picture - does it not allow an opportunity for the twins to 'bond' with their 'Father'? Moreover, Akane knew - the twins would never openly defy their 'Father' words of authority. That would have happened with Zero occasionally, but the situation had never occurred - not even once, in Kaname's presence. Well, that was kind of within Akane's range of understanding too, since the silver-haired hunter can be too 'accommodating' to the twins' requests for his own good - sometimes. Then again, that was to be expected from the silver-haired hunter though. After all, Kiryuu Zero had been the one who carried the twins to term; and then went through the hell of hard laboring to bring the twins into the realm of existence. Not that, Akane would bother to reveal such information to either parent of the twins; at this point. For she knew, neither of her future adoptive parents would be able to digest such 'disturbing' information for the time being. Therefore, she would be keeping this little piece of information to herself, for a while longer. Until the situation deemed it necessary for her to reveal the said piece of information to the public, or the timing suitable enough for her to cue the future parents in on the fact. Although it had been Zero who was playing the role of the 'mommy' to the twins, the former had not always been on the 'bottom' in the relationship with the pureblood. If anything, the concept of 'dominant' and 'submissive' was never important in their household, since the two vampires take turns in 'doing' one another. While Kaname and Zero had never broadcasted such information about their privacy to the girl, Akane had managed to figure out things on her own - by observing the way the two vampires had interacted with one another in their everyday lives. "Akane?" The pureblood's questioning tone of voice jarred Akane out from her trip down memory lane, blinking twice to remove herself from her dazed-like trance. Akane responded, "Nothing ... my mind kind of 'zoned' out on me for a while. So, I guess, I'll leave them to your care then ... Good night, boys! Do try to have fun 'bonding' with Kaname-sama ..." Akane added the last bit of her statement cheekily, and she would have mentioned the term 'Father' but decided against it at the very last minute. Unlike the situation with the twins, she highly doubted that Kaname Kuran would allow her to get away that easily, upon using that particular word of 'Father' in his presence. ~to be continued~ Date started: 29/04/09 Date completed: 01/05/09 Date edited: 01/05/09 Date revised: 19/02/2025
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Ichijo Takuma had to admit the sight that met his eyes following his return to the Moon Dormitory after he visited the Chairman's office, had caught him by surprise. The pureblood leader of the Moon Dormitory - Kaname Kuran was seen entertaining the twins with the story 'The Little Red Riding Hood' with each twin settled quite comfortably on the former's lap. For a while, Takuma had thought that he was hallucinating. However, when he heard his friend's voice calling out for his attention - Takuma realized that the images had not been fading away as how the hallucinations should be. The boys were still seated comfortably on the pureblood's lap with ease. Astounded, the Vice-President of the Moon Dormitory headed for his friend and spoke. "The memories had been removed from the two day-class girls.” The vice president of the night class did not need to elaborate on his statement, for they both knew what had happened that required modifying the girls' memories. "Good, and please keep an eye on Aidou and Kain - over the next few days. The last thing I need from them now is to have them attempting to kill Kiryuu ... on academy grounds." Kaname finished eventually. For a while he had been contemplating on saying that he still has his reasons for keeping the fellow hunter alive - but that was something which he could not mention with the twins' being present. Neither would the reason of not wanting to upset Yuuki if Kiryuu was to be hurt in any sense, sound 'right' with the twins being around. The twins were his sons with the silver-haired ex-human, after all. Although, that had yet to occur and would only happen sometime at a later stage of his life. Still, the fact remains that they were here now and despite his conflicted feelings towards the twins' other parent for the time being, he had to admit that he does care for the twins. The twins' current standing position within his heart was just lagging slightly behind Yuuki. "Sure, I understand ..." Takuma responded, drawing him away from his thoughts and back into reality. Having still been distracted, Kaname failed to realize that his friend was glancing around the surroundings as though in search of something, or someone. It was not until he heard the younger twin addressing his friend that he realized the Vice-President was still standing in front of him. "... If you're wondering where's Akane, I can assure you that she's just upstairs sleeping away without having us around to distract her from her precious hours of sleep." Kuran Akira said before the former could even start asking about Akane's whereabouts. "Oh ... and I supposed Kaname had somehow volunteered himself for the task of 'babysitting'?" Takuma Ichijo started, sounding somewhat amused by the idea now as he started to shoot glances at his pureblood friend. "Takuma ..." Kaname started, warningly. "Oops, I guess I had better leave while I had the chance to do so ..." With that said, the vice president threw another look of amusement in the pureblood's direction before vanishing down the hallway in a bat of an eyelid's time. "..." Kaname stared towards the hallway where he had seen his friend heading, somehow, he had a feeling that by the end of the week - everyone who resided within the walls of the Moon Dormitory would be notified of his volunteering to 'babysit' his future 'sons'. Turning back to the boys, Kaname asked. "Would it be fine, if I were to move our location to somewhere else where privacy would be insured?" The two boys shrugged easily, not caring where their 'Father' had in mind for them to go. After all, knowing Kaname - the three of them would bound to end up within the privacy of the pureblood's room. For they both know, that neither of the members of the night class would dare to intrude or invade the privacy of their leader's room without permission being granted. It would otherwise be seen as an act of disrespect towards the pureblood, and that was something that was highly frowned upon by the people in their society. The boys had their thoughts proven right - when they found themselves stopping in front of a door that looked familiar enough for them to recognize from their childhood memories. The door was pushed open to reveal a suite of rooms which the twins had no problems identifying. It was the same set of rooms that their family would always be seen occupying, whenever their parents decided to take them along with them when they decided to pay a visit to the Academy. Either for business reasons that required some dealings with the Chairman or merely for a socializing visit - a chance for them to interact with the members of the night class from their own time. Otherwise, it would be simply for the sake of spending some quality time with their adopted sister - Akane, who had been living within the academy grounds and often being away from home. Except during the festive seasons whereby, the school would be closed and the students would be expected to return to their respective homes for the holidays. The twins stood still while they waited for further instructions to be issued from their 'Father', even if they knew practically every inch of the pureblood's room by heart. They still dared not move without permission being granted by the former, after all - the Kaname Kuran standing in front of them now was from the past, not the future. Therefore, they were both caught by surprise when they felt themselves being lifted by the strong arms of the pureblood before they found themselves being placed atop of the duvet bedsheets of the former's large canopy bed. "Father? " Kaname looked over at the boys just in time to meet up with their inquiring gaze and smiled tentatively. "Try to make yourselves comfortable here, since I'd promised Akane that I'll watch over the two of you so she could sleep on in peace. I'll not be having the two of you back in that same room with her again, at least - that would be the case for tonight." "...Oh good, does that mean we get to listen to our favorite bedtime story again?" Kuran Akira, the younger twin started sounding excited at the prospect of spending the night in the pureblood's presence. Beside Akira, Subaru was once again at a loss of words. Sometimes, he had to resign himself to his younger twin brother's ability to be feeling at ease, despite how precarious their current situation had been. Yet, Akira still dared to ask for a bedtime story from the younger version of their 'Father'?! Well ... at least, Akira had not attempted to get either of their parents from this time to sing them a lullaby. Subaru told himself, reassuringly in his mind. Kaname Kuran frowned visibly for a second, before opening his mouth to inquire. "And what would that favorite bedtime story of yours be? " "A Mid-Summer Night's Dream!" Subaru spoke up before Akira had a chance to do so, causing the younger boy to pout unhappily for a minute before giving up on the notion entirely. Upon the realization that Subaru was simply not going to let him do as he pleased, this time around. "Fine then! Since Subaru had already stated his 'pick' for tonight, I'll get to choose the story - the next time around." Akira said, having 'emphasized' on the last part of his statement. "Sure, but please bear it in mind not to pick anything that had yet to be written by this point of time - alright? Knowing you, your favorite story would only be written and published in another century's time. Therefore, it's hardly possible for 'Father' to be able to tell that particular story to us - yet." Subaru reminded as he agreed to his younger twin sibling's request. With the decision on the bedtime story made, Kaname had to head off in search of that particular book of Shakespeare' from his collection of books that was within the privacy of his 'study'. --- Forty-five minutes later, Kaname put away the book of tales written by Shakespeare' as he turned his eyes toward the two sleeping boys who were now occupying his bed. Smiling as he took in the way the two boys had cuddled up against one another seeking warmth, Kaname reached for the blanket and pulled it up to cover the two slumbering figures before making a move to leave the room for the dining hall, himself. It was now two o'clock in the middle of the night for the humans out there, thus making it mid-day for the vampires of the night class. Like humans, vampires like himself do require taking meals that consist of solid food at a certain point of time within a day. They do not merely survive on the 'blood-sucking' itself - contrary to what the humans had thought the 'vampires' to be. Hence, his reasons for heading towards the dining hall of the Moon Dormitory now as this was one of the times when actual food would be served by the chefs working within the kitchen of the said dormitory building. The other time when food would be provided within the Moon Dormitory would be at six in the morning. That timing would be when the majority of the night-class members usually returned from their after-class activities and would want some dinner before heading off for bed. "Kaname-sama!" The night-class students who were already settled at their respective tables within the dining hall greeted him as he entered the dining area. Nodding towards the majority of them, Kaname made his way towards the direction of the table which he usually sat together with his friends. "Takuma ..." He greeted, while his eyes scanned the rest of the occupants at his table. Unsurprised to find both Aidou and Akatsuki absent, he figured that the two probably were still 'sore' from the fact that he had lashed out against them in public. However, he was not at all worried by the fact. Knowing for a fact that once the day's over, they would have just let the whole issue 'go' and left it buried somewhere else in their mind. "Ah ... Kaname, where's the boys?" Takuma had asked, as soon as he reached the table. Kaname Kuran eyed his childhood friend with intent while assessing the remaining members' expressions carefully. Seeing that neither of them seemed to be wary of being around him now that hours had fleeted by since his display of anger towards Aidou, Kaname nodded with satisfaction before responding to his green-eyed friend's query. "They're sleeping ... if you really must know ..." "Oh ..." Takuma sounded vaguely disappointed for a moment, before brightening up again. "Well, I guess it can't be helped. They are kids, after all ... taking naps in between hours could be considered normal ... I guess." "... Why? Is there a particular reason why you have been asking about them?" Kaname said as he narrowed his eyes at his friend's words. Upon the pureblood's query, the vice president gulped somewhat nervously as he shook his head in response. "Nothing, I just felt like sharing with them some of my favorite manga collection ... " "I see ..." Kaname made a knowing sound in response, although he did not quite believe the words of his fellow friend. Still, he did not make any attempt at pressing the former for an answer. Wiping the side of his mouth with a paper napkin as he finishes off the last portion of his food on the plate, the pureblood started for the direction of the kitchen. The pureblood had wanted to speak to the head chef in charge with regards to the modification to be made on the menu of food to be served, later at six in the morning. Instead of the original dinner menu that was to be served, Kaname had requested for a breakfast menu to be prepared for Akane as well. Although, the girl had mentioned nothing about wanting him to make special arrangements with the kitchen on her behalf. Somehow, Kaname still felt compelled to do something for the girl. Why though, he had no idea about it, himself. Meanwhile, the vice president of the Moon Dormitory heaved a sigh of relief when he noticed that Kaname had not pressed him for the true reason behind his inquiry of the boys' location. He knew the pureblood was anything but convinced of his previous reasoning, for it was obvious from the way Kaname had been eyeing him following the end of his last statement. Then again, certainly, he could not be telling the former that he was trying to convince the rest of the members within their group that Kaname had volunteered himself for the task of babysitting. Could he? Kaname would have killed him, if he answered the pureblood's question truthfully. --- Akane had to admit she was indeed surprised when she entered the dining hall at six in the morning, to find herself being served a breakfast menu instead of the supper menu which she had been expecting. A glance towards the plate of food being served to another member of the night class confirmed her suspicion. Someone must have spoken to the chef in charge of the menu, how else could she explain the different choices of food being catered to that particular morning? The chef must have been told to serve the only female student who was dressed in the day-class uniform, the specially requested breakfast menu beforehand. Otherwise, she would not be seeing the plate loaded with French toast together with bacon and eggs being placed in front of her now. "Thanks, but may I know who helped to change the menu for me?" Akane murmured her word of appreciation to the kitchen helper who had been asked to serve the nobles during mealtimes while making her inquiry. The kitchen helper stared at her for a minute, before responding. "It was Kaname-sama, who made the changes on your behalf. " "... I see, thanks," Akane responded, as she dismissed the former from her sight. "Figures that it would be him, since there was no one else with that much authority down here ... Well, granted Takuma would have the same authority to make such requests - should he choose to do so ... but the sheer idea of the Vice-President doing anything like that for my sake would be just 'weird'." Akane mused to herself, as she settled down to have her breakfast in peace. Initially, she had thought that she would have to make do with the supper menu. However, judging from the menu being served today, Akane was glad that she did need not to fear over-eating for breakfast, anymore. With a smile, she greeted every vampire in the hall with a quick 'goodnight' and 'goodbye'. Akane was out of the dining hall and headed towards the direction of the school building, in a flash of light. Akane stepped out of the gate of the Moon Dormitory, just as the last of the night-class members entered under the close observation of the two guardians. "Good morning, Yuuki-chan!" Akane greeted happily, as she headed towards the two tired-looking guardians with a hearty skip in her steps. "Ah! Good morning, Akane-chan ... How are you feeling? It must be hard for you to wake up so early in the morning ... Why didn't you ask to be in the night class? Surely, you would have qualified ..." Yuuki started, only to have the silver-haired guardian cutting her off, mid-speech. "Yuuki ... Akane had been in the day class since the beginning ... Remember what she had been wearing when they had first arrived, the night before yesterday?" Zero prompted, reminding Yuuki again of that 'fateful' night as he had now taken to label it. "Yes, Yuuki-chan ... I'll be fine. If I can handle it back in my own time, I certainly can do so while being here." Akane hurried to assure them before reminding Yuuki to hurry if they did not want to be late for class. Thus, when Kaname took a peek through the drawn curtains of his room - he could easily make out the shape of the three figures who were hurrying across the lawn and heading for the school building. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he witnessed how the two girls interacted with one another; his smile faded however as his eyes landed upon the figure of one Kiryuu Zero. Time is running out for the hunter; the turning process has already begun. He could easily hear the clock ticking away softly now, and he knew it would only be a matter of days, hours even. Depending on just how much longer Kiryuu could continue to fight against the strong lure of the bloodlust by sheer willpower before succumbing to the inevitable. Come to think of it now, it’s truly amazing how Kiryuu had managed to stem the lure of drawing his first blood ever since being bitten four years ago by the blooming mad princess – Shizuka Hiou. Anyone else would have succumbed to the lure of bloodlust by this point, and yet Kiryuu is still hanging on...Kaname Kuran found himself musing as he kept his eyes trained upon the figure of Kiryuu Zero while he observed the trio making their way to the academic building for their classes. “Zero?” Yuuki Cross started when she noticed that her silver-haired friend had stopped moving out of the blue. “It’s nothing, let’s continue on our way.” Kiryuu Zero said as he resumed the act of heading for the school’s academic building, while inwardly wondering what was wrong with the pureblood king today. That guy has been observing them for quite some time behind the window from the Moon Dorm now, and frankly speaking – it's getting kind of unnerving for him to handle. --- "Class, please settle down ... Today, our class is honored to have with us a new transfer student who has just come back from aboard." The homeroom lecturer for the day class, Year 2 Class B announced. Once the class of students settled down in their respective seats and started to pay attention to the lecturer's words, the homeroom lecturer beckoned for the awaiting transfer student to enter the classroom. Akane entered the class confidently, her body language showing nothing else but sheer elegance. Turning around such that she was now facing the class of students, Akane was hardly amused to see the look of surprise on the female population. She figured that quite a number of the female students in her class must have realized she was the very same female who had come out from the Moon Dormitory, catching everyone's attention during the class change-over timing, yesterday. Akane surveyed the classroom to find Yuuki waving at her, while her future adoptive parent appeared to be glancing out of the window in sheer boredom. Akane smirked inwardly, somehow Zero would find himself no longer being bored - soon enough. As soon as she was done with her self-introduction, the fellow silver-haired hunter would be wishing that he was anywhere else but within the classroom. That much, Akane was certain. Sparing a moment to scan the faces of her future classmates, Akane was rather glad that she wasn’t going to be sharing a class with her birth mother. It would be downright awkward for her, otherwise. "Good morning, everyone, I'm Kiryuu Akane. I'll be learning together with all of you, starting today. I hope that we will all get along well, with one another." With that said, Akane directed a dazzling smile towards the students within the class, in general. "I'm sure, we would have gotten along well with no problems ... Kiryuu-san ..." The class representative started easily enough before pausing in the middle of his speech and turned startlingly wide eyes towards Akane, as he repeated with incredulity. "Wait a minute! Did you just say ... the name 'Kiryuu'?! " Akane nodded, smirking inwardly at the class representative's reactions. Now this was what she had been expecting from her classmates, and then she shifted her eyes toward the two guardians' direction. Yuuki Cross appeared to be shell-shock, stunned by her words of self-introduction. The silver-haired hunter though, was another matter entirely. The former had an unreadable expression on his face, before pushing back the chair and departed from the class without a word being mentioned to anyone. Not even the lecturer who appeared to be standing at the front of the classroom frowning at the whole class with an unhappy look on the former's face. Ten minutes later, an irate silver-haired guardian had all but stormed into the office of the Chairman as he demanded. "What is the meaning of that?!" The Chairman of the Cross Academy, Kaien Cross blinked in puzzlement as he queried. "What is the meaning of /what/?" Zero glared, and if looks could kill - the Chairman would have been dead by then. "A-ka-ne!" Kiryuu Zero gritted out through his teeth, seething at the way the Chairman was still acting like an idiot in front of him. "Oh ... so this is about our charming Akane-chan ... so what is it about her?" Forcing himself to calm down, lest he destroy the office of the Chairman with his anger that was threatening to spill forth. Zero glared as he asked. "Why is she using the name of Kiryuu?!" "... Probably, because that's her name? " "No, what I meant was - why is she using my family name while being here?! Surely, you would have known by now that it would no doubt cause an uproar!" "... I know, and I'm certain that she knew - too. Still, she insisted upon using the name 'Kiryuu'. She will not be able to use her birth father's family name for it could risk gaining unwanted attention, especially from the council of the Vampires especially. The name 'Kuran' is out for obvious reasons, being the family name of a pureblood and all. Not to mention, the female students of the day class would have a fit if she were to use that name. I'm sure, you would have known by now the name 'Fujiwara' would not work as well given how many similarities she shares with her birth mother except for the color of her hair that she inherited from her birth father. I’m sure she has informed you of her desire to avoid coming into contact with her mother at this point and she refuses to use 'Cross' as her family name while being here. So, there ... you have it. Was there another surname she could have used - if not the name 'Kiryuu'? " "The hunters' association ... " Zero started, only to have the Chairman cutting him off in mid-speech. "Zero, they won't say anything. The Kiryuu Clan had been wiped out by Shizuka Hiou back then, and you are the only one to come out alive but not unharmed either. If the hunters' association tried to poke their nose into the issue, we could easily just tell them that Akane was turned by Shizuka Hiou, just like you are. Zero - they are hunters, not vampires. They can't tell whether she's of noble blood or an ex-human just by looking at her profile on papers." "... " Zero remained silent, appearing to be thinking things over from another angle. "It could work, I guess ..." The fellow silver-haired guardian said, eventually. "She could easily pass off as my sister, hidden from the public eyes' ... since she has the typical appearance of a Fujiwara. Seeing as she didn’t wish for anyone to make a connection between her and Hitomi, I guess, making her a sister of mine would work for the cover story to be given to the hunter’s association – should they decide to pry into the subject. We could just claim that she inherited the looks and eyes of my mother, while Ichiru and I took after our father...as for the difference in the hair color, let’s just say that she dyed her hair in an attempt to avoid detection by the hunters after being turned by Shizuka Hiou." Kiryuu Zero added after sparing a moment to ‘cook’ up a plausible cover story for his future adopted daughter to fend off any nosy personnel poking into the existence of Akane, be it from the vampire council or the hunter’s association. "Exactly! Now you see why I allow her to keep using the name 'Kiryuu' and not change it into something else?" The Chairman responded, sounding relieved that his adopted son had finally caved into his reasonings. "... Still, that does not mean I am happy about it!" Zero growled, before stalking out of the office without another word to the Chairman. "Welcome back, Mr. Kiryuu ... Would you mind taking your seat, such that the lesson could progress?" The lecturer called out to the silver-haired guardian's attention, upon sighting the former's return to the class. Akane looked up from the textbook which she had taken the liberty to "borrow" from the silver-haired hunter, and asked. "Don't mind sharing, do you? " "... What's the point of asking, when you had already taken it?" Zero questioned back in return but said nothing else as he dropped into his seat stifling a yawn as he did so. "..." Akane merely sighed inwardly, as she shifted her attention back to the ongoing lecture. Deciding that the silver-haired guardian probably would not even require the text, since the former had already fallen asleep as soon as he settled down in his seat. --- Following the last sound of the school bell sounding aloud, it marked the end of the official class time for the day-class students. Yet, there were still another two hours to go before the change-over timing for the day and night classes arrived. As usual, Yuuki Cross had been requested to stay back after class by the lecturer for remedial lessons. Unlike Kiryuu Zero, Yuuki was utterly hopeless in the field of mathematics and thus often ended up being scolded by the lecturer for sleeping in class, which ultimately resulted in the forced remedial lessons after class had ended for the day. Yuuki watched with a frown as Zero passed her by without a word, and Akane who had caught on to Yuuki's worried expression spoke up. "Don't worry, Yuuki. I'll go after Zero, and keep an eye on him while you continue with the remedial lessons. The lecturer would have thrown a fit if you missed another session again." "Alright then, please keep an eye on him for me ..." Yuuki hesitated for a while, before adding on. "Oh, and please try not to let him cause trouble for the night-class members ..." "... Sure, I will ..." Akane responded, though inwardly she was wondering about the part of Zero causing trouble for the members of the night class. Surely, he would not have reacted without Aidou baiting him into action, right? Packing up her belongings swiftly but in an orderly manner, Akane hurried after Zero as soon as she was ready to leave the classroom. Halfway down the hallway, she found herself coming face-to-face with the pureblood leader of the Moon Dormitory, as her sensitive hearing picked up on the words being spoken to the silver-haired guardian through the lips of Kaname Kuran. "Kiryuu ... aren't you supposed to be with Yuuki?" "... She's having remedial lessons now." "I see ... and how are you?” "I'm as well as I can be, Kuran ... Senpai." Zero added eventually, having realized that many of the day-class female students loitering in the hallway had been eyeing him with curiosity as they listened on to his so-called conversation with the pureblood. "I meant, the status of your health ..." Kaname Kuran added when he realized that the fellow silver-haired guardian had not understood the real meaning behind his words or simply had chosen not to understand them. Zero tensed visibly, before throwing a glare towards the former's direction as he gritted out the response. "Again, as I've mentioned to you before - I AM FINE!" The pureblood eyed him with intent for a minute, before shrugging as he commented. "In that case, please do take care of yourself." With that said, Kaname Kuran departed from the hallway and headed towards the direction of the administration building of the academy. "... Kaname-sama." Akane greeted politely, as the pureblood passed her by with Ruka Souen following his lead. "Akane." Kaname acknowledge the girl with a nod of his head, before continuing on his way down the corridor of the school building. Akane waited for a good five minutes before she made a move to follow after the irate silver-haired hunter, she knew by now that if she were to follow too closely. Zero would have lashed out against her, for there was no other available outlet for the former to vent his frustration on. Akane had seen the way Zero had tensed visibly after being inquired about his health condition by the pureblood, thus she knew the bloodlust must have been getting stronger these days for the fellow hunter to ignore. "In that case, I must indeed hurry ..." Akane told herself, resolutely. Her keen senses brought her towards the currently deserted science buildings, where the laboratories that the night-class members often used for their experiments in creating more blood tablets for their use within the academy were being situated. "Zero?! Where are you?" Akane called out, figuring that Zero had most probably decided to hide himself within this part of the school building lest he risked biting any of the random day-class students outside. "A-ka-ne? Please ... Get Away ..." The silver-haired hunter struggled to get his words out, as he tried to fight against the bloodlust that was threatening to overwhelm his senses. Akane turned towards the source of the voice and was hardly surprised to be met up by the sight of Zero clenching his fists in agony as his fangs started to lengthen while the former's irises started to turn red from the strong temptation of the blood lust. "... No, I'm not leaving. There's simply no way that I'll leave you alone down here for another innocent student to find." Akane found herself responding, visibly noting the way Zero had frozen upon her words before starting to struggle with the bloodlust again. "Honestly, it's fine. Stop struggling, that will only end up with your bloodlust getting worse." Akane said as she started to remove her tie and unbutton the top two buttons of her uniform baring her neck open for attack as she walked towards the still struggling ex-human with determined steps. "No ... Akane ... don't ..." Zero protested weakly, as he felt the lure for blood getting stronger with each step that Akane had taken and moved towards his direction. "It's okay, Zero ... You can take my blood, you know? I'm a vampire, myself. So, you do not have to worry about hurting me ...Furthermore, I’m sure you should take my blood lest you accidentally take Yuuki’s blood. Kaname-sama would flip if that were to happen, and that’s truly an argument I could do without." Akane started, trying to coax and persuade Zero into the idea of taking her blood instead of torturing himself further. Akane could feel Zero's body trembling as she reached over and pulled the distraught hunter in for a hug. Then she scratched herself hard on the exposed skin of her neck, making sure to draw blood as she did so. After which, Akane stood still while she waited patiently for the former to react to the mild scent of her blood in the air. Akane winced visibly as she felt Zero's fangs sinking into the exposed flesh of her neck, the bite had been harsh and angry. Akane supposed that was understandable since the elder Kiryuu twin had been brought up hating all vampires and being trained to hunt them. Yet, he had now become the very same creature that he had been trained to kill since the day that he was born. --- Kaname Kuran has been conversing with Yuuki Cross who had just been released from her remedial class when the smell of blood hits the air. Yuuki, being human, of course, fails to scent the smell of blood in the air. The same couldn’t be said for the pureblood king, originally, he was going to send his loyal subject – Seiren, to check things out but then Yuuki wanted to go in search of Kiryuu. Knowing how precarious Kiryuu’s present condition was, there was no way that Kaname would allow Yuuki to go anywhere near the silver-haired hunter at present. However, he couldn’t outright forbid Yuuki from going in search of the hunter either, so, he decided to accompany Yuuki as the girl went in search of the silver-haired guardian. Akane had no idea how long had they been remaining in that position, with her standing still and not moving while her future adoptive parent drank his fill from her. It was not until they heard the sound of a sharp gasp emitting from someone behind them, did the two of them finally separated themselves from one another. Akane stifled another wince of pain, as Zero removed his fangs a little too hastily from the bite wound of her neck. The sound of the gasp emitting from the lips of Yuuki Cross startled Zero from his first feeding session as he was suddenly reminded of the situation, he was in. Abruptly and forcibly, Kiryuu Zero withdrew his fangs from the exposed neck of Akane as he took a few steps back. “Is this your definition of being fine? In any case, I’ll be speaking to the Chairman about you succumbing to your bloodlust this afternoon.” The pureblood couldn’t help it, he simply had to remind the silver-haired hunter of his presence by speaking up. “...” Poor Yuuki Cross looked so confused, while Kiryuu Zero was adamant to not glance in the direction of the pureblood. He thought he must have been quite pathetic, given that less than an hour ago, he was so affirmative when he informed the pureblood king that he was perfectly fine, and yet now, he was caught red-handed by the same pureblood in the act of bloodsucking. Meanwhile, Akane was both annoyed and relieved that it had been Yuuki and a certain pureblood vampire who had found them, instead of some random day-class students. "Akane-chan ... what's going on here? Why is Zero drinking your blood?!" Yuuki directed the question towards Akane, for Zero had refused to look her in the eyes since the former had heard her gasp of surprise from before. Akane had to resist the urge to roll her eyes upon Yuuki's question, still, she responded to the question calmly. "Yuuki-chan, Zero's drinking my blood because he's a vampire ... and there's also the reason that he could no longer keep his bloodlust under control." "... But I thought, the Chairman had already given him a supply of blood tablets?" Yuuki asked, looking utterly confused by the sight that she had just witnessed taking place. "Yuuki ... the blood tablets do help to stem the craving for blood in vampires, and generally it does its job. However, you have to understand that the blood tablets do not work on every vampire. They are kind of like a drug for medication purposes, some vampires would not be able to stomach them. Under those circumstances, should they force themselves to ingest the blood tablets - they would have ended up suffering from a very severe allergic reaction." Akane explained, patiently. "You mean ... Zero is allergic to them?" Yuuki whispered faintly, her eyes wide with shock. Meanwhile, Kiryuu Zero frowned at Akane's words but wisely remained silent and did not make any comments about it. The Chairman did give him a box of those blood tablets urging him to take them once his blood lust became too strong for him to suppress. However, due to his stubbornness, he had refused to take them and merely put them away in some corner of his drawer and later on, forgotten all about their existence. If Yuuki had not brought up the issue today, he would not have remembered it - at all. "Yes, he is allergic to the blood tablets. I would know, he’s my adoptive dad after all. I remember there was one occasion when his bloodlust struck while father-dearest was out, and he decided to give the blood tablets a try. The result, he vomited them back out right afterward. The vomiting is so bad that I almost thought he was going through a bout of ... illness." Akane responded, her tone firm and without hesitance as she looked into the eyes of the pureblood, daring the former to contradict her words. Inwardly, Akane heaved a sigh of relief that she didn’t accidentally blurt out the term – morning sickness. She didn’t think any of her future adoptive parents would want to receive that little titbit of information in front of Yuuki Cross, and within the school’s science building. Kaname Kuran remained silent, he was certain that Akane must have been telling the truth. After all, Akane was from the future so her words were reliable and could be trusted. Thus, his reasons for remaining solemn while Akane explained the possible allergic reactions that might occur if one's body was unable to digest the blood tablets taken. For Zero, his reason for remaining silent while allowing Akane to continue with her speech of explanation was the same as the pureblood. While he had not tried out those blood tablets that had been kindly supplied to him by the Chairman prior, he supposed he must have been allergic to them since Akane seemed rather adamant about what she had been telling them. Then again, he could not help but wonder if Akane had been telling them all this information merely as an attempt to prevent Yuuki from making a big fuss over the issue of him drinking Akane's blood. Perhaps, he should give those tablets a 'try' and see if he was indeed allergic to them? Silence reigned, as Akane ended her lengthy elaboration on the possible allergic reactions that might occur if one ingested the blood tablets without knowing that they were allergic to them. Yuuki stared at Zero with disbelief, while the silver-haired guardian continued to avoid looking into Yuuki's eyes worried that the girl would catch on to his guilt. Kaname Kuran, on the other hand, continues to eye Akane with an unreadable gaze. Granted, Kaname should be relieved that it was not his beloved Yuuki's blood that Kiryuu Zero had ended up drinking from. Yet, somehow the sight of Zero drinking the blood off Akane's neck still disturbed him. There was no anger though, only mild irritation and that puzzled him. "..." Akane felt her gaze flickering between Yuuki and the two vampires, before rolling her eyes at their actions. Decided that, if the three of them wanted to hold a staring contest and see who would be the winner - they could jolly well go ahead, and exclude her from it. Breaking her eye contact with the pureblood, Akane made her way toward the corner where she had dropped off her bag of belongings and her school tie. The bite wound that she had received from Zero's fangs had closed itself off by now, though there was still a faintly visible mark where her silver-haired parental figure had bitten her earlier. It would fade off eventually, latest by tomorrow morning - Akane gathered. Pulling out a bottle of mineral water from her bag, Akane dug her other hand into her skirt's pocket and took out a small box of blood tablets from within. Fully aware that her actions had now attracted the attention of the trio who had previously been locked in a staring contest with one another. Akane ignored them easily, as she unscrewed the cap to the bottle of water before dumping and dissolving several of those blood tablets into the water. Keeping the remaining tablets away and putting them back in the pocket where she had taken them out from, Akane waited patiently as the tablets dissolved themselves fully in the water before gulping them down hastily with a grimace. "Yikes! Taste as bad as always ..." Akane commented, before throwing the emptied bottle into the nearest rubbish bin. Following this, Akane promptly took out a mint-flavored candy from another pocket of hers and popped it into her mouth without hesitation so that she could get rid of the nasty after-taste of the blood tablets. Akane only turned towards the dumbfounded trio standing behind her, when she was done with the final adjustment made on her school uniform which had been messed up earlier while allowing Zero to have easier access to her blood. "... Akane, please do not tell me that you keep those /things/ with you, all the time ..." The silver-haired hunter, who had been silent all this while, had finally decided to speak up. Meanwhile, Yuuki was still in shock, for she could only stare at Akane speechlessly. Words failed her completely; nothing could have described what she was feeling at this moment in time. Not only did Akane allow Zero to drink her blood willingly, but it seemed like Akane had been preparing for the event itself. Otherwise, how could Akane have both the blood tablets and water ready at hand - making it possible for the girl to replenish the amount of blood that had been lost almost immediately after Zero had drank from her? "Would either of you believe me, if I claimed this to be a habit of mine?" Akane responded to Zero's comment with a question of her own. Silence was her only response. Looking up at the trio's reactions to her question, Akane knew neither of them had believed her words. Both Zero and Yuuki were looking at her with disbelief, whereas Kaname Kuran was frowning. "... But that's a habit of mine! Besides, I need to keep these things on me all the time as I am always on the verge of suffering from bloodlust. By that, I meant one of those mild types - nothing drastic like Zero's condition." "Huh?! What does that mean?" Yuuki Cross had finally snapped herself out of her shock, to ask. Instead, of continuing to stare and gaping open-mouthed at Akane. "... My patrolling partner has a knack for getting himself into 'trouble' with the night-class members by injuring himself. For some odd reason, the scent of his blood seems to attract the attention of the night-class female vampires easily. Thus, I often ended up having to get that partner of mine away from those over-enthusiastic female vampires who were amid a blood-lust." "And what does that have to do with you keeping the blood tablets close to you, at all times?" This came from Zero, who was still having some problems understanding the link between the blood tablets and the story that Akane had just told them. "... I see, your partner's blood seems to be rather appealing to the majority of the female population of our 'kind' ... and somehow, you are affected as well. However, the effects that you suffered from were nothing but mild as compared to the rest of the night class members. Still, you decided to keep the blood tablets on yourself lest you risk losing yourself to the lure of the bloodlust - am I right to say that?" It was the pureblood, Kaname Kuran who had caught on to the meaning behind Akane's little story from before and later linked them to the reason why Akane had kept a supply of blood tablets with her, at all times. "Exactly! It's always better to be safe than to be sorry. After all, one would never know what might happen in the future. Thus, it's always better to be prepared for the unexpected - isn't it?" "Indeed." Both Zero and Kaname agreed with a matching tone of irony in them. They found themselves being reminded of the night when Akane and the twins had turned up, claiming to have arrived from some point in their shared and intertwined future. No matter how impossible and ridiculous that notion had appeared to be, at the current stage of their lives. Still, they could not help but arrive at the common agreement that the twins' sheer existence itself had proven to them just how 'unexpected' the future can be. "... Since when did the two of you start being telepathic to one another's thoughts?" Akane asked, surprise written all over her features as she turned towards the direction of her future adopted 'parents'. The duo appeared to be startled by the fact that they had somehow echoed one another's thoughts unintentionally as well, for the two of them were also staring at one another in shock. Well, Kiryuu Zero was looking at Kaname in shock whereas the pureblood's expression remained a mask of indifference. However, if the silver-haired hunter had taken the time to 'look' at Kaname properly, he would have realized that the eyes of the pureblood had said things differently. The clear apparent hint of shock could be seen reflected within the irises of the pureblood's eyes, which now resembled a swirling pool of chocolate puddle. Not that Kiryuu Zero would have even bothered to attempt deciphering the hidden feelings within the depths of the pureblood's eyes, under normal circumstances. But it was kind of hard for him to ignore the unreadable gaze which he found himself being subjected to - due to courtesy of the pureblood. Especially, when Zero found himself locking eyes with Kaname - without the intention to do so, in the first place. Deciding that the atmosphere between them was getting kind of creepy and weird with each passing minute, Kiryuu Zero made up his mind to leave the place as soon as possible. Turning towards Yuuki, the silver-haired guardian said. "Yuuki, it's time for the change-over. Let's go ... " Yuuki Cross flickered her eyes between her friend, and the pureblood for a while before bowing to the latter with respect and took off after the silver-haired hunter whom she had taken to care for, as a brother. With the departure of the two guardians, Akane found no reason for her to be staying around the area too. "Well, Kaname-sama. I believe I should thank you for your efforts at getting the chef in charge of the menu to make special adjustments for my sake, this morning. It's getting late now, and I should probably leave before the rest of the night class arrives." With that being said, Akane promptly turned on her heels to exit from the science building, leaving behind a certain pureblood who appeared to be deep in thought. --- Kiryuu Zero was gazing up at the moon while patrolling the academy grounds when he sensed the approach of a single vampire. Reacting purely on instincts, the silver-haired hunter promptly whipped out his ‘Bloody Rose’ and pointed it towards the approaching vampire. “Take a chill pill, Kiryuu-dono. You knew I wouldn’t have approached you if I’ve got nothing important to speak with you about.” Risa Miyazaki commented nonchalantly as she ignored the gun pointed in her direction and continued to approach the silver-haired guardian. “...” Tucking the ‘Bloody Rose’ back into his uniform blazer, Kiryuu Zero let out an audible sigh as he prompted. “Well then, do state your business for approaching me tonight.” “My grandfather was doing some snooping around in Fujiwara Haruto’s study the other day, and happened to find some interesting things in his desk.” Risa Miyazaki said as she handed over a document packet to the silver-haired guardian of Cross Academy. “...” Reaching for the packet of documents, Kiryuu Zero spent some time glaring at the item held in his hands before opening up the business envelope to pull out the papers from within. Initially, he was just scanning through the contents half-heartedly until the name ‘Shizuka Hiou’ caught his attention and promptly, he was back to page 1 of the document to go through them, again. Only this time, he was going through the content in detail. In the packet, it held a missive stating the hunting mission assigned to the Kiryuu couple. Aside from the official missive issued by the Hunter’s Association, there is also the official report filed with the Hunter’s Association following the tragedy that befalls the Kiryuu family following the attack by the blooming mad princess – Shizuka Hiou. Also, included in the packet is the investigation report carried out by the members of the Fujiwara clan about the ex-human lover of Shizuka Hiou who somehow ended up on the hit-list for the hunter, even though the ex-human was in no danger of falling to the end since he has been feeding off Shizuka Hiou, constantly. A conclusion theory about the mission being a set-up staged by the hunter’s association to specifically target the Kiryuu couple. “Is this the investigation report for the mission assigned to my parents’ that brought on the tragedy of my family?” Kiryuu Zero inquires in a quiet tone of voice. “Yes.” Risa Miyazaki responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “These aren’t the originals, are they?” Kiryuu Zero was silent for a moment, before inquiring. “They’re photocopies of the original document. There's no way my grandfather could have taken the originals out from Fujiwara Haruto’s office without tripping off the security alarm.” Risa Miyazaki answered as she leaned her back against the pillar of the academic building. “Good, that means I could keep them. Is there anything else you wish to speak with me about?” Kiryuu Zero nodded in satisfaction before inquiring. “Not at the moment.” Risa Miyazaki hesitated for a moment as though she was going to say something before deciding against it, in the end. “In that case, you can head back to rejoin the rest of your classmates for the remaining classes. And do refrain from approaching me from behind without a warning next time, if you happen to catch me in a bad mood – I might shoot first and ask questions later.” Kiryuu Zero warned as he dismissed the common-class vampire from his presence. “...Seriously, Kiryuu-dono. That situation could easily be prevented if you’d just consent to the idea of completing your turning process from an ex-human to Level B. Right now, as an ex-human – you are only able to tell apart the pureblood from the general vampire population. But after completing the turn, you should be able to tell everyone apart with just a feel of their aura. Shizuru-sama said to inform you that her offer to assist you in completing the change still stands.” Risa Miyazaki pointed out objectively to the visibly annoyed Kiryuu Zero. “Risa, I’m not in the mood to talk about that. So, kindly drop it before I snap. While on the subject, kindly drop the use of 'dono' with my surname – it bloody well makes me feel like that not-quite-dead paternal grandfather of mine.” Kiryuu Zero eventually responded through gritted teeth, a sign that his patience was thinning. “Fine. I'll drop the subject, for now, Zero-sama.” Risa Miyazaki shrugged and held her hands up in a surrendering motion before turning on her heels to return to the classroom to rejoin the rest of her classmates for the remaining lessons for the night. ~to be continued~ Date started: 01/05/09 Date completed: 03/05/09 Date edited: 03/05/09 Date revised: 19/02/2025
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
When Kiryuu Zero returns to the Cross Residence citing that he’s moving back, Kaien Cross isn’t exactly surprised by the decision of his adopted son. He had received a visit from a certain pureblood some time ago, informing him that his adopted son had finally succumbed to the lure of bloodlust and took blood from the neck of Akane, earlier today in an empty part of the school’s science building. The pureblood king had informed Kaien that with Kiryuu awakening his vampire nature, it wouldn’t be suitable for the hunter to continue staying in the day class as it could jeopardize the innocents if bloodlust were to strike the silver-haired guardian while school was in session. And so, the pureblood had suggested that Kiryuu Zero transfer to the night class without delay. ‘Well... Zero’s not going to take this suggestion well...’ Kaien Cross thought as he made the suggestion known to his adopted son. “Zero, Kaname came by earlier.” “So, what did he have to say to you aside from reporting to you about me succumbing to the bloodlust and taking blood from Akane?” Kiryuu Zero stood still as he asked the Chairman in response. He wasn’t surprised to hear about the pureblood visiting his adopted father, seeing as the guy did mention he was going to speak to the Chairman about what happened earlier in the school’s science building. Shortly after he took his leave from the science building with Yuuki in tow, to proceed with the maintenance of order during the class change-over. As soon as the members of the night class had stepped through the doorway of the academic building, and the crowd of the rabid fangirls from the day class dispersed – he had snuck off before Yuuki had a chance to bug him further with the questions about his condition. So, he had secluded himself away in the stable enjoying some peace with his favorite horse – white lily for company. After which, he proceeded with the usual night patrolling around the campus grounds where he was then halted mid-way with a conversation with Risa Miyazaki. Henceforth, the notion of the pureblood king paying his adoptive father a visit about his condition sometime today has completely escaped him until now. “Well... Kaname-kun suggested that you transfer to the night class without delay, as keeping you in the day class following the awakening of your vampire’s nature might put the innocent day class students in harm’s way.” Kaien Cross hesitated slightly before repeating the suggestion of the pureblood king to the visibly annoyed figure of Kiryuu Zero. A scowl marred the features of Kiryuu Zero when he heard the words coming from the lips of the Chairman, before opening his mouth to launch into a ranting fit. “He couldn’t have simply reported the incident to you and left it as it is? He had to bring up the suggestion for me to transfer to the night class on top of it. Damn that Kuran, did he make that suggestion for fear that I’m going to take Yuuki’s blood when he’s not looking?” “Erm... that I wouldn’t know? Either way, I thought his suggestion had some merits but I told him I’m going to run the suggestion past you before coming to a decision. So, what are your thoughts about it?” Kaien Cross began hesitantly as he voiced his words across to his irritated pseudo-son. “No way, you can tell him to mind his own f****** business. I’m not going to transfer to the night class, period.” Kiryuu Zero snarled in response, before returning to his room and shutting it with a loud ‘slam’. “...” --- Two days have passed by since Kiryuu Zero was first overcome by bloodlust and took blood from the neck of his future adopted daughter. Since then, Yuuki Cross has been constantly badgering Zero on the subject of his bloodlust and his condition as an ex-human. “For the last time, Yuuki. I'm fine, I do not need blood now. There's a difference between hunger for food and bloodthirst. I already had my thirst for blood quenched two days ago, and what I need now is actual food. So, can you please move out of the way?” Kiryuu Zero told his childhood friend in a tone of exasperation, as the girl was now blocking his access to the frying pan where the ready-made omelets fried rice was waiting to be dished out and served. Ever since the occurrence of his first bloodlust two days ago, Kiryuu Zero had shifted his residential site back to his bedroom in the Cross Residence. He figured it was better to stay in his room at the Cross Residence instead of his room at the Sun Dorm, that way, he would minimize the chance of accidentally biting someone if his bloodlust happened to strike him at the most inopportune timing. And heavens forbid, if he’d accidentally bitten someone from the Fujiwara clan and ended up getting himself a servant which he does not require. Yes, there are members of the Fujiwara clan enrolled in the Cross Academy aside from Risa Miyazaki who’s enrolled in the night class. First of all, there’s Akane’s future mother – Fujiwara Hitomi but since she’s in the dormitory building reserved for the use of the girls; Zero didn’t need to worry about accidentally turning her. However, aside from Fujiwara Hitomi – there are four other members from the clan studying in Cross Academy at present. All of them are from the human branch of the family, two girls and two boys. Unfortunately, enough – the two boys had the misfortune of being assigned the room next door to Zero’s in the Sun Dorm. Given the high frequency of passing contact between them in the hallways of the dormitory, Kiryuu Zero decided to move back to the Cross Residence for the foreseeable future now that he started experiencing bloodlust. “What’s this about Zero needing blood?” Kaien Cross started, alarm bells blaring through his mind as he overheard the snippets of conversation between his adopted son and daughter. Inwardly thinking that Kaname would flay him if his adopted son had taken blood from Yuuki when he wasn’t looking. And so, Yuuki promptly recounted the scenario of how Kaname Kuran and her stumbled upon the scene of Zero feeding off the neck of Akane two days ago, to the concerned Kaien Cross. Upon hearing that this was about his adopted son taking the blood of Akane when his bloodlust struck him two days ago, Kaien Cross finally heaved a sigh of relief. As this was something he had already known, and as long as it wasn’t a new episode then it was fine. “Speaking of, I thought to ask before but it slipped my mind. Why were you taking blood from Akane, to begin with? I thought I gave you the blood tablets sometime back, did you not keep it on your person at all times? You didn’t throw them out, did you?” Kaien Cross frowned as he directed a leveling look at his adopted son. “I didn’t throw them out, but they are left forgotten in the drawer of my desk because I don’t make it a point to carry them with me at all times. It isn’t as though they would be useful to me in any sense.” Kiryuu Zero deadpans to his adopted father, as he settles down on his seat at the dining table with his dinner meal. “What do you mean by they aren’t useful to you in any sense?” Kaien Cross’s expression turned serious for a moment as he pressed his adopted son for details. “The blood tablets... I can’t stomach them. The bland taste aside, just the smell of them is enough to turn my stomach. And according to Akane, I’m one of the unfortunate ones to develop an allergic reaction to the blood tablets.” Kiryuu Zero sighed as he confessed to Kaien Cross, that he had tested the theory last night while in the bathroom. It was a good thing he was simply testing the theory and not amid a bloodlust then, otherwise, he shudders to think what would’ve happened to Yuuki who was staying overnight at the Cross Residence yesterday. “Oh, so, that’s why you had the blood tablets out on the sink in the bathroom last night. You were simply testing the theory, then?” Yuuki Cross blinked as a dawning look formed on her face. “Of course, I was putting the theory to test. After all, I had no way of telling if Akane’s account of my allergic reaction to the blood tablets was accurate until I tested them out myself. Why? Did you think I was hit by bloodlust again? Was that why you kept on asking if I needed blood today?” Kiryuu Zero rolls his eyes as he responds to the words of his childhood friend. “Well... you never did explain to me why you had the blood tablets out on the sink last night. How was I to know what was going on?” Yuuki Cross pouted momentarily as she joined her adopted father and her silver-haired friend at the dining table with her dinner meal. Meanwhile, Akane who had taken the liberty to invite herself for dinner at the Cross Residence, pouted in response to the words of the silver-haired hunter. “Mou, of course, I wouldn’t lie to you about your allergic reactions towards the blood tablets. Why couldn’t you simply take my word for it and have to go about testing the theory for yourself?” “Sorry, Akane. I just have to determine the truth for myself given the circumstances of how Yuuki and Kuran chanced upon that scenario the other day. I wouldn’t know if you were telling the truth about my allergy or if that’s just something you came up with to fend off Yuuki’s inquisition on the subject.” Kiryuu Zero sighed as he apologized to his future adopted daughter for doubting her words. “Oh... so, is that what you’re going to do from here on? You're going to be feeding from Akane whenever bloodlust strikes?” Kaien Cross then inquires with a complicated look on his face. This was when Akane stood to head for the door, having sensed the arrival of a certain pureblood king and her little brothers. “I guess so...” Kiryuu Zero sighed as he answered, though, he supposed this is only a temporary measure since Akane isn’t going to be around forever. “Eh? Daddy’s feeding from Akane? Why? I thought it’s Father’s job to feed Daddy?” The sudden voice of Akira startled the occupants at the dining table so much that the silver-haired hunter choked on his drink and ended up with a coughing fit while a certain pureblood king faltered in his steps momentarily as he stepped over the threshold of the Cross Residence. “Ara, Akira-chan. Since when were you here? You didn’t venture over by yourself, did you?” Kaien Cross started as he started acting like an idiot by gushing over the boy, again. “Of course not, Father brought us and Akane opened the door for us. So, I didn’t come in through the opened window this time – I promised.” Kuran Akira answered innocently, as he told the younger version of his Daddy before he settled himself onto the lap of his silver-haired parent and began to steal food off the hunter’s dinner plate. “... Good evening, Chairman Cross. Pardon our intrusion but the boys wanted to spend some time with their Daddy, today.” Kaname Kuran started while ignoring the ‘elephant’ in the room – the innocent remark that came from his youngest minutes ago. ‘Honestly, why am I even surprised by Akira’s remarks? Given the nature of our relationship from the future where the boys are from, it’s only natural that I’ll be the one feeding Kiryuu.’ - Kaname Kuran reminded himself pointedly in his mind, while keeping up with a blank facade on the front – refusing to show any outward reaction to the innocent remark from Akira. “Good evening, Daddy.” Kiryuu Subaru greeted his silver-haired parent with a bashful smile. “Good evening, Subaru. Do you want to join us for dinner?” Kiryuu Zero asks, after recovering from his impromptu coughing fit and having seen how Akira was constantly stealing food from his plate. “Is that okay?” Kiryuu Subaru blinked as he glanced questioningly up at his Daddy. “Of course, it’s okay.” Kiryuu Zero nodded before shifting his eyes to glance over at the pureblood king standing a few steps away from the dining area. “Well, what about you?” “Are you inviting me to join your family for dinner?” Kaname Kuran blinked as he started in surprise, this was something he hadn’t been expecting from the silver-haired ex-human. After all, based on experience – the silver-haired hunter had always made it a point to be absent when Chairman Cross and Yuuki invited him to join them for meals during the festive seasons. So, it truly came to him as a surprise that Kiryuu Zero was voluntarily inviting him to join the dining table, this evening. “Well, even if I didn’t extend the invitation for you to join us for dinner. Yuuki is going to do it on an eventuality, so, I thought I might as well ask now just to save the hassle of having to return to the kitchen for a third time.” Kiryuu Zero rolls his eyes as he deadpans at the pureblood. “In that case, I shall gladly take you up on the dinner invitation.” Kaname Kuran said as he took a seat at the dining table, and waited for the silver-haired hunter to reemerge from the kitchen with dinner for him and the boys. ‘It certainly appears that his tolerance level for my presence has increased since he’s now willing to sit at the same table with me.’ - Kaname Kuran thought inwardly to himself as he thanked the silver-haired hunter for the meal served. After dinner, Kiryuu Zero took the boys with him as they holed up behind the privacy of his room to avoid further interaction with the pureblood. Kaname Kuran had no objections to the silver-haired hunter taking the boys aside for private bonding time, he supposed it was only fair since he was the one who monopolized the hour before bedtime for the boys. Yuuki Cross seized the opportunity that her silver-haired childhood friend was out of hearing range to inquire the pureblood about the fate that would befall the ex-human vampire. Kaname Kuran let out a sigh upon hearing Yuuki’s query about the ultimate fate of the ex-human and knew she was asking out of concern for Kiryuu Zero. Unlike Chairman Cross who has taken the approach of dodging the question by goofing around, Kaname Kuran chose to be honest with Yuuki. He would rather the girl hears it from him, than for the girl to approach one of his inner circle members for answers. Who knows what kind of things they would end up telling Yuuki? So, when Kiryuu Zero was confronted by Yuuki later that night shortly after the departure of the twins and Kaname Kuran about his inevitable fall to Level E, and asked if there was anything that could be done to prevent him from falling to that stage. The first thing he felt like doing was to curse the pureblood for sharing such information with Yuuki, unnecessarily. “Yuuki, just drop it. This is something that doesn’t concern you, so, you should just leave the matter alone.” Eventually, this was the only thing Zero could say to Yuuki, before returning to his room and hiding himself away for the rest of the night. To avoid dealing with Yuuki’s further inquiries on the subject, Kiryuu Zero went to the extent of skipping the nightly patrols for the first time. “Akane, is it true that a Level D would eventually fall to become Level E?” With Zero skipping out on the nightly patrolling of the academy grounds, it was up to Akane to cover for the silver-haired hunter. And so, Akane found herself stuck in the position of having to answer the question that Zero had managed to avoid answering that evening. “Yes,” Akane answered, providing the textbook answer for Yuuki while meeting the girl’s eyes. Her special ability to read minds while maintaining eye contact with the conversation party ensures her that Yuuki is only asking out of concern for her future adoptive parent. And that was why Akane didn’t have the heart to tell the girl to mind her own business. Oh, how she’d wished she could come outright with the information that Zero was in no danger of falling to the end but she can’t because it’s not her position to do so. “Oh, and is there any way to prevent an ex-human from falling to the end then?” Yuuki Cross inquires next, as she quickens her pace to catch up with Akane who picks up her pace for some unfathomable reasons. “Yuuki, just drop it. No matter how you pressed me on the subject, I’m not going to tell you. What I can tell you is that Dad never did manage to lose his sanity and fall, everything will work out fine in the end.” Eventually, this was all Akane was willing to say to Yuuki. Despite knowing that the textbook answer to prevent an ex-human from falling to Level E was to have the ex-human ingest the blood of the pureblood that turns them – there's no way Akane’s going to reveal this to Yuuki. The last thing she needs is for the girl to recklessly try to locate the blooming mad princess in an attempt to save her silver-haired cousin and future adoptive parent. Not that Yuuki wouldn’t try to do just that when the opportunity arises. I wonder, who was the one to let it slip to Yuuki about Shizuka Hiou being the one to turn Dad into an ex-human? It certainly couldn’t have been Dad or Kaname-sama, since their number one objective during this period was to protect Aunt Yuuki from such dangers. ‘Mou... why is it that only a chronological timeline of events was recorded in the record book in the library of the Fujiwara clan? It would be extremely useful to me if they had included the details for the event that ultimately brings Shizuka Hiou to Cross Academy that ultimately brings on her demise in that darn history record book.’ - Akane frowned as she made her way back to the Moon Dorm following the end of the nightly patrolling, she had taken on behalf of a certain silver-haired guardian who decided to skip out from his duty as the school guardian for the night. Halfway to the Moon Dorm, Akane was suddenly overcome with a sense of urgency and anxiety. Without even stopping to think for a split second, she was dashing towards the direction of the school’s lake. Over there, she found herself staring upon the scene of a distressed Kiryuu Zero holding the gunpoint of his anti-vampire weapon ‘Bloody Rose’ to the side of his head. “Holy shit! What on earth are you trying to do?! Surely, you’re not feeling suicidal only now? It’s already 48 hours since you took your first gulp of fresh blood from me, a bit too late for regrets already – don’t you think?” Akane started in exasperation as she snatched the ‘Bloody Rose’ away from the distressed figure of Kiryuu Zero. “I know...I just felt guilty, I supposed?” Kiryuu Zero sighed as he allowed Akane to pluck the weapon out from his hands without protest, as he slumped down onto the ground in front of the school’s lake. “...guilty? What have the twins told you during your little bonding session just now?” Akane felt the start of a headache setting in, figuring that whatever brought forth the sudden suicidal whims of the silver-haired hunter likely had got to do with her two little brothers. “They told me stories about their childhood and stories about a younger version of you and I was suddenly reminded of the glaring fact that I took blood from a girl who would eventually be my daughter.” Kiryuu Zero sighed as he shared the reason why he’d put himself at gunpoint just now. “Well, yes... I can see why you would be disturbed after the twins share our childhood tales with you. Still, is there someone else you could obtain blood from when bloodlust strikes?” Akane asks in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. Kiryuu Zero grimaced when he ran through the options in his mind and drew a blank. Relying on the blood tablets wouldn’t work for him due to his allergy to those artificial blood. The notion of taking blood from the Chairman disgusted him, and the last thing he desired was to resort to taking blood from Yuuki. He knew Yuuki would’ve offered to provide him with blood, but he’s certain if he ever took blood from Yuuki – he would have a pissed-off pureblood king on his case. “There, you have it. Yuuki’s blood is not an option, so, if you don’t want to take blood from me... your only other option would be taking blood from the Chairman. I would suggest that you feed from Kaname-sama, but I don’t think either of you are ready for that yet.” Akane told the silver-haired hunter wryly after Zero had calmed down significantly from his earlier distress. “Gees, Akane. I can’t tell whether you are trying to calm me down or annoy me with those suggestions of yours. Either way, you probably ought to return to the Moon Dorm before Kuran decides to come out here to retrieve you, personally.” Kiryuu Zero rolls his eyes momentarily before retrieving the ‘Bloody Rose’ gun from his future adopted daughter now that he’s no longer feeling suicidal. --- “There you are, I was wondering where you’d skive off to after skipping the classes for the entire morning.” Akane started when she finally located the elusive male guardian of Cross Academy, after combing the entire campus ground in search of the silver-haired hunter. “Akane, is there a reason why you’re looking for me?” Kiryuu Zero raised an eyebrow in a questioning manner as he queried. “Yes, I have a question for you. Just when exactly are you going to complete the process of your turning?” Akane had asked somewhat impatiently the following afternoon when she found her future silver-haired parent in the stable feeding ‘white lily’ - the horse. “...What brought this on?” Kiryuu Zero faltered for a second before resuming his act of feeding his beloved horse. He isn’t surprised to hear the mention of the subject of completing his turning process from a human to a vampire from the lips of Akane, since the girl is from the future and likely knew all his family secrets to begin with. “Yuuki and her never-ending inquiries into how to stop you from falling to the end. I’ve been deflecting her questions as much as I can, but it’s truly a test on my patience level.” Kiryuu Akane, the future adopted daughter of the Kuran-Kiryuu household rolls her eyes as she responds to the inquiry coming from the silver-haired hunter. Kiryuu Zero winced in response to Akane’s words, before nodding in response. “Ah... Yuuki can be a tad annoying when she gets it in her head that it’s up to her to do something about the situation. And to answer your earlier question, I’m not going to be completing the turning process anytime soon.” “Why? It’s bound to happen, and the earlier you complete the turning process, the better. Your bloodlust is only going to get worse if you leave the turning process in a state of incompletion. People are going to think you are falling at a faster rate, if this continues – you know?” Akane started to ask as a look of incomprehension crossed her features. “...I know, but completing the turning process now would only bring forth more questions and open up a new can of worms. I’m not sure if I’m ready to reveal all my family secrets just yet.” Kiryuu Zero sighed as he responded to Akane’s inquiry with a tone of weariness. “... Dad, I still think you should complete the turning process as soon as possible. While on the subject, I think Shizuka Hiou is about to visit you by making an appearance at the Cross Academy soon. You might as well seize this opportunity to complete your turning process. Dark times are coming, and you’re going to need access to your full powers when the time comes. Completing the turning process now would give you ample time to learn how to control the unlocked powers, even though, it would bring forth a dozen of questions that you might not wish to answer.” Akane eventually said with a contemplative look on her face. “Akane, what do you mean by dark times are coming?” Kiryuu Zero narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his cousin and future adopted daughter as he demanded, feeling that there was something the girl knew but he had no idea about going on in the background. “...Dad, this isn’t something that I’m in a position to reveal. You should approach Father for an explanation on this.” Realizing that she had slipped up and mentioned something she shouldn’t, Akane promptly turned to leave the stable without delay. With her departure, she left behind a disgruntled silver-haired hunter to stew over the notion of whether or not he should approach the pureblood king for the explanation of Akane’s cryptic remarks from before. --- Kaname Kuran frowned, he was currently alone in his 'study'. The twins had been taken into town by his cousin, Shiki Senri, and the Vice-President of the Moon Dormitory. His original intention for sending both Shiki and Takuma out into town was for the sake of eliminating a certain 'Level E' which he had received reports of being sighted attacking random passers-by on the streets, but he was hardly worried about having the twins going off with the duo. Kaname did not doubt that the 'Level E' could be easily handled by Takuma, alone. The reason why Shiki had been asked to tag along - was to provide Takuma with a backup. Just in case the former would require any assistance in the task of hunting the said 'Level E' it was also to serve as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of the general public. Besides, he was certain that the twins would be more than capable of handling themselves, and with Shiki keeping an eye on them, they should have no problem with the prospect of facing off a 'Level E'. Meanwhile, Akane was elsewhere on the academy grounds, probably helping the Chairman out with something since Yuuki and the silver-haired hunter had been sent out by the Chairman on an errand trip in town. Thus, effectively leaving him alone and undisturbed to his thoughts. His frown deepened as the memory of Akane allowing Kiryuu Zero to feed on her blood came into mind. For some odd reason, he was still irked whenever images of that particular memory came flashing through his mind. Now the pureblood was feeling frustrated with himself, it had already been a week since Kiryuu Zero had taken in his first intake of fresh blood from Akane. Yet, Kaname was still bothered by the fact that the silver-haired ex-human had drunk Akane's blood. That - confused him a great deal, for he should be thankful that the silver-haired hunter had not resorted to drink from Yuuki. To date, Akane has been feeding Kiryuu at the frequency of once every three days. Kaname knew this without even the need to ask because he could easily smell Kiryuu on Akane every single time a feeding session took place between them. "Damn ... it sounds as though I'm jealous about what they have done ..." Kaname cursed aloud, upon the realization that he had seemed 'jealous' by the intimacy that was shared between Zero and Akane when Akane allowed herself to be bitten by Zero for blood. Horror flooded through the senses of the pureblood - as the thought of not wanting Zero to drink blood from someone else other than himself, came fleeting past his mind. The sense of horror was brought up to another notch when he realized that he had begun to think about the silver-haired hunter as 'Zero' instead of 'Kiryuu' - which had been how he used to address the former, before the arrival of the trios from the future complicate matters for him. The sound of a 'knock' on the door of his room caused the pureblood to draw himself out and away from his thoughts. "Come in, Seiren," Kaname said, after taking a minute to calm himself down. "Kaname-sama ..." The female vampire named Seiren, bowed as she greeted him with respect. "Seiren." Kaname acknowledged the former with a nod, "Is anything the matter? " "..." Seiren nodded but did not attempt to speak yet. She seemed to be troubled about something but was having doubts about bothering the pureblood about it. It seemed as though part of her had wanted to tell him something, and yet another part of her merely felt like turning on her heels and leaving things unsaid. "Seiren?" Kaname prompted when he caught on to the signs of hesitance from the fellow vampire's body language. "Kaname-sama ... words had been received that the hunters' association had decided to conduct a routine check on the academy," Seiren responded, somewhat uneasily. Kaname arched his eyebrow elegantly as he continued to prompt the female vampire standing in front of him, he had known the said vampire throughout the whole of his life. The Seiren family had been a loyal supporter of his family since ancient times, he would entrust his life to the hands of the said vampire - if the need for him to do so - occurred. That was the extent of his unwavering trust towards Seiren, as he knew the former would never betray him even if someone else were to capture and torture her relentlessly in an attempt to get any useful information about his plans or whatever plans he might have in store for the future. "... I understand that the hunters' association often made it a point to inspect the grounds of the academy, hoping to find faults in this whole pacifism ideal which Chairman Cross and myself have been working towards since the founding of the school ... So, may I know just what exactly is the problem - this time around?" Kaname started, pressing for the reason behind Seiren's uneasiness about the upcoming inspection of the hunters' association. "Yagari Tooga had been selected as the candidate to conduct the upcoming routine inspection check on the academy..." Seiren responded. "I see ... and when will he arrive at the academy, then?" Kaname asked, knowing the reason behind Seiren's insecurities now. Yagari Tooga was one of the well-known hunters within the society of the vampires, for the said hunter was well-known not only for his immense dislike towards vampires in general but also for the former's infamous records and ability to hunt the vampires of both low and high ranks within the hierarchy of their 'kind', with the sheer exception of the 'Level A'. No wonder Seiren had been feeling uneasy about the upcoming inspection check, even he felt a significant drop in his confidence level now that he knew Yagari would be the one conducting the inspection. It was bad enough that Aidou often spoke before considering his words and the consequences that might follow, combined with the blond vampire's tendency to react badly to any crude remarks being directed his way. The above two points were more than sufficient to land Aidou in trouble with Yagari Tooga since the said hunter would rather be 'dead' than be respectful towards a vampire. One would think that was the end of things, but unfortunately, it was not as there was still the issue of Kiryuu Zero to be considered. According to the information he had gotten Seiren to research for him when the silver-haired hunter was first taken in by the Chairman after being turned by Shizuka Hiou. It had been brought to his attention that Kiryuu Zero had been a student of Yagari Tooga, before the tragic event of the Kiryuu's Clan being wiped out by the blooming mad princess. While Kaname had no idea whether or not Yagari still cared for the silver-haired guardian, especially now that the vampire side of Zero had truly awakened. He was very much aware of the amount of respect that Zero still has for the former and the pureblood had no doubt that the silver-haired hunter would willingly 'die' at the hands of his master, should Yagari Tooga desire it. "Seiren ... tell the rest of them that I want to see everyone in the front lounge, nobody should be absent from the meeting except Takuma and Shiki," Kaname ordered, deciding to warn the members of the night class - before the arrival of the hunter, Yagari Tooga. "Yes, Kaname-sama ... and what about Akane-san? Should I get her as well?" Seiren asked, seeking Kaname's opinions on the matter. "... You can inform her ... However, she need not attend if she doesn't feel like turning up. By mentioning that I want to meet everyone ... I was referring to the members of the night-class, particularly. Akane does not need to be present for the meeting, seeing as she wasn't part of the night class. Besides, I'm certain that the Chairman would have already notified her about the issue of Yagari Tooga's impending arrival, by now." "Yes, Kaname-sama," Seiren responded and was gone from the room before the pureblood could even blink. --- "Uncle Shiki, can I have another chocolate candy?" Kuran Akira asked, looking up at the taller vampire with his best 'puppy' eyes. "... Sure, go ahead and take it." Shiki Senri responded as he moved the opened bag of chocolate treats towards the boy. "Shiki ... please refrain from giving Akira any more chocolates. Akane would have your head on a silver platter if she ever found out about you giving out these chocolate candies to the twins. Despite her repeated warnings of not indulging the boys with candies, especially chocolates to satisfy their sweet tooth - before we left the academy grounds." The Vice-President of the Moon Dormitory - Takuma Ichijo, reminded his friend cum roommate. "... Did she?" Shiki Senri responded as he blinked at the green-eyed blond vampire, looking clueless about the former's words. Takuma stared, as he nodded in response to Shiki's query before commenting. "Yes, she did. I think practically everyone who had been in that room earlier heard her. What have you been doing then? I thought you had been listening ... " "... I was kind of 'zoning' out back there, still not fully awake ..." Shiki Senri responded, with a shrug of his shoulders. "..." Takuma sighed, before dropping the subject altogether. "Shiki, I'll be going around and see if I can find that 'Level E' which we are supposed to be eliminating today. In the meantime, please keep an eye on the twins. Do not let them wander off by themselves, or else you will find yourself in very deep trouble. By that, I don't just mean - facing Akane's wrath but also the possibility of dealing with a furious Kaname as well." "I know ..." Shiki answered truthfully, this time. He may not have taken notice of Akane's warning in advance with regards to the indulgence of the twins' sweet tooth, but he certainly did notice the way his pureblood cousin had been acting around the twins - recently. Although, it had only been one and a half weeks since the arrival of Akane and the twins it was obvious that things had been changing rapidly for everyone. He might not know whether the students of the day class were affected by the trio's arrival, but he was certain that everybody in the night class had been somewhat affected by the trio's sudden presence in their lives. Over the past week, life within the walls of the Moon Dormitory was fulfilling. Never was there a moment of 'dead' silence, sounds of laughter could always be heard from somewhere within the dormitory. Even during the hours of the day-time, when the residents within the dormitory should be sleeping away - one could still hear the sound of someone moving about the building. That would be Akane, and occasionally the twins as well. Despite being born vampires, the trio seemed to be able to keep up with both the lifestyles of the humans, and the nocturnal hours of their 'kind' of people. Shiki supposed that was understandable as well, seeing as he had no problem with the occasional switch in the lifestyles too. Granted, he would have looked sleepy at all times if that were to happen but aside from that little detail, there were no other problems with him keeping the hours of a normal human being. With the trio being around, one could find that Aidou had been losing his temper far more often than usual. Especially, when one of the twins was being sarcastic to him or simply felt the need to provoke the blue-eyed blond vampire into a verbal fight over the issue of the former's attitude towards Kiryuu Zero. Akatsuki had taken to ignore the verbal arguments between Aidou and the twins, altogether and took on the impassive behavior that Ruka Souen had taken to adopt while in the presence of the twins. Towards Akane, neither Akatsuki nor Ruka had ever attempted to speak to the former unless the situation required them to do so. Shiki had a feeling that both Akatsuki and Ruka had been wary of what Akane could be capable of doing, once provoked. Thus, the two of them had pretty much left the girl alone. Aidou had learned his lesson well enough to keep his mouth shut around the girl once the first three days of the trio's arrival were over, the said blond vampire had tried to 'bait' the girl into a verbal argument only to find himself trapped with one of the anti-vampire's charms that Akane had set upon him, once his questions get too annoying for the girl to endure. That charm had been a useful one, for it did not cause pain or any torturing effects on the vampires once used. It still allowed them to function as normal, with the only exception being the absence of the ability to speak. That charm had been a variation created out from an original subduing charm that was meant for a hunter's use while trying to get a vampire under control, its' original intent was to freeze the movements of the vampire for a prolonged period leaving them vulnerable for the hunters to slay. However, Akane had toned down the effects of the charms by modifying them to the extent that they would only work upon the triggering 'term' or 'word' being either uttered aloud or in thoughts. Therefore, if Akane intended to only freeze the vampire's ability to speak then that would be all that the charm was capable of doing once being placed upon the targeted vampire. The charm was probably still on Aidou, merely left deactivated. Akane had deactivated the charm and left Aidou alone after Kaname had requested for her to let Aidou off the hook, but since the pureblood did not specifically request for the charm to be lifted off the blond vampire. Akane was more than willing to leave it intact upon the said vampire, thus allowing her the convenience to invoke them whenever she felt the need for it. After that incident, Aidou had wisely opted to remain silent especially when Akane was emitting the pure aura of displeasure by the time she got back to the Moon Dormitory. Through the observations made, Shiki gathered that Rima and himself must have been the twins’ favorite. Since the boys would have greeted them with enthusiasm whenever they were seen hanging around. Although Shiki thought one of the main reasons why Rima and himself had ended up being the twins’ favorite people to hang around likely had to do with their tendency to indulge them with candies, which they had been forced to relinquish more often than not, under Akane’s supervision. His room-mate, Takuma was probably the only vampire around that was adored by all the members of the trio. Except his cousin, Kaname Kuran - himself. Seeing as it would be impossible for the trio to even dislike the former since Kaname had been their 'Father' in the future. Speaking of his cousin, Shiki sighed inwardly. It was obvious that the former had grown accustomed to the idea of having the trio around, despite the pureblood's constant insistence that he was merely doing his part as a dutiful 'host' to their three 'visitors' from the future. He had seen how Kaname would often read to the twins, before sending them off to bed in his room. The guest room which the pureblood had Takuma prepared for their use initially, was now practically Akane's private room. Since the pureblood had moved the twins' belongings to his room after the former's first attempt at 'babysitting' them. Then, there was also the instance of Kaname approaching the head chef and making the special adjustments to the food menu on behalf of Akane and later on, practically demanding for the residents of the Moon Dormitory to treat the trio with respect, if not the idea of obedience. A sudden scent of blood hits the air, and Shiki pauses slightly in his steps. He was about to turn and get the twins away from the site when he caught sight of the elder twin - Subaru heading towards the direction where the scent of blood had originated from. "Subaru?!" Shiki tried to call the boy's attention back to him, but his efforts were in vain. Feeling a tug on the lower parts of his sleeves, Shiki glances down only to be met up by the sight of Akira's calming gaze. "Don't worry, Subaru can handle himself - just fine. Besides, that was the blood of Ms. Cross ... Therefore, I'm sure 'Daddy' is somewhere around the area too. Subaru will be fine ..." Akira told him calmly, before tugging him towards the same direction where the other twin had taken off earlier on. They arrived at the scene to find the 'Level E' being slashed into half by Takuma's sword, and the two guardians standing by the side of the alley looking stunned to see them outside of the academy grounds. Rather, Yuuki Cross was the one eyeing them with wide stunning eyes. Kiryuu, on the other hand, was frowning about the twins' presence. "Ichijo and Shiki Senpai ... what are the two of you doing out here?" Yuuki blurted out in shock, the sight of the 'Level E' going around in town attacking people had already caught her by surprise. Now, the members of the night class were roaming the streets without her being notified in advance was the last straw. She was already feeling annoyed by Zero's reluctance to tell her anything about his 'condition', and Akane had refused to tell her if there was another solution that would solve the problem of Zero's inevitable fall to the status of a 'Level E' vampire - which from what she had understood from Kaname, was the ultimate fate for the ex-human vampire. Even though, Akane had told her that her silver-haired friend was still healthy and sane in the future where the trios had come from – it still didn’t stop Yuuki from worrying about the fate that awaited Zero. --- "Why are they here?!" The silver-haired guardian demanded as he glanced over to the two vampires for an explanation about the boys' presence. Unlike Yuuki, he was not that concerned about what the members of the night class had been doing, outside of the academy grounds. Besides, he was very much aware of the instances whereby the pureblood would send out the nobles under his charge to 'take care' of those ex-humans who had fallen. Instead, he was more concerned about the boys' being allowed to tag along on such 'mission' trips. Zero felt himself fearing for what might have happened to the boy if the 'Level E' had not been preoccupied with the task of fighting him to notice the approaching boy. Granted he knew subconsciously that Subaru would never lose against a 'Level E' that easily. After all, Subaru's flaring aura of being a pureblood would be enough to ward the 'Level E' off. If not, the boy could have just allowed his power to lash out at the potential enemy, and kill the Level E on the spot. Still, despite knowing this – nothing could have stopped the fear from gripping him when he’d first landed his eyes upon the presence of Subaru in the alley where he was busy fighting Level E. "We've been ordered by Kaname to eliminate that 'Level E' which had been reported about attacking random people in town." Ichijo Takuma responded to the female guardian's question, with a half-hearted smile. However, when it comes down to addressing the grouchy hunter - the former had sounded apologetic. "Kaname agreed to have them tag along on the trip, figuring that Shiki would be able to keep an eye out on them while I attend to the situation at hand. If I had known that they would wander off by themselves, I would never give in to their request of wanting to join us for the trip to town. Besides, I had thought Shiki would be able to prevent them from wandering off ... but obviously, I thought wrong ..." Shiki Senri gulped nervously, feeling both his roommate's and the guardian's glare being directed his way. Thankfully, the younger twin had managed to cause a distraction by tackling down the silver-haired guardian and his roommate's attention had been diverted away from him as the female guardian of the Cross Academy asked them yet another question with regards to their sudden appearance in town. "Daddy!" The familiar voice of Kuran Akira rang out, causing the silver-haired guardian to wince at the shrill loudness of the boy's tone. "Akira ... I can hear you just fine. There's no need for you to yell ..." Zero said, as he bent down automatically to pick the younger twin up in his arms. From the corner of his eyes, Zero visibly noted the crestfallen look on the elder twin's features and sighed inwardly with resignation. Subaru was probably feeling neglected that most if not all of his attention had been directed toward Akira who was currently being held in his arms, right now. Being a twin himself, he supposed he could relate to how Subaru was feeling now. Only it had been the opposite with him and Ichiru, since it was he who received all the adults' attention whereas Ichiru had been the one being neglected by their parents. "... Subaru ... I wasn't mad at you ... and I know you can take care of yourself ... but I was worried. You do know that, don't you?" Zero started, addressing the silver-haired boy gently. Trying his hardest to sound concerned for the boy's welfare, instead of the annoyance that he felt about the boy's reckless acts. When he sensed no reactions from the crestfallen boy, the silver-haired guardian promptly set Akira down on the ground and started to reach for Subaru instead. Akira shrugged, not caring about the sudden loss of warmth and comfort of having the support of his 'Daddy' arms around him anymore. His original intention when he tackled his 'Daddy' down was to distract the former from directing any form of irritation toward his favorite uncle - Shiki Senri. Now that, his 'Daddy' was otherwise preoccupied with the issue of his twin brother's feelings - his task of causing a distraction had been accomplished. On the other hand, Subaru who had not been expecting Zero to reach for him almost let out a yelp in surprise when he felt himself being lifted off the ground. "Daddy?" "Yes? What is it?!" Zero prompted, his tone soft and gentle as he encouraged the silver-haired child to speak his mind. "... Why are you holding me?" Subaru asked, staring up at his 'Daddy' in confusion. Unlike Akira, who was always going around putting on the utmost innocent and adorable look that often ended up with the adults having the sudden urge to carry him around, showering the said boy with all their affections. Subaru had been the exact opposite, ever since he had been able to walk without stumbling along the way - neither of the adults had it in mind to carry him in their arms anymore. Except on the occasional events whereby he was having trouble staying awake; or when he had been too sick to move around by himself. Therefore, he was genuinely feeling surprised when he felt himself being lifted in the air and being carried firmly in the arms of his younger 'Daddy'. "Don't you want me to?" His 'Daddy' had responded, looking him in the eye causing him to freeze for a minute before shaking his head towards the former as he tightened his hold around the ex-human's neck. Allowing himself to relax in the warm embrace of his 'Daddy', Subaru felt his eyelids getting heavier with each passing minute. Somehow, the comforting presence of his 'Daddy' had managed to lull him to bed, without his knowledge. By the time, the group had arrived back at the academy - Subaru had been sleeping so soundly and peacefully that neither Shiki nor Takuma had it in them to wake him. Thus, it eventually ended up with Akira heading back to the Moon Dormitory with the two vampires' escort while Subaru was left in the capable hands of Zero. --- It was a little past seven o'clock in the evening when Subaru finally awakened from his light slumber. Zero had been taking a short break from the tedious work of memorizing facts for the impending history quiz that would take place in another week's time and had taken to the idea of observing the sleeping form of Subaru in detail. The boy had the habit of sleeping in a curled-up fetal position, which just seemed to point out how insecure the boy had been at most if not all of the time. Before Zero could even have the time to analyze and fathom the reason behind the boy's possible feelings of insecurities, Subaru had stirred and awakened. Zero watched as Subaru blinked twice looking slightly disoriented upon awakening, before recognition set in causing the boy to sit up straight before glancing towards his direction. "Daddy? Did I fall asleep just now?" Subaru asked, frowning as he did so. "... Yes, you did," Zero responded, matter-of-factly as he nodded his head to the boy's question. "...Oh ...Where's Akira and the rest of them?" "Akira's back at the Moon Dormitory, Yuuki’s doing the dishes in the kitchen since we'd just had our dinner. Akane's probably somewhere around, patrolling on Yuuki's behalf or she may have gone back to the Moon Dormitory doing who knows what ..." "I see ..." Subaru responded, as he hid his feelings behind his mask of indifference again. "Don't do that!" The sudden sound of admonishing words that came tumbling out from the lips of Zero, stunned both the boy and himself. "Daddy?" The silver-haired boy looked up at him quizzically, not understanding his words. Zero sighed, he was just thinking about how Subaru had reminded him of the pureblood when the boy had attempted to mask his feelings behind a look of indifference. The sheer idea of voicing his thoughts aloud had not been on his mind at all, still, words of admonishment came tumbling out of his lips without his knowing until it had been too late. Taking a moment to choose his words carefully, Zero answered. "Don't hide yourself behind that mask of indifference again. I don't care if you did it back in your own time, but now that you are here ... Don't do that anymore, you are six years old. You have every right to behave like a child, instead of pretending to be an adult." That was eventually what Zero ended up telling the boy, despite his initial reaction had been something along the line of the boy's expression would remind him too much of a certain pureblood whom he had been trying to push away from his mind, over the past few days. It seems like ever since the day Yuuki and Kaname had chanced upon the sight of him sucking the blood of Akane, all the pureblood ever did during the class change-over timing was to observe him. The feeling of the pureblood's eyes constantly being upon himself, caused unwanted paranoia to rise within him. It took all his willpower to keep himself away from directing his 'Bloody Rose' gun towards the pureblood and demanded the former to stop looking at him in that manner, for it crept him out - too much. Besides, he had been too accustomed to the sight of Kaname Kuran looking at Yuuki while shooting glares in his direction throughout the few minutes of the class change-over time frame, that he found it hard to adjust to the idea of having the pureblood 'look' at him instead of glaring. "...Basically, I reminded you too much of Father when I kept my emotions hidden ..." The silver-haired child commented dryly. "How did you know?!" Zero blurted out before he could stop himself. "Uncle Takuma used to say that too ..." There was a moment of significant pause before the boy continued his statement. "Daddy ... you are still 'disturbed' by the idea of being together with 'Father' ... aren't you?" "...” Zero stared, speechless by the words that came out from Subaru's lips. "You are too perceptive for your own good ... Yes, you are right. I had yet to come to terms with the /possibility/ of having a relationship with your ... /Father/, but ... that does not mean that I detest the idea of having both Akira and yourself as my 'sons' towards the later point of my life. And if the only way for me to have both of you in my life, was to somehow entangle myself with /Kuran/ in one way or another ... then I might as well face up to reality and allow nature to run its' course when the time comes for it to happen." "Okay ... and I'll try not to do anything that might remind you of 'Father' until you get used to the idea of this whole issue with us being the ultimate 'result' from that 'love' which the two of you will be having for one another, in time ..." Subaru said, as he allowed a wry smile to tug at the corner of his lips following the end of his response to the silver-haired hunter's words of confession. Deciding to steer the topic of conversation away from his future relationship with the pureblood king, Kiryuu Zero’s mind races as he tries to come up with an alternative subject that he could speak to Subaru without having the boy confused. He had gathered enough through his daily conversations with Akane to figure out that the boys weren’t aware of the events that took place before their birth, and so, whichever topic he decided to bring up with his eldest had to be something that Subaru would know. As the memory of Akane's words from that 'fateful' night came flooding back to him, Kiryuu Zero found himself questioning the boy on the subject of the difference in the family's name between the twins. "So, why are you given the name Kiryuu, instead of Kuran - like Akira was using? After all, the two of you are twins, and not to forget the fact that both of you are purebloods..." "Well... Akira looked like a typical Kuran, inheriting the majority of the traits from the Kuran lineage. Whereas, I only got the eyes of a 'Kuran'. Every other part of me practically screamed 'Kiryuu', and it would seem weird to be called the name 'Kuran' when I looked nothing like 'Father'. Especially, for those who knew both Father and you on a personal basis. Can you imagine your reactions if you were to call Akira - 'Kiryuu' instead?" Subaru asked back in return, with anticipation. Zero imagined the possibility of calling Akira by his family's name without considering the boy's lilac eyes and had to suppress a grimace from forming on his features. That would be weird, he supposed. No wonder Subaru had been given his family name, despite being the first-born and most likely, the potential first-in-line heir to the future Kuran's family fortunes. He gathered that the few properties that he had come into inheritance following his family's demise would go to Akane, seeing that most of those assets had been in his mother's name rather than his father's. "Come on, I'll bring you back to the Moon Dormitory now. Ichijo mentioned that there’s a party going on in the Moon Dorms tonight, and even though a curfew has been implemented for the day class students today. One could never tell with those rabid fangirls from the day class." Zero started while picking Subaru up in his arms, rolling his eyes momentarily as the memory of rabid fangirls from the day class that is always going gaga over the night class members came to mind. ~to be continued~ Date started: 03/05/09 Date completed: 05/05/09 Date edited: 05/05/09 Date revised: 21/02/2025
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Meanwhile, outside the Moon Dormitory, a female guardian felt jittery at the thought of stepping through the gates. The dormitory's vice president had invited her to the place, claiming she might find the answers to what she had been seeking if she visited that night. "Well ... screw the fact of whether or not Zero would be pissed off for my coming here without his company! He was the one who refused to tell me anything about his condition, wasn't he? So, he cannot fault me for the idea of approaching the Moon Dormitory without his companionship - right? Besides, he was currently preoccupied with the task of tending to one of his future sons." Yuuki Cross reasoned with herself, as she took a deep breath before stepping through the gate of the Moon Dormitory. A sudden rustling sounded from the woods before two familiar figures stepped out from the dark greeting her with their presence. The two familiar figures were none other than Aidou Hanabusa and Akatsuki Kain, who had both nodded curtly in her direction before explaining that their Vice-President had requested them to come out front, to escort the said female around as a potential bodyguard from the rest of the night-class members. "Is that necessary?" Yuuki asked, frowning at the two night-class members' words. "Don't you dare to assume that it would be safe for you to walk around the vicinity of the Moon Dormitory unaccompanied? I'll have you know, not all of us in this academy was really into the whole pacifism ideal. Some of us only followed the orders and rules that had been laid down by Kaname-sama and did them only because our pureblood leader had wanted us to. If being respectful to human beings happens to be what Kaname-sama would want to see from us, then we'll jolly well do it for him." Aidou Hanabusa responded, his expression tight and masked up with indifference making it hard for Yuuki to read the fellow vampire's mood. "Yes, moreover ... you are usually not alone. Always, Kiryuu will be hanging around you ... and that serves as a constant warning to the rest of the common class vampires around that you are off-limits. Not only due to Kaname-sama's order but also the potential danger of needing to face up to a vampire hunter if they were to cross the line. Kiryuu may not have completed his full training as a hunter, but his family had been one of the better-known hunters' clans. Therefore, nobody would dare to do anything that might put them in a precarious situation with Kiryuu." Akatsuki Kain added, as an after-thought. With that said, both vampires made a move to start leading the way inside heading towards the Dormitory. Usually, there would be no need for an escort, but tonight had been one of the nights that a party would be held for the members of the night class to unwind from the stress accumulated over the month, dropping all their pretense for peace between the humans and the vampires, society. Real blood will be allowed for consumption, only on such nights - and of course, blood will only be shared between themselves and only within the walls of the Moon Dormitory. There will be no hunting of the humans involved, that was the ground rule laid in place by their pureblood leader. Despite the rule being laid in place, it would still be unsafe for the female guardian to be walking about the area surrounding the Moon Dormitory alone and without escort. For, there could be some common class vampires waiting to pounce on some innocents who attempted to sneak past the security wanting to catch a glimpse of the attractive night-class members. "Ah! Yuuki-chan, finally here I see ... Welcome to my birthday party!" Ichijo Takuma greeted out, cheerfully causing every head to start swinging towards the female guardian's direction. "Ichijo-senpai ... today's your birthday?" Yuuki asked, sounding a little baffled by the large numbers of vampires loitering around the outside of the Dormitory building. Yuuki had to admit, she was nervous. Never had she found herself amid so many vampires before, usually it was just a few noble-class vampires who would follow the lead of Kaname Kuran, wherever the former may choose to proceed. "Yuuki, come over here." The sudden sound of the pureblood's voice caught the attention of most if not all the members of the night-class vampires. "Kaname-senpai ..." Yuuki started, sounding stunned but remained where she stood, she did not dare to venture any closer to the pureblood with everyone staring at her with disdain. "Yuuki, please do come over and have a seat next to me ..." Kaname Kuran said, this time his tone firm and offered no room for objections from the lower-ranking vampires. Slowly, a path was cleared out by the vampires crowding around the front that was separating the pureblood from the female guardian. Yuuki took a tentative step forward, before continuing the rest of her journey towards where Kaname Kuran had been seated with confidence. As usual, the pureblood was seated on a sofa couch with his most trusted subordinate - Seiren standing by his side. Only this time, there was someone else being perched on the lap of the pureblood. That someone who had been allowed to do something this bold, and yet had not been murdered brutally by the many lower-ranking vampires present at the site - was none other than the wavy-haired boy of six, going by the name of Akira Kuran. "Good evening, Aunt ... Yuuki ..." Akira greeted her, with slight hesitancy as he looked up at the older pureblood for further instruction. A quick nod from Kaname Kuran caused the boy to heave a sigh of relief, before settling down more comfortably with his little head resting against the chest of the older pureblood. Kaname allowed a small smile to tug at his lips as he looked down at the boy with fondness apparent in the depths of his eyes, before turning towards the awaiting girl standing in front of him. "Yuuki, you shouldn't be here alone ... it can be dangerous ..." "I know, but I want to know ..." Yuuki had the rest of her statement being cut off by the sudden change in atmosphere, surrounding them. Turning around, she was met up by the sight of a peeved-looking Zero glancing towards her direction with the other twin boy firmly settled in his arms. "Yuuki ... what are you doing here?!" Zero asked, his tone not unkind but laced with an underlying tone of displeasure. "I ... I was going to ask Kaname-senpai, something ..." Yuuki started, only to find herself being cut off by Zero again. "Just because I refused to tell you, and Akane does not think it wise to let you in on the fact ... You had to find another way to know what the hell was going on in my life, is that it?! The reason that you venture over at this late of time, not giving any consideration to the fact that you might be harmed?!" Zero stated as he eyed Yuuki disapprovingly. "I believe that's quite enough, Kiryuu. I'm sure that Yuuki had only did it, out of her pure concern for your well-being. Granted, she had not been thinking clearly on this matter. Still, what's done cannot be undone. So why don't you just leave things be, and since both of you are already here ... perhaps the two of you could stay around for a while longer before leaving again?" Kaname Kuran interrupted, breaking the possibility of a rising argument between Yuuki and the silver-haired hunter before it could occur. Zero huffed for a second, before growling out a 'Fine'. The fellow hunter settled for the idea of ignoring Yuuki for the moment and decided to direct his full attention toward the silver-haired child instead. Using his fingers he combed a few tangled hair strands from the boy's head, as he set Subaru down on the ground gently. Every action that was made by Zero failed to escape from Kaname's eyes, and the silver-haired guardian was very much aware of the fact too. After all, it was kind of hard for him to ignore the constant feeling of someone eyeing him from behind while he attempted to concentrate on his task of re-adjusting Subaru's attire. In an attempt to get himself away from the scrutinizing gaze of the pureblood, Kiryuu Zero brought Subaru towards the buffet table to get the boy some solid food since Subaru didn’t get any dinner earlier due to him being in a nap when dinner was served at the Cross Residence. Risa Miyazaki had been collecting some food for herself at the buffet table when she spotted the figure of Kiryuu Zero approaching with the elder twin, Kiryuu Subaru in tow. She was just about to open her mouth to greet the approaching figures when a death glare from the silver-haired guardian halted her in the act. ‘Don’t you dare greet me with honorifics in front of the entire night class!’ - this seem to be the message sent her way when her eyes met the lilac orbs belonging to the silver-haired guardian of the school. “Good evening, Aunt Risa.” Kiryuu Subaru greeted politely when he saw the presence of the common class vampire at the buffet table. “Good evening, Subaru-sama.” Risa greeted in response, before glancing up to acknowledge the figure of Kiryuu Zero with a nod. Kiryuu Zero nodded back at Risa Miyazaki in response, inwardly heaving a sigh of relief that at least he’d managed to put a halt on Risa’s intended form of greeting with his death glare earlier. It's bad enough that Risa had greeted him with honorifics in front of the noble-rank vampires belonging to Kuran’s inner circle, but at least the heritage of his late mother is now out of the bag to the higher-ranking vampires of the night class. So, he needn’t explain to them why Risa Miyazaki is addressing him in that manner as he could easily tie it to his mother’s rank in the Fujiwara clan. But it wouldn’t be the case for the remaining members of the night class, the last thing Zero wanted was to deal with the varying degrees of surprise and incredulous gazes coming from the common class vampires of the night class who weren’t around to listen in to the lengthy explanation about how the future trios ended up in their timeline. --- In the meantime, over at the Chairman's office - a man was seated in front of the Chairman with a lighted cigar held between his lips. "So ... how's the kid?" The man asked, trying to sound indifferent upon the mention of the term 'kid' but was failing miserably at the task. "... I thought, you said you don't care about him anymore?" Kaien Cross eyed his fellow friend, and ex-colleague from the hunter's association as he responded to the man's words. "I don't. I'm only checking to see if he has fallen yet ..." The man replied gruffly. "He's fine, hasn't fallen to the end yet ... if that's what you want to know." Kaien Cross responded, sounding weary. "Good, then I guess I wouldn't have to kill him ... this time around." With that said, the man attempted to turn on his heels and depart from the Chairman's office. "Yagari ... please do not treat him any differently from before. I know, he still respects you as his mentor ..." Chairman Cross finally said before the man could step out of his office. Silence met him, save for the sound of his office's door being closed. Another sigh of weariness slipped out from him, as he wondered about the chaotic situation that would soon occur. He had no doubt; that his friend would freak out on him upon discovering the existence of the twins and Akane. Still, there would be no way to avoid the inevitable meeting and confrontation between Yagari and the trio. "What a messed-up situation we have on hand ..." Kaien Cross commented to no one in particular, as he turned away from the window and switched off the lights - ready to retire for the day. He shall think about the consequences that may arise, later on. For now, he just wanted to sleep and pushed aside all the worrying thoughts that seemed to be crowding about in his mind. --- Yuuki Cross sat on the couch nervously, Kaname was seated by her side with the Akira perched on his lap. Seiren was standing behind them, wary eyes scanning the surroundings and always ready to defend the pureblood should the need arise. Zero stood with his back leaning against the pillar of the dormitory building with Subaru perched in his arms as he fed the boy some finger food collected from the buffet spread catered for tonight’s party. It seems like the silver-haired guardian was determined to ignore her for the rest of the night. Ever since Kaname had interrupted them amid their argument - Zero had not spoken another word to her nor glanced in her direction. "Zero ... are you still mad at me?" Yuuki started, hesitantly as she addressed the figure of her grouchy childhood friend. "No." The response from Kiryuu Zero had come out curt and harsh, letting on the fact that he was still unhappy about Yuuki’s reckless decision to approach the Moon Dorm tonight. "..." Yuuki stared down at the ground with a crestfallen look on her features, it was obvious that her silver-haired friend was still in a foul mood and it was due to her mindless actions that caused such a reaction from the said guardian. Truth be told, Kiryuu Zero was anything but mad at Yuuki. Like what Kaname Kuran had told him prior, Yuuki wanted to help him but somehow had taken the wrong approach and had not been thinking clearly before putting her thoughts into action. Still, he felt annoyed. However, the annoyance he was feeling was not meant for Yuuki; but directed towards himself. Having been born and raised in a hunter's family, Kiryuu Zero had been taught to hunt vampires since young as he was expected to follow the same career path as his parents, who are both qualified and licensed vampire hunters. However, instead of teaching him themselves, his parents, or rather his father, the late Kiryuu Kaoru had gotten in someone else to help train him in the field of vampire hunting. Yagari Tooga, the man who became his mentor in vampire-hunting was well-known for his immense dislike for vampires in general. And under the training of the veteran hunter – Yagari Tooga, Kiryuu Zero had been told that the Vampires are monsters who took on the appearance of human beings; and would not hesitate to suck the blood of an innocent dry when they felt the desire for blood. That was why he should not trust any Vampires; should he come across one. Furthermore, the last time he placed his trust in a vampire, it had cost his mentor an eye during a hunting mission where he had tagged along as a trainee. Ever since then, Kiryuu Zero never felt compelled to place trust in any vampires that he had found himself chancing upon. The vampires he chanced upon in the compound of the ancestral home of the Fujiwara clan are the only exception to the rule, but that’s mainly because he knew the clan head of the vampire branch had them under control. Before the incident of his family being attacked and wiped out by the blooming mad princess – Shizuka Hiou, his opinions towards pureblood, in general, were pretty much leaning towards the indifference category. After all, the only vampires that hunters are allowed to hunt and kill are mainly Level E. The pureblood, on the other hand, is ranked Level A. The hunting of pureblood is highly frowned upon and illegal based on the agreement between the Hunter’s Association and the Vampire Council. Henceforth, Kiryuu Zero didn’t think he would come into close contact with any pureblood sans a certain oddball who he had the misfortune to be related to from his paternal side of the family. A pureblood that’s fangless and is constantly absent from his life because of the alias which the guy assumed in the hunter’s society is supposed to be ‘dead’. Coming back, until Shizuka Hiou who came by to seek revenge on his parents for the execution of her ex-human lover and later opted to turn him by giving him a bite on the neck – Zero didn’t even know he would one day comprehend the meaning of ‘hatred’. Even when he had undergone harsh training under the guidance of Yagari Tooga in learning to become a qualified vampire hunter, Kiryuu Zero had never quite had it in him to hate the vampires he was asked to kill during the hunting mission. He simply completed the missions dutifully because it was his responsibility to rid the earth of these creatures as a hunter-in-training. Now that the vampire in him had truly awakened, the silver-haired guardian found himself constantly dealing with a tug-and-war with the thoughts swirling in his mind. A part of him dreaded the necessity to feed on blood as the act of bloodsucking only served to remind him of the fact that he was no longer part of the human community, another part of him simply thought he should just accept his vampire side as this was something that was set in stone from the moment he was bitten by the pureblood – Shizuka Hiou. The fact that he could hold off the turning process for an entire four years since he was bitten by the blooming mad princess is an amazing feat by itself. Kiryuu Zero knows his condition puzzled many, in particular, a certain pureblood by the name of Kuran. He had seen how the former often eyed him with a dissecting gaze that borderlines on morbid interest sometimes as though studying a rare specimen in the past, whenever the pureblood thought he wasn’t looking. Well, he might not have been looking in the pureblood’s direction then, but he certainly wasn’t that oblivious that he was under the scrutiny of a vampire, not just any vampire but a pureblood. Both his senses as a hunter and someone who had been bitten by another pureblood assured him of that capability. ‘Speaking of Kuran, that guy is eyeing me – again. Doesn't he have anything else to do than to look at me, these days?’ - Kiryuu Zero couldn’t help but think with an inward sigh as he felt the eyes of a certain pureblood upon his person, again for the umpteen times since he arrived at the party with Subaru in his arms. “Father, you like Daddy – don't you?” Kuran Akira suddenly said, drawing Kaname Kuran’s eyes away from the silver-haired hunter and back to the boy perched on his lap. “...” Kaname Kuran had to admit, he was stumped. This was a question that he had no answer for, and so, instead of responding to the boy’s query – he chose to ask the boy a question of his own, instead. “What makes you think that I like your Daddy?” Kaname Kuran inquires, not expecting his future son to bestow him with a logical response. “Well...you are disturbed when you see Daddy feed on the blood from Akane, and you have this faraway look in your eyes sometimes when you scent the smell of Akane’s blood in the air. And when Akane return after having fed Daddy, you would start emitting the aura of blatant displeasure. Honestly, I don’t understand why you can’t just approach Daddy and feed him yourself if the idea of having Daddy feed off from Akane disturbed you so much.” Kuran Akira deadpans as he cited the various occasions whereby the pureblood had displayed his rare moment of jealousy towards the situation of Kiryuu Zero taking the blood of another. “...I think, your Daddy would rather die than to feed off me if I were to approach him at this point. Akira, I’m sure it hasn’t escaped your notice that your Daddy kind of loathed my existence at present.” Kaname Kuran told the younger twin perched on his lap with a wry grin playing on his lips. “Well, yes... but Daddy didn’t hate you. And the only reason why he loathed you this much... well, he wouldn’t have felt that much dislike for you if you hadn’t gone out of your way to annoy him by pushing his buttons at every single opportunity.” Kuran Akira turns to the younger version of his father as he points out objectively. “...Your Daddy attempted to stab me with a table knife the first time we met.” Kaname Kuran commented as he tried to convince Akira, his youngest about the level of animosity that the silver-haired hunter had against him at present. “I think his actions then are kind of understandable. Given that he was just bitten by another pureblood, less than a week ago. That, and he was in a stage of grieving then... so, he kind of lashed out on reflex.” Kuran Akira promptly responded, citing the reason he’d once heard coming from his beloved Daddy in the future they’d arrive when the topic of his parents' first meeting came up for discussion. “Akira, I think that’s enough information spilled. It's better to let father-dearest come to terms with his feelings for our Daddy in his own time.” Akane who was passing by the group and happened to overhear the snippets of conversation between her youngest brother and the younger version of her adoptive father, promptly interjected as she reminded Akira to drop the subject. Standing some distance away from them, Ichijo Takuma and Shiki Senri were conversing among themselves. The magnificent three-tier cake stood between the two vampires, as they debated who would be the one finishing the cake. Then the unmistakable scent of blood was spread in the air, for Ichijo Takuma had unintentionally cut himself on the sharp edge of the knife that was meant to be used on the cake. The sight of Shiki Senri sucking the former's blood off the bleeding finger was too much of a sight for Zero to stomach, and it caused his lust for blood to hit him like a hurricane. 'Shit!' was the only thing on his mind, before he promptly deposited Subaru onto the ground and bided an abrupt farewell to the boy, and started dashing for the gate of the Moon Dormitory at his fastest speed. ‘Distance... I need to distance myself as far from the humans on campus grounds as possible.’ - Kiryuu Zero thought as he fought against his bloodlust while heading straight for the direction of the lake in the woods surrounding the Moon Dormitory. “Oh my... was that the male guardian of the school that sped past us earlier?” A random common-class vampire started in a tone of uncertainty. “I think so? But the speed he was moving...isn’t exactly humane, right?” Another unknown vampire responded in a questioning tone of voice. “...I think Daddy just blew his cover of being a human to the entire night class.” Kuran Akira suddenly spoke up; his keen sense of hearing informed him that the common-class vampires had started speculating on the supposed rank of his Daddy among the vampire community now. “So, Kiryuu’s an ex-human. I knew it, he got bitten and turned when his family was wiped out by the blooming mad princess – didn't he?” Aidou Hanabusa declared in a smug tone of voice that got him a warning look from his pureblood leader, who shut him up for the rest of the evening. "Zero?!" Yuuki started, attempting to go after her agitated friend only to find herself being stopped by the twins and the pureblood king - Kaname Kuran. "Yuuki ... it's fine, let Akane handle him ..." Kaname assured, as he flickered his glance towards the direction where he had seen his future adopted daughter taking off shortly after the silver-haired hunter took his abrupt departure from the Moon Dorm. "Seiren, please escort Yuuki back to the Chairman's place. Subaru, Akira - stay close to Takuma, and do not leave the dorm unnecessarily." Kaname Kuran instructed before he made a move to leave the area - heading for the direction where Akane had taken off after the silver-haired guardian, a while ago. "..." The twins shared a look among themselves, before shrugging the matter off with ease. "Hey! Where's Kaname-sama going?" Aidou Hanabusa called out towards the twins' direction, as he looked up just in time to see their pureblood leader rushing past him. "Huh? Oh ... where else but going after Akane ... who had gone after our Daddy." Akira answered, off-handedly as he started to approach the Vice-President of the Moon Dormitory and asked if he could have a slice of the former's birthday cake later. --- Akane could tear her hair out from frustration, she had arrived at the site of the school's lake only to find herself being met by the sight of a suicidal Kiryuu Zero. The silver-haired hunter had the gun-point of his 'Bloody Rose' directed at himself, again. This was the second time Akane had found the former doing that, over 24 hours. The first time had been yesterday, a few hours after the little bonding session between the twins and the silver-haired hunter. "Stop it! Zero! Why are you even bothering to put yourself at gunpoint when you know that you are not going to pull the trigger, anyway?! Trying to drown yourself in the lake would not work as well, since the lake was far too shallow for a suicide attempt especially when you know how to swim." Akane interjected, trying to prevent herself from rolling her eyes at her distressed future parent. Zero said nothing but continued to stare down at his feet with a forlorn expression on his face. Tried as he might, there was nothing he could have done to stop his blood lust. Granted, Akane had been a willing donor, and being a vampire herself, there was no need to worry about hurting Akane in the long run. Seeing as Akane could easily replenish the amount of blood loss after feeding by ingesting the blood tablets afterward. Still, he could not help but be worried and felt guilty at the same time. Worried because Akane was from the future and would have to leave at some point in time. What should he do then? Who would be there for him when his bloodlust struck again? Certainly, he could not be expecting to take from Yuuki although he was certain, the girl would have offered if she knew it could help him to some extent. However, that would have meant facing the fury of Kaname Kuran when it happened. Not that he would have cared if the pureblood king was being angry at him, or his actions. Seeing as if it had been Yuuki whose' blood he had ended up drinking following Akane's departure, he would have killed himself off before the pureblood had a chance to lash out at him. The sheer notion that he could have been drinking his fill from the pureblood king by the time the trio left for the future didn’t even cross his mind, at this point. Guilty-wise, because Akane's a family member to him. Unlike Yuuki or Chairman Cross, Akane was related to him by blood - distantly. It still did not change the fact that they were related, through his mother's side of the family. Akane would first be his cousin, and later on to be his adopted daughter. The idea of feeding off the neck of his adopted daughter to quench his thirst for blood doesn’t exactly sit well with him. Seeing as it’s usually the parents that feed the kid, not the other way around. Still, that’s his only available option due to his allergy reaction to the blood tablets. The sudden feeling of his gun being pried out from his hand, caused the silver-haired hunter to look at his future 'daughter' with resignation. After all, only Akane would dare to venture this close to him and not in the least worried about the possibility of being shot by him. If anything, Akane could have held her own against him too, if they were to fight against one another. "Hush, it's okay ... it's alright. You can take as much from me as you need, we can worry about your future 'blood source' at another point in time. For now, just take blood from me. Although, I would very much appreciate it if you could stop being so suicidal after taking blood from me. And I thought I’d told you to avoid injuring yourself while fighting the Level E that prowls the streets? An injury sustained despite the accelerated healing would only speed up your desire for blood, I’m sure you know that. So, pray tell, why haven’t you approached me earlier for the feeding? You wouldn’t have blown your cover in front of the night class if you’d chosen to approach me for a feeding right after your return from town, today. You know?" Akane told her future silver-haired adoptive parent in a reassuring tone, as she tried to convince the distressed Kiryuu Zero to the idea of taking blood from her, again. “I know, but you must also understand that I dreaded the idea of drinking blood for it reminded me dreadfully of the creature that I’ve become. So, can you blame me for procrastinating on the idea of approaching you voluntarily for a feeding?” Kiryuu Zero argued as he slowly allowed his desire for blood to overcome him as he lengthened his vampire’s fangs. Kiryuu Zero was just about to bite down on the exposed side of Akane’s neck to draw blood when the sudden sound of a gunshot startled him so he took an immediate step back and distanced himself from his future adopted daughter. His vampire sense then informs him that there’s a presence of a strong vampire hunter around and not just any vampire hunter – but the very same hunter that taught him his vampire hunting skills. “...Master Tooga.” Zero whispered as horror flooded through him over the knowledge that he was caught red-handed in the act of succumbing to his bloodlust by his mentor. Granted, he hasn’t bitten down on Akane’s exposed neck yet... but it was a very near thing. Biting down on his lips, drawing blood as he did so while another shot from his master's gun grazed him on the left side of his shoulder blade. Hissing from the effect of the anti-vampire weapon, Kiryuu Zero fought back the bloodlust which was threatening to seize control of his mind, again. "I see that you have been unable to stop that insatiable desire for the blood of a living being, after all ..." The unmistakable gruff voice of the newly arrived hunter, froze the vampire in Zero as his sanity came flooding back to him - all at once. Meanwhile, back at the Moon Dormitory, the Kuran-Kiryuu twins suddenly straightened their backs as they scented the familiar smell of their beloved Daddy’s blood in the air. “What do you think happened to Daddy?” Kuran Akira began as he tightened his hold on his elder twin’s hand. “I don’t know, but Akane and Father have gone after Daddy. So, I think Daddy would be just fine.” Kiryuu Subaru tried to remain calm as he consoled his younger brother while keeping the mask of nonchalance in place. For the rest of the members of the night class, they aren’t aware of what is going on outside of these walls. Since this was a night whereby real blood could be ingested, the entire place reeked of the scents of blood from the residents. Henceforth, they aren’t concerned about the smell of new blood in the air and as long as it isn’t the blood of their pureblood leader being spilled, there’s no cause for them to be alarmed. Although Kaname Kuran had taken off to chase after Akane after the girl took off after the abruptly departing figure of Kiryuu Zero, he was in no rush to reach the duo. The reason was he wasn’t entirely looking forward to bear witness to the scene of the silver-haired hunter feeding off the neck of Akane, again. The knowledge of the hunter feeding from Akane irked him to no end, but there was nothing he could do about it. Feeding from Akane is the only option for Kiryuu Zero, given the hunter’s allergic reactions towards the blood tablets. He was there when Kiryuu confirmed his allergy to the blood tablets to Kaien Cross, and so, they had grudgingly accepted the conclusion that Akane would be in charge of feeding Kiryuu for the time being until a better solution came along. The idea of having Kiryuu feed off him directly had been on his mind, but he hadn’t quite mustered up the courage to go through with it for fear of what he might discover the moment – the one-sided bond was formed between them. So, Kaname Kuran remained rooted to the spot as he waited for the scent of Akane’s blood to fill the air. Only, instead of Akane’s blood – what he scented from the air was the smell of another followed by the sound of a gunshot. ‘Shit!’ was the only thought apparent in his mind before his instincts took over and the pureblood king was speeding off toward the direction of the school’s lake. ‘Zero...you’d better be alright.’ - Kaname Kuran thought as he started sprinting through the woods, he heard the sound of the second gunshot and the unique scent of Kiryuu’s blood thickened in the air. If it had been logic spurring on the actions of Kaname Kuran, he would probably wonder why the smell of Kiryuu Zero’s blood held a faint trace of the scent of cherry blossoms that no other Level D can emit. However, his logical sense of mind had been forced to take a backseat while the instinct of his beast took control of his body as he sped toward the direction of the school’s lake. All that remains on the mind of the pureblood king is that – the object of his desire was hurt, and he needs to be there to defend his possession. --- "Alright, this is it!! Stop it, would it kill you to simply stop shooting for a minute?!" Akane cursed aloud, as she stepped forth and pushed the stunned figure of Kiryuu Zero behind herself as she met the eyes of the infamous vampire hunter, Yagari Tooga - bravely. "What?! Haven't you noticed that he was about to bite you and sucked you dry? Yet, you are still defending him?" Yagari Tooga asked, with incredulity apparent on his features as he regarded the day-class girl who seemed adamant about defending his former disciple, whom had recently awakened as a vampire. "So what?! He didn't do anything which I hadn't allowed him to do. Besides, if he's a monster ... I'm not too far off, myself." Akane added as she allowed her aura of being a noble-rank vampire to flare. Yagari Tooga was stunned, he had been so affirmed that the girl had been a human; up until a second ago. It seemed as though the girl's aura of being a vampire had just flared up by itself, from nowhere in particular. For he had sensed no vampires around, with the sheer exception of his former disciple when he had first arrived on site. "Honestly, is there a need for you to be this stunned by the fact that I could hide my vampire aura from being detected by the hunters'?" Akane questioned, arching an eyebrow up as she addressed the now stupefied hunter. Snapping himself out of his stupor, Yagari Tooga narrowed his eyes upon the vampire girl and asked. "Just how on earth did you manage to do that?! " Akane shrugged, as she responded easily. "Nothing much ... it's just a concealment charm ..." "... Certainly, it can't be any usual concealment charm ... From what I know, a typical concealment charm can't be used in this manner ..." Yagari Tooga pressed on, unhappy about the fact that he had been 'bested' by a vampire. "Of course, it's not the typical concealment charm ... For it to work, modifications have to be made to the original version of the charm. By the way, please do not ask me how the modification to the charm had come about ... I had no idea myself. The modified charm had been around since the time I was born ..." Akane responded, hoping that this would be the last question from Yagari Tooga she would be answering. "Does this charm of yours have anything to do with your ability to take part in the outdoor activities for the class - during the daytime?" This came from Zero, who finally decided to speak up and reminded both Akane and his master of his presence. Akane said nothing but nodded in response to the silver-haired hunter's words. She figured the issue must have been on Zero's mind for quite some time already since she had noticed all the strange and quizzical glances being directed towards her from the said hunter each time - she had volunteered to take part in outdoor physical activities such as playing 'tennis'. "..." Zero was speechless, he must have been sleeping on his job. How could he have missed something like that?! He had been in the same class as Akane for a week-long, and he had yet to discover that Akane had kept her vampire aura hidden under a charm - all this while? To think that, he had wondered the reason behind Akane's ability to do physical lessons outside the classroom under broad daylight. This must be the reason why Akane had been able to play the role of a normal human being so easily, and without raising any suspicion from the day-class students at all. "Anyway, shall we continue what we have been doing - before your master came into the picture and rudely interrupted us?" Akane asked, ignoring the presence of Yagari Tooga, and turned towards Zero, who appeared to be still struggling with his bloodlust. "Akane!" Zero started, aghast by Akane's behavior. "Shut up, Zero! You are the one who’s amid a bloodlust, and as I mentioned before ... trying to withstand the lure of the blood would not help you at all. Instead, it will only worsen your condition and increase your desire for more blood the next time around, it struck." Akane stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. "Surely, you are not expecting me to suck your blood down here with my master watching?!" Zero questioned, his tone a mix between skepticism and mortification. To which, Akane merely shrugged in response and spoke. "Don't care, either way ... he's your master, not mine. You have two options though, either you drink from me ... or you can make do with this." With that said, Akane threw a small tube of red liquid towards the silver-haired hunter which the former had caught the tube with his fast reflexes. "What's this?" Zero asked quizzically, as he eyed the tube of red liquid with distrust. "Blood ... from Ichijo ..." Akane responded, and she added the last bit when she caught sight of Zero's quizzical look. "Huh? Ichijo? Why would he give you a tube that's full of his blood?" Zero asked, hating himself for sounding stupid but still, he felt it strange that the vice-president would willingly supply Akane with his blood. Akane looked bewildered for a moment, before realizing that the former had thought she was referring to Takuma when she mentioned the name 'Ichijo' earlier on. "No, not Ichijo Takuma ... Why would he want to give me his blood anyway?" Akane questioned back in return, before kindly elaborating her previous statement. "The blood is from Ichijo Asami, his daughter ... and that would be the willing blood donor of mine, which I've been telling you before. She gave it to me before I left home and arrived here. Don't you dare to throw it away, or I swear I'll keep you in a full-body bind later on with another charm of mine. Just drink before your bloodlust makes a turn for the worst ... Especially, with that wound that you had just endured from the anti-vampire weapon ... You'll need the blood to heal better, and faster. While on the subject, the earlier you close up the wound the better – the stench of your blood is going to draw suspicions from the night-class members if you delay any further. Although, I’m more concerned about Kaname-sama catching on." Akane added as an afterthought. “Surely, my blood doesn’t have the same type of allure that Yuuki’s blood did.” Kiryuu Zero blanched for a second before recovering. He's certain that his blood doesn’t lure in vampires like Yuuki’s did, otherwise, he would have been torn to shred before he made it out from a vampire hunting lesson intact with his master when he was still a kid and was undergoing the training to become a hunter under the guidance of Yagari Tooga. “While it doesn’t have the same type of alluring effect that Yuuki’s blood did... there’s still a faint tinge of that family’s blood scent lurking underneath. While I do not know for certain if the others could decipher it since you’re currently giving off the aura of an ex-human, I can assure you that as soon as Kaname-sama arrives on-site. He's going to have questions for you that I doubt, you would wish to address with your master present.” Akane deadpans as she keeps her unwavering gaze on the figure of Kiryuu Zero, as she states her point. “...” Clenching the tube of blood in his hands, Kiryuu Zero was truly in a dilemma about what he ought to do. On one hand, Akane does have a point – if he didn’t wish for another of his family's secrets to be discovered by the pureblood king, the best way to go about things would be to drink up the tube of blood offered by Akane and have his wound closed up and bleeding stop as soon as possible. On the other hand, the notion of drinking blood in front of his master would be equivalent to admitting to the fact that it was just as his master had claimed. He had given in to his insatiable desire for blood and turned into the beast that he had been taught to hunt and kill since young. Throughout the whole of Akane's conversation with Zero, Yagari had been watching them interact with one another. Judging from the way the vampire girl was interacting with his former disciple, Yagari gathered that they must have been on good terms. How else, would the girl have allowed her blood to be drunk by his former disciple? After all, being a hunter - they would have to study the culture of the vampires such that it would make it easier for them to judge when would be the best time to hunt the vampires. One of the vampire's vulnerable moments would be the moment after their blood had been taken by another - as their body would be weakened due to the loss of their blood. Not that the concept of one vampire drinking off the blood of another vampire had been rare in the society it was quite the opposite. However, it was just weird and strange that the female vampire had allowed his former disciple, an ex-human and a hunter to drink from her, willingly. Under usual circumstances, shouldn't the vampire involved be worried about the possibility of being slayed immediately after the blood had been drank off by the ex-human hunter? With that thought in mind, Yagari Tooga finally shifted his attention away from the interaction session between his former disciple and vampire as he voiced his question aloud to the latter. "Whom might you be then? " "If you are asking about my name ... I'm sure, you would have heard it from Zero just a while ago. It's Akane, but if you are asking about which noble lineage am I from ... That, I'm sorry to say but I can't reveal them to you." Akane replied, without intention to reveal anything else aside from her name to the said hunter. Turning away from the hunter, Akane shifted her attention back to the silver-haired guardian; waiting for the former to decide on how to deal with that bloodlust which was once again threatening to overwhelm his senses. At the same time, Yagari Tooga - too had his attention focused solely on his former disciple. Wondering if he should continue shooting, or should he wait around and see what would happen. Would his once favorite student drink the offered blood in front of him, or would the former withstand the lure for blood and come out triumph? Zero stared as he flickered his eyes between his master and Akane, knowing that he was now the focus of their attention. His master was wondering if he would indeed drink the blood that was offered, while Akane was waiting around to see if he would drink it willingly, or did she have to resort to desperate measures to ensure that he would have the very much desired blood in his system. "Zero ... do you want to drink it yourself, or do I have to feed you by force?" Akane started, feeling very much irritated by the hesitance that the silver-haired hunter was displaying. There was still no response from the silver-haired guardian, and thus Akane decided to decide for them both. Snatching the tube of liquid from the former's grasp, Akane emptied the tube of blood into her mouth but did not attempt to swallow it. Instead, she started walking towards the unmoving silver-haired guardian with determined steps. Making full use of her vampire's strength, Akane pushed Zero towards a tree and forced the said hunter to lean against it without much struggle. Then she waited for the former to speak, once she saw that the silver-haired hunter's lips had parted slightly in an attempt to speak. Akane seized that opportunity to force her lips upon the former, 'kissing' the blood that she had kept hidden in her mouth from before - into the slightly parted mouth of the stunned guardian. Zero swallowed the mouthful of blood unknowingly, too stunned by Akane's actions for words. He knows he should be reacting in some manner, perhaps to try to push the girl away. However, due to his master's earlier usage of the anti-vampire weapon against him and the fact that Akane was optimizing her strength as a vampire fully. There was simply no way for his weakened self to have reacted, therefore he could only remain where he was and allowed the girl to do as she pleased with him. Zero is too stunned by Akane's actions, and Akane is too focused on the idea of 'feeding' Zero. On top of it, Yagari Tooga was too surprised by the female vampire's actions towards his former disciple and the latter's obvious lack of any hostile reactions towards the said vampire except being stunned. Neither of them noticed the presence of a certain pureblood who was now openly glaring at the sight with heated eyes. The fury emitting from the pureblood had been so strong, that it caused a few branches atop the nearest tree to break away from its stem under the sheer pressure of the invisible energy that was crackling around in the air. Kaname Kuran had arrived at the scene just in time to witness that 'kiss' between Zero and Akane. If he had arrived a few minutes earlier before that scene, he would have understood the reason behind Akane's actions. However, unfortunately, he had not heard Akane's words nor witnessed Zero's actions from before. Therefore, he was now feeling furious with what he had witnessed and before he knew it, Kaname was on his way over to separate the duo by force. --- Akane blinked, one minute she had been holding her cousin and future adoptive parent still while she fed him with the blood that she had been keeping in her mouth. The next minute, she was forcefully pushed away from the silver-haired hunter by the furious pureblood king - Kaname Kuran. Glancing up at the pureblood, Akane found herself staring at the sight of Kaname Kuran grabbing Kiryuu Zero and pulling the silver-haired hunter away from her in a possessive manner. ‘...Shit, he didn’t see that – did he? Darn, who am I kidding? Of course, Kaname-sama had witnessed that force-feeding kiss between us, he wouldn’t have reacted in this manner if he hadn’t seen it. Oh well, at least – this will get father-dearest to stop denying his feelings and inner desires for dad, at an earlier time.’ - Akane thought as she observed the possessive behavior Kaname had taken as he pulled Kiryuu Zero closer to him while glaring at her with unbidden fury. ‘If looks could kill, I’ll be buried six feet under by now.’ Akane thought with a grimace, as she braced herself for the onslaught of ‘punishment’ to come, in time. It took Kaname Kuran quite a fair bit of sheer willpower to wrestle back the control of his body from his enraged beast, the beast in him wanted to rip Akane to shreds for daring to touch something that belonged to him. If the situation weren’t this dire, Kaname might seized the opportunity to argue with his beast about how the silver-haired hunter wasn’t theirs to own, yet. Regardless, it’s taxing enough to keep the beast in him under control, and because he was so focused on the notion of not trying to kill Akane he had forgotten about the possessive grip he had on the silver-haired hunter. Kiryuu Zero, meanwhile, was in shock. His legs felt like 'jelly' to him, it seemed like he had been given so many surprises in a day that if his heart had been any weaker, he would have been suffering from a heart attack or cardiac arrest right now. First, there was the issue with the 'Level E' and Subaru's reckless actions while in town. Then there was the fact that Yuuki had gone off alone to the Moon Dormitory without an escort, following which his master's impromptu arrival caught him amid a bloodlust. Later, Akane tried to force-feed him with the blood from a future 'Ichijo' through a 'kiss'. Now, the pureblood king and supposedly his future mate, Kaname Kuran just had to come out here and join in the crowd too?! "Kuran?! What are you doing?" There had been no response, except that Kiryuu Zero could feel the grip of the former's hand on his wrist tightening significantly. Wincing from the pain, Kiryuu Zero decided to try again. This time around, he repeated his question in a louder tone. "Damn you, Kaname Kuran! What the hell are you doing?!" With that, it finally snapped the pureblood out of his trance-liked manner. However, instead of responding to the irate silver-haired hunter's words; Kaname merely turned to stare at the former with an unreadable look. By this point, the beast in him had finally retreated to the back of his mind, and Kaname finally had control of his body back. Disbelief coursed through the pureblood as he realized that he held a desire for Kiryuu Zero, that he hadn’t been aware of, all this time. Filing away the information for later, Kaname Kuran focused his attention back on the present situation at hand. For a while, the pureblood king didn’t do anything but stare at the lips of Kiryuu Zero with an intensity that burns. Taking in the sight of the dried blood by the corner of Zero's lips, Kaname Kuran finally realized that the kiss from earlier which was shared between Akane and Zero had never been a real 'kiss'. It was merely a feeding process, one that involved Akane feeding the fellow hunter through desperate measures of using force. Though, what makes the force-feeding necessary - he had no idea. Still, the understanding of the reason behind the so-called 'kiss' did nothing to improve his foul mood. He was still angry at Akane's actions and probably Zero's lack of reactions as well, although the level of his fury had been dampened significantly. Nonetheless, the pureblood king was still unhappy and he decided that he would need to vent some of his frustration tonight before he exploded. The urge to bite and mark Kiryuu Zero on the spot was strong, but Kaname held back on the impulse. Thank goodness, the beast in him had retreated to the back of his mind and allowed his logical sense of mind to regain control of his actions. Otherwise, he had a feeling that he was going to endure a few shots from the veteran hunter on-site before the night ended. After all, trying to mark and claim Zero now wouldn’t be a smart move on all accounts. First, there’s a veteran hunter by the name of Yagari Tooga present on-site. Kaname did not doubt that the man would shoot if his lengthened fangs were to go anywhere near the silver-haired hunter. Second, he hasn’t quite worked out the logic of what he’s going to do with his feelings toward Yuuki and Zero. His logical side and his inner beast desire different things when it comes down to the choice of a mate. Third and finally, he had a feeling that Kiryuu Zero wasn’t going to take it well if he were to allow his instincts to overrule his logic and proceed with the act of biting and claiming the silver-haired hunter without talking things over with the former first. Kiryuu Zero, meanwhile, could die from the sheer embarrassment of being held in the tight embrace of Kaname Kuran under the scrutinizing gaze of his mentor. He had no idea what the pureblood king was thinking, all he knew was he was going to get bruises at where the pureblood was holding him. Over the past few minutes, he had been trying to get the pureblood king to unhand him but his efforts were in vain. For a while, he thought of simply giving up and just staying where he was and waiting for Kuran to come back to his senses but the remembrance of the presence of his Master Tooga reminded Zero just why exactly he couldn’t stay put. In the few minutes that Kiryuu Zero was held in the possessive grip of Kaname Kuran, he had tried struggling through the traditional means. However, the blood loss he had suffered after being shot by the anti-vampire weapon of his master had weakened him significantly. That, combined with how his blood lust had yet to be sated completely and the fact that the pureblood was holding him with full vampiric strength makes it harder for Kiryuu Zero to gain freedom from the possessive hold of Kaname Kuran. And so, in his desire to break free from the hold of the pureblood king – Kiryuu Zero did something completely outside of his expectations. He plunged his still-lengthened fangs into the exposed neck of the pureblood king. The sudden sensation of fangs sinking into the flesh of his neck jolted Kaname Kuran back to reality. A complicated look formed on his face as he gazed at the head of silver-hair nesting into the side of his neck before he allowed an audible sigh to escape him. “Kiryuu Zero... do you understand what you just did?” Kaname Kuran asks softly as he addresses the silver-haired ex-human who appears to be feeding off him, as bloodlust overtook the sensibility of Kiryuu Zero, again. “Oh my... does that mean my job as Zero’s blood source is now officially over?” Kiryuu Akane couldn’t help but remark from her position as she took in the sight of her future silver-haired parent feeding off the neck of Kaname Kuran. Granted, she suspected that Zero hadn’t been thinking about feeding when he bit down on the neck of Kaname Kuran earlier. When the bloodlust finally receded and a satisfied Kiryuu Zero finally removed his fangs from the neck of Kaname Kuran, he felt himself flushing crimson as the reality of what he’d done finally dawned on him. “Are you fully sated now?” Kaname Kuran raised his eyebrow questioningly as he addressed the embarrassed figure of Kiryuu Zero when the silver-haired hunter finally straightened up. “...Damn it, I wasn’t thinking about feeding when I first bites you. I was just trying to get you to let go of me...” Kiryuu Zero muttered under his breath as he hurried to distance himself from the pureblood king. “I know. In any case, I think we have a bigger problem at hand to deal with.” Kaname Kuran sighed as he reminded the silver-haired hunter as he flicked his gaze over to where the veteran hunter, Yagari Tooga had stood observing the bewildering turn of events over the past ten minutes. A grimace formed on the face of Kiryuu Zero as he suddenly recalled the situation, he had found himself in and held back an audible groan. ‘My master is going to kill me...’ --- Yagari Tooga was both angry and baffled at the recent events that had just transpired before his eyes. First of all, he had chanced upon his former disciple and favorite student attempting to bite someone while on his first inspection round about the academy. Thinking that he might be able to save the innocent student from harm's way, he opened fire at his disciple whose vampire nature had been awakened. Then as soon as he fired at Zero, he realized that the student whom his former disciple had been on the verge of biting was a vampire instead of a human. Not only that, he found it strange that he found the female vampire familiar when it was obvious that he had never met the former before. Still, the female vampire who went by the name of 'Akane' had managed to strike a familiar chord in him reminding him of someone, whom he currently had some trouble remembering. Moreover, there was something about the interaction between his former disciple and the said vampire that irked him. Although, it had been quite some time since he had seen his former disciple on a personal basis based on what he had been hearing from his friend - the Chairman of the academy, Kaien Cross. His former disciple's attitude towards the members of the night class had been anything but kind. However, his earlier inspection round that ended up with him chancing upon the sight of Zero almost giving in to the urge to bite another vampire had caused him to doubt the reliability behind his friend's statement. Why would Zero be contemplating the idea of biting another vampire for blood, when the former's initial reaction should be firing at the said creature? The lack of hostility towards the female vampire was baffling enough, and the fact that his former disciple had allowed the said vampire to remove his weapon from him was even more bewildering for him to comprehend. Then, the female vampire headed up front and pulled his disciple in for a hug. Not just any hug, it was one of those comforting hugs that was usually shared between siblings or close acquaintances. Again, his former disciple and once favorite student failed to react. Zero just allowed the female vampire to do as she pleased with him. Maybe, that was why he had initially thought the girl to be a mere human being because the sheer thought of his disciple not reacting badly to any vampires that came too close for comfort had never once occurred to him before. Therefore, when he realized his disciple was about to bite the unsuspecting girl on the neck, he did the first thing that sprang to his mind and that was to open fire at his once favorite student. However, when he ventured closer and realized that the girl whom he had tried saving from his disciple's fangs just happened to be another vampire - he was stumped. Following this, the vampire girl dared to ask Zero to 'feed' on the provided blood in front of him. When his former disciple had failed to do so, the girl had simply gone up to the former and fed Zero herself with the blood through the use of her mouth. Again, his disciple – Zero had surprised him with the lack of reactions when the least Yagari thought his former disciple could have done under the circumstances was to somehow attempt to struggle against that forced feeding 'kiss'. Yet, that did not happen and when the duo did separate themselves from one another - it was due to the presence of another vampire which just happened to be a pureblood going by the name of Kaname Kuran. The pureblood had been furious, that much was obvious since even he could sense the pure dark aura of fury emitting from the said vampire who came in between Zero and that vampire named Akane. Initially, he had thought the pureblood was angry at Zero. However, that thought was soon discarded when he realized that Kuran was glaring at the female vampire instead of his former disciple. So, the pureblood was angry at the vampire girl instead of Zero ... but why? That, he failed to comprehend and to make the situation even more confusing than it already was. The pureblood was practically holding and grabbing the wrists of his former disciple in a death grip, and possessive manner. Not even the voice of his student could get through the haze of anger that rolls off the figure of the pureblood, the hold on his student only loosens somewhat when his student decides to bite the pureblood on the neck. While the bite did the job of getting the pureblood to let go of his student, it also allowed Yagari to witness an ongoing feeding scene of his student who had finally awakened the vampire nature. "Ooi Kid! Looks like ... the both of us need to have a long overdue chat with one another ...” Yagari Tooga spoke up, finally deciding that he had had enough of the strange and thick tension that hung between the three vampires. For a while, it looked as though Zero was about to protest over the idea of leaving the two vampires behind. After all, he hadn’t neglected the look of fury on the pureblood’s face when the guy charged over at full vampire speed to pull Akane off him. Honestly, Kiryuu Zero didn’t know what to make of the recent developments between Kuran and himself, either. He figured he could dwell on it if he managed to survive the wrath of his master, tonight. "It’s okay... Zero. Just go with your master, I’ll be fine. I doubt Kaname-sama is going to harm me for real now that his fury has depleted.” Akane spoke up as she urged the hesitant silver-haired hunter to leave with the veteran hunter for that long-overdue chat between them. “Kuran, I’m warning you – don't you dare to raise a hand at Akane.” Kiryuu Zero eventually left behind a verbal warning directed to the impassive pureblood king before turning to follow his master out and away from the area where the school’s lake is located. ~to be continued~ Date started: 05/05/09 Date completed: 07/05/09 Date edited: 07/05/09 Date revised: 23/02/2025
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Following the departure of Kiryuu Zero and Yagari Tooga, Kaname Kuran turns his gaze upon the figure of Akane, the girl who will eventually end up as his adoptive daughter, and sighs. “Akane, while I understand the motives behind that earlier stunt you pulled – let it be known that I do not wish for a repeat of today’s incident.” “Of course, given a better alternative – I wouldn’t have used that particular method to force-feed Zero, as well. I mean, he’s my adoptive dad – the idea of having to force-feed him through the mean of a kiss, kind of gross me out as well. However, with his master watching from the sidelines – there's no way he’s going to drink the offered blood willingly. Hence, kissing the blood into him was the only thing I could think of, in the heat of the moment. I assure you, that there’s not going to be a repeat of the same event.” Akane hurried to defend her actions to the pureblood king. “I know, and that’s exactly why I’m going to let you off the hook – this time. Now, get yourself back to the dorm and try to keep the rest of them in control. No doubt, they would have detected the scent of my blood from the lingering air now.” Kaname Kuran sighed as he dismissed the sandy-brown-haired girl from his presence. “Oh, and what about you? Wouldn't it be better for you to return to the dorm and maintain control over the members of your inner circle, personally?” Akane started as she glanced up at the pureblood king in confusion. “I’m aware that it’s easier for me to control Aidou and Ruka than it is for you to handle them when they’re agitated. However, I was under the impression that you have little patience for Yuuki’s inquisitive nature?” Kaname Kuran said as he glanced at the figure of his future adoptive daughter questioningly. “Wait... she’s coming over now? Damn, I’d better escape while I could...” Akane sensory range wasn’t as far as Kaname, and so, when she heard the response coming from the pureblood king. She didn’t need to be told twice and promptly seized the opportunity to head out of the area where the school’s lake was located. With a sigh, Kaname Kuran stood rooted to the spot in front of the school’s lake as he waited for Yuuki to approach him for an explanation of tonight’s event. As much as the pureblood wishes to seclude himself away in the privacy of his study to mull over the recent development concerning the one-sided bond that took place when Kiryuu Zero bitten him earlier, as well as to decide on what he ought to do about the feelings he had for the two guardians... Kaname knew, he would need to handle the task of setting the mind of Yuuki at ease first. --- Yuuki Cross was very confused. First, she was abruptly carted back to the chairman under the order of her beloved Kaname-senpai, shortly after her silver-haired friend took his abrupt leave from the Moon Dorm without her. Later, her adopted father had abided by the request of Seiren, the loyal servant of Kaname Kuran to prevent her from leaving the house to go in search of her missing silver-haired friend. And then, when she finally sighted the return of her silver-haired friend; she was barred from approaching her friend by an unknown man who seemed to be friends with her adopted father. The dozen questions she has for her friend were abruptly put on hold, when the gruff-like friend of her adopted father chased them out from the study citing that he needed to speak to his student in private. “Chairman, who is he?” Yuuki Cross turns towards the figure of her adopted father, Kaien Cross, as she voices her query across with a frown marring her features. She doesn’t quite appreciate the way the man is treating her silver-haired friend, and the man appears rather angry with Zero, for some reason. “That’s Yagari Tooga, a former colleague of mine at the hunter’s association. He’s also Zero’s mentor in vampire-hunting.” Kaien Cross sighed as he explained the identity of the newcomer on academy grounds, as he pinched the bridge of his nose wearily. Something must have happened that he wasn’t aware of, if only, he could tell for certain what exactly transpired between the duo currently hogging up the use of his study room. “Eh?!” Yuuki Cross felt her eyes widening in response to the words coming from the chairman. “Anyway, Yuuki – it's late. I think it’s best for you to return to your dorm. Whatever you have in mind to speak to Zero about can wait until tomorrow. I honestly doubt they are going to be done with their private conversation anytime soon.” Kaien Cross eventually said as he told Yuuki, the girl who he had taken in as his own after Kaname Kuran brought her in about a decade ago claiming to have rescued her from a bunch of Level E. Yuuki Cross glances one more time at the closed door of the study that belongs to her adoptive father, and back to the reassuring figure of Kaien Cross before letting out a sigh of resignation as she trudged out of the house and made her way back to the Sun Dorm. She was halfway through the pathway that linked the chairman’s residence to the dormitory building occupied by the day class students when she overheard a couple of fangirls that has been caught by her for being out after curfew talking about the sound of gunshots ringing out near the school’s lake. Immediately, Yuuki Cross decided to check out the area where the school’s lake was located – for she had assumed that her silver-haired friend was the one to open fire. It wasn’t until she reached the school’s lake to find the lone figure of her beloved Kaname-senpai waiting for her, that she felt the level of her confusion heightened. “Kaname-senpai, why do you have blood stains on the front of your shirt? Zero didn’t open fire and shoot you, did he?” Yuuki Cross whispered with an ashen pale expression, as she voiced her doubt across to the pureblood king. “...Pray tell, what makes you think that Kiryuu had opened fire at me?” Kaname Kuran frowned as he stared at Yuuki with incomprehension. “Eh? It’s not Zero? Then, who was the one who opened fire? The students who have been caught loitering out after curfew told me that they’d heard the sound of gunshots coming from here earlier.” Yuuki Cross blinked as she halted the images that her imaginative mind had created as she turned toward the pureblood king for an explanation of the gunshots from before. “The sound of gunshots was from Yagari Tooga, Kiryuu’s mentor in vampire hunting. In short, his mentor caught him attempting to take the blood of Akane and resorted to open fire. In any case, his feeding session got interrupted by his mentor... as for the blood stains on the front of my shirt; all I can say is Kiryuu is quite a messy feeder.” Kaname Kuran eventually gives Yuuki a watered-down version as he conveniently left out the details contributing to Akane attempting to force-feed Kiryuu with the use of her mouth, and how that particular scene had him reacting in a possessive manner. He also conveniently left out the reason that led to Kiryuu feeding from him as opposed to Akane, choosing to leave that up to the imaginative mind of Yuuki. --- Meanwhile, back at the Chairman's living quarters - the master and student were staring at one another in a creepy manner. Rather, Yagari Tooga had been the one staring while Kiryuu Zero was the one trying to avoid looking his master in the eyes due to the sheer feeling of guilt if nothing else. "Since when did you start fraternizing with the likes of 'them'?" Yagari Tooga started, eyeing his former disciple with intent as he started loading new magazines into his gun. "I wasn't fraternizing with them!" Zero protested, while eyeing the gun of his master's warily from the corner of his eyes. "Oh really, then would you perhaps like to explain to me the reason why you had allowed one to hold you in a possessive manner and another to kiss you without much protest?" Yagari Tooga continued to press on the subject, while playing around with his gun as he directed his gunpoint towards his former disciple every once in a while. He didn’t mention anything about the bloodsucking act his disciple had done to the neck of the pureblood though, figuring that his disciple had likely forgotten about the lingering bloodlust when his disciple chose to bite the pureblood out of frustration of being held in a possessive manner. "..." There was no response from Kiryuu Zero, as it’s true that the silver-haired hunter had failed to react in a manner that is befitting for someone who’s under the tutelage of the veteran vampire hunter. Inwardly, Zero wonders just what exactly his master wanted or expected him to do, given the earlier circumstances. Having just been shot by the anti-vampire weapon of his mentor, the silver-haired hunter’s strength had left him depleted like a deflated balloon. Added on to the blood loss incurred during the injuries suffered, and with the two vampires coming on to him with their full strength. There was no way he could have defended himself against their so-called 'assault' - isn't that so? Furthermore, he had been too stunned by the 'kiss' from Akane to react in time when the pureblood - Kaname Kuran had stepped in and held him in a possessive grip which he had trouble getting away after the pureblood had pulled him apart from Akane. As for the incident of him feeding from Kaname Kuran, well... that wasn’t an intentional act on his part. He had bitten Kuran out of frustration, his original intent was to simply get the pureblood to loosen up the possessive grip on his person. What he hadn’t factored in was the allure that the scent of the Kuran blood had on his inner beast – the vampire side that was recently awakened after being turned by Shizuka Hiou, four years ago. That, and he had forgotten about the bloodlust which was still lingering at the back of his mind when it suddenly came back in full force and overruled his sense of mind as the vampire in him took the opportunity to drink his fill from the pureblood king. ‘Damn... would I still be able to drink from Akane now that I’d gotten a taste of the Kuran’s blood?’ - Kiryuu Zero was suddenly struck by the thought and had to clench his fist together to avoid groaning aloud at the dawning realization that he might have just kick-start something that he wasn’t certain if he was ready to commit. It’s surprising how his mentor didn’t make any mention of his feeding from the pureblood, perhaps, his mentor likely thinks Kuran asked for it by latching on that tightly to him earlier. Of course, Zero is certain that his mentor’s opinion about him biting Kuran might change the moment the existence of the twins is found out. "Have got nothing to say, isn't it? Maybe, it's about time that I should give you another lecture as to why you should not associate yourself with creatures like them!" Yagari started, as he launched into yet another full-blown lecturing mode of a vampire hunter to one of his mindless students who was supposedly still in training. Behind the closed door, a certain ex-hunter going by the name of Kaien Cross was eavesdropping on the conversation that took place within his private 'study'. He had somehow managed to persuade a worried Yuuki to head back to her dormitory for some rest, while he would handle the situation between Zero and Yagari Tooga - himself. However, as soon as Yuuki departed from his residence, Kaien Cross was chased out of the room by the hunters' duo. Zero allowed himself to nod every now and then to his master's words, but not really listening to the lecture. Since, this was something which he had heard at least a dozen times over, back during his training days with the said hunter. Instead, he allowed his mind to roam off by itself - aimlessly but somehow his mind kept on returning to the image of a certain pureblood much to his chagrin. Judging from the way his master was reacting to his lack of hostility towards Akane in general, he figured it might perhaps be best if he kept the information of the twins' existence away from his master - after all. He had no doubt; that his master would go ballistic if he were to find out about the twins' parentage. There could only be two possible results should his master know of the twins’ parentage. One, his master would attempt to kill Kaname Kuran, and should the attempt fail, he was more than willing to bet that his master would be trying to kill him off next, lest he end up being involved with the vampires in more ways than one. Then, there was also the existence of Akane. Presently, his master had been too preoccupied with his 'situation' with the vampires to have noticed the obvious similarities between Akane and his mother. He wondered what would have happened if his master had been let on to the fact of just how related he had been with Akane, through his mother's family relations. He supposed his master would blow up at him, making a fuss over just how convenient his dead parents had thought it unnecessary to inform the said hunter of their family relationship with the 'Fujiwara' clan - which his master had loathed the clan's existence with a passion. "Kid?! Ooi Kid! Are you even listening to what I've said?!" Yagari had all but growled upon realization that his disciple had zoned out on him during the midst of his lecture. Zero blinked, coming back to reality from his thoughts. 'Shit' was the only thing on his mind, upon noticing the slight narrowing of his master's eyes on him. "That's it! You are grounded!" His master announced, causing him to blink stupidly at the hunter. "Grounded?" Zero repeated, sounding incredulous upon the notion of being grounded by the hunter. "Yes, grounded ... and until you can get it through your head and remember the various reasons about why you should not trust, or associate yourself with a vampire - which I've been telling you about, previously." Yagari Tooga commented, before leaving the room and locking him in for the rest of the day. Staring speechlessly at the now locked door to the Chairman's study, Kiryuu Zero dropped himself wearily on the sofa couch available and decided to just sleep his fatigue off for the time being. He could start thinking about how to get himself away from the sentence of being grounded after he had gotten the sleep that he required, at this point in time. Before he felt himself drifting off to sleep, the silver-haired hunter briefly wondered if the pureblood king had caught a whiff of his blood scent earlier on. Whatever reasons brought on that bizarre behavior from Kaname Kuran earlier, Kiryuu Zero had hoped that the pureblood was too preoccupied with anger to notice the peculiarity in the scent of his blood because he didn’t particularly want to explain to the pureblood why his blood didn’t emit off the scent of the typical ex-human vampire when his aura obviously did. That would simply open up a new can of worms. While on the subject – he was immensely relieved that his master had overlooked Akane’s remark about his blood scent earlier, too. Then again, he supposed his master wouldn’t have caught on to the hidden meaning of the scent of his blood since hunters are humans. The most they could decipher from the smell of blood was the coppery smell present in the blood, the vampires, on the other hand, are another matter. ‘Damn you, Shizuka Hiou. If you had bloody kept your fangs to yourself instead of biting me that day, I wouldn’t be in this situation today.’ - This was the last thought on the mind of Kiryuu Zero before he drifted off to sleep. --- Over at the Moon Dormitory, Akane returns to find herself surrounded by the members of the inner circle from the pureblood king demanding to know the reason behind the spilling of the pureblood on academy grounds. “There’s no need for you lot to worry yourself into a frenzy state. Your king is fine, the blood spill earlier was due to Zero feeding off from him. As for the sound of gunshot, that was Yagari Tooga shooting at Zero when he tried to ‘save’ me from being harmed by a bloodthirsty Kiryuu Zero.” Akane told the group crowding her dryly, before ruffling the hair of the younger twin affectionately when the boy beams upon the knowledge that his Daddy is finally feeding off from their father. “Congrats, Akane. Your job as Daddy’s blood bank is officially over. Now that Father had allowed Daddy to feed from him, there’s no way he would allow Daddy to take blood from another source.” Kiryuu Subaru merely nodded before commenting in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “True... but given the circumstances, and taking into consideration Zero’s nature – it's going to be a chore to get that silver-haired parent of ours to approach father-dearest voluntarily for a feeding session.” Akane sighed before commenting to the twins in a musing tone of voice. “Ah well... it’s Daddy, so, it’s not that surprising. Either way, father would know how to handle Daddy when it comes down to the time for Daddy to feed.” Kuran Akira was not in the least worried about the feeding routine or schedule between the younger versions of his parents. He had the utmost confidence in his father’s capability to get his stubborn Daddy to feed, through various means. For Ruka Souen and Aidou Hanabusa, the thought of their pureblood leader’s precious blood being spilled to feed the silver-haired ex-human was quite a bitter pill to swallow. Even though, the existence of the twins from the future had basically ensured that such a situation would come into fruition on an eventuality. They just hadn’t foreseen it happening this soon. --- When Akane turns up for class the next day, she’d first spare a moment to scan the surroundings before giving up on trying to locate the absent Kiryuu Zero. Turning towards Yuuki Cross, the female guardian of Cross Academy – Akane promptly asks. “Where’s Zero?” “He got grounded by his master for being caught fraternizing with the vampires last night. So, now he’s locked up in his room at the Cross Residence.” Yuuki responded in a tone that seemed to be a cross between amusement and bemusement. “... I see.” Akane sweat-dropped as she tried to stamp down the urge to laugh over the idea of her silver-haired parent getting grounded, since she’s usually the one that got grounded by the older version of Kiryuu Zero back in her time. ‘Well... looking on the bright side of the situation, at least, his master hadn’t shot him again. I doubt the twins would be able to stay put if they were to scent the smell of Zero’s blood in the air, again. Speaking of which, should I be thankful that Kaname-sama was too distracted by his fury with that ‘kissing’ scene between Zero and myself, and the creation of the one-sided bond when Zero bites him last night to detect the oddity in Zero’s blood scent?’ - Akane thought as she got out her books and stationery set to get ready for the homeroom session due to begin in a few minutes. --- Kiryuu Zero sighed, he was currently being isolated and locked within his room back in the Chairman's living quarters. He had been 'grounded' by his master since last night, after being dragged away from the school's lake where he had been caught red-handed by his master - Yagari Tooga, for associating himself with the vampires. Initially, he was locked within the Chairman's private study but after the ex-hunter and his adopted father, Kaien Cross had protested that he needed the 'study' for researching and working purposes. His master had decided to lock him away in his own room, instead. The former had specifically requested for him to stay in the room, and reflected upon his own actions from the night before. Until the said hunter had released him from his sentence of being 'grounded', he would not be allowed to step out of his room. Hence, explaining his reason for being absent from his classes on this particular morning. No doubt, Akane would be laughing her head off when she heard of his so-called 'punishment' from Yuuki. Honestly, he had thought his master would attempt to shoot him into oblivion after what had happened the night before. Therefore, he was equally shocked when his master announced to him that he would be 'grounded' until further notice. Since there was practically nothing else for him to do in his room now - seeing as he had already finished all his homework that he had on hand for the point of time. Zero decided to take the time to reflect on the events that took place over the last twenty-four hours. So, over the last twenty-four hours, he had managed to have some sort of a 'bonding' session with Subaru, the elder twin. He supposed he does enjoy having the twins around, and does 'love' them. Grudgingly, he found himself getting used to the idea of the pureblood - Kuran, as the twins' other parent. Hence, he had made an effort to tone down his immense dislike towards the former, and had hoped that the pureblood would do the same. Then again, he supposed that would not be too much of a problem, since the pureblood had been tolerating his presence around Yuuki - at most, if not all the time. However, despite his grudging acceptance of Kaname Kuran as the twins' other parent - he is still having trouble seeing himself involved in a romantic relationship with the pureblood. Heck, not just the pureblood – the idea of being involved in any kind of romantic relationship has never once crossed the mind of Kiryuu Zero in the last four years since tragedy befalls his family. So, when the trios arrive with the story of his intimate and intertwined future with the pureblood king, it truly throws him into a loop that he wasn’t prepared for. ‘Love... just how did that happen between Kuran and myself? Never mind the how, could I ever bring it in me to love a beast is a better question?’ - Kiryuu Zero thought to himself with a complicated look on his face. Another sigh escaped from his lips, as Zero wondered aloud. "Why did things in my life have to be so bloody complicated?" ‘The Kiryuu, the Hiou, and the Fujiwara... now the Kuran as well...’ - Kiryuu Zero sighed as he thought about the blood running through his veins, as well as his future relationship with a certain pureblood and promptly flopped himself back onto his bed to stare up at the ceiling of his room with a look of consternation. The remembrance of the pureblood king reminded him of that guy’s agitated reaction last night upon coming across the ‘kissing’ scene between him and Akane. Only the 'kiss' had been acting like some sort of transmission channel for the blood to make its way down his throat, and into his body system which he knew he would not be drinking if Akane had not forced them down his throat using desperate measures. The skin around the area of his wrist and his left waist were still bruised and red from the pureblood's strong grip, if he had not known of the pureblood's obvious love and affection for Yuuki. He might have thought Kuran was jealous about what Akane had done to him, or had been doing to him - at that point in time. As soon as the thought came into his mind, Kiryuu Zero pushed it aside while he told himself convincingly that it would never be the case. ‘Was it truly?’ - he could hear his inner voice asking him, as he pushed aside the notion that the pureblood had reacted in that manner due to jealousy, last night. Surely, Kuran was not feeling jealous in the slightest hint - right? Zero questioned himself, inwardly and uncertainly. If the situation had taken place several months ago, and between Yuuki and himself, he might have been certain in his assumption that the pureblood was feeling jealous about his kissing Yuuki. Now though, he found himself at a loss. He had no way of explaining the pureblood's unusual reactions to his being 'force-fed' by Akane, through the use of a 'kiss'. "Just what the hell was going on?" Zero could not help but groan aloud from frustration. If it had not been jealousy that spurs the pureblood into actions - then what?! Certainly, possessiveness would not have come into play if there had been no jealousy involved - right? Jealousy would only arise if there had been some sort of strong feelings coming into play; be it desires; lust or the feeling of 'love'. The only feeling that existed in them would be their mutual dislike for one another's presence, and the desire for them to tear one another apart. But that was a negative form of desire, was it not? The possibility of them lusting after one another was practically equivalent to none and he refuses to even contemplate the idea of 'love'. Maybe, the lust would have existed if they had been sharing their blood with one another - according to Akane's words. Since, a one-sided bond would have been formed between Akane and himself when he had bitten the former for blood the effects of the bond would only have affected the donor, not the receiver. When Kiryuu Zero had been first let in on the fact by the girl, he had 'freaked' out. However, Akane had managed to prevent him from doing any harm to himself by assuring him that she had too much logical sense in her to even attempt to lust after him, who was practically her father figure. Only, now the one-sided bond not just existed between himself and Akane, his future adoptive daughter but also between him and the pureblood king as well. After all, he had bitten the pureblood out of frustration last night and then ended up drinking his fill from Kaname Kuran when his bloodlust seized control of his sensible mind after he sank his lengthened fangs into the exposed neck of Kaname Kuran. ‘Okay, so lust is out... he was already reacting in that manner before the one-sided bond was even formed between us.’ - Kiryuu Zero told himself firmly in his mind, as he continued to puzzle over the unexplainable reactions of the pureblood king to the events of last night. After ruling out the possibility of lust and dislike, the silver-haired hunter was truly at a loss now about the possessiveness that came over Kaname Kuran last night. The remembrance of the information about how blood can transmit feelings, thoughts, and memories comes to the forefront of Zero’s mind, as he found himself thinking back on the few occasions, he had taken blood from Akane, and recently from the pureblood king. Being a newbie at this bloodsucking activity, Kiryuu Zero still had trouble mastering that little technique that comes into play during a feeding session. He distinctively recalls that it was because of that, the sharing of blood is often seen as an act of intimacy between two vampires which is also why blood sharing usually took place between mated couples. Now, the first time when Kiryuu Zero took blood from Akane – it was out of desperation to satisfy his lust for blood, so, he was simply hungrily lapping up the blood from the neck of his future adoptive daughter to even spare a thought to savor the taste of Akane’s blood on his tongue. Therefore, he naturally didn’t bother to determine the feeling of Akane when she offered to feed him. The second time when he took blood from Akane, he was again too far gone in his bloodlust to even think functionally. And then, yesterday he didn’t get to drink from Akane due to the abrupt appearance of his master... and when he was fed the blood of Akane’s future friend through the means of force-feeding, he was too stunned and shocked to even take a moment to savor the taste of the blood on his tongue. Instead, he was forced to swallow the mouthful of blood on reflex. And then, finally, when his sanity decides to go on a vacation that resulted in him sinking his fangs into the neck of the pureblood king – this was the first time, Kiryuu Zero finally allowed himself to savor the taste of the blood during a feeding session. Despite not having a lot of experience in reading the emotions from the blood traveling down his throat while he fed, Kiryuu Zero was still able to tell from the taste of Kuran’s blood that there was a feeling of satisfaction combined with confusion as he fed off from the neck of Kaname Kuran. ‘Satisfaction and confusion... I wonder just what the hell that relates to?’ - Kiryuu Zero thought with a frown marring his features, before he forcibly shifted his focus away from the pureblood king and diverted it to the stack of documents, he had gotten off Risa Miyazaki some time ago. Figuring that this was a good chance for him to study the documents in peace, since he’s supposed to be grounded and thus isn’t expecting to carry out his duties as the school guardian for the time being; he had quite a fair bit of time on his hand to study the report concerning the event dated four years ago. --- “You, I would like to have a word with you in private.” Yagari Tooga growled out when he finally caught sight of the vampire girl who was hanging around his disciple last night at the school’s lake, when the school bell chimed for the lunch break to start for the day class students. “...” Kiryuu Akane sweat-dropped at the aura of displeasure rolling off the body of Yagari Tooga, as she sent Yuuki ahead to the cafeteria for lunch while she took a detour with the veteran vampire hunter to the woods surrounding the Moon Dormitory. “What’s your relationship with my student?” Yagari Tooga started as he plunged straight into an interrogation session with Akane. As much as he wanted to ask why the vampire girl wasn’t in the night class but in the day class, he decided against it at the last minute. After all, if he were to use the excuse that humans and vampires are to be kept apart at all cost – his student, Kiryuu Zero ought to be in the night class as well, given his disciple’s status as an ex-human. “We are cousins.” Akane eventually said, citing the first authentic excuse that came to mind without revealing the information about her being from the future timeline. “Cousins? Who are you trying to kid? I’m quite sure my student has no cousins among the vampire community.” Yagari Tooga let out a snort of derision as he growled in response, dismissing Akane’s authentic reasons as a joke. ‘I wouldn’t be so sure about that, but oh well, can’t fault him since he doesn’t have all the facts on hand.’ - Akane thought inwardly, as she rolled her eyes at the veteran vampire hunter before commenting dryly. “Maybe, he didn’t have any vampire cousins on his paternal side of the family but the same couldn’t be said for his maternal family relations. Take a good look at me and tell me whether it reminded you of someone. I had been told on multiple occasions that I inherited the looks from my mother’s side of the family.” Upon Akane’s statement, Yagari Tooga finally set aside his prejudice on the subject, took a good look at Akane’s face, and studied it in detail. To assist the hunter in drawing the correct conclusion with regard to her relations to Kiryuu Zero, Akane even reined in her vampire aura toning it down to its lowest. “Damn it, a freaking Fujiwara?! Your mother’s a Fujiwara?” Yagari Tooga took a good old twenty minutes of studying the outward appearance of Akane but ultimately it was the aura that clues him in on the identity of the mother of the vampire girl. “Yes, my mother’s a Fujiwara. Likewise, Zero’s mother is also a Fujiwara. Now, I’m sure you know what Fujiwara stands for in our society. So, is that so far of a stretch for you to believe that your student – Zero, had a vampire cousin now?” Akane tilted her head sideways as she studied the demeanor of the veteran vampire hunter – Yagari Tooga, who’s also the master of her future adoptive parent, Kiryuu Zero as she remarked drily. “...” For a while, Yagari Tooga didn’t speak and then he simply turned to leave the clearing abruptly – making a beeline for the direction of the Cross Residence. ‘... I certainly hope he wasn’t heading back to interrogate Zero for the reason why he wasn’t informed of Zero’s mother's heritage all this time...’ - Akane sweat-dropped before turning on her heels to head for the school’s cafeteria for her late lunch. --- On the other side of the academy, a certain pureblood was seated in his bed as he busied himself with the task of analyzing his unusual actions and behavior from the previous night. Even though, it was already eight in the morning and way past his usual hours of activity. Still, the idea of going to bed was the very last thing on his mind. The dark curtains of his room had been drawn, engulfing the room in darkness. The twins were sleeping soundly and comfortably by his side, cuddling up close to one another for warmth. Another book of Shakespeare's laid forgotten by the bedside table, which he had read to the twins as another bedtime story prior to their falling asleep. A smile graced his features as he leaned over to peck the twins lightly on their forehead, before settling himself back to his own side of the bed. Staring up at the dark ceiling of his room, Kaname found himself thinking and reflecting on his behavior that had taken place the night before, near the school's lake. He had been furious when he first came upon the sight of Akane 'kissing' Zero, and he found himself reacting to the situation without even stopping to question himself about the reason behind his fury. He was reacting to the situation on pure instincts then; the logical side of him gets no say in his response to the scene of Akane force-feeding Kiryuu Zero. This time around, the answer to his unexpected fury came easily though. Jealousy was obviously at work, to have managed to get such an unusual reaction out of him. The reason ‘why’ he had it figured out last night, after having to wrestle back the control of his body from his instincts, his inner beast. So, the question now is when he started to harbor desires for the silver-haired hunter. Was it after the twins' and Akane's arrival or could it be possible that his unbidden caring for the fellow hunter had started way before the trio's arrival from the future, without his knowledge? If so, then what of Yuuki? Did he not care for Yuuki anymore now that his heart yearns for another? Closing his eyes, Kaname allowed his mind to whip up the images of Yuuki being placed in harm’s way and felt his blood boiling at the thought. Snapping his eyes open, Kaname could say for certain that he still cared for Yuuki. There wasn’t even a need for Kaname to consider his possible reactions to Kiryuu Zero being harmed by another, based on how he’d reacted to that so-called ‘kiss’ between Kiryuu Zero and Akane; Kaname knew – it would be worse if the silver-haired hunter were to be place in harm’s way. Placing a hand on his temples, Kaname Kuran felt the start of a headache beginning as he dwelled on the feelings he had towards the two guardians of Cross Academy. This is truly a dilemma, because on one hand, he was bound to the promise made to his parents to protect and love Yuuki for as long as he lives. On the other hand, he can’t deny that he desires Kiryuu Zero with a passion that puts the kind of love and affection he’d held for Yuuki to shame. There's no way out of it; he’s irrevocably in love with the silver-haired hunter – the instinctual reactions from last night’s incident, have proven that much. ‘That did it, I’m just going to adjust my game plan to fit the new situation. Now, how should I rework the plan that’s already set into motion?’ - Kaname Kuran thought as he shifted his position from the bedroom to the adjoining room that serves as his private study where the pieces of an incomplete chess game sit on the coffee table placed in front of the sofa armchair. His original intention for keeping Zero around was to make use of the former's sense of attraction and loyalty to take care of and protect Yuuki from harm's way. He had had every intention to make use of the silver-haired guardian as a pawn in his fully laid out plan, to act as the knight that would willingly sacrifice himself for the life of his queen - Yuuki. Now, it seems the moves had been messed up big-time and his ploy would never work in the way he had initially planned it out to be. So, it goes without saying that his level of confidence had wavered for the first time ever. Kaname felt himself hesitating in his moves, now that he had grudgingly admitted to his caring for the supposed 'knight' in his 'game' of manipulation. Topping it off, his number of weaknesses had increased gradually with the appearances of Akane and the twins. Initially, it had only been Yuuki but now ... he had to take into account the trio's safety as well as Zero's. Yuuki needs to be protected at all costs, but sacrificing Zero is no longer an option. He needs to come up with a better way to keep both Yuuki and Zero safe from harm’s way. Hmm... but there’s no way Kiryuu Zero would allow himself to be sheltered from the dangers like Yuuki does, since the silver-haired hunter is quite capable of handling himself amid a dangerous situation. So, what should I do? Should I bring him in and let him know of the plans I had in mind to deal with Ichijo Asato and the senate from the vampire council, as well as that ‘undead’ uncle of mine who has it out for Yuuki? --- Ichijo Takuma was just coming back to the academy after being out running an errand on behalf of the night-class members, when he caught sight of Akane out on the school's tennis court having a rally game of tennis with a fellow day-class male student from the school's team. Judging from the amount of perspiration that the girl had sticking to her tanned-like skin, Takuma figured that Akane must have been out in the sun for quite some time now. Inwardly, he found himself wondering about the reason why Akane failed to get sunburnt or suffered from any signs of a heat-stroke after being out in the sun for such periodic hours, despite her vampire heritage. "Kiryuu-san, please spare me from the torture of carrying on this game with you - will you? It's been three hours already, anymore longer, I'll be suffering from severe dehydration ..." The male student spoke up, his tone pleading as he addressed the perspiring girl standing opposite him on the court. Deciding to spare the innocent day-class student from Akane's further torture, Takuma took the opportunity to intervene. Besides, he has some questions that he had hoped the girl would answer him truthfully, unlike Kaname who had chosen to brush them aside once the subject had been brought up for discussion. "Akane! Can I have a moment with you?" He started, heading towards the direction of the girl while giving a nod to the driver beckoning for the former to return to the dormitory building with his purchases from town, for the time being. "Ichijo-senpai ..." The day-class student greeted him politely, before packing up and leaving him behind with Akane, alone. "..." Akane sighed, knowing that there would be no chance of her venting any more frustrations upon the innocent day-class student now that Ichijo Takuma had arrived, turned around, and packed up her own belongings as well. Making a grab for the bottle of water, instead of drinking it like she should be doing. Akane had dumped its' content all over herself, cooling down her body temperature as she did so. After which, she reached for the towel and dabbed at her face where the layers of perspiration stick to her skin, uncomfortably. "Yes, Takuma? Is there anything which I could perhaps help you with?" Akane started, once certain that the former was not going to leave her alone in peace. "Well ... perhaps, you could help me out by telling me just what exactly was the reason behind Kaname’s dark aura rolling off his person upon his return from the outside, last night?" "Why are you asking me this and not bringing your question directly to Kaname-sama? Either way, I’ve been sworn to secrecy by father-dearest shortly after his return, so, you’re going to have to take your curiosity directly to him if you wish to know the reason behind his dark mood, last night." Akane supplied, before changing the subject altogether. "So ... was there a particular reason for you to be out so early? The sun's had yet to set ..." Takuma winced at the idea of having to be out prior to sunset timing, but he had no choice. It was his turn to be out shopping for the monthly supplies of necessity and grocery items, and if he wanted to get everything that was being listed on the shopping list. It would have been better for him to be out in town by late afternoon, prior to the shops' closing time. "Groceries shopping ..." was his only response, which earned him a look of sympathy from the sandy-brown-haired female vampire from the future. "Poor you ... it must have been torture for you to be out in the sun, for such a long time," Akane responded, eyeing the fellow green-eyed blond vampire with sympathy. "... How about you? What spurs you to be out in the sun for such a long period of time then?" Akane said nothing but shrugged, "Nothing ... just felt like it. Besides, please do not compare me with you. I had a far better tolerance of sunlight as compared to the lots of you, from the night class. Moreover, I had an aid of a useful charm that could help to tone down my vampire's nature and thus make my level of endurance more to the standards of a typical human being." Silence, as Takuma surveyed her with critical eyes. Finally, the Vice-President of the Moon Dormitory decided to ask the question that had been on every vampire's mind since the first time they had noticed her in the uniform of a day class instead of the night class, which she should be joining considering her blood-lines and heritage of being a noble-rank vampires. "Why is it that you are in the day class, instead of the night class which you should be joining? Also, why is it that you always seemed to have some useful charms hidden up in your sleeves which none of us, or even the hunters knew about?" "To answer your first question, I'm in the day class because I wanted to ... and also partly because of the reason that I'm supposed to be in hiding, no one's supposed to know about my being still alive - after my family's demise. As for the answer to your second query, that's because I'm from the future. Certainly, I would be able to use some of those charms that had yet to be invented by the charms expertise from this time period." "And which noble lineage are you from - exactly? Sometimes, you reminded me eerily of ... myself that makes me wonder whether or not are you my future daughter or something." Takuma Ichijo mumbled the last bit incoherently, but still audible enough for Akane to catch wind of his words. "... I can most certainly assure you that you aren’t my father, as I mentioned on the day of our arrival. I was born a Kanzaki, and my father was adopted into the Kanzaki family. I’m sure, that much you’re already aware.” Akane responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, before taking some time to mull over how she was going to get across the information about her relation to the green-eyed blond vampire without the need to drop it like a bomb. "Damn it all ... this whole thing is just so screwed up that I, myself have trouble digesting the irony that lies behind both sides of my parents' family relations. Just answered me honestly, have you ever heard about the existence of the 'Aisaka' clan?" Akane eventually decided there was no easier way to get the information across, and decided to just drop the information like a bomb. And so, in a tone that borderlines on annoyance, Kiryuu Akane turns towards the green-eyed blond vampire and asks. "... Yes, but don't tell me that's your family name?! I heard from my grandfather that the Aisakas had died out a few decades ago, when the last member of that family passed on to the next realm without leaving any offspring behind to carry on the family's namesake ...Moreover, that's a pureblood clan ..." Upon the green-eyed blond vampire's statement, Akane let out a harsh snort that sounded rude. However, Takuma did not take any offence to Akane's behavior for he could sense that the girl was in distress and feeling upset about something. "That's what your grandfather told you, isn't that? That hypocrite, he had the audacity to say something like that when he ... he had humiliated my grandmother in the most revolting manners, and after that left her alone to 'break' in complete devastation?! That action, alone was enough to drive my grandmother into insanity, and later died from depression a mere two months following the birth of my father. Can you imagine the sheer ridicule of how my grandmother, who was supposed to live to the ripe-old age of a pureblood, died from something like a depression?! It was a good thing that she hadn't had the heart to kill my father, right after he had been born since he had reminded her of all the humiliations my grandmother had been subjected to, by that hypocrite whom you had been looking up to - as a 'grandfather'!" Akane had literally exploded, her eyes emitting fire as she glared hotly at the ground. Akane had refused to look up at the green-eyed blond vampire, fearing that she would unintentionally allow her fury to lash out at the former. Ichijo Takuma was stunned, he knew Akane was upset about something but he had never suspected the reason behind the girl's distress had something to do with him, or rather his grandfather's actions. Then, he was hit by something more impactful for he found himself staring at Akane with an unreadable gaze. "Akane ... when did that happen?" Takuma asked, slowly as he appeared to be piecing the puzzles together in his mind. The feeling of dread was forming in the bottom of his stomach as the harsh reality of truth hit him like a bolt of lightning. “My grandmother passed on exactly five decades ago, on this day.” Akane huffed as she answered the question from Ichijo Takuma. "And your father was born two months before your grandmother passed on?" Takuma asks, as he seeks clarification on the subject while he tries to work out the age difference between him and Akane’s birth father. “Yes.” Akane rolled her eyes as she waited for the green-eyed blond vampire to do the math. “Holy shit, I have an uncle who’s around the same age as me?!” Ichijo Takuma gasped in horror, as he turned green at the implication behind his grandfather’s actions. “What drives my grandfather to do something this revolting?” Ichijo Takuma couldn’t help but whisper in confusion. “...He likely thought he could produce a pureblood offspring if he were to bed a pureblood lady. And my grandmother who’s very much naive and young still, got bewitched by his charms and fallen prey to his ploy. Mind you, my grandmother has no intention to be a homewrecker so after realizing that your grandfather wasn’t single as he’d claimed to be – she'd tried to break things off. Only, your grandfather refused and went on to force himself on my grandmother which resulted in the birth of my father. Because of that, my grandmother fell into depression and refused to nurse my father after the birth. So, essentially, my father grew up in the retainer’s quarters before the passing of my grandmother and since my grandmother refuses to acknowledge his existence – he was given the name of the Kanzaki, instead.” Akane rolled her eyes as she responded with venom dripping from her tone. For a while, speech failed the green-eyed blond vampire as he stared at the sandy-brown-haired girl in shock and horror. "...Is my grandfather aware of your father’s existence?” Ichijo Takuma then asked in a whispering tone. “Yes. He was present for the birth, but practically washed his hands off my father after it was apparent that my father was born a noble instead of a pureblood.” Akane was openly seething now, she had heard these stories from the adoptive parents of her birth father, and every time she heard of them – she could feel her blood boiling. "I see... and, where's your father, now?" Takuma asked, tentatively still unaccustomed to the idea of him having a younger uncle out there somewhere. "No idea, probably somewhere in the European regions ...the Kanzaki who had been the loyal retainers of the Aisaka took my father in following the passing of my grandmother ...in an attempt to get outside of the influence of your grandfather, they migrated to the Europe. They are likely only to return after your grandfather passes on." Akane shrugged before adding as an afterthought. "If you are wondering, why I first called you 'uncle' despite the fact that we are supposed to be cousins, I'll be frank with you ... I felt uncomfortable with the idea of calling someone who was obviously decades older than myself by their name. However, that would be no problem to me during this period whereby I'm stuck in the past ... Just like, you've never managed to get yourself accustomed to the idea of calling my father an uncle, given how close in age the two of you are. Instead - you addressed him by his given name ... whenever there was a need for the two of you to interact with one another." "Okay ..." Takuma responded, still sounding overwhelmed by the information that had been apparently dumped in his direction like a grenade. --- Meanwhile, during the period of time whereby Akane and Takuma were having their 'talk' Kaname had been busy and preoccupied with his other commitments. The twins had awoken from their slumber and were now planning to get themselves away from the watchful eyes of the night-class members' and pay a visit to their 'Daddy'. There had been a mild scent of blood coming from their 'Daddy' last night, and although they had been worried but had wisely stayed where they were. When Akane returned sometime later and told them that it was nothing for them to be worrying themselves with, for it was merely the blood that oozed out from a minor wound injury when their 'Daddy' had fallen while stumbling through the woods carelessly. Still, there was something unnatural about the way Akane had said it that made them feel that something was amiss. "Subaru, come on ... let's go ... Uncle Aidou's not around anymore ..." Akira beckoned for his elder twin to follow as he crept his way across the front lounge and made a bee-line for the direction of the door. "... Are you sure, it's wise to be doing this? We could get into trouble with 'Father' - you know?" Subaru reminded, as he too mirrored his twin's actions. Akira ignored the urge to roll his eyes at his twin brother, as he replied. "Then why are you mirroring my actions, if you are so worried about getting caught by them?" "..." Subaru said nothing but sighed, looks like he had asked yet another stupid question in the eyes of his twin brother, again. "Come on, let's hurry along before Aunt Seiren notices us missing ..." Akira said, as he signaled to his twin that they had best get a move on, if they did not wish to be caught by their father's bodyguard. On the other hand, Kiryuu Zero had just been on the verge of dozing off when he felt a weight landing upon his mid-section which was soon followed by another sound of 'click' as he heard the door leading to his room being unlocked. A second later, the door opened up to admit the entry of the elder twin - Subaru Kiryuu. Then he heard the unmistakable sound of the younger twin's voice, calling out for his attention. "Daddy, we missed you so much!!!" "... Why are the two of you here?" Zero asked, as he moved Akira away from his stomach and sat up straight on the bed such that Akira was now seated on his lap instead of perching atop his mid-section. "Of course, we are here to visit you - Daddy!" Akira responded, cheerfully as he beamed up at his favorite parent with his adorable boyish grin. "Subaru?" Zero ignored the beaming boy in his lap as he turned to look at the other boy for an answer, knowing that Subaru would at least, answer his question seriously. "... Yes, Akira's right ... We are indeed here to pay you a visit." Subaru answered, after a moment of hesitation. "But I supposed, the two of you had snuck out instead of seeking permission from ... Kuran, right?" Zero questioned, as he eyed the two boys with a knowing look. The twins shared a look among themselves, before grinning sheepishly at their 'Daddy'. Zero said nothing, but shook his head at the twins' antics. Instead, he asked. "So how did the two of you manage to get in here?" "Through the window (door)..." The twins responded, respectively. "What?! Through the window?! Akira! How many times must I tell you off about the dangers of coming in through the use of the windows?!" Zero admonished the younger boy, at least Subaru had the sense to use the door instead of climbing through the windows. "But Daddy!!! I am not Subaru who had the ability to wield the natural force of energy that is present in the air with that much control in order to achieve his aim! Only Father and Subaru can do that with accuracy. Although, I had inherited that power as well ... but my ability to control them was nowhere near Subaru's standards ...” Akira protested, with a whine. "And why is that so?" Zero pressed on, looking down at the whiny boy with a stern expression on his features. Akira mumbled something incoherently under his breath, which Zero failed to catch. "What was that?" "... I wasn't listening to what Father was telling us before, when he started training us in the proper application and control of our powers ..." Akira repeated, sullenly. "And why weren't you listening to what your father had been telling the two of you about the proper usage of the powers that the two of you had obviously inherited from him?" Zero asked, musing inwardly that it was apparently getting easier for him to think of the pureblood as the twins' father nowadays as compared to the time when the information had just been dropped upon them, like a bombshell. "... I was daydreaming..." Akira responded, his voice getting smaller and smaller with each passing minute. "About what?!" Zero continued to prompt, for he was having too much fun playing the role of a stern parent now to stop. "... about what would be for lunch, apparently ..." This coming from Subaru, who seemed to have taken a walk down his memory lane as well. "Huh?" Zero started, blinking at Subaru with bewilderment before he asked for the elder twin to elaborate. "Lunch, did you say? " Subaru nodded, as he elaborated on his previous statement to his Daddy. "Well, it was two in the morning ... and it was the official timing for 'Lunch' to the vampires in general. Except for Akane who apparently was sleeping away, for she was too used to the human lifestyle and too lazy to switch back and forth between the two different lifestyles which she obviously was leading on a daily basis. Anyway, you are the one preparing lunch for the day ... and Akira always wondered what would be on the menu when you offered to be the 'cook' for the day ... so, he wasn't really interested in hearing what Father's been saying on that day." "Oh ... okay, so am I usually the one who does the cooking around the household?" Zero asked, sounding awfully curious now that Subaru had brought up the issue of the lifestyle that his future self had been living. "... Well, not exactly ... we do kind of have our own housekeeper and maids around to do the job for us ... However, whenever they have the day off from work ... usually, you would end up being the one cooking for us ... and occasionally Akane would help out too ... that is, if she was around and not sleeping away in her room." Subaru answered, with an easy shrug of his shoulders. "I see ... and coming back to the subject, perhaps - it might be better if you were to bring up the issue of Akira's obvious lack of knowledge in the field of power control to your father's attention. I'm sure that he would not mind training Akira, since he seemed to have all the time in the world to laze about doing practically nothing ... these days." Zero commented, looking over at Subaru as he made his request while ignoring the 'puppy' eyes' look that Akira had been directing towards him, since he steered the conversation topic back to the issue of Akira's lack of knowledge in the proper application of the power inherited from the pureblood, Kaname Kuran - himself. "Daddy!!" Akira started to whine again, only to be muted by a stern glance that was being shot in his direction by his favorite parent. "No, there would be no way for you to ‘worm’ your way out on this issue. I would not have you endangering the life of yourself by attempting something so reckless, again. Fancy making your way up here by climbing through the windows ... you could have broken your bones if you had been unfortunate enough to fall." Zero stated, his tone firm and leaving the younger boy no room for objections. Akira pouted childishly before sighing aloud in resignation. He knew there would be no way that he could have changed his Daddy's mind, for both his parents had something in common. That would be the stubborn streak in them, once their mind had been made up - nothing that anyone said could have swayed their decisions. Unless, one of them were to give in to the others' and most of the time, his Daddy would be the one to cave. Occasionally, his father would be the one giving in to his Daddy's requests, too. However, when it comes down to the point of any issues that concern Subaru or himself. The majority of the time, both parents shared the same opinions and their decisions would not be swayed once their mind was made up. "Come here, Subaru ..." Zero said, when he noticed that his other son was still hovering near the doorway. It seems like Subaru was more reserved around both Kaname and himself, whenever Akira was around. Perhaps, it was due to the former's subconscious inkling that the adults would care more for Akira than him, if the younger twin happens to be around. Inwardly, Zero wondered if there was anything that could be done to rectify the boy's thinking. There was a moment of hesitation before Subaru attempted to move towards his direction, however their little session of bonding had been abruptly brought to an end with the return of his master. The familiar sound of his master's footsteps echoing down the hallway nearly sent Zero into a panic attack, for he was now looking about the vicinity of his room for places or areas where he deemed it possible and suitable for the two boys to hide themselves from his master's discovery. "... Daddy, I think it's no longer necessary." Subaru's voice was heard sounding up from behind, as soon as the door leading to his room was opened by the unmistakable figure of his master – the veteran hunter, Yagari Tooga. ~ to be continued~ Date started: 09/05/09 Date completed: 09/05/09 Date edited: 09/05/09 Date revised: 24/02/2025
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Yagari Tooga stared, for it seemed like that was all he had been doing these days. Standing in front of him now, was a vampire child that looked remotely like his former disciple - Zero, when the boy had been younger. For a while, he had thought that his disciple had somehow shrunk in size during the period, he was away. After all, the child standing in front of him did display a similar aura to those who belonged to the clan of the Kiryuu. Still, he could feel that something was amiss. The child standing in front of him does not have the unique eye colors of the Kiryuu. "Kid? Ooi Kid, where are you?! You'd better not have been sneaking out while I wasn't looking ..." Yagari Tooga warned as he stepped into the room, eyeing both the boy standing in front of him and his surroundings with wariness. "..." Subaru said nothing but rolled his eyes upon the hunter's actions. Finally, he asked. "Excuse me, Sir ... but by calling out for 'Kid' ... How are we supposed to know whom exactly you are calling out for?" Yagari blinked, as he slowly shifted his eyes back to the vampire child that had just spoken out aloud to him. "We? You mean, there's more than one of you - kids, being here?" His senses as a hunter were failing him, for the aura he sensed coming from the occupants of this particular room had all reminded him of vampires. Being a hunter, he could only sense that there were vampires in the room. He is unable to tell which rank the vampires belong to until he hears their names. This is different from the vampires, as they can easily differentiate among themselves who belongs to which ranks. In the case of the ex-human, they can distinguish the presence of a pureblood within the crowd. And therefore Yagari Tooga, the veteran vampire hunter is having difficulty pinpointing the location of his disciple, at present. "Yes, there's more than one of us down here ... so, please tell, which 'Kid' are you referring to just now?" "... I meant my disciple - Kiryuu Zero." Yagari Tooga gritted out in frustration, wondering just why the hell the room now contained a vampire child that looked so similar to his former disciple, and yet so different at the same time. "... Daddy, your master's looking for you ... I supposed, that's the master you'd been telling us about, right?" Subaru started, glancing over his shoulders at the hunched-up figure who had a hand over his younger brother's mouth to keep the boy from speaking up and complicating things further. Zero sighed, he had initially thought that Subaru would at least be sensible enough to prevent calling himself 'Daddy' in front of his master - but apparently, he thought wrong. Letting go of his hand that had been around the other boy's mouth from earlier, he threw his younger son an apologetic look before turning towards his master and greeting the former - politely. "Zero, what on earth is going on down here? Why is he calling you Daddy?!" Yagari started, as he jabbed a finger towards the silver-haired vampire child's direction. "Maybe because' he's, our Daddy?" This came from Akira, who looked at the newcomer as though he was looking at an idiot. Both Subaru and Zero glance over at the other boy in alarm, before sighing aloud in resignation. Looks like there was no point in trying to hide their relationship with one another from the veteran hunter, anymore. Reaching towards Akira, Kiryuu Zero pulled the boy nearer to him while calling out Subaru's attention. "Subaru, come here ... You are right, he is my master; the one person whom I respected from the bottom of my heart and the very same person who taught me the skills of hunting vampires since my childhood years." Zero said, his tone was oddly calm despite the fact he was panicking on the insides. "But Daddy ... I thought you said before that Grandpa Cross was the one whom you respected?" Akira asked, looking up at Zero in confusion. To which, Kiryuu Zero frowned as he wondered when on earth did, he said that as he had had no recollection of that particular memory but his doubt was soon answered by the other twin. "No, Akira ... Daddy didn't say it here, he said that /back home! /" Subaru reminded, sounding exasperated at his younger brother's tendency to complicate situations when they had least required it. "Oh, right ... Sorry, Daddy ... I forgot," Akira responded, as he looked up at Zero with the most innocent look he could muster. "... It's okay. I don't blame you; confusion is bound to occur when things get complicated." Zero added, as he patted the younger boy gently on the head. "Subaru, it's alright. Don't be too hard on yourself ... You are only Akira's twin, not his inner self. You have no control over Akira's actions or thoughts ... Don't feel bad, just because Akira said something which should not be said." Zero assured, as he soothed the distressed boy with comforting words. "Well, Zero ... I'm still waiting!" The impatient sound of Yagari Tooga's voice reminded the silver-haired hunter, just how precarious their current situation had been. Slowly but eagerly, Kiryuu Zero started to pull Subaru closer to himself and further away from his infuriated master as he addressed the said hunter with respect. "Master Tooga ... what exactly do you know about the time-vortex spell?" Zero started, figuring that this would be his only chance to explain himself and calm his irate master down. He figured that it would at least be better to let his master find out about his relations to the clan of the 'Fujiwara' than risk the chance of having his master get ballistic and attempt to kill either the kids or the pureblood out of sheer rage. Little did he know that Yagari Tooga was already clued in by Akane about Zero’s relations to the Fujiwara Clan, less than an hour ago. "That taboo spell of the 'Fujiwara' Clan? What about it?" Yagari frowned, not understanding where the conversation was going. Zero took a deep breath, as he said. "The two boys here alongside Akane... the vampire girl you caught me with last night. They're my kids from the future ... and one of them had evoked the said spell and brought them all back here. " "Wait a minute, you said ... they are your kids from the future? And they have been brought back to this particular point of the past due to the use of that taboo spell which belongs to the clan of the Fujiwara? How the hell did they manage to get their hands on that spell then?! And isn’t that vampire girl your cousin? How is it that she’s your kid now? Did she play me earlier?" Yagari questioned, his frown deepening as he failed to see the link between how his former disciple kids could have anything to do with the taboo spell of the 'Fujiwara' Clan. “Wait... you’d already spoken to Akane? Why?” Kiryuu Zero started sounding alarmed as he asked his master in return. “Given how I had chanced upon the two of you in an embrace and her actions of kissing you last night – I would think it’s not that surprising for me to approach her for a chat, to find out the true extent of the kind of relationship you two share, isn’t it?” Yagari Tooga deadpans at his youngest disciple. “What?! Akane kissed you last night? Isn’t that a tad gross?” Akira couldn’t help it; he gasped as a look of aghast formed on his face as he glanced up at the face of his beloved parent. “Akira, it’s not exactly a kiss. Akane’s just force-feeding me with the blood using her mouth.” Kiryuu Zero’s face turns a shade of green at Akira’s words, and promptly starts explaining the situation to his youngest. “I see... did Father chanced upon the scene by any chance?” Subaru, on the other hand, inquires with a look of intrigue on his face. “I bet, Father chanced upon the scene. How else would it explain the dark aura rolling off his person last night upon his return to the Moon Dorm?” Akira spoke up then, recalling how odd the atmosphere between Akane and their father had been last night upon their return to the dormitory. “... Your father, he didn’t punish Akane, did he?” Kiryuu Zero couldn’t help but inquire out of concern for Akane’s plight. Kuran did seem quite angry when he’d first chanced upon that ‘kissing’ scene last night. “No worry, Daddy. Akane didn’t get punished for her force-feeding stunt, although, Father’s mood is still reeking of displeasure for most of the evening.” Akira responded in an off-handed manner. Kiryuu Subaru, meanwhile, flicked his gaze towards the bruises he’d seen on the wrist of his silver-haired parent with a contemplating look on his face. Inwardly wondering if those bruises on the wrist of his silver-haired parent were the handiwork of his father’s jealousy at work. Kiryuu Zero, meanwhile, sighed aloud before reminding the two boys to leave their idle chit-chat for later. “Alright, boys... can we leave the idle chit-chat for another time?” Upon Zero’s reminder, the twins finally recalled what was going on before their focus got diverted to the events that transpired last night between their parents, and their adopted sister. “Good, I see that my presence in the room has finally been remembered. Now, care to answer just how exactly those kids of yours come across that taboo spell of the Fujiwara clan now? While at it, do also explain just how was it possible that the vampire girl last night was both your cousin and your daughter.” Yagari Tooga deadpans to the figure of his favorite student then. Though his master sounded calmer than before after the topic of discussion went off-course for a moment, the look of displeasure was still very much present on the face of Yagari Tooga that Zero felt himself sweating bullets behind his back as he started to voice his explanation across to the veteran hunter. "First of all, Akane wasn’t lying when she claimed to be my cousin. It's just, Akane’s mother whom I’m supposed to address as my aunt is currently the same age as Yuuki. This happens because there’s a very big age gap between my maternal grandfather and Akane’s maternal grandfather. Anyway, because of that, she wouldn’t be born until another decade passed us by. And then, something happened to her parents, and my future self ended up adopting her making her one of my kids. As for how they end up getting their hands on that taboo spell, well... apparently, my future self gave it to them." Zero responded, not exactly lying though he had no idea whether or not Akane had known the spell herself, or was he indeed the one who supplied the girl with the said spell. "Pray tell, ... just how on earth did you get your hands upon the spell?" Yagari Tooga was openly seething with anger now, as he narrowed his eye at the figure of his star pupil. "... I chanced upon it in the library of the Fujiwara's ..." Zero answered, truthfully as lying to his master was the last thing on his mind now. Not that he would lie to the veteran hunter who taught him his vampire hunting skills, anyway. "... What were you doing in their library? No wait, scratch that ... when did you even visit the residence of the Fujiwara clan?! " "I was in there playing hide-and-seek with Ichiru ... as for when we visited the ancestral home of the Fujiwara, it was during the New Year and father was away on a hunting mission ... mother had to bring us with her for the meeting she has to attend at the Fujiwara clan." Silence as he waited for his master to soak up all the information given before Yagari Tooga had exploded at the trio. "Whom is it? The boys here are too young to be able to complete such a complicated ritual spell, so it can't be them ... so who is it? The one who evoked that taboo spells that mess with time?!" "... Akane ..." Zero responded meekly, inwardly feeling guilt about betraying the girl to his master's wrath. Upon getting the said response, Yagari Tooga muttered something along the lines of 'I should've known' before stalking off towards the direction of the Moon Dormitory to get things straightened out with that vampire girl. --- Meanwhile, over at the Moon Dormitory building. Akane was just about to enter the said building when she sensed the aura of a murderous hunter charging toward the direction of the Moon Dormitory at full speed. "Damn!" Akane cursed, inwardly thankful that today had been a Friday and that would indicate that there was no school for the members of the night class. "Takuma, get in there ... and do not let anyone from the night class out here lest they risk suffering the wrath of a very pissed-off vampire hunter," Akane instructed, throwing her tennis gear towards the stunned vampire as she braced herself for the onslaught to come. The aura of the murderous vampire hunter charging toward the direction of the Moon Dormitory brought on some agitation and restlessness among the members of the night class. "Takuma, what's going on?" Kaname Kuran, who had sensed the overwhelming torrents of restlessness from the night-class members came down the stairs and asked his friend who had just returned from outside. "... Akane says she will handle the hunter, and told us to try and keep the night-class members under control," Takuma responded, not answering the question from the pureblood but relayed the message of what Akane had told him to inform the members of the night-class. "I see ..." Kaname said knowingly. If Akane had said that she would be handling the situation, then he guessed it must have had something to do with their new teacher for this term – the veteran vampire hunter, Yagari Tooga. "I see that you've been expecting me to pay you another visit ... haven't you?" Yagari Tooga started, eyeing Akane with blatant disdain. "..." Akane said nothing but shrugged. Looking the hunter boldly in the eye, as she responded. "I guess, I am prepared for a return visit from you." Yagari Tooga snorted, before narrowing his eye at Akane as he asked. "Who exactly are you and why did you evoke that spell knowing that it was a taboo among both the vampires and the hunters?" "I'm guessing that you had been told of the twins' existence by Zero - himself ... since you are here to question my motives of evoking that spell." Akane started, her voice calm and devoid of all emotions making it hard for both the hunters and the vampires around to gauge her current mood. Inside the building, Kaname who had heard Akane's words turned towards Seiren and asked if the former had seen the twins' around. Seiren shakes her head and responds 'No'. Almost immediately, the group of vampires caught on to the idea of how the twins being absent from the dormitory had anything to do with the confrontation taking place out front between the hunter and Akane. "First of all, if you are asking about my relation to Zero in the future. I'll have you know - he happens to be one of my adoptive parents. Secondly, my relationship with the Fujiwara is the same as how Zero was related to them. My mother, like Zero's mother had been - was a member of that clan. However, unlike Zero's mother who ended up marrying into another hunter's clan ... my mother, had ended up with a vampire instead. Does that somehow answer your question? As to the reason why Zero adopted me later on, that's because my family had been brutally slaughtered by the hunter's association decades down the road ... Will that suffice? In answer to your last question, I can only say ... desperate time calls for desperate measures." "... " Yagari Tooga could feel his eyebrow twitching from irritation, but still there was nothing he could do to the said vampire girl. Then his mind traveled back to the two boys whom he had seen earlier on, in the room of his disciple. He knew instantly that the two boys were vampires, but never did he take a close look at them except for the boy who resembled a younger version of his disciple. "Then enlightened me ... just whom did Zero end up having those kids with?!" Yagari asked, wondering inwardly if he should contemplate the idea of eliminating his disciple's future spouse. Akane blanched and Kiryuu Zero who had just arrived with the twins in tow cringed at his master's question. Kaname Kuran, who decided to step out from within the building was looking at Akane with anticipation now. Behind the hunter, Akane could see Zero shaking his head indicating to her not to reveal anything about the pureblood being the other parent of the twins. "Well ... I'm waiting ..." Yagari arched an eyebrow up in anticipation, as he stared at the vampire girl. "..." Akane said nothing, biding her time as she started flickering her glances between Zero and the former's master. The twins, who seemed to have had enough of the strange atmosphere that hung between them decided to answer the hunter's question - themselves by introducing themselves to the veteran hunter. "Sir, we never did have a chance to introduce ourselves to you ... I apologize for the delay in self-introduction. I'm Kiryuu Subaru... It's been a pleasure to have finally gotten a chance to meet you in person. I've heard so much about your achievements in the fields of hunting vampires from my Daddy, and have always wanted to meet you since." Subaru said, his tone polite and laced with utmost respect for the veteran hunter. His mannerisms and body language poise with elegance, displaying the results of his pureblood upbringing. Akane stared, stupefied by the way Subaru was handling the situation. It always caused her to stare in awe at how Subaru had resembled Kaname in the typical ways of managing and handling situations, and yet his looks had been a complete mirror-image of his other parent - Zero. Akane was not the only person being stunned around here. The members of the night class who had followed their leader out of the building were equally stunned, for they were now gaping at the sight that met their eyes. The future parents, meanwhile, had different reactions to Subaru's behavior. Zero was looking at Subaru with an unreadable expression, but it was obvious that he was proud of the boy. Kaname, on the other hand, was refraining from smirking while looking at Subaru with approval in his eyes. Not wanting to be left out, Akira seized the opportunity to do his self-introduction as well. "I apologized for my crude display of behavior back in my Daddy's room. I'm Kuran Akira, and I must say that you looked way cooler than that weird man who kept on insisting that we call him 'Grandpa Cross'. Don't you agree - Grandpa Yagari?" Akira ended his self-introduction with his usual innocent and naive look as he beamed up at the dumbfounded hunter. --- For a while, nobody dared to breathe a word. The suspense in the air was stifling, as they tried to figure out what would be the irate hunter's next movement. The vampires of the night class were eyeing the hunter warily, Aidou Hanabusa would have taken a step forward to attempt to block his beloved leader away from the hunter's sighting range. However, the blond vampire was held back by his cousin and the pureblood leader, himself. Akane was having trouble believing the scene that had played itself out in front of her very eyes. Part of her wanted to compliment Subaru on his efforts in trying to placate the veteran hunter, and yet another part of her had wanted very much to strangle Akira who just come out and practically announced to Yagari Tooga who hated all vampires in general that they were 'Purebloods'. Subaru wished as though a hole would just open up from nowhere in particular, and swallowed him whole. Someone really ought to try and teach his younger brother how to read moods, he knew his brother was attempting to lighten up the atmosphere by acting as a 'clown' to entertain the public. Still, his brother's actions would only add more fuel to the fire instead of putting them out, as it should have been under any other situation. Kiryuu Zero could feel a migraine acting up now as he found himself having trouble deciding whether he should stand around and wait to see if his master would attempt to shoot the pureblood, or he should just make a grab for the twins and duck for safety. Kaname, meanwhile, was looking at Akira with an unreadable gaze. The pureblood was wondering why Akira was acting this way when he was certain that the boy was smart enough to know that - now was not the time for jokes. "What did you just call me?" Yagari Tooga asked, looking down at Akira as he did so. The hunter was irritated, but he wanted to be certain that he had not been hallucinating earlier when he heard the term 'Grandpa Yagari' tumbling out from the said vampire child's lips. "Grandpa Yagari?" Akira repeated, tilting his head to the side as he responded - staring into the eyes of the hunters with his lilac eyes. "... Why are you calling me that?" Yagari asked, his tone gruff but bewildered. "Because Daddy looks up to you like a parental figure ... I think ..." Akira responded, sounding a little hesitant towards the end of his statement. "You think?! Are you always this chummy with strangers whom you'd only just met? And what did you say your name was just now?" Yagari asked again, this time sounding incredulous. "Well... It's not as though Daddy enjoys telling us all 'Grand-father' stories, as he called them ... I do not act chummy with all the strangers whom I get to meet in life. Besides, the people down here in this time weren't exactly strangers, since I knew them all in my own time as well ... As for my name ... I think you heard it right the first time around - I'm Akira ... Kuran Akira!" The boy replied easily, his body language relaxed, unlike his elder twin. "Kuran ... did you say? However, I wasn't aware that the Kuran family had any other living members with the sheer exception of Kaname Kuran - himself. Moreover, why is it that you are calling my disciple 'Daddy' when your family name happened to be a 'Kuran'." Yagari responded, sounding skeptical now as he had no idea whether he should believe the vampire child's words. Meanwhile, Kiryuu Zero was staring at his master in shock. This must be the first time he ever witnessed his master having an actual conversation with a vampire. Granted, it was a conversation between an adult veteran hunter and a vampire child. Still, it surprised him that his master would be willing to communicate with Akira. Judging from the way they interacted with one another, for a while he almost thought that Akira had managed to 'charm' his master into forgoing the whole matter. Unfortunately, when he heard his master asking for Akira's name again - he knew, things were not going to end that easily. Then when his master questioned the reason behind Akira calling him 'Daddy' but using the name 'Kuran' as his surname, Zero knew he was screwed. Either his master would try killing the pureblood, or the former would attempt to make his life a living hell for the upcoming days to come - if there had been no bloodshed by the end of tonight. Akira fought the urge to roll his eyes at the hunter's reaction, was it so hard to believe that both Subaru and himself were related to one another? Was it that hard to believe that they are the product of a same-gender relationship? "Likewise, I wasn't aware that the Kiryuu family had any other living members aside from 'Daddy' - himself. Since, both the Kuran and the Kiryuu clan ... were left with only one living member, isn't it only right for us siblings to take up different family names?" Akira said in a sardonic manner, as he stared bravely into the eye of the hunter. Yagari Tooga found himself inspecting the boy standing in front of him in detail, following the end of the boy's words. He mentally noted the distinctive eye color of the 'Kiryuu' Clan, so the boy was related to his disciple - after all. However, aside from that little 'Kiryuu' trait that was visible to him, every other part of the boy's features screamed the word 'Kuran' to him. "Certainly, you are not trying to tell me that your other parent is that /Kuran/ standing down there?" "Well ... wasn't that what I've been telling you since minutes ago?" This time around, Akira did roll his eyes in exasperation at the hunter's words. "Yeah right ... and pigs can fly! Do you think I would have believed something that ridiculous?! As though males would be able to have kids, and I'm affirmed that Kuran was not a girl and neither is my former disciple!" The hunter muttered aloud, refusing to believe what he had been told. "Damn it ... What is it with you humans and your beliefs that KIDS can only be created between a man and a woman? I'll have you know, both Subaru and myself are living proof that men can reproduce among themselves too ..." Akira Kuran exclaimed aloud. "..." Yagari Tooga was having trouble believing what he was hearing, but the boy seemed serious about what was being said. Subaru sighed; Akira's reaction was kind of within his expectations. His younger twin had always been self-conscious about other people's thoughts and opinions about their parentage. Casting aside their uncles and aunts who happened to know their parents on a personal basis, the majority of the vampires out there in the society had trouble believing the fact that Akira and himself were related at all. Partly, it was due to their use of different family names but there was also the fact they looked different from one another, despite being twins. With him looking more like his 'Daddy', most of his father's business acquaintances would tend to overlook him and instead concentrate more on conversing with Akira. Likewise, with Akira looking more like their 'Father'; the younger boy would be overlooked by the hunters who worked regularly with their 'Daddy'. Eventually, that ended up with Akira sticking to their 'Daddy' like a super-glue and him, tagging behind his 'Father' dutifully like a follower. Subaru guessed that was how Akira's chumminess with strangers comes about, for Akira to interact with the hunters without any barriers between them. Akira would have to put down the airs of being a pureblood, and instead learn to communicate with them like a commoner. For his younger brother to achieve that aim, the former would have to learn by 'acting' like that - in front of them too. Being family, they would, of course, indulge the younger boy in his antics. However, not everyone would think that way; not even their family friends except the Shikis' and the Ichijos' though; since they could be considered as family. Especially, when Shiki happened to be the cousin of their 'Father', and Ichijo was somehow related to Akane ... but their 'Daddy' and Akane refused to let them know anything about that. The others who had no idea of what his younger sibling was usually like, would have thought that his brother was being a clown. At least, that would be the majority of the vampires' nobles' opinions upon Akira - for they thought his younger brother was lowering himself to the level of a mere mortal and was disgracing their pureblood's status by doing that. However, Subaru begged to differ. With him being silent by nature, his parents were both loners before they got involved. Life in their household would have been too silent and 'dead', especially with Akane being away from home at most if not all of the time. Their parents' though very much in love with one another, would never act too lovey-dovey in front of the others; except in occasional situations. Therefore, it's entirely up to Akira alone to 'cheer' up the atmosphere during those times. Subaru's thoughts were brought to an abrupt end when he heard the master of his 'Daddy' speak up again. --- "Zero ... please tell me, that the boy had been /lying/ about you procreating with that /Kuran/ leech..." Yagari started, as he stared at his former disciple with a look of dead seriousness. "..." Kiryuu Zero said nothing but glanced down at his feet. However, he did momentarily wince when he heard his master referring to the pureblood as a leech in front of the kids. Of course, his master isn’t as considerate as he was to avoid using crude words in the presence of the kids. Coming back to his master’s query – well, what could he say? There's absolutely nothing he could say in response to his master’s query. After all, the twins were indeed the ultimate result of the union between the pureblood and himself. Granted, it had not happened yet ... but it would, on an eventuality. Especially now that he’d gone and formed a one-sided bond with the pureblood. He had spent the better part of the afternoon while being grounded by his master to figure out just how his relationship with Kuran had begun from the timeline that Akane and the twins arrived from. Now, going by the assumption that there wasn’t an Akane around for him to bite for blood the first time his bloodlust struck. Chances are, he’d ended up biting Yuuki when the girl refused to leave him alone upon locating him in the deserted science building. Needless to say, Kuran chanced upon the scene of him feeding from Yuuki and got upset. Yuuki likely pleaded mercy on his behalf, and Kuran probably let him off the hook to not upset Yuuki who cares for him a great deal. Later, something likely happened to result in him feeding from Kuran than Yuuki...either in an attempt to stem his ‘fall’ since the blood of a pureblood is likely more effective than the blood from Yuuki, who’s a human. Because the notion of explaining how he has his way of preventing the ‘fall’ was too troublesome for his liking, he probably just decided to go along with whichever agreement or deal was struck up between Kuran and the chairman. Going by Akane’s information concerning the bonds between vampires and the likes, he reckoned that the one-sided bond created between Kuran and his future self in that alternative timeline was the catalyst that kick-starts the relationship between them, at some point. Of course, this was all speculation on his part at this time – since he had no way of verifying the facts with his future self by any means. Nevertheless, with the trio’s arrival at this particular time, the timeline is already irrevocably changed. After all, instead of drawing blood from Yuuki, he took his first gulp of fresh blood from Akane instead of having Kuran approach him and spite him into feeding. He fed from Kuran out of his own accord, albeit, it wasn’t an intentional act on his part but the fact remains that he was the one that instigated the one-sided bond between them in this timeline. ‘I wonder what’s on Zero’s mind...he seemed distracted.’ - Kaname Kuran thought as he studied the body language of the silver-haired hunter while keeping himself in tune with the feelings of Kiryuu Zero through the newly formed one-sided bond between them. At present, the newly formed bond between them is still rather fragile and so, aside from the stronger emotions and desires that came through the link – there's no way for Kaname to tell for certain, the thoughts on the mind of the silver-haired hunter. In any case, the one-sided bond is only good for one thing at present – for Kaname to determine the timing that there’s need to approach the silver-haired hunter for a feeding session. Because the pureblood had gathered enough that Kiryuu Zero is never going to come to him willingly for feeding, he’s going to be the one to take the initiative by urging the hunter to feed when the occasion arises. To say that Yagari Tooga had been disappointed by his once favorite student's lack of response, was an understatement. Taking a moment to re-compose himself, the hunter asked calmly and quietly. "... How did it happen?" "If you are referring to how did the twins come about ... certainly, it would involve the common knowledge of sexual intercourse between those two ... but if, you are asking how is it possible for the two of them to be able to have kids despite their genders ... That has something to do with a spell, ancient spell at that ... and it's only available to the vampires' families." Akane had been the one answering the hunter's question, seeing as Zero would have no idea how to respond to his master's query and Kaname would never bother to answer Yagari's question if the said pureblood, did not deem it necessary for the hunter to know anything with regards to that issue. The sheer thought of Zero and the pureblood Kuran being actively involved with one another sexually was driving Yagari Tooga crazy. Despite knowing that it had yet to happen, looking at the twins who happened to be the ultimate result of their joining had pretty much sent him over his edge. Without warning, Yagari spun around and stalked towards his disciple; glaring at his student with heated eyes as he gritted out in rage. "How - Dare - You?! How - Could - You?! Not only are you now fraternizing with the likes of them ... and to think that you dare to sleep with one too! Your father would be rolling in his grave if he were to know of your actions! To make things worse, it just has to be a PUREBLOOD! Need I remind you again, how another /Pureblood/ had been the one behind the tragedy of your clan?!" Zero winced at the ferocity in his master's voice, before opening his mouth to protest. "Master Tooga! I wasn't fraternizing with them and I certainly wasn't sleeping around with /KURAN/. Well ...not yet ..." The last part of Zero's words of protest had come out sounding weak, even to himself and he fought the urge to groan aloud at how pathetic he had sounded towards the end of his words. Yagari snorted, before pulling out his gun and loading it with new magazines. "Yeah right ... the keyword here is the term 'not yet'. Since you seemed to be rather against the idea of sleeping with the pureblood ...Then, I'm sure that you would not have minded the fact if I chose to blast him into oblivion! Would you?!" "What?! No, wait a minute! Master Tooga ... You can't do that!" Zero started to protest, but it was too late. The veteran hunter was already on his way over, stalking towards the direction of the pureblood. The sound of a gunshot rang out, just as the sound of a tree nearby collapsing on the pathway did. The collapsed tree was now lying in the path of the irate hunter, successfully preventing the said hunter from reaching the pureblood who was still standing by the side of Akane. Silence as every member of the night class turned their eyes upon their pureblood leader, wondering if the collapsing of the tree had been a result of the pureblood's uncontrolled powers that leaked out from the former's silent fury. However, upon taking a good look at their pureblood leader, they realized that the former was not even feeling irritated by the slightest bit. The former seemed to be amused by the situation at hand. The nobles were puzzled, they had thought it was the work of their pureblood leader but apparently, they had thought wrong. Since it was not their pureblood leader who had caused the tree to collapse with the power that leaks while being angered, then who is it? However, the answer came to them easily enough with the younger Kuran speaking up. "That was me ... No one, I repeat ... /NO ONE/ could attempt to harm /MY/ family and still get to walk away unscathed. Not even you, /HUNTER/! I could have let you go, this time around ... but that's only because I do not wish to upset my Daddy further." Akira said, his tone firm and laced with authority. One could easily sense the underlying torrent of rage and warning threat that lurks underneath the boy's rarely used tone of solemnity. "Akira, calm down..." Zero finally spoke up, intervening before Akira's fury caused the boy to lash out completely. After all, Akira's inability to control the power of nature fully could have easily brought the whole school down and that was the very last thing that Zero wanted to see. "Master Tooga, that's enough ... There's no point dwelling upon something that had yet to happen ... and besides Chairman Cross would be upset if there has been any form of bloodshed within his school." Zero started towards his master's direction, his tone emitting the hint of a slight plea while he signaled for his elder son - Subaru to hurry and get the Chairman over. The elder twin need not be told twice, he was gone as soon as he caught on to his dad's underlying message. Subaru had most probably made use of his full vampire's speed, for in merely a few minutes - the boy was back with the Chairman still looking disoriented and dizzy from the fast-moving speed. "Enough, Tooga! You are here as an envoy for the hunter's association, and that was to keep an eye on Zero ... You are only allowed to shoot 'LEVEL E'. Don't you dare to forget that! The association and the Vampire Council would never let you off the hook if you attempted to shoot a pureblood. Besides, no one else but Zero himself can decide how he should live his life in the future." Chairman Cross said, as soon as he managed to recover himself from his dizzy spell. Yagari Tooga glared, and if looks could kill - every vampire in sight would have been dead by now. Zero winced when he noticed the death glare being directed towards him by his master, and he knew the former would not have hesitated to shoot him now if he had been caught engaged in any bloodsucking activity by the said hunter. "Subaru ... please inform your father about teaching Akira the proper ways to use his powers. I do not wish to have the school crumbling under the pressure of his uncontrolled powers whenever he is enraged." Zero added, before he departed from the Moon Dormitory following behind his furious master and the Chairman, dutifully. "...Remind me never to risk the wrath of Akira, until he knew how to grasp the concept of self-control." Aidou Hanabusa commented to his cousin, Akatsuki Kain who rolled his eyes at the blond vampire's words. "I think, you should learn to keep your mouth shut and not to say anything that might warrant you under the 'death list' of the trio." That was the response that Akatsuki supplied to his cousin, before turning on his heels and departing from the site. Meanwhile, Kaname Kuran need not wait for Subaru to broach the subject as he had already realized the potential danger to the general public if Akira were to lose his temper, periodically. "Come here, Akira ... I think it's' time for us to spend some 'quality' time together." Kaname Kuran announced in a tone that meant business and left no room for negotiation. Akira, on the other hand, merely let out a sigh before making a move to follow his younger 'Father' towards the direction of the training room situated within the Moon Dorm. "That went well ... I supposed, at least no one was killed and no blood was shed ..." Akane muttered to herself, before turning and making her way towards the building of the Moon Dormitory. --- Yagari Tooga muttered to himself relentlessly under his breath, as he made his way back towards Kaien Cross living quarters. He had arrived at the school intending to check on his former disciple's condition, and then probably let it slip to his student that the pureblood who was responsible for his family's tragic end was still very much alive out there. However, what did he end up chancing upon when he finally did locate his former disciple on campus? He ends up finding his once favorite student attempting to suck a female student's blood, and not just any random student - a vampire student's blood. Better yet, a vampire student who’s not even from their timeline and apparently, a cousin and adopted daughter of his disciple. Then, a certain pureblood going by the name of Kuran decided to step into the picture by holding his disciple in a deadly possessive manner and later gave him a front-row seat to the scene of his disciple feeding off the pureblood’s neck. Next, he found himself staring into the face of a young vampire child that reminded him strongly of how his disciple had looked several years ago before the tragedy of the 'Kiryuu' Clan occurred, sans the difference in eye color. Following this, he was clued in on the fact that the kids who were calling his disciple 'Daddy' had been time-travelers from the future; after making use of the taboo spell of 'Time-Vortex' which belongs to the clan of the Fujiwara. When being pressed for the details of how the kids had ended up using a spell that belongs to the clan of the Fujiwara, his disciple finally had it in mind to reveal to him just how related the 'Kiryuu' was to the 'Fujiwara'. To think that he had been friends with the 'Kiryuus' for such a long time, and yet his disciple's father had not even bothered to let him in on the fact that the kids' mother had been a Fujiwara before the marriage? Yagari had no idea what was worst, being kept in the dark by his friend and disciples for nearly over twenty years on the issue of their being related to his arch-nemesis or the fact that his once favorite student was not only fraternizing with the vampires, and would eventually sleep and procreate with one soon. Because Yagari had been so overwhelmed by the recent events that had transpired over the past twenty-four hours or sorts, he failed to realize that no matter how soft his voice had been or how he intended to only rant as a form of venting his frustration - Zero would still be able to catch them. Seeing as his former disciple's vampire traits have already been awakened, and among them includes a sensitive and keen sense of hearing. "Master Tooga ... When you mentioned that that woman was still alive, who exactly are you referring to? " Zero asked, pausing mid-steps as he voiced his query across to his mentor in vampire hunting. Though he has a feeling that his mentor might be referring to the blooming mad princess but still, he still decides to ask for clarification if nothing else. "You heard me ... Of course, you heard me. Your vampire traits have awakened after all. I'm referring to that pureblood woman who wiped your family out and the very same person who bites and turns you ..." Yagari Tooga said, as he avoided looking at his disciple in the eyes. For he had no idea whether he could look at Zero, and still keep himself away from the urge to kill his once favorite disciple right here and now. With that said, the veteran hunter turned on his heels and left for the exit of the academy. Ignoring the ex-hunter's questions from behind, he had every intention to visit a bar in town and perhaps tried to get himself wasted so that he might take his mind off this entire baffling situation. On the other hand, Kiryuu Zero merely stared after the departing figure of his master, numbly. Somehow, Zero simply had no idea of how he should be reacting to this particular piece of information dropped onto his lap by his master. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the wariness in the movements of his adoptive father – Kaien Cross. Logically, he knows he should probably be bristling with anger at the mere mention of Shizuka Hiou's name, but in actuality – he felt nothing. He reckoned that was probably because he had already known about Shizuka Hiou being alive before his master even informed him of the news. After all, Akane had already informed him some time ago that Shizuka Hiou would be dropping by the Cross Academy to visit him soon enough. So, this isn’t exactly new news to him hence the lack of reactions on his part. “Zero, are you okay?” Kaien Cross begins hesitantly as he keeps a watchful eye on the reaction of his adopted son. “Of course, I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be, okay?” Kiryuu Zero throws his guardian figure a weird look as he turns to enter the residence of the Chairman on campus grounds. “Well... you’ve just been informed about the status of the pureblood responsible for your family tragedy event, combined with your recent awakening of the vampire’s traits – I don’t know, perhaps, I’m anticipating an explosion from you?” Kaien Cross responded somewhat wryly. “I would think you need to worry about an explosion from my mentor than from me, at present. He's the one been dealt a shock to his system, not me. Even before Master Tooga informed me about that woman being alive, I was already well aware of the fact.” The silver-haired guardian of the Cross Academy deadpans to Kaien Cross as he brushes past his adoptive father to enter the private residence of the chairman on campus grounds. “Eh? You already know about that before Tooga-chan informs you? How?” Kaien Cross blinked stupidly as he voiced his query to his adopted son. “Akane let it slip to me by accident during one of her rants a few days ago.” Kiryuu Zero shrugged as he commented casually to his adoptive father figure, conveniently leaving out the fact that Akane had left behind some cryptic remarks about the impending future that annoyed him to no end. It annoys him because Akane refused to divulge anything else about the immediate future to him, and told him to go to Kuran if he wished to know the specific details with regards to the impending dark times. Either way, because he still had no idea how he was going to broach this particular subject with Kuran – Zero had been putting off the notion of getting the so-called explanation from the pureblood. ‘Seriously, what does Master Tooga have it in mind for me to do by telling me that Shizuka Hiou is still alive? Does he expect me to swear revenge on her, without knowing for certain where she’s currently hiding?’ - Kiryuu Zero thought as he mulled over the motives behind his mentor’s decision to inform him about the status of the blooming mad princess. ‘Oh well, I guess I can just wait until she shows up before deciding the course of my actions. Akane did mention she’s going to be paying me a visit at the Cross Academy soon...’ - The silver-haired hunter eventually shrugged and headed for the direction of the kitchen. He intends to bake a batch of cookies to take his mind off such troubling matters, baking always relaxes him. --- Sometime later; at about eleven in the night, the Vice-President of the Moon Dormitory - Takuma Ichijo was lying with his stomach down on the bed with a volume of manga out. However, instead of reading the said booklet of manga like he should be doing; he found his thoughts drifting off toward the conversation he had with Akane earlier on in the day. "... Wait a minute, Akane's my cousin ... while her mother is a cousin of Kiryuu’s mother... That makes Kiryuu her cousin as well, and she's also the future adopted daughter of Kaname and Kiryuu ... Does that make Kiryuu a relative of mine, in a roundabout manner? After all, we are going to be related through Akane ... Well, I guess trying to get along with Kiryuu wouldn't hurt. Casting aside the issue of Akane, Kiryuu's still going to end up as the future life partner of Kaname - isn't he? Then what about Yuuki-chan?" Takuma frowned upon the thought of the female guardian, Kaname had been making sure that no one would be able to harm Yuuki, thus far and had only tolerated Kiryuu's existence based on that sheer reason up until recently. However, now with the arrival of Akane and the twins; Takuma knew his friend's feelings towards the fellow male guardian had changed. In the past, his pureblood friend's attention during the class change-over had been focused solely on Yuuki Cross. However, Takuma is aware that Kaname had spent quite a lot of time studying the silver-haired hunter in private. Hell, Takuma had even caught his pureblood friend sending out his familiar to keep tabs on Kiryuu on more than one occasion before the night class was established in Cross Academy. Takuma recalled asking his pureblood friend about the motives behind Kaname’s strange act... and Kaname had told him then that it was to assess if Kiryuu would make a qualified knight for Yuuki in the game plan. Now, Takuma could confidently call his friend out on the blatant lie. It’s obvious that his friend harbor desires for Kiryuu, and has been for some time. Only Kaname was doing a very good job at fooling the others and himself before, the arrival of the trios from the future kind of forced his pureblood friend to face up to his hidden feelings for the silver-haired hunter at an earlier time than expected. ‘Hmm... maybe that’s the reason behind Kaname’s dark aura when he returned from wherever he was, and ended up spilling his blood for Kiryuu to feed upon. Kaname’s probably brooding on what he ought to do with his game plan now that the situation has changed.’ - Ichijo Takuma mused inwardly to himself as he came up with a plausible reason to explain the aura of displeasure rolling off the body of his pureblood friend, last night or was it early this morning? Kaname had returned to the dorm only after the party had ended, with only the members from the inner circle remaining behind in the front lounge as they waited for the return of their leader. The rest of the members of the night class had already dispersed and returned to their rooms while whispering among themselves as they speculated on the unexpected discovery of the silver-haired guardian being a member of their kind. If this happens before the trios arrive from the future timeline, the common-class vampires might wonder why Kiryuu was not in the night class but part of the day class. But with the presence of the Akane around, nobody thought to bring up that particular line of query. Meanwhile, Akane was in her room brooding over the recent happenings, too. Part of her wondered what on earth possessed her to let Takuma know about the doings of his grandfather, and how it eventually led to her being related to his family. This was not in her plans at all, the green-eyed blond vampire should not be finding things out through her of all people. The former would not realize what his grandfather had done to the 'Aisakas' until a member of the 'Kanzaki' Clan stopped by to pay him a visit after the whole Rido Kuran episode. Then again, another part of her was relieved. At least, now she could allow herself to get "chummier" with the green-eyed blond vampire and need not worry about any possible strange feelings of romance that might arise between them, during their interaction. Takuma in particular, since she was not at all interested in having a so-called 'fling' with her cousin and the father of her best friend. The last thing she needed right now was to have an irate best friend chewing on her ears upon her return to the future. After all, whatever they did down here in the past would affect the future, in one way or another. At least, she knew her adopted parents and their close family friends would be dealing with the new memories that arise and overwriting their old ones that have to deal with this specific period of the past. With a sigh, Akane snapped herself out of her thoughts. No point dwelling upon something that she knew was going to happen anyway, instead what she should be doing now was to concentrate on her homework. She had a pile of assignments dealing with advanced application of mathematics that she had accumulated over the past few days, intending to work on them only during the weekends. However, judging from the pile of assignments lying atop her 'study desk', she knew if she did not start working on them soon enough, she would never be able to finish them on time. Halfway through her homework, her hunter's sense clued her in on the fact that she was no longer alone. There was another vampire who was in her room and was standing directly behind her. However, she chose to ignore the intruder for her vampire's sense had told her exactly who the 'visitor' was. The intruder was none other than Subaru Kiryuu, her adopted younger sibling and the elder of the twins. "Yes, Subaru? Is anything the matter? Why are you here in my room?" Akane asked, without glancing back at the boy. "... Father's preoccupied with Akira's training." Came the honest response from the silver-haired vampire child. "... Are you bored? I'm sure Aidou Hanabusa would prove to be a very good entertainer ..." Akane responded, offhandedly. "I'm not bored; I could always watch the TV if I'm bored out of my mind. Otherwise, I could go pissing off Uncle Aidou like you say just now." Kiryuu Subaru rolls his eyes momentarily at his elder sister’s words. "If not bored ... then why are you in here?" "... I'm worried ..." "For who?" Akane asked, despite knowing very well that the boy must have been worrying about Zero's situation. "I think you jolly well know who I'm referring to - Akane ..." Subaru's response came, sounding a little irritated. "...” Akane sighed, as she finally turned her attention away from her homework. Turning towards the boy, Akane said. "Subaru, there's no need for you to worry yourself over nothing. I'm sure, Dad's fine. Rather ... he will be fine. No matter how disturbed Yagari Tooga was about the whole situation ... HE would never kill your 'Daddy'. At least, not when things hadn't even happened yet. Besides, the Chairman will never let him kill your 'Daddy'. The worst that could have happened would be sending out your 'Daddy' on more hunting missions that involve 'LEVEL E' ... and maybe HE will try to keep your parents away from one another, to prevent any possible sparks of romance to be ignite between them. Still, it would not hinder your parents' relationship with one another. Whatever that's bound to happen, will happen eventually. It's just a matter of time, and - Yagari Tooga's a mortal. He would have to die at some point in his life, but your parents were both Vampires. Granted, Dad appears to be a mere 'LEVEL D' at present with a questionable lifespan but I'm sure things would be changing soon." "Oh right, now that you’d mentioned it... why is it that Daddy is emitting the aura of a mere Level D at present? I thought he was supposed to be a Level B even before Father completed the bond between them, and bounded Daddy to his lifespan?" Subaru then voices the nagging doubts that have been constantly on his mind since the point of their arrival in the past timeline. "... Subaru, that is something you shouldn’t be hearing the explanation from me. You should bring your questions to Dad, I’m sure he would explain the logic behind his contradicting aura to you if you truly wish to know. But I would suggest that you hold off your questions on the subject for a few more days, we need to give it some time for that enraged master of Dad to calm down before either of you is allowed to approach Dad. Until then, I seriously doubt father-dearest is going to let the two of you venture out of the dormitory." Akane eventually responded with an audible sigh. "Well, if you say so ..." Subaru shrugged, before dropping himself unceremoniously on the bed of Akane's and earning himself a sharp look from his elder adopted sister. "Go to your father's room, if you want to sleep ..." Akane said, her tone mildly miffed. "No ... I want to sleep here, tonight ..." Subaru murmured as he snuggled himself deeper into the soft pillows of Akane's bed. "... Then you'd best make sure to not wake me up in the middle of the night when you decide that you need your lunch or whatever meals you felt inclined to take," Akane warned, earning herself the sounds of a light snore emitting from the silver-haired boy who was now sleeping on her bed. With a sigh, the sandy-brown-haired vampire shifted her attention back to her assignments and decided to ignore the sleeping boy for the rest of the night. --- "Did any of you happen to see Subaru around?" Kaname Kuran asked as he entered the dining hall at two in the middle of the night. He had just ended his training session with Akira and had sent the boy off to rest and recuperate when he found his other son missing from his room. "... No, we haven't seen him anywhere around. Perhaps, he's with Kiryuu?" Akatsuki Kain suggested for he too was wondering where the boy had sneaked off to - now that their pureblood leader had brought up the issue to their attention. "No, that's impossible. Subaru's not Akira, he had too much sense in him to attempt something this reckless ... on his own." This coming from Shiki Senri, who joined the group in the dining hall with Rima Touya in tow. "Then what of Akane? Perhaps, Subaru's with her?" Takuma spoke up, drawing everyone's attention towards his direction. "Because I thought I heard her talking to the boy a while ago when I passed by her room ... " "Right, I think I'll check on them in a little while's time ... for now, let's eat." Kaname Kuran started, steering his friends' attention away from the elder twin and Akane for the time being. Half an hour later, Kaname entered Akane's room not surprised at what he had found. Sleeping on the bed soundly and comfortably was the unmistakable figure of his 'missing' son, and Akane was lying heads down on the study desk atop an open mathematics textbook. The girl had probably dozed off in the midst of her studying, knowing that the girl was going to wake up feeling uncomfortable if she were to remain asleep in that awkward position for another few hours. Kaname decided to move the girl towards the bed instead, thus he moved forth and picked the sleeping girl up in a bridal-style manner as he walked them both towards the direction of the bed. Summoning forth a little of his power, he moved the blanket away from the emptied side of the bed before placing the girl down. After which, he pulled the blanket up to Akane's chin before moving over to Subaru's side and did the same to the boy as well. Pecking the boy gently on the forehead, while giving a gentle pat to Akane's head - the pureblood started to head towards the doorway leading to the outside of the room but not before, he switched off the lights in the room. Stepping out into the hallways, Kaname was surprised to find his childhood friend and the Vice-President of the Dormitory loitering around the outside of the guest room assigned for Akane's use. "Takuma, is anything the matter?" He greeted, drawing his distracted friend's attention to him. "Huh? Oh, no ... nothing's the matter ... I'm just wondering whether Akane's awake ..." His friend had responded, somewhat hesitantly. "No, she's asleep ...Was there anything that makes you want to speak to her at this late of time? Certainly, you would know by now that she's far too accustomed to the hours of a normal human being than to keep up with the nocturnal hours of our lifestyles ..." Kaname questioned, arching an eyebrow elegantly as he spoke to his friend with a look of skepticism in his eyes. "Right ... I guess, I kind of forgotten about that little detail ... I'll speak to her, tomorrow then." Takuma Ichijo said, as he started to leave the area and headed for the privacy of his shared room with the cousin of the pureblood, Shiki Senri. Kaname said nothing but eyed his friend strangely. Somehow, he had a feeling that he was missing some critical information that concerned his friend and Akane. A frown marred his features as he thought back to his friend’s interest in Akane lately, and hoped fervently that his friend didn’t develop a crush on his future adoptive daughter. He’s not too worried about Akane developing a crush on Takuma, because he’s certain that it wouldn’t happen since Akane probably knew Takuma as an uncle figure as she grows up. Takuma, on the other hand, is another matter entirely. Resolving to find an opportunity to address this issue with his green-eyed blond friend, Kaname Kuran turns to leave for his private room located on the top floor of the dormitory. He had some matters to attend to in the study, now that the twins were taking a nap. ~to be continued~ Date started: 10/05/09 Date completed: 12/05/09 Date edited: 12/05/09 Date revised: 25/02/2025
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It was about 5 a.m. in the early morning hours when Kaien Cross was woken up by the sound of shrill rings coming from his residence's landline. By the time he managed to make himself presentable enough to head outside to answer the call, his adopted son had already beaten him to the task. “Cross Residence.” Kiryuu Zero said into the phone receiver with a tone of displeasure, he swore if it wasn’t due to the shrill ringing of the house phone that grated incessantly on his nerves – he wouldn’t have bothered coming out to answer the god-damned call before the sun even rises. “Is Kaien around? His friend is wasted and completely knocked out from the alcohol he had been consuming for most of last night. In any case, I’m calling because it’s closing time for my bar and the guy is still out cold. Can someone please come in and pick him up from the bar so I can close up the bar?” The owner of the bar started as he explained the reason behind his decision to call up the Cross Residence, this morning. “...I’ll inform the Chairman to go over and pick up his friend. Can I have your name, so, I could pass on the message to the chairman?” Kiryuu Zero eventually responded, deciding against the notion of exposing his not-quite-dead grandfather’s attempt at camouflaging his voice. “It’s Richard, just tell him the name and he would know where he ought to pick up his drunk friend.” With that said, the call was abruptly hung up. “...” With an audible sigh, Kiryuu Zero shifted his eyes toward the figure of his adoptive father and spoke. “The owner of the bar called, he asked for you to go over to his bar and retrieve my mentor who had drunk himself into oblivion. He said his name is Richard, and you know where to find him.” “Ah... thank you. I’d better go before it’s too late to do so. Let's hope Tooga will be sober enough to hold a proper conversation by the time we return.” Kaien Cross nodded in response to his adopted son’s words before heading back into his room to get himself changed into an attire that was appropriate for an outing into town. Yes, the caller and owner of the bar that his mentor had decided to drink himself into oblivion the night before after being dealt with the barrages of shock to his system just so happens to belong to Kiryuu Zero’s undead grandfather. Of course, the guy went under a different name now – seeing as the Kiryuu Mamoru on record is supposedly dead. It was a good thing that his master had never met his grandfather in person before, or Kiryuu Zero seriously doubted that his grandfather’s camouflage would hold in front of the veteran hunter – Yagari Tooga. ‘Kiryuu Mamoru... he’s the reason why I’m such a contradicting existence now.’ - Kiryuu Zero thought sourly as he replaced the phone onto its cradle and stalked back to his room to reorganize his thoughts. The Kiryuu clan was well-known for their vampire hunting skills, but over the years, the number of clan members dwindled as more and more members started to venture out and explore new horizons instead of continuing with the family legacy of hunting vampires. So, for a while, there hasn’t been any new blood from the Kiryuu family within the hunter’s association until the appearance of Kiryuu Mamoru, the grandfather of the Kiryuu twins. However, what people weren’t aware of was that Kiryuu Mamoru wasn’t a Kiryuu by birth. He simply took on the name ‘Kiryuu’ after he married the daughter of the family, who has no talent for hunting. Before joining the Kiryuu family, he was simply known to the hunter's community as Mamoru. The reason why he offered no surname is also simple, he was born a Hiou – one of the few pureblood families that’s well-known in the hunter’s community. If the Kuran family is well-known for their pacifism ideals, the Hiou are well-known for producing insanities and oddballs, and to a lesser extent – mutants. Kiryuu Mamoru was one such mutant and oddball, because despite being born into a pureblood vampire family – he doesn’t have fangs and doesn’t experience bloodlust. For that reason, he was often seen as an outcast of the family. And thus, once he reached the age of maturity – he had opted to leave his family and join the human world. Furthermore, instead of joining the world of normal human beings – he had opted to join the hunter’s society by becoming a vampire hunter, himself. He started out taking freelance hunting missions obtained from the Fujiwara clan, of course, since the head of the hunter’s branch for the Fujiwara clan is the only person authorized to hand out hunting missions to freelancers. Mamoru only begins to take missions directly from the Hunter’s Association after his marriage union to the daughter of the Kiryuu clan. It was a good thing that his in-laws didn’t live long enough to notice the oddities in Mamoru’s behaviors. For instance, Kiryuu Mamoru seldom gets injured during a hunting mission when in actuality, all the wounds sustained during the hunt would have healed up by the time he returns home from the mission. That, and Kiryuu Mamoru had the habit of licking off the blood from the wounds of his loved ones – usually from minor cuts. It would be rather alarming if he had taken to lick the blood off the more serious injuries, so, no – he sticks to minor cuts and wounds when he felt it necessary to snack on blood. After all, despite the lack of bloodlust and the inability to draw blood from unsuspecting victims due to the lack of fangs – Kiryuu Mamoru was still a vampire, and thus, he does enjoy the taste of blood for snacks every once in a while. Coming back, Kiryuu Mamoru knew a set-up when he saw one and so when he came to the realization that the Hunter’s Association was getting wary of his capabilities and decided to send him out on a suicidal mission. He had willingly played along to the ploy of the Hunter’s Association, just like that, he managed to fake his death by getting himself ‘fatally’ injured by human standards. Then, he persuaded his partner for the mission to leave him for dead, so, as to fool everyone into thinking that his corpse had been devoured by wild animals. When in actuality, his natural accelerated healing and regenerative ability as a pureblood had done its job and put him together as soon as his partner for the mission had left to report back to the Association. After that, Kiryuu Mamoru went into hiding and kept his distance from the rest of his family who’d thought him dead. Honestly, Kiryuu Zero wouldn’t have found out that he had a pureblood fangless vampire as a grandfather if he hadn’t had the honor of meeting Mamoru once in passing within the compound of the Fujiwara clan. That was before he started his official vampire-hunting training under the guidance of Yagari Tooru, and because Mamoru had requested his silence on the subject – he didn’t reveal his discovery to anyone, not even his father. As for his mother, well... Zero thought, his mother might have an inkling about the identity of his grandfather all along but chose to remain silent about it for some unfathomable reasons. It isn’t as though Zero could ask his dead mother now. There, that’s the family secret that Zero had been keeping away from everyone’s knowledge. Throwing a look at the packet of documents he had gotten from Risa Miyazaki some time ago about the mission his parents were assigned, that involved the ex-human lover of the blooming mad princess – Shizuka Hiou... the silver-haired hunter couldn’t help but sigh aloud as he wondered inwardly. Who's the culprit behind the set-up? What's the purpose of the set-up? Was it to get rid of the Kiryuu clan or was it meant to target Shizuka Hiou, specifically? Furthermore, could it simply be a ploy to kill two birds with one stone? Then came the tragedy of his family four years ago, the blooming mad princess finally escaped from her prison and took her revenge on the Kiryuu couple. To date, Kiryuu Zero still couldn’t figure out Shizuka’s motive for biting and turning him. Was it to make him suffer or was it simply because she was bored and decided that he would make a source of great entertainment? Tried as he might, Kiryuu Zero still fails to come up with a plausible explanation behind the acts of the blooming mad princess. Perhaps, it’s just as the rumors were saying – Shizuka Hiou had gone insane from losing her ex-human lover and thus, her actions cannot be comprehended. Either way, it was because of his pureblood paternal grandfather and his mother’s being a member of the infamous Fujiwara clan that when Shizuka Hiou decided to bite and turn him – Kiryuu Zero became a contradicting existence, a unique entity by itself. First, there isn’t any doubt that he would turn since he was bitten by a pureblood. Second, the hunter’s blood in him from both the Fujiwara and Kiryuu bloodline ensures that he manages to last four years without succumbing to the bloodlust. Third, the bite from Shizuka Hiou turns him into an ex-human, which is the norm but the scent of his blood claims otherwise. As Akane had mentioned before, his blood carries the faint scent of cherry blossoms which was unique to the Hiou family that he likely inherited from his grandfather. If Shizuka Hiou hadn’t realized it when she killed off his parents that night, she’d probably have after getting a taste of his blood from biting him. That's probably why she didn’t object when Ichiru decided to follow her without a backward glance in his direction. Every pureblood family had a unique trait that could be scented from their blood, for instance – the cherry blossoms for the Hiou, the forest for the Fujiwara, and the roses for the Kuran. As for the other families, Kiryuu Zero wasn’t exactly sure which scent belonged to which family since he’d never smelled them for himself. He knew the scent present in the blood of the Hiou, Fujiwara, and the Kuran mainly because he’d had the chance of either smelling or tasting it at some point. The sheer remembrance of how he’d tasted the blood of the Kuran came to mind unbiddenly and caused Zero to flush crimson at the reminder. Shaking his head to rid his mind of such straying thoughts, the silver-haired hunter forced himself to return his focus to the matter at hand – his incomplete turning process. At present, Kiryuu Zero was emitting the aura of an ex-human but the moment he were to ingest the blood of anyone from the Hiou family... his aura would instantly change from a Level D to a Level B. That’s what Akane and Risa meant when they’d ask him when does he intend to complete his turning process, because right now – his turning from a human to a vampire is only halfway done. This wouldn’t have been possible for any other humans that got bitten by a pureblood, this is a situation that only applies to him and Ichiru; and only when the pureblood that bites them happens to be a Hiou. This situation is made possible only because of the bloodlines that run through their veins. The Fujiwara and the Hiou, together with the remnants of the vampire genes from the Kiryuu – allow his rank in the vampire hierarchy to rise instead of falling to the end once the turning process is completed. With an inward sigh, Kiryuu Zero let out a groan as he flopped himself backward onto the bed. The more he thought about his situation, the more stressed he ended up. So, he ended up cursing both his grandfather and Shizuka Hiou to hell and back. Darting a look to the bedside table where his alarm clock sat, Kiryuu Zero was informed that it was only 5.50 am. Deciding that he isn’t going to get any more sleep, Kiryuu Zero decides to do some more baking in the kitchen to take his mind off the troublesome matters. An hour later, Kiryuu Zero stared at his latest batch of baked goods and frowned. He had a batch of butter cookies from last night, and a batch of freshly baked blueberry pie from this morning. After setting aside the portion to be left behind for the chairman and Yuuki’s consumption, he still had about two portions left on the baking tray. “Hmm... maybe, I should gift the remaining cookies and blueberries pie to Akane and the twins. Hopefully, the baked confectioneries will help to soothe the distress from the boys.” The silver-haired hunter murmured under his breath, before nodding as he proceeded to collect the disposable food containers from the cabinets in the kitchen. He then packed the remaining baked goods into the food containers, before placing them inside a paper bag to hand it over to Akane later when the opportunity arose. While the silver-haired hunter certainly would prefer delivering the baked goods over to the twins in person, given how his mentor had reacted to the twins’ existence previously... Zero thought it might be best for him to avoid venturing to the Moon Dormitory in person. So, until he gets a better gauge of his master’s mood – Zero decided not to test the limits of his mentor’s tolerance towards him for the time being. --- When Akane woke, she was genuinely surprised to find herself lying atop her bed. Since she had no recollections of her shifting herself away from the front of her study desk and made her way to the bed. Then how did she end up waking on her bed and was currently on the verge of smothering Subaru by using the poor boy as her bolster? "... I hate to say this when you've just woken up ... but damn it, Akane let go of me. I need to BREATHE!" Subaru Kiryuu had all but shouted into the eardrums of the disoriented girl, upon realizing that the girl had awoken on her own and thus would not be biting his head off for trying to wake her so that he could breathe. Akane blinked twice to rid the sleep away from her eyes, before realizing that Subaru was suffocating under her crushing hug. Hurriedly, the disoriented girl let go of her adopted sibling abruptly while shooting the former an apologetic look. "See ... this is why you shouldn't be sleeping here last night ... Certainly, you would know I'm bound to smother you like a bolster once I get too comfortable on the bed," Akane commented, as she tried desperately to keep herself from flushing in embarrassment. Subaru Kiryuu fought the urge to roll his eyes at his elder sister, as he shrugged out his response. "Well ... I do know the risk involved ... but still, I asked for it ... so I'd no one else to blame but myself. Then again, I doubt I would be smothered by you if Father had not come in last night and moved you away from the desk." Upon Subaru's statement, Akane froze while combing through the tangles in her hair using her fingers as she turned towards her adopted brother in shock. "What?! You mean, Kaname-sama was in here last night?" Subaru nodded, as he too started to comb a finger through his hair that had been messed up during his sleep. "When?! Why wasn't I aware of that?" Akane asked, still stunned by the fact that Kaname Kuran had come into her room at some point, late last night and she took no notice of the former's presence. "For heaven's sake ... you slept like the 'dead'. Certainly, you won't be able to realize that Father had been in here at all!" Subaru responded, as heaved himself off the bed and had every intention to head back to the room of his father to get himself ready for the day. "..." It took Akane several minutes to shake herself out from her stupor-like mode and sprang into action, going about her morning routine swiftly. For she had every intention to arrive at the dining hall of the Moon Dormitory, in time to collect her breakfast tray before the kitchen crew members disappeared somewhere to have their well-deserved rest. Not that, Akane would have any problem with the idea of preparing her meals over the weekends, but she was just plain lazy to do so. It was one thing to be cooking for herself back in her time, and totally another while she was stuck here in the past. At least, while she had been in her own time she was residing within the Sun Dormitory and the students residing in the Sun Dorms often took their meals at the school cafeteria. However, the menu at the school cafeteria had remained the same over the whole year and honestly, Akane felt sick and tired of the same menu that was being served all the time that she had requested to join the night-class members for meals. Seeing as it was practically Ichijo Asami, her best friend who was leading the night class back in her own time and in addition to the fact that she just happened to be the adopted daughter of Kaname Kuran. Akane had no problem gaining free access to the kitchen of the Moon Dormitory whenever she felt like it. Now though, even if she’s certain that Kaname wouldn’t have a problem with her utilizing the use of the kitchen to whip up a quick meal for herself while she’s in this timeline. Akane is still reluctant to do so for a couple of reasons. First of all, the kitchen crew working in the Moon Dormitory during this time were different from those who worked in the very same kitchen back in the future timeline. Secondly, there was also the issue of the opinions of the rest of the night-class members to consider. Even though, the members of the night class had been told of the fact that they have a trio of time travelers living together with them in the Moon Dormitory. Among them included the future twin sons of their pureblood leader, and a distant relative of Kiryuu Zero who was later adopted by Kaname Kuran as a daughter. Still, it did not change the fact that Akane does not feel comfortable being surrounded by the night-class members of this time. Seeing as, she didn’t know more than half the cohort who are attending Cross Academy at this point, outside from the selected few individuals who belong to the inner circle of Kaname Kuran and those that are on good terms with the Kiryuu-Kuran household in the future. Either way, it was bad enough to have the common class vampires of the night class debating on the special arrangements that Kaname had made on her behalf to the kitchen crew, the last thing Akane needed right now was to have the pureblood giving her the permission to roam and use the kitchen freely as though she owns the place. Back in the future, Akane would have no problem behaving in such manners because practically everyone in the Moon Dormitory had known and accepted the idea of the name 'Kiryuu' being tied to the name of their pureblood leader 'Kuran'. They had a century of their time to get used to the idea of their pureblood king picking the strongest hunter of the era for a mate. Her name was 'Kiryuu Akane', and in addition to her being the best friend of Ichijo Asami who was the President of the Moon Dormitory in her time, nobody within the Moon Dormitory had any problem concerning her being given free access and usage of the facilities within their domain. Here, in the past, things were different. For there would be no Ichijo Asami to help her fend off any potential trouble-makers, granted her cousin Takuma would be around and most probably would help her out, if the situation comes around. Still, it would be different as nobody aside from themselves knew of their relationship with one another. The last thing that Akane required now was to have the members of the night class mistake Takuma’s intention of helping her romantically. Little did Akane know that the first person to arrive at the wrong conclusion wasn’t the common class vampires residing within these walls, but the pureblood king himself. Granted, Kaname Kuran had only arrived at the wrong conclusion because he hadn’t been informed of the true nature behind Akane and his friend’s relationship. Regardless, that’s a tale meant for a later time. For now, the pureblood king had other things on his mind that required his full attention. “Akane, would you be meeting up with Daddy later?” Subaru had asked when they sat down at the dining table of the dining hall in the Moon Dormitory. “Yes, I intend to visit him at the chairman’s shortly using the guise of passing him the notes from the classes he’d missed yesterday.” Akane nodded in response as she took a bite from the egg mayonnaise sandwich served for her breakfast, today. “Good. Do give us an update on how he’s faring when you return, given how mad his mentor was yesterday. Akira and I, are quite concerned about what that hunter will be doing to him.” Subaru said as he made his request known to Akane, before falling silent as more of the residents from the Moon Dormitory started filing into the dining hall for their supper meal. Taking note of the unfamiliar faces that started filing into the dining hall for supper, Akane didn’t provide Subaru with a verbal response and instead settled for a wordless nod to acknowledge the request that came from the elder twin. --- Kiryuu Zero had just finished packing up the baked goods into the disposable food container when he heard the sound of the doorbell chime. Raising an eyebrow as he wondered if the chairman was expecting any visitors today, the silver-haired hunter took a moment to reach out with his vampire sense to see if he could get an image of the visitor without peeking through the door’s peephole. ‘Well... it’s a vampire outside.’ - This was what the hunter in him sensed from the visitor, while the vampire in him could only ascertain that it wasn’t any of the purebloods visiting. Almost immediately, Kiryuu Zero was able to arrive at a logical conclusion about the visitor even though he still couldn’t tell whether it was a noble or a common-class vampire at the door. “Well... Risa wouldn’t approach the chairman’s residence without an order, and the rest of the night class members had no reason to visit the chairman. So, it could only be Akane...” Kiryuu Zero reasoned with himself as he ventured forth to answer the door. “Good morning, Akane. It's a weekend, so, why did you not choose to sleep in?” Kiryuu Zero greeted as he opened up the front door of the Cross Residence to greet his morning visitor. “One - I didn’t want to miss the stipulated time for breakfast. Two – the twins are concerned about your well-being, and so, they’d sent me over in their stead to check things out.” Akane shrugged as she stated the main reason for her visit, the excuse of handing over the class notes for the silver-haired hunter left forgotten. After all, the class notes are merely a means for her to gain entry into the Cross Residence while the veteran hunter – Yagari Tooga was around. “Ah... I suppose yesterday’s situation can be a tad distressing for them. You can tell them not to worry, I’m doing fine. My master didn’t do anything to me last night, though he had trouble looking in my direction following the events that had taken place outside the Moon Dorm. And then he went to get wasted in a bar and got himself knocked out in the process. The chairman has ventured out into town to retrieve him after receiving a call from the owner of the bar. Until they got back, I had no idea what Master Tooga had in mind for me to do or ‘punish’ me even.” Kiryuu Zero sighed as he filled his future adopted daughter in, about what had transpired following the end of his master’s ballistic tantrum outside the Moon Dorm, on the previous evening. “Well then, since you’re doing fine – I should probably take my leave before the chairman returns with your master.” Akane started as she turned to leave, but got halted in the act by the silver-haired hunter who had reached out to hold her back. “Hang on, Akane. I have something for you to pass to the twins.” Kiryuu Zero said before turning back to the kitchen and retrieving the paper bag holding the boxes of freshly baked cookies and blueberry pie. “Oh... home-baked confectionery, the twins are going to be extremely happy. Thanks, Dad. I’ll be sure to give it to them on your behalf. I'll see you in school on Monday.” Akane took the paper bag from the silver-haired hunter smilingly, before taking her departure from the doorstep of the chairman’s residence. She didn’t enter the house this time, choosing to converse with her silver-haired parent on the doorstep as this would allow her to make an easier escape if she were to detect the approach of the veteran hunter - Yagari Tooga, at any point of her ongoing conversation with her future adoptive parent. --- When Yagari Tooga enters the classroom of the night class for his first official lesson with the bloodsuckers, on Monday night. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the hunter wasn’t in a good mood, throughout the roll call – the veteran hunter kept throwing death glares in the direction of the pureblood king. Needless to say, his treatment of the pureblood king garnered some unhappiness from the figures of Ruka Souen and Aidou Hanabusa, who are both extremely loyal to Kaname Kuran. “Hanabusa, calm down. You wouldn’t want to risk provoking him further, unlike Kiryuu – he truly will shoot.” Akatsuki Kain whispered frantically to his agitated cousin as he held on tight to the figure of Aidou Hanabusa while reminding his cousin pointedly. The mention of the silver-haired hunter’s name finally got the agitated Aidou Hanabusa to calm down, as the blue-eyed blond vampire was reminded about the reason why their pureblood king seemed to be bearing the brunt of the hunter’s blatant displeasure today. ‘Ah... I supposed he’s still upset about Kiryuu’s intertwined future with Kaname-sama. No wonder, he kept throwing Kaname-sama death glares.’ - Aidou Hanabusa thought as he felt the agitation leaving him all of a sudden. After all, this was something he hadn’t coped well at the initial stage of the discovery, too. And truly, if it weren’t for the obvious adoration he could detect from his pureblood leader for the time-traveling trio; he wouldn’t have accepted the situation and resigned himself to the idea that Kiryuu would end up mated to his beloved Kaname-sama at some point in the future. Of course, with the recent development of Kaname-sama allowing Kiryuu to feed from him willingly – it certainly appears that the union between his beloved pureblood leader and the silver-haired ex-human is inevitable. In contrast to Aidou’s agitation and Ruka’s displeasure about the hunter’s treatment of him during the hour of the human behavioral class, Kaname Kuran remained unfazed under the death glares of the veteran hunter. It has only been less than 72 hours since Yagari Tooga discovered the existence of the twins and the nature of his future relationship with Kiryuu Zero. The veteran hunter – Yagari Tooga would naturally be unhappy about the situation in general. Hasn't it taken Aidou and Ruka more than a week to accept the existence of the twins as well? Although, Kaname reckoned it might take slightly more than a week for the veteran hunter to fully accept the situation as it is. Thinking about the twins brought forth the thought of the silver-haired ex-human to the forefront of his mind, based on Akane’s account – Kiryuu Zero needed to feed every 72 hours, lesser if he’d gotten injured on a hunting mission. So, the silver-haired ex-human is likely due for a feeding soon. The thought of Kiryuu feeding off Akane had Kaname displeased, he didn’t like the idea of smelling the ex-human on Akane following the end of each feeding session between them, before. And after the last disastrous feeding session that got interrupted by Yagari Tooga, and brought on the possessive reaction from him... Kaname had a feeling that the beast in him would spiral out of control if he were to smell Zero on Akane, again. Furthermore, Kiryuu had already bitten him and fed off from him once, in an attempt to get him to loosen the possessive grip he had on the silver-haired hunter. Although, the feeding that took place then wasn’t an intentional act on Kiryuu’s part – but what happened has happened. In any case, there's no way he would allow Zero to go back to feeding from Akane after the one-sided bond was formed between them. ‘I’m truly screwed. The logical sense in me told me to abide by the promise I’d made to Haruka and Juri Kuran, to protect and love Yuuki as long as I lived. Yet, the beast in me desires another... Kiryuu is the one that the beast side of me truly desires. The side that I thought would never awaken ever since I devoured and replaced the real firstborn of Haruka and Juri Kuran after Rido offered him up as a sacrifice to rouse me from my eternal slumber. What exactly was it that wakes the beast in me from its slumbering state?’ - Kaname Kuran thought with a frown as he gazed out of the window of the classroom, he allowed his mind to wander. The voice of his beast has always been muted and silent at the back of his mind. It has been that way since Rido resurrected him with the sacrifice of his nephew. And as he devoured and took on the form of the real son of Haruka and Juri Kuran, the beast in him remained silent and docile. Even when Haruka and Juri make him promise to love and protect Yuuki for the entirety of his life, there’s no sign of the beast stirring either. He had thought, the beast in him would continue to remain that way for the rest of his eternity life. But the incident of that night by the school’s lake had proven him otherwise. So, Kaname couldn’t help but wonder just when exactly the beast in him started to stir to life. Was it before or after the trios’ arrival? It took a while but eventually, Kaname figured that his beast had woken briefly throughout the last decade. Most of the time, it would come alive when Kaname was visiting the chairman. There was always a happy humming coming from his beast during those visits, which was why Kaname hadn’t thought it odd before as he had thought the happy humming from his beast was meant for Yuuki. Now, it seems he’d misunderstood – the happy humming from his beast is meant for Kiryuu. Because Kiryuu and Yuuki were always together, so, it’d given Kaname the wrong impression that his beast was fine with him loving Yuuki. Truly, if it hadn’t been the scene of Akane force-feeding Kiryuu with the use of a ‘kiss’ that infuriated his beast so much that it seized control of his body, Kaname wouldn’t have figured out that it was Kiryuu that he truly desired, not Yuuki. The beast is the one that rules the heart of the vampires, so, Kaname would not be able to go against the desires of his inner beast. That ultimately brought him to the dilemma at hand, what should he do with Yuuki from here on? And then there’s Kiryuu... it’s going to be a hard job earning the trust and affection of Kiryuu, given the level of animosity between them thus far. Oh well, he’d no one to blame but himself... he was the one that keeps pissing Kiryuu off at every single opportunity that arises. No wonder it took the future him so long to finally procreate... but at least, he has the kids with him to help out in this timeline. Ignoring the whispers coming from his beast to claim and mark Kiryuu at the earliest opportunity, Kaname Kuran finally decided on the feeding arrangement for the silver-haired ex-human. The first thing the pureblood king did after class had been let out, and the veteran hunter Yagari Tooga stalked out of the classroom was to venture over to the science laboratory. Making use of the syringe and needle he’d found in the cabinets of the science lab, where the research and development work on the blood tablets are in the process – the pureblood extracted a tube of blood from the vein of his wrist. Following this, Kaname transferred the extracted blood into a small glass bottle; he then repeated the process several times until the bottle was filled up to the brim. Once done, Kaname disposed of the used syringe and needle into the trash bin of the lab, having confidence that the contents would be dutifully disposed of by the members using the facility before the night was over. With the bottle of blood in hand, Kaname Kuran headed back to the Moon Dorm in search of Akane. He then instructed Akane to let Kiryuu feed from the bottle instead of from Akane directly and hoped that this would be sufficient to placate the agitated beast hovering at the back of his mind. After all, the pureblood king could confidently say that Kiryuu is not going to approach him voluntarily for a feeding just yet. And although, Kaname could take the initiative by going to Zero for the feeding session... he had a feeling that it wouldn’t be an easy task with how adamant that mentor of Kiryuu was determined to keep them apart from one another. When the veteran hunter had first witnessed Kiryuu feeding from his neck, the man hadn’t thought much of it but when the existence of the twins was discovered by Yagari Tooga – the hunter started watching him like a hawk. The last thing Kaname wanted was to have the appetite of his future mate ruined because the veteran hunter might want to remain behind and chaperon the feeding session. Knowing how hesitant Zero tends to get about taking blood from another with that mentor of him hovering around, Kaname thought maybe he ought to keep his distance from Zero for a bit and for the time being. So, for now, the pureblood would settle for feeding Kiryuu through the means of extracting the blood from his body with the use of needles and syringes. So, later that night, Kiryuu Zero was met with the sight of his future adoptive daughter – Akane sneaking into his room at Cross Residence on the second floor via the window with a small metallic insulated cooler box in hand. Raising an eyebrow in a questioning manner, the silver-haired hunter inquires. “Akane, what are you doing? Can't you visit me the usual way?” “Shh... I don’t want to risk attracting any attention from that mentor of yours who’s downstairs discussing matters with the chairman. I'm not exactly in his good books right now, and I would like to prevent drawing his ire toward me – if you get my drift. As for the reason for my visit this evening, well, I’m here with a delivery for you.” Akane answered as she lifted a finger to her lips, indicating for her silver-haired parent to tone down the volume of his words as she didn’t want to risk detection from the veteran hunter downstairs. “Delivery? What kind of delivery?” Kiryuu Zero started in confusion. “What else but the blood you would be feeding upon when your bloodlust strikes, you are due for another bloodlust soon – right? Anyway, inside this cooler box, it holds a few vials of the blood obtained from Kaname-sama. The quantities in the cooler box should be able to last you through the week. Do let me know if it’s running low, I’ll send more of the blood bottles over then.” Akane then said as she handed the metallic cooler box over to the figure of Kiryuu Zero before sneaking back out through the window, again. “...Wait a minute, Akane. Surely, you don’t mean that Kuran went to the trouble of extracting his blood using needles and syringes from his vein just to ensure that I have enough blood to sate my bloodlust when it hits? And why can’t I just go to you when I need to be fed?” Kiryuu Zero frowned as he inquired Akane on the subject. The silver-haired hunter had more than enough time to dwell on the subject of his feeding while he was being grounded by his mentor. After sparing a good amount of time considering the situation he found himself in – Zero had concluded that a single feeding off Kuran wasn’t going to spoil his appetite for taking blood from another. So, he couldn’t in his life fathom out the reason why he can’t just take blood from Akane which was the original arrangement for the sating of his bloodlust. “Zero...you truly don’t understand, do you?” The sandy-brown-haired vampire girl sighed aloud as she dropped herself onto the study chair of her silver-haired parent and braced herself for a lengthy conversation to come. “Understand what?” Kiryuu Zero frowned in confusion. “Kaname-sama desires you; he wouldn’t have reacted in that manner that night if he didn’t desire you for himself.” Akane holds up one finger as she starts stating the obvious, figuring that she’s probably going to spell things out to her silver-haired parent otherwise there’s a very high chance that her cousin and future adoptive parent is still not going to get the reason why he isn’t allowed to feed off from her anymore. “I figured as much... but I don’t get it. When or what brought on his desires for me? I thought it’s Yuuki that he loves?” Kiryuu Zero eventually let his thoughts slip to Akane, a girl who’s supposedly decades younger than him and ultimately someone who’s going to end up as his adoptive daughter decades down the road. However, he couldn’t help it... he’s too confused and he desperately needed a sounding board before he had a nervous breakdown. “Regarding your query about when he started harboring desires for you and what brought on his desires for you – this is something I do not have the answer for. You're going to have to bring this query directly to him if you truly wish to get down to the bottom of things. As for how he could love Yuuki and still harbor desires for you... I reckon it had something to do with his inner beast. Being a vampire yourself, I’m sure you know what I’m referring to when I brought up the mention of the inner beast.” There was a significant pause before Akane finally came up with a response to Zero’s questions on the subject. “...So, are you implying that the beast in him is the one that harbors desires for me?” Here, Kiryuu Zero falters for a second as he tries to wrap his mind around the idea of him, being an object of desire for the beast of Kaname Kuran. “In a nutshell. I’m sure you could tell that Kaname-sama was reacting on pure instincts that night when he chanced upon the force-feeding session between us. Either way, because of his desires for you and the fact that you’d instigated a one-sided bond with him when you bit him for blood that night. Kaname-sama isn’t going to let you feed from me anymore, the beast in him wouldn’t allow it. Unless you want him to lose control and start acting possessively toward you once more – I would recommend you drop the idea of reverting to the original feeding arrangement. Does that address your query about why he’d gone to the extremes of storing up his blood in the bottles for your feeding, now?” Akane then ended the lengthy explanation about why the feeding arrangement for her silver-haired parent had been changed. “...” Wordlessly, Kiryuu Zero could only nod dumbly in response. Inwardly, his mind was once more overwhelmed by a torrent of emotions and thoughts as he tried to make sense of the answers that had just dropped into his lap. Akane, on the other hand, seized the opportunity to make her escape from the room of Kiryuu Zero, through the window. ‘So, the beast in Kuran harbor desires for me – huh? I guess that answers the reason behind the taste of satisfaction and confusion present in his blood the other day. Satisfaction from the beast, and confusion from Kuran’s logic – I supposed.’ - Kiryuu Zero thought as he sat down on the chair which was previously taken up by Akane as he mulled over the latest ‘complication’ in his life as he stared at the metallic cooler box delivered by his future adoptive daughter with a pensive look. Unbiddenly, the silver-haired hunter found his mind traveling toward the pureblood king as he wondered how Kaname Kuran was coping with the revelations about the desires the former’s inner beast held for him. Coincidentally, over at the Moon Dormitory, the pureblood king also found his mind wandering off toward the silver-haired hunter as he wondered how the hunter would react to the notion of receiving an entire cooler box filled up with bottles of his blood. Of course, losing that much blood comes with its repercussions. The said repercussion was that Kaname Kuran found himself craving blood for the first time in a decade. And so, it was to the utmost surprise of Aidou Hanabusa and Ruka Souen, when they chanced upon the figure of their pureblood leader drowning himself with blood tablets that evening after they returned to the dormitory when classes ended for the night class. --- A week after Yagari Tooga went ballistic upon the discovery of the future relationship between his star pupil – Kiryuu Zero, and the pureblood king – Kuran Kaname. A missive arrived from the vampire council addressed to the president of the Moon Dormitory, together with the stack of books ordered by Ichijo Takuma was handed over to the maid serving the Moon Dormitory by the guard on duty at the dormitory guardhouse. "Ichijo-sama, the books that you ordered have just arrived ... Do you need me to bring them upstairs for you?" The maid of the Moon Dormitory, asked as she noticed the approaching figure of Ichijo Takuma. "..." Ichijo Takuma stared at the pile of books that the maid held in hand, and sweat dropped. Did he truly order these many books from the online catalog? Why did he not remember anything of it? Taking the latest volume of his favorite manga, he told the maid to help bring the rest of the books up to his room. When he noticed that the maid was still hanging around, the green-eyed blond vampire asked. "Is anything else the matter?" The maid hesitated for a second, before responding. "Is Kaname-sama available now? I have an urgent permission slip for him to sign ..." "What kind of permission slip?" "A guest who intended to stay overnight here at the dormitory sent someone over just now with that request." The maid answered as she handed over the request slip to the vice president of the Moon Dormitory. "I'll sign them on his behalf then, the President's still busy attending to other important matters on hand." Ichijo Takuma responded as he took his pen out ready to sign the permission slip. Being the vice president of the Dormitory, it was within his authority to grant permission for any sort of activities or requests for using their dormitory facilities. However, seeing as Kaname was always the one attending to such matters; people tended to forget his role as the Vice-President. Hence, the only time that people remembered him was when Kaname was either away or pre-occupied. Taking the request slip from the maid, Takuma scanned through the content of the page while he signed his name at the end of the slip granting permission for the guest's overnight stay request. Halfway through, his eyes caught sight of the familiar name that belonged to his grandfather - Ichijo Asato, and he froze. "What ...?! Why is /HE/ coming over now?!" "... Huh? No idea, would you perhaps like to give them a call and check things out - yourself?" The maid asked as she diverted her glance towards the direction where the telephone of the dormitory was stationed. "No ... that's fine ..." Takuma responded, as he turned immediately on his heels to depart from the foyer and made a bee-line for his friends' rooms instead. Ironically, the first room he dashed into and entered just happened to be the room of Akatsuki Kain and Aidou Hanabusa. Both vampires were apparently on the verge of dozing off, and Aidou threw him a look of annoyance as he announced to them in a near panic attack that his grandfather was coming over that evening. "Damn it, Takuma! Are you even a vampire at all?! Why are you so damn energetic in the morning?! How I wish you could be like the vampire in that manga which you lent me last week... One who would simply turn into dust upon being subjected and exposed to sunlight." Aidou Hanabusa complained as he hid his face in his pillow as he tried to ignore the morning rays that shone through the window panes of his room when the vice president had pulled open the curtains of his room’s windows. "How I wish I could just disappear into nothing but sheer dust too ..." Ichijo Takuma muttered under his breath, as he plastered himself to the window panes of his friend's room. "So, what if your grandfather is coming?!... Takuma, I honestly don't see the reason behind your fussing ... I know he's scary and you are afraid of him to a certain extent but still, there's no need for your reaction to be this exaggerated right? Besides, he's part of the Vampire Council, and if the Hunter's association can send their envoy over for an inspection check. I don't see the reason why his position as the head of the vampire council can’t do the same ..." This coming from Akatsuki Kain, who peered at the blond Vice-President through his sleepy eyes. "... I know ... but of all the possible timings, why now?! Certainly, the two of you could see where I'm coming from ... With my grandfather coming over tonight, how could we possibly hide the existence of Akane and the twins from him?!" Takuma responded, distress apparent in his voice. Not to forget his inner fear for his grandfather, and topping it off altogether - he now had to consider Akane's feelings too. He could only hope Akane could refrain herself from killing off his grandfather, in public. Perhaps, he can try to send Akane off to bed earlier tonight? Then again, Akane's suspicion would be roused if he were to do that ... So, what else can he do to prevent the two of them from encountering one another, tonight?! "... No idea, maybe you want to talk with Akane or Kaname-sama? Surely, they will be able to ease your doubts; worries, or whatever it is that was bothering you so much ..." Akatsuki suggested, wishing very much that the Vice-President would simply stop bothering them and leave them alone to their sleep. "... I guess ..." Ichijo Takuma murmured to himself, before turning to leave the room. However, halfway across the room, he was hit by a projectile in the form of a pillow coming from Aidou Hanabusa. When he turned towards the former with an inquiring look on his features, he was met up by an irritated growl from the annoyed blue-eyed blond vampire seeking his cooperation to draw the curtains before leaving. "Sorry, I forgot ..." Takuma mumbled an apology as he hurriedly went back to the windows and drew the curtains back down. Only once he had ascertained that the curtains had been fully drawn and that there weren’t any gaps for the sun rays to slip through, the vice president of the Moon Dormitory finally turned to leave the shared room of Akatsuki Kain and Aidou Hanabusa. "Damn, I wonder how Shiki can survive the idea of rooming with him ..." Aidou muttered aloud, as Ichijo Takuma left the room. "... Aidou, enough ... just sleep, will you? Besides, Shiki's more tolerant to the sunlight because of the nature of his job as a model." Akatsuki Kain said to his irate cousin, as his cousin's whine was starting to get on his nerves too. --- "Akane's out, so that left me with the only option available - I'll have to go to Kaname ... let's hope whatever business he had to deal with had been smoothly resolved. The last thing which I felt like doing was to add further to his troubles ..." The green-eyed blond vampire thought, sighing aloud as he made his way over to the top floor of the dormitory where the room of his pureblood friend was situated. "Uncle Takuma? Are you here to look for father?" Kiryuu Subaru asked as he chanced upon the figure of Ichijo Takuma just outside of the door of the room belonging to the pureblood king. "Aa ... Subaru-chan. Yes, I'm here to see your father. Do you mind letting me in?" Ichijo Takuma nodded in response, making it a point to plaster on his cheery mask despite his actual feelings at present. "Sure, why not ..." The elder twin, Kiryuu Subaru shrugged as he pushed open the door and walked right in; without even bothering to knock and seek permission for his entry from the room’s occupants. "Father ... Uncle Takuma's here to see you ..." Subaru's voice rang out loud and clear within the walls of Kaname Kuran's room. After announcing to the pureblood that the former had a visitor in the form of the dormitory’s vice president, the boy promptly starts making his way into the attached bathroom and gets himself ready for the day, ahead. The younger twin, Kuran Akira, on the other hand, was still fast asleep on the pureblood's large Queen-size canopy bed. A few seconds later, the pureblood was seen beckoning for Takuma to enter the privacy of his private 'study' - which was adjoined to his main room that serves as the bedroom. “Come in, Takuma.” The pureblood had started after granting permission for his friend to enter his private ‘study’. “Good day, Kaname. I hope I’m not intruding on anything important.” Ichijo Takuma started somewhat hesitantly. “It’s fine, I’m just going through the latest proposal submitted by the pharmaceutical company that assisted with the manufacturing and distribution of the blood tablets to members of our society is all.” Kaname Kuran said as he gave the document, he had been going over another glance-over before setting it aside in favor to focus his attention on the figure of his unusually distressed friend. “Good, I’m glad to know that I’m not interrupting you amid anything important.” Ichijo Takuma nodded in response before he dropped all pretense and started pacing back and forth agitatedly in the study of his pureblood friend. "Takuma, is anything the matter? You seemed to be in distress over something ... with the way you’re behaving right now." Kaname prompted as he mentally took note of the tension in his friend’s posture as the green-eyed blond vampire started to pace back and forth behind the closed door of his study. "... Something's come up, Kaname. My grandfather, he’s coming over for a visit!" The green-eyed blond vampire had all but blurted out to his pureblood friend in distress. “When?” Kaname started as he started to understand the reasons behind his friend’s distress. “Tonight!” Ichijo Takuma answered as he winced when he realized his voice had come out a tad too shrill for the sensitive ears of the vampires when he sighted the frowning expression on his friend’s face. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be so loud but... I’m kind of panicking here, and so, I can’t exactly control my volume.” "It’s fine. I suppose the reason behind your panicking has to do with the trios' presence on campus grounds. It wouldn’t be wise for Ichiou to learn of the existence of Akane and the twins. Am I right to say that?" Kaname Kuran sighed as he came to the same conclusion as his friend did. "Well ... yeah, something like that ..." Ichijo Takuma finished lamely. "...That's indeed a problem; the last thing I need now is to have Ichiou find out about their existence as well." Just then, the voice of Kiryuu Subaru cuts into the midst of the ongoing conversation between the pureblood and the vice president of the dormitory. "It's not us that the two of you should be worrying about. If there’s anyone the two of you need to keep an eye out for while the head of the vampire council is here for the visit - it's Akane. After all, Akira and I, could be entrusted to the care of Daddy for tonight. Even if that mentor of Daddy was around for most of the day, Daddy wouldn’t allow him to hurt us. And as long as we are on our best behavior, I doubt that Daddy’s mentor would have trouble ignoring our presence." "... Subaru, why aren't you in bed yet?" Kaname asked with a frown when he realized that the elder twin had somehow eavesdropped on the conversation between him and his friend, without his realization. "Certainly, you are not asking me to go back to bed after just waking up?" Kiryuu Subaru shot back in return, looking at the younger version of his 'Father' expectantly. "... Now, why would Akane be a problem? I'm aware that she had many charms and spells which she could use to mask her heritage as a vampire, combined with her being a day-class student ... we could easily pass her off as one of the school guardians." Kaname voiced his doubts aloud, choosing to ignore his son’s remarks on the subject and focusing his attention on the figure of his friend, instead. "..." Ichijo Takuma tensed, unsure if he should reveal the reason behind Akane's immense dislike of his grandfather to his pureblood friend and leader. If he did, he would have to face Akane's wrath later for the girl had specifically warned him off against the idea of revealing the information to anyone else, randomly. However, if he was to continue keeping the information to himself and away from his friend's knowledge, he feared that Kaname would indeed send Akane out to welcome his grandfather under the disguise of being a school guardian. "Well ... Takuma, I'm still waiting for your response ..." Kaname Kuran prompted as he studied the body tension of his friend in detail. The more he observed, the more certain he was about his friend and Akane hiding something of importance away from his knowledge. And Kaname isn’t sure if he enjoys the notion that things are being kept away from his knowledge on purpose. Inwardly, the pureblood wonders if he should get the silver-haired hunter to look into the matter since it concerns Akane; and no doubt – the girl is closer to Kiryuu than to him. At least, that was what Kaname had managed to gather from the twins during their routine bonding sessions that took place behind the closed doors of his private suite within the dormitory. "Takuma ... I'm warning you; don't you dare to let it slip!" Akane's voice cuts in, warningly before Ichijo Takuma can cave under the pressure of his friend’s questioning. Turning her eyes towards the figure of the elder twin – Kiryuu Subaru, Akane told the boy to head off to the dining hall and collect her breakfast tray on her behalf. Once she was affirmed that the boy was no longer in hearing range, she turned her attention back to the awaiting pureblood and spoke. "I apologized for interrupting the midst of your conversation, however ... seeing as the topic of conversation involved me ... I don't see any reason for me to remain silent from the sideline." "Akane ..." Ichijo Takuma started, only to have the girl cut him off. "Takuma, /No/. Do not let anyone else know about /that/! I do not wish to complicate things further..." Akane said in determination. "..." "Akane, I was told that you would have a problem with Ichiou's arrival ... Was there a specific reason why?" Kaname questioned, using his voice of authority as he did so. " ... Yes, there is ... However, I do not wish to reveal the true nature of that particular reason. Let's just say that I'm not particularly fond of the idea and prospect of having to deal with him ... but should you desire for me to meet him, then I will. After all, it is within a noble's responsibility to heed the words of a pureblood ... so ..." "In other words, you will do as I say - if I choose to issue an order or make a demand of you." Kaname finished the sentence on Akane's behalf, in a quiet tone. Akane shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant but the tension in her body language betrayed her true feelings to the whole situation. Standing by the side of the female vampire, Ichijo Takuma mentally noted the slight clench of Akane's fists as they both waited for the pureblood's final verdict. 'Looks like, I'm not the only one with a problem on the emotional aspect when it comes down to the inevitable meeting with Ichiou ...' Kaname Kuran thought, as he noted the way Akane had tensed visibly over the notion of meeting the prominent figure of Ichijo Asato. "Never mind, I'm sure Yuuki and Kiryuu will be able to handle their roles as the school guardians well enough for tonight. There would be no need for Akane to join them, but ... she would still be required to be on her best behavior if she were to chance upon Ichiou within the walls of the dormitory, during the period of his visit. Is that clear?" Kaname eventually said to his friend Ichijo Takuma but kept his eyes focused upon the tensed figure of his future adoptive daughter with a certain silver-haired ex-human. Both Ichijo Takuma and Akane nodded to his words, before removing themselves from his presence. While Ichijo Takuma heaved a sigh of relief and relaxed visibly, Akane's still tense from the knowledge of the impending arrival of Ichijo Asato. "Akane? Are you alright?" Ichijo Takuma inquires, once they have taken their leave from the presence of the pureblood. Akane nodded but still did not speak. For she did not trust herself with words, she should have known. By coming this far back in time, it would be inevitable for her to meet up with Ichijo Asato - at least once. Despite the blood relations they shared, Akane could never quite manage to think of that hypocrite as her grandfather. It was a good thing that by the time, she had been born - the said vampire was already dead so she would not be required to have any form of interaction with the former. Takuma sighed; it was obvious that Akane was still affected by the news of his grandfather's impending visit. Well, at least Kaname did not expect the girl to be welcoming his grandfather's arrival out front together with the rest of the night class. "... Takuma, have the maids send up all my meals for the rest of the day. I would be keeping myself isolated in my room, lest I lash out at anyone during the midst of /HIS/ presence." Akane eventually said as she turned on her heels to head back to her assigned room, which was one of the guestrooms that was arranged for the time-travelers usage at the point of their arrival to this particular time. Only now, it has become Akane’s room as the twins have been shifted over to the private suite belonging to the pureblood, a week after they had landed in this time. "..." Ichijo Takuma nodded, despite knowing that Akane would not be able to see his response with her back facing him. Then again, the girl was making a request not asking a question. Therefore, whether or not he responds to her request would not matter. Nodding towards Subaru who was making his way back up the stairs with Akane's breakfast tray nicely balanced on his palms, Takuma made his way down the stairs intending to locate the maids working in their dormitory and inform them about the impending visit of his grandfather later this evening. ~ to be continued~ Date started: 12/05/09 Date completed: 14/05/09 Date edited: 14/05/09 Date revised: 25/02/2025
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Subaru, can I entrust you with the task of keeping an eye on Akira while I step away for the moment?” Kaname Kuran inquires as he calls out for the attention of the elder twin, shortly after the boy returns to his private suite after picking up and delivering Akane’s breakfast to the distressed girl. “Sure, Father. I’ll stay behind and watch Akira while you step out for the errand.” Kiryuu Subaru nodded in response, as he took a seat on the comfy sofa couch in the private suite of the pureblood king. His younger twin was still soundly asleep, likely a residual effect from the intensive training Father has been subjecting Akira in the training room, recently. “Seiren, stay behind and guard them. I’m heading over to the chairman to inform him of Ichiou’s impending visit.” Kaname Kuran deters his loyal servant from following him and instead instructs Seiren to guard the twins while he’s absent from the Moon Dorm. “Good morning, Kiryuu. Is the chairman around?” Kaname Kuran started when he chanced upon the familiar figure of Kiryuu Zero in the front yard of the chairman’s residence. The sudden sound of the voice from the pureblood king startled the silver-haired guardian into dropping the watering hose he’d been using to water the plants in the front yard of the Cross Residence, situated on academy grounds. A grimace briefly crossed his face as he berated himself for losing focus on his surroundings, just because vampires seldom ventured out in broad daylight – it doesn’t mean he could get careless. He's lucky that the vampire that sneaked up on him was the pureblood king, if it was an unfamiliar vampire or rather Level E that approached – he might find himself injured for his momentary lapse of attention. “Apology, Kiryuu. I didn’t mean to startle you.” Kaname Kuran said as he picked up the fallen watering hose with water still spraying from its outlet and handed it back to the silver-haired guardian, who had stared at him with wide startled eyes briefly before it was gone and replaced by the usual emotionless gaze. “Kuran. Thank you. It's fine, you don’t have to apologize. It's my fault for zoning out and losing focus on my surroundings. What brings you over at this time? It's 8 am, not 8 pm – way too early for people of your kind to be roaming about the academy grounds.” Kiryuu Zero accepted the offered watering hose back from the pureblood king as he responded. “I’m here to visit the chairman, is he around?” The pureblood king answered smoothly, as he stamped down the urge to inquire after the well-being of the silver-haired hunter. The last thing he wants is to risk annoying the guardian into snapping at him, again. He had already heard from Akane that Kiryuu didn’t like to be constantly reminded of his ‘condition’ and so, if he didn’t wish to jeopardize his chance at getting the silver-haired guardian to look at him positively – it would be best for him to refrain from inquiring after the former’s health. The thought of asking if Kiryuu has taken to feed on schedule fleeted past his mind briefly, but Kaname Kuran decided against inquiring on the subject as well just in case it triggered a negative reaction from the silver-haired guardian. So, in the end, all Kaname did was to give the appearance of Kiryuu Zero a thorough assessing look. There isn’t any indication that the silver-haired guardian is unwell, the body posture and eyes appear normal. Unlike the times whereby Kiryuu was trying to hold back his blood lust, the body language though guarded was not tense in the slightest, and there were no apparent signs of struggle in those beautiful lilac eyes of the guardian. Good, that meant Kiryuu has been feeding on schedule. While there is a visible sign of the dark eye rings due to a lack of sleep, that's not a cause for concern – Kaname figured that Kiryuu was likely given a lot of food for thought following Akane’s delivery of the cooler box of blood bottles to the guardian, the other night. Yes, Akane had reported the conversation she had with Kiryuu following her return to the Moon Dorm after dropping off the delivery for the silver-haired guardian. So, naturally, Kaname is now aware that Kiryuu has been informed of his desire for the silver-haired guardian. He figured that Kiryuu likely had a dozen questions in mind for him, but wasn’t exactly sure if they should be brought up for discussion between them. “Yes, the chairman is around. What do you have to speak to him that it couldn’t wait until later in the day?” Kiryuu Zero frowned momentarily as he took in the appearance of the pureblood king, inwardly thinking that it was lucky that they were still in the season of early Spring. So, the sun isn’t that strong yet – if this event took place in the middle of the summer, what Kuran did would practically be equivalent to a suicide. While the vampires wouldn’t turn to ashes upon coming into contact with sunlight, they would be subject to varying degrees of sunburn if they were caught out in the sun without at least an umbrella to help shade them from the heat. “Kiryuu, was that concern that I detected from your tone?” Kaname Kuran blinked before a light lit up in the iris of his red-brown eyes, as he felt the beast in him beginning to hum in joy and content from the lack of hostility detected from the silver-haired guardian. “...Kuran, don’t bloody change the subject. I'm asking for your reason to visit the chairman this early!” Kiryuu Zero scowled as he responded, sounding a tad annoyed now though it was uncertain whether the annoyance was meant for the pureblood king or himself. Deciding that it wouldn’t be good to truly annoy Kiryuu, the pureblood king promptly masked up his emotions as he answered. “I’m here to inform the chairman about the necessity to cancel classes for the night class tonight, as well as to inform him about the head of the vampire council's intention to visit this evening.” The response from the pureblood king snapped the focus of a self-reflecting Kiryuu Zero back to reality as he repeated with a frowning expression. “Ichijo Asato is visiting the Cross Academy, this evening? Why the sudden desire to visit now and during a time whereby the Hunter’s Association had dispatched envoys to the academy for inspections, too?” Kaname Kuran had the same question in mind as well, but he didn’t voice it aloud. Instead, he merely responded in an unimpressed tone of voice. “Well, on the permission slip submitted to the Moon Dorm requesting an overnight stay – all it stated for the visit was that it was a personal visit because he’d missed the presence of his grandson and would like to be given a chance to spend some time with Takuma and to see for himself the schooling environment of his grandson.” “Huh? You don’t truly believe that is the only reason for his visit, do you? The night class has been in session for two years now, he could have opted to check out the school environment when the night class was just put into the trialing stage and yet he chooses to conduct his inspection of the school environment of his grandson – a good two years after. Why do I find that a tad too disbelieving? Furthermore, I’m quite certain Ichijo-senpai went home to see him at least once when the school term break was in session over the last two years.” Kiryuu Zero responded in a tone of skepticism. “I’m sure he has other reasons for wanting to visit the academy today. Regardless of the purpose of his visit, it wouldn’t be wise to have the twins around when he visited. Hence, I would like to ask if you can keep them overnight at the chairman’s residence until Ichiou departs from the academy grounds.” Kaname Kuran swallowed an audible sigh as he responded to the skeptical comments coming from the silver-haired hunter, before bringing up the mention of their future sons as he sought cooperation from the hunter about the caretaking arrangement for this evening. “Of course. Are you having them sent over to the chairman or would you prefer for me to go over and pick them up?” Kiryuu Zero nodded as he arrived at the same conclusion that it wouldn’t be wise for the twins to be seen by the head of the vampire council. “Can you come by and pick them up? I honestly doubt I would have the manpower to spare as I reckon the entire Moon Dorm would be busy getting ready for the visit of Ichiou.” Kaname Kuran answered after taking a moment to consider the options. “Sure, I’ll come by and pick them up later. What time is Ichijo Asato coming? We need to get the twins out of the Moon Dorm before he arrives.” Kiryuu Zero inquired as he mentally went through his schedule for the day. He figured his grounding punishment would end effective from today; there was no way Kaien would allow his master to continue grounding him with the impending arrival of Ichijo Asato – this evening. “6 pm, at least that was the timing he indicated on the permission slip seeking my approval to house him overnight in the dorm.” Kaname Kuran responded, heaving a mental sigh of relief that the twins would be taken care of while he was preoccupied with the presence of Ichijo Asato. “I’ll drop by the Moon Dorms to pick them up at 3 pm then, Akira ought to be awake by then. While on the subject, have someone ready an overnight bag for them.” Kiryuu Zero nodded as he reminded, though he was tempted to turn away from the pureblood king to signal an end to their conversation but something in him told him to wait. “...what’s an overnight bag? Rather, what am I supposed to be packing for them in the overnight bag?” Kaname Kuran clarified after realizing how silly he’d sounded with his first query about the overnight bag. Of course, he knew what an overnight bag symbolized... he just wasn’t certain of the kind of things that would go inside the overnight bag for kids. After all, the last time he was dropping off a kid – it was Yuuki, and the drop-off was for a long-term basis, so, there wasn’t a need to prepare a bag for Yuuki’s stay at the chairman’s home. “...Never mind, I’ll swing by half an hour earlier to get them ready for their stay at the chairman’s place tonight.” In the end, Kiryuu Zero decided against the notion of guiding the pureblood through the task of packing an overnight bag for the boys, thinking that too much of a chore, and decided to simply pop over a tad earlier so he could pack the bag for the twins, himself. “In that case, I’ll inform Takuma to meet you at the entrance of the dorm at 2.30 pm.” Kaname Kuran responded with a nod, before brushing past the silver-haired hunter to enter the residence of the chairman. It didn’t take more than twenty minutes for the conversation with the chairman to be done, but when Kaname emerged from the house – the silver-haired hunter was no longer in sight. Thinking that perhaps the silver-haired guardian had other errands to run, Kaname didn’t think much about the disappearance of Kiryuu from the front yard of the house and simply headed back toward the direction of the Moon Dorm. Meanwhile, at the back of the house – Kiryuu Zero was subjected to yet another lecture from his mentor, Yagari Tooga. “It appears to me that the grounding didn’t do you any good. I let you out of the room this morning only because Kaien told me he needs both guardians available to maintain order in the school. I expected you to keep your distance from those bloodsuckers, and yet, I stepped out only for a moment and what did I return to find?” Yagari Tooga commented snappily as he eyed his star pupil with a disapproving look in his single eye, for he had lost his other eye during an old hunting mission, and the old injury spot was now covered up by an eyepatch. “...In my defense, Master Tooga. My position as the school guardian makes it impossible for me to keep my distance from the members of the night class. I’m bound to come into contact with them at some point, be it during the routine class change-over timing or when they need to report certain things to the chairman but are unable to do so themselves. Furthermore, just because I’m capable of holding a civil conversation with Kuran – it doesn’t automatically mean that I’m going to start sleeping with him anytime soon.” Kiryuu Zero willed himself to remain patient as he addressed his mentor in vampire hunting, who was still hung up over the nature of his future relationship with the pureblood king. “Civil... since when did you start being civil to that /Kuran/? Because I’m very certain that Kaien once told me that you loathed that pureblood with a passion before, what happens to the loathing you held towards him? Did it dissipate in the air just because of the few kids that decided to drop themselves into your lap from a future that may or may not come into play?” Yagari Tooga snapped back at his disciple in a demanding tone of voice. “Yes. I agree that time is a fickle thing and that the future isn’t exactly set in stone. Still, until the trios return to their timeline – it's just as much my responsibility as it was Kuran's to care for them. Coming back to my lack of animosity towards Kuran, you’ve to understand – Master Tooga, I’m not Kaito. So, if you’re expecting me to hate all the vampires that I’ve crossed paths with simply because of the tragic event of my family; I think you’re sorely mistaken.” Kiryuu Zero took a deep breath before he started to speak, this time, he intended to speak his mind about what he thought about the vampires in general. Yagari Tooga, on the other hand, felt his eyebrows starting to twitch in reaction to the words coming from his disciple. Somehow, he has a feeling that whatever his disciple had in mind to say, is something he wouldn’t like. Still, he forced himself to remain silent for he could tell that this was something that his disciple needed to say and get it off the chest. “Yes, I hated that my parents were dead at the hands of a pureblood vampire; and I loathed the fact that I was bitten and turned against my will. I dreaded the creature that I’ve been forced to become, and I certainly detested the idea of having to drink the blood of a living being to sate the bloodlust that strike every so often since the beast in me is awakened. However, only a single pureblood is responsible for the death of my parents and turning me against my will and that single pureblood is the only one that should bear the brunt of my hatred. As for Kuran, well ... as long as he isn’t going out of the way to push my buttons and annoy me – I am fully capable of being civil with him. In the first place, I loathed him because he made it a point to remind me every single time, we crossed paths about what a ticking time bomb I was to the people around me. It annoys me, and the annoyance eventually stacked up to become loathing. However, if he can refrain from reminding me about what I’ve become every time we cross paths – it's not so hard to let go of the loathing and learn to tolerate his existence instead.” Here, the silver-haired guardian paused momentarily before adding as an afterthought. “I don’t know how Kaito did it, I just don’t have the energy in me to channel my ire at the vampires that I came across daily. It gets tiring being angry at everything and everyone, and I’m too lethargic to keep up with it. Finally, I’ve meant to say this before but I didn’t know how to get it across to you without getting an earful from you but now that you’ve found out about my relations to the Fujiwara – I can finally get it out of my system. I’ve never truly hated the vampires before, not even the Level Es. To me, Level Es are just pitiful creatures that should be put out of their misery. I hunt vampires because it’s expected of me to do so, for someone of my upbringing. Kuran once commented that I’m too kind because before Ichiru and me, there were no identical twins born to Hunter’s family and I find myself agreeing with him. Because, frankly speaking, before Shizuka Hiou – I've never truly known the meaning to hate someone. So, I’m just going to reserve the limited amount of hatred I have in my system for Shizuka Hiou. Henceforth, Master Tooga – can you stop demanding to know why I’m not hating Kuran like I should or expected to, simply because he’s yet another pureblood?” With that said, Kiryuu Zero turns on his heels to make his way to the school while leaving behind his mentor to think over the meaning of his words. Originally, he was thinking about skipping the morning classes; but now that he was informed of Ichijo Asato’s impending visit – he thought, he might as well attend the morning classes and skipped out on the afternoon classes. After all, he had to pick up the twins from the Moon Dorm in the afternoon while Kuran and his lackeys prepared for the arrival of Ichijo Asato. “...” --- Hours had passed by since the news of Ichijo Asato's impending arrival was dropped upon the residents of the Moon Dormitory. The information had also been relayed to the school guardians', as well as the Chairman. Lessons for the night class have been canceled, for the whole population of the night class would have to remain behind at the Moon Dormitory to welcome the grandfather of their Vice-President; as well as the 'Head' of the Vampire Council. Akane, meanwhile, was still hiding herself away in the privacy of her room. Her agitation with regards to Ichijo Asato's arrival had caused her to snap three of her pencils in stress and frustration. She was suddenly thankful that she was not Akira, for otherwise most of her things would have been damaged beyond the status of repair when it comes down to the time for Ichijo Asato to leave the academy grounds. Ichijo Takuma, on the other hand, was distracted. His eyes were constantly flickering between the front door of the Moon Dormitory and the staircase of the dormitory. It was not that he was anticipating his pureblood friend's arrival, but because he was worried about how Akane was faring upstairs, alone. He did not doubt that the girl would be frustrated and edgy, the last time he had gone up to the girl's room and checked on the former. He was just in time to witness how Akane's stationery had broken from the sheer amount of agitation rolling off the girl's aura. It might have been easier for Akane to manage with the twins around to distract her from destroying her belongings in the room, but unfortunately - the twins had been sent over to the Chairman's place following Akira's awakening from his slumber. Kiryuu had personally come over in the afternoon to collect the twins and brought them over to the chairman’s residence. After all, it would simply not do for them to be spotted by his grandfather, and Kiryuu had been told specifically to keep the twins occupied so that they would not wander off by themselves while his grandfather was present on the academy grounds. For Kiryuu Zero, the said guardian was now getting himself ready for his babysitting duty tonight. He was to keep his eyes on the twins and make sure to keep their attention occupied so that they would not be wandering off by themselves. However, before that, he would need to head off and join Yuuki in the task of welcoming the 'Head' of the Vampire Council - Ichijo Asato, to the school. During this time, the twins would be left under the care of the Chairman and the supervision of his Master Tooga. Now he only hoped his adopted father could keep the twins in line, and not have them manipulate him into taking his attention off them. A glance at the clock in his room notified him of the impending timing scheduled for Ichijo Asato's arrival, tightening his school tie and fastening them up to his collar properly. Zero set off for the gate of the school. This must be the first time he made such an effort to dress himself up in his school uniform properly, but he had no choice. The Chairman had demanded for him to at least make an effort to look presentable while in the said vampire's presence, for Ichijo Asato was too much of a prominent figure in both the humans; hunters, and vampires society to be simply cast aside like a 'nobody'. In the human world, Ichijo Asato had founded and set up the company known to the general public as the 'Ichijo's Enterprise' dealing majority with international trade in courier and cargo shipping, and recently seemed to have expanded into the fields of telecommunications as well. Within the vampire society, he was otherwise known as Ichiou - the 'Head' of the Vampire Council, and one of the oldest and most prominent figures in the society. Whereas, in the hunters' world - the former was well-known for his crafty ways of handling matters to be wriggling himself out of trouble, whenever something bad happened. Hence, another reason to add to his master – Yagari Tooga’s immense hatred and detest for vampires in general. "Zero?! Zero, are you in there?! The Chairman told us to hurry, the 'Head' of the Vampire Council is bound to be arriving soon!" Yuuki's impatient call for his attention sounded just outside his door and snapped him out of his reverie. "Alright ... I'm coming, cease your incessant yelling. It's getting on my nerves." Kiryuu Zero shouted back at the impatient female guardian, from his position in front of his wardrobe's mirror. With that said, Kiryuu Zero walked over to his room's door and pulled it open before stepping out. Almost immediately, he caught sight of his friend's stunned expression and frowned. "What?! Why are you staring at me - like that?!" Yuuki Cross shakes her head rapidly in response, "No ... no ... I'm just surprised to see you look so... tidy, yes ... tidy's the word ..." Zero merely rolled his eyes at his friend's words, before muttering out a response of annoyance. "Well, the Chairman demanded for me to look /presentable/ tonight ... and he threatened to cut off my weekly allowance if I choose not to heed his words, tonight." "Eh?! Since when do you care about whether or not your weekly allowance would be cut off?" Yuuki blinked up at her friend stupidly as she voiced her query aloud. However, it seems her silver-haired friend had no intention of bestowing her an explanation about his sudden desire to keep those weekly allowances that they had been receiving from the chairman shortly after they started school. On the other hand, it was not that Kiryuu Zero had any qualms about having his weekly allowance cut off entirely. He probably would not care for the slightest bit whether the Chairman was giving him any before. However, the miserable sum of weekly allowance would matter a lot to him these days, especially with Akane and the twins around. Especially, after he had observed that Akane had felt no guilt about spending his money claiming that whatever money he had in his bank account would end up in her bank account; decades down the road. With an audible sigh, Kiryuu Zero continued to walk toward the front of the school gate, not caring if Yuuki would be able to keep up with his strides. Ultimately, he was too deep in his thoughts to have noticed that the speed in his steps had gradually increased until it was one that already exceeded the speed range of a normal human being. It was not until he heard Yuuki's voice complaining that he was walking too fast, did he noticed that he was already approaching the front gate of the school. Forcing himself to a stop before he could collide with the approaching members of the night class, Kiryuu Zero was hardly surprised to find himself staring up into the face of one Kaname Kuran. "Good evening, Kiryuu." Kaname Kuran greeted the silver-haired guardian with a polite nod of his head. "Kuran." Kiryuu Zero responded in an equally polite tone. The group of the noble-ranks vampires flanking the pureblood king stared on in shock, and the same could be said for Yuuki who had finally caught up to her silver-haired friend. Ichijo Takuma, on the other hand, was busy shifting his gaze between the silver-haired guardian and his pureblood friend with a knowing look in his eyes. ‘I knew it! Something else must have happened on the night of the party between them, outside of the feeding session. Too bad Akane’s been sworn to secrecy on the subject, otherwise, I’m sure I’ll be able to get the full account of the event that transpired between Kiryuu and Kaname, that night.’ - The green-eyed blond vampire thought with a triumphant grin tugging on the corner of his lips. ‘Huh? I thought the one-sided bond only affected the donor. So, why is Kiryuu being so polite with Kaname-sama? Not that I’m not happy that Kiryuu’s finally showing Kaname-sama respect, but it’s just so unlike the male guardian...’ - Aidou Hanabusa frowned as he observed the peaceful interaction scene between the silver-haired ex-human and his beloved pureblood leader. ‘Oh my, is Zero finally getting along with Kaname-sama? Took him long enough! The twins are going to be so happy that the younger versions of their parents are finally getting along.’ - Yuuki Cross thought with a beaming look on her face. ‘...Do I even want to know what’s Yuuki thinking?’ - The silver-haired guardian who just so happens to catch sight of the beaming expression on the face of Yuuki Cross sweat-dropped as he thought inwardly to himself. The sound of an incoming vehicle approaching had everyone’s expression wiped clean as they returned to the original blank look as they turned towards the gate of the school, to welcome the arrival of the Ichiou, the head of the Vampire Council, and the grandfather to the vice-president of the Moon Dorm, Ichijo Asato. "Ichiou, it's been a long time ... How have you been?" The pureblood king inquired placidly as Ichijo Asato stepped out from the car and onto the pavement. "Why ... I must say I'm indeed surprised by the number of people who had come out here to greet me. After all, I'm only here to visit my 'lovely' grandson..." Ichijo Asato commented as he took in the whole community of the night class that surrounded the area where his car was parked. Turning towards Kaname Kuran, Ichijo Asato withheld a smirk as he addressed the former. "Kaname, it's nice of you to make an effort to come out to greet me. Seeing that I was given the impression that you detested the idea of having me being your guardian following the unfortunate demise of your parents." "That, I beg to differ... I'm just worried that I might get myself spoilt rotten under your guardianship. Hence, my insistence to leave the Ichijo's estates once I reached the age of maturity..." Kaname Kuran responded, plastering on one of his usual smiles that was meant for socializing and business purposes. Ichijo Takuma tensed under the stifling aura released by his grandfather, but still, he forced himself to speak up. "Grandfather, it's 'nice' to have you visit me... but shall we move our conversation back to the dormitory? This is hardly the place to be holding a conversation." "Indeed, that I must agree..." Ichijo Asato responded, without making too much of an effort to hide his feeling of disdain towards his grandson. ‘...Now, I’m even more certain that Ichijo Asato isn’t here to pay a visit to Ichijo Takuma. Oh well, I'm sure whatever reasons he had for visiting – it likely has more to do with Kuran and the bloody politics relating to the senate. While it’s none of my business, something just doesn’t sit right with me... add in the unknown hunter envoys sent in by the Hunter’s Association this year. Either way, that meant I’d best be on my guard tonight to keep the twins under constant surveillance. It wouldn’t do to have them snuck out with Ichijo Asato on academy grounds. As for the unknown hunters on academy grounds...I’ll get Master Tooga to keep tabs on them.’ - Kiryuu Zero who had happened to catch the look of disdain that crossed the face of Ichijo Asato briefly when the vice-president of the Moon Dorm stepped forward to greet the man thought inwardly to himself. During the period whereby Ichijo Asato was interacting with the night class, Kiryuu Zero, and Yuuki Cross merely looked on. Both of them are silent and observant of the attitude displayed by the night-class members towards the figure of Ichijo Asato. Yuuki was trying to fight against the urge to cower in front of the 'Head' of the Vampire Council, somehow there was something in the former's aura that made her cringe with fear. Kiryuu Zero, on the other hand, was silent because he had been listening closely to the conversation between Kaname Kuran and Ichijo Asato. Unlike Yuuki, he was not in the least feeling intimidated by the aura that Ichijo Asato was displaying at full. After all, despite his being an ex-human and the lowest rank within the vampire's hierarchy at present; he would always remain a hunter. One of the utmost important lessons that he had learned from his hunter's training, was to never allow himself to be intimidated by the presence of an ancient vampire. "Keep an eye on them... and do not let them venture anywhere near the Moon Dorm, tonight." Kaname Kuran murmured into the ears of Kiryuu Zero, as he brushed past the silver-haired hunter. ‘Mate...’ The pureblood could hear the beast in him purring from the back of his mind, to which, he simply sighed inwardly as he thought back to his beast. ‘Not yet. He's not ready.’ Kiryuu Zero said nothing but nodded discreetly at the pureblood's words. Judging from the way Ichijo Asato was interacting with the pureblood, the silver-haired hunter was willing to bet that Kaname Kuran was not exactly fond of the former's presence either. "Come on, Yuuki... Let's go, I'm sure that the night class can handle themselves. We are late for our routine patrol duty." Kiryuu Zero started as he dragged Yuuki Cross off with him as they headed back towards the direction of the Chairman's office. "Huh? But Zero... Aren't we supposed to keep an eye on them?" Yuuki Cross protested as she felt herself being pulled towards the direction of her adopted father's office. "They'll be fine, they can handle themselves... rather, I'm sure that Kuran will be able to keep them under control. Besides, my master's also watched them from the dark. Ichijo Asato was no idiot, surely, he could recognize the presence of a veteran hunter hidden somewhere, watching them in silence..." Zero assured Yuuki who still seemed uneasy about leaving the vampires unattended. Akane, meanwhile, decided that since Ichijo Asato was going to be spending the 'night' here at the Moon Dormitory in one of the guestrooms then perhaps, she should just go off and join the twins instead. After all, her current room is also a guestroom, and guestrooms of the Moon Dorm are always located on the same level and same area, which means she’s going to be near Ichiou and that doesn’t sit well with her. Initially, Akane had thought that she was more than capable of reigning in her temper, but not. At the rate her temper was boiling, it would only be a matter of time before she exploded. --- Akane was halfway down the stairs when the hunter's senses in her blared to life alerting her of the fact that there was an approaching group of vampires. Among them, aside from the usual group of vampires who she knew as the members of the inner circle of Kaname Kuran was one unfamiliar aura. Still, Akane knew - that foreign aura belonged to Ichijo Asato, the grandfather that she refused to acknowledge. Not wanting to let the said vampire discover her amidst the crowd, Akane wisely masked up her vampire's aura and presence while she hid herself in the shadow. Since there was no way, she could have made her way out of the building without brushing past them, Akane chose to stand in the shadows as she waited patiently for a chance to escape. With her aura and presence nicely masked up, the only other thing left for her to do now was to control her temper. Seconds ticked by in silence, nobody dared to breathe a word for they were busy flickering their eyes between their pureblood leader and the most prominent figure within the council of the vampires. Then, the silence was broken by Ichijo Asato, himself. "Such filths ...those humans are... It's a wonder how a pureblood like yourself could survive without being tainted. Perhaps, it's just like what our ancestors had always said. The blood of a pureblood would always remain pure, sweet, and free from the dangers of being tainted - despite the environment?" Ichijo Asato said as he reached for the hand of Kaname Kuran. Just as Ichijo Asato was about to put Kaname's hand to his lips, Ruka Souen finally couldn’t stand it any further and dashed out from her original position and snatched her beloved leader's hand away from the grasp of Ichijo Asato. "I apologized for stepping out of line, Kaname-sama ... but I just can't ..." Ruka murmured as she placed herself in between the two vampires. Meanwhile, Aidou Hanabusa was about to step out and make a grab for Ichijo Asato's outstretched hand, when he realized that someone else had already beaten him to the task. That someone, was none other than Akane, herself who snapped the moment she heard those words tumbling out from the mouth of Ichijo Asato. Ichijo Takuma froze, the instant his eyes landed upon the unmistakable figure of Akane standing in front of his grandfather and appeared to be locked in a staring contest with the former. "Pardon my rudeness, but I'm sure that you wouldn't want to get yourself associated further with more 'filthy' material ... By that, I don't mean 'filth' like human beings, such as myself... I'm referring to the invisible bacteria that still lingers in the hands of Kaname-sama. I'm sure you wouldn’t want to get your hands tainted, would you?" Akane said, her tone even and words ringing loud and clear for all to hear. If any of the onlookers thought it weird that Akane was referring to herself as a human, they didn’t comment on it. Kaname Kuran, on the other hand, spared a moment of his attention to focus on the aura of his future adoptive daughter and had to admit that he was impressed with the girl’s proficiency with the concealment charms. He figured this was likely the same charm that the girl applied on herself on the night of the party where the initial feeding session of Kiryuu Zero was interrupted by the arrival of Yagari Tooga. Akane did mention that the gunshots were fired by Yagari in an attempt to save an unsuspecting girl from being bitten by Kiryuu who happens to be amid a bloodlust. Before Akane allowed her vampire aura to flare, Yagari Tooga had thought Kiryuu to be the only vampire on-site. It took several minutes for everybody to digest the meaning behind Akane's words. When they did – Takuma felt his eyes widening while Akatsuki Kain was staring at Akane with blatant disbelief. Ruka and Aidou both looked incensed by Akane's choice of words, and Ichijo Asato just stared. The pureblood king, on the other hand, felt his eyebrow twitching slightly but otherwise did not react to Akane's choice of reason to assist him in avoiding a hand kiss from Ichiou. Shiki and Rima, on the other hand merely looked bemused by the whole situation. After all, they were kind of expecting Aidou to be the one reacting to Ichijo Asato's actions, what they failed to expect was that Akane would snap too. Since it was not in the girl's usual behavior to be so reckless and rash, no matter how irritated the girl had been. Ichijo Asato continued to stare wordlessly at Akane, pressing for an elaboration on her previous words and wondering what was the reason behind Akane's guts to say such offending things in public. Fancy claiming a pureblood to be 'filthy' in public, what exactly was the girl playing at? As though sensing the older vampire's unasked question, Akane smiled sweetly. Very sweetly, in fact, and somehow oddly enough the smile sends shivers down the spines of the many vampires who had gathered around to watch the scene playing itself out like an open theatre. "I beg your pardon... but it seems like Kaname-sama had been in the bathroom earlier, attending to some of his 'nature calls'. However, in his rush to head out front to greet you... he had forgotten to wash his hands after using the facility. Therefore, I would genuinely and sincerely advise you not to lift his hands to your lips until you knew for certain that he had washed his hands ...for hygiene purposes... Certainly, you would understand where I'm coming from - right?" Akane elaborated, smiling sweetly as she did so. Almost instantly, everyone reacted at the same time. Some wheezed and choked, whereas others turned their face away so that they could hide their grin or smile in the shadows. Akatsuki Kain was among the few who turned his eyes away from the sight so that he could prevent himself from laughing out loud at Akane's words. Aidou Hanabusa spluttered unintelligently, his face reddening with each second that passed by. Whether was it from indignation or was it from embarrassment, nobody knows. Ruka Souen's face paled significantly, before letting go of her beloved Kaname-sama's arm abruptly. Shiki and Rima's expressions had changed from their initial bemusement to amusement. Kaname Kuran, on the other hand, had no idea what to say in response to Akane's excuse. Part of him was annoyed by the excuse that Akane had chosen to spare his hand from being kissed by Ichijo Asato, but another part of him was also relieved that he needn’t be subjected to the act of hand-kissing from Ichiou. Truly, every time Ichijo Asato kissed his hand, he could feel his skin crawling. Still, that didn’t mean Akane was going to get off without receiving any punishment from him for her daring act at a later time. Seeing as, what Akane did could easily be considered as an act of insolence, Ichiou is going to insist on a punishment to be dealt out to Akane. The girl had reacted without thinking of the consequences that might follow but her quick thinking and logic had saved her from being outright rude to the 'Head' of the Vampire Council. For the reason Akane had come up with, sounded plausible enough. Even though it is common sense to wash their hands after using the toilet sometimes people would forget. For instance, to attend to an urgent call or an emergency which required immediate attention and once these things had been attended to, the notion of using the toilet earlier might have slipped their minds entirely. Although, the pureblood was not one of these people, who was to know? Except for himself and those people who he allowed to get close to him daily, nobody else would be privy to such personal hygiene practices of his. Standing by the side of Kaname, Ichijo Takuma was stunned and speechless by the actions taken by Akane. For a while, Takuma had wondered if Akane would snap entirely and try something foolish like assassinating his grandfather in public; given her extreme loathing feeling towards his grandfather. Or that she would do something so rude that would end up being slapped by Kaname for her rude actions. Now, it would seem like Akane’s actions were justified even though she had somewhat embarrassed Kaname in the process of 'cooking' up some plausible excuse to support her crude behavior towards his grandfather. "... Is that so? Then perhaps, a word of 'thanks' would be in order..." Ichijo Asato said, his tone mildly miffed but aside from that, there were no apparent signs of his displeasure. "You're welcome," Akane responded, as she let go of the hand of Ichijo Asato while she addressed the said vampire with a business smile plastered on her lips as she met eyes with the ancient vampire. --- Ichijo Asato was bewildered. Throughout his years of observation, Kaname Kuran had not struck him to be one of those absent-minded people who would allow something as trivial as washing one's hands after using the washroom to slip their minds, while being busy. Of course, he does know a few people who seemed to be this absent-minded before during some of his business liaising or social events that involve humans. He had been so certain of the pureblood's good hygiene practice before, but now his confidence level wavers somewhat. After all, Kaname's lack of reaction seemed to have agreed with what the girl had been saying. Isn't that so? However, there was still another question he had in mind to the girl's previous statement. Judging from the uniform, Ichijo Asato knew enough to know that the girl who was still standing in front of him looking him evenly in the eyes was from the day class and not the night class. Furthermore, he could sense nothing from the girl's aura. Practically, everything screamed 'human' to him when he tried to analyze the aura patterns of the girl standing in front of him. Then, does the girl have any idea of just whom she is associating herself with - at the moment? Better yet, does the girl have any idea of what the night-class members could be capable of doing to her? Akane smirked inwardly to herself, thank goodness for her unique powers of being able to read into the mind of any individual if she were to maintain eye contact with the said person. Added to her natural talent at using, modifying, and creating new charms and spells - she could easily use her powers on any vampires, without rousing any suspicion from them if she was able to make them think of her as a normal human being instead of a vampire. Therefore, she was now extremely amused by the thoughts of Ichijo Asato, who was also her blood-related paternal grandfather - but one that she refused to acknowledge. Well ... if she cannot afford to be outright rude with the former, then certainly she could 'play' with him - right? Although, in the process, she would be bound to get into trouble with the pureblood since all her 'mind' and 'words' games had something to do with the pureblood king, in one way or another. Still, she was certain that whatever trouble she ended up getting into with Kaname Kuran would not be anywhere drastically enough to ensure a 'harsh' punishment like what Aidou would be subjected to, if she had not intervened in the situation before Aidou did. Kaname had chosen not to react instantly to Akane's choice of excuse despite being annoyed because he was not inclined to let Ichijo Asato hold onto his hands any longer. However, that does not mean Akane would not be punished for her insolence either. Nonetheless, the punishment would not be too severe. Since he was only mildly annoyed by Akane's words, not entirely incensed by what she had been telling the others about his 'hygiene' practice. Silence reigned as Ichijo Asato and Akane continued to lock eyes with one another, neither making a move to speak. Ichijo Takuma, who had been watching by the side throughout the whole period of their eye contact with one another, was breaking out in cold sweat now. Then the spell broke, for his grandfather had turned towards him and asked. "Takuma ... Care to tell me why on earth is there a human girl roaming about the Moon Dormitory unescorted?" Ichiou asked as he shifted his eyes of intent away from Akane and towards his less-than-satisfactory grandson, instead. Upon his words, many of the night-class members furrowed their brows into a frown for they had failed to understand the older vampire's words of having a human girl among them. Since, they knew that even though Akane had been in the day class and followed the living habits of a mere human being due to special reasons - Akane's still a vampire, like the rest of them. So why is it that Ichijo Asato was referring to her as a mere human girl? However, Takuma knew the reason. Akane must have masked up her aura of being a vampire and suppressed them down to the level of invisibility. The lack of any blaring signs of vampire's aura, combined with the fact that she was wearing the uniform of a day class student. It was no wonder that his grandfather had thought her to be a mere human being. "Certainly, you aren't telling me that I could be harmed by the lots of /them/ if I choose to wander about the building unescorted, by myself? That - I'm sure would never happen, for the results would not be pretty if they chose to sneak up on me from behind. You can ask around and see what I'm capable of doing. Especially, Aidou ... he would know ... since he experienced them himself." This coming from Akane, who had chosen to speak up on behalf of Ichijo Takuma. Behind her, a certain blue-eyed blond vampire going by the name of Aidou Hanabusa blanched visibly, knowing for a fact that a certain anti-vampire charm was still upon him and had yet to be lifted completely by the said female standing in front of him. "Yes ... I'm pretty sure that she can handle herself, she was a hunter in training ... after all," Kaname spoke up, his tone placid. "I see ... and who gave her the permission to roam the areas of the Dormitory unattended?" Every night-class member stared at one another in response, before shifting their eyes towards the President and Vice-President, respectively. "It was me who granted her the special permission to roam the building ... Is there a problem, Ichiou?" Kaname Kuran inquires, his friend's grandfather in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. "No, my lord ... I certainly dare not raise any objections to what you've decided..." Ichijo Asato responded, sounding humble on the outside, but inwardly it was another matter. "Good, and I'm sure that the journey must have been taxing for you. So, why don't we adjourn ourselves to somewhere comfortable so we can continue our conversation further? After all, it simply wouldn't do to have our honored guest standing around the front hall - all the while, isn't that so?" Kaname Kuran suggested as he beckoned for his friend Takuma to start leading the way to the private lounge that he usually reserved for meetings with the members of his inner circle. "Akane... if you are not up to the task of holding your tongue while in the presence of Ichiou... I suggested that you get yourself over to the Chairman's place, immediately. Also, remember to come to me for your 'punishment' of being insolent later on. I'll be expecting you to report to me in my study, following Ichiou's departure from the academy...tomorrow." Kaname Kuran said as he brushed past the figure of his future adoptive daughter. "Yes, Kaname-sama ..." Akane responded obediently before heading for the exit of the Moon Dorm to get herself out of the building, without delay. --- Akane entered through the front door of the Chairman's residence only to find herself coming face to face with one Yagari Tooga. "Where's the Chairman?" Akane asked, wondering why the Chairman was missing from his living quarters and a very unwilling Yagari Tooga was here in his place. "Called away by the Hunter's association ... and he asked me to take his place, temporarily for a few hours ... much to my annoyance." Yagari Tooga muttered aloud, his tone gruff as usual. "I see ... and where's the rest?" Akane asked, despite knowing very well that her silver-haired parent was upstairs with the twins. Yagari said nothing but stared toward the direction of the stairs since he knew for certain that Akane would be able to pinpoint the exact location of his disciple without requiring him to spell it out to her, either way. "Well then ... let the Chairman know I'll be staying the night too ... and fret not, I'll not be taking advantage of your disciple either. Like what I've told Kaname-sama before, I'm not into /incest/..." Kiryuu Akane commented in a reassuring tone of voice as she headed upstairs without throwing another glance in the direction of the veteran hunter. The twins had sensed Akane's approaching before the girl even reached the Chairman's residential area. They both knew Akane held an immense dislike towards Ichijo Asato and every time the name was brought up in her presence - Akane was bound to be upset. Hence, they knew their adopted sister would never be able to stay within the walls of the Moon Dormitory while that man visited. Thus, they had already warned their 'Daddy' beforehand to be expecting Akane's impromptu visit during night-time. The door leading to the interior of the silver-haired guardian's room was pulled open by the owner, himself before Akane could even knock and let her presence be known. "How did you know that I'm here?" Akane opened her mouth and asked stupidly, before realizing that her cousin and future adoptive parent must have sensed her coming up the stairs. "... Never mind, forget that I'd asked ..." Akane muttered in response, as she took in the sight of the additional mattresses that had been laid out across the remaining and available portion of the room's floor area. The twins were kneeling on one of the futons and were playing a game of chess with one another. Additional pillows and blankets had been stacked up by the side of the room, atop the recently added mattress. Seeing as this had been Zero's room before his enrolment into the school, the majority of the former's belongings were now sitting in his room at the Sun Dorm even though he had now moved back to the chairman’s residence after awakening his vampire’s nature. Still, his room at the Sun Dorm remains a place for him as a storage space for the less frequently used items. Either way, because the majority of his rarely used items have been stored away in his room at the Sun Dorm – his future kids are now able to hold a sleep-over party in his bedroom at the Cross Residence. "I see that you're prepared for my possible arrival..." Akane commented as she took in the pink mattress and matching pillows as well as the blanket. Again, probably from the Chairman's collection and she was more than willing to bet that the Chairman had taken the extra mattresses as well as the matching pillows and blanket from Yuuki's old room directly, after being informed by the twins of the possibility of her joining them for the night too. Kiryuu Zero merely shrugged and said, "Well ... the Chairman prepared all the additional mattresses, pillows, and blankets that are required for the 'sleep-over' ... not me, so please do not question me on the colors chosen for the bedsheets." "I know, and I supposed ... the twins told you about my possible arrival as well? Since you do look like you have been expecting me to make an appearance here anytime soon ..." Akane said, sounding lethargic and lacking energy. The silver-haired hunter shrugged but said nothing, and there was no need to - anyway. Since Akane had changed the subject soon enough and started asking him what he had been entertaining the twins with. "Nothing much, just conversing with them ... and told them a few tales of my childhood experience during my training as a hunter..." Zero responded, his eyes having a faraway look in them - probably thinking back on those days, himself. "I see ... and did they tell you anything that they shouldn't have..." Akane asked, her eyes glancing over to the twins who seemed determined to avoid looking her in the eyes. Kiryuu Zero grimaced for a second before responding. "Oh ... you mean the part about how I've been the one to ‘carry’ and 'give birth' to them?" Akane froze upon Zero's statement, before turning wide eyes towards the twins and gasped. "My goodness, tell me that the two of you didn't just slip and let him know /that/!" The twins blanched visibly before Kuran Akira uttered aloud. "Akane, we didn't mean to ... it just slips! Honest! However, we didn't tell 'Father' anything though ..." "..." Akane was speechless before she sighed and turned back to the silver-haired hunter. "So ... what's your reaction to their accidental slip of tongue then?" "... Honestly, I don't know what to make of it ..." Kiryuu Zero answered truthfully, combing his fingers through his hair as he said so. "This whole thing had just seemed so bizarre and bewildering that I had no idea what to think of it, anymore. Granted, if the information had been told weeks ago when the three of you had just arrived - I would have snapped, I guess... Now, I think I'm okay with the idea. Since, I've somewhat accepted the fact that /they/ are a product of what existed between Kuran and myself, in the future." "Although, I'm still boggled by the idea of being the 'mother-figure' but still, I guess it's kind of within my expectation. After all, I honestly can't see or imagine the possibility of Kuran being the one ... you know ..." Zero flushed crimson as he stammered unintelligently. Suddenly finding himself having trouble with getting his words out, and thus ended up falling silent with his face resembling a fully ripe tomato. Akane smiled wryly, as she commented knowingly. "I know what you mean ... It's okay for you to be unable to say that word ... since the idea's still a little uncomfortable for you to digest, in such a short time." "Good ... so, what about you?" Zero then asked, changing the subject and steering the conversation away from the twins' parentage for a minute. Akane blinked in puzzlement, as she questioned back in return. "What about me? " "When were you adopted by ... us ...? Were the twins ... born then?" Kiryuu Zero amended his question when he realized that Akane had previously mentioned that Kuran and himself had adopted her following her family's demise. "Oh ... No, the twins weren't even conceived when the two of you adopted me. I was adopted during the early stages of your relationship with Kaname-sama. Let me see, it’s about five decades from now. Yes, that’s when the two of you adopted me into the family. The twins weren't born until later... when the relationship between the two of you is more stable, and the level of trust between the two of you is more solid." Akane responded as she thought back on the days when both her adopted parents seemed to be overly careful of each other's opinions; thoughts, and feelings on every subject that was brought up to discussion. "... In short, you get to see all of our embarrassing moments - eh?” Kiryuu Zero commented dryly, shooting Akane a look of mock annoyance. Akane smirked, before responding. "Well ... that's for sure since I was already five when I was adopted by the two of you ... and how Kaname-sama had been jealous of your constant attention upon me. Given how you were always making sure that I wasn't feeling upset by the loss of my family members and all ..." "Okay, enough ... too many details ..." Kiryuu Zero cut in before Akane could continue quoting all those memorable events from her fantastic memory. "... So ... how did you address Kuran and myself, back in your own time?" "Hmm... I called you 'Dad' most of the time, and him 'Kaname-sama' all the time ...Occasionally, I would call him 'Father' but only in public. Of course, while I'm here ... I mostly called you by your name, although, I do occasionally slip up and call you ‘Dad’ but thankfully, I hadn’t slipped up in front of our classmates yet." "I see...well, I’m fine with your occasional slip when addressing me – as long as you don’t do it in front of the day class students." Kiryuu Zero commented before shifting his attention towards the twins as he observed his future sons interact with one another in silence. Akane, meanwhile, was glad to be left alone to her thoughts and thus had moved herself towards the direction of an isolated corner in the room and hugged a random pillow close to herself. She needed some time to herself, to sort out her current emotions that were in a mess and hay-wired condition. ~ to be continued~ Date started: 15/05/09 Date completed: 16/05/09 Date edited: 16/05/09 Date revised: 25/02/2025
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
On the other end of the academy, a certain pureblood was lying down on his couch in the privacy of his room when he sensed the unmistakable presence of his childhood friend, Ichijo Takuma, loitering outside his door. "Takuma ... Is anything the matter?" "Huh? ... No ... not exactly ..." "Really? Then why are you loitering outside my room and seeming to be hesitating about something? Please do not tell me you are curious about my hygiene practices, too. I had had enough of that from Aidou and Ruka already ..." "No, I'm not here to ask you about /that/ since I know that's just something which Akane had made up to fool my grandfather into giving up the idea of 'molesting' your hand ..." Ichijo Takuma responded, a wry grin tugging at the corner of his lips as the memory from before replayed itself in his mind. "If so, then why are you loitering outside my door? Are you going to continue pacing out there if I hadn't called you in?" "..." Silence met his ears, and Kaname sighed inwardly. "Are you that concerned about Akane's welfare? If so, you can jolly well proceed over to the Chairman's place and check things out for yourself... Certainly, I won't be offended by you showing your concern for my /future daughter/ ..." "I understand, Kaname ... In that case, I'll take my leave now ... if you don't mind ..." Ichijo Takuma responded as he made a move to leave his friend's room. Halfway across the aisle, Takuma was stopped by his friend's words. "Takuma ... do check in on the twins as well ..." The green-eyed blond vampire nodded before leaving the room of his pureblood friend - and leaving Kaname Kuran alone to his thoughts. ‘It’s so quiet without the twins around...I guess I got used to having them around – huh?’ - Kaname Kuran mused inwardly to himself as he allowed himself to enjoy the rare moment of solitude in the privacy of his room. Kiryuu Zero had been on the verge of dozing off when he heard the Chairman, who had just gotten back from the hunter's association, calling out for his attention in an annoying, sing-song manner. "What is it?!" He let out a half-growl as he opened up the door to his room and stepped out into the corridor-way. The twins and Akane were already asleep, and he had no intention for them to be roused by the Chairman's annoying high-pitched voice. "Why?! How could you be so heartless to me when I've just gotten back from the hunter's association, speaking to them on your behalf? Papa's so heartbroken..." The Chairman pretended to weep and sobbed pitifully. Kiryuu Zero felt his eyebrow twitching involuntarily before gritting out in sheer frustration. "Would you please keep it down?! They are sleeping, and I do not want to wake them. Besides, you aren't my father, just my legal guardian ... and what do you mean by you went to the hunter’s association to speak to them on my behalf?" Kiryuu Zero would have continued to rant at the Chairman if he had not finally taken notice of the blond, green-eyed Vice-President of the Moon Dormitory standing behind his adopted father, quietly waiting for his acknowledgement. "Ichijo ..." The silver-haired hunter greeted, in a low and flat tone of voice. He'd opted to drop the suffix of ‘senpai’ in private, reserving the suffix only for when they are in public and under the observation of the day class students. After all, he isn’t Yuuki, who is always so respectful to the night class members. "Kiryuu-kun, can I have a moment with you?" Ichijo Takuma started, his tone inquiring and polite, as usual. Kiryuu Zero nodded wordlessly as he responded. "Sure ... is the 'study' of the Chairman's alright with you?" Ichijo Takuma shrugged, not caring about where the conversation would be taking place. For he just wanted to talk with the silver-haired guardian and perhaps try to understand the former better. The idea had been on his mind for quite some time now, ever since Akane had told him of his relations to her family. However, the notion had been put temporarily on hold when he knew of his grandfather's impending arrival. Although his grandfather was still on campus, at least nothing drastic had happened. So that gives him some time to himself, and since he had been granted permission by Kaname to check on Akane and the twins' welfare. Seeing as they were all sleeping right now, certainly the pureblood would not fault him for attempting to communicate with the silver-haired guardian, right? Besides, Kaname did not exactly ban him from speaking to Kiryuu - only told him to prevent anyone from killing the said guardian, isn't that so? --- "So ... what's it that you want to talk to me about?" Kiryuu Zero started as soon as the Vice-President of the Moon Dormitory entered the Chairman's study after him. Ichijo Takuma leaned against the closed door of the Chairman's study casually as he started. "Actually ... I'm just wondering how's Akane doing. She kind of had a run-in with my grandfather before coming over ... and Kaname told me to check on the twins as well." "I see. You mentioned Akane having a run-in with your grandfather before coming over. Did anything out of the ordinary happen that got you to inquire after her mood?" Kiryuu Zero nodded in acceptance of Ichijo’s response before inquiring the green-eyed blond vampire back in return. He did notice the weary look on Akane’s face when she came over just now. Only, he didn’t exactly pry into the reason since he kind of got the feeling that Akane might not want to talk about it. "Ah...I’m not sure if you’re aware, but Akane doesn’t exactly like my grandfather. She had been in distress since she heard of the news about my grandfather’s visit to the school. Earlier, when you came by to pick up the twins, I asked if she wanted to join them with you over at the chairman's. However, she turns down my suggestion, citing that the twins are kids and their identities makes it unwise for them to be noticed or seen by my grandfather but she’s old enough to know not to do anything that will clue the members of the senate in about her being a visitor from the future timeline. Furthermore, she suspected that the chairman might get her to join the guardians in welcoming the arrival of my grandfather if she were to follow the twins to the chairman’s place. It was with that logic in mind that she’d chosen to stay behind at the dorm. However, it seems she had ultimately found it too challenging to deal with the idea of enduring the presence of my grandfather within the same walls for an entire night, so she finally decided to join the twins in spending the night over at the chairman’s residence. She was on her way out of the dorm when she chanced upon our return to the Moon Dorm. Originally, everything was fine, but then my grandfather started making comments about humans being filth and attempted to give Kaname a hand-kiss, which spurs on spontaneous reactions from both Ruka and Akane. Aidou would have reacted, too, if Akane hadn’t beaten him to the task." Ichijo Takuma sighed as he provided the silver-haired hunter with a summary of the events that had transpired during the brief encounter that Akane had with his grandfather. “What did she do to your grandfather? Nothing drastic, I hoped? While on the subject, does your grandfather make it a habit to perform hand-kiss on every pureblood that he gets a chance to interact, or it’s just something that he does to Kuran?” Kiryuu Zero asks with a frowning look on his face. A part of him wonders if Akane had done anything that would require damage control, while another part of him finds it disturbing that Ichijo Asato attempted to perform a hand-kiss on Kaname Kuran. Isn't the act of hand-kissing usually reserved for the ladies? “No worries on that end, she didn’t do anything that would require damage control, it’s actually kind of funny after getting past the fact that she’d kind of insulted Kaname with the excuse she’d cooked up to get herself out of trouble with my grandfather for her behavior. Furthermore, her excuse helped rescue Kaname from the hand-kiss my grandfather would have performed on him otherwise. So, I reckon Kaname’s feeling on Akane’s antic is a mixture between annoyance and relief.” Ichijo Takuma recalled the insulation of his pureblood friend’s questioning hygiene practice and felt the corner of his lips tugging up into a grin. Kiryuu Zero felt his eyebrow rising in a questioning manner as he learnt of Akane’s doing and felt himself getting curious about just how exactly the girl had insulted the pureblood king. And so, despite knowing that curiosity tends to kill the cat, he just has to ask. “How exactly did Akane insult Kuran then?” "She claimed that she was 'saving' my grandfather from the potential of being contaminated by the 'bacteria' that lingers on Kaname's hands. Insulating that Kaname had forgotten to wash his hands after using the washroom to answer some ‘nature calls before heading out front to meet him." Takuma finally allowed himself to break out in a grin as he clued the curious silver-haired hunter in on the excuse Akane had used to wriggle out of being subjected to the wrath of his grandfather. There was a pregnant pause of silence as Kiryuu Zero digested the former's words, before his eyes widened in alarm upon realizing that Akane had justified her reaction towards Ichijo Asato by openly insulting Kaname Kuran in public. "Okay, and what's Kuran planning to do with her now?" Kiryuu Zero started, sounding a tad worried about the kind of punishment Akane would be subjected to after the departure of Ichijo Asato. "I’m sure whatever punishment Kaname had in mind to hand out to Akane after my grandfather departs is nothing drastic. Kaname wasn't angry, at least ... he doesn't look that way to me. Therefore, I don't think there'll be any slapping involved, and I don't think he'll be asking Akane to hold buckets of water while standing out in the public for all to see like what he had made Aidou and Akatsuki do several weeks ago as well. So, I don’t think there’s a need for you to worry so much about the punishment that would be handed out to Akane later." Ichijo Takuma eventually said after sparing a moment to mull over the mood of his pureblood friend. “I see, but Kuran is going to punish her for her insolence later – am I right to say that?” Kiryuu Zero asks with an audible sigh. “Yes, she did openly insult Kaname in public. So, to appease the rest of the members from the night class, Kaname is going to have to dole out a punishment for her when my grandfather departs.” Ichijo Takuma nodded in response before steering the subject of the conversation towards the twins instead. "Coming back to the twins...what are they doing now? Have they been creating any troubles for the chairman this evening?" Ichijo Takuma then steers the topic of the conversation towards the twins, he needs to have something to tell his pureblood friend upon his return to the Moon Dorm, after all. “Both Akane and the twins are sleeping now. Rather, Akane’s sleeping while the twins are napping. So far, the twins have been cooperative enough, and Akira hasn’t been up to any mischief. Though, I suspect that’s probably because my master was around for the most of the afternoon and thus, they weren’t as lively as they tend to behave." Kiryuu Zero sighed as he responded; the thought of his mentoring figure had him frowning once more. “Ah... your master, Yagari Tooga – right? Is he still upset about the parentage of the twins?” Ichijo Takuma inquires with curiosity coloring his tone. “Maybe, I’m not exactly sure. I didn’t make it a point to inquire on the subject. What I do know is he doesn’t exactly approve of me getting involved with Kuran... but it’s kind of a tad late for that. Seeing as I’m now feeding from that pureblood king of yours...furthermore, as long as the trios are still in this timeline – it's downright impossible for me to not have any form of contact with Kuran. Enough about my master’s opinion on the subject, with how much distrust he harbors toward vampires in general – it's going to take a long time for him to come around. In any case, as long as the twins can behave while they’re here – I can assure you that Master Tooga isn’t going to do anything to them.” The silver-haired hunter eventually said with a shrug of the shoulders. “I see. Well then. It's getting late, and I’d snuck out. I should return before my grandfather finds me missing. I'll see you tomorrow during the class change-over hour. Goodnight.” Ichijo Takuma nodded in acceptance of the offered response from Kiryuu before announcing his intention to leave. “I’m sure you can show yourself out, so I’ll just stay put.” Kiryuu Zero nodded in response and remained rooted to the spot until he heard the distinctive sound of the front door opening and closing. “Zero, was there anything else that you need down here?” The sound of the chairman speaking up snapped the focus of Kiryuu Zero away from the source of his distraction – the figure of his mentor, Yagari Tooga. The man was currently standing some distance away from the house as he smokes away on a cigar. Inwardly, the silver-haired guardian wondered what his mentor thought of him now – after being subjected to his outburst earlier in the day. “Actually, yes – what do you mean by you were speaking to the hunter’s association on my behalf?” Kiryuu Zero was about to say ‘no’ and return upstairs, but the memory of what his legal guardian had let slip earlier about the trip to the hunter’s association came to mind, and he promptly shifted inquiring eyes upon the figure of Kaien Cross, as he demanded for an explanation on the subject. “Ah...about that, well – you're aware about how Tooga-chan was supposedly here as an envoy for the hunter’s association?” Kaien Cross started as he glanced up at the figure of his adopted son as he waited for an acknowledgement. “Yes, I’m aware of that.” Kiryuu Zero nodded in response. “Right, so... he chanced upon the sight of you attempting to take blood from Akane and open fire at you – did he not?” Kaien once more paused amid his explanation as he glanced over at his adopted son for a reaction. “Chairman, just get to the point – will you? I don’t have time to waste around here. I have homework to complete while the boys are napping because I wouldn’t have time to complete the homework once the boys are awake.” Kiryuu Zero gritted out in irritation at the stalling his legal guardian was doing. The snappy tone of his adopted son jolted Kaien back into focus as he promptly continued with the explanation behind his visit to the hunter’s association this evening. This time, not bother to stop and check on the possible reactions his adopted son might have on the subject. “Right, as I was saying – Tooga-chan open fire at you, resulting in a bit of chaos from the day class students. Granted, the memories of the event had been rectified after Kaname-kun sent Ichijo-kun over to modify the memories of the few students that Yuuki had caught for being out after curfew... Tooga-chan had to submit a proper report to the hunter’s association explaining his reasons for the gunshot. Naturally, he had to report to the association about the awakening of your vampire nature. I'm sure you’re aware of how the association has been constantly keeping tabs on your condition after you managed to survive the bite of the pureblood who attacked and wiped out your family four years ago. In any case, after they received the official report filed by Tooga-chan, they called me in for a meeting to ask me a dozen questions about your condition since the awakening of your vampire nature. There, I said it – without stopping as you requested. Satisfied?” Kaien Cross turns inquiring eyes upon the figure of Kiryuu Zero once he was done with the explanation behind his trip to the Hunter’s Association. “I presume they called the meeting to assess if I could still be useful to them – I surmised?” Kiryuu Zero commented in a rather dry tone of voice as he addressed the figure of Kaien Cross, who had taken up the role of his legal guardian following the demise of his parents at the hands of Shizuka Hiou. “I reckon that’s part of the reason they called me over for the meeting today.” Kaien Cross nodded, sounding apologetic as he responded to the words of his adopted son. Kiryuu Zero ‘tsked’ under his breath before pushing aside the subject for the time being. Now isn’t the time for him to dwell on the issues relating to the hunter’s association; finishing up his homework before the twins wake from their nap is more important. He would revisit the subject of his purpose for the hunter’s association at a later time. Inwardly, the silver-haired guardian vowed not to bow to the whims of the hunter’s association. He might be a Kiryuu, but he’s also part of the Fujiwara clan. That allows him the advantage to turn away mission requests from the hunter’s association when necessary. To do that, he’ll need to obtain his license as a full-fledged hunter, though. As of current, his status as a hunter-in-training doesn’t allow him to pick his missions. ‘I’ll speak to Master Tooga about it once Ichijo Asato departs from the academy grounds. I'll need a referral letter from him to take the exams for the obtaining of the license for hunting, either way.’ Kiryuu Zero thought as he made his way upstairs to return to his room where the twins and Akane were now fast asleep. --- When Kiryuu Zero woke up the next day, it was already approaching noon time, and Akane was nowhere around. Stretching languidly as he let out a yawn, Kiryuu Zero spared a moment to check on the twins who were sharing the use of the same futon on the floor of his room when they stayed the night at the chairman’s place. The twins were sleeping soundly and comfortably as they cuddled up to one another on the futon, which got a raised eyebrow from the silver-haired guardian. Odd – I thought the boys were given a futon each for their usage, so why are they sharing the use of a single futon? A glance towards the corner where the pink mattress prepared for Akane’s use was still where it was alongside the matching pink blanket – Kiryuu Zero thought he’d found the answer to his question. ‘I guess Akane isn’t a girl who likes pink... she had taken one of the twins' futons for her use last night, resulting in the boys having to share a single futon for their sleep.’ - The silver-haired guardian thought as he landed his eyes upon the other futon which had been neatly folded up and shoved to the side of the room by Akane when the girl woke up from her sleep earlier. The twins were following the nocturnal schedule, and so, last night, they had woken after taking a two-hour nap between 10 pm to 12 am to request for their lunch. And so, the silver-haired guardian had taken the twins downstairs to the kitchen and whipped up a quick meal of oatmeal porridge for the boys. Given that it’s in the middle of the night, he thought it best to keep the meal simple. More importantly, preparing oatmeal porridge doesn’t require a lot of kitchen utensils, hence minimizing the possibility of waking the chairman, who’s a light sleeper. Thankfully, the twins didn’t complain about the lack of variety for their ‘lunch’, which relieved him. After that, Kiryuu Zero kept the twins entertained with more board games, which he’d somehow located from the storage room of the chairman’s residence. Upon closer inspection, the silver-haired hunter realized that these were the board games that Yuuki used to drag him into playing whenever the weather wasn’t good enough for them to venture out for outdoor activities. Deciding that these board games would work as a good form of activity to keep the twins entertained for the rest of the night, the silver-haired hunter promptly brought the twins out to the living room on the ground floor of the house to carry out the game's activities. After all, he didn’t wish for the twins' laughter while playing to wake Akane, who is following a different schedule than the twins, to lose sleep because she’s sharing a room with them for the duration of last night. Because of that, Kiryuu Zero only retires to the bedroom with the twins, who finally exhausted their energy sometime around 8 am this morning. ‘3 hours... well, not exactly ideal, but I’ll live,’ Kiryuu Zero thought as he collected a fresh change of clothes from his wardrobe before leaving the twins behind to continue with their sleep while he visited the common bathroom situated down the hallway for his morning shower. "Good afternoon, Dad. It's truly been a while. I see you waking up around this time, since the you in this time is still keeping to the schedule of a human." Akane greeted him somewhat cheekily when the silver-haired guardian finally made his way downstairs to the kitchen to whip up a quick breakfast meal for his consumption. Deciding to ignore the girl’s cheekiness for addressing him as ‘Dad, ’ Kiryuu Zero responded with a greeting of his own. “Good morning, Akane. Did you sleep well last night? While on the subject, was there a reason why you’d opted to stay overnight in my room as opposed to using Yuuki’s? I’m quite certain Yuuki wouldn’t have an issue with you using her room when you stayed over last night.” “I know; I had the honor of visiting her room here the last time I was over. There's too much pink in her room, I’m sure you’d realized by now that pink isn’t exactly a preferred color of mine.” Akane shuddered involuntarily at the memory of the bedroom belonging to Yuuki Cross that she had the honor of seeing once during her last visit to the chairman’s residence. “I gathered as much, seeing as the mattress and blanket prepared for your usage last night wasn’t touched. Anyway, given the current time and your presence here, I assumed you have taken a leave of absence from classes today?” Kiryuu Zero commented dryly as he poured himself a mug of the recently brewed Espresso from the coffee maker. “Well... yes, Ichiou is still around, and he’s likely going to tour the academy grounds today before taking his leave. After the chance encounter with him at the front lounge of the Moon Dorm, I would prefer to stay in here until he departed. Besides, someone needs to stay behind to watch the twins.” Akane shrugged as she responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “True, well then... since you’re staying behind with the twins, I shall head off for the first half of the afternoon classes. I’ll likely skipped the second half of the afternoon classes, given its insignificance in my opinions.” Kiryuu Zero rolled his eyes momentarily as he recalled just what kind of elective classes he’d been forced to join under Yuuki’s insistence. Does he honestly look like the type that enjoys doing craftwork? So, he’ll skip the two-hour arts & crafts but attend the double-period of Math that is scheduled to take place after lunch break. “Oh good, you are heading off to the Math class later. Can you please help me collect the assignments for today from the teachers?" Akane responded as she threw her future adoptive parent a pleading look that she knew would always get Zero to cave in to her request. "Sure. I'll help you collect the homework assignments from the teaching staff. You don’t have to tell me if you feel uncomfortable revealing the reason to me, but where does your loathing for Ichijo Asato stem from? Based on what I’d gleaned from the twins, Ichijo Asato was already dead for decades by the time you were born." Zero inquires out of curiosity as he turns to glance at Akane with a questioning look. "... The reasons are somewhat personal; they kind of relate to my birth father and the circumstances of his birth. That's all I’m willing to reveal at this point. If you want the exact details, you're welcome to pry it out from Takuma. I’m truly not in the mood to repeat that story." For a while, Akane didn’t speak, and when she finally did, this was all she was willing to reveal. “I see. That'll do. I'll get the details from Ichijo at a later time, then.” Kiryuu Zero nodded before bringing out his mug of Espresso and the French Toast he had prepped for his breakfast meal over to the breakfast bar that acted as a divider to separate the kitchen from the living room space of the house. Akane, meanwhile, returned upstairs to look after the sleeping twins. "Akane ... where's Daddy?" The sound of Akira's voice draws the girl away from her thoughts. "He went to school. Why are you up so early today?" Akane asked, surprised to find the boy up and about just slightly after noon. Akira shrugged before rubbing the sleep away from his eyes and spoke. "I'm hungry. I want to have Daddy’s homemade omurice ..." "Aa ... I see, but Daddy is off at the school, attending classes. Why don't we get him to cook 'Omurice' for us later on in the day, around evening perhaps? In the meantime, you can make do with some tuna sandwiches ... Is that alright with you?" Akane suggested, as she tried to come up with something she’s capable of making with the limited choice of ingredients available in the kitchen of the Cross Residence. "Okay then ..." Akira said through a yawn. He looked so adorable that Akane felt a sudden urge to smother the boy in a hug. Akira blinked in surprise when he felt himself being pulled in for a big 'bear' hug by his elder sister, but since he was still half-awake and Akane did not exactly hug him tight enough to render any form of suffocation. Akira did not even bother to protest against the girl's smothering actions, instead, he simply remained where he stood and allowed the girl to do as she pleased to him. When Akane finally stopped her smothering attempt on Akira, the poor boy had his hair ruffled to the state of a bird nest. “Oh my, Akane... what have you done to Akira’s hair?” Kaien Cross, who happened to come upstairs to retrieve something from his room located at the end of the hallway, gasped at the unruly state of Kuran Akira’s hair and promptly remarked. “Come here, Akira. Let’s get your hair back to its original state.” Kaien Cross wasted no time in changing his mind about what he intended to do and instead brought Akira with him to the common bathroom as he retrieved a comb from the storage drawers beneath the vanity sink that was still neatly wrapped up in its plastic packaging to use on the boy’s hair. “There, all good now.” Kaien Cross beams fifteen minutes later as he stands back to admire his handiwork of restoring the hairstyle of Kuran Akira. “Thank you, Grandpa Cross.” Kuran Akira flashed his boyish smile at the figure of Kaien Cross, causing the ex-hunter to start gushing about how cute his precious grandson was, resulting in an eye-roll response from the sandy-brown-haired vampire girl stationed outside of the bathroom. “Chairman Cross, I’m quite sure you didn’t come upstairs to fawn over Akira...” Akane couldn’t help but remind the goofy ex-hunter about his original purpose for coming upstairs. “Oh right, the files. I nearly forgot!” Kaien Cross held a hand over his head as he commented, and then promptly turned on his heels to make a beeline for his room to retrieve the folder he had brought back from his office at the school that was needed for the meeting he had with Ichijo Asato, shortly. As crafty and unlikeable as the man Ichijo Asato was, it remains a fact that he was an important investor for Cross Academy. Henceforth, Kaien Cross had to do his part as the school’s chairman to entertain the man when the head of the vampire council decided that he would like to tour the school before agreeing to increase the funding for the school’s operations. The two hours while the silver-haired guardian was at school, Akane first prepped up a quick meal of Tuna sandwich using the canned tuna she located from the pantry of the chairman’s kitchen and the white bread she found laid out on the countertop of the kitchen, likely Zero had left it out after prepping up French Toast for his consumption earlier on. After making sure that Akira’s hunger has been satisfied, Akane continues to keep her youngest brother occupied with the board game ‘Snakes & Ladder’ that was left out on the coffee table in the living room. Kiryuu Zero returned to the Cross Residence shortly after 3 pm, nodding towards Akane as he handed over the assignments he had collected on behalf of the girl from the teaching staff – the silver-haired guardian greeted his youngest with a tender pat on the head before inquiring after the whereabouts of the elder twin. “I see you woke early today, Akira. Where's your brother?” Kiryuu Zero inquires when he doesn’t see the elder twin anywhere around. “Daddy! You’re back! Subaru’s still sleeping. I woke early because I got hungry, but Akane made a Tuna Sandwich for me, so I’m full now. Oh, and Daddy! Can we please have Omurice for lunch later?” Kuran Akira started as he made his request known to his silver-haired parent. Zero blinked, flickering his eyes back to Akane briefly before turning back to Akira and asked. "Omurice? And I thought lunch was 2 am for you and Subaru?" “Right, so brunch, then. Can we have Omurice for brunch today?” Akira promptly rephrased his words and repeated his requested menu to his beloved daddy. "Well, I’m sure it can be arranged. Have you checked with Subaru if he’s okay to have Omurice for brunch today?” Kiryuu Zero bent down to Akira’s level as he commented. "I’m sure Subaru wouldn’t mind having Omurice for brunch. It’s a specialty dish of yours that you always prepped for the kids on Sundays when the maids are given the day off back at home.” Akane added from the side as she commented with a fond smile. “I see. Yes, Akira... we can have Omurice for brunch.” The silver-haired guardian nodded his consent to the requested menu of Akira, drawing a whoop of joy from the boy before Akira tugged at his uniform pants again to call for his attention. “Yes, Akira?” Kiryuu Zero prompted as he glances back down at the younger twin with an inquiring gaze. “Can we also invite Father to join us for brunch?” Kuran Akira inquires with his signature puppy eyes that never fail to get the silver-haired hunter to cave in the future. Here, in this timeline, these puppy eyes of Akira appear to work on the younger version of Kiryuu Zero as well, for the silver-haired guardian didn’t have the heart to say no when the boy looked at him with puppy eyes. And so, Kiryuu Zero heard himself giving in to the request of his youngest as he answered. “Yes, Akira. We can invite your father to join us for brunch.” “Yay! Can I go and invite Father to join us for brunch now?” Akira asks next, only this time, instead of receiving a positive response from the silver-haired guardian. Akira’s request to be the one delivering the brunch invitation to the pureblood king was turned down by his favorite parent. “No, Akira. I’m afraid you’re not allowed to leave the chairman’s place. Do you still remember the promise made to us yesterday when I went over to pick you and your brother up for the sleepover party?” The silver-haired guardian sighed as he kneeled so he could be on equal eye-level with the pouting boy as he reminded. “But if we don’t go over and invite Father to join us for brunch, how would he know to join us when it’s time for brunch?” Kuran Akira couldn’t help but ask in return. “...There’s still a couple of hours until brunch. I’ll have a message sent to your father before brunch so he’ll know to join us when the time comes. Is that okay?” Kiryuu Zero responded as he explained to the six-year-old boy how he intended to get a message across to the pureblood king. “Alright then, Daddy.” Kuran Akira let out an audible sigh as he relented on the idea of extending the brunch invitation to his father personally. Outside of Akira’s visual range, the silver-haired guardian and his future adoptive daughter shared a common look of relief as they’d managed to stop Akira from leaving the chairman’s place for the Moon Dorm successfully. --- Meanwhile, over at the Moon Dorm, Ichijo Takuma was breaking out in a cold sweat. His grandfather had somehow noticed his absence from the dormitory sometime late last night and was now questioning him on his whereabouts. "I was out doing something for Kaname-sama ..." Ichijo Takuma responded, his tone hesitant. There was no way he could have revealed the truth to his grandfather, and lying was not an option either. Ichijo Takuma had to settle for telling the older and wiser vampire half-truths instead. Ichijo Asato arched his eyebrow in skepticism as he prompted his grandson, "Really? He sends you out to do something over at the Chairman's place in the middle of the night?" Upon the said vampire's words, Takuma froze. He had no idea that his grandfather had seen him on the move at all. Fear gripped his heart as he thought for a moment that his grandfather had already found out about the twins' existence or Akane's real identity. "Ichiou ... Is there a problem with me sending out Takuma in the middle of the night to consult the Chairman on something unsuitable for the general public to find out? Besides, the Chairman had been out to the hunter's association sometime earlier and was only scheduled to arrive back at the academy a little before midnight. So now, is there a problem for me to send Takuma out to visit the Chairman at midnight?" Kaname Kuran spoke up elegantly from behind, saving his childhood friend from the elder vampire's questioning session. Ichijo Asato turned towards his direction regally and bowed to his presence. His friend, meanwhile, shot him a grateful look discreetly while heaving a sigh of relief. Nodding towards both vampires, Kaname Kuran addressed his friend - this time around. "Takuma, sorry to bother you, but I was just informed by the maids that we are having quite a bit of plumbing and piping problems in our kitchens. Would you mind heading over to the Chairman and get him to engage some skillful technicians in such fields to check things out? Preferably, making the appointment to be in the evening on a weekday to save the poor technicians from interacting much with the members of the night class." Grateful to have an excuse to get himself away from his grandfather for the time being, Ichijo Takuma seized the chance and opportunity to flee from the walls of the Moon Dormitory as though it was his only chance at survival. Choosing to ignore the fact that the sunlight out there would probably make him feel somewhat uncomfortable, the green-eyed blond vampire hurried past the figure of his grandfather and his pureblood friend as he walked briskly towards the direction of the door. Akane had been assisting the silver-haired guardian in getting the ingredients ready for dinner when the green-eyed blond vice-president of the Moon Dorm barged into the Chairman's residence, unannounced. Of course, it’s dinner for the majority of them, but brunch for the twins who are following the nocturnal schedule. Akane, personally, isn’t certain which schedule the pureblood king is following for today. What’s with the presence of Ichijo Asato being around? Regardless, the brunch invitation from the twins hasn’t been delivered to their ‘father-dearest’ yet. After all, Akane had no intention of returning to the Moon Dorm with Ichijo Asato’s presence still on academy grounds, and the twins are barred from returning until the head of the vampire council departed. So, the silver-haired guardian intended to deliver the invitation later on behalf of the twins when the guardians were notified to join the chairman out front at the gate to send off the head of the vampire council and the lackeys he’d brought along on the visit to Cross Academy. The sudden appearance of the green-eyed blond vampire who barged in via the way of the window instead of entering through the usual means, naturally garnered an auto-reflexive reaction from the veteran hunter – Yagari Tooga, who had stopped by the chairman for a break before continuing on his patrolling of the school while the visitors from the senate of the vampire council are present on academy grounds. "I apologize for the lack of warning in advance, but Yagari-san ... I would appreciate very much if you could lower your gun for the moment." Ichijo Takuma said as he directed his words at the veteran hunter. "Ichijo, what brings you over in such a panicky manner? While on the subject, couldn’t you have sought permission to enter the house via the normal way? If you’d rang the doorbell and wait for somebody to get the door instead of barging in via the use of the window, you wouldn’t have found yourself being held at gunpoint by my master – you know?” Kiryuu Zero started as he addressed the panicky vampire in a wry tone of voice. “I know, and I apologize for barging in uninvited. Oh, is the chairman around? Kaname asked me to inform the chairman that our kitchen is having some issues with the piping and plumbing. He asked if the chairman could get someone in to check on the plumbing system – preferably during the weekday, around the evening hours. That way, it will minimize the workers’ from coming into contact with the night class members.” Ichijo Takuma responded with an apology first before voicing the message Kaname had gotten him to pass along to the chairman. "I’m sure you wouldn’t be this panicky just because of a few burst pipes in the kitchen of the Moon Dorm. Why don’t you just admit that you are fleeing from your grandfather because you had no idea how to "handle" his questionings?" This came from Akane, who had figured out his thoughts with just a mere look in his direction. "..." Ichijo Takuma sighed inwardly. seems like nothing about him would be able to escape from his future cousin's keen observations. "Akane, I'm not going to start if I were you ... since you escaped from his presence as well. Like me, you're just as guilty ..." Ichijo Takuma shot back at the girl, defensively. “In my defense, I escaped from his presence mainly to prevent myself from snapping and attempt to rid the world of your grandfather’s existence. You, on the other hand, flee from the Moon Dorm because of your innate fear of Ichijo Asato. So, please – don't lump us together under the same category.” Akane deadpans as she pours the green-eyed blond vampire a glass of iced water and sets it down in front of her cowardly cousin. “Fine. Anyway, is there anything to eat here? I left before breakfast was served, so now I’m feeling rather hungry.” Ichijo Takuma started somewhat sheepishly as he flopped onto an empty seat at the dining table, putting as much distance between the veteran vampire hunter, who is also a teacher for the night class of this school term, and himself as possible. “Well, in that case, you can join Subaru since he just woke up and would be having his breakfast now.” Kiryuu Zero responded as he brought out the newly made fluffy pancakes from the kitchen and set them atop the dining table, alongside the bottle of maple syrup and the margarine cubes to be spread over the pancakes. “Good morning, Uncle Takuma.” Kiryuu Subaru greeted politely as he made his way to the dining table at the Cross Residence. “Good morning, Subaru-kun. Did you have a good sleep?” Ichijo Takuma inquires good-naturedly. “It was good enough, though I did have a bit of trouble falling asleep initially as I’m more accustomed to the idea of sleeping on a bed as opposed to the futon, but once I got over the moment of discomfit. It was okay.” Kiryuu Subaru shrugged as he responded, thanking his Daddy for bringing out his glass of milk with the blood tablets mixed into the beverage. Ichijo Takuma stared at the odd coloring of the beverage and couldn’t refrain from asking. “That isn’t the right shade for the strawberry milk, right?” “That’s because it’s not strawberry milk, besides, nobody in the family likes to drink something that sweet.” Akane deadpans as Subaru picks up the glass of beverage in front of him with both hands as he sips away at it. “I thought so, too. I’d seen strawberry milk before, and it looks nothing like what Subaru is drinking now. So, what’s he drinking?” Ichijo Takuma continued to ask, not giving up until he got an answer from the sandy-brown-haired vampire girl. “Of course, it’s the normal full cream milk that’s commonly found on the rack in the supermarket and grocery store.” Akane couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her nosy cousin.“Eh?! Then, why is it in this color?” Ichijo Takuma gaped as he turned disbelieving eyes upon the figure of Akane as he voiced his doubts aloud to the occupants in the house. “Well, duh... It’s in this color because blood tablets have been added to it.” It was Kiryuu Zero who answered the query coming from the vice president of the Moon Dorm this time.“Blood tablets...whose?” Ichijo Takuma blinked dumbly at the silver-haired guardian and found himself on the receiving end of yet another eye-rolling reaction. “Mine. At least, they were given to me by the chairman before it became known that I was allergic to blood tablets. Either way, I was going to throw it out, but Subaru said it was a waste to simply throw out the blood tablets and asked if I could add it to the milk and give it to him and Akira over breakfast or before bedtime. This was how they usually ingest the blood tablets back home.” Kiryuu Zero deadpans before bringing out another glass of the same beverage, this time handing it to Akira, who was watching some animated shows on TV. “Thank you, Daddy,” Akira answered as he took the offered glass from the silver-haired guardian and promptly started gulping it down. “I see... hmm...how often does the two of them get bloodlusts, I mean the type that doesn’t get sated with the ingestion of blood tablets?” Ichijo Takuma couldn’t help but inquire; his interest in the subject was piqued now that he had seen the twins ingesting beverages with blood tablets mixed in. “I don’t think I’ve seen them lusting for blood. However, I’m away at school on most days, so my answer may not be accurate. Akira, why don’t you indulge your curious Uncle Takuma with the answer?” Akane mused aloud with a contemplative look before glancing over to the younger twin, prompting the boy to set down his milk glass on the coffee table before answering the question. "The answer is seldom, unless we had been injured, sick ... or something happened that triggered our natural desires for blood. Otherwise, the thirst for blood would never occur. After all, pureblood can control their blood lust better ... at least, I think that's what Father had told us when we were younger. As for the craving, well – that's what the blood tablets are for. Currently, we are given blood tablets on a once-a-week schedule, and we usually take them by dissolving them in fresh milk." "I see. And what about the time when they've just been born?" Ichijo Takuma asked, knowing for a fact that when a vampire child had just been birth, they would need to have their first taste of blood. "... That I have no idea. ask Akane ... She was there," Akira responded as he threw the question that Takuma had asked towards his eldest sibling. "I think Zero fed them his blood ... or was it Kaname's blood? I have no idea, but it was only when they were still newborn babies. Once they were old enough to stomach the artificial blood tablets, they stopped feeding them fresh blood and converted them to go on blood tablets. After that, the twins were given fresh milk daily, made from infant milk formula... with blood tablets dissolved and mixed into the milk bottles. Zero’s quite relieved that none of them inherited his allergy towards the blood tablets, or it could be a problem." Akane responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice before she threw Ichijo Takuma a look of annoyance for bringing up such questions for discussion over the dining table with the veteran hunter in earshot. The green-eyed blond vampire was about to ask another question when Akane cut in forcefully and spoke. "Takuma, enough ... I'm going to tell Kaname-sama about what you've been poking your nose into, if I hear another stupid and pointless question from you. If you are indeed so curious about what the life of a vampire baby or child is like, then perhaps you can go and try to make one for yourself? I certainly would not mind to have your eldest child being born ... fifteen years in advance." With that, Takuma fell silent. It was obvious that his cousin was starting to get irritated by his questions, for it was starting to get a little 'private'. That much, he agreed. He doubts his pureblood friend would appreciate having him knowing all these details in advance, or before the pureblood himself had been informed of such information. "Alright, one last question ... Who's my future wife?" Ichijo Takuma asked, and Akane nearly choked on her sip of orange juice. "Please tell me that you are not considering the idea of making babies ... fifteen years in advance. I was joking earlier when I told you to experiment on the concept." Takuma threw his cousin a look of amusement before responding. "No ... I'm just curious about my future spouse's identity ... Do I know her?" "Yes and no." "What kind of response was that?!" "Meaning ... You've seen her around and spoke to her briefly. However, you do not know her on a personal scale." Akane elaborated on her response, inwardly hoping that Takuma would not be pressing her for his future spouse's name - just yet. "In other words, I know her at least by her name - by this point of time?" "You can say so ... but I'm not going to reveal anything else to you. Good luck in searching for that particular woman in your life." Akane said as she threw her cousin a sly look before disappearing into the kitchen and hiding herself away before Ichijo Takuma could throw another question concerning his immediate future in her direction. --- Kaname Kuran had just sent off Ichijo Asato and the members from the senate of the vampire council that had tagged along Ichiou to Cross Academy for the visit the previous evening with members of his inner circle under the supervision of the two guardians. “Phew! That old coot had finally left.” Aidou Hanabusa muttered aloud as he straightened up his posture from the 45-degree angle bow to an upright position. Feeling a tug by his side, Aidou glanced up to find his cousin shooting a look in the direction of their vice president, and the ice-wielding vampire promptly apologized. “Sorry, Takuma, but I just can’t stand having that grandfather of yours around. The air seems to be tighter with him around for some reason.” Aidou Hanabusa said as he threw his green-eyed blond friend an apologetic look after badmouthing the former’s grandfather. “It’s fine, I understand.” Ichijo Takuma waved off the apology coming from the blue-eyed blond vampire before shifting his eyes to land upon the figure of Kiryuu Zero as he prompted. “Kiryuu-kun, are you sure you aren’t forgetting something?” Ichijo Takuma first called out to the tensed figure of Kiryuu Zero, who looked as though he was going to bolt from the site anytime soon, before shifting his eyes towards the figure of his pureblood friend as he called out for the former’s attention. “Kaname, Kiryuu-kun has something to say to you.” Ichijo Takuma said in a sing-song manner that had the silver-haired guardian glares at him with unbidden annoyance. “...” Kiryuu Zero sighed inwardly as he wondered why he had to tell the twins that he would invite their father to the ‘brunch’ on their behalf. If he hadn’t told the twins that he would invite Kaname Kuran to the Cross Residence for the upcoming meal, he could have foisted the task of inviting the pureblood to the meal on someone else, such as Yuuki. After all, Yuuki invites Kuran to join them for meals all the time – it's simply easier for her to extend the invitation. He, on the other hand, seems to be struggling just to get the words out. It's one thing to hold a civil conversation with the pureblood, but quite another thing to invite the pureblood king to a meal. ‘Come on, Kiryuu Zero... just spit it out! You are just inviting Kuran to a meal under the request of the twins, it isn’t as though you are inviting him out on a date – what is there for you to hesitate about?!’ - The silver-haired guardian told himself mentally as he started to approach the pureblood king from where he stood. Still, just as he came to a stop in front of the pureblood, Kiryuu Zero found himself hesitating once more. “Is anything the matter?” Kaname Kuran started when he noticed the hesitation in the body language of the silver-haired guardian. “Kuran, on behalf of the twins, I would like to invite you to join us for a meal at 8 pm tonight at the Cross Residence.” Kiryuu Zero ran a hand through his hair in frustration before deciding to go about the subject of the dinner invitation most straightforwardly and directly. So, he mustered up his courage, looked up into the face of the pureblood king before gritting out the meal invitation to Kaname Kuran in a disgruntled manner. “8 pm, you say?” “Yes, so, are you coming?” Kiryuu Zero prompted as he fidgeted uncomfortably under the various observing eyes of the noble-rank vampires that flanked the pureblood king. Of course, Ichijo Takuma was the sole exception since the green-eyed blond was eyeing the scene smilingly as he hummed a happy tune under his breath. “Of course, I wouldn’t dream of disappointing the twins.” Kaname Kuran spared a moment to run through his remaining plans for the evening before nodding his agreement to the meal invitation from Kiryuu Zero. Instructing the rest of the noble-ranks vampires to head back to the Moon Dorm, Kaname Kuran made a move to follow the silver-haired guardian back to the chairman’s place. “What are you doing?” Kiryuu Zero practically demanded when he sensed the pureblood following him and Yuuki from behind. “Making my way to the chairman’s place, of course.” Kaname Kuran responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “The dinner isn’t starting until 8, it’s only 6 right now. There's still another two hours to go. Are you sure you don’t have anything else to occupy your time? I was under the impression that you are a busy man.” The silver-haired guardian rolls his eyes as he turns to address the pureblood king following him from behind in a tone of annoyance. “I thought I would swing by a tad earlier to spend some quality time with the boys. Is that not allowed?” Kaname Kuran raised an eyebrow in a questioning manner as he inquired. “Fine!” Growling out the single-word response, the silver-haired guardian huffed as he continued his way back to the Cross Residence. --- “Father, you’re here! How did you know we were going to invite you to join us for dinner?” Kuran Akira started as he tackled the pureblood king with a hug as the president of the Moon Dorm stepped over the threshold of the Cross Residence. Originally, the boy was dubbing it as ‘brunch’ since it is the timing for brunch going by their nocturnal time schedules, but because everyone else is referring to the meal as dinner – Akira decides to go with the flow and amend the name of the meal from brunch to dinner to minimize confusion among the attendees for the meal. “Hmm... well, your Daddy informed me that the two of you wished for me to attend the dinner, so, here I am. Now, tell me - did you behave for your Daddy – yesterday?” Kaname Kuran asks as he picks Akira up with his strong arms, as they make their way towards the living room couch where the elder twin – Kiryuu Subaru- was playing a game of chess with Chairman Cross. “Of course, I behaved myself.” Kuran Akira pouted as he responded to the inquiry coming from the pureblood king. “Subaru, did Akira behave himself yesterday for your Daddy?” Kaname Kuran didn’t just take the words from his youngest at face value, instead, he turned towards the elder twin for confirmation. After all, between Subaru and Akira, the elder twin is the responsible one, while the younger twin is the one with a mischievous streak. “Yes, Father. Akira was on his best behavior yesterday. Although, we did have a part to play in messing up Daddy’s body clock, resulting in him missing out on his classes for the entire morning.” Kiryuu Subaru answered with a look of guilt. “Yeah, we forgot Daddy is in the day class, and so, is supposed to be functioning on the same schedule as Akane.” Kuran Akira answered with a bashful look on his face. “Ah... I see, but I’m sure your Daddy wouldn’t mind. He does enjoy spending time with the two of you, after all. Now, why don’t the two of you share with me the activities the two of you had been doing with your Daddy yesterday?” Kaname Kuran skillfully changes the topic before the boys could let themselves be overcome with the feeling of guilt. While Kaname Kuran spent his time conversing with the twins in the living room of the Cross Residence, Kiryuu Zero headed straight to the open kitchen of the house upon his return from his guardian duty. Yuuki, on the other hand, proceeded to give the chairman the report about the uneventful departure of the head of the vampire council. Despite having gotten the dinner preparation underway since 3.30 pm, Kiryuu Zero was still nowhere near completion for the meal preparation. This happens because his preparation for the dinner meal seemed to get constantly sidetracked by various issues that came up for his attention. First, Subaru woke up, so he ended up having to set aside dinner preparation in favor of prepping up the breakfast meal for the elder twin, and later, Ichijo Takuma decides to join the breakfast party, doubling up the quantity of pancakes he has to make over the stovetop. Later, when Subaru and Ichijo were done with the breakfast meal, he had to clean up the dining table and return the bottle of maple syrup to its original storage place in the fridge. However, before Kiryuu Zero could return his attention to the task of preparing dinner, Akane informed him that they were running low on eggs, which was one of the essential ingredients for the Omurice that the twins had requested for their next meal. And so, the silver-haired guardian had to make an immediate trip to the town to perform some urgent grocery shopping. That reminded him that he probably ought to make a grocery shopping list after dinner; that way, he could have the chairman pick up the required items when the man next ventured into town. Coming back, as part of the co-existence campaign, when Cross Academy was set up – it was specifically housed on the plot of land which was the former headquarters for the old hunter’s association. Therefore, it is situated quite a fair distance away from the town where the majority of the human population resides. Henceforth, even if Kiryuu Zero was to travel at full vampire speed, a round trip between the academy and the town easily took up an hour. Add in the time that he’d utilized to browse the racks in the grocery store, and by the time he made it back to the academy, it was already approaching 6 pm. Shortly after he’d return to the Cross Residence to drop off the groceries picked up from the grocery store in town, Kiryuu Zero was informed by the chairman to join the night class in sending off the infamous Ichijo Asato at the front gate of the school. So, even if Akane had helped him prepped up the ingredients while he was preoccupied with his duty as the school guardian... Kiryuu Zero figured that he still had more than half the dinner preparation work to go through before dinner would be ready for the attendees. After getting Akane to assist in the task of beating up the eggs required for his specialty dish – Omurice- the silver-haired guardian proceeded to chop up some onions, cabbages, carrots, and bean sprouts. These chopped ingredients were to be used for the dish – Yakisoba noodles- which was the menu for the adults – namely, Chairman Cross and his Master Tooga. “What are you going to make for dinner?” The sudden sound of the pureblood king speaking up startled the silver-haired guardian so much that he accidentally cut his finger. Of course, the cut was a shallow wound, and the pain wasn’t even noticeable in comparison to the wounds he’d suffered through the years of his training in vampire hunting or when he’d gotten shot by the anti-vampire weapon of his mentor the other night. Still, with the cut – it comes with the presence of blood, however minimal the amount of it. “Shit!” Kiryuu Zero cursed aloud at the first sign of the blood oozing from the shallow cut wound that closed up within a matter of seconds. He was about to rinse out the blood from his finger when Kaname Kuran halted him in the act and attempted to lick the blood off his previously wounded finger. “Damn it, Kuran! What are you trying to do?” The silver-haired guardian hurried to snatch his hand back from the pureblood king before the guy could even have the tongue out to lick off the blood from the index finger of his left hand. ‘Damn it! If he hadn’t noticed the uniqueness of my blood the other night, he certainly notices it now. I can’t believe he nearly got a taste of my blood through the means of licking; that certainly hadn’t been what I’d been expecting from him. It must have been the work of his inner beast, again.’ Kiryuu Zero thought as he forcefully removed his hand from the grasp of the pureblood king and proceeded to wash off the blood coating his index finger as the shallow cut had already closed up by this point. While rinsing the blood off his index finger under the running tap of water, the silver-haired guardian was immensely relieved that he’d managed to react and put a stop to Kuran’s act in time under the scrutiny of his mentor, this time. “Apologies, but your blood seems to have an alluring impact on my inner beast. While on the subject, the scent of your blood...” Kaname Kuran apologized the moment he regained his senses and stood back to put some distance between them – as he explained his abnormal behavior from before. “Is unique. I know; you don’t have to say it. Yes, there’s a reason, but can we have this conversation another time, on another day? Preferably when my master is not around. Right now, I have a meal to prepare, and honestly, this isn’t exactly a good time to address the query on your mind about the unique scent of my blood. Coming back to your initial inquiry about the dinner menu, I’m making Omurice and Yakisoba Noodles. Do you want to have Omurice, which is what the kids had requested for dinner, or would you prefer to try out the Yakisoba Noodles?” Kiryuu Zero cut in firmly in a whispering tone of voice, knowing that the pureblood king would have no problem catching wind of his whispered words, but the whispering tone would make it hard for his Master Tooga to overhear what he was saying. Following the wordless nod he’d garnered from the pureblood king, the silver-haired guardian then returns his voice to its normal volume as he shifted the topic away from the unique scent of his blood to the dinner menu for tonight in a forcefully manner. The last thing he wished was to address the topic of why his blood emits off a unique scent that differs from the other Level Ds, in the kitchen of the Cross Residence. The reason was that the kitchen of the Cross Residence is an open-concept kitchen. And so, whatever has been said or done in the kitchen is in full view of the house occupants. His mentor, the veteran hunter – Yagari Tooga is already pissed off from his family relations to the Fujiwara clan which have been kept away from the veteran hunter’s knowledge for more than two decades, but the ire was directed more towards his dead father than him. But if his Master were to know of his family’s relation to the Hiou, the silver-haired guardian had a feeling that his mentor might go ballistic on him once more. So, really... Kiryuu Zero would prefer to keep his relation to the Hiou, a pureblood vampire clan, away from the knowledge of his Master – if possible. Even if he completed the turning process and level up to Level B instead of falling to the end, he figured the bloodlines of the Fujiwara might be enough to hoodwink his mentor rather than having to launch into the full explanation of the secret behind his family relation to the Hiou clan. After all, hunters aren’t vampires – they cannot discern the bloodline from a mere sniff of the blood scent. Kaname Kuran stared at the silver-haired guardian with intent for about a minute before giving in, and he took the words offered by Kiryuu Zero at face value. Letting out an audible sigh, the pureblood king eventually commented. “I’ll just have whatever the boys are having.” “Good. Now, with the dinner menu decided, can you please leave me in peace to cook? If you have nothing better to do, feel free to engage the boys in a round of chess or something. Truth be told, your presence here in the kitchen is more of a hindrance than assistance. I’ll manage just fine with Akane helping.” Kiryuu Zero turned to the pureblood and made his request known. “...” Approximately an hour later, Kiryuu Zero stared at the 6 plates of omurice and 2 plates of yakisoba and wondered if he should just call out to the dinner attendees that dinner was ready and have them come to collect the meals themselves from the breakfast bar. However, the remembrance of the pureblood king joining them for dinner tonight – the silver-haired hunter promptly changed his mind. Who knows if Kuran is capable of serving himself, given how there were maids available to serve him in the Moon Dorm. Figuring that he had already served the pureblood king plenty of times in the past, adding one more occasion to the record wouldn’t hurt. Kiryuu Zero eventually decided to bring the Omurice over to the dining table for the twins and the pureblood king while leaving Akane to serve Yuuki and herself. As for the two adults, Kiryuu Zero decided to let them collect their meals on their own from the breakfast bar. “Dinner’s ready!” With the decision made, the silver-haired guardian wasted no time in calling out to the attention of the dinner attendees. “Omurice for the kids, and Yakisoba for the adults. Chairman Cross, you can help yourself to the Yakisoba dish left out on the breakfast bar. I’m sure, unlike the kids – you're capable of serving yourself without breaking anything.” “Akane, please bring the plate of Omurice over to Yuuki – I wouldn’t trust her to bring her meal to the dining table intact given her clumsiness. The last time she helped out in setting up of the dining table, she broke two ceramic plates. Ever since then, I had barred her from helping out in the setting up of the dining table when we have guests over as well as banned her from the kitchen when I have too many fragile tableware out on the countertop lest she injure herself unintentionally atop of creating more work for me.” “Hey! I’m not that much of a klutz!” Yuuki Cross protested with a pout, while Kiryuu Zero just stared at her with an unimpressive look. “You are a klutz; don’t bother arguing with me on this. Ask Kuran, I seem to recall you spilling tea on him multiple times when you attempted to serve him tea when he came by for a visit before Cross Academy was set up.” The silver-haired guardian deadpanned before glancing toward the pureblood with a challenging look in his eyes as though daring the former to contradict his words. “Yuuki, I think we should just leave it to Kiryuu to take charge of the kitchen duties.” The pureblood king found himself taking a trip down memory lane before coming to the same agreement with the silver-haired guardian, as he turns to the girl that he’d once thought as his beloved while he commented. A melancholic look took its place in the red-brown eyes of Kaname Kuran as he landed his gaze upon the oblivious figure of Yuuki Cross. He'd yet to decide on what he was going to do with Yuuki. Upholding the traditions of the Kuran family by marrying the girl wouldn’t be possible now that he’s aware of the true desires of his heart. Thankfully, there was still some time left on the clock until he’d to make up his mind about Yuuki. With an inward sigh, Kaname Kuran shifted his eyes away from Yuuki to land upon the figure of Kiryuu Zero. “Here you go, the Omurice you requested.” A satisfied-looking Kiryuu Zero then turns towards the patiently waiting twins as he sets down two plates of Omurice and places them in front of Akira and Subaru, respectively. “Thank you, Daddy!” The boys echoed as they took a moment to inhale the familiar smell of the dish before digging into the Omurice in front of them. “Thank you, Zero.” Kaname Kuran commented as the silver-haired guardian set down the plate of Omurice in front of him. Kiryuu Zero eyed the pureblood king strangely when he heard the pureblood using his given name as opposed to his surname when addressing him. Despite feeling weirded-out by the pureblood king’s decision to change the way of addressing him, the silver-haired guardian managed to remain unaffected and simply nodded wordlessly in acknowledgement to the pureblood’s words of appreciation. Returning to the breakfast bar as he collected the remaining portion of the Omurice that was meant for his consumption, Kiryuu Zero rejoined the dining table by taking up the empty seat next to the veteran hunter, Yagari Tooga. While he took his seat at the dining table, Kiryuu Zero braced himself for the questions to come from his mentor and hoped that the explanations he’d prepared for the former would hold. He had no doubts that Yagari Tooga would bring up that scene for discussion; after all, everything that happens in the kitchen is in plain view of the house occupants. So, while he was preparing the dinner meals in the kitchen after he’d successfully gotten the pureblood to leave the kitchen, the silver-haired guardian had already come up with a plausible excuse to fend off the inquiries coming from his mentor in vampire hunting. Now, all Kiryuu Zero could do was fervently hope that his master wouldn’t see through the lie he’d prepared for the former. “What was that earlier?” Yagari Tooga asks as soon as his disciple sits down next to him on the dining table. “Pardon?” There was a significant pause in his motion before Kiryuu Zero turned toward Yagari Tooga with an inquiring look. “I heard you cursing from the kitchen earlier and then saw you snatch your hand back from that Kuran. What did he do?” Yagari Tooga elaborated on his query in his usual gruff voice. “It’s nothing. I was startled by the sound of his voice speaking up from behind and ended up cutting my finger with the knife. The wound had closed up soon after, leaving behind the minimal blood that oozed out from the cut before it healed. I was going to run the finger under the tap water, but he thought I should rinse it out with the antiseptic solution. We just have a difference in opinions about what should be done with the shallow cut on my finger from the kitchen knife is all.” Kiryuu Zero told Yagari Tooga in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, and since he couldn’t reveal the actual topic of conversation that took place in the kitchen between him and Kaname Kuran, he did the next best thing – he lied to his mentor for the first time. Yagari Tooga made a humming sound in response to his disciple’s words, although he wasn’t fully convinced by the answer provided by his pupil. He was willing to let it go this time, mostly because he found his disciple’s reaction of snatching the hand back from the pureblood somewhat satisfactory. At least, that proved to him that his student hadn’t gotten any closer to that pureblood leech. His disciple’s words to him yesterday morning have given him quite a lot of food for thought. Eventually, he’d accepted his student’s views on the vampires despite his disagreement with those views. However, he also knows he can’t force his mindset onto another because everyone is entitled to their own opinions on the same subject. Given his student’s relations to the Fujiwara clan, he supposed he couldn’t blame Zero for developing that kind of mindset toward the vampires. So, Yagari Tooga had now more or less come to terms with the notion that his star pupil – Kiryuu Zero would be operating on a different mindset when it comes down to the treatment of vampires in general. So, as long as his student isn’t going to involve himself with that Kuran romantically – Yagari supposed he could live with the idea of his student being civil to Kuran for the benefits of the trios from the future timeline. ~ to be continued~ Date started: 16/05/09 Date completed: 19/05/09 Date edited: 19/05/09 Date revised: 2/02/2025
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
As the dinner session ended, Kaname Kuran stood to leave the chairman's residence. “Father, are you leaving already?” Kuran Akira started as he flicked his eyes over to the figure of the pureblood king who was exchanging a few words with the chairman concerning the arrangement of the plumbing services for the Moon Dorm. “Oh, so that’s a genuine request – huh? I had assumed that to be an excuse for Ichijo-kun to escape from his grandfather’s presence when Zero brought the matter to my attention earlier.” Chairman Cross was heard commenting to the pureblood king, resulting in an eye-roll response from his silver-haired adopted son. “I’m quite sure Kuran wouldn’t send Ichijo over with that request if it wasn’t necessary. This is Ichijo Asato we are talking about; I wouldn’t put it past him to not have one of his lackeys venture into the kitchen to see if there’s truly a burst pipe.” Kiryuu Zero couldn’t help but butted in when he happens to overhear the conversation between the duo. “While on the subject, you might want to get the plumbers to check on the conditions of the sewage pipes over at the Sun Dorm when you get them to fix the burst pipe at the kitchen of the Moon Dorm. I suspect there’s a leakage somewhere near the back of the building, it reeks of a pungent odor whenever I go past the area while on the night patrolling duty.” The silver-haired guardian then proceeded to remind the chairman about another issue concerning the piping that he’d told the man previously but hadn’t been fixed. “Oh yeah, the class rep kept complaining with me in class about his suspicions of some wild rodents taking a piss under the window of his dorm room and insists for us to do something about the rodents' issues. Shall I take it as there’re no rodents hidden away on the academy grounds, and the smell that the class rep smelt is actually from the leakage in the sewage pipe?” Yuuki Cross then took it as her cue to join the conversation as well, in the process freeing the pureblood from being engaged in a conversation with Kaien Cross to address the query coming from the younger twin. “Yes, Akira. I’m going to take my leave once I have finalized the arrangement for the plumbing services with the chairman.” Kuran Kaname told Akira in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “I see. Do we have to take our leave together with you, or can we stay behind for a little while longer?” Akira nodded in acceptance of the response from the younger version of his father before bringing up his next query. “I believe that’s entirely up to you. Would you like to return to the Moon Dorm with me, or would you prefer to wait for Akane?” Kaname Kuran asks the younger twin in return. “I think we’ll take our leave together with you, Father. Our things are already packed in the overnight bag, except for the clothes that are in the laundry, but the clothes, Daddy can always send them back to the Moon Dorm at a later time.” It was Kiryuu Subaru who decided on behalf of his twin. There was a fair bit of staring involved between the twins before Akira caved to Subaru’s decision. Kaname Kuran spared a moment to observe the twins’ silent communication and found himself amused by the silent conversation taking place between the boys. Unbiddenly, his eyes travel towards the figure of Kiryuu Zero as he wonders if this was how the Kiryuu twins communicated among themselves when they were younger, before tragedy befalls the Kiryuu clan. In the meantime, Akane was busy retrieving the overnight bag of the twins from the room of Kiryuu Zero’s upstairs. She figured she was probably leaving the chairman’s place when the pureblood king departed with the twins in tow. Seeing as she was supposed to see Kaname Kuran upon her return to the Moon Dorm in the study room after the departure of Ichijo Asato to collect her ‘punishment’ from the pureblood king, originally. ‘I wonder what’s going to be the punishment I’m going to receive from the Kaname Kuran of this time? Would I be made to carry buckets of water under the hot sun like what Aidou Hanabusa has been made to do, a couple of weeks ago or would he take a page out from his future-self example by making me clean the bathrooms instead?’ - The sandy-brown-haired vampire girl thought to herself as she made her way downstairs with the twins' overnight bag readily packed for departure in hand. --- “Zero, I would like to have a word with you.” Yagari Tooga started as soon as the vampires departed from the residence of his old friend, Kaien Cross. “Of course. The two of you do need to have a good long chat, and Tooga-chan – can I trust that you’ll be able to carry out a conversation without threatening bodily harm to my precious son – this time around?” Kaien Cross started in his usual goofy manner as he diffused the tension in the air before it could thicken. The only response Kaien Cross receives from Yagari Tooga following the end of his words was a stink-eye look. Kiryuu Zero, who had the idea of addressing several issues with his mentor, then took a step forward and handed a memo slip over to his legal guardian as he commented. “Since you happen to have ample time on hand, why don’t you take Yuuki out for grocery shopping at the newly opened 24-hour supermarket by the train station in town? Here's a list of the items that need to be replenished in our pantry.” “...” Kaien Cross took the offered list from his adopted son as he took a moment to ask. “Zero, are you sure you don’t need me around to stop Tooga-chan from opening fire at you if the conversation between the two of you turns sour?” “I’m sure such a situation would not come to fruition. I’ve already shared with him my stance on the vampire population in general, yesterday morning. So, Master Tooga already had a day or so to think things through. Given that he’d managed to sit through a dinner meal with Kuran and the twins in attendance, I would like to think the dangers of getting shot by Master Tooga over something that has yet to occur is safely evaded. Now, stop dallying and get your car out for the shopping errand.” Kiryuu Zero said as he shepherded Kaien Cross out of the house before repeating the same motions with the apprehensive-looking Yuuki Cross. “Chairman... is it wise to leave them alone for that conversation?” Yuuki Cross started after finding herself shooed out of the house by her silver-haired friend. The chairman, meanwhile, was taking the time to check out the shopping list prepared by Zero for them to pick up from the 24-hour supermarket in town. Noting that there hadn’t been any perishables that required the use of the cooler bag, Kaien figured that his adopted son had a separate list for those items. The items listed on the shopping list given to him are mostly dried food, condiments, or food that can be stored at room temperature. Among them included quite a fair bit of baking supplies, such as the all-purpose baking flour, eggs, table sugar, and seasonal fruits. At the sound of his adopted daughter’s words, Kaien Cross hurried to reassure the female guardian as he commented. “Yuuki-chan, don’t worry your pretty little head over the situation between them. I expected that Tooga-chan has calmed down significantly since he’s now willing to start having a proper conversation with Zero that doesn’t involve lecturing. Besides, he'd already gone ballistic when he discovered the existence of the twins, and while he still doesn’t like the idea of Zero having kids with Kaname-kun. As Zero had pointed out, he's hardly going to harm Zero bodily over something that hasn’t quite happened yet.” “Oh, okay... then what are they going to be speaking about?” Yuuki Cross nodded slowly as she accepted the explanation from her adoptive father before voicing her next question across to the ex-hunter. “Likely something about the hunting missions... It’s about time for Zero to undergo the trials to become a qualified hunter. Most hunters in training get their hunting license by sixteen, it would be the same for Zero if the tragic event hadn’t struck his family four years ago.” Kaien Cross frowned as he tried to recall what his friend had informed him in the phone call before coming over to Cross Academy as an envoy for the Hunter’s Association. Honestly, Kaien was supposed to give Zero a heads-up about Yagari’s impending arrival, but between the arrival of the visitors from the future timeline and keeping up with correspondence with the Fujiwara clan, he had kind of forgotten about Yagari’s impending arrival. By the time he receives the official missive from the Hunter’s Association notifying him about Yagari Tooga being the first of the envoys sent to Cross Academy by the hunter’s association, it’s too late to inform Zero about Yagari’s arrival on academy grounds. With a shake of his head, Kaien Cross told Yuuki to stay put while he went and collected his vehicle from the back of the house where the parking space for his vehicle was located. With the number of things he’s expected to pick up, Kaien figured that it’s better to bring the car out for the shopping errand. Now, he could only hope that the petrol would last them through the journey to the town. That reminded him, he probably should stop by the petrol kiosk for a refill of his vehicle’s petrol tank, too. It would be rather embarrassing if he were to get them stranded midway and had to call Kaname-kun to request assistance in transporting them back to the academy grounds in the middle of the night. Seeing as the only other person that has access to personal vehicles would be the pureblood king that lorded over the members of the night class, on academy grounds. --- Back inside the house, a good ten-minutes lapsed by in silence before Yagari Tooga finally broke the silence. “Kid, I must say you’ve given me a lot of food for thought yesterday. However, before we move on from that, allow me to apologize for blowing up at you the other day.” “It’s alright, Master Tooga. I can understand why you’d reacted in that manner upon the discovery of the twins and their parentage. I assure you that my reaction hadn’t been any better when Akane and the twins first showed up in this timeline. She had the foresight to get me to surrender my ‘Bloody Rose’ to the chairman for safe-keeping before revealing their identities.” Kiryuu Zero answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice as he brewed a strong blend of English tea for their little conversation. “English Tea? I didn’t peg you for the type to hold a conversation over a cup of tea. I’ll prefer having a conversation over booze rather than tea.” Yagari Tooga arched an eyebrow at his disciple’s choice of beverage when the cup of English Tea was placed in front of him on the coffee table. “I would offer you alcohol if I know where the chairman kept them. Unfortunately, I do not know of his hiding place for alcohol, so you’re going to have to make do with the English Tea.” Kiryuu Zero answered in a smooth tone of voice while he took a sip of the strong blend from his teacup. “Whatever. Now, coming back to what you told me yesterday – about your views and stance towards the bloodsuckers. I just want to double-check something with you.” Here, Yagari Tooga paused momentarily as he glances at Zero to gauge the reaction of his disciple before continuing with his statement. “Are you still keen on taking the exams that would get you the license to become a full-fledged vampire hunter?” “I am. I was going to bring up the subject for discussion with you even if you didn’t ask me about it. Just because I don’t truly hate the vampires, it doesn’t mean that I’m going to stop hunting them altogether. I can't ignore the existence of Level Es, even if I don’t hate them. Furthermore, vampire hunting is in my blood, and that’s what I’m going to continue to do...even if I’m now part of the vampire community.” Kiryuu Zero responded with a firm nod of his head. “Good to know that I haven’t wasted my time training you in vampire hunting for the past decade. Now, the next question would be – are you ready to take on the trials that would allow you to gain your hunting license?” Yagari Tooga nodded before voicing his next question to his star pupil. “Of course. Have the dates for the promotional exam for the hunters-in-training to gain the official hunting license been set?” The silver-haired guardian inquires as he sets down his teacup atop the coffee table to fixate his mentor figure with a determined look. “Yes. The promotional exams for the hunters-in-training to gain credentials for their licensing would be held in a week.” Yagari Tooga nodded as he told his disciple gruffly. “I presumed that’s the date for the promotional exams hosted by the hunter’s association. What about the promotional exams held by the freelance hunter's guild?” Kiryuu Zero nodded before voicing his next query to his mentor – Yagari Tooga, a veteran hunter who carried out hunting work assigned by the hunter’s association. “Wait... Kid, you’re not going to sit for the promotional exams held by the hunter’s association?” Yagari Tooga raised an eyebrow in blatant surprise upon catching on to the underlying meaning behind his disciple’s words. “Yes. That's exactly what I’m thinking. Furthermore, I believe my decision could be justified with the excuse of not wanting to be a source of inconvenience for the current members of the Hunter’s association. As talented as I was in the field of vampire hunting back in my trainee days, it doesn’t change the fact that I’m now an ex-human. I truly doubt anyone sitting for the promotional exams with me as their partner is going to accept it without protests. The exams held at the freelance hunter’s guild are better suited for me, seeing as most people that sat for the exams held in the freelance hunter’s guild are either members of the Fujiwara clan or descendants of their close acquaintances. Their reception towards someone of my status might be more welcoming than the reception I’m bound to receive from the stereotype hunters based in the hunter’s association. Furthermore, obtaining a freelance hunting license as opposed to the traditional hunting license would allow me the freedom to choose the missions I were to take up in the future. I’m not sure who it was yet, but I’m quite certain that someone has a bone to pick with my family, given the two missions that brought about the demise of a member from the Kiryuu clan.” The silver-haired hunter responded in a calming tone of voice as he brought up facts that his mentor wouldn’t be able to argue against. “Oi kid, that’s a very daring statement you’re making. I hope you aren’t saying things and making assumptions on groundless speculations.” Yagari Tooga’s expression took on a serious note as he addressed his pupil. “I’ve seen the mission and the final investigation report made into the execution of the ex-human lover of Shizuka Hiou that my parents were sent to eliminate. The entire mission reeked of exploitation, and let’s not even get me started on that suicide mission my grandfather, Kiryuu Mamoru, was sent out on. Though I haven’t seen it with my eyes, I’m certain there’s a copy of that incident’s investigation report filed somewhere in the records room of the Fujiwara clan as well, given my mother’s position before marrying out of the Fujiwara clan. That incident took place a mere two months before my parents’ marriage union, there’s no way the Fujiwara clan didn’t perform their investigation on the matter after hearing about the plight of their future in-laws. I currently have the report concerning the mission that my parents took that brought upon their demise by the hands of Shizuka Hiou upstairs in my room. Would you like to have a look at it? I can bring it down for your perusal if required.” Kiryuu Zero stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice as he presented his argument to his respected mentor figure. “I see. I would like to see those reports you mentioned with my own eyes, if you don’t mind. Coming back to what we’ve been discussing earlier. I do not have the promotional exams date held by the freelance hunter’s guild, I’m afraid you’re going to find it out on your own.” Yagari Tooga fake-coughed twice as he reached for the cup of tea to mask up his distaste for the Fujiwara clan. “That’s okay, I’m just a phone call away from someone who can give me the required information.” Kiryuu Zero shrugged in response before bringing his emptied cup over to the breakfast bar as he poured himself a refill of English Tea. “Right, I forgot. Your mother was a Fujiwara, of course, you would have your ways to attain the dates for the freelance hunter promotional examinations. I supposed that means you are going to handle the registration for the exams yourself then?” Yagari Tooga muttered under his breath at the remembrance of the information he had been kept in the dark for over twenty years by his friend and had to bite his tongue to hold back a string of curses. He shall reserve the cursing for when he’s back in his assigned quarters in the dormitory for the teaching staff on campus. After all, the Kiryuu couple is already dead and should be left alone to rest in peace. “Yes, I believe so. However, I would need a referral letter from you to verify that I’ve already completed my traineeship under a reputable and qualified hunter. This is something I can’t obtain from my contacts since it needs to come directly from the person overseeing my training program.” Kiryuu Zero nodded in response to his mentor’s inquiry before adding as an afterthought. “I see. That’s doable. I’ll have the letter drafted out, stamped, chopped, and signed before the end of the week. I’ll probably need to make a trip to the hunter’s association to get that done since all those trinkets are kept in my desk at the office of the hunter’s association. Gods, just the sheer idea of having to explain to the chairman why you are sitting for the promotional exams held in the freelance hunter’s guild as opposed to the hunter’s association is going to be a headache.” Yagari Tooga couldn’t help but mutter aloud in annoyance at the number of troubles his youngest disciple tended to put him through these days. “About that, you can just tell the chairman that it shouldn’t matter where I’m taking my promotional exams because at the end of the day, the license is still issued out by the hunter’s association. Even if my obtained license bears the mark of the freelance hunter’s guild, my family name ensures that I’ll still be at the beck and call of the hunter’s association – should they deem it necessary for me to take on a mission commanded by them.” Kiryuu Zero, sensing the dilemma faced by his mentor, promptly offered up a perfect argument for the veteran hunter to present to the current chairman of the hunter’s association. “Well then, it seems like you don’t exactly need me around. In that case, I’ll gladly just focus on completing the observation report that the Hunter’s Association sent me to do for Cross Academy and go on my merry ways. I seriously don’t know how Kaien can handle it. the sheer idea of having so many leeches' congregating in the same place truly makes my skin crawl.” Yagari Tooga commented with a roll of his eyes in his usual gruff-like tone. “...Need I remind you that I’m part of the leeches’ as well, Master Tooga? While on the subject, I thought you were supposed to stay on for a term as a teacher for the night class?” Kiryuu Zero couldn’t help but point out the glaring fact to his mentor in vampire-hunting with a wry smile playing on his lips. “Oh, shut it. Kid! You're just sore that I’d lumped the kids together with the rest of them, aren’t you? I am, but that doesn’t mean I can’t take days off from the damn teaching job foisted upon me under the orders of the hunter’s association to keep an eye on the progress of the co-existence campaign Kaien has it in mind to start with that Kuran.” Yagari Tooga said as he threw his disciple a grouchy look before he finally looked Zero in the eyes as he inquired. “Speaking of the Kuran, what exactly are your thoughts about the future laid out in front of you?” “Honestly, I don’t know. Right now, I’m just taking it one step at a time and seeing how things will play out. No, I didn’t take advantage of the kids by fishing around for information about the future. Though, Akane did reveal a bit of it to me amid a rant when she got annoyed by the incessant queries from Yuuki about my condition as an ex-human.” Kiryuu Zero let out an audible sigh as he responded. “She did? What did she tell you exactly?” Yagari Tooga frowned as he pried into the subject. “Nothing much, just that Shizuka Hiou will be coming by the Cross Academy to visit me soon.” Kiryuu Zero shrugged as he responded. “I see... no wonder there hasn’t been any outward reaction from you when I reveal to you the news of that pureblood that’s responsible for your family’s tragedy being alive. So, you already knew, huh?” Yagari Tooga commented drily as he mused aloud. “Yeah, I figured since she’s coming – I needn’t bother to waste energy in trying to locate her. Makes my life easier in a way, I supposed.” Kiryuu Zero responded as he took another sip of the English Tea from his cup. --- Time flies when one is kept busy, and soon a week had flown by since Ichijo Asato visited the Cross Academy. During the week, Kiryuu Zero had manage the following: sat down with his mentor in vampire-hunting and have a proper conversation without threats of bodily harm for once, reestablishing contact with Fujiwara Satoshi, his biological maternal uncle to attain the information concerning the upcoming promotional exams for the hunters-in-training to attain the official license for hunting vampires, and submitting his application to take the freelance hunting examinations scheduled to take place in the building of the freelance hunter’s guild situated in the neighboring town in a week. As it turns out, the dates for the promotional exams hosted by the hunter’s association and the freelance hunter’s guild differ only by a single day. At least for the theory aspect of the exams, there’s only a day difference. Practical wise, Kiryuu Zero is expected to spend three days in a specific area that’s considered a hotspot for Level Es activities with his groupmates as they covered each other’s back while they put the active Level Es caught endangering the lives of the mortals to rest using whichever means possible. A member from the hunter’s branch of the Fujiwara clan would be observing the performance of the group from afar and graded their performances accordingly. In any case, the dates for the practical aspects of the promotional exams held by the freelance hunter’s guild have yet to be determined. So, Kiryuu Zero found himself having a fair bit of time to spare and, thus, after a moment of consideration, decided to visit the stable and spend some time with his favorite horse. Kiryuu Zero had just laid down on the hay in the stable where his favorite horse, white lily, was kept when he sensed the approach of an incoming vampire. Over the past week, the silver-haired guardian of Cross Academy had found himself chancing upon the green-eyed blond vampire on multiple occasions outside of the routine class change-over timing. Aside from the first time, the vice president of the Moon Dorm was approaching him to keep him updated on the ‘punishment’ Akane receives from the pureblood king, Kaname Kuran. The rest of the encounters Kiryuu Zero had with Ichijo Takuma are kind of pointless and random, in his opinion. Little did the silver-haired guardian realize that Ichijo Takuma was attempting to befriend him by implementing the ‘Operation - Get Friendly with Zero’ into motion. Either way, Ichijo Takuma’s plan to get friendly with the Kiryuu Zero begins on Monday evening, after the plumbers have come by and fixed the burst pipes in the kitchen of the Moon Dorm. Seizing the opportunity to make a detour to the chairman’s place shortly after dinner ended for the Cross family, Ichijo Takuma approached Kiryuu Zero to update the former about the punishments Akane was made to do for her insolent behavior on the day of his grandfather’s visit. Akane’s punishment was, oddly enough, suggested by the Kiryuu-Kuran twins when they heard of Kaname’s dilemma about what kind of punishments to dole out to the sandy-brown-haired vampire girl. It begins with Subaru inquiring the pureblood king of the offences made by their adopted elder sister and ends with Akira’s comment about how their father would always make their sister clean the bathrooms of their family home as punishment when she’d done something that’s considered disgraceful for the daughter of the Kuran-Kiryuu household. Neither Kaname nor he attempted to inquire on the reason such an odd punishment was put in place for the girl in the future. Kaname had thought the punishment kind of befitting for Akane in this time. After all, Akane had brought on several members of the inner circle to question the personal hygiene practice of their pureblood king. Therefore, it seems only right to punish the girl with the punishment of cleaning all the bathrooms in the Moon Dorm for an entire week. On the following day, Ichijo Takuma continues his plan to befriend the silver-haired guardian by approaching the former to attempt small talk. This time, he was asking for the guardian to recommend him a good cafe in town that offers quality food, as he had heard from Yuuki Cross, the female guardian who had mentioned it in passing about Kiryuu’s hobby of cafe-hopping during the days before the Cross Academy was established. On Wednesday, the chance encounter between Kiryuu Zero and Ichijo Takuma took place in the early morning with a polite morning greeting followed by a random inquiry about where the silver-haired guardian had gotten his ear piercings done. Naturally, the green-eyed blond vampire received several odd looks directed his way from both the school guardians and his fellow friends from the night class. That was also when the members of the night class found out through Ichijo Takuma about his plan to befriend the silver-haired guardian. Finally, on Thursday, Ichijo Takuma decided to stop asking the male guardian odd questions and instead opted to share a couple of pieces of information about his pureblood friend in an attempt to level up his friend’s image in the silver-haired guardian’s mind. Feeling bewildered, Kiryuu Zero didn’t let him say much and halted him with a question about the ‘secret’ between him and Akane – shortly after he’d revealed to the silver-haired guardian about how the horse ‘White Lily’ kept in the stable that belongs to Kiryuu was a gift from Kaname. “Good day, Kiryuu-kun.” Ichijo Takuma started as he greeted the silver-haired guardian with a cheerful disposition. “Ichijo, I don’t get it. Why are you making such efforts in striking up a conversation with me?” Kiryuu Zero started before the green-eyed blond could proceed to tell him more stories about a certain pureblood by the name of Kuran that he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know. After all, he still didn’t know what to make of the information of his beloved horse – white lily being a gift from Kuran to him but only handed over through the hands of his legal guardian, all this time. After all, when his legal guardian, Kaien Cross, brought home the horse ‘white lily’ which is still a foal to him, a few years ago... all he had been told was the name of the horse and that it’s now his responsibility to look after the foal. That was when he was first taken in by Kaien Cross following the tragedy of his family and just mere days after he attempted to stab Kuran with a table knife. So, when he’d first heard Ichijo informing him that ‘white lily’ was a horse that was originally kept in the stables belonging to the Kuran family, Kaname had gifted the horse to Chairman Cross shortly after his visit to the Cross Residence. It had truly baffled Kiryuu Zero. What possessed Kuran to gift him with ‘White Lily’ when they’d just had the most disastrous first meeting ever? This question had been on his mind last night when he went to Kuran for his feeding, but then it completely slipped his mind after he sank his lengthened fangs into the side of Kuran’s neck. His decision to go directly to Kuran for the feeding required stems from an innocent comment from the younger twin, Akira, when the boy visited them alongside Subaru under the companion of Akane. According to Akira, during the week, his mentor, Yagari Tooga, had him grounded and paid close attention to the actions of the pureblood king in an attempt to restrict and limit contact between both of them. Kaname Kuran who went through the hassle of extracting and transferring his blood into bottles to get Akane to delivered them to Zero for his routine feeding, often ended up extracting too much blood from his person at one time since the pureblood king couldn’t tell how much blood would be enough to satisfy Zero’s bloodlust. The result was that the twins would often witness the pureblood king having to drown himself with blood tablets shortly after the blood extraction procedures were complete. Somehow, the images that came to mind following hearing Akira’s description of the event, Kiryuu Zero decided to save them all from the hassle and just go directly to the pureblood king when it’s time for him to feed. There wasn’t a need to worry about his mentor’s reaction anymore since he had that lengthy conversation with his master about his thoughts on the subject of his linked future with the pureblood king. The sudden sound of the green-eyed blond vampire speaking up reminded Kiryuu Zero about his current location and the present situation at hand. “Can’t you tell? I’m trying to befriend you!” Ichijo Takuma answered with a beaming smile that only serves to aggravate the headache Kiryuu Zero was having at the moment. “I know that. What I want to know is why you’re making such an effort in befriending me?!” Kiryuu Zero gritted out in sheer frustration at the situation, especially after he’d caught Yuuki writing up her suspicions of Ichijo crushing on him in her diary last night when he went over to the Sun Dorm to check if she’d require any help in her math homework only to land his eyes on that ridiculous diary entry of Yuuki’s. He didn’t bother to read beyond that line since he didn’t want to intrude on Yuuki’s private thoughts, though he swears the girl has the wildest imagination ever. “Hmm...I just thought with your relationship to Akane and your eventual relationship with Kaname, you're going to be part of our group eventually. So, why not try to get along with you at an earlier time?” Ichijo Takuma responded with a casual shrug of his shoulders, while Kiryuu Zero simply let out a sigh of exasperation before making a move to stand and leave the stable. “...” Deciding that it was pointless to get through to Ichijo, the silver-haired guardian started heading for the direction of the Moon Dorm. --- Kaname Kuran was in the main study room situated on the ground floor of the Moon Dorm when he sensed the approach of Kiryuu Zero heading in his direction. Intrigued, the pureblood king silently ‘willed’ the door open, allowing the silver-haired ex-human entry before his loyal bodyguard – Seiren- could even inform him of the silver-haired guardian's arrival at the Moon Dorm. “Seiren, it’s fine. Leave us.” Kaname Kuran instructed, dismissing the female ninja-like vampire from his presence before shifting his full attention onto the visibly annoyed figure of Kiryuu Zero. “Zero, is there a reason why you chose to visit me at this time? Given that you’ve just fed from me last night, I seriously doubt you are here for yet another feeding session.” Kaname Kuran started as he approached the doorway where the silver-haired ex-human stood unmoving and pulled the male guardian deeper into the study room. “Ichijo, can you do something about him?” Kiryuu Zero huffed in annoyance as he gritted out in frustration. “What did Takuma do to annoy you this much?” The pureblood king had to admit that he was a little surprised that the silver-haired guardian was here to complain about his vice president. Of all the members in his inner circle, he would’ve thought if there was anyone that annoyed the male guardian greatly, it would be Aidou Hanabusa. Yet, Kiryuu Zero is approaching him for a complaint targeting Ichijo instead of Aidou. “His attempt at trying to befriend me? I don’t know, you tell me? While on the subject, care to enlighten me – given how disastrous our first meeting was, why did you still choose to gift me with ‘White Lily’? That’s what I came to ask you last night, but somehow, I got sidetracked by the impromptu bloodlust and ended up feeding off you instead.” Kiryuu Zero threw his hands up in exasperation as he ranted at the pureblood king, not giving a care about how loud he was being and whether or not anyone outside would be able to hear him ranting. ‘Should I be glad that the study room was sound-proofed?’ Kaname Kuran thought inwardly to himself as he watched the silver-haired guardian rant and rave about in the main study room of the Moon Dormitory. The pureblood king waited until Kiryuu Zero was done ranting before he voiced a few queries of his own to the silver-haired guardian. “Before I proceed to explain my reasons for gifting the horse to you, can you please enlighten me – where did you obtain that little piece of information?” “Where do you think I’d obtained such information?” The silver-haired guardian throws the pureblood king a flat look as he deadpans in response. “From Takuma?” Kaname Kuran mulled over the reason behind the guardian’s visit this afternoon and made an educated guess. Upon receiving the nodding response from the silver-haired guardian, the pureblood king could only pinch the bridge of his nose in weariness. ‘While I do agree with Takuma that it would be beneficial for them all to attempt getting along with Kiryuu Zero, given how important Zero is to me... I didn’t mean for Takuma to start spilling forth these old tales to Zero! Should I be glad about how Takuma hasn’t sold out the secrets of how I used to send out my familiar to keep tabs on Zero yet?’ Kaname Kuran felt annoyance building up as he found out what his friend had been spilling to the silver-haired guardian. “I’ll speak to Takuma and ensure that he doesn’t bother you from here on.” Eventually, the pureblood king sighed as he told the visibly annoyed figure of Kiryuu Zero. “Good. I'll be holding you to your word. Now, care to explain to me why you’d still gifted me with ‘white lily’ even after that disastrous meeting between us?” Kiryuu Zero nodded before returning his focus to the original query he’d in mind to ask but had failed to do so the previous night. “Surely, you remember me having a long conversation with Chairman Cross behind closed doors in his study on the day of our disastrous meeting?” Kaname Kuran sighed as he revisited the topic of his first meeting with the elder Kiryuu twin in the former residence of Chairman Cross. “... vaguely. I do remember being sedated after attempting to stab you with the table knife... he tried giving me a pep talk, but it didn’t exactly work, so he resorted to dose me with a mild dosage of the sedative to calm me down. Following this, he invited you to his study for a conversation. Anything after that, I don’t recall since I’ve been knocked out from the effects of the sedative drug.” Kiryuu Zero eventually responded after allowing the pureblood king to help jog his memory to the events of their first meeting at the former Cross Residence. “Right. It was during the conversation that I’d asked him whether it was wise of him to adopt you into the family. We had quite a bit of debate on the subject, but I shan’t bore you with the details. In any case, he expressed his concern about the possibility of you slipping into depression from the shock of losing your parents and your twin in that manner. His idea was to get Yuuki to open you up by being your friend, but I have my concerns with regards to Kaien’s plan of getting Yuuki to prevent you from slinking into depression. That's when the idea of animal therapy came to mind, and that was why I’d gifted you with the foal – White Lily, at that point.” Kaname Kuran explained slowly but objectively, he didn’t gloss over the fact that he didn’t exactly agree with Kaien Cross’s decision to adopt Kiryuu Zero into the family back then. “I see. I guess it does make sense when you put it in that manner. Given how much you value Yuuki, it’s only natural that you didn’t wish me to rely too much on Yuuki’s presence to ground me in life. I was pretty much bordering on suicidal back then. The only thing stopping me from offing myself was the thought of exacting revenge on Shizuka Hiou. In any case, ‘White Lily’ has proven to be a very good companion for me...I prefer her company over Yuuki’s, especially when I wish to be left alone with my thoughts.” Kiryuu Zero nodded in response. “Is that your roundabout way of thanking me for gifting you with - ‘white lily’?” Kaname Kuran prompted as he started eyeing the silver-haired guardian in a studying manner once more. “Maybe. Who knows? Alright, I’ve gotten my doubts addressed, so I’m leaving now.” Kiryuu Zero said, making a move to turn and leave the study room. Only he was halted by the pureblood king speaking up from behind before he could even reach the door of the study room. “Zero, I’ve given you the explanation that you seek. However, you’ve yet to provide me with an explanation about the unique scent of your blood...” There was a moment of faltering in the steps of Kiryuu Zero before the silver-haired guardian turned back around to face the pureblood king as he commented in a tone of weariness. “Can we leave that topic for another day? It's going to be a dreadfully long story, one that I’m not ready to give just yet.” “...Fine, but I hope I’ll get an explanation out from you – the next time I broach the subject with you.” There was a moment of silence before the pureblood king sighed as he found himself caving in to the request of the silver-haired guardian on the subject once more. “Of course, as the saying goes – third time’s the charm.” Kiryuu Zero was about to leave the study room for real this time – when he suddenly halted and turned back to the pureblood king as he remarked. “By the way, since you’ve been so accommodating to my request to postpone the explanation, I owe you... I might as well offer you an incentive. Ichijo isn’t interested in Akane in the manner you were thinking. He's only so invested in Akane’s affairs because they were cousins.” “Cousins? How? I wasn’t aware that Ichiou had another son outside of Takuma’s father.” Kaname Kuran frowned as he straightened up his posture behind the study desk. Leaning with his back against the door of the study room, Kiryuu Zero let out a sigh as he responded. “If you’re talking about legitimate son, then yes – Ichijo's father is the only son of Ichijo Asato. However, I’m quite certain Ichijo Asato has more than one illegitimate son and daughter out there, outside of Akane’s birth father. After all, Ichijo Asato is quite a womanizer back in his youthful days.” “Just how did you come upon such information about Ichiou?” Kaname Kuran frowned as he inquired the silver-haired guardian on the subject; after all, Ichiou was an ancient vampire. “You mean the part about Ichijo Asato being a womanizer in his youthful days? Well, I admit, this was mostly hearsay that circulated among the hunter’s community. How true are they? I have no clue, but it’s what the older generations of the hunters spoke about. However, I can affirm that the part about Akane’s birth father was the truth, at least. After all, I heard the story straight from your vice president, who, in turn, heard it from Akane. Akane’s father was born to Ichijo Asato and Aisaka Midori, the last known heiress of the Aisaka pureblood clan that died out five decades ago. Akane’s father was born two months before Aisaka Midori passed on, according to Ichijo’s account – Akane’s grandmother was violated against her will by Ichijo Asato. Either way, it was because of that – Akane loathed Ichijo Asato with a passion that puts the kind of loathing I harbor for you to shame.” Kiryuu Zero responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “... Do you loath me still?” The pureblood king inquired after a moment of contemplative silence as he soaked up the information concerning the relationship between Ichiou, Takuma, and his future adoptive daughter – Akane. “Not at the moment, but don’t you dare test my patience just because my level of dislike for you has gone down.” Kiryuu Zero answered before turning around to pull open the door of the study room and took his leave from the presence of the pureblood king. --- It was Saturday, a day after Kiryuu Zero had gone to Kaname Kuran to complain about the green-eyed blond vampire's relentless attempts at getting friendly with him. After checking in on the progress of Akane’s punishment of bathroom cleaning yesterday afternoon when he crossed paths with the girl in the hallway of the Moon Dorm, Kiryuu Zero decided to do his part in helping out Akane in the punishment. After all, the girl was told to clean all the bathrooms in the Moon Dorm within a week. Considering that Akane’s a day class student who needs to attend school from Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, sometimes classes would end at 6 pm – depending on the subjects Akane had picked for her electives. That gives her about six hours to focus on cleaning the bathrooms in peace before the students of the night classes started returning to the dorm. Unlike the day class students who attended classes for a full day, classes for the night class begin at 7 pm and end by midnight. Also, instead of 5 days a week, the night classes are conducted only from Monday through Thursday, on the schedule of the 4-day week. The schedule is arranged in such a manner to free up the noble-rank vampires to attend to their commitments on weekends. For instance, Aidou Hanabusa – the resident genius of the night class wrote articles for a science column in a local educational magazine. Kaname Kuran had to spend his weekends working on the remote running of the businesses under the management of his family. Of course, sometimes, the vampires enrolled in the night class are also expected to spend their weekends attending various networking social events. Either way, based on what Kiryuu Zero could recall from the floor plan of the Moon Dormitory, there are easily over 20 bathrooms in the entire Moon Dorm. The Moon Dorm is separated into a main wing and a sub-wing. There are two bathrooms on the ground floor of the dorm, one in the main wing and one in the sub-wing. The bathrooms on the ground floor of the dorm are meant for common use, so they are usually the ones that require frequent cleaning. The bathrooms in the sub-wing are mainly Jack-and-Jill bathrooms that are shared between the occupants of two rooms separated by the bathroom between them. Each room housed two students of the night class, with the male students occupying the third and fourth floors of the sub-wing and the female students occupying the second floor of the sub-wing. The quarters for the maids employed by the pureblood king to keep up with the daily maintenance of the dormitory are in the servants’ quarters situated on the ground floor of the sub-wing. The main wing of the dormitory housed the higher-ranking vampires, namely the nobles and the pureblood king – Kaname Kuran. Unlike the ground floor of the sub-wing, which is mostly reserved for the residential use of the servants, the ground floor of the main wing is where the common areas are situated. This is where the kitchen, dining hall, front lounge, private lounge, library, and the main study room are housed. The front lounge is also known as the main living area, it’s where the residents of the dorm usually mingle and socialize among themselves. It comes equipped with a bar area where a wine chiller can be found. However, Kiryuu Zero had no idea if the members of the night class used the wine chiller or not. He didn’t exactly study it in detail when he chose to take a seat over at the bar on the fateful night that brought the trios from the future to this particular timeline. Coming back, the second floor of the main wing housed the guestrooms where the visitors would occasionally stay overnight. Currently, the only long-term resident on the second floor of the main wing is Akane. The second floor is also where Ichijo Asato and his lackeys had stayed when they visited approximately one week ago. The third floor housed the noble-ranks vampires that make up the inner circle of Kaname Kuran. Similar to the sub-wings, each room housed two students. Only, instead of having the occupants of both rooms share the use of a single Jack-and-Jill bathroom, the residents in the main wing are luckier as they get the use of an ensuite bathroom in each room. Needless to say, as the only two female vampires of the noble-ranks, Touya Rima and Ruka Souen are sharing a room. The cousins, Aidou Hanabusa and Akatsuki Kain, room together, leaving Shiki Senri to share a room with Ichijo Takuma. Finally, at the very top floor of the Moon Dorm – it housed the pureblood king, Kaname Kuran. Even though there are two suite rooms available on the top floor of the building, currently, only the King’s suite is occupied. The queen’s suite is currently left without an occupant. Both the king and queen suites are mirror images of one another, with similar sizing and interior design. The room comes equipped with an extravagant ensuite bathroom that includes both a shower cubicle and a bathtub big enough to fit two people at one time. Aside from an exquisite and extravagant bathroom that’s relatively big, the room also comes equipped with a walk-in closet and an adjoining room that could be used for multiple purposes. Some would use it as a private sitting room, but Kaname Kuran is currently using it as his private study at present. Going by the twins account, from the future where they came from – Kaname had converted the space to a secondary bedroom for the twins as the king’s suite has been reserved solely for the use of their family when they visited Cross Academy, be it for business with the chairman of that era or to visit their elder sister, Akane who’s enrolled in the day class of the academy. “How’s your bathroom cleaning punishment coming along?” Kiryuu Zero inquired of the sandy-brown-haired vampire girl as he stepped through the building of the Moon Dorm, nodding towards the common-class vampire who happened to notice his arrival and opened the door to admit his entry into the building. “Zero, what brings you over today? If it’s the twins you’re looking for, they are currently out. Shiki brought them with him to the town for grocery shopping.” Akane commented when she sighted the arrival of her silver-haired cousin and future adoptive parent. “I know. I passed by them while they were leaving the academy for the direction of the town. In response to your question about the reason of my visit, I’m here to help you out in the cleaning the remaining bathrooms. So, why don’t you tell me how many more bathrooms do you have left to clean before your punishment would be considered over and done with?” Kiryuu Zero said in response to Akane’s words. "Oh, thank you for offering to help, but I’m quite certain that I’m not supposed to receive any help from the others as this was my punishment for being insolent. Either way, I’m nearly done. I’m just left with the bathrooms in Aidou and Ruka’s room. I’d already cleaned the bathroom shared between Shiki and Takuma earlier this morning. Since they are like the only two who wouldn’t chew my head off for knocking on their door to clean up their bathroom early in the morning." Akane responded with a casual shrug of her shoulders. “I see. In that case, you can clean the bathroom in the girls’ room while I help you clean the bathroom in Aidou’s room.” Kiryuu Zero responded as he made his way toward the storage cabinet underneath the staircase of the main wing of the building, where he knew the cleaning supplies were kept. “Huh? Wait, it’s fine. You don’t have to help; I can handle the bathroom cleaning on my own.” Akane started to protest; somehow, she had a very bad feeling about allowing her silver-haired parent to assist her in the cleaning of the bathroom in Aidou’s room, and she had no idea why. "Akane, don’t argue with me on this. Let me help you, I insisted on it." Zero started, his tone firm despite Akane's words of protest. “Oh, Kiryuu-kun's going to help Akane with the cleaning of the bathroom in Aidou’s room? That's great, I’ll help too. Come on, let’s go – I'll show you the way to Aidou’s room.” Ichijo Takuma, who happened to pass by the duo and overhear snippets of their conversation, promptly felt a lightbulb flashing over his head as he arrived at the brilliant idea of ‘friendship bonding’ with the silver-haired guardian. Ever since Kiryuu Zero had complained to his pureblood friend yesterday with regards to his constant befriending approach, Kaname had barred him from leaving the dorm to go in search of Kiryuu. Just when he thought he would have to put his plan of befriending the silver-haired guardian on hold, Kiryuu decided to visit the Moon Dorm on his own. Now, the guy is even offering up his assistance to help Akane in the completing of her remaining punishment. If this wasn’t a hint for him to continue with his strategy to befriend the silver-haired guardian, what could it be? And so, Kiryuu Zero found himself being led towards the direction of Aidou Hanabusa’s room with the cleaning supplies in hand by an enthusiastic green-eyed blond vampire of the night class. "Why do I keep getting the feeling that allowing Takuma and Aidou to be in the same space with Zero is only going to end up in a disaster?" Akane muttered under her breath as she made her way towards the shared room of Ruka Souen and Touya Rima. The entire way she was heading towards her destination, there was a nagging feeling tugging constantly at the edge of her subconscious. So, it was with a frowning expression that she finally knocked upon the door of the shared room between Ruka Souen and Touya Rima to seek entry for the cleaning of their ensuite bathroom. “Akane, you looked troubled. Is anything wrong?” Touya Rima inquires out of curiosity, while Ruka Souen merely turns her nose up and leaves the room for the library of the dorm. She was still sore over the knowledge that her beloved pureblood leader had formed a one-sided bond with the silver-haired ex-human. The fact that Akane shares the same surname with the silver-haired hunter makes it unbearable for her to remain in the same space as the girl. “Well, I’m not exactly sure whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing. Zero decided to help me out in the cleaning of the bathroom in Aidou’s room...and Takuma decided to guide him over to Aidou’s room, but I have a feeling he hasn’t quite given up on his plan to befriend Zero. I certainly hoped whatever he has in mind to befriend Zero this time doesn’t involve him attempting to assist Zero in the cleaning of the bathroom in Aidou’s room.” Akane sighed as she let the information slip to the female model of the night class. Raising an eyebrow in skepticism, Touya Rima remarked. “Now that’s an image I don’t need. Ichijo is just as useless as we are when it comes to performing household chores. I think he would be more of a hindrance than assistance if he attempted to help Kiryuu in cleaning the bathroom in Aidou’s room.” “Yeah, that’s what had me worried as well...” Akane sighed aloud before returning her focus to the task at hand. No matter how worried she was about the situation in Aidou and Akatsuki’s room, her main priority was to finish cleaning up the bathroom in Ruka and Rima’s room. --- "What's he doing here?!" Aidou Hanabusa jabbed a finger in Zero's direction agitatedly, after landing his eyes on the figure of the silver-haired guardian. "Aidou ... It's rude to point fingers at someone, don't you know that?! As for his reason for being here ... we're here to help Akane out in her 'punishment. ' So, in short ... we're going to be cleaning the bathroom in your room." Ichijo Takuma, the Vice-President of the Moon Dormitory, responded good-naturedly with a beam as he addressed the irate vampire. Silence as Aidou Hanabusa stared at the Vice-President in shock before it changed to an expression of skepticism and spoke. "Are you sure? I'm not so certain about Kiryuu's ability to clean a bathroom, but I am certain that you've never cleaned one before! Pardon me if this sounds a little rude, but honestly ... do you even know how to clean a bathroom properly?!" The green-eyed blond vampire pouted at his friend's words before responding. "Well, although I've never cleaned any bathrooms before, I'm sure that with my intelligence, I certainly will be able to pick it up soon enough." Kiryuu Zero let out a sigh of exasperation as he interjected in a firm tone of voice. “For the last time, I’m telling you – Ichijo, I do not need any assistance from you. I can handle the cleaning of the bathroom on my own. So, now that we’ve already arrived at Aidou’s room – can you please return your attention to whatever it was that you were going to do before my arrival?” “Oh, but Kiryuu-kun! I thought this could be a good time for some friendship bonding between us.” Ichijo Takuma responded with a dramatic flair as he started to drag the silver-haired guardian into the bathroom enthusiastically. ‘Friendship bonding...? What the hell, this guy hasn’t given up yet?’ Kiryuu Zero thought, half-distractedly. The mere seconds of distraction were enough to cost him, because by the time he returned his focus to the situation at hand, he found himself already dragged into the bathroom that he was supposed to clean, with the cleaning supplies now held in the hands of the green-eyed blond vampire. Something tells him Ichijo is not going to relinquish his hold on the cleaning supplies easily. "It's okay. Ichijo, you do not have to help me clean the bathroom. I'm pretty capable of handling it myself. Since I had more than enough experience of doing that over the past six years when I'm staying under the same roof with the Chairman." Kiryuu Zero started; his gut feeling kept telling him that it was not a wise decision to let the green-eyed blond vampire assist him in the task of bathroom cleaning. "No, I want to help! Besides, it's nice to do something new once in a while," Ichijo Takuma responded, his tone determined and firm. “Now, wait a minute – Ichijo, I’m not going to let you join the cleaning party and end up making a mess of my bathroom.” Aidou Hanabusa who has absolutely no confidence in the cleaning ability of the green-eyed blond vampire butted in then, as he inserted himself in between the figures of Ichijo Takuma and Kiryuu Zero. Akatsuki Kain, who had been listening in on the conversation between the trio, let out an audible sigh of weariness as he intervened. "Enough, Hanabusa. Just let them in and do their job... If you find their performance less than satisfactory, we could always complain to Kaname-sama later." "Fine then!" Aidou Hanabusa huffed as he stalked off towards the sofa couch of his room and slumped down on it. Ichijo Takuma beams in satisfaction and then promptly closed the door to the bathroom before setting down the cleaning supplies on the floor of the bathroom as he turns eager eyes upon the figure of Kiryuu Zero as he inquires. “Alright, now we can get the cleaning started. So, where should we begin?” The size of the bathroom, Kiryuu Zero had to admit it was generally bigger than what he had seen in the Chairman's living quarters. The bathroom was covered in pristine white tiles and came equipped with a bathtub and a separate shower stall. This is quite unlike the fittings he had gotten accustomed to in the bathroom back at the chairman’s place or the common bathrooms in the Sun Dorm. There aren’t any tubs in the common bathrooms of the Sun Dorm; what’s available is just the plain shower cubicle stalls, which are similar to the shower stalls available at the public swimming pool facility. There's a separate bathing house situated on academy grounds that’s open to the use of students enrolled in the day class, there are stipulated times in place for the use of the bathhouse facility. Personally, Kiryuu Zero had never utilized the use of the bathhouse. He finds taking a shower much more time effective than running a bath, so he tends to prefer the shower stalls in the common bathrooms in the Sun Dorm than to use the bathhouse facility when he was still staying in the dorm. The bathroom at the Chairman’s place, on the other hand, does come equipped with a bathtub, but the size is not as big as the one seen in the bathroom that belongs to Aidou Hanabusa and his cousin, Akatsuki Kain. "This is nothing; every private bathroom in the dormitory was built the same way as what you are witnessing now. Except for one, that is. If you find what we have here extravagant, you should've seen Kaname's bathroom. That would be what we referred to as the term 'exquisite.'" "I’m not just admiring the design of the bathroom, I’m simply deciding where I should start with the cleaning. And for your information, I do know how the bathroom of Kuran’s room looks like. The chairman was the one overseeing the construction progress of the dorm when it was first designed and built, and Yuuki and I, we were here to conduct a final inspection check on the premises before we handed the keys over to Kuran for the lot of you to relocate from the old dorm into this newly-built dormitory." Kiryuu Zero rolled his eyes momentarily before deadpanning to the green-eyed blond vampire in response. He didn’t bother lowering the tone of his reply since he figured it wouldn’t do any good, given how keen the sense of the vampires is. Reaching for the empty bucket that Ichijo Takuma had placed on the floor earlier, Kiryuu Zero started to roll up his sleeves and his pants so that he would not end up getting them wet while executing the cleaning procedures. First, he spent a moment filling up the empty bucket with water, and then the silver-haired guardian proceeded to unscrew the cap to the cleaning detergent and poured a little of the solution into the bucket of water. Wetting a rag cloth with the soapy water, Kiryuu Zero set down to work by starting with the cleaning of the area around the vanity sink. "Erm ... Kiryuu, just what exactly should I do?" The vice-president of the Moon Dorm asked, suddenly feeling out of place for he had no idea where to start cleaning. "You can start by cleaning the tub ... That should be easy enough ... All you need to do is to scrub it clean." Kiryuu Zero responded with a sigh of resignation, wondering if he had made the wrong decision to allow the grandson of Ichijo Asato to aid him in the cleaning task. Somehow, the silver-haired guardian had a feeling that instead of speeding up the whole cleaning process, the green-eyed blond vampire would slow him down in his work instead. Still, what else could he do to dissuade Ichijo from helping him? He'd already exhausted his means, and so, he thought he might as well let the green-eyed blond vampire do as he pleased. Perhaps Ichijo would leave once he got bored of the mundane task of scrubbing the bathtub clean. --- Seconds ticked by slowly as the duo started to clean the bathroom. The task was initially carried out in silence, except for occasional instructions coming from the silver-haired guardian, directed towards the Vice-President of the Moon Dormitory. However, after some time of simply focusing on the task of scrubbing the bathtub, Ichijo Takuma started getting bored. And so, he suggested to play a game of twenty questions with the silver-haired guardian. ‘Why did I even agree to indulge him in the stupid game of twenty questions?’ Kiryuu Zero asked himself mentally as he answered a question about when he lost his first teeth that came from the green-eyed blond vampire while he scrubbed away at the toilet bowl. Outside the bathroom, a certain blue-eyed blond vampire with ice-wielding ability was getting restless. Aidou Hanabusa, like the rest of the members of the night class, had found out Kiryuu Zero’s status as an ex-human vampire on the night of the party. The silver-haired guardian had accidentally ‘outed’ his status as a vampire while making his escape from the Moon Dorm in an attempt to get away when his bloodlust struck shortly after Ichijo had accidentally cut himself with the cake-knife. In hindsight, Aidou suspected Kiryuu probably tried to get away in an attempt to avoid hurting Yuuki Cross since she was the only human present in the Moon Dorm that night. That, and Kiryuu was still attempting to maintain his cover as a human then – only he ended up blowing his cover when it was noted that the speed he was using was anything but humane. Either way, what happened that night ended up solving the mystery behind how the twins happened to be the sons of his beloved pureblood leader and Kiryuu for him and the rest of the members of the inner circle. Initially, the trio's arrival had stunned him too much to try and figure out how it could have happened. After all, it would be quite impossible for a human to procreate with a vampire since they age differently from one another. Humans generally aged faster and had a shorter lifespan as compared to the vampires, so how on earth did Kiryuu Zero end up having kids with his beloved Kaname-sama?! That had been the constant question that nagged at him since the trio's arrival from the future timeline. However, following Kiryuu’s unintentional ‘outing’ of his status as an ex-human in front of the entire night class population. He found the answer to his unasked question: Kiryuu was an ex-human, a 'Level D,' and obviously must have been turned for quite some time already. While Kiryuu's identity as an ex-human vampire gave him the answers to how the former could procreate with his pureblood leader, the question remains about the identity of the pureblood that’s responsible for turning Kiryuu. Certainly, it could not be Kaname-sama since if that had been the case, Kiryuu would not have been feeding off of Akane before. Granted, the spilling of Kaname-sama's blood that night also indicates that Kiryuu has started to feed from their pureblood king. Either way, Aidou is certain that it couldn’t have been Kaname-sama because before the arrival of the trio from the future timeline, Kiryuu practically loathed Kaname-sama, and while Kaname-sama's feelings for the silver-haired hunter at that point wasn’t to the level of utter loathing, it was still dislike. Therefore, there’s simply no way that Kiryuu would allow himself to be willingly bitten by Kaname-sama. So, who exactly is the pureblood that turns Kiryuu, and why wasn’t Kiryuu with his supposed master? Of course, Aidou Hanabusa has his theory with regards to the subject – he'd read from a report while assisting his beloved Kaname-sama in the sorting of the documents that arrived from the senate a couple of years back, about the blooming mad princess wiping out the Kiryuu clan. Hence, the number one candidate for Kiryuu’s master in Aidou’s mind was the blooming mad princess. He recalled blurting out Kiryuu’s status as an ex-human during the party and shared his conjecture that it must have been the blooming mad princess that turned Kiryuu then. Only, he wasn’t able to share his insight on the subject with his friends because Kaname-sama had silenced him with a look that promised pain if he didn’t keep his mouth shut. ‘Argh... if only I could get confirmation for my theory. I wonder if Kiryuu would be willing to tell if I’d ask him politely?’ - Aidou Hanabusa thought as he inched closer to the bathroom where the silver-haired hunter was cleaning. Without realizing that he was now approaching the closed bathroom door, Aidou Hanabusa only stopped mid-step when he heard his cousin calling for his attention. "... Hanabusa, the duo is still inside cleaning. If you need the bathroom urgently, I'm certain Takuma wouldn’t mind letting you use the bathroom in his room. After all, Shiki's out for grocery shopping today, so there isn’t a need to seek permission from him to use the bathroom next door." Akatsuki's voice cut in, halting the blue-eyed blond vampire in his tracks. "Akatsuki, I do not need the bathroom ..." "Then why are you heading towards the direction of the bathroom?!" "What else but to eavesdrop ... Aren't you curious about what the two of them were doing inside and behind closed doors?" Akatsuki's eyebrows shot up at his cousin's words before responding. "What else could they be doing in there, aside from cleaning?" "True, but I do not think that they would be cleaning in silence. After all, Takuma seemed very interested in Kiryuu's affairs recently, don't you think so?" "True ... but ...” "But, aren't you curious what they could be conversing about?!" Aidou Hanabusa cuts in, interrupting his cousin before Akatsuki can finish his words. Unable to withstand the lure of curiosity, Akatsuki found himself rising to the bait of his cousin's words. Before he knew it, he had joined his cousin outside the bathroom door, leaning in closely to listen to the conversation that took place from within. --- Kaname Kuran frowned; he kept getting the constant feeling of annoyance from the one-sided bond formed between Kiryuu Zero and himself when the silver-haired guardian started to feed off of him. The feeling of annoyance came in spurts, but it didn’t exactly unsettle the pureblood king because he knew this was nothing unusual. The silver-haired guardian had a short fuse temper and hated having to address silly questions or to deal with the rowdy fangirls from the day class. So, the pureblood king had learned to tune out of these negative vibes he’d received from the other end of the link from Kiryuu Zero through the one-sided bond formed between them over time. The feeling of uneasiness only started to course through him when he detected an underlying sense of panic, and immediately, Kaname Kuran set aside the documents that he had been reading in favor of focusing on the location of the distressed silver-haired guardian via the use of the one-sided bond between them. Meanwhile, over in the room shared between a certain blue-eyed blond vampire and his cousin, Akatsuki Kain. The duo had been leaning heavily against the closed door that led to the bathroom, which was currently occupied for cleaning by the silver-haired guardian and the vice president of their dormitory. ‘Huh? What's with all these random questions? Why is Ichijo asking Kiryuu about things such as preferred colors and the number of confessions Kiryuu had receives from the day class girls to date?’ - Aidou Hanabusa felt the creases on his forehead increasing as a frowning expression marred his face as he tried to figure out what his green-eyed blond friend is trying to achieve by asking Kiryuu these questions. “I think Ichijo is playing the game Twenty Questions with Kiryuu. One could tell that Kiryuu is quite annoyed by the need to indulge Ichijo in such antics... I could hear him grit his teeth in frustration as he answered those questions from Ichijo.” Akatsuki Kain whispered into the ears of his cousin. Inside the bathroom, Kiryuu Zero could feel his patience for the green-eyed blond vampire hitting his limit. Dumping the wet wash cloth back onto the marble countertop of the vanity basin cabinet, the silver-haired guardian turns towards the figure of Ichijo Takuma as he gritted out through clenched teeth. “Ichijo, if you don’t shut up and remove your presence from my sight within the next minute – I'll freaking throw you out of the bathroom window.” Kiryuu Zero was tempted to pull out his ‘Bloody Rose’ and open fire at the green-eyed blond, but unfortunately, he had left his anti-vampire weapon back in the inner pocket of his day class blazer and the said blazer is currently left outside on the sofa couch and hence remains out of his reach at present. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have threatened to throw Ichijo out of the bathroom window when he could have just fired a warning shot at the vampire that was currently testing his patience. “...” Sensing that the silver-haired guardian wasn’t joking and truly meant his words. Ichijo Takuma promptly fell silent as he sweat-dropped at the murderous aura leaking out from the irate Kiryuu Zero, the green-eyed blond vampire hurried to nod in response as he inched towards the closed bathroom door intending to do as the silver-haired guardian instructed, by leaving the irate guardian to complete the rest of the cleaning task in peace. Due to his intense focus on bothering the silver-haired guardian earlier, Ichijo Takuma fails to realize that he has two eavesdroppers currently leaning against the bathroom door heavily. Henceforth, when he pulled the door leading to the bathroom open, he was completely unprepared for the sight that met his eyes. The result, the figures of Aidou Hanabusa and Akatsuki Kain toppled over when the door was pulled open and fell through the open doorway to crash right into the figure of their green-eyed blond vampire friend. Furthermore, because the bathroom was currently being cleaned, there were wet splotches of water all over the flooring of the bathroom, and Ichijo Takuma had the misfortune to slip on one of the wet splotches and end up losing his balance as he started falling backward. Kiryuu Zero barely had time to react when the opened doorway caused the two nosy eavesdroppers to fall in and crash into the person of Ichijo Takuma. He would have backtracked to get himself away if there had been enough space, but unfortunately, due to the bathtub stationed directly behind him, he had nowhere to dodge when Ichijo had the misfortune to slip on a wet splotch of water on the flooring and started to fall backwards towards his direction. The silver-haired guardian was seized by a brief moment of panic when he realized that he’s either going to get crushed under the weight of three idiotic vampires, or if he’s a tad unluckier – he would end up hitting the back of his head against the pristine white tub of the bathroom and got himself a nasty head-wound from the fall. Little did he know that the brief moment of panic had traveled through the open link of the one-sided bond he had with a certain pureblood, and now the said pureblood was on his way over to determine the source of his panic. ‘Damn...I’m going to end up being the meat cushions for these idiots! Goodness, I knew it was a bad idea to allow Ichijo to assist in the bathroom cleaning task,’ Kiryuu Zero thought as he braced himself for the impact of getting crushed under the weight of a dogpile of bodies through accident means. "Shit!" Ichijo Takuma cursed aloud as he felt his two friends' weight landing on him while he crashed into the silver-haired guardian as he fell back from the slip. "Bloody Hell! What the hell are the two of you doing out there?!" Akatsuki was the first to react by removing his weight from the heap of fallen bodies, as he muttered out the word 'eavesdropping' embarrassingly under his breath. "Eavesdropping?! Are you sure, Akatsuki?! You didn't seem to be the type of person that would feel the need to poke your nose around in other people's businesses." Ichijo Takuma grumbled aloud as he tried his best to maintain his position so that he would be able to avoid landing his weight entirely upon the silver-haired hunter who was currently under him due to his little accident of losing his balance as he slipped and fell in the bathroom. Akatsuki was about to respond when he froze abruptly, as his alert and sensitive vampire's senses informed him of the approaching pureblood. 'Shit!' was the only word on his mind, before he cursed aloud and started to grab his cousin pulling the former up to a standing position. Aidou Hanabusa winced from the sheer force of his cousin's strength as he grumbled aloud. "Damn it, Akatsuki ... Can't you be a little gentle ..." "No time. Kaname-sama's coming!" That sent the blue-eyed blond into a frenzy mode as he tried to get himself up and untangled himself from the Vice-President of the Moon Dormitory, and during which process had accidentally pushed the former downwards that inevitably resulted in the incident of Ichijo Takuma landing his lips atop of Kiryuu Zero's. ‘What the f*** ?!’ - Kiryuu Zero felt his eyes widening as he noticed the face of Ichijo Takuma crashing down on him, and the next thing he knew, he felt the sensation of the green-eyed blond vampire’s lips landing onto his own. ‘Damn! Kaname is going to kill me for this! Argh, this is all your fault – Aidou!’ - Ichijo Takuma cursed inwardly as he squeezed his eyes shut so to avoid the look of inherent shock in those lilac eyes of the silver-haired guardian as his lips went crashing onto the lips of Kiryuu Zero, who was unfortunately underneath him from the earlier dogpile accident. This was exactly what met the eyes of Kaname Kuran upon his arrival and entry into the room that was shared between Aidou Hanabusa and Akatsuki Kain. ~to be continued~ Date started: 19/05/09 Date completed: 20/05/09 Date edited: 20/05/09 Date revised: 28/02/2025
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Kaname’s keen sense toward his future mate had guided him to the room of the ice and fire wielding vampires among his inner circle. Originally, he was confused about why the silver-haired guardian would be in Aidou’s room until he heard the circulating news about how the male guardian of the school had volunteered to help Akane with her punishment of bathroom cleaning. Figuring that to be the reason behind his future mate’s presence in Aidou Hanabusa’s room, Kaname had initially chalked the constant feeling of annoyance he had been sensing from his end of the one-sided bond with Zero as a direct result of Aidou annoying the silver-haired guardian. After all, Aidou had a habit of baiting Kiryuu Zero into an argument at all times. ‘That didn’t explain the surge of mild panic coming from Zero, though,’ Kaname’s inner voice argued. Without realizing it, the pureblood king had quickened his pace and arrived at a stop in front of the closed door that belonged to Aidou Hanabusa and Akatsuki Kain. The door to the room was locked, but it wasn’t an issue for Kaname as he could easily ‘will’ the door to open with a mere application of his power. Still, nothing could have prepared him for the sight that would greet his eyes when he willed the door open to admit his entry into the room. The only thing Kaname Kuran remembers from this scene is seeing red, and then he knew no more as his logical sense of mind had been drowned out by the bubbling anger of his inner beast. The first thing that alerted the trio of noble-ranking vampires of the arrival of their pureblood king on site was the unanticipated explosion of the bedside lamp in the room combined with the oppressing aura of a furious pureblood. The next thing Aidou Hanabusa and Akatsuki Kain could register was a blurring of a dark figure in front of their eyes, followed by the sight of their vice-president being forcibly dragged off the shell-shocked figure of Kiryuu Zero and thrown aside. Ichijo Takuma couldn’t help but winced when he felt his back hitting the bookcase in Aidou’s room as he was dragged off the figure of Kiryuu Zero and thrown aside by his furious pureblood friend. Kiryuu Zero, who had been stunned by the unexpected turn of events and reeling from the shock of the accidental kiss between him and the green-eyed blond vampire, was dragged back to reality when he felt the familiar grip of Kaname Kuran tightening around his wrist as he was forcibly dragged back onto his feet. He barely had enough time to grab his discarded school blazer from the sofa couch of Aidou Hanabusa’s room before he felt himself being dragged off by the furious figure of Kaname Kuran. “...” --- Kiryuu Zero, still half-disoriented from the impact of the fall he had taken to the back of his head on the bathroom floor in Aidou Hanabusa’s room, failed to realize where exactly the pureblood king was dragging him. It wasn’t until he felt his back roughly hitting a wall that he finally came back to his senses. "What the hell ..." Kiryuu Zero found his words being cut off when he felt the lips of the pureblood king crashing against his in a rough-like manner. "Um...mm..." The silver-haired hunter struggled to get his words out but failed miserably. For every single time he attempted to speak, he would be silenced by yet another round of brutal kissing from the pureblood king. Unlike the accidental kiss with Ichijo Takuma, which was simply the feeling of lips brushing against lips, the kissing he was on the receiving end of from the irate beast of Kaname Kuran was a true kiss that involved the use of the tongue. Oh, he knew it was the beast and not the logical side of Kaname Kuran in control because of the abnormal glow of red in the eyes of the pureblood king he’d registered before his lips was brutally claimed and assaulted. Initially, Kiryuu Zero struggled as he tried to free himself from the grasp of the enraged pureblood king. At some point of his struggle, the school blazer he’d held in his hands fell to land in a heap by his foot. However, as the seconds passed them by slowly, his struggles became half-hearted. Eventually, the silver-haired guardian stopped struggling against Kaname Kuran altogether and merely stood still while he allowed the pureblood king to ravish him in silence. Tears of frustration pricked his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. Part of him knew he should be angry with what Kaname Kuran was doing to him now, for it could very much be considered a violation of his will. Yet, for some unknown reasons, the silver-haired guardian was not enraged by the pureblood's actions; only confused by what was happening between them. He knew the pureblood was angry, and he knew the reason behind the pureblood king’s anger. After all, he wasn’t oblivious to the pureblood king’s desires for him – he just didn’t know what to make of it yet. ‘Damn it, Ichijo... I swear I’ll put a bullet through you if you dare to venture anywhere near me, again.’ - Kiryuu Zero thought as he mentally counted down the time needed for the logical side of the pureblood to resurface and wrestle back the control from his beast, while trying to stamp down the desire to bite down on the tongue that’s currently exploring the insides of his mouth against his will. The only reason why he hadn’t bit down on that offending tongue that was eagerly exploring the insides of his mouth thus far was due to his reluctance to turn this angry make-out session instigated by the furious pureblood into another feeding session. Kaname Kuran, on the other hand, was furious beyond words. This was the second time around; he caught sight of someone else 'kissing' the silver-haired guardian, and he was unhappy. No ... 'Unhappy' was too mild a word to describe his current feelings; 'Rage' would be a better word to describe what he was currently experiencing. The first thing he did after separating Zero from Takuma was to drag the said hunter off to the privacy of his room. The sheer thought of Takuma's lips against the hunter sent him over the edge completely, and before he knew it, Kaname had allowed his instincts to take over as he started ravishing the mouth of the hunter against the former's will. He knew what could be the consequences that follow his actions, but currently, he ignored the fact. For he had only one notion in mind, and that was to claim ownership of the hunter's lips. Kiryuu Zero felt himself stiffening on reflex when he felt the pureblood's hand on his waist, but he relaxed visibly when he realized that the hand had not moved anywhere else and was merely stationed where it was. A shudder ran through his body as he felt the kiss of the pureblood softening from its initial rough-like manners. Suppressing the urge to moan from pleasure, he allowed a gasp to escape from his lips instead. ‘Holy shit! I can’t believe I’m enjoying the kiss when it’s supposed to be a violation of my will.’ Kiryuu Zero vaguely registered the thought that fleeted past his mind as he felt his body relaxing into the hold of the pureblood king. However, he soon felt himself tensing up when he noticed the lengthened fangs of the pureblood king hovering near his neck. For a while, he almost thought that the former would bite and mark him against his will, like what Shizuka Hiou had done to him before. Truth be told, Kaname Kuran was contemplating the same thought, too. However, his surfacing logic kept him from marking the guardian just yet. The pureblood king wanted the silver-haired guardian in his arms to be willingly bitten and marked by him to prevent further complications. It was bad enough of him to have kissed Zero without considering the will of the former, he would not allow himself to do anything more than that. Especially now that Kaname Kuran had finally come to terms with his desires and possessiveness for the silver-haired guardian and knew that he wanted a future with the person he now held in his arms. Even though he hasn’t quite decided about what he ought to do with Yuuki, his beloved little sister and supposedly his fiancée. No doubt, Yuuki would have to be awakened in time; that much Kaname was certain. After all, the spell cast on Yuuki to make her a human by Juri Kuran wasn’t permanent. The seal from the spell that suppressed Yuuki’s memory would begin to weaken as Yuuki approached the age of maturity. So, it’s either that Kaname wakes Yuuki up when the time comes or allows Yuuki to regain the suppressed memories on her own. The former option is better than the latter for certain, as it could spare Yuuki from all the confusion and emotional stress as she tried to recover the suppressed memories. The question now was what should be done when Yuuki's heritage and memory of being a pureblood was awakened. After all, Yuuki was supposed to be both his fiancée and his sister at the same time. So, what should he do when Yuuki's memory was awakened? Honoring the traditions of the Kuran family by bonding and starting a family with Yuuki is out of the question. The beast in him refused to comply, and truth be told – he’s reluctant to abide by the traditions of the Kuran family either. So, he needs to figure out what he ought to do with his supposed commitment to Yuuki and still get to have his future with Zero. "Oops! Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt ... Please do continue ... I didn't see anything ..." The sudden sound of Akira's voice startled both Kaname and Zero out from their daze-like manner, and they both snapped their eyes toward the intruder spontaneously. "Akira! How long have you been standing out there watching us?" Kaname started, addressing his youngest son smoothly and calmly. "Long enough ... since the two of you start staring one another in the eyes ..." Kuran Akira responded, ignoring his elder twin's warning from behind. Kiryuu Subaru, meanwhile, wanted very much to disappear right there and then. They had, after all, walked in on a very embarrassing moment between the younger versions of their parents. The twins' entry into the room managed to jolt Kiryuu Zero out from his stupor-like mode. Mortified at being caught red-handed in the act by the kids, Kiryuu Zero promptly clenched up his fist and delivered a hard punch into the stomach of Kaname Kuran, successfully getting a response of a grimace from the pureblood king. With that, the silver-haired guardian promptly turns to flee the private suite of the pureblood in a manner of flustered blushing. "..." The twins remained silent as their Daddy fled their father's room, flushing crimson in the face and not even daring to look in the direction where they stood. Turning back to the figure of their younger father, who’s still grimacing from the impact of the strong punch delivered to the stomach by the younger version of their flustered daddy. Subaru sighed as he entered the room, closing the door behind him and locking it for some privacy before turning towards the elder pureblood. "Father ... Don't take it too hard ... Dad's just embarrassed." "I know ..." Kaname said, his voice tight and controlled as he responded to the elder twin's remarks. “Father, give daddy some time... he’ll come around. Though, he might hide from you for a day or two to sort out the turbulent thoughts in his mind.” Kuran Akira added somewhat cheekily from the sideline, garnering another sighing response from his elder twin. “I know.” Again, the pureblood king let out an audible sigh as he responded. Of course, he knew the silver-haired guardian wouldn’t hide from him forever. That wouldn’t be realistic as his beloved Zero can’t go without feeding for more than 72 hours. Considering that the last feeding Zero had was Thursday night, Kaname gathered he probably would get to see the silver-haired guardian by tomorrow night. ‘Hmm... though, I’ll probably have to be the one approaching him to get him to feed, instead of him coming to me after what happened between us earlier.’ - Kaname Kuran thought inwardly to himself as he took a few moments to regather his wits together, before heading out front to deal with the repercussions of his fury. For one, he probably has to replace the bedside lamps he’d shattered when his powers went out of control due to the fury clouding his sense after chancing upon the scene of that kiss between Takuma and Zero. He probably would have to speak to Takuma about what happened in the bathroom of Aidou’s room earlier as well, but that was going to have to wait until he was calmer and less prone to losing his temper. Decision made, Kaname Kuran shifted his attention to focus on his future children with the silver-haired guardian. “How was the trip to the town? Did the two of you have fun?” Kaname Kuran inquires as he addresses the twins, who had just returned from a trip taken into town with his cousin – Shiki Senri. “Yeah, we have a lot of fun. There was a food fair going on, and Uncle Shiki bought us candy floss.” Kuran Akira promptly launched into a retelling of the recent trip taken into town under the chaperoning of his favorite uncle, Shiki Senri. While Akira recounted the details of their recent trip into town, Kiryuu Subaru found his eyes traveling to land upon the unmistakable day class school blazer that was in a heap by the side of the room’s door. ‘... Is that Daddy’s blazer?’ Kiryuu Subaru found himself wondering as he ventured closer to inspect the garment. Upon picking up the school’s blazer and feeling the weight of the garment in his hand, the silver-haired child nodded in affirmation that this was indeed the school blazer that belongs to his daddy since he could easily notice the ‘Bloody Rose’ hidden away in the inner pocket of the blazer now that he had the garment held in his hands. “Father, I think Daddy left behind his anti-vampire weapon...” Kiryuu Subaru spoke up as he held up the garment with the hidden ‘Bloody Rose’ included for Kaname Kuran’s inspection. “Indeed. Thank you, Subaru. Do hand it over, I’ll safe-keep the ‘Bloody Rose’ for your daddy. He’s bound to come back for them later.” Kaname Kuran said as he retrieved the offered garment from the hands of the elder twin. Inwardly, he wondered if he should get the maids to help launder the school blazer or if he should return the entire thing, weapon included, to the silver-haired guardian when the former returned for the retrieval of the ‘Bloody Rose’. --- “Kiryuu-kun, are you okay? You're looking quite red in the face...” The sudden sound of a female addressing him snapped the focus of Kiryuu Zero back into reality. Blinking once, then twice, it took the silver-haired guardian quite a bit of time to register the area where he had found himself in. It seems in his frenzy rush to escape from the Moon Dorm, he had taken off towards the building that’s situated on the furthest end of the academy grounds – the school’s observatory. “Apology, I was lost in thoughts. I’ll just leave so the lot of you can continue with what you were doing.” Kiryuu Zero responded as he hurried to backtrack out from the observatory building. “...” Inwardly berating himself for not watching where he was going, the silver-haired guardian groaned when he realized in his flustered rush to depart from the Moon Dorm that he had accidentally left his school blazer behind in the room of the pureblood king. It isn’t so bad if it’s just the school blazer that he’d left behind, but the thing is – his ‘Bloody Rose’ was tucked away in the inner pocket of the school blazer, so, now... he’s without his anti-vampire weapon. ‘Great, just freaking great!’ - Kiryuu Zero cursed in the mind as he stood at the crossroad, ahead of him lays two paths. One path will bring him back to the chairman’s house, while the other path would lead him back to the building he had just escaped moments ago. In the end, the silver-haired guardian decided to head back to the chairman’s house for now. He could retrieve his ‘Bloody Rose’ on the following night when he approached the pureblood king for his routine feeding. The thought of the pureblood king brought on the reminder of the kissing episode between them from before, and the silver-haired guardian felt his cheeks burning up on reflex once more. ‘Oh gods...what am I going to do now? I was brutally assaulted by the damn pureblood on the mouth, I should be bristling with anger. Only, I’m not angry... I’m just confused and perhaps a little aroused. Damn... I nearly moaned in pleasure towards the end when the kisses weren’t as brutal as they originally were, didn’t I? Gods, Master Tooga is so going to kill me for this!’ Kiryuu Zero thought as a troubled look crossed his features. The silver-haired guardian was somewhat relieved to find the house deserted upon his return. Then again, his mentor resides in the dorm of the teaching staff and is only at the chairman’s during meal times. A quick look at the timing reflected on the wall clock that hung in the living room of the house informed the silver-haired teen that he had about an hour before he had to start the preparation for dinner and approximately 2 hours before he had to come face-to-face with his mentor. That gave him about two hours to rid his mind of the thoughts of a certain pureblood whose image only made him feel hot and bothered at this point. The chairman is likely still in his office at the school, sorting out administrative work. Yuuki... well, she’s probably somewhere around, hanging out with her friend, Wakaba Sayori. Speaking of the name Wakaba, where exactly have I heard it before? Desperate for a lifeline to distract him from thinking about a certain pureblood, Kiryuu Zero promptly latched on to the fleeting thought concerning the familiarity in the surname of Yuuki’s friend. This train of thought successfully distracted him from thinking about a certain pureblood for the rest of the night, and he survived through the dinner meal with his mentor in attendance without a hiccup. It took Kiryuu Zero up until midnight to recall just where exactly he’d heard the name Wakaba from – the current head for the hunter’s branch of the Fujiwara clan had a personal assistant going by the name Wakaba Hisashi. ‘What are the odds of Wakaba Sayori being related to Wakaba Hisashi?’ - Kiryuu Zero couldn’t help but wonder as he mulled over the possibility and the meaning it symbolized if his theory proved accurate. Well, there’s only one way to go about getting verification for his theory. No, he wasn’t going to waltz up to Wakaba Sayori and ask if the girl was related to the personal assistant of Fujiwara Haruto. That’s too blunt and could end up causing awkwardness for both of them if he’s simply overthinking things. So, no... he’s going to have to approach either Risa Miyazaki from the night class, whose maternal grandfather – Fujiwara Hayate- works closely with the current head of the hunter’s branch, or to approach Fujiwara Hitomi, his so-called aunt and Akane’s birth mother, to seek verification for his theory. ‘To approach Risa, I’ll need to head back to the Moon Dorm... and considering that she stays in the sub-wing, it’s going to be a hassle getting her to come out and meet me without going through Kuran or the noble ranks. And after what happened earlier, there’s no way I would want to go anywhere near Kuran or any of the noble ranks. So, Fujiwara Hitomi – it shall be.’ - Kiryuu Zero sighed as he made up his mind about the candidate to approach for the verification of his theory. Decision made, the silver-haired guardian forced himself to close his eyes as he attempted to get some sleep. After all, it’s a tad too early to visit Fujiwara Hitomi, who’s staying in the Sun Dorm building for girls. When morning comes around, Kiryuu Zero decides to approach Fujiwara Hitomi at the school cafeteria as opposed to visiting the girl at the Sun Dorm. It's easier to get ahold of the girl in the cafeteria than the dormitory building, less chances of the other students thinking he was there to look for Yuuki. Fujiwara Hitomi was relatively surprised to find the school's male guardian approaching her in the school’s cafeteria during the breakfast hour. “Hitomi, do you have time for a brief conversation now? I have something that required verification from a member of the Fujiwara clan.” Kiryuu Zero wasn’t one to beat around the bush, so he cut straight to the crux when he approached the girl whom he was supposed to address as his aunt but had difficulty doing so. Likewise, the feelings were mutual for Fujiwara Hitomi, and that was why both of them often acted like strangers while in school. “Sure, just let me finish up my breakfast. I'll meet you back out near the tray return service point in five minutes.” Fujiwara Hitomi eventually responded to her nephew’s request for the conversation with a nod. The silver-haired guardian didn’t bother to stay around. As soon as he received the response from Fujiwara Hitomi, he'd turn on his heels and depart for the tray return service point situated toward the back of the school’s cafeteria. Fujiwara Hitomi, meanwhile, had to fend off the curious questions coming from her classmates about just what exactly the male guardian of the school wanted to speak to her about. Unwilling to let her friends know of her familial relations to the silver-haired guardian, all she manages to let slip to her friends is that she is distantly related to the Kiryuu family. “Any idea what the conversation is going to be about?” Sawashiro Kaori, a girl whose family serves as the retainers to the infamous Fujiwara clan, inquires. “No clues, but it likely had something to do with the clan. He did mention he had something to verify with a member of the Fujiwara clan, and since he came to me instead of the other four Fujiwara enrolled in Cross Academy... I figured whatever he has in mind to verify is something those members from the human branch wouldn’t know.” Fujiwara Hitomi speculated on the reason behind Kiryuu Zero’s approach this morning to her roommate and childhood friend. “I see. Well, then... go on ahead. I’ll keep the rest of them occupied with something else, so none of them would think to spy on your meeting with Kiryuu.” Sawashiro Kaori then said, as she shooed her friend off towards the direction where the trays return point is situated. Fujiwara Hitomi set down her food tray on the counter of the trays return point before heading towards the side where she had sighted the familiar figure of Kiryuu Zero. “Alright, I’m here. What do you have in mind to verify with me? Do make it a quick conversation; the last thing I required was for my friends to mistake the nature of our relationship.” Fujiwara Hitomi started as soon as she came to a stop in front of the silver-haired guardian. “What a coincidence. I agree here. I just want to ascertain if there’s any relation between Wakaba Hisashi and Wakaba Sayori.” Kiryuu Zero responded with a roll of his eyes at the remarks coming from Fujiwara Hitomi before he voiced his question across to the girl who would grow up to become the birth mother of his future adoptive daughter. “Wakaba Sayori...as in the Wakaba Sayori from class 2-B? Your classmate?” Fujiwara Hitomi clarified before she proceeded to answer the query on the mind of her supposed nephew. “Yes. That, Wakaba Sayori.” Kiryuu Zero nodded in response. “Of course, they’re related. Wakaba Sayori’s his daughter.” Fujiwara Hitomi responded without even the need to stop and think about her answer. “Any idea why she was sent to Cross Academy?” The silver-haired guardian inquires with a frowning expression. “Observation, perhaps? I know I was sent here to observe the progress of the co-existence campaign championed by the chairman and Kaname Kuran. Cross Academy is, after all, the only other school to promote co-existence between the humans and the vampires, outside of the Fujiwara Gakuen based in Kyoto.” Fujiwara Hitomi responded with a shrug of her shoulders. “I understood your reasons for enrolling here in Cross Academy. The Fujiwara clan might not interfere, but they are equally invested in the result of this new co-existence campaign between the humans and the vampires. As of present, only Kyoto managed to attain the optimal results for co-existence, but then again, the vampire community in Kyoto is relatively small, and most of them are loyal to Fujiwara Yumi, the clan head for the vampire’s branch. In any case, it bugs me that Wakaba Hisashi sent his daughter to Cross Academy as opposed to the more reputable Fujiwara Gakuen. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to go and ask her for the reason behind her enrollment to Cross Academy myself. Thank you for addressing my doubt. Have a good day ahead – Hitomi.” Kiryuu Zero let out an audible sigh as he thanked his young aunt for addressing his query about the relationship between Wakaba Hisashi and his classmate, Wakaba Sayori. --- “Zero? I can’t believe you showed up for my study group session. Haven't you always claimed that you’re too smart for these study groups?” Yuuki Cross started in surprise upon seeing her silver-haired friend in the school library on Sunday morning. “Well, I’ve the time on hand, and the class test is coming up. The week after the class test is the annual school festival week, and on the last day of the school festival, a school dance would be held where the members of the night class would be allowed to attend. Surely, you don’t need me to tell you of the outcome if you flunked the tests...” Kiryuu Zero commented as he directed a meaningful look in Yuuki’s direction. ‘School dance... night class members attending...’ - It took a while, but eventually, Yuuki caught on to the underlying message in her friend’s words. Her friend wasn’t reminding her about her duties as a guardian during the progress of the school dance but to remind her about their class rep’s infatuation with Ruka Souen of the night class. So, if she were to fail the upcoming class tests, their class would be tasked to decorate the event hall, leaving them with no time to seek out a date for the school dance event. “The class rep would chew my head off if I flunk the upcoming tests, wouldn’t he?” Yuuki Cross's sweat dropped as she commented somewhat bashfully. “Indeed. Now focus. I’ll be checking over your math assignments shortly.” Kiryuu Zero stated in a business tone of voice as he addressed Yuuki before turning his attention onto the hazel-eyed, brown-haired girl seated next to Yuuki in the school’s library. “Wakaba-san, can I take up a minute of your time?” The silver-haired guardian started as he fixated his signature lilac eyes upon the silent figure of Wakaba Sayori. “Sure, let’s head outside for the conversation, shall we?” Wakaba Sayori took a moment as she met eyes with Kiryuu Zero with a considering look before she nodded and pushed back her chair softly to avoid disrupting the peaceful environment of the school’s library. “Yuuki, I’m heading out for a moment. Don't doze off just because I’m not around to poke you awake. Hiromi, please keep an eye on Yuuki and make sure she studies like she needs to and does not end up in another daydream of hers.” Wakaba Sayori told the other female student that was involved in Yuuki’s Sunday study group session before following the silver-haired guardian out to the entrance of the school library for their little conversation. “You’re the daughter of Wakaba Hisashi?” Not one known to beat around the bush, Kiryuu Zero went straight to the point as he voiced his words across to the brown-haired girl whom Yuuki had befriended from the first day Cross Academy had begun operation. “Yes. Since you’ve figured out my identity, let me reintroduce myself to you. I’m Wakaba Sayori, the second-born of Wakaba Hisashi and Mishima Yuuko. My elder brother is Wakaba Hiroshi, currently serving as the bodyguard of Fujiwara Akemi. Pleased to meet your acquaintances, Zero-sama.” Wakaba Sayori said as she proceeded with a proper introduction of her identity to the silver-haired guardian of Cross Academy. “... not another one.” Kiryuu Zero was heard muttering under his breath briefly before returning his focus to the girl in front of him as he asked another question. “What’s your purpose of enrolling in this school? Surely, it can’t be the same as the Fujiwara clan members. I hardly think Fujiwara Haruto cares much about the co-existence campaign going on in this part of the country. And since your father is his assistant, I find it hard to believe that your reason for enrollment into Cross Academy would have nothing to do with me.” “Astute observation. You're right to say that my reasons for enrolling into Cross Academy had everything to do with you. I was told by my parents, both of them, to keep an eye on you when I was first sent to Cross Academy for my education.” Wakaba Sayori responded with an impressed look in her eyes, although she was rather surprised that it had taken the silver-haired guardian this long to recognize her relations to the Wakaba family that served the Fujiwara clan. “How often do you report to them?” Kiryuu Zero inquired next. He was hardly surprised that the Fujiwara clan would have someone keeping tabs on him over the years. Seeing as, after he was bitten and left to bleed out on the front porch of his family home after the attack of the blooming mad princess – it had been the Fujiwara clan that retrieved him and tended to his injuries from that night. Of course, they had also noticed the bite he had been given by Shizuka Hiou then, so there was a bit of debate between the clan heads. While he didn’t know all the details, what he did know was that his maternal uncle had a clash in opinions with Fujiwara Haruto, and due to his uncle’s insistence on ensuring his continual survival, his uncle, Fujiwara Satoshi, was ousted from the position of the head for the hunter’s branch. In the end, the head of the vampire’s branch intervened and laid down her support for his maternal uncle’s decision to save him instead of snuffing out his life like what Fujiwara Haruto had suggested. Since the head of the vampire’s branch is the true clan head of the family, given that the original Fujiwara family was a pureblood vampire clan, the decision of Fujiwara Yumi was final. And so, Kiryuu Zero was given the necessary first-aid treatment to ensure his survival and then carted off to one of the guestrooms in the home of his maternal uncle’s residence to recuperate while the rest of the heads reconvened to discuss his guardianship details. By the time he regained consciousness and was considered lucid enough to form coherent thoughts, he was first asked by his uncle to provide a verbal report of the blooming mad princess’s attack on his family. Later, his uncle spared a couple of minutes updating him of his ‘condition’ before informing him that his guardianship had been signed over to an ex-hunter who‘s a pacifist going by the name Kaien Cross. Just like that, Kiryuu Zero became the adopted son of Kaien Cross, who later set up the Cross Academy as part of the co-existence campaign he had going with the Kuran family – who are known pacifists in the vampire community. Kiryuu Zero was drawn out from his thoughts and back into reality when he heard the voice of Wakaba Sayori speaking up in response to his earlier query about the frequency of her reports to her parents. “I report to them of my observations made once, every six months. It remains that frequency up until your bloodlust strikes. So, currently, I'm expected to report once in 3 months.” Wakaba Sayori responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Other than being asked to report to them about my condition, have you been told to do anything else?” Kiryuu Zero sighed before inquiring once more. “Currently, the answer is no.” Wakaba Sayori answered with an honest expression in her eyes. “I see. Do inform me if the situation were to change at any point. While on the subject, you haven’t picked a side for your allegiance, have you?” The silver-haired guardian was about to turn and leave when he was reminded of Wakaba’s family being a retainer family of the Fujiwara clan and promptly turned back to seek clarification on the subject. Wakaba Sayori appears stunned for a second before she shakes her head in response. “Not yet. I have until my next birthday to decide.” “Fair enough. That's all for now, I’ll come back to you if I think of anything else.” Kiryuu Zero finally said, sending a nod in the girl’s direction before he took off somewhere at high speed that reminded Wakaba Sayori that she needed to come up with an excuse to tell Yuuki about her silver-haired friend’s abrupt departure. After all, it isn’t as though she could come outright with the information about how Kiryuu Zero was here to look for her to seek clarifications on her agenda for enrolling into Cross Academy and not to attend the study group of Yuuki’s - right? --- Laying down on the hay in the stables where his favorite horse – White Lily was kept, Kiryuu Zero felt the number of turbulent thoughts in his mind heightening instead of lowering. On one hand, thoughts concerning the impending visit of Shizuka Hiou plagued his mind, and he found himself wondering what he should do when he came face-to-face with that woman that turned him against his will. He’d told his mentor that he had reserved all the hatred in his system for Shizuka Hiou, which wasn’t a lie. He truly does hate Shizuka Hiou with a passion, only Shizuka Hiou wasn’t just the killer of his parents but also a family relation of his undead grandfather. And that’s exactly the complication in the situation... while he’s certain that the so-called ‘master-servant’ bond wouldn’t work as well on him as whatever Shizuka Hiou had been anticipating, because Zero had it in confidence that he would be able to open fire at Shizuka Hiou when the time came. However, opening fire doesn’t mean he could kill the blooming mad princess – it just means that he would have no issues hurting the woman. And then, there’s the issue of the completion of his turning to think about... Akane’s advice was for him to complete the turning as soon as possible. To do that, ingesting the blood of Shizuka Hiou was the most straightforward solution, and he figured a lot of his close acquaintances would probably want him to ingest the blood of his supposed ‘master’ as that’s the only way that could prevent his inevitable fall to the Level E. However, therein lies the challenge: with how much hatred he harbors for Shizuka Hiou, would he truly be able to ingest that woman’s blood when the time comes? At this rate, Kiryuu Zero figured he might as well approach that undead grandfather of his and request for the man to slit his wrist or something to bleed some for his ingestion even though that idea wasn’t particularly appealing to him either. However, he thought that was way better than ingesting the blood of the woman who slaughtered his parents and then turned him against his will. Finally, there’s also Ichiru to think about. Zero knew his younger twin harbors complicated feelings towards him; on one hand, Ichiru adores him because of the connection between them as twins. On the other hand, he is also aware that Ichiru is often jealous of the attention he receives from the adults. Due to Ichiru’s sickly and frail constitution, from day one, his younger twin had been cast aside as someone unsuitable for carrying on the family legacy as a skilled vampire hunter. Henceforth, everyone in their family’s friends and acquaintances pinned their hopes on him, the healthier twin, to carry on the family’s legacy when the time came. Of course, while they made such comments, they are also commenting about his kind nature, which might be a problem once he’s old enough to begin training in vampire hunting. After all, before Ichiru and he, there had never been a set of twins born to a hunter’s family before. Most would devour the other in the womb before the time arrived for the child to be born. So, it was truly a surprise to many when two babies were born from the womb of their mother when the time of their birth arrived. So, even though Ichiru hasn’t made any mention of these comments to him, Zero knew his twin wasn’t oblivious to the opinions of the adults around them. Regardless, as time passed them by, Ichiru’s resentment for the adult’s treatment of him also grew... but the elder Kiryuu twin hadn’t expected for his younger twin to harbor such resentment towards their parents too. Yet, it remained a fact that it was Ichiru that allowed the blooming mad princess into their home that night. Sure, his younger twin might have been tricked into opening the door for Shizuka Hiou initially, but it didn’t change the fact that Ichiru didn’t shed a tear when the woman slaughtered their parents in front of them. Despite the shock that coursed through Kiryuu Zero on that night, he distinctively recalled Ichiru pleading for Shizuka Hiou to spare him...and the next thing he knew, he was given a bite on the neck and left out on the front porch of his family home, with his life still intact. The bite was truly just a bite, a mouthful of blood from him was likely the only taste that woman had gotten off from him upon the bite. At this point, he had no clue whether Shizuka Hiou’s abrupt departure with Ichiru in tow was truly due to his younger twin’s plea for his life to be spared or was it due to the return of that woman’s sanity after getting a taste of his blood. “This is truly a headache...” Kiryuu Zero remarked with a frowning look on his face before shifting his mind toward the other pureblood that plagued his mind these days. Just the saga involving Shizuka Hiou and his twin is already giving him a headache, and now he had to spare time to figure out his feelings towards another pureblood. Not just any pureblood but the king of pureblood – Kaname Kuran. The thought of the pureblood king reminded him that he was due for another feeding session soon. He could procrastinate, but it wouldn’t change the fact that he would need to feed before the end of today. It's better to feed when he’s still lucid; that way, it would minimize the chance of him taking too much from the pureblood king. After all, feeding while he’s lucid meant that his human side is in control, but if he were to wait until his bloodlust completely took over, that’s practically leaving things up to his inner beast. Furthermore, he had a nagging suspicion about his inner beast harboring some form of attraction for the pureblood king because every single time he fed off the pureblood king, he would end up in a compromising position when his sense of logic returned following the sating of his bloodlust. The result, the human side of him was left coping with the embarrassment when faced with the amused gaze of the pureblood king. And then, he had the episode of that kissing session he was subjected to by the furious pureblood king from yesterday afternoon to think about. The fact that he didn’t feel disgusted when Kuran pries his mouth open with the tongue, and how he was left weak in the knees and aroused when the kissing session came to an end is undeniable proof that despite how the entire episode had begun with an assault and is pretty much a violation of his will... he had given in and ended up finding enjoyment from the impromptu make-out session. The question now is – was that reaction of his towards the end of that force-kissing assault – something that was borne out from his desires for the pureblood king(?) ‘Damn... all this thinking is making the ache in my head to worsen!’ - Kiryuu Zero groaned inwardly as he covered his eyes with his arm, before sighing aloud as he urged himself to take a quick nap with the comforting presence of White Lily near him. While Kiryuu Zero was taking that nap of his in the stables situated at the back of the academic building of Cross Academy, Kaname Kuran had the trios involved in that bathroom cleaning fiasco standing in the study room situated on the ground floor of the Moon Dorm. “Can either of you explain to me just what exactly happened yesterday afternoon that resulted in that unsightly scene I’d stumbled upon in the room of Aidou and Akatsuki?” Kaname Kuran prompted, his tone quiet and demanding. It had taken him more than 12 hours to soothe the agitation from his beast after that episode from yesterday, the twins have proven to be a good distraction for his dark mood. Otherwise, the pureblood king highly doubted he would be able to look at the face of Ichijo Takuma and not feel the urge to kill his friend for daring to take advantage of his future mate in that manner. There was a moment of silence as the trios exchanged glances among themselves before Ichijo Takuma took a step forward as he responded to the query of his pureblood friend who looked significantly calmer. Though the aura of his friend still reeks of displeasure, at least it wasn’t murderous like it was yesterday. The bathroom cleaning attempt in Aidou’s room had ended up being a disaster, so much so that Akane was tasked to redo the cleaning following the flustered departure of the silver-haired guardian yesterday afternoon. Akane didn’t argue against the decision made by the displeased pureblood king and went on to scrub clean every inch and corner of the bathroom in Aidou’s room with the use of the disinfectant solution. She didn’t even stop to inquire about the reason why Zero had left the Moon Dorm in such a flustered manner, leaving behind a bathroom that was only 50% cleaned. Neither did she bother to inquire on the reason why there had been chipped off shards from the exploded bed lamps on the floor of the room shared between Aidou Hanabusa and Akatsuki Kain when she was tasked to take over the cleaning of the bathroom, after she was done cleaning the bathroom in the room of Ruka Souen and Touya Rima. “So, basically what you’re telling me is that – you didn’t mean to kiss Zero, it was an accident that resulted from Aidou’s mindless act in his frantic rush to untangled his limbs from your limbs while trying to get away from you after the lot of you fell atop of one another like a dogpile.” Kaname Kuran repeated flatly as he eyed his green-eyed friend with an unimpressed look. “In a nutshell. Yes, that’s the point I was driving at.” Ichijo Takuma nodded in response. “Okay, and so, what causes the dogpile to occur in the first place?” Kaname Kuran nodded before voicing forth his next query to the trio of vampires standing in front of him with mirroring looks of repentance etched onto their faces. “I’m afraid that’s my fault, Kaname-sama. I got curious about the conversations between Kiryuu and Takuma and decided to eavesdrop on them from outside of the bathroom. As the door leading to the bathroom was closed, I had to lean in close to the door to catch wind of the words that were being exchanged between them. So, when Takuma opens the door after Kiryuu got fed-up playing twenty questions with him and threatened to throw him out of the window... I kind of fell atop of Takuma, who in turn, slipped on a wet splotch of water on the bathroom floor, resulting in a loss of balance as he fell backwards to land on top of the unsuspecting Kiryuu. As for the accidental kiss, it was exactly what Takuma had explained earlier. He didn’t mean to kiss Kiryuu, I’m sure. We all know that you had staked a claim upon Kiryuu despite not making any official announcement about it. None of us would dare to challenge the claim you have on Kiryuu, Kaname-sama. So, believe me when I say that what happened yesterday is simply an unfortunate accident and there would not be a repeat of the same situation, again.” Aidou Hanabusa took in a deep breath as he took a step forward to explain the reason that resulted in the dogpile of bodies that kick-started the series of unfortunate events of yesterday, conveniently leaving out his cousin’s part in it. After all, he was the one that roped Akatsuki into eavesdropping on the duo, and so, he figured if anyone was to blame, it should be him. For a while, Kaname Kuran didn’t respond, and when he finally did, it was to make it clear that Ichijo Takuma was not to venture anywhere near the silver-haired guardian if the former valued his life. Because there’s no telling what the beast in him would do if the green-eyed blond vampire was sighted anywhere near to Kiryuu Zero, his future mate. Finally, turning towards Aidou Hanabusa, Kaname decided to confiscate the blue-eyed blond vampire’s ‘treasure collection’ that comprises of his old, discarded items. The pureblood king had trouble understanding the mind of Aidou Hanabusa. Why is it that every time he threw out something, the item would be retrieved by the ice-wielding vampire and stored away like a valuable? In any case, Kaname Kuran figured this was a good opportunity to finally get rid of those unwanted items, in his opinion. “...” --- It was 11 pm when Kiryuu Zero finally decided that he couldn’t put off his scheduled feeding any longer and finally left his room at the chairman’s place for the direction of the Moon Dorm. The guard stationed at the gate of the Moon Dorm didn’t even bat an eyelid at him, as he was cleared to enter the premises of the vampires. “...” Approaching the front door of the main wing of the Moon Dormitory, Kiryuu Zero didn’t even need to knock before the door swung open to allow him entry into the building. He barely had one foot over the threshold of the dormitory when he felt the familiar impact of something, or rather someone, barreling over and attaching themselves to the front of his pants. With a sigh, the silver-haired guardian shifted his gaze downwards to land upon the familiar figure of a little boy of six with wavy-brown hair. “Akira, what got you so excited now?” Kiryuu Zero inquired as he bent down to pick up the younger twin with his arms before continuing his entry into the main wing of the Moon Dorm. The little boy just shook his head and laid his head onto the shoulder of Kiryuu Zero as he answered. “Nothing, I just missed Daddy.” “Don’t mind him, he just wants some cuddle time from you.” Akane, who came out after Akira took off into a run upon sensing the arrival of the silver-haired guardian, commented drily as she reached over to take Kuran Akira into her arms. And then, turning back to Kiryuu Zero, the sandy-brown-haired vampire girl remarked. “You’re here for your feeding, aren’t you? Go on ahead. Kaname-sama's waiting for you in the main study room.” “...” Kiryuu Zero nodded and was about to make a move towards the direction of the main study when he felt a tug on the sleeves of his sweatshirt. Turning around, he was met by the sight of the signature puppy eyes of Kuran Akira. With a sigh, the silver-haired guardian reached out to ruffle the soft hair of Akira affectionately as he commented. “Don’t worry, I’ll stay on for a little while longer to spend some time with you and your brother after I’m done feeding.” “Promise?” Kuran Akira started looking up at the younger version of his beloved Daddy with hopeful eyes. “Promised.” Kiryuu Zero responded with a firm nod of his head before turning to head for the direction where he knew a certain pureblood by the name of Kuran was waiting for his arrival. ‘Well...considering that I’ll be away on the coming Wednesday for the theoretical portion of my promotional exams at the freelance hunter’s guild, I’ll probably have to get Kuran to draw out a bottle of blood for me to keep on my person after I’m done feeding for today. So, I’m not exactly lying to Akira when I told him I’ll be staying for a little while longer. I could probably spend the time waiting for that bottle of blood from Kuran, playing with the twins,’ The silver-haired guardian thought as he made his way towards the direction of the study room. Again, like the time he approached the front door of the building, there wasn’t a need for Kiryuu Zero to knock before the door swung open on its own accord. Sucking in a deep breath, the silver-haired guardian stamped down his urge to flee and entered the study room. The room was dimly lit, aside from the warm tone of light coming from the table lamp; the only other source of light was the moonlight filtering through the opened window of the room. “Good evening. For a while, I was wondering if you’re going to show up tonight for the scheduled feeding.” Kaname Kuran began as he stood from behind the desk and rounded around the corner to approach the silver-haired guardian, but not before he retrieved something from the top drawer of his desk. “Shut it, Kuran! I’m well aware of the risk for skipping a feeding session.” Kiryuu Zero snapped back at the pureblood king in response, sounding rather disgruntled about the entire situation at hand. Unlike the time when his bloodlust took over, the silver-haired guardian was never in a good mood when he came for his scheduled feeding sessions. “Right, I’ll stop reminding you of the risk of skipping out on a feeding then. Here, I believe this belongs to you.” The pureblood king nodded before handing the ‘Bloody Rose’ over to the visibly annoyed figure of Kiryuu Zero. He had, in the end, decided to send the day class blazer to the maids for laundering. So, the only thing he could return to the silver-haired guardian this evening was the anti-vampire weapon. “...” Reaching out to take the ‘Bloody Rose’ from the pureblood king, Kiryuu Zero stuffed his anti-vampire weapon in the back pocket of his pants. Not an ideal location, but it’s better than having it stuffed into the front pocket of his pants. Once he had tucked away his anti-vampire weapon, the silver-haired guardian glanced up at the waiting pureblood and started. “Are you sure this is where you want your blood to be spilled? The scent of your blood is going to draw the attention of the rest of the night class members out there, you know?” “I’m well aware of the fact, but I hardly think it matters. Most, if not all of them are already well aware of the fact that you are feeding off my blood by this point. So, as long as you refrained from opening fire at me – I would think even if the scent of my blood lingers in the air, none of them would dare to barge into the room unannounced.” Kaname Kuran stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. Kiryuu Zero nodded and then promptly took the remaining steps forward and grabbed onto the shoulder of the pureblood king before closing his eyes to call upon the presence of his inner beast. It takes a while without the stimuli of blood scent in the air, but he wants to do this without handing over complete control of his body to his inner beast. Snapping his eyes open as he felt the lengthening of his fangs, he spent a moment staring at the exposed side of the pureblood’s neck before he sank his fangs into the flesh. Upon the first taste of the savory blood from the pureblood king, Kiryuu Zero felt a sense of euphoria filling him as he allowed a sigh of contentment to escape from his lips. Meanwhile, Kaname Kuran reaches out with both his arms to hold his beloved, while the silver-haired guardian drinks hungrily and blissfully from his neck. As the silver-haired guardian drank his fill from the neck of the pureblood king, he was once again reminded of the pureblood’s desires for his person. Because his mind wasn’t clouded by the haze of bloodlust now, Kiryuu Zero could easily decipher the feelings from the blood he was savoring. Unlike the first time he’d drunk his fill from the pureblood, the feeling of confusion is now completely gone from the savory taste of the blood that belongs to Kaname Kuran. All that’s left behind was the sense of contentment, happiness, and was that adoration he was getting from the pureblood? ‘So, there’s no more confusion from Kuran – huh? If only, I could say the same for myself.’ - Kiryuu Zero thought with a sigh as he slowly removed his fangs from the neck of the pureblood king before using his tongue to lap up the traces of blood coating the sides of the bite wound so that not a drip of the savory blood from Kuran was wasted. “I see you’ve gotten better at feeding.” Kaname Kuran couldn’t help but comment when he noted the lack of blood stains on the front of his shirt today. “I would like to think I have better dining etiquette than my inner beast.” Kiryuu Zero deadpans in response before he takes a couple of steps back to put some distance between himself and the pureblood king. He might have gotten used to the idea that his relationship with Kaname Kuran is bound to get intimate on an eventuality, but that doesn’t mean he’s used to sharing personal space with the pureblood king just yet. Especially since he had yet to get certain things clarified and straightened out with the pureblood. “Ah...so, you didn’t wait until your beast fully took over before coming over for the feeding today.” Kaname Kuran noted musingly as he remarked before returning to his position behind the desk, while keeping an eye on the actions taken by the silver-haired guardian. Arching an eyebrow in surprise, the pureblood noted that this must be the first time Kiryuu Zero didn’t simply turn on his heels and leave his presence following the end of a feeding session. “What?” Feeling self-conscious, the silver-haired guardian had thrown a look of annoyance towards the figure of Kaname Kuran, who seemed to be eyeing him with a look of morbid interest once more as he growled in response. “Nothing. I just wasn’t expecting you to stay behind after the feeding session came to an end. After all, the last few times you approached me for a feeding, you didn’t bother staying after drinking your fill from me.” Kaname Kuran responded in a nonchalant tone of voice. “Well...first of all, I need a favor from you, and secondly, I was under the impression that a talk between us would be in order, given what happened yesterday.” There was a moment of silence before Kiryuu Zero sighed in response as he voiced the reason behind his decision to stay put in the study room despite the end of the feeding session. To say Kaname Kuran was caught off guard was an understatement; he’d thought it would take longer for the silver-haired guardian to be willing to touch upon the topic of the event that had transpired between them yesterday. Thankfully, his usual mask of indifference manages to hold up despite his surprise. And so, after a moment of silent contemplation, the pureblood king responded. “Yes, I do have the intention to speak to you about what happened between us yesterday... but I certainly wasn’t expecting you to be the one bringing up the topic for discussion. If anything, I was under the impression that you might choose to put it off until I approached you to speak of it.” “Oh, trust me – I was very tempted to do just that. Only, I didn’t think putting it off until a later time is going to change the fact that we need to talk about the event on an eventuality. So, instead of having the memory of yesterday’s event sitting at the back of my mind, reminding me of the happening every single time I happens to have free time on hand, I figured we might as well have the talk now and get it over and done with.” The silver-haired guardian rolls his eyes momentarily to show his underlying exasperation as he deadpans to the figure of Kaname Kuran, who appears intrigued by his decision to bring up the events of yesterday for discussion. “I see. What's the favor you need to ask from me?” Kaname Kuran nodded, thinking that the conversation was likely going to take them some time to wade through. The pureblood king decided to get the favor that the silver-haired guardian was talking about out of the way first. “Going by the current feeding schedule, I’m due for another feeding on coming Wednesday. Only, I wouldn’t be on academy grounds then – so, I’m going to have you revert to the previous method of extracting your blood and transferring it to a bottle for me to feed upon when the time comes. You don’t have to do it today; I’ll just need the bottle of blood from you before Wednesday arrives.” The silver-haired guardian stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice as he voiced his request across to the pureblood king. “Are you going somewhere on Wednesday?” The pureblood king frowned as he inquired the silver-haired guardian in response. “Yes.” Kiryuu Zero rolls his eyes momentarily at the redundant question that came from the pureblood king. After all, didn’t he just say mere minutes ago that he wouldn’t be on academy grounds on Wednesday? “I don’t suppose you would clue me in about your intended destination?” Kaname Kuran begins, as he kept his eyes upon the figure of Kiryuu Zero. “I don’t think I’m obliged to inform you of my whereabouts at present. Still, just in case you need to tell the twins something should they insist on looking for me that evening – I'll be over at the freelance hunter’s guild situated in the neighboring town for the theoretical aspects of the promotional exams for the attaining of my official hunting license.” Kiryuu Zero stared wordlessly at the pureblood king for a moment before averting his eyes from the former as he answered. “I see. I’ll have the blood extracted and ready for your collection by Tuesday evening.” Kaname Kuran nodded before he finally moved on to address the elephant in the room – the stunt he’d pulled on the silver-haired guardian yesterday. For a while, silence hung in the air as both Kaname Kuran and Kiryuu Zero seemed to be waiting for the other party to kick the ball rolling for the upcoming topic to be discussed between them. In the end, the pureblood king decided to take the initiative in addressing the matter since it appeared that the silver-haired guardian had difficulty getting the words out. “So, I guess I owe you an apology for forcing the kiss on you yesterday. However, I’m sure I need not have to explain to you the logic behind my reactions after chancing upon that particular scene between Takuma and you.” Kaname Kuran eventually said, leaning back in his chair as he kept his full attention on the fidgeting figure of Kiryuu Zero. It was apparent from the constant fidgeting of Kiryuu Zero that the silver-haired guardian was not exactly ready for this conversation between them. Yet, the topic was brought up by the silver-haired guardian for some unfathomable reasons. Still, since Kiryuu Zero had insisted upon them speaking about the events of yesterday now instead of putting it off for a later time, who was he to argue against the silver-haired guardian’s decision? And so, the pureblood king took it upon himself to kick the ball rolling for the conversation. “Yeah...I do get why you’d react in that manner. However, I’m sure you would’ve realized by now that what happened between Ichijo and me yesterday was simply the result of an unfortunate incident. I'm quite sure he has no intention to brush his lips against mine.” Kiryuu Zero sighed aloud as he answered, his tone matter-of-fact. “I know. Takuma and Aidou had apologized and explained how the entire thing had happened to me earlier in the day. So, coming back to the main topic at hand – have you given any thoughts to how we are going to proceed from here?” The pureblood king inquired, trying his best to keep his emotions out of his voice so the silver-haired guardian wouldn’t be able to tell how affected he was by the entire conversation. “Honestly, I have no clue. I’ll be frank with you; I’m not an expert when it comes to matters of the heart. Romance wasn’t exactly on my mind, let alone the notion of getting involved in a relationship with anyone. So, when the trios arrived in this timeline with the story of how our futures are going to be intertwined, it truly threw me for a loop. I wasn’t prepared. I remember my first thoughts about the story was preposterous, but when the twins looked up at me with their trusting eyes, I found myself at a loss for words. There were no doubts about their parentage, no matter how disbelieving it might seem.” Kiryuu Zero began after a moment of silence, inwardly he thought if months ago – someone was to tell him that he would be sitting down in the study room of the pureblood king and having a heart-to-heart conversation with Kaname Kuran, he would have carted them off to the nearest mental institution to get their minds checked out by a professional specialist because the sheer idea of it was ridiculous. Yet, this appears to be what he was doing at present. “Yes, that I agree. The twins, they are a perfect blend of our physical attributes.” Kaname Kuran nodded as he thought back to the appearances of the Kuran-Kiryuu twins. “Right. Coming back, you'd ask me just now about how we should proceed from here. My answer is to just let nature run its course and take things one step at a time. However, before I’ll even allow any form of progress to take place between us... I was hoping you could explain a couple of things to me first.” The silver-haired guardian said as he fixated his searching gaze upon the figure of Kaname Kuran and waited. “...” Kaname Kuran faltered momentarily before nodding his agreement to the words of Kiryuu Zero. Somehow, he already knew what the silver-haired guardian would be asking him. The questions are likely going to be about Yuuki, it’s only natural for Zero to have doubts concerning his feelings towards Yuuki. After all, he’d spent the past decade showering all his love and devotion towards the girl with the silver-haired guardian in attendance throughout those occasions as a witness. “It seems like you’ve caught on to the questions I’m going to be asking. You know, you’re rather lucky that I was feeding off Akane before I started feeding off you. Akane had taught me a lot about blood sharing in general, and among them includes the fact that one can convey emotions and feelings through the sharing of blood. In any case, that’s how I figured that she wasn’t lying when she claimed that you harbor strong desires for me. In any case, she’d once told me that it’s possible for you to love Yuuki and desire me at the same time. Would you like to start by explaining that concept to me?” Kiryuu Zero began with an elegant arch of his eyebrow as he sat back and made himself comfortable on the sofa couch in the study room of the Moon Dorm while he waited for the explanation from the pureblood king to come. “Zero, before I proceed with the explanation, let me emphasize something to you. The one that truly holds my heart is you, and it could only be you. The reason is that it’s the inner beast that holds the heart of the vampires. Given that you’re the one that my inner beast desires, it goes without saying that my heart would only belong to you. Now, let it be known that it’s very rare for the beast to truly desire someone. There are occasions whereby a vampire fails to meet a partner that their beast finds desirable throughout the entirety of their lives. So, to ensure the continued survival of the bloodlines – political unions and arranged marriages are common in the vampire’s society.” Kaname Kuran begins, deciding to start by giving the silver-haired guardian a rundown of how the unions between vampires are usually like before plunging into the crux of the issue. He would have to reveal his relationship with Yuuki to his future mate, this is a situation that couldn’t be circumvented. Now, he could only hope his future mate would not blow up at him for what he was going to reveal. Kiryuu Zero spared a moment to think about the union between Shizuru Hiou and Fujiwara Yusaku, the eldest son of Fujiwara Yumi from the vampire branch of the Fujiwara clan, and nodded in understanding. Taking the silver-haired guardian’s nodding response as his cue to continue with his explanation, Kaname Kuran hesitated momentarily before he continued with the next part of his explanation. “Now, in the Kuran family – there's a long-standing tradition of incest relationship. My parents, Haruka and Juri Kuran, they were first brother and sister before they were husband and wife.” “Okay, and what has that got to do with Yuuki?” Kiryuu Zero raised an eyebrow as he stared at the pureblood king in anticipation. Having drunk the blood of Kaname Kuran and smelt the blood of Yuuki Cross on many occasions in the past, the silver-haired guardian already has a theory regarding the type of relationship between the pureblood king and Yuuki; now, he just needs to have his theory confirmed. Granted, if it weren’t for his unique situation about the scent of his blood, he probably wouldn’t even suspect that Yuuki could be related to the pureblood Kuran. “Yuuki...she’s my sister, and she was born to be my fiancée. I was told to love her from the moment she was conceived by my parents. So, as time goes on, I’ve gotten myself accustomed to the idea that Yuuki is the only one that I should make an effort to love and care for. My inner beast has never shown any negativity to the idea of it before, so I didn’t suspect anything was amiss all this time. Though, I did notice the beast in me seem oddly invested in you after the chairman took you into the family, but I thought it was due to the concern for Yuuki.” A grimacing look formed briefly on the face of the pureblood king as he finally got the words of admission out to the silver-haired guardian. Discarding the comment about Kuran’s inner beast being invested in him for the time being, Kiryuu Zero nodded in acceptance of the explanation coming from the pureblood about Yuuki and commented. “Okay, so Yuuki’s both your sister and your fiancée. Fair enough. I guess that explains the amount of love and devotion you have had for her over the years. Now, I have a few more questions for you. One, how did she end up as a human if she’s your sister? Two, what do you plan to do with Yuuki now that you can’t honor your family traditions by following through with the union between the two of you? I’m going by the assumption that you wouldn’t be honoring your family tradition, given your emphasis on your desires toward me earlier. Three, is Yuuki aware of her status as your fiancée - by that, I’m referring to the pureblood version of her, and not the current human version? Last but not least, would Yuuki regain her identity as a pureblood?” Kaname Kuran blinked once, then twice, before he glanced over at the figure of Kiryuu Zero in disbelief. “Wait, you aren’t going to blow up at me?” “Why? Do you want me to blow up at you?” Kiryuu Zero began sounding rather amused by the disbelieving look he’d caught fleeting past the face of the pureblood king briefly before it was masked up once more behind the calming facade that Kaname Kuran always donned in public. “No, I’m not saying that I want you to blow up at me. I simply thought you would blow up at me after hearing about my relationship with Yuuki. Though, it seems you are rather calm about what I’ve just revealed.” Kaname Kuran eventually recovered enough wits to voice his thoughts to the silver-haired guardian. “Well, the reason why I’m able to remain this calm after hearing what you’ve just revealed to me probably had to do with the fact that I’ve already suspected Yuuki to have some form of relation to you. Granted, I hadn’t exactly been expecting her to be both your sister and your fiancée.” Kiryuu Zero shrugged as he responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “What do you mean by you’ve already suspected Yuuki having some form of relations to me?” Kaname Kuran frowned, and for a while, he wondered whether his daily interactions with Yuuki had given anything away, but then he discarded the notion soon after. After all, if it was his daily interactions with Yuuki that gave away his relations to the girl, surely, his friends would be among the first to catch on. Yet, it was the silver-haired guardian that first suspects Yuuki’s relations to him, which doesn’t make sense. “It wasn’t obvious, and it tends to get overlooked by others because of the alluring effects Yuuki’s blood has on the others. The thing is, there’s an uncanny similarity between Yuuki and your blood.” There was a moment of hesitation before Kiryuu Zero finally threw caution to the wind as he responded. “Uncanny similarity between Yuuki and my blood? Care to elaborate?” Kaname Kuran was openly frowning now, and his tone took a turn for the demanding. “Take a chill pill. I didn’t take blood from Yuuki if that’s where your thoughts went. When I said there is an uncanny similarity between Yuuki and your blood, I was referring to the scent of the blood. I’m sure you’re aware of the unique trait in the blood of your own family.” Kiryuu Zero took one look at the expression on the pureblood king’s face and had trouble refraining from rolling his eyes at the former. So, in a tone of dry sarcasm, the silver-haired guardian proceeds to elaborate on the meaning behind his earlier statement about the existence of an uncanny similarity between the blood of Kaname Kuran and Yuuki Cross. “Yes. I have been told that the Kuran blood carries the scent of the roses.” The pureblood king nodded as he responded to the comment from the silver-haired guardian. “Indeed, and I can tell you – your blood reeks of roses in full bloom, and they tasted like nectar. Now, coming back to the similarity between Yuuki and your blood. As I’ve mentioned earlier, it wasn’t very obvious, which was likely why the rest haven’t figured things out. They probably had no idea why Yuuki’s blood had such an alluring effect on them either, but I figured the alluring effect of Yuuki’s blood stemmed from her pureblood heritage that’s currently hidden away. Okay, so the similarity is that both the scent of Yuuki and your blood carry the smell of roses. Only, in your case – it reeks of roses in full bloom, but the scent in Yuuki’s blood was one that resembles roses in the budding stage, and the smell is faint. Unless one knows what to look for, it’s downright impossible to notice the similarity. It just comes easier for me because I’d live under the same roof with an accident-prone Yuuki for a decade, so I eventually got used to the scent of her blood and then, when I start feeding off from you. I was suddenly reminded of the uncanny similarity between the scents of your blood and hers.” Kiryuu Zero took a moment to give a review about his opinion of his recent feed before proceeding on with his explanation about just how exactly he’d arrived at the theory of the pureblood king being related to Yuuki Cross even before he was given the facts by the pureblood himself. “I see.” Kaname Kuran nodded slowly as he digested the information he had just received from his beloved silver-haired guardian. “Now, don’t think I’ve forgotten. I think you still owe me the answers to the four questions that I asked you before. Are you ready to answer them for me now? Why is Yuuki a human instead of a vampire, since she’s your sister? What are you going to do with her now that you can’t honor the traditions of your family? Last but not least, is Yuuki Kuran aware of her status as your fiancée, and would she be regaining her identity as the pureblood queen?” Not giving the pureblood king a chance to dodge his questions, Kiryuu Zero promptly reminded Kaname Kuran of his earlier inquiries. “No. Yuuki’s not the queen, she’s going to be the princess from here on. Okay, fine. She was supposed to be the queen, but now the situation has changed. You are the only one I want, and that makes you the new queen, given my status as the king.” Kaname Kuran started as he went straight to the comment about Yuuki’s role in the family. Kiryuu Zero felt his face burning up against his will upon the pureblood king’s declaration about him being the queen for the Kuran family. Resisting the urge to start fanning away at his burning cheeks, the silver-haired guardian throws the pureblood king a look of annoyance as he gritted out in a tone of mild annoyance. “Kuran, you’re getting off topic. We are talking about Yuuki.” “Of course. Now, where was I?” Kaname Kuran allowed a smirk to grace his lips as he observed the reddening cheeks of the silver-haired guardian. Satisfied with the reaction his words had garnered from the figure of Kiryuu Zero, the pureblood king then returns his focus to the explanation of Yuuki’s situation. “Yuuki, she was made a human through the sacrifice of my mother’s life with an ancient spell. The spell makes it possible to seal away her memories and vampiric traits for ten years or more, depending on the strength of the spellcaster. I haven’t quite decided what I’m going to do with Yuuki yet, though I’m quite certain that I’ll not be honoring the family traditions on my end. Last but not least, I don’t think Yuuki’s aware of her status as my fiancée. She was too young to understand the meaning of the term, and my parents weren’t going to inform her about the engagement until she was older. Only they passed on before they got the chance to inform Yuuki of the arrangement, so I think she has no idea of the fact.” A contemplative look formed on the face of Kaname Kuran as he explained the situation concerning Yuuki, the girl whom he was groomed to love since he was young, to the figure of Kiryuu Zero, the person whom he truly loves. “I see. You mentioned the spell that seals away Yuuki’s memories as a vampire tends to last for ten years or more, depending on the strength of the spell-caster. I presume Yuuki would be regaining her identity as the pureblood princess of the Kuran family soon?” The silver-haired guardian was silent for a few minutes before speaking up once more. “It’s inevitable for Yuuki to regain her pureblood identity. It's just a matter of time. For now, there’s no rush since the memory spell is still holding, but I reckon the situation might change in a few months.” Kaname Kuran responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “How does it work then? She was made a human through the use of a spell, while the memories could be returned to her once the spell cast on her broke. How would she regain her vampiric nature?” Kiryuu Zero inquires despite having an inkling that he might not like the answer he’s going to receive, but he still feels it prudent to ask. “Through the usual way, she’ll have to be woken up with a bite from me. I’m going to have to feed her when she wakes up, though; it’ll help her with the assimilation of her memories better.” Kaname Kuran responded while he took some time to observe the facial expressions of the silver-haired guardian from his position behind the desk. “What are you thinking, Zero?” “Hmm...?” Blinking twice, the silver-haired guardian glanced back up at the pureblood king to find the former eyeing him in concern. “Nothing. I was just trying to get myself used to the idea of Yuuki being a pureblood as opposed to a human. That, and I find the spell that turns Yuuki into a human a tad useless.” “Useless?” Kaname Kuran raised an eyebrow in surprise as he prompted for an explanation from the silver-haired guardian. “Well... for a spell that requires human sacrifice to work, the fact that it could only hold for ten years makes me question the capability of the person who came up with the spell. In comparison, the spell that exists in the Fujiwara clan with the same effects seem to be of a higher quality. Better yet, there’s no need for human sacrifice, though it does take a lot of strength from the caster of the spell. More importantly, the spell is meant to be permanent. Albeit, there’s a bit of a side effect – a single bite from any vampire would null the effects of the spell.” Kiryuu Zero commented in a wry tone of voice while he waited patiently for the pureblood king to connect the dots. “Wait, are you telling me that the spell is the reason why the humans from the Fujiwara family get turned that easily?!” Kaname Kuran felt his eyes widening as he finally connected the dots at the words of the silver-haired guardian. “Yes. Remember the story that the chairman told us all on the day of the trio's arrival? He was a Fujiwara, which made him a pureblood vampire. He fell for a human lady, and in an attempt to save her life, he came up with the time vortex spell. Long story short, he arrived a tad too early in the timeline. So, on one hand, he continues with the procreation with his vampire’s mate and continues the bloodline for the Fujiwara family. Later, when the war begins, he turns hunter and copulates with the woman he loves from the human community. Now, as a vampire, it’s impossible to refrain from drinking the blood of their loved ones. I'm sure you’re aware of that, so it’s natural that he ended up turning his human lover into an ex-human. The offspring that they procreate between them would naturally be vampires of the noble rank. After all, the offspring between a Level A and a Level D can’t be another Level A, so it can only be a Level B. At least, that was the case until that ancestor of yours created that spell of his; before then, there isn’t a way for the offspring between a Level A and Level D to be another Level A. Anyway, that’s not the point I want to make. My point is that the human mate that the ancestor took up with isn’t just any typical human lady but one that comes from a long line of witches. Oi, don’t look so skeptical. I know you are going to say that witches only belong in folklore, but if you want to get down to the specifics, vampires like us belong in folklore as well.” Kiryuu Zero snapped at the pureblood king, who was looking at him with a blatant look of disbelief after he brought up the mention of witches in the story he was telling. “Okay, sorry for doubting you. Please do continue with what you were saying.” Kaname Kuran wasted no time in placating the visibly annoyed figure of Kiryuu Zero as he commented. “Right. Being witches, crafting spells comes easily to them, and that was how they were able to come up with the spell to suppress the vampiric nature and traits in their offsprings. It took decades of trial and error, but they eventually succeeded, and with their success of turning their youngest into a human. It kicked started the human branch of the family. Later, the same spell was used on the members of the hunter’s branch, and this was about the period that the war was dying down, too. Centuries have passed since then, but as you can see, there are members of the Fujiwara clan all over the world who are fully human. They would remain human as long as they didn’t get careless and allowed themselves to be bitten. Once bitten, ‘bam!’ - the spell broke, and the vampiric side that was suppressed since birth makes its appearance known. Thus far, none of the Fujiwara members that got awakened with a bite from a vampire turns out to be Level D... the lowest ranking is still Level C.” Kiryuu Zero ended his explanation with a complicated look on his face, knowing that his explanation might have given the pureblood more questions about his status as an ex-human. ~to be continued~ Date started: 20/05/09 Date completed: 23/05/09 Date edited: 23/05/09 Date revised: 02/03/2025
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Silence hung in the air as Kaname Kuran digested the information he’d just received from the silver-haired guardian about yet another secret of the Fujiwara clan. As the gears clicked and turned in his mind, the pureblood king was confronted with yet another oddity concerning his beloved. Kiryuu Zero was bitten and turned by Shizuka Hiou, but his mother was a Fujiwara. Based on records, none of the existing Fujiwara members from the human branch that got bitten and awakened their vampire nature ended up as a Level D. Does this phenomenon not apply to the offspring of the members that married out of the family? It was with this query in mind that the pureblood king turned towards the silent figure of Kiryuu Zero and voiced his nagging doubt. “Zero, your mother was a Fujiwara. You mentioned earlier that none of the members from the Fujiwara clan that got bitten ends up as a Level D... does this phenomenon not apply to the offsprings of someone who married out of the family?” “...” Kiryuu Zero sighed inwardly as he wondered why he’d opened his big mouth and criticized the uselessness of the Kuran family’s spell that made Yuuki a human earlier. If he didn’t open his big mouth then, he needn’t launch into an explanation of how the spell in the Fujiwara clan works. If he didn’t explain the working behind the spell that was placed on the members of the Fujiwara clan at the start of the origin, he needn’t have to explain the contradiction of his condition to the pureblood king now. “My situation is a tad unique. If my mother had married another hunter, things would’ve been simpler. However, she married my father, who was part of the Kiryuu clan, and that complicates matters.” The silver-haired guardian sighed in response, as his face took on an expression of utter weariness. Still, he figured since they’ve already gotten to this point of the discussion, he might as well get everything out now instead of revisiting the topic another time. So, looking back up at the pureblood king, Kiryuu Zero prompted. “Previously, you mentioned that I have a unique scent in my blood. Have you since figured out what’s so unique about the scent of my blood yet?” “Not exactly. What I do know is the scent of your blood has an alluring effect on my beast, but as you know, I harbor strong desires for you; hence, it’s not so strange that your blood would affect me. While on the subject, I’m glad you managed to stop me from licking off your blood the other time. Right now, I can still stem off my craving for blood with the use of the blood tablets... but I have a feeling once I got a taste of your blood, the bland taste of the blood tablets would not be able to satisfy my thirst anymore.” Kaname Kuran responded in a tone of utmost seriousness. “Ah...was that why you’ve taken to seat yourself so far from where I’ve seated?” The silver-haired guardian took one look at the sofa couch where he was seated and toward the position where the pureblood king had taken to seat himself for the ongoing conversation between them and nodded in understanding. “Indeed. The urge to bite and claim you as mine is getting stronger by the day, but I know you wouldn’t take it well if I were to do that without running the idea past you first. So, I thought it might be safer for me to seat myself further so to prevent the urge to claim you against your wish.” Kaname Kuran admitted with a nod of his head to the assessment of the silver-haired guardian. “You aren’t wrong to say that I wouldn’t take it well if you were to bite and mark me without running the idea past me first. And truly, I would prefer for you to refrain from doing that until I’ve completed my turning process.” Kiryuu Zero hesitated momentarily before throwing caution to the wind as he pushed forth with what he was going to say to the pureblood king. Kaname Kuran blinked once, then twice, and then, in a tone of morbid interest, he started. “Completed your turning process? You mean to say that your turning was incomplete?” “Remember what you’d asked me just now about the phenomenon concerning the turning of a member from the Fujiwara clan? I told you my mother’s union with the Kiryuu clan complicates matters, didn’t I? I’m not sure if you’re aware, but most pureblood family carries a unique trait of their own in the scent of their blood. For instance, the scent of roses for the Kuran. The scent of my blood carries two unique traits; one was the smell of the Fujiwara blood in me, and the other unique trait came from the Kiryuu blood in me. The trait in the blood of the Fujiwara was the scent of the forest, it could be any forest. For instance, Akane’s blood reeks of a mixture of morning dew and pine forest. The scent of the morning dew is something that came from the Aisaka, I reckon. Now, my mother’s blood carries the scent of the bamboo trees while my father’s blood carries the scent of cherry blossoms.” With dread pooling in his guts, the silver-haired guardian told the pureblood king of the secret about the bloodline he’d inherited from the Kiryuu side of the family. “Cherry blossoms?! But aren’t cherry blossoms the trait of the Hiou?” Kaname Kuran straightened up his posture as he snapped his eyes up to stare into the face of the silver-haired guardian. “Yes, the scent is not as strong in my blood, but it’s still visible. Underneath all the fresh bamboo smell, there’s a faint tinge of cherry blossoms that lingers. The irony wasn’t lost on me, but yes... cherry blossoms are the unique trait of the Hiou family. These lilac eyes that was supposedly a unique trait of the Kiryuu family. They're actually from the Hiou family as well. Kiryuu Mamoru, my grandfather who single-handedly brought the name of the Kiryuu clan back to the top of the hunter’s community – he was originally a Hiou. He took on the name of Kiryuu after marrying my grandmother, Kiryuu Megumi, who has no talent in the field of hunting vampires. While on the subject, I’m sure I don’t have to give you the background information of my grandfather, or do I have to?” Kiryuu Zero nodded as he responded with an audible sigh before falling silent altogether. “Mamoru Hiou, the original heir to the Hiou family. There's no need for you to elaborate on his background; I’m well aware of the circumstances leading up to his departure from the Hiou family. His whereabouts have largely remained secretive within our community, though there have been occasional sightings of his person every so often. Though, I wasn’t aware that he has taken to join a hunter’s family and become a hunter himself.” Kaname Kuran’s expression was unreadable; at least, Zero had difficulty telling what the pureblood king’s thoughts were about the actions taken by his paternal grandfather. There was a brief moment of silence before the pureblood spoke up. This time, inquiring into the whereabouts of the supposedly ‘dead’ Kiryuu Mamoru. “Your grandfather, he’s not truly dead – is he?” “Of course not. Kiryuu Mamoru might be classified as ‘dead’ on records, but you know as much as I do that a pureblood doesn’t die easily. Essentially, he fakes his death and went into hiding for a couple of years before returning to the public under the use of an alternative alias. His current alias was Richard Meyer, a bar keeper from the UK who decided to settle down in Japan and set up his business in our humble little town. Don’t ask me where he’d procured his documents for his alternative alias, I have a feeling he had garnered assistance from the Fujiwara clan. After all, the first time I encountered him in person, it was in the compound of the ancestral home that belongs to the Fujiwara clan.” Kiryuu Zero rolled his eyes at the thought of his grandfather’s antics and didn’t think twice before selling the man out to the pureblood king. “I see. So, what are you supposed to be if not a Level D?” Kaname Kuran inquires after spending a moment soaking everything in. While he knows the silver-haired guardian is probably unwilling to say anything more, he just has to know for certain. “Level B. My paternal grandfather, despite his status as a fangless vampire, was still a Level A at the end of the day. My paternal grandmother was a full human, their offspring – meaning my father and my uncle are likely Level B if they were born vampires, but due to the mutation in the genes, they came out as humans, which was quite a relief to my grandfather, I’m sure. Otherwise, it’s going to be difficult explaining the how and why to his in-laws and human wife. As for my mother, she’s from the main branch and given the fact that her parents were cousins. If she were to awaken her vampire’s heritage, she would probably end up as a Level B as well. So, I can safely say that I’m supposed to wake as a Level B.” Kiryuu Zero pinched the bridge of his nose wearily as he answered in a detached tone of voice. It was a good thing that he had days to come to terms with the necessity of explaining his unique condition to the pureblood king. This was why he was able to relay all this information to Kaname Kuran without letting his emotions get in the way. In any case, he was approaching the limit of his patience for the subject and so, turning his eyes upon the figure of the pureblood king. Kiryuu Zero commented. “I’m sure your next question would be the reason why I’m emitting off the aura of a Level D, and how long it would take for me to complete my turning process?” Upon the wordless nod received from the stoic-looking pureblood, Kiryuu Zero continued with the last part of his explanation concerning his unique situation. “I’m currently emitting off the aura of a Level D because the change isn’t completed. To complete the change from a human to a vampire, I’ll need to ingest the blood of a member of the Hiou family. It needs not comes specifically from my supposed master – Shizuka Hiou, but getting her blood is likely the most straightforward option and the only option that wouldn’t result in questions from my mentor and the chairman due to the common understanding that the only way to prevent falling to the end was to ingest the blood of the pureblood that turns the human into an ex-human. They aren’t going to be able to tell the change in my aura, to them... vampires are vampires.” Silence. Just when Kiryuu Zero was about to stand and leave the study for the front lounge, so to provide some space for the pureblood king to soak everything in. He felt a tug on his hand, and the next thing he knew, he was caught in the strong embrace of the pureblood – Kaname Kuran. Bewildered, the silver-haired guardian looked up into the face of the pureblood king as he inquired. “Kuran, what are you doing?” Instead of coming out with the reason behind his sudden decision to entrap the silver-haired guardian with an embrace, all Kaname Kuran did was to murmur the following words into the ears of his beloved. “Zero, I’m glad that you’ve decided to confide the secrets of your family with me.” Upon the sound of the soft murmuring by the side of his sensitive ears, Kiryuu Zero promptly flushed crimson on reflex. Taking a few seconds to recompose himself, the silver-haired guardian rolled his eyes at the pureblood king impatiently as he growled. “Are you quite done? I have kids who are waiting for me to hold up my promise of spending time with them following the end of my feeding session. So, you’d best let me go now before they decide to come barging in to see what’s causing the delay on my part.” “Zero, you’d mentioned allowing nature to run its course and taking things one step at a time between us. Can I take that as an open signal for me to start courting you?” Kaname Kuran inquires as he loosens up the hold he had on the silver-haired guardian, making it possible for the former to step away from him without much struggle. The only form of response Kaname Kuran receives from the silver-haired guardian following his remarks about courting is a mock glare directed his way without heat. Taking the silence from Kiryuu Zero as an agreement, the pureblood king felt the beast in him hummed with unbidden joy as the silver-haired guardian exited the study room to head out to the front lounge in favor of spending some time with their future kids. “Daddy!” Kuran Akira immediately performed a tackle run on his beloved parent when he sighted the reappearance of the silver-haired guardian from the study room of the Moon Dorm. “Hey, Akira. Sorry to keep you waiting. Where’s Akane?” Kiryuu Zero inquires when he fails to locate the sandy-brown-haired vampire girl anywhere around the front lounge. “It’s midnight; Akane’s off to bed.” Kuran Akira responded as the silver-haired guardian picked him off the ground. “Ah... of course. So what have you been doing out here with Subaru?” The silver-haired guardian asked as he brought the younger twin over to the sofa couch where the elder twin, Kiryuu Subaru, was frowning in concentration over something. “We are playing jigsaw puzzle.” Kuran Akira answered as he held up the packaging box of the jigsaw puzzle for Kiryuu Zero to inspect. “Hmm... and who gifted the jigsaw puzzle to the two of you?” Kiryuu Zero took one look at the packaging box and knew it was a newly purchased item. “Father ordered it for us from the mail order catalog. I think?” Kiryuu Subaru glanced up momentarily from the jigsaw puzzle game to answer his silver-haired parent before looking back down to focus on the area he was working on piecing together. “I see.” Zero didn’t comment on the pureblood king’s tendency to splurge on the items for the twins, despite knowing for a fact that the twins were bound to leave for the future eventually. After all, the pureblood is filthy rich... so, who was he to stop Kuran if the man wanted to spoil the twins for a little while? Since the silver-haired guardian did promise that he would stay on longer to spend some time with the twins, he’d promptly joined the boys in their jigsaw puzzle game until the pureblood king was done with whatever paperwork that kept him in the study room. The moment he saw Kaname Kuran exiting the study room to head for the direction of the twins, Kiryuu Zero stood to take his leave from the Moon Dorm. “Daddy, you would come visit us again soon?” Kuran Akira started when the silver-haired guardian stood to depart from the Moon Dorm. “Yes, Akira. I'll come by and visit in another day or two.” Kiryuu Zero nodded in response as he ruffled the hair of the twins tenderly before turning to leave. “Akane, I’ll need you to cover my duty as the school’s guardian tomorrow when it comes for the time of the class change-over.” Kiryuu Zero started when he took his seat at the table next to his future adoptive daughter in class on Tuesday morning. “Oh, okay. May I inquire on the reason why you would need me to cover for your guardian’s duty?” Kiryuu Akane blinked as she responded to the request coming from her future adoptive parent. “I’ll be heading out to the neighboring town for the theory part of the promotional exams for the obtaining of my hunting license.” Kiryuu Zero answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Oh... but isn’t tomorrow the day that you’re scheduled for your routine feeding?” Akane blinked as she inquired in a low tone of voice. “Yes, but I’ve already informed Kuran beforehand to prepare a bottle of his blood for me. So, I reckon it wouldn’t be an issue. I'll just need to find an isolated corner for the ingestion of his blood when the time comes.” The silver-haired guardian shrugged nonchalantly in response to the query coming from Akane. “I see. Is Aunt Yuuki aware of your plans for tomorrow evening?” Akane asked while cross-checking the answer to the math assignment she had completed the day before with the answers reflected on Zero’s copy of the assignment. “Not yet. I’ll tell her before today’s over.” Kiryuu Zero answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. It was evening, just after the class change-over, when Kiryuu Zero finally clues Yuuki in about his absence from academy grounds for the following evening. They had just completed their usual duty of maintaining order during the class change-over duration and are now on their way back to the chairman’s place for dinner. “Huh? You’re not going to be on academy grounds tomorrow evening? Why?” Yuuki Cross inquires out of curiosity, it’s odd for her silver-haired friend to be absent from school grounds on a weekday. Usually, it’s weekends that her silver-haired friend would venture off the academy grounds to explore the streets of the town in search for strays Level Es that needs to be put down. “I have a theory paper for the promotional exams of the obtaining of my hunting license to sit for tomorrow.” Kiryuu Zero responded to Yuuki's query in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Huh? There’s a theory paper for the promotional exams to become an official vampire hunter?” Yuuki Cross turns wide, surprised eyes upon the figure of her silver-haired friend as she inquires. “Yes. We don’t just shoot at any unsuspecting vampires we come across during the progress of our missions, you know? There are stipulated rules and regulations we have to abide by while out on a mission on behalf of the hunter’s association. In particular, for missions that don’t involve execution of Level Es. So, of course, we would need to be educated in the ways of the vampire's culture and behavior. Henceforth, there’s a theory aspect for the promotional exams to become a full-fledged vampire hunter.” Kiryuu Zero deadpans as he fills Yuuki Cross in on the reason why there’s a theoretical aspect for the exams to obtain his hunting license. “Oh, so you’re off for the theory exams tomorrow evening? It's going to be held in the freelance hunter’s guild situated in the neighboring town, right? Are you going to be back tomorrow night, or will you be returning only in the morning hours of Thursday?” Kaien Cross who happens to overhear the conversation between the two guardians promptly butted into the conversation. “I’ll be staying overnight at the freelance hunter’s guild, so you can likely expect me to return on the morning of Thursday. I’ll probably make it back in time for the morning classes, so I don’t need an excuse note to explain the reason for my absence.” Kiryuu Zero answered before Kaien Cross could ask him if he would need an excuse note for the morning classes scheduled on Thursday. “That’s good to know. I presumed you had the foresight to inform Kaname-kun about your plans to depart the academy grounds tomorrow evening and had made the relevant arrangements for your feeding ahead of your planned trip to the neighboring town?” Kaien Cross nodded in acceptance of his adopted son’s response before bringing up the subject of the feeding schedule of the silver-haired guardian. “Yes, I’ve informed him. I’ll be heading over to collect the bottle of blood from him later, I’ll make sure to feed using the bottle of blood he provided at the first signs of the bloodlust setting in tomorrow.” --- In hindsight, Kiryuu Zero probably should have stopped to consider the possibility of Wakaba Sayori accompanying him to the neighboring town on the same train service. After all, wasn’t it the girl’s responsibility to keep an eye on him? “I hope you did at least submit the proper paperwork to the dorm manager seeking permission to reside off-campus for tonight.” Kiryuu Zero commented when he noticed the presence of Wakaba Sayori, who had openly joined him on his trip out of the academy grounds on Wednesday evening. “Of course, I did file the proper paperwork to depart the academy grounds.” Wakaba Sayori responded in a reporting tone. “Good. And what did you tell Yuuki about your absence from the dorm today?” The silver-haired guardian inquired shortly after they’d hopped onto the bus that would bring them to the train station of their town. “I left her a message that says I have a family emergency to attend to and would not be back to the dorm tonight.” Wakaba Sayori answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “The excuse might work for today, but if you are going to tag along for the practical aspects for the promotional exams that would take more than a day to complete...you’re going to have to find a better excuse to fend off Yuuki’s inquisition on the subject.” Kiryuu Zero reminded pointedly before putting an end to the brief conversation he was having with the brown-haired friend of Yuuki Cross. “...” Kaname Kuran hated to admit it, but he was distracted. The sheer knowledge of his beloved venturing outside of the academy grounds unsettles his beast. So, in an attempt to get his beast to quiet down, the pureblood king decided to send his familiar off to keep tabs on the silver-haired guardian. As the single bat flew out of the classroom window and out far into the distance, Kaname Kuran was finally able to shift his focus back to the ongoing lesson. Meanwhile, over at the front of the classroom, Yagari Tooga was frowning at the scene he’d just witnessed. ‘His familiars took on the shape of bats?’ Bats are something Yagari Tooga has grown accustomed to seeing on his hunting missions, the more desolate, abandoned, and dark the hideout of the stray Level Es. The higher the possibilities to find bats holing up on the ceiling of such places, henceforth, Yagari always made sure to fire a warning shot before stepping into the hideout. Just to chase off the bats that would hinder his execution of the Level Es amid the hunt. Still, there had been a couple of occasions that Yagari had noticed bats circling his silver-haired pupil that refused to leave even when chased. Surely, those bats couldn’t have been the familiars of that pureblood Kuran, could it? After all, his student didn’t seem to like seeing that pureblood around at that point. Their first meeting had begun with his pupil attempting to stab the pureblood with a table knife and had to be sedated by Kaien to remain calm in Kuran’s presence. Yagari Tooga, the veteran hunter, found himself thinking. ‘Did Kaname send off his familiar to keep tab on Kiryuu, again?’ A couple of rows away, the green-eyed blond vampire, Ichijo Takuma, wonders inwardly to himself. ‘I wonder who’s the girl that follows Kiryuu out of the academy grounds today?’ Aidou Hanabusa thought half-distractedly. “Akane, where’s Daddy?” Over at the Moon Dorm, Akane, who was left with the task of babysitting her adopted siblings, the Kuran-Kiryuu twins, found herself being on the questioning end of the younger twin, Kuran Akira. “He’s out,” Akane answered shortly as she was busy focusing on writing up the answers for her history assignment. “Where did he go, and why couldn’t he take us along with him?” Akira asks with a pouting look on his face. “He went to take the exams that would get him the license for vampire hunting. So, of course, he can’t take the two of you with him. Now, Akira... can you please quiet down and concentrate on your chess game with Subaru. I want to finish my homework in peace.” Akane sighed as she turned towards the younger twin with a silent plea in her eyes. Inwardly, the girl was lamenting on her bad luck. Why is it that nobody is available for babysitting duty today? Zero is out because of the exams for his hunting license, the members of the night class are busy attending classes. Yuuki... the girl was extremely curious about the mommy-figure in the Kuran-Kiryuu relationship. Akane dares not let the twins spend too much time in Yuuki’s company, she had a feeling that the boys would slip up and told Yuuki about the information of their birthing parent. It's one thing for them to slip up and inform Zero of the information, but quite another thing for them to let slip to Yuuki. Zero certainly wouldn’t appreciate having Yuuki in the know for such sensitive information. So, no, leaving the twins for Yuuki to babysit is out of the question. “Akira, let Akane do her homework in peace. Come here and sit with me if you are not in the mood for a chess game. We can do some coloring on the coloring book that Daddy gifted us with yesterday when he dropped for a visit.” Kiryuu Subaru suggested to his younger twin, taking it upon himself to distract his restless sibling from bothering their elder sister who was busy with her homework assignments. Originally, Kiryuu Zero didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary with the bat that flew past the window of the train service. It wasn’t until he alighted from the train service with Wakaba Sayori in tow and started making his way toward the freelance hunter’s guild that he finally caught on to the oddity. First, bats are night creatures but they seldom ventured out alone. Most of the time, bats travel in groups. The sheer fact that he had a singular bat following him from behind was the first sign of oddity. And then, when he arrives at a stop in front of the freelance hunter’s guild, the person that greeted him on the reception took one look in the bat’s direction and remarked off-handedly to him about how his master is keeping tabs on him through the mean of the familiar finally clued the silver-haired guardian in on the situation. ‘So, the bat’s a familiar...’ Kiryuu Zero thought as he thanked the receptionist of the freelance hunter’s guild before he collected his exam pass from the counter and made his way deeper into the building with Wakaba Sayori following him from behind. The bat, unfortunately, wasn’t permitted to enter the building. Distinctively, Kiryuu Zero could hear the receptionist at the counter informing the bat to perch itself atop a tree nearby to keep watch. Whether or not the bat heeded the advice of the receptionist, the silver-haired guardian had no clue. By then, he was already seated in the exam hall, ready to begin his theory portion for the promotional exams to obtain his hunting license. Kaname Kuran watched over Kiryuu Zero through the eyes of his familiar. Even when he was attending classes, he was splitting his attention evenly between the teacher and the student. Originally, he was slightly irked to notice that Kiryuu was in the companionship of a girl. Later, the annoyance gave way to bewilderment when he recognized the girl as a friend of Yuuki. When he noticed the girl entering the building of the freelance hunter’s guild after the silver-haired guardian, his bewilderment gave way to surprise. Inwardly, the pureblood wonders if Yuuki is aware of her friend’s status as a hunter-in-training. ‘Probably not... Yuuki can be a tad dense at times.’ Kaname’s common-sense helpfully supplied as he found himself recalling an incident whereby the curious Yuuki had tagged along the oblivious Kiryuu Zero while he was out on a patrolling mission to rid the town of strays Level Es, and ends up creating more troubles than worth by interfering with Zero’s execution of a Level E who’s about to bite an unsuspecting poor woman. He distinctively remembered having to step in for damage control then, that was when the night class have yet to officially commence operations. He and the members of his inner circle were still residing in the old dormitory behind the current Moon Dorm while he ironed out the details about establishing the night class at Cross Academy with the senate. In any case, he had to intervene by putting the hysterical woman to sleep while Kiryuu Zero disposed of the Level E. Later, he had to get Ichijo to assist in modifying the memories of the hysterical woman at the end of the entire fiasco. Needless to say, Yuuki was given a lengthy lecture about why she shouldn’t allow her curiosity to get the best of her, and with Kiryuu compromising on keeping the girl informed about his hunting missions so to prevent the girl from following him out of curiosity, again. Meanwhile, over at the freelance hunter’s guild, Kiryuu Zero, who was done with the theory paper, was assigned a single room to stay for the night on the second floor of the guild building. Looking out of the window, the silver-haired guardian wasn’t surprised to find his gaze landing upon the same bat that was following him from before being perched on the top branch of the tree directly outside the window where his assigned room was located. For a while, Kiryuu Zero contemplated on the idea of calling up the Moon Dorm just to check if it was indeed Kuran that sent the familiar to keep tabs on him. The reason why Kuran’s the first name that pops into his mind when he ponders over the owner of that bat familiar was due to how he’d seen the same bat around back in the days before the establishment of the Cross Academy’s night class. Of course, he hadn’t known that the bat was a familiar of a pureblood then, but he knows that now, and naturally, the number one suspect that came to mind is the pureblood king. However, the notion was soon discarded when he realized that the members of the night class were still attending classes in the academic building. So, in the end, all he did was to call up Akane to check in on the twins. Of course, given that Akane didn’t have a personal mobile on her person at the point of their arrival in this time, the only way the silver-haired guardian could get in contact with the girl was to dial up the landline to the Moon Dormitory. --- It was entirely by chance that Kiryuu Ichiru chanced upon the figure of his elder twin when he was out procuring food supplies for his beloved Shizuka-sama and his consumption. They are currently holed up in a rural village with little human population located in the outskirts of the town. Ichiru knew Shizuka Hiou has been searching for the whereabouts of his elder twin for years, and wonders if he should let it slip to the former about how he’d sighted his elder twin while out shopping for their food supplies. Ichiru’s feelings towards his elder twin are rather complicated. On one hand, he adores his elder twin a great deal as Zero was the only one to show him that he was loved. On the other hand, he was rather bitter and resented his healthy twin to an extent. He was always so envious of Zero’s ability to run and play out in the cold, but he was confined to the indoors due to his weak body. So, while his elder twin was out there undergoing the training to hunt vampires, Ichiru was stuck indoors doing homework assignments from the teacher that their mother had gotten in to homeschool them so their level of education would be on par with the other normal kids out there that are living a normal life. Ichiru could still remember the first time he’d met his beloved Shizuka-sama; he had thought Shizuka-sama pretty then. He hadn’t even known of Shizuka-sama's status as a vampire until his elder twin notified him of it and warned him against the notion of approaching the woman perched atop the cherry blossom tree near their home. Still, the image of the lonely lady that was perched atop of the cherry blossom tree refused to leave him alone, and thus, he’d snuck out one night while his elder twin was asleep to approach the pretty lady in pink kimono and strike up a conversation with her. On the second night that he’d approached Shizuka Hiou, he was asked if he would mind if she were to take revenge on his parents. Ichiru vaguely recalled shaking his head in response, and then the tragic event of the attack that took away the lives of his parents occurred. During the entire process, Ichiru recalls that he’d watched on impassively as Shizuka Hiou snuff the life out of his parents unflinchingly. Later, he watched his elder twin snarl and charged toward Shizuka-sama like an egg colliding with a rock while yelling for him to run. Of course, Ichiru hadn’t heeded the advice of his elder twin to run. He distinctively recalled stepping in with a plea for Shizuka-sama to spare the life of his elder twin when his twin was barely conscious. So, Shizuka-sama obliged his request and simply gave his elder twin a bite on the neck before turning to leave. To date, he had no idea what brought on the change of heart in Shizuka-sama when she decided to bring him along with her as she fled from his family home following the end of the attack on the Kiryuu clan. Still, Ichiru was glad that she took him along otherwise, it would have been extremely hard to explain to the hunter’s association and the mentor of his elder twin about just why exactly Shizuka Hiou had brought harm to everyone in the house but left him intact and unharmed. “Ichiru, you seem distracted. Did anything happen in town?” Shizuka Hiou started when she noticed something off in the body language of her loyal servant and ironically one of her grand-nephew, that spawns from her elder brother – Mamoru Hiou. Honestly, if it weren’t for the startling discovery made after she gulped the blood from the elder Kiryuu twin, she wouldn’t have cared if the younger Kiryuu twin got persecuted for his involvement and cooperation in her attack against the Kiryuu clan by the hunter’s association. It was because of this particular discovery, after she had bitten and turned the elder Kiryuu twin, that she finally decided to bring Ichiru with her as she fled the site of the attack. Again, it was during their fleeing process that Shizuka Hiou was enlightened to the weak body of the younger Kiryuu twin, and thus started to feed the boy her blood to improve his body constitution. She supposed that if her blood could help Maria Kurenai, who was merely a distant relative of the Hiou, it certainly would have a beneficial effect on Ichiru, who was related closer to her in terms of blood relations. Sure enough, four years later, Kiryuu Ichiru has finally gotten rid of his weak body constitution, and he owes it all to Shizuka Hiou’s generosity with her blood. “Shizuka-sama, I chanced upon my brother while out shopping for supplies today.” Kiryuu Ichiru eventually decided to confess to Shizuka Hiou about what he had chanced upon while in town for a shopping errand. “Oh? He didn’t notice you, by any chance, did he?” Shizuka Hiou inquires in a curious tone of voice. “No. He was back-facing me, so unless he was to grow another set of eyes behind his back. I dare say he didn’t get to see me.” Kiryuu Ichiru responded. “Kaede!” Shizuka Hiou suddenly calls out. “Yes, Shizuka-sama?” A presence slinked out from the shadows as he knelt before the blooming mad princess. “Perform some digging into the reason behind Kiryuu Zero’s presence in town. While at it, get me all the information that you could get your hands upon of Kiryuu Zero. I want your report by sunrise, do you hear me?” Shizuka Hiou ordered in a tone of authority. “Of course, Shizuka-sama.” With that said, the presence that went by the name Kaede vanished from sight like a ninja. “...” Kiryuu Ichiru blinked, uncertain of what to make of the recent development. “Come on, Ichiru. Don't fret. I just want to ascertain the condition of your elder twin. He was, after all, bitten by me and hence has likely turned to become a vampire. I just want to check in on his condition. Now, do enlighten me... what are we having for dinner tonight?” Shizuka Hiou started as she steered the focus of Ichiru away from his elder twin and onto the dinner menu for the day. ‘Dinner at 8 am, even after four years, it still throws me off.’ - Kiryuu Ichiru thought as he dutifully reported his planned menu for the blooming mad princess. --- Kiryuu Zero had just stepped foot into the chairman’s residence when he felt the familiar weight of his future son barreling into his person. “Akira, what brings you over today? Where's your brother?” Kiryuu Zero inquires when he fails to notice the elder twin around. “Subaru’s with father in the study room with Grandpa Cross.” Kuran Akira answered with a nonchalant shrug. “I see. Why aren’t you in there with them?” Kiryuu Zero prompted as he picked up Akira to avoid having the boy attached to the front of his pants, which only serves to hinder his movements. “I got bored listening to them talk about the details for the upcoming school festival week.” Kuran Akira responded as he laid his head down on the shoulder of his beloved parent. “Oh, Zero, you’re back! How did your exam go?” Kaien Cross, who had just stepped out from his study room following the end of the discussion with Kaname Kuran, started upon landing his eyes on the figure of his adopted son. “It went well.” Kiryuu Zero answered before shifting his eyes to land upon the figure of the pureblood king and the elder twin. Nodding towards the pureblood king, he greeted politely. “Kuran.” Turning towards the figure of the elder twin, Kiryuu Zero greeted the silver-haired child with an affectionate ruffle of the hair. “Subaru, how are you doing?” “I’m doing fine, Daddy.” “Oh, Daddy! Can we please have a family outing?” Just then, Kuran Akira started, after he received a look from the younger version of his father-dearest. “Huh? Family outing?” Kiryuu Zero blinked down at the younger twin in bewilderment as he wondered inwardly about where the boy got the idea of the family outing. “Yeah! Family outing! We haven’t had one in ages, so I think we ought to do one while the situation is still relatively peaceful.” Kuran Akira nodded in affirmation as he responded. “Fine, and what do you think we should do for the family outing then? While on the subject, have you spoken to your father about the outing?” Kiryuu Zero sighed as he addressed his youngest with a look of resignation. He didn’t even bother to ask for clarification from Akira about the meaning behind his remark about the situation being peaceful. He figured it was either something the boy picked up through one of Akane’s mid-rant or the boy knew something that he wasn’t aware of at present. The trios, after all, are from the future. “Amusement park!” Kuran Akira promptly announced. “Kuran, your opinion on the subject?” The silver-haired guardian turned inquiring eyes towards the figure of the pureblood king as he prompted. “I’m okay with Akira’s idea for us to visit the amusement park for the family gathering. We can visit in the evening; the only question now is which amusement park to visit.” Kaname Kuran responded in an accommodating tone of voice. “Somewhere that’s not too crowded. Disneyland in Chiba is out of the question; that place is way too crowded, no matter the time of year. Oh, and not the Hello Kitty Land. I’ll leave the two of you to discuss the details of the outing with your father, I have classes to attend.” Kiryuu Zero took one look at the time reflected on the wall clock of the chairman’s residence and promptly set down the boy in his arms back onto the ground as he rushed upstairs to get himself changed into the school uniform before he ended up late for his morning classes. “...” “Come on, boys, let’s take the discussion of the family outing back to the Moon Dorm, shall we?” Kaname Kuran said as he picked up the two boys and made his way back to the Moon Dorm at full burst of his vampire’s speed. --- “Yori-chan?” Yuuki Cross started as she calls out to the attention of her dormmate and friend who was absent from the dorm last night. “Yes, Yuuki?” Wakaba Sayori responded as she directed a questioning look toward her dormmate and friend. “What’s the family emergency you had to attend to last evening? Has everything been resolved?” Yuuki Cross began. “Yes, everything has been resolved. My grandmother was admitted to the hospital last night, and for a while, her condition was quite critical. So, the doctor wants everyone in the family to be assembled in front of her deathbed just in case she didn’t pull through.” Wakaba Sayori convincingly told Yuuki, while Kiryuu Zero, who enters the classroom just in time to overhear the excuse provided by the brown-haired girl to fend off Yuuki’s queries, couldn’t help but sweat-dropped. ‘The poor woman, she’s probably rolling in her grave if she knew her granddaughter had used her as an excuse to fend off enquiries from a nosy friend.’ Kiryuu Zero thought inwardly as he headed for the direction of his table and took his seat next to the figure of Akane, his future adoptive daughter. “Hey, you look tired.” Kiryuu Zero commented as he took in the haggard appearance of his adoptive daughter. “Yes, well... I had to cover your guardian duties and babysitting at the same time. Of course, I'm going to be exhausted. It's terrible bringing the twins out on the nighty patrol, you know? I was half-tempted to drop them off at the classroom with father-dearest at one point.” Akane deadpans in response to her silver-haired adoptive parent’s words. “I see. Well, you’ll be glad to know that you aren’t needed for babysitting duties this evening.” Kiryuu Zero commented in a wry tone of voice. “Huh? Why?” Akane blinked as she turned toward the silver-haired guardian in confusion. “The twins want to have a family outing this evening. So, Kuran would be skipping class today to take them out this evening.” The silver-haired guardian answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Oh... a family outing, sounds fun. Am I invited to the outing?” Akane started as she turns towards Zero with inquiring eyes. “It’s up to you to decide if you want to join. The twins want to visit the amusement park, so if you don’t find it too kiddy... you’re welcome to join us for the outing. I'm sure Kuran wouldn’t mind having an extra set of eyes around to keep an eye on the twins.” “As long as it isn’t the Hello Kitty Land, I’ll join the outing,” Akane answered after a moment of consideration. “I’m quite sure it wouldn’t be the Hello Kitty Land. I seriously doubt Kuran would want to step foot in that particular amusement park. Either way, think it over and let me know before lunch break.” Kiryuu Zero told Akane before shifting his focus toward the front of the classroom as the teacher got ready to start today’s lecture. While the silver-haired guardian was updating Akane on the planned family outing taking place later this evening, back at the Moon Dorm, the boys had finally arrived at a consensus with their father-dearest about the amusement park to visit. The final decision they’d arrived at was to visit the only amusement park situated in central Tokyo with the Ferris wheel attraction. “Good. Now that the destination has been decided, the two of you need to go to bed. It's way over your bedtime.” Kaname Kuran told the twins as he shepherded them towards the ensuite bathroom in his suite room to conduct the ‘night-time’ routine. Granted, it’s daytime outside, but considering their vampiric nature, this is the time for them to retire for the day. Once the boys are done with their teeth-brushing routine, Kaname tucked them into bed as he read them another story from the Shakespeare collection. At the first sound of the snoring coming from the boys, Kaname Kuran set aside the book and give them both a peck on the head before he went off to the ensuite bathroom to conduct his own routine before bedtime. --- “Uncle Aidou truly loves gaining attention from the girls.” Kuran Akira deadpans when he heard the sound of fangirls going ‘Kya, Kya!’ from where he was seated in the front lounge of the Moon Dorm. Kiryuu Subaru felt his nose twitching as a familiar smell of sandalwood approached the front lounge of the Moon Dorm. Glancing up, he found himself meeting the sight of the younger version of his father descending the stairs, immaculately dressed. “Father, did you apply cologne by any chance?” Kiryuu Subaru inquired innocently as he glanced up at the figure of the approaching Kaname Kuran. “Just a tad.” The pureblood king responded. “Well, next time, leave the cologne for your business meetings. Daddy doesn’t like the smell of cologne and perfumes. He has rather sensitive nose, and artificial fragrances make him sneeze.” Kiryuu Subaru commented as he clued the younger version of his father in on the taboos of his beloved Daddy. “I see.” Kaname Kuran nodded as he briefly toyed with the idea of heading upstairs to get a change of clothes. However, a look at the time informs him that he doesn’t exactly have the time to get a change of clothes. ‘Well, in any case, this is just a family outing. I'll be sure to bear it in mind to leave out the cologne the next time I ask Zero out on a date.’ The pureblood king thought as he pulled open the door leading to the outside of the building just as the screams from the fangirls died out as the class change-over timing drew to an end. “Daddy! Can we go now?” Akira’s voice draws Zero’s focus back to the present. “In a moment, Akira. I need a change of clothes.” Kiryuu Zero told the younger twin with a soft smile. “Shall we meet up in front of the school gate in fifteen minutes?” Kaname Kuran suggested he would offer the silver-haired guardian the use of his wardrobe since he has plenty of shirts that haven’t been worn since it was procured. Only, he didn’t think Zero would be comfortable ‘borrowing’ clothes from his wardrobe yet. So, he’d wisely held his tongue on the subject. “Sounds good. Oh, Akane would be joining us for the outing as well. Seeing as it’s a family outing, it wouldn’t be good to leave her out of the outing plan.” Kiryuu Zero responded before heading off in the direction of the chairman’s residence. He had fifteen minutes to get a change of clothes and hopefully get a quick shower in before he had to meet up with Kuran and the kids out front at the school’s gate. “Where’s the kid going?” Yagari Tooga entered the house shortly after Kiryuu Zero sped off in the direction of the school’s gate. “Oh, he has a family outing trip scheduled with the kids.” Kaien Cross answered in a jovial tone of voice. “...” Yagari Tooga’s expression turns sour at the reminder of just who exactly is included in the ‘family’ of his star pupil. “Tooga-chan, give it a rest. Your attempts to separate them wouldn’t work. First, Zero is feeding off of Kaname-kun. You knew as much as I do that having Zero feed off Kaname-kun is the best option we have at present to starve off his descent to the end. While it wouldn’t work forever, we can prolong the inevitable. Secondly, the two of them are sharing custody of the kids from the future. Besides, the kids’ existence also serves as a reminder to us that no matter how bleak the future may seem for Zero at present, there’s still hope for the future. Even if the future is something you don’t like.” Kaien Cross pointed out to the veteran hunter objectively. “Give it a rest, Kaien! I didn’t come here to hear you nag at me.” Yagari Tooga responded gruffly before asking his old friend about what they were going to do for their dinner since his star pupil wasn’t around to prep dinner for them. “So, how are we going to get to the amusement park?” Kiryuu Zero asks after he arrives to a stop in front of the pureblood king and their future kids at the school gate. “We are taking the car.” Kaname Kuran responded just as a limousine pulled up in front of the school gate. “Is the use of a limo service warranted? There are only five of us, and this vehicle looks like it can fit your entire inner circle and still have space for more. Don't you have a low-key sedan we can use or something? Besides, we are going to visit an amusement park, not to attend some posh gala event.” Kiryuu Zero felt the corners of his lips twitching in response to the vehicle that had just pulled up in front of the school’s gate. Kaname Kuran appeared to think for a few minutes before he called out for the attention of his ever-loyal servant. “Seiren, do we have another vehicle available in the garage that we can use for the trip to the amusement park?” “We have a Mercedes-Benz available.” Seiren appeared to think on the subject for a moment before responding in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Get that vehicle out and bring the limo back in.” Kaname Kuran instructed, and Seiren was gone in the blink of an eye. Once the Mercedes-Benz was brought out, the group of five filed into the vehicle. Since the vehicle is a five-seater, Kaname Kuran dismissed the chauffeur and decided to take over the role of the driver himself. “You do have a driving license, right?” Before getting into the passenger seat, Kiryuu Zero finally thought to ask the pureblood king, garnering a look of amusement from the former. “Yes, I do have a driving license.” Kaname Kuran barely held back a snort as he answered and then he pulled open the door to the driver’s side of the vehicle, to settle himself behind the steering wheel of the vehicle. Kiryuu Zero followed suit by getting into the side passenger seat, as he buckled on the seat-belt, the silver-haired guardian didn’t neglect to remind Akane who was seated in the middle between the twins to check if their seat-belt has been properly fastened. “So, which amusement park are we going to?” The silver-haired guardian finally remembered to ask, garnering varying looks of amusement from both the kids and the pureblood behind the steering wheel. “The one located in central Tokyo with the Ferris Wheel,” came the unified response from the kids seated in the back passenger seats of the vehicle. “Oh...okay!” Kiryuu Zero nodded slowly, although he still had no idea which amusement park that was. The only amusement park he had ever been to was Hello Kitty Land, and that was under Yuuki’s insistence. That's like the only outing the pureblood king flat-out rejected from Yuuki, likely, all those pink scares him off. The sudden remembrance of that memory caused a laugh to bubble up the throat of the silver-haired guardian, drawing the curious gazes from the kids and the pureblood upon his person. “Dare I ask what amuses you so much?” Kaname Kuran spared the silver-haired guardian a look from the corner of his eyes as he inquired. “Yes, Daddy. Do share with us what’s so funny that got you laughing out of the blue.” Kuran Akira added from his position in the back row of the vehicle. “It’s nothing. I was simply reminded of an old memory about the amusement park I was made to visit with your Aunt Yuuki.” Kiryuu Zero answered with an amused glint in his eyes as he told the kids while keeping an eye out for the reaction of the pureblood. “Oh, that visit.” Kaname Kuran commented drily in response. “Yes, that visit.” Kiryuu Zero nodded in response. Akane shifted her gaze between the two figures that would eventually end up as her adoptive parents and instantly came to a realization that there was a story behind that amusement park visit that they are privy to, while the three of them are clueless about. And usually, this kind of conversation only applies to subjects that concerns their aunt Yuuki. “What visit?” Kuran Akira blinked up at his future parents in confusion, not getting the inside joke that seemed to be among the younger versions of his parents. “The visit to the Hello Kitty Land, your aunt Yuuki insists on visiting that amusement park when your father asks her what she wants for Christmas that year. Your aunt Yuuki told him that she wants to visit the Hello Kitty Land, and your father says okay. But then, on Christmas Day, he sends someone over with the tickets to the amusement park with an apology message telling your aunt Yuuki that he is unable to spend Christmas with us that year due to some last-minute appointment. When in actuality, he simply didn’t want to step foot in that pink hellhole. Unfortunately, I didn’t have an excuse to disappoint Yuuki and hence was dragged along unwillingly to the amusement park and forced to take quite a couple of embarrassing pictures by the chairman. Your father was quite amused on Boxing Day when he came by to visit the chairman.” Kiryuu Zero rolled his eyes at the amused-looking pureblood while he recounted that dreadful visit to the Hello Kitty Land to his future kids while throwing daggering looks at Kaname Kuran whenever possible. Kaname Kuran thought back to the pictures that the chairman had taken of an unwilling Kiryuu Zero wearing the same Hello Kitty plush headband as Yuuki while he took photos alongside the blissfully happy Yuuki and had to refrain from snorting at the memory that came to mind. Inwardly, he was extremely relieved that he managed to get out from visiting the Hello Kitty Land. As much as he adores Yuuki, he wouldn’t be caught dead stepping foot in the Hello Kitty Land. Everywhere was painted in pink or pastel blue, and truly, he didn’t know what was the appeal of that mascot that won the hearts of girls nationwide. “Oh no! We don’t have a camera for picture taking today, do we?” Akira couldn’t help but groan aloud with blatant disappointment. “Akira, it’s fine. The amusement park we are visiting today comes with a photo booth. I'm sure we can convince Dad and Father to agree to the idea of having a family photo taken while at the amusement park.” Akane hurried to whisper into the ears of the younger twin before the boy’s complaints reached the ears of their young parents. “...” Kaname and Zero share a look as they listen in to the exchange of words between Akane and Akira before averting their gaze from one another to focus their attention elsewhere. Kaname refocused his attention to the road ahead, while Kiryuu Zero inwardly toyed with the idea of investing in a disposable camera that are commonly found in the shops of the amusement park for tourists who find themselves in need of extra film roll for photo taking. While Akane’s suggestion of a family photo sounds good, the idea of getting some photos of the kids while they are here in this timeline to document their existence sounds appealing, too. Upon arrival at the amusement park, Kiryuu Zero and Akane took the twins to the ticketing booth to purchase the tickets for their entry into the amusement park while Kaname Kuran went off to find a parking space for the vehicle. There wasn’t a need for them to agree on a meeting point because they all knew that the pureblood king wouldn’t have an issue locating them due to the one-sided bond that existed between the silver-haired guardian and the pureblood king at present. “Father!” Akira calls out with an enthusiastic wave of his hands in the restaurant within the amusement park, as the restaurant is rather packed with the dinner crowd. His boisterous greeting to Kaname Kuran didn’t go unnoticed, and if the patrons at the restaurant thought Kaname was too young to be a father for a six-year-old, they certainly kept their comments to themselves. “Apologies, Father. Akira’s a tad too excited.” Kiryuu Subaru offered when Kaname Kuran slid into the empty seat next to the silver-haired guardian, who handed him a copy of the menu for his perusal. “It’s self-service, so feel free to go to the counter and place your order if anything happens to interest you on the menu.” Kiryuu Zero commented as he took a bite of his lasagna with the use of a fork. “It’s okay, I don’t need anything. It's not exactly my stipulated meal time yet.” Kaname Kuran answered as he settled for the idea of watching the kids while Zero enjoyed dinner in peace. The silver-haired guardian and Akane are the only two truly eating, the twins were sharing a banana split ice-cream as a treat. Kaname was fed a spoonful under the insistence of Akira, and promptly scrunched up his nose at the sweetness of the ice-cream. “It’s fine, I’m good. Just share within yourselves.” Kaname Kuran told the younger twin before he promptly took the glass of iced water that belonged to the silver-haired guardian and gulped down a large mouthful to wash out the taste of the banana split ice cream. For a while, Kiryuu Zero contemplated the idea of requesting a new glass of water from the counter staff, but the thought of having to endure the ogling stares from the counter staff had him discard the idea without delay. ‘Okay, so what if he drank a mouthful of the water from my glass? Just a couple of days ago, he was exploring the inside of my mouth with his tongue. It's a tad pointless to be concerned over the idea of an indirect kiss when we’d already kissed.’ Kiryuu Zero told himself resolutely before forcing himself to focus on finishing up his meal so they could start exploring the attraction rides with the kids. The thought of that kissing episode between Kuran and he, that took place after that unfortunate accident on the floor of the bathroom in Aidou’s room, had the silver-haired guardian flushing pink in the cheeks again. Thankfully, neither of the boys noticed the pink tinge in the cheeks of Kiryuu Zero, and thus, the silver-haired guardian was saved from the embarrassment of having to tell why he was blushing out of the blue. Akane, on the other hand, did notice the pink tinge coloring the cheeks of her silver-haired cousin and future adoptive parent, but she had wisely kept her comments to herself. “Yay! Time to play!” Kuran Akira cheered as he bounced on his feet with excitement while studying the map of the amusement park that Kaname Kuran had picked up from the entrance of the park after having found a parking space for his vehicle. Originally, the boys, or rather Akira, wanted to try out the roller coaster ride, but Akane halted him by pointing out that neither Subaru nor him had reached the height that’s allowed for them to get on a roller coaster ride. So, the wavy-haired vampire child had grudgingly discarded the notion of going on a ride on the infamous roller coaster and went on a carousel ride with his elder twin instead. As the group made their way towards the queue for the carousel ride, Kiryuu Zero popped into the first souvenir shop within the premises of the amusement park to get the disposable camera. The look of disappointment on Kuran Akira promptly disappears upon the sight of the disposable camera in his beloved parent’s hands. “Oh, Daddy went and got a camera for our outing! Now we can snap as many photos as we want!” Akira cheered as he caught his elder twin in a big bear hug that reminded the silver-haired guardian of his childhood. Ichiru used to do the same with him in the past, like what Akira did to Subaru now, back when he had yet to officially begin his training for vampire hunting. Those are truly the carefree days of his childhood, the days where he gets to spend all his time with his younger twin. Spurred on by his nostalgic memories of his childhood days, Kiryuu Zero unwrapped the disposable camera from its packaging and snapped a photo of Akira leaping on Subaru as he caught the elder twin in an embrace. “Daddy! One more! Subaru didn’t look at the camera just now!” Kuran Akira calls out for the attention of Zero as he insisted on a second shot of the same position to be taken. “Of course, Akira. Boys, do look at the camera and remember to smile.” Kiryuu Zero started as he held up the disposable camera in his hands to take another shot of the same pose. After that, the boys went on a ride on the classic carousel, followed by a visit to the bumper car ride, where the boys separated themselves into teams, with Zero and Kaname joining them for the bumper car experience. Akane, on the other hand, stayed on the sidelines as she took pictures on the disposable camera while Kaname teamed up with Subaru and Zero team up with Akira while they competed to see which team managed to bump into the other team for the greatest number of times. After the bumper car ride, the group proceeded to explore the ghost house of the amusement park and the house of mirrors that distorted their image, making the boys laugh until their bellies hurt. They ended their visit to the amusement park with a trip to the photo booth for a family picture to be taken, followed by a ride on the Ferris Wheel. The family outing is truly an outing for the entire family. Kaname didn’t get a single moment of privacy with the silver-haired guardian as they had the twins and Akane around them throughout the entire visit to the amusement park. Inwardly, the pureblood king vowed to try and get the silver-haired guardian to agree on going out with him on a date soon. He did express his intention to court the silver-haired guardian a couple of days ago, didn’t he? --- By the time they make their way back to the Cross Academy, the twins have exhausted themselves so much that they end up napping the entire ride back to the school. In the end, instead of one single instant camera, the silver-haired guardian ended up purchasing three of these cameras. All of them were exhausted by the end of the amusement park visit. Before today, Kiryuu Zero didn’t peg himself as someone who enjoys taking photos. Now it seems like he was perfectly fine with the idea of being the photographer. Kiryuu Zero was drawn out of his thoughts when he heard a tap on the window of the vehicle, rolling down the car window screen with a press of the button, the silver-haired guardian was met by the sight of his usual patrolling partner who fell silent at the sight of him in the vehicle. “Eh?! EH!? Oh my god, Zero?! So, this is Kaname-senpai's vehicle?! Sorry, sorry! Please go on in, I was just doing my duty as the school’s guardian.” Yuuki Cross promptly bowed as she apologized frantically for stopping the vehicle that belonged to Kaname Kuran. While it’s against the rule to drive within the academy grounds, exceptions could be made under certain circumstances. “It’s fine, Yuuki. This vehicle wasn’t registered on the record file, it’s no wonder that you didn’t know. How did the patrolling go today? Did you catch anyone out after curfew?” Kiryuu Zero figured that since he was already back on academy grounds, he might as well resume his duties as the school guardian. so he signals for the pureblood king to pull up so he could alight from the vehicle. He turns towards Akane as he instructed for the girl to assist the pureblood king in getting the boys into the Moon Dorm after they arrived back at the entrance of the dormitory building. “No prob.” Akane nodded as she responded to the instructions of her silver-haired cousin and future adoptive parent. Meanwhile, over at the outskirts of the Gunma Prefecture, in a rural village with little signs of life. Kaede stood in front of Shizuka Hiou as she reported her findings about Kiryuu Zero to the pureblood heiress of the Hiou family. It didn’t take Kaede too much effort to dig into the information concerning the elder Kiryuu twin. Furthermore, the elder Kiryuu twin didn’t exactly hide his trail while in town, so within an hour of gathering information through the means of ‘bewitching’ naive young ladies who have a penchant for good-looking guys. Kaede managed to gain his hands on the information that his master, Shizuka Hiou, had gotten him into gathering. “The freelance hunter’s guild, you say? Hmm...so, my little Zero-chan is still going to continue his parents' legacy of becoming a vampire hunter, even though he has now become one himself.” Shizuka Hiou mused aloud to no one in particular as a look of interest formed in her eyes. “Kaede, who did you say took him in after the tragic event that befalls his family the other day?” There was a moment of silence before the pureblood princess of the Hiou family spoke up once more. “Cross, Kaien Cross took him in after the unfortunate demise of his parents,” Kaede answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “I see. So, if I were to locate him... the most possible place I’ll get to find him would be in the Cross Academy then.” Shizuka Hiou murmured under her breath before allowing her eyes to flit shut as she focused on drawing upon her powers to bring forth her familiar. It took a bit of time since it had been ages since she had to call upon the use of her familiar. That and the darn curse placed upon her body by that vile Rido Kuran, her supposed fiancé, had taken its toll on her body. Add in the fact that she hadn’t taken blood for ages, it’s only natural that her powers had weakened significantly. The curse her supposed fiancé had placed on her was to ensure her chastity in their union, it acted as a form of safeguard since their union was arranged between their families without taking into account their desires. The presence of the curse pissed her off, she finds Rido a hypocrite because she knew he was just as unwilling as she was in their arranged union. However, she didn’t object to having the curse placed on her then because she wasn’t aware that she would one day find someone that would pique the interest of her inner beast. Unfortunately, she did end up finding someone that piqued the interest of her beast. A silly young man from the human race who tried to play hero in an attempt to save her from some thugs, only to get himself stabbed in the belly. A fatal wound that the medical team from the human world wouldn’t be able to save, but the regenerative ability of a vampire would restore. And so, Shizuka Hiou did something she didn’t think she would ever do in the entirety of her life. She turned the silly man who had attempted to save her life from the street thugs into an ex-human. Just like that, the man became her servant, and later, she took the ex-human on as a lover, in the platonic sense. After all, that damn curse placed upon her by Rido Kuran ensured that she could do nothing more than allowing for a mutual feeding session to take place between them. The thought of Rido Kuran brought on a look of displeasure onto the face of Shizuka Hiou. Though she has no actual proof, she trusts her instincts. Given the regular frequencies her ex-human lover has been feeding from her, there’s no way that her ex-human lover would end up on the hit list of the hunter’s association. Still, the fact remains that her ex-human lover had been eliminated by the Kiryuu couple acting under the orders of the hunter’s association. Overcome by grief of the loss of her lover, Shizuka Hiou had struck out at her parents, which then resulted in her imprisonment by the hands of her family. So, for years, she remained locked behind the cage that was her room under tight scrutiny and guards. Until that fateful day four years ago, when a visit from the Kuran family without that vile man who was supposed to be her husband that she finally managed to evade detection and escaped. Of course, the boy that helped created a distraction to occupy the attention of her family deserved some credits for her successful escape, too. Coming back to the present just as her familiar took up the shape of a crow, Shizuka Hiou instructed her familiar to go in search for her cute little defiant servant - Kiryuu Zero. As her familiar flew off into the distance, Shizuka Hiou steered her attention back to her loyal guard, Kaede, as she instructed. “Ring up the Kurenai, inform them that I’ll be coming by for a visit, soon. We'll leave once Ichiru is awake.” Shizuka Hiou said as she directed her words towards the figure of Kaede as she glanced out of the window of the room, she had taken up residence. The current house was an abandoned house in the rural village situated on the outskirts of the town where Kiryuu Ichiru had encountered his elder twin earlier in the day. Such houses aren’t hard to come by in the days of the modern era when more and more youngsters choose to venture out to explore new horizons in the bigger and bustier cities, leaving behind their ancestral home situated in the rural part of the nation. With time, these houses eventually end up in a state of disrepair and often end up as temporary shelters for the homeless and the strays. Seeing as Shizuka Hiou has been constantly on the run since her successful escape from the cage she calls her home, aside from the few occasions that she had impose her presence on the hospitality of the Kurenai, a distant relative of the Hiou who welcomes her presence despite her reputation as the blooming mad princess. Shizuka Hiou has been taking up residence in such abandoned homes more often than not. Kaede had always been her loyal guard, which was why she had taken him with her when she fled her family home. For a period, Kaede was the one tending to the care of the sickly and frail Ichiru when she took the boy with her on a whim after she slaughtered the Kiryuu couple and bit the elder Kiryuu twin. Initially, Kaede is an unwilling caretaker of Ichiru, but after Shizuka clues Kaede in on the connection between Ichiru and the Hiou family, Kaede promptly changes his tune. These days, Ichiru took care of her needs during the day while Kaede handled tending to her shadier demands during the night. Between the two of them, Shizuka Hiou dared say she was quite taken care of. ‘Soon, Zero-chan... we’ll meet again.’ Shizuka Hiou thought as Kaede left the room, presumably to ring up the Kurenai, informing them of her impending visit. ~To be continued~ Date started: 23/05/09 Date completed: 24/05/09 Date edited: 24/05/09 Date revised: 04/03/2025
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The morning after the family outing trip, Kiryuu Zero was in a relatively bad mood. Reason being nothing seems to be right from the moment he woke up in the morning. His morning begins with him being woken up by Yuuki’s incessant banging on his room’s door loudly. When he dragged himself out of bed to answer the door, he was greeted by a message from Yuuki Cross claiming that his legal guardian, Kaien Cross, wanted to see him before the lessons. A glance towards the direction of his alarm clock informs him that it is only 6 a.m. Okay, fine – it wasn't too early, so he could live with it. Kiryuu Zero thought as he started getting himself changed out of his sleeping wear and into his school uniform before heading downstairs to meet his legal guardian and see what exactly was the reason behind the man’s decision to see him before he left the house for his morning classes alongside Yuuki. “Yuuki, where’s the chairman?” Kiryuu Zero grouched out when he entered the house’s dining area to find no signs of the man who had taken him in following the tragic event of his family. “He’s in the study room.” Yuuki Cross responded, and Kiryuu Zero turned on his heels to head towards the study room of the house without a backward glance in the girl’s direction. The silver-haired guardian didn’t bother to knock before pushing open the door that led to the study room of Kaien Cross, given that he wasn’t aware that his legal guardian had a guest in the room. So, he was momentarily taken by surprise when he found himself at the gunpoint of his former childhood friend, a full-fledged vampire hunter, Takamiya Kaito. “Stay where you are, vampire!” Takamiya Kaito snarled out without even bothering to turn and look at the newcomer as he pointed his loaded gun towards the direction of the study room’s door. “Kaito?” Kiryuu Zero blinked once, then twice, before turning curious eyes upon the figure of Kaien Cross seated behind the desk in the study room of the chairman’s residence. “Ara, Zero-kun. You’re here!” Kaien Cross glanced up at the sound of Takamiya Kaito’s voice and slowly shifted his gaze to land upon the figure of his adopted son, who had a disgruntled look on his face. “Chairman Cross, surely... You didn’t ask to see me early in the morning because my senior-in-training decided to put me on his hit list.” Kiryuu Zero started in an unimpressive tone of voice. “What the?!” Takamiya Kaito halted his act of pulling the trigger at the last minute as he snapped his head behind to stare at the newcomer and promptly dropped his gun as he circled the figure of his former childhood friend. “Holy shit, Master Tooga certainly wasn’t kidding when he claimed that you’d turned.” Takamiya Kaito commented as he surveyed the appearance of his junior-in-training. “What else did Master Tooga tell you? While on the subject, don’t tell me you’re the new teacher-in-training for the night class?” Kiryuu Zero sighed as he finally turned to look at his former childhood friend from his trainee days. They were both disciples of Yagari Tooga and had trained together for several years before Kaito got his hunting license and started going off on solo missions, leaving him alone to train under the guidance of Yagari Tooga. “Yes, I’m the new teacher-in-training for the night class and Master’s replacement to stay on academy grounds to supervise the situation under the orders of the hunter’s association while Master went off for some personal investigation work. Master applied for a leave of absence from the association, citing that he had some personal affairs to attend to. While on the subject, do you know what kind of investigation Master’s doing on the sly?” Takamiya Kaito inquired as he peered at his former friend, who was now a vampire, with a curious gaze. “No idea.” Kiryuu Zero answered, but inwardly he was wondering if his master is investigating the members of the hunter’s association on the sly. After all, the silver-haired guardian had shown his master the copies of the investigation report he’d obtained from the Fujiwara clan through the assistance of Fujiwara Hayate, the maternal grandfather of Risa Miyazaki from the night class. Kiryuu Zero recalled his mentor had looked quite disturbed then, and then told him that he would look into the matter and that until his investigation yields results, the silver-haired guardian was not to do anything that would bring upon the suspicions from the association. “Okay, so if the reason that you asked to see me this early had nothing to do with me ending up on Kaito's hit list, what did you ask me to see you for?” Kiryuu Zero prompted once more as he kept his eyes on the figure of his legal guardian. “Oh, right. I’d called you here for two things. One, I'll need you to bring Kaito-kun to the dormitory for the teaching staff. Here's the key to his assigned room. Two – I have an elimination order issued by the Hunter’s Association for you.” Kaien Cross first handed over the room key to the teacher’s dorm to his adopted son before slipping the missive he had received from the hunter’s association over to the silver-haired guardian over the counter of his desk. “Okay, the first thing I can do. The second thing is just absurd. I thought I’d already informed them that I’m sitting for the promotional exams held by the freelance hunter’s guild. It's one thing if I’d already cleared the exams, but seeing as I haven’t obtained my official hunting license, they aren’t allowed to make me go on solo hunting mission for Level E without back-up.” Kiryuu Zero pocketed the assigned room key to the teacher’s dormitory and took a good look at the missive that came from the hunter’s association addressed to him with a frowning expression on his face. “I know. I thought it strange as well. So, I called them up to check if there have been any errors. The secretary of the chairman told me that there were no mistakes; the missive was intended for you. They said they would like to ascertain if you’re still useful to them, given that you’ve now turned. They had also emphasized to me that this is a mission that you can’t turn down, or they would withhold the issuing of your official hunting license even if you were to clear the practical aspects for the promotional exams that you would be sitting under the assessment of the invigilators from the freelance hunter’s guild, on the coming week.” Kaien Cross told his adopted son in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “...” Refraining from the urge to curse under his breath, Kiryuu Zero crumpled the missive from the hunter’s association with his fist before stuffing it into the pocket of his uniform pants with an utter look of displeasure. “Is that all you need from me, now?” “Erm...yes.” Kaien Cross blinked as he nodded back at the figure of his silver-haired pseudo-son, who seemed quite displeased by the turn of events. “Good. I’ll show Kaito to the direction of the dormitory for the teaching staff then.” Kiryuu Zero gritted out before turning on his heels to leave the study room of the chairman. As he walked past the figure of Takamiya Kaito, he threw the former a look that he was certain his former senior-in-training would catch on to the underlying meaning before leaving the house. “I think here would be fine.” Kiryuu Zero came to a stop in the clearing of the woods, the very same place that the future trios had landed themselves in their timeline back in mid-February. It's amazing how much has changed between him and a certain pureblood king in the period since the trios arrived in their timeline. Has it only been slightly more than a month? It certainly felt longer to Zero. Within the 1.5 months, the silver-haired guardian had gone from loathing the pureblood king to being accepting of the pureblood’s constant presence in his life. Whatever feelings he had for Kaname Kuran, he wouldn’t call it ‘love’ yet since the feelings he had for the former still paled in comparison to the sort of desires the pureblood king harbored for him. Regardless, Kiryuu Zero couldn’t deny that he did feel something akin to attraction for the pureblood king. The sudden sound of Takamiya Kaito speaking up drew the focus of Kiryuu Zero out from his thoughts and back to reality. “You are certain that we won’t be interrupted here?” The ash-brown-haired vampire hunter started in a tone that borders on skepticism. “As long as there’re no gunshots involved, I hardly think we would be interrupted.” Kiryuu Zero deadpans to his childhood friend as he removes his school blazer from his person. He's itching for a hand-to-hand combat sparring to let off some steam after receiving that darn mission from the hunter’s association that he wasn’t allowed to say ‘no’. --- Kaname Kuran couldn’t help but frown when he was notified by his loyal guard, Seiren, about Kiryuu Zero engaging in a hand-to-hand combat sparring session with an unknown hunter in the clearing of the woods that surrounded the Moon Dormitory. Though he was concerned, he didn’t see the need to intervene for the moment. For all he knew, it might just be a friendly spar between old friends. After all, he could sense nostalgia from the one-sided bond he had with the silver-haired guardian. So, whoever Kiryuu Zero was sparring with was an old acquaintance from his trainee days as a hunter under the tutelage of Yagari Tooga. “I thought you said we wouldn’t get interrupted here?” Takamiya Kaito was heard saying as he dodged an incoming punch from Kiryuu Zero while sending back a high kick toward his childhood friend. Kiryuu Zero skillfully dodged out of the way of the high kick before delivering a high kick of his own back at Takamiya Kaito as he responded. “I wouldn’t consider watching from the sideline as being interrupted. I’m the school guardian, whereas you’re an unknown entity here. Of course, people are bound to get curious and start looking.” “Okay, I’m done. On the count of five, let’s wrap this up.” Takamiya Kaito called out to the attention of his childhood friend as he declared. “5, 4, 3, 2, 1!” Both parties separated themselves as they collectively stopped pulling their punches at one another and went back to where they’d discarded their outer coats and school blazers. Once they’re done tidying up their appearances, they both turn to address the onlookers of their little sparring session. “Zero, what is going on?” Yuuki Cross started with a frown marring her features. “Nothing is going on. It's just a friendly spar for old times' sake.” Kiryuu Zero answered as he spared a moment to tidy up his uniform shirt, dusting off the specks of dirt that had landed on it when Kaito sent the flying kick his way. “Friendly spar?! I was under the impression that he had his gun pointed towards you this morning. Was I mistaken?” Yuuki Cross placed both her hands on her waist as she addressed her silver-haired friend with a disapproving look. “Yuuki, that was him reacting purely to his hunter’s sense. I’m quite certain I had quite a number of the night class members on the other end of my gunpoint when they approached me from behind. Besides, he didn’t pull the trigger. Can we just let things slide this one time?” Kiryuu Zero sighed as he spoke to Yuuki. “True, but you didn’t know who was approaching. Him, on the other hand, should’ve known better. We are inside the house, and he was already told by your mentor about your current status as an ex-human. So, he should’ve known that you’re the only vampire in the house, and yet he still points his gun at you!” Yuuki huffed aloud in annoyance as she crossed her arms over her chest in a defensive manner, a clear sign that she was still upset about Kaito’s behavior back at the chairman’s residence. “...” “Oi, in my defense, I was grouchy, tired, and hungry. Furthermore, Master Tooga told me about Zero being turned. I wasn’t quite willing to believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. Besides, I didn’t open fire. So, can we just leave things be?” Takamiya Kaito grouched out in a grumpy manner as he had enough of the duo speaking as though he wasn’t here, and had to butt into the conversation himself. “Okay! Stop! We are going to be late for class if we continue with the argument down here. Why don’t we head on to class and let Zero show Takamiya-sensei to the dorm for the teaching staff?” Akane, who had been watching the sparring session with Yuuki earlier on, took it upon herself to intervene and play mediator by pointedly reminding the female guardian about the approaching time for their first class to begin. “Yikes! Sensei’s going to yell at me if I’m late again!” Yuuki Cross promptly yelped aloud upon realizing the timing and wasted no time in dropping the argument with Takamiya Kaito as she started dashing in the direction of the school's academic building. “Thanks, Akane.” Kiryuu Zero heaved a sigh of relief at finally getting Yuuki to stop getting on Kaito’s case about what happened earlier in the study room of his legal guardian. “No need, just remember to increase my allowance for the week.” Akane throws back at the silver-haired guardian cheekily. “Akane, I don’t remember giving you an allowance while you’re here. So, if you wish for an increase in your allowance, you might want to speak to Kuran about it. Between the two of us, he’s the one that’s filthy rich.” Kiryuu Zero rolls his eyes at the words of his future adoptive daughter as he deadpans in response. “Oh right, I forgot. You haven’t reached the age of maturity yet, so you haven’t got your hands on your parents' inheritance.” Akane blinked once, then twice, before palming her hand on her head as she remarked. “...” In response to Akane’s remarks, all Kiryuu Zero did was to pretend he didn’t hear any of it. Turning towards his childhood friend, the silver-haired guardian started. “Come along, Kaito. I’ll show you to your assigned room at the teacher’s dorm.” Calling over his shoulder to the sandy-brown-haired vampire girl, Kiryuu Zero instructed. “Akane, inform the teacher I’m on an errand for the chairman and will be late for class.” “Got it, Dad! I’ll make sure to pass the message along to the teacher.” Akane calls back in response before making her way towards the school’s academic building at her fastest speed. “What the hell was that?!” Takamiya Kaito turned incredulous eyes upon the figure of his childhood friend as he demanded. He didn’t just hear a girl who appeared as old as his childhood friend addressing Zero as Dad, did he? “It’s a long story, hence the reason why I asked you earlier. Just how much did Master Tooga tell you about the situation on my end?” Kiryuu Zero sighed as he turned his flat and emotionless eyes upon the figure of Takamiya Kaito as he repeated the question he’d first asked his friend back in the study room of his legal guardian. “Master Tooga...he didn’t say much, he’d only told me that you’re now an ex-human which was a result from the blooming mad princess’s attack that took place four years ago. Other than that, all he ever mentioned to me was that you are now feeding off the pureblood king, so there’s no need for me to worry about you attacking random students in the hallway. The rest he told me to ask you, saying that it’s not his position to reveal.” Takamiya Kaito answered with a frowning expression on his face. Somehow, he had a gut feeling that there was a lot he was missing out on, and he might not like what his friend was going to be revealing to him in a moment. “Okay, that meant I’ll have to give you a summary of probably everything that’s going on in my life right now. This is going to be a long conversation; let me show you to your assigned dorm first. I reckon you would prefer to sit down for the story.” Kiryuu Zero commented in a tone of dry humor, while inwardly thinking if he should follow in Akane’s example by getting his friend to surrender the anti-vampire weapon before he launched into the tale of his ‘daddy’ status with his childhood friend. “Why do I get the feeling that I’m not going to like what I’m going to hear from you?” Takamiya Kaito commented as he followed his childhood friend towards the direction of the dormitory built for the teaching staff’s usage. Unfortunately, he receives no outward response from his silver-haired childhood friend. --- “Star Dorm? How cliche? The day class students’ dormitory is named the Sun Dorm, the night class gets the Moon Dorm...and now the teaching staff gets the Star Dorm?” Takamiya Kaito couldn’t help but make a jab over the uncreative names for the dormitory building. “The chairman’s the one that decided on the name for the dormitory. If you have a problem with the dormitory name, kindly bring it up to him directly instead of telling me.” Kiryuu Zero deadpans to his friend as he pulls the assigned room key out from the pocket of his uniform pants. Stopping in front of a door with the door plate number 2, situated on the ground floor of the building. The silver-haired guardian inserted the key he had gotten from the chairman earlier into the keyhole of the room’s door. Turning it slightly as he pushed down on the door handle, Kiryuu Zero unlocked the door to the room assigned for his childhood friend’s use with ease. As soon as the door opened up to reveal its interior, Takamiya Kaito couldn’t help but let out a whistling sound of appreciation. This was certainly beyond his expectation, compared to the lodging the hunter’s association assigned for his usage when he isn’t on active duty. The dormitory offered for the teaching staff at Cross Academy is definitely among the top of the line. This isn’t just a room; this is a freaking studio apartment. While there isn’t proper segregation between the living and sleeping area, the room comes equipped with a private bathroom and a mini kitchen with a single electric stove top, complete with a tiny kitchen sink. Beneath the kitchen countertop was a cube fridge, aside from the electric stove top, there’s also a microwave oven and an electric water kettle. “Satisfied with what you see? Again, you can bring your compliments to the chairman. Unfortunately, there are no tea bags provided, so you’re going to have to buy your own once you get settled in. Same thing with the toiletries; this is, after all, a dorm, not a business hotel.” Kiryuu Zero remarked as he took a seat on the sofa couch in the room while giving his childhood friend some time to explore the dorm room in detail. While waiting for his friend to complete the exploration of the room, the silver-haired guardian made full use of the time to think about how much information to tell his childhood friend. He definitely would need to inform his friend about the existence of the twins and Akane, seeing as it’s rather impossible to hide them from being discovered by his friend. One of these days, Kaito was bound to cross paths with the twins, so it was better for him to unload the information on his friend now than to have his friend chance upon the information and freak out. Since he’s going to reveal the existence of the twins and Akane to his friend, he’s probably going to address the ‘how’ to his friend, which means he had to inform his friend of his relations to the Fujiwara clan as well. ‘Okay, in short, basically I need to tell him everything that Master Tooga knew. Oh well, at least Kaito wouldn’t go ballistic on me about the parentage of the twins. He might, however, laugh his ass off or teased me mercilessly for it afterward.’ Kiryuu Zero thought inwardly to himself with a rueful shake of his head. “Alright, I’m ready. Go ahead and explain to me why that girl from before was addressing you as ‘Dad. ’” Takamiya Kaito said as he dropped himself into the empty spot next to his friend on the sofa couch in his assigned dorm room. “Sure, but before that, I would like you to hand your anti-vampire weapon to me for safe-keeping. I'll give it back to you once I’m done with the explanation, but until then, I need some insurance.” Kiryuu Zero nodded in response as he held his hand out, indicating to his friend that he wouldn’t be explaining a single word until the gun was handed over to him. “...” For a while, Takamiya Kaito didn’t speak. The hazel-eyed hunter spared a moment to observe his childhood friend and, upon realizing that his friend was dead serious about him surrendering his anti-vampire weapon before providing him with any form of explanation, grudgingly did so. “Thank you for your cooperation. I’ll return it to you after I’m done with the storytelling.” Kiryuu Zero told his former senior-in-training in a matter-of-fact tone of voice as he pocketed the anti-vampire weapon that belonged to Takamiya Kaito under his friend’s watchful eyes. “Care to enlighten me why you must safeguard my anti-vampire weapon while you explain the situation?” Takamiya Kaito couldn’t help but ask, curiosity burning bright in his tone. “Just considered it as my insurance. After all, Master Tooga went ballistic on me after he found out.” Kiryuu Zero sighed as he told his hazel-eyed childhood friend. “...” --- It took Takamiya Kaito the entire afternoon to fully digest the information laid onto his lap by his childhood friend. During the time he was left alone to sort out his thoughts, his childhood friend, Kiryuu Zero, had already departed from his assigned dorm room in the teacher’s dorm and headed back off to the school. Of course, the silver-haired guardian had remembered to return the anti-vampire weapon that belonged to Takamiya Kaito before leaving. ‘Holy shit! Zero got himself mated to a pureblood male vampire and is a freaking parent figure for not one but three kids in the future, of which, two of them are biological made possible through the use of some ancient vampire spell that I’m not even sure if I want to know. No wonder Master Tooga went ballistic on Zero when he found out, and now I know why Zero makes it a point to confiscate my gun before launching into the explanation. He's preventing me from putting a bullet through him like what Master Tooga almost did.’ Takamiya Kaito sat on the sofa couch in his dorm room as he soaked in the information with a blatant look of disbelief on his face. ‘Though, I still think Zero’s a tad overkill to confiscate my gun before giving me the explanation. Sure, it’s a shocker to me, but I’m not going to go ballistic on him just because he would eventually get himself a vampire mate and end up popping out vampire kids decades down the road. I mean, it’s true I harbor a strong dislike for vampires and would love to put a bullet through them whenever I crossed paths with them. Still, I’d abide by the rules and regulations set in place by the association. I'm only allowed to shoot Level E. So, unless I’ve got no common sense, I’m not going to attempt assassination on the pureblood king even if I do not enjoy the idea of my former childhood friend mating with him. Besides, Zero’s only my friend... not my kid. Who am I to even disagree with the choice in his future life partner? Master only took it that bad because he’s putting himself in the shoe of a parental figure for Zero.’ Takamiya Kaito thought with a shake of his head before standing from his seated position on the couch. He figured that he had a fair bit of time on his hands until he had to meet up with the chairman to collect his lesson plans for his first class due to commence on the coming Monday. So, Takamiya Kaito had slightly more than 72 hours to decide on his attitude towards the pureblood king. If this was any other pureblood vampire, the hazel-eyed vampire hunter probably wouldn’t give a damn but this isn’t any random pureblood vampire, this is the pureblood vampire who would eventually become the mate of his childhood friend. Given how Zero had no intention of giving up his job as a vampire hunter, he’s bound to remain in contact with Zero for as long as he lived. That, in turn, means that coming into contact with the pureblood king is inevitable. So, perhaps it would make all their lives easier if he could at least try for civility with the pureblood king. ‘Damn... I need a drink for this.’ Takamiya Kaito thought as he grabbed the key to his dorm room and pocketed his anti-vampire weapon as he made for the exit of the Cross Academy. He intended to visit the town to get his lunch settled and probably get a drink or two while at it. Inwardly, the ash-brown-haired vampire hunter was wondering if he could find an eatery that offers alcohol on their beverage list. After all, it was still too early for the bars and pubs to be open for business, and he had no idea if he would be allowed to bring alcoholic drinks onto academy grounds. Maybe he could call up Zero to check if alcoholic drinks are allowed in the dormitory of the teaching staff? Takamiya Kaito thought as he headed for the school gate of the Cross Academy. Meanwhile, over at the Moon Dorm, Ichijo Takuma had just received a call from his grandfather, Ichijo Asato, asking for him to deal with a Level E that was wreaking havoc in town. “Is anything wrong, Takuma?” Kaname Kuran inquires, looking up from the files he was looking over concerning the Aisaka clan that had died out five decades ago. He had had Seiren look into the subject and procured the relevant files for him to go through ever since he’d heard the story from Kiryuu Zero about Akane’s birth father being the illegitimate son of Ichijo Asato. He's researching the matter not because he doubts the words of his future adoptive daughter and mate; he’s simply gathering ammunition to use against Ichiou soon. The act of defiling a pureblood lady against her will is punishable by death, unfortunately, there wasn’t been any eye-witness when the act occurred. Otherwise, Ichiou would not have climbed the ladder in the senate of the vampire council to where he stood today. “My grandfather just called about a Level E wreaking havoc in town and wants us to dispose of the Level E without delay.” Ichijo Takuma tucked away his mobile phone as he shifted his attention back to his pureblood friend as he replied. “Without delay? Meaning he wants the Level E disposed of immediately?” Kaname Kuran reaffirmed as he glanced back up at his green-eyed blond friend. “Yep. He mentioned something about not wanting to let the association win, again.” Ichijo Takuma's sweat dropped as he told his pureblood friend in response. “...” Kaname Kuran found himself at a loss of speech, as he inwardly wonders what’s with Ichiou's childish rivalry with the chairman of the hunter’s association. Still, since the head of the vampire council had already issued the order, his friend likely had to obey the request, given that the order was meant for Takuma, not him. “Shiki and Rima are in town for a photo shoot, are they not? Have them handle the Level E while at it. That's way efficient than you making a trip out to town for the disposal of the Level E,” Kaname Kuran eventually told his green-eyed friend, before returning his focus to the files he was reading through. “Of course.” Ichijo Takuma nodded in agreement to his pureblood friend’s suggestion and promptly gave his roommate, Shiki Senri, a call, informing the duo about the errand they would need to run on behalf of the senate. In the meantime, Yuuki Cross, who had let her curiosity get the best of her, was on a tailing mission. She saw her silver-haired friend leaving the academy grounds earlier, given that she hadn’t been informed of her friend’s intention to leave the academy. She had thought her silver-haired friend was intending to skive off from their guardians' duties, and so, against her better judgement, she decided to follow the trail of her friend to see what the silver-haired guardian was doing. Wakaba Sayori had been minding her own business when she noticed her dormmate and friend, Yuuki Cross, leaving the academy grounds unaccompanied. Recalling her friend’s tendency to attract trouble without intention, the brown-haired girl sighed aloud as she decided to tail her dormmate from behind. Kiryuu Zero was on his way to the town for the execution of the mission he had received from the Hunter’s Association through the chairman earlier this morning. He thought since the mission couldn’t be turned down, he might as well get it over and done without delay. Aside from the time when it comes down to his reluctant feeding, procrastination wasn’t exactly his thing. The silver-haired guardian was halfway out of the academy grounds when he received an incoming call from an unknown number. Despite the number being unknown, Kiryuu Zero decides to answer the call just the same. After all, not many people have his numbers, and those who do have the number to his mobile tends to be family. The call turns out to be from his cousin, Fujiwara Akemi, the youngest of his maternal uncle – Fujiwara Satoshi. Akemi happens to be in town for a photo shoot assignment and has with her something that her father wanted her to hand over to him, and thus wish to know for certain if he’s on academy grounds because she might swing by later in the evening to hand him the item that Fujiwara Satoshi wanted to pass to him. Informing his cousin that he’s on the way to town, so perhaps they could meet up in town instead of having his cousin make a trip over to the Cross Academy just to pass something over to him. After all, the location of Cross Academy wasn’t exactly strategic and close to local transportation. The only bus stop was at least fifteen minutes' walk away, with the bus running on a thirty minutes frequency. Rather inconvenient in Zero’s opinion, but considering the special situation of Cross Academy – the lesser human traffic flow in the area, the better. “Rima, what do you reckon we should do first?” Shiki Senri inquired as he stepped out of the vehicle upon their arrival in town. “...No idea. I’m fine with either. What do you want to do first?” Touya Rima asks her friend in return. Yuuki Cross frowned as she stood on the pavement in between two dark alleys. This was where she had lost track of her silver-haired friend’s whereabouts. Just as she was wondering where her silver-haired friend had gone off to, the female guardian of Cross Academy found her eyes landing upon two familiar figures from the night class. "A-re? Shiki-senpai, Touya-senpai? What are the two of you doing here?" Yuuki Cross couldn’t help but inquire. “We could ask the same of you. It's approaching sunset, you shouldn’t be out roaming without an escort. Nightfall in this part of the town is dangerous.” Shiki Senri commented, recalling the words of his cousin that Yuuki Cross needed to be protected from dangers at all times. Even with his cousin’s change in love interest, the pureblood king has yet to call off the orders of keeping Yuuki Cross protected at all costs. “I was following Zero. I saw him leaving the academy grounds earlier, but he hadn’t informed anyone that he was going to leave the academy grounds today.” Yuuki Cross promptly starts to defend her actions. “We are here for a photo shoot job.” Touya Rima answered at the same time Yuuki felt herself being shoved behind by the male model of the night class abruptly. “What the...?” Yuuki Cross was about to complain about the rough treatment she had been subjected to when she noticed the tense atmosphere in the air. The next thing she knew, Shiki Senri was launching an attack toward a man with glowing red eyes and lengthened fangs who was originally standing a few steps away from her. “Was that a ...?” Yuuki Cross’s voice faded off into a whisper as horror flooded her senses about what had nearly happened earlier. If Shiki Senri hadn’t shoved her out of the way, she would have been bitten by that Level E. The attack from Shiki Senri’s blood whip had sent the 'Level E' back into hiding again. Not wanting to be burned by the rays, Shiki chooses not to pursue after the escaped 'Level E. ' Even while the sun in winter was not exactly scorching hot, it would still hurt the skin and eyes of the vampires. Only Kaname and Takuma could endure being out in the sun without the use of an umbrella in winter, among the higher-ranking vampires that Shiki had gotten to know over the years. The ex-humans, on the other hand, could move about in the sun freely, and probably that was due to their human genetics that allowed them to do so. “Shiki, is it okay not to go after that Level E? Ichijo did tell us to take care of the Level E while we’re in town for our photo shoot job.” Touya Rima inquires with an innocent tilt of her head. “I would think it’s more important to protect the day class students who seem to think it’s a good idea to venture out into the town at this time.” Shiki Senri commented in a matter-of-fact tone of voice as he directed his gaze toward the figure of Wakaba Sayori, who had followed Yuuki Cross into town. “Eh?! Yori-chan?! Why are you here?” Yuuki Cross finally noticed her dormmate and friend, and the question promptly left her lips in a confused manner. “Yuuki, I followed you here.” Wakaba Sayori deadpans at her dormmate and friend with an unimpressed look. “Eh?!!! Wait, does that mean you’d seen everything that happens just now?!” Yuuki Cross finally started to panic as the reality dawned on her. In an attempt to save her from that Level E earlier, Shiki Senri had utilized his vampire powers. If Yori had seen that, does that mean her friend found out about the secret of the night class?! Oh gods, what should she do now? Yuuki Cross had just took a few steps away from the duo of the night class when she found herself being held hostage by yet another Level E. It wasn’t the same Level E that tried to sneak up on her earlier, Yuuki could tell that much because of the different attires between the two vampires that snuck up on her. ‘What is it with me and my shitty luck for attracting the attention of Level E?!’ Yuuki Cross screamed in her mind as she tried to hold her distress at bay but it seems she was failing. From the corner of her eyes, she could see the worried frown on her dormmate’s face and the look of consternation on the two models from the night class. Kiryuu Zero was busy dealing with a group of hooligans that seemed to have it in mind to extort money out of two unsuspecting young ladies who seemed to be visiting the town for a little sightseeing of their own. “Oi, Zero! That Cross girl got herself abducted by the Level E, which you’re supposed to take down under the orders of the association. Shouldn't you be on your way to rescue the little damsel in distress?” The voice of Takamiya Kaito spoke up from behind, startling Kiryuu Zero back to reality. “Kaito, what are you doing here?” Kiryuu Zero asks in surprise. “I’m looking for a place to drink in peace. Anyway, do hurry along. I would think saving your friend from the jaws of the Level E is more important than dealing with this group of hooligans.” Takamiya Kaito deadpans in response to his silver-haired childhood friend. “Indeed. Can I leave you to take care of the hooligans then?” Kiryuu Zero nodded before deciding to entrust the task of dealing with the local hooligans to his capable hunter friend. Afterward, he darted a look in the direction of the two confused Caucasian ladies and called out to his female cousin, who had been observing the scenario from the shadow, as he commented. “Akemi-nee, my friend here is going to take care of the hooligans. Can I entrust you with the responsibility of explaining the dangers of this little town to the visiting tourists? I don’t think Kaito is well-versed enough in English to communicate the situation to the tourists. While on the subject, can you get your guard to handle that Level E that’s injured and attempting to flee from the site?” “Of course. I’ll help your friend out with the situation with the tourists and the group of hooligans. As for the Level E that escaped...Hiroshi, I’ll leave it to your capable hands.” Fujiwara Akemi responded as she threw her bodyguard a look. “Of course, Akemi-sama. I’ll have the Level E neutralized within half an hour.” The bodyguard of Fujiwara Akemi, a young man around the age of twenty, promptly responded. The Level E had been injured earlier after being attacked by Shiki Senri’s ability, and hence, isn’t exactly difficult to locate. The trail of blood droplets along the street makes it extremely easy for Hiroshi, the bodyguard of Fujiwara Akemi, to trace the Level E that escaped, and later with the distinct sound of a gunshot. The Level E was no more. Meanwhile, back where Yuuki Cross had gotten herself abducted by the second Level E, who was the initial target of her silver-haired friend this evening. The two models of the night class were involved in a discussion of their own as they decided on their next course of actions. Wakaba Sayori, meanwhile, was frowning in consternation. Inwardly, she was cursing herself for her negligence. She should have known that there would be Level Es prowling the streets in this part of the town. So, why hasn’t she had the insight to bring out her anti-vampire weapon? If she had access to her anti-vampire weapon, Yuuki wouldn’t have gotten abducted by the second Level E that charged out from the dark alley. “Rima, any ideas on what we can do to get the Level E to unleash his hold on the female guardian?” Shiki Senri asks his friend in a low tone. “No. Neither of our powers is the type that wouldn’t result in large-scale damage. Using them with the female guardian in his grasp would mean getting the girl injured. Getting the girl injured would mean getting punished by Kaname-sama. So, no. The risk outweighs the pros.” Touya Rima answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “I thought so, too. Oh well, Kiryuu’s here. I think we can leave the situation of saving the female guardian to him.” Shiki Senri, who spotted the approaching figure of Kiryuu Zero from the corner of his eyes, commented. Kiryuu Zero stepped out from the dark alley and fired a shot at the ex-human that had fallen to Level E, who was holding Yuuki Cross in a death grip. "Let go of her, and do not ever touch her again!" Kiryuu Zero warned as he fired yet another shot towards the 'Level E,' and once he noticed that the vampire's grip on Yuuki had loosened somewhat. He wasted no time in pulling the girl away to safety before ending the life of the 'Level E' with a final blast through the head of the vampire. Once settled, he shifted his attention back towards Yuuki and threw the girl a look of annoyance as he addressed the former. "Yuuki, I hoped you have a very good reason to explain your presence here ..." "Zero, I know I shouldn't be following you ... but I was worried. You never even made it a point to tell me what's on your mind these days anymore! Furthermore, I thought we had an ongoing agreement that you would inform me ahead of time that you were leaving the academy grounds for your vampire-hunting mission. I wouldn’t have followed you if I knew what you were going to do after leaving the academy grounds." Yuuki Cross huffed in annoyance as she defended her actions against her visibly annoyed silver-haired friend. “I was under the impression that the chairman would clue you in on my reasons for stepping off academy grounds today. Given that it was him that I received the mission from. Regardless, what’s done is done. At least you weren’t hurt. Kuran would have my head if you got yourself injured while attempting to follow me into town, again. Haven't you forgotten what happened the last time you attempted to tail me on my trip into town?” Kiryuu Zero rolled his eyes as he commented to Yuuki in a tone of annoyance, ignoring the girl’s complaint about him not telling her whatever was on his mind recently. He truly finds it pointless for Yuuki to know what he has on his mind; it isn’t as though telling Yuuki would solve any of his ongoing issues, so why bother? “...” Upon Zero’s reminder of the events that occurred the last time she tried to follow her silver-haired friend into town, Yuuki Cross promptly fell silent. Of course, she hadn’t known about her silver-haired friend’s status as an ex-human then. She simply thought it odd that her friend made frequent visits to the town during weekends, and decided to follow Zero from behind on one of his weekend outings to see for herself what her silver-haired friend was doing on his weekends visit to the town. Given how the chairman had sheltered her from the knowledge of her silver-haired friend’s family background, Yuuki hadn’t been aware of Zero’s being a hunter-in-training when tragedy befalls his family. So, when Kiryuu Zero started making frequent trips into town during the weekends... Yuuki let her curiosity get the best of her and attempted to follow her friend. In the end, while she did find out about the extra-curricular activities her silver-haired friend was doing on these weekend visits, she had also caused some inconvenience to her friend’s hunting mission. First, her silver-haired friend was subjected to a lecture from the hunter in charge of supervising her friend’s hunting mission for failing to register the fact that he had been followed by a nosy acquaintance. And then, her beloved Kaname-senpai had to intervene before the hunter overseeing Zero’s mission on that day could penalize her for her thoughtless act in startling the Level E and caused a fair bit of commotion among the unsuspecting locals, by taking charge of the situation. She didn’t exactly know what went into the cleaning up of the mess she’d created by disrupting her friend’s hunting mission. She wasn’t there to witness it all as her beloved Kaname-senpai had Seiren deliver her back to the chairman’s residence while they remained behind to sort out the situation. Ultimately, that brought on the agreement that her silver-haired friend was to inform her in advance about his hunting activities ahead of time, so she would know not to follow her friend around on a reckless whim. “Oh no, I seriously doubt Kaname would do anything to you. If anything, Rima and I would be the ones answering to him, given that the female guardian was taken hostage under our watch.” Shiki Senri promptly interjected as he reminded the duo of his presence on-site. Yuuki Cross was drawn out from her reverie as she was suddenly reminded of the fact that she had, once more, lost herself in thoughts when she shouldn’t. There is, after all, more than one Level E loitering around. So, she isn’t out of danger just yet. Furthermore, she has other bigger problems at hand than to dwell on the subject of her silver-haired friend trying to keep her out of his troubles, once more. After all, her dormmate and friend had just found out the biggest secret of the Cross Academy and the night class. Shiki-senpai busted his cover as a human by having to utilize his unique ability to save her from the danger of being bitten for blood by a Level E earlier, in front of her friend. In addition, there was also the topic of the Level E who almost bit her earlier. Inwardly, Yuuki couldn’t help but wonder if her friend happened to see the lengthened fangs of the Level E just now. In any case, it remains a fact that her friend is now aware of the existence of the vampires, and she has no idea how to rectify the situation. While Yuuki Cross allowed her mind to be overrun by panicky thoughts, Kiryuu Zero simply shifted his gaze to land upon the figures of the mahogany-haired vampire and the orange-haired, blue-eyed female vampire of the night class as he commented. “Shiki Senri and Touya Rima from the night class? Are the two of you here for the photoshoot by any chance?” “Yes.” Shiki Senri answered while Touya Rima nodded wordlessly from behind the mahogany-haired vampire. “In that case, the two of you are probably going to wait for a little while longer. The model that the two of you are working with for today’s photoshoot job is a tad occupied at the moment.” Kiryuu Zero told the vampire duo before shifting his eyes onto the shifty-looking Yuuki Cross. “...” Shiki Senri and Touya Rima shared a look of confusion as they wondered inwardly about the meaning behind the silver-haired guardian’s words. “Yuuki, is there a reason why you looked so panicky now?” Kiryuu Zero arched an eyebrow in a questioning manner as he inquired the female guardian of Cross Academy. “Zero, Yori-chan followed me to town and happened to witness Shiki-senpai using his ability to save me from the first Level E. She’s now aware of the secret for the night class. What should I do? Should I tell the chairman? Would the chairman ask for her memories of this evening to be removed? Would Yori agree to have her memories modified?” Yuuki Cross wasted no time in latching onto her silver-haired friend as she whispered frantically, completely neglecting the fact that her voice tended to get shrill when she was panicking. So, even if she’s trying to whisper, everyone on-site can hear her words just fine. “Yuuki, calm down. It’s not the end of the world that your friend is now aware of the secret about the night class. I'm not sure why your friend didn’t deem it fit to inform you about her family background, but I’m sure you can get the reason out of her at a later time. All you need to know now is that the secret about the night class is safe with your friend.” Kiryuu Zero sighed as he calmed the panicky girl down before turning his attention upon the silent brown-haired girl, Wakaba Sayori. “Wakaba Sayori, you would not repeat what you’ve just seen today to the rest of the population in day class. Do you understand?” Kiryuu Zero started in a tone of authority. “Of course, Zero. While at it, I’ll make sure to explain my family background and allegiance to Yuuki when we get back to the academy grounds as well.” Wakaba Sayori responded with a nod of her head. “EH?! Wait! What's going on?” Yuuki Cross started as she flicked her gaze between her two friends in confusion. “Yuuki, your friend will explain the situation to you in a while. For now, all you need to know is that her memories would not be subjected to any form of alteration.” Kiryuu Zero said before shifting his gaze to land on the figure of Shiki Senri as he added for the benefit of the night class members. “I’ll speak to Kuran myself on the subject.” "Good. I’m glad to be spared from the agony of having to explain why there’s no need to remove the memories of this afternoon from the mind of a regular day class girl.” Shiki Senri responded with a nod at the words of the silver-haired guardian. “Zero, another Level E is hanging around. It tried to bite me earlier but was deterred by an attack from Shiki-senpai. We need to locate it before it starts wreaking havoc on the locals.” Yuuki Cross suddenly begins as she recalls the first Level E that attacked her. “It’s fine. Someone else is disposing him while we speak.” Kiryuu Zero answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Huh? Who?” Yuuki Cross blinked up at her silver-haired friend in confusion. “Your friend’s brother.” Kiryuu Zero deadpans at Yuuki Cross in response. “My friend’s brother...? Wait, you’re talking about Yori-chan?” Yuuki Cross took a moment to register the meaning of her friend’s words, and when she did, she promptly turned her saucer-wide eyes toward the direction of her dormmate and friend. “Yori-chan, just what exactly is going on here?” Yuuki Cross begins as she turns her wide, confusing eyes upon the figure of her friend, Wakaba Sayori. Wakaba Sayori sighed inwardly as she braced herself for the onslaught of headache and questions to come from her friend in time. For now, she settled on a placating tone as she addressed her confused friend. “Yuuki, later. I’ll explain everything to you after we get back to the academy. Now, why don’t we head back to the academy first? I don’t know about you, but I’m not exactly in a mood to endure a lecture from my elder brother about the dozen reasons why I didn’t think it necessary to visit the town with my anti-vampire weapon on my person.” “...” Kiryuu Zero heaved a sigh of relief as he watched Wakaba Sayori coax the reluctant Yuuki Cross back to the academy grounds. Pinching the bridge of his nose in weariness, he shifted his attention back towards the dark alley as he prompted. “So, how was it?” “The target has been successfully eliminated,” came the nonchalant response from Fujiwara Akemi’s bodyguard, the elder brother of Wakaba Sayori. “Where’s Kaito?” The silver-haired guardian inquired, this time directing his words toward someone dressed up in a similar style to the two members from the night class. “He’s delivering the group of hooligans to the local police post and playing escort to the two Caucasian ladies.” Fujiwara Akemi smirked in response before smoothing her expression over to one of solemnity. “The hostage is alive and breathing. You arrived in the nick of time. if you were even a second late... we might have a bigger headache at hand.” “Surely, you don’t mean that the hostage’s a member of the Fujiwara clan, do you?” Kiryuu Zero felt the corner of his brows twitching on reflex at the words of his celebrity cousin. “Bingo! In any case, I don’t recognize her from the clan gathering, so she’s likely from the outer circle. Hence the reason why I say it’ll be a headache if she had the misfortune of being bitten.” Fujiwara Akemi nodded with a look of annoyance marring her features. “Well, given that she isn’t bitten. I'll say it’s a catastrophe avoided. It's never fun dealing with the aftermath of a member from the human branch being turned. At least with the hunter’s branch, it’s not so challenging to get the explanation across.” Kiryuu Zero added in a wry tone as he finally allowed himself to relax now that the underlying danger had been fully eliminated. “Indeed. In any case, I have a photoshoot job to do now. As for the item that needs to be handed over to you, I’ll get Hiroshi to deliver it over since I reckon he’s going to visit the academy for a conversation with his sister after today’s episode. I’ll get him to play courier then.” Fujiwara Akemi threw casually over her shoulder as she approached the two members of the night class with a bright, cheery smile. “Good afternoon. sorry to keep the two of you waiting. Let's get a move on to the photoshoot venue, shall we? I’m sure our managers and the photographers working on the photoshoot with us are wondering where we’ve gotten off to. we’re running a tad late, after all.” Fujiwara Akemi commented nonchalantly. --- Back in the girls’ dormitory of the Sun Dormitory where the day class students reside, Yuuki Cross planted both hands on her waist as she stares down at her dormmate and friend, Wakaba Sayori with a stern expression. ‘If this is Yuuki being stern, I guess I can see why her attempts at maintaining order during the class change-over timing always end up in a failure.’ Wakaba Sayori found herself zoning out when she was supposed to be giving her friend an explanation about why there wasn’t a need for her memories of today’s event to be modified. “Yori-chan! Are you going to give me the explanation or not?! I swear, I’m going to the chairman if your explanation fails to convince me about why your memories should be left intact.” Yuuki Cross huffed in annoyance when she noticed that her friend had zoned out on her. Coming back to her senses, Wakaba Sayori hurried to respond. “Apologies for zoning out. I was just thinking about where to start on my explanation.” “Why don’t you start from the beginning then? We have time, and plenty of it.” Yuuki Cross responded as she dropped herself onto the foot of her bed. She took a seat and waited for the explanation to come from her dormmate and friend. “Well then... to start, let me reintroduce myself to you once more. I’m Wakaba Sayori, daughter to Wakaba Hisashi and Mishima Yuuko. My father was better known for his role as a personal assistant to Fujiwara Haruto, the current head of the hunter’s branch of the Fujiwara family. At the same time, he held the position of a counselor for the hunter’s association under the approval of Fujiwara Haruto. In any case, I was told to befriend you upon my enrollment into Cross Academy by my father and to keep an eye on Zero’s condition under the instructions of both my father and mother. So, yes... I was well aware of the members from the night class being vampires. The reason why I didn’t mention it to you before was that I didn’t think it necessary. Truthfully, if it weren’t for today’s unfortunate event of witnessing Shiki Senri unleashing his ability to save you from that Level E, I probably wouldn’t have come clean with you until it came to a time that I must do so.” Wakaba Sayori sighed as she explained her situation to her dormmate and friend, Yuuki Cross, with a tone of resignation. “Hold on, you mentioned that you’re under instructions of both your parents to keep an eye on Zero’s condition? Based on what you told me about your father, I can understand why he would want you to keep an eye on Zero’s condition, but why did your mother instruct you to do the same? Whose bidding is she doing?” Yuuki Cross frowned as she zeroed in on the single piece of information concerning her silver-haired friend amid the explanation given to her by her brown-haired friend. “My mother, Mishima Yuuko, serves the Fujiwara clan head directly. In short, she works for the pureblood Fujiwara Yumi. I’m sure you’re aware of Zero’s relationship to the Fujiwara clan through his late mother by this point. In any case, I do not know why my parents want me to keep tabs on Zero’s condition. At this point, my only role in this academy is to befriend you and spy on Zero; that’s all.” Wakaba Sayori candidly told Yuuki before asking if there was anything else Yuuki wished to know. “You’re spying on Zero?” Yuuki Cross started with a slightly disturbing look on her face. “Yes.” The brown-haired, hazel-eyed girl nodded in response. “Does Zero know that you’re spying on him?” A frown marred the features of the female guardian as she voiced her query across to her dormmate and friend. “Yes. He confronted me about it a couple of days ago, before he went to sit for the theory aspects of his promotional exams at the freelance hunter’s guild. I confessed to him about my role to spy on him then.” Wakaba Sayori answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Ah! The day he came to the school library and asked to speak to you. He confronted you on that day, didn’t he?” Yuuki Cross suddenly started as a light of recognition dawns on her as she turns towards her friend for confirmation of her theory. “Yes.” Wakaba Sayori nodded in response. “So, the day you left academy grounds claiming a family emergency, it wasn’t an emergency but performing your duty to keep tabs on Zero’s activities. Was that it?” Yuuki Cross was silent for a moment before speaking up once more. this time, it’s to seek confirmation of yet another theory of hers. “Yes. I'll probably be joining him when he goes for his practical exams, too. I might as well get my license while at it. After all, both my parents and elder brother own licenses for vampire-hunting. Though, they seldom take on missions. My elder brother is a personal bodyguard to Zero’s cousin, Fujiwara Akemi. I'm likely going to have to pick a side when my birthday rolls around, and currently, I’ve yet to decide which side I’m going to be on.” Wakaba Sayori admitted to Yuuki in a troubling tone of voice. “Pick a side?” Yuuki Cross appears confused by the words of her troubled friend. “Yeah. As mentioned earlier, my father is the right-hand man of Fujiwara Haruto. My mother works for Fujiwara Yumi, the clan head of the Fujiwara clan. My elder brother is a bodyguard for Fujiwara Akemi, who’s the daughter of the previous head of the hunter’s branch, making him a member of the hunter’s branch by default. Even if Fujiwara Akemi’s full-time job lies in the media industry. So, if we were to look at the ratio... to balance out, I’m probably going to find myself a vampire master to serve. And I’m truly at a dilemma on who to pick as my master...” Wakaba Sayori lamented as she flopped backward onto her bed with a sigh. “Couldn’t you just pick Zero as your master? I mean, he’s part Fujiwara and a vampire, right? It wasn’t written into the rules that you have to serve someone who was born a Fujiwara, right?” Yuuki Cross started as she voiced her words innocently across to her troubled friend. Wakaba Sayori sprang up into a sitting position from her position on the bed and turned wide, startling eyes upon the figure of Yuuki Cross before leaping over to capture the female guardian in a big bear hug. “Yuuki! You’re a genius! Let me go call up my mother for a quick chat! We can talk more after I’m done with the call.” --- Over in the mountain region of the Nagano prefecture, a single house stood in solitude nestled among the woods. The house was the current residence of the Kurenai, a noble rank vampire family with distant relations to the Hiou family. “Good evening, Shizuka-sama. Our master has been expecting and preparing for your arrival since receiving your call last night.” The head butler of the family bowed respectfully to the figure of Shizuka Hiou as he greeted the blooming mad princess who had graced the doors of the Kurenai family. “Really? Send my regards to Martin and his wife. I thanked them for their hospitality. In response, I’ll ensure to repay them with seeing to the improvement in Maria’s constitution personally.” Shizuka Hiou answered before indicating for the head butler to show her and her loyal servants to their accommodation. “Ichiru! You’re here!” Maria Kurenai’s eyes lit up in joy when she recognized the silver-haired child that Shizuka-sama had brought along to her family home a couple of years ago. She could still remember how weak the child had been then, and she found herself sympathizing with Ichiru as she was often bedridden with ailments throughout the year. “Yes, I’m here for a visit again. Maria-sama.” Kiryuu Ichiru began as he greeted the daughter of their lovely host with a polite smile. “None of the ‘sama’ nonsense from you, Ichiru! You might be a servant of Shizuka-sama, but you’re not a servant of my family. Henceforth, you’re not obliged to use honorifics with me. Just address me as Maria.” Maria Kurenai, the lavender-eyed aristocrat vampire, pouted as she made her request known to the younger Kiryuu twin from her seated position on her bed. The purplish-gray-haired aristocratic female was once more confided to her room after falling victim to an influenza virus, but at least this time, she was lucid enough to hold a conversation. In the past, a simple influenza virus would have knocked her out cold for weeks and sent her parents into a state of frantic worry. So, when the family physician chanced upon the presence of Shizuka Hiou in her family home four years ago, the man had hinted subtly for them to consider a new treatment plan that involved the use of the blood from Shizuka-sama. Maria Kurenai didn’t know what was the agreement between Shizuka-sama and her parents, but ultimately, Shizuka-sama had graciously allowed the physician to draw some of her blood and added it to the herbal concoction that Maria needs to take daily to boost her weak immune system. Though, the amount of blood added to the concoction was minimal but the improvement to Maria’s health was exemplary. For a while, Ichiru hesitated, uncertain if he could truly oblige the girl’s request. It wasn’t until he noticed the subtle nod coming from Martin Kurenai, the father of Maria Kurenai, that he finally obliged the request coming from Maria Kurenai by dropping the use of the honorific when addressing the girl. “Alright then, Maria. So, how are you feeling today?” Kiryuu Ichiru inquires, having been tasked to check in on the condition of Maria Kurenai after receiving word that the girl is finally awake and lucid enough for a conversation. “I’m feeling better. The ingestion of Shizuka-sama's blood truly does wonders for my weak constitution. The family physician says if I were to continue with the current treatment plan, I’d be able to get back on my feet soon enough.” Maria Kurenai nodded as she responded in amazement. “Good, I shall return to inform Shizuka-sama of the good news then.” Kiryuu Ichiru nodded and while he still has no clues about Shizuka’s reason for visiting the Kurenai this time, he didn’t dwell too much of it since the pureblood master that he serves tends to do things on a whim at times. It was later that night, after Ichiru had retired to his room for bed, that Shizuka Hiou finally visited Maria Kurenai in person. She had, after all, a plan to put into motion that required the girl’s assistance. “How are you feeling, Maria?” Shizuka Hiou inquired as she entered the bedroom of Maria Kurenai. “I’m feeling better, Shizuka-sama. Where's Ichiru?” Maria couldn’t help but inquire when she failed to notice the familiar presence of the silver-haired servant of Shizuka Hiou. “He’s resting now. He is, after all, a human.” Shizuka Hiou answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Oh...right, I’d forgotten.” Maria Kurenai appears crestfallen for a second before brightening up once more as she inquires on the reason behind Shizuka’s visit to her family home this time. “Maria, you like Ichiru, don’t you?” Shizuka Hiou started as an amused glint formed behind her pink eyes. Upon hearing the statement from Shizuka Hiou, Maria Kurenai promptly turns red in the face as she shakes her head repeatedly before ducking her head in shame in front of the pureblood princess of the Hiou clan. Shizuka Hiou, meanwhile, waited for Maria to regain her composure before continuing with her statement. “It’s okay if you like Ichiru. Despite being a human, he’s blessed with a handsome face that’s bound to make young ladies like you, swoon. Moreover, he’s always so gentle with you. So, I don’t blame you if you truly like him. In any case, I’m here to ask for a personal favor from you. Are you aware of the Cross Academy?” Shizuka Hiou spent a moment reassuring Maria that it was fine to be nursing a crush on Ichiru before plunging into the main topic behind her visit tonight. “Cross Academy? Yes, I believe I’ve heard of it. It’s a school that promotes co-existence between humans and our kind, and it’s newly established in the Kanto region. In comparison to the Fujiwara Gakuen, based in the Kansai region, it’s a fairly new school for our kind. I believe I do have an open invitation to join the school, the invitation was sent to our house when it first commenced operations. Only I'm too weak to attend school at that point, and so, it’s a standing invitation. Is there a reason why you’d brought up the mention of Cross Academy?” Maria Kurenai answered honestly to the inquiry coming from Shizuka Hiou with a curious tilt of her head. “Yes, of course. Now, do you know the story of Ichiru’s background?” Shizuka Hiou decides that the best way to gain Maria’s cooperation on the subject is to use the sob story of the Kiryuu twins. And so, Shizuka Hiou spent the better half of the midnight telling Maria Kurenai the story of the infamous Kiryuu twins, as well as a glossed-over version of her attack on the Kiryuu couple. Emphasizing that she didn’t do it on purpose, but was merely driven by the grievance of losing her lover and the need to exact revenge for her lover on the Kiryuu couple. By the time she regained her senses, the deed was already done, and it was too late for regrets. She then added that she took Ichiru with her when she escaped because leaving Ichiru behind would mean leaving him to be persecuted by the hunter’s association since it was indeed Ichiru that opened up the door to let her into the house that ultimately brought on the demise of his parents. Later, Shizuka Hiou ended her story with the saying that Ichiru missed his twin a lot, and his twin is currently a student at the Cross Academy. Needless to say, Maria Kurenai arrives at the conclusion of Shizuka’s intention to reunite the Kiryuu twins but was unable to do so, because the pureblood is currently a wanted fugitive from the senate and thereby offers up her body for Shizuka to use for the trip to the Cross Academy. ‘Goal accomplished!’ Shizuka Hiou thought in triumph, casting aside the minuscule amount of guilt over the notion of tricking the gullible girl to play into her hands. “So, when would you like to leave for Cross Academy then?” Maria Kurenai inquires Shizuka Hiou with enthusiasm. “There’s no need to rush. We can wait another few more days for your body to build up more strength first; after all, it’s a long journey from here to Cross Academy. Besides, you’ll need to inform your parents about your decision to accept the invitation to join Cross Academy and to send in your response to the school so they can prepare for your arrival.” Shizuka Hiou responded as she calmed the excited girl down, and before she took her leave, she allowed Maria Kurenai to drink from her directly, this time. Shizuka Hiou figured that since a minimal amount of her blood added to the herbal concoction that Maria Kurenai ingested daily is sufficient to boost up the weak immune system of the girl, surely, the effects would be better if the girl were to drink from her directly. So, she held out her wrist and told the surprised girl to drink from her wrist, directly claiming to say that this was to assist the girl in regaining her strength faster. The faster Maria regained her strength, the faster they could get to the Cross Academy and the sooner Ichiru could reunite with his elder twin. --- When Kiryuu Zero returned to the chairman’s residence, he was immediately greeted by a tackling run from the six-year-old Kuran Akira. “Daddy!” Kuran Akira greeted as he attached himself to the front of his beloved parent’s pants, again. “Akira, how are you doing today?” Kiryuu Zero asks as he skillfully picks up the boy to continue his walk into the house. “It’s relatively okay, I guess.” Kuran Akira responded as he tightened his hold on the neck of his beloved parent. “...” Raising an eyebrow in a questioning manner, Kiryuu Zero allowed his eyes to travel until they landed upon the familiar figure of the pureblood king who was seated in the living room of the house as he silently waited for an answer to come from the pureblood king. He knew by now that with the one-sided bond between them, the pureblood king would certainly understand without the need for him to voice his query aloud. “Akira’s disappointed that you didn’t wait for him to wake from his nap before leaving last night. That, and he didn’t get a chance to see you for the majority of today. While on the subject, what brought on the delay in your return? I was under the impression that both the Level Es wreaking havoc in town had been eliminated before nightfall.” Kaname Kuran responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Ah...” Kiryuu Zero made a knowing sound before he reached out to pat Akira in a comforting manner and indulge in Akira’s desires to remain in his arms for a longer time. Knowing that there’s no chance of the boy letting go of him anytime soon, the silver-haired guardian decides to simply explain the reason behind his delay in return to both the pureblood king and the chairman, with Akira still clinging onto him. “Long story short, the bureaucratic procedures involved in the cleaning up after the elimination of the Level Es sucks. Because the elimination took place before sunset, I had to deal with the cops that were alerted to the sound of gunshots ringing out in the alley by the locals. It's a good thing that vampires died without leaving behind a corpse, otherwise, it’s going to be even messier when explaining the situation to the local authority who didn’t know any better. So, I had to show them whatever remained behind and inform them that the gunshots were from the elimination of Level E. The rookie cop sends to investigate the scene look at me as if I have a screw loose in the brain. No choice, I had to follow them to the police station and explain the situation to their superior, who thankfully knew of the existence of the vampires and had me cleared to leave within fifteen minutes. Following this, I had to head over to the hunter’s association for the submission of the mission report. It was meant to be a straightforward task, only I got deterred by the chairman for a little chat. And then, before I managed to leave the association, I had a run-in with counselor Wakaba. Since he’s the right-hand man for Fujiwara Haruto, naturally, I had to inform him about the status of the rescued hostage, who just so happens to be a member of the human branch of the Fujiwara clan. He then reminded me not to take credit for the other Level E eliminated since that was his son’s kill. In any case, he gave me a lengthy nag at the entrance of the hunter’s association building that lasted for slightly more than half an hour. And then, just when I was going to leave, I got held back for another conversation with a former acquaintance from my trainee days. As much as I hate to admit this, I have to thank the timely arrival of Ichijo Asato. Seriously, if he hadn’t arrived for his appointment with the chairman then, I wouldn’t be able to get away from the hunter’s association until much later, I believe.” Kiryuu Zero ended his lengthy explanation about his delayed return to his legal guardian and the pureblood king with a long, weary sigh. “Ah... that’s the downside of being too famous. Everyone would be waiting around to get a chance to converse with you.” Kaien Cross shudders as his memory of his visit to the association recently came to mind. “Oh right, you got back around this time after being called to the hunter’s association for a meeting, on the day of Ichijo Asato’s scheduled visit too.” The silver-haired guardian nodded in response as the memory of that night came to mind. “Was counselor Wakaba the reason why you deemed it unnecessary for Wakaba Sayori’s memories of this afternoon to be removed?” Kaname Kuran spoke up then, bringing up the next question he had on his mind after receiving the report from his cousin, Shiki Senri, following the two models' return from their photoshoot job in town. “Yes, in part. He wouldn’t take it well if the memories of his daughter had been tampered with. Besides, he is relying on his daughter to keep tabs on me, hence, I think it best to leave Sayori’s memory intact to save the hassle of having to deal with him more than necessary. Furthermore, I’m sure you are aware of Sayori’s status as a hunter-in-training by this point. You did have your familiar sent out to keep tab on me the other day, didn’t you?” Kiryuu Zero responded in a nonchalant tone of voice. “You knew?” A flicker of surprise was spotted in the eyes of the pureblood king before it smoothed over into nothingness. “Well, I didn’t before, but the receptionist at the freelance hunter’s guild pointed out that the bat’s a familiar. The receptionist probably assumed the familiar was sent by my ‘master’ to keep an eye on me. I only suspected the bat was your familiar after recalling the number of times I’ve seen the same bat hovering near Yuuki in the past. Throw in the fact that only pureblood can create familiars; that kind of narrows down the list of possible candidates.” Kiryuu Zero responded as he shifted Akira around to his other arm so he could free up one hand to pour himself a drink from the water jug. “I see. Well then, I’d better get back to the Moon Dorm. There's a pile of documents waiting for me to go through.” The pureblood king said before turning to Akira, who was still latching onto the silver-haired guardian, and ordering the boy to let go of his Daddy. However, Akira refused to budge and insisted on wanting to stay with Zero. “...” Silence as the silver-haired guardian and the pureblood king traded a silent look between themselves, and then Kiryuu Zero sighed and told the clingy Akira. “Akira, be good and listen to your father. Go back with him first. Daddy promises to visit you and Subaru tomorrow, and we can spend the entire day together. After all, tomorrow is Saturday. There's no school for daddy.” “Daddy? You promise?” Kuran Akira started as he gazed up at Zero with his watery lilac eyes. “Yes, Akira. Daddy promised. I'll reserve the entirety of my time tomorrow for Subaru and you.” Kiryuu Zero met eyes with his youngest as he addressed the clingy boy. “Okay then. See you tomorrow, Daddy!” Finally, Akira who has been clinging onto the silver-haired guardian allowed the pureblood king to pry him off from his beloved parent. “See you tomorrow, Akira.” The silver-haired guardian said as he leaned over to give the boy with wavy-brown hair a peck on the forehead. “Subaru’s going to be so jealous that I got a goodnight kiss from Daddy!” Kuran Akira declared as he commented in a boastful manner. “Honestly, Akira. Stop antagonizing your brother. I pride myself on being a fair parent, I would have given him the same treatment as I did you if he’s around. While on the subject, where’s Subaru?” Kiryuu Zero then turns his inquiring eyes upon the figure of Kaname Kuran as he inquires on the whereabouts of the elder twin. “Subaru got caught up in a lesson with Aidou.” Kaname Kuran answered as he carried Akira in his arms towards the direction of the front door of the chairman’s residence. “Lesson? What lesson?” The silver-haired guardian couldn’t help but inquire as he walked the pureblood king and Akira to the door. “He chanced upon the article that Aidou was doing for the science column and asks an innocent question about the topic, from there it evolved into an impromptu science lesson for the boy. Akira, on the other hand, seems to have no interest in the area of science and took off shortly after Aidou went into his lecturing mood.” The pureblood king responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Ah...I see. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow at the Moon Dorm, together with the kids.” Kiryuu Zero said, and he waited until the duo had disappeared into the darkness of the night before returning to the house. Upon his return to the house, Kiryuu Zero was met by the sight of Kaien Cros, who was dramatically crying fake tears. With the corners of his eyebrow twitching in annoyance, Kiryuu Zero started as he addressed his legal guardian. “Chairman Cross, what on earth are you doing now?” “Can’t you see? I'm touched.” Kaien Cross pretended to wipe the corner of his eyes with his hanky as he responded. “About what?” The silver-haired guardian had to refrain from blatantly rolling his eyes as he prompted. “What else but the sight of you and Kaname-kun getting along? This is truly like a dream come true!” Kaien Cross declared exaggeratedly, and this time, Kiryuu Zero didn’t bother to withhold his urge to roll his eyes. “Whatever, I'm done putting up with your nonsense. So, if you’ve got nothing productive to say, I’m heading upstairs for a long overdue shower.” Kiryuu Zero deadpans as he makes a move to head for the staircase of the house. “Ah, wait up. Zero, you’ve a parcel. It got delivered while you were out. Wakaba Sayori brought it over when Yuuki invited her over for dinner.” Kaien Cross started as he suddenly recalled the parcel he had received on behalf of his adopted son earlier. ‘This must be the item Uncle Satoshi wanted to hand over to me... I wonder what’s in it?’ Kiryuu Zero thought as he took the parcel from the outstretched hands of his legal guardian. Even though he was somewhat curious about the contents of the parcel, the silver-haired guardian was in no hurry to open up the package. Instead, he left it sitting on his study desk while he collected a change of clothes from his wardrobe before hitting the shower in the common bathroom situated down the hallway on the second floor of the house. The bathroom of the house is situated on the second floor, though there’s a powder room available on the ground floor of the house for visitors’ usage. As he headed for the shower, he couldn’t help but wonder if his former childhood friend, Takamiya Kaito had made it back onto the academy grounds or if his friend had taken a page out of their mentor’s example by getting obliterated in a bar out there and needs to be retrieved by the chairman when it’s time for the bar to close up. ‘Achoo!’ A fair amount of distance away, a slightly inebriated Takamiya Kaito couldn’t help but sneeze aloud as he tightened his trench coat around his person while he made his way towards the direction of the teacher’s dormitory. ‘Damn... it sure is cold tonight.’ the hunter with ash-brown hair thought as he patted around in the pocket of his trench coat to locate the key to his dorm room. ~to be continued~ Date started: 25/05/09 Date completed: 26/05/09 Date edited: 26/05/09 Date revised: 02/03/2025
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Kiryuu Zero didn’t touch the package he’d received until the following morning when he woke. Thinking about the promise he’d made to the six-year-old Kuran Akira about reserving the entirety of today for the twins, the silver-haired guardian stretched languidly in bed before he started getting ready for the day ahead. Twenty minutes later, the silver-haired guardian stepped out of the bathroom, looking refreshed and ready to start the day. Returning to his room to collect his windbreaker to ward off the chilly wind in the morning of early spring, Kiryuu Zero found his eyes landing upon the package he’d received last night from the hands of his legal guardian. Reaching for the package, the silver-haired guardian spared a moment to study it from the outside as he tried to determine what was within the package. It seems a tad bulky and squarish, so whatever that’s inside the package likely wasn’t papers. ‘Well...that’s good, at least, that means I’m not getting another stack of the investigation reports about my parents’ demise or better yet, papers that detail the inheritance I’m going to receive from my mother’s will.’ Kiryuu Zero thought as he unwrapped the item from the parcel packaging. The item he’d received last night turned out to be an old photo album that belonged to his late mother. The photo album is full of the pictures Zero and Ichiru had taken as a kids when they visited the Fujiwara’s residence based in Kyoto and Chiba, respectively. There aren’t a lot of photos from their visit to the ancestral house in Kyoto since that’s where the vampires of the family are congregated. Except for the annual New Year gathering that coincided with the annual meeting between the heads of the different branches within the clan with the clan head, the Kiryuu twins hadn’t gotten a lot of opportunities to visit the ancestral home of the Fujiwara. Most of the photos were taken during their visit to the home of their maternal grandparents, the Fujiwara residence that’s based in Chiba. Of course, Zero didn’t see his father in any of the pictures taken. ‘Might as well bring the album along when I venture over to the Moon Dorm. Haven't the twins commented that they want to see photos of me growing up? The album arrived at a good time.’ Kiryuu Zero thought as he pocketed the album in the pocket of his windbreaker. It's a good thing that the photo album that came in the parcel package was pocket-sized, otherwise, he might need a carrier bag to bring the album over to the Moon Dorm as opposed to stuffing it into the pocket of his windbreaker. As he discarded the wrapping package of the photo album, he landed his eyes on a slip of memo note with a handwritten note in the penmanship of his maternal uncle citing that he’d found the photo album while conducting a spring cleaning in the attic of their family home in Chiba. It was likely left behind by Zero’s mother during her last visit to the Fujiwara residence based in Chiba, shortly before the demise of the Kiryuu couple. He thought Zero ought to have it back and hence had his daughter Akemi deliver the item over since she’s going to be visiting the town where Zero currently resides. ‘I wonder why mom would purposely make a trip to her family home before marriage to hide away the photo album in the attic? Could it be that there’s something within the photos that she didn’t wish for anyone to find out?’ Kiryuu Zero wondered inwardly to himself before he shrugged and decided that he could study the photos in detail later when he looked them over with the twins. Heading downstairs so he could use the kitchen to whip up a quick breakfast for himself, the silver-haired guardian was met by the sight of Takamiya Kaito nursing a mug of Espresso in the dining area of the chairman’s residence. “Yo! Morning, Zero. Are you making breakfast? If so, can you please prep something for me as well? I haven’t gone grocery shopping yet, so there’s nothing in my dorm room that I could use for breakfast.” Takamiya Kaito began as he sent a morning greeting in the direction of his silver-haired friend. “Morning, Kaito. What time did you get back in last night?” Kiryuu Zero inquires as he bustled around the kitchen to prepare something for his breakfast, and while at it decides to make something for his hunter friend since his friend had asks so nicely. “Around midnight.” Takamiya Kaito answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “I see. At least you have the decency of not getting yourself completely obliterated from the alcohol like Master Tooga did.” Kiryuu Zero commented in an off-handed manner as he decided to settle on making oatmeal porridge for breakfast. “Well, duh... Master Tooga’s known for his reputation of being a heavy drinker. So, I'm not surprised that he managed to get himself completely wasted after finding out about what lay ahead in your future. While on the subject, any chances of me meeting your kids aside from that girl whom I’d already met?” Takamiya Kaito inquired with a tone that borders on curiosity. “Perhaps, ultimately, it depends on whether or not you can refrain from pointing a gun in their direction. After all, they are pureblood vampire kids.” Kiryuu Zero deadpans before inquiring if his friend is okay with having oatmeal porridge for breakfast. Takamiya Kaito scrunched up his face for a second at his friend’s suggested breakfast menu before answering, “Is there nothing else available? I'm not exactly a fan of oatmeal porridge.” “...well, the alternative selection is either the standard bread and jam or the breakfast cereals meant for kids' consumption. Which would you prefer?” Kiryuu Zero asks his hunter friend in return. “Why do you even have breakfast cereals for kids in the kitchen of your home?” Takamiya Kaito started in a tone of incredulity. “Correction: this is the chairman’s home. Not mine; I'm merely staying under his roof because he’s my legal guardian. Secondly, we have these breakfast cereals for the kids in the kitchen because Yuuki adores them. Problem?” The silver-haired guardian responded with a raise of his eyebrow as he glanced in the direction of his friend. “Oh, I see. No. I have no problem with that. I think I'll stick to the traditional bread and jam.” Takamiya Kaito answered. Kiryuu Zero shrugged as he went into the pantry to locate the loaf of bread that he’d picked up from the local bakery yesterday while he was in town and set it down in front of his friend before retrieving the marmalade jam from the fridge for his friend’s use. Although there were other jams available in the fridge, he didn’t think Kaito had a sweet tooth, so he didn’t bring them out. Once done, the silver-haired guardian returned to the task of preparing his breakfast for consumption. “So, what’s on your plan today?” Takamiya Kaito prompted as he spread some marmalade jam onto the bread slice he was holding with a jam spreader. “Today? I’m going to spend the entire day with the kids at the Moon Dorm, so if you have any errands to run, you’d best do them yourself.” Kiryuu Zero answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. He conveniently left out the detail that he had a scheduled feeding to do for the day while he was over at the Moon Dorm. He didn’t think his hunter friend would want to hear about his routine bloodsucking activity. “Darn... I was hoping that you would be able to help me with the carrying of my groceries. Oh well, I’ll just have to think of an alternative to get my grocery shopping done then.” Takamiya Kaito let out a sigh of disappointment as he commented. “You can get Yuuki to help you with them, it’s her duty as the school guardian to assist a teaching staff in need. Besides, with you around, I doubt she would end up in any potential trouble with the Level E prowling the street. After all, between the two of us, you’re the qualified hunter. Me, on the other hand, had yet to obtain the official hunting license.” Kiryuu Zero pondered for a second before suggesting that his friend rope in Yuuki to assist with the grocery shopping trip. Given that Yuuki’s still a human at present, his friend likely wouldn’t have an issue with spending time in Yuuki’s company. “I’ll think it over.” Takamiya Kaito eventually said as he finished up his breakfast meal with a look of silent contemplation on his face. --- Kiryuu Zero arrived at the Moon Dorm at 7 am. As he stood at the entrance gate of the building, he hesitated momentarily whether he should head in this early. For all he knew, the twins could jolly well be asleep already. After all, the twins are following a nocturnal schedule, unlike Akane. “Are you going in or not?” The guard stationed at the guardhouse prompted in a grouchy manner. Blinking twice, Kiryuu Zero started. “You’re still around? I thought you’re supposed to be on the night shift?” “My partner got diarrhea, so I’m stuck here for a little while longer. Either way, are you going in?” The common-class vampire guard responded flatly before repeating his question from before. Only instead of getting a response from the silver-haired guardian of the school, the guard receives a response from the pureblood king. “Yes, he’s coming in,” Kaname Kuran told the guard as he made a grab for the hand of the hesitant Kiryuu Zero and dragged the silver-haired guardian over the threshold that separated the Moon Dorm from the rest of the school’s territory. Despite being located on the school grounds, the Moon Dorm is a special entity of its own as it comes with an iron fencing gate that barricades the dormitory from the rest of the school territory. Nobody sans a selected few are allowed entry into the building, hence the reason there was a guardhouse stationed at its entrance gate. External visitors that visit the dorm need to leave behind their name and contact details with the guard on duty before being allowed entry into the territory that’s under the governance of the pureblood king. The school guardians took up nightly patrol along the borders of the Moon Dorm to ensure that there weren’t any trespassers or misbehaving day class students who attempted to sneak into the Moon Dorm to catch a glimpse of their favorite night class members. “Why did you hesitate about coming in? You aren’t thinking about breaking your promise to Akira, are you?” Kaname Kuran asked as he dragged the hesitant, silver-haired hunter through the entrance gate of the Moon Dorm. “Of course not. I would never go back on my words.” Kiryuu Zero snapped as he threw the pureblood king a look of mild annoyance, and then, as though realizing that the former was still holding on to his hand, hurried to snatch it out from the pureblood’s grasp. Kaname Kuran withheld a sigh of disappointment when the hand of Kiryuu Zero was removed from his grasp, but he told himself to be patient. His beloved is still not accustomed to the act of intimacy between them. Furthermore, unlike him, who’s very much ascertain of his feelings for the silver-haired guardian. Zero had yet to fully come to terms with the idea of entering into a committed relationship with him. “Good. In any case, there’s no need for you to hesitate. The boys aren’t asleep yet, they want to see you before retiring for bed.” Kaname Kuran answered before he reached out once more to grasp the hand of his beloved. This time, the pureblood king had no intention of letting go of the hand until they made it into the privacy of his room. The eyes of Kuran Akira lit up in joy when he sighted the appearance of his beloved Daddy with the younger version of his father-dearest. “Daddy, you came!” The boy greeted cheerfully and would have leapt forward to tackle the silver-haired guardian if his elder twin hadn’t pulled him back with a firm hold on his person. “Subaru?” Akira turns towards his elder twin with a look of confusion as he started. “Akira, it’s already 7 am. Don't make a ruckus; our uncles and Aunts are likely asleep or trying to get to sleep. You creating a ruckus now would only grate on their nerves.” The elder twin, Kiryuu Subaru, wasted no time in reminding his younger twin, resulting in a pouting look forming on the face of Kuran Akira. ‘See what I mean?’ Kaname Kuran directed a look towards his future mate before beckoning the silver-haired guardian to move forward and handle the boys. Usually, he was the one that coaxed the twins to bed. This time, he gladly leaves the task up to the capable hands of his future mate. After all, based on the little conversations he had with the twins now and then about the snippets of their time in the future. Zero and he took turns when it came to getting the twins to sleep when it was their bedtime. With an inward sigh, Kiryuu Zero moved forward to the canopy bed that belonged to the pureblood king and picked up the boy with wavy-brown hair before pulling back the covers of the bed to tuck the boy in. Later, he proceeds to repeat the motion with his little mirror image. Once he had the boys neatly tucked into bed, he picked up the book of Shakespearean tales from the bedside table to have a look at it. “Was this what you read to them for bedtime stories?” Holding up the book of Shakespearean tales, the silver-haired guardian felt the corner of his lips twitching uncontrollably as he inquired of the pureblood king. “Yes. Subaru picks it out when Akira asks me to tell them a bedtime story on the first day. I babysit them so Akane could get her uninterrupted rest.” Kaname Kuran hurried to explain when he caught sight of the look of incredulity directed towards him by the silver-haired guardian. “I see.” Kiryuu Zero nodded before turning curious eyes upon the figure of the elder twin as he inquired. “Subaru, can you tell me why you picked a story from the book of Shakespeare tales as the bedtime story?” “It’s the first thing that came to mind after Akira suggested for father to tell us a bedtime story. That, and I was concerned that Akira was going to request a bedtime story that hasn’t been written yet. So, I have to come up with something that’s already written in this timeline. William Shakespeare is the only author I could think of, and hence the request for the story A Midsummer Night’s Dream as our bedtime story. From there, to make things easier, we just have father read us the rest of the stories in the collection of Shakespeare tales. Of course, Daddy is welcome to read us a different story if you have a better alternative.” Kiryuu Subaru offered as he told the younger version of his silver-haired parent. “Or Daddy could choose to lull us to bed with a lullaby.” Kuran Akira commented cheekily on the sideline, garnering a roll-eye response from Subaru and a wide-eyed look from Kiryuu Zero. Faking a cough twice under his breath to mask his discomfort over the idea of singing a lullaby, Kiryuu Zero decides to stick to the good old bedtime stories for the twins. Of course, he didn’t use any stories from the Shakespeare collection. Unlike a certain Kuran, he didn’t require a book to tell bedtime stories to his future kids. After spending a moment to consider his options, the silver-haired guardian discarded the normal fairy tales, figuring that those stories might work for a toddler Akane but weren’t exactly suitable for the twins. Dark fairy tales might work, but he didn’t know how to tell it without a book on hand since his late mother didn’t enjoy those Grimm's tales, and so, he had never gotten a chance to read them. In the end, Kiryuu Zero decided to stick with the traditional Japanese folklore bedtime stories and opted to tell the twins the story of Momotaro, the peach boy. Of course, since the pureblood king didn’t leave the room and instead took a seat on the sofa couch in the room. When Kiryuu Zero was telling the twins the story about Momotaro, the peach boy, he got an earful of the same story as well. Unlike the time whereby both boys tend to fell asleep mid-story, this time they managed to fight off the lure of their sleep until the end of the story before allowing their eyes to droop and the sleep to claim them. “Goodnight, Daddy.” Subaru managed to murmur before allowing sleep to claim him fully as he cuddled up to his younger twin while asleep. “Goodnight, Subaru.” Kiryuu Zero murmured back in response as he gave the two boys a tender peck each on their forehead while they slumbered away. With the boys asleep, Kiryuu Zero finally shifted his attention towards the pureblood king seated over at the sofa couch of the room. “Aren’t you going to bed?” “What would you do if I’d gone to bed like the twins do?” Kaname Kuran questioned the silver-haired guardian in response, mindful to keep his tone down to avoid waking the twins. “I could occupy my time with Akane. I did say I was going to reserve my time today for the kids.” Kiryuu Zero answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “I see. Well, as long as you’re still around when the twins wake up, I think they’ll be satisfied enough. Speaking of, you’re due for a feeding today. Do you want to do it now or wait until tonight?” Kaname Kuran mulled over the response given by the silver-haired guardian for a moment before nodding in acceptance, and then he brought up the subject of the routine feeding of his beloved. “I think I’ll wait until tonight. The blood scent in the air might wake the boys.” There was a moment of consideration on Kiryuu Zero’s part when Kaname Kuran brought up the mention of his feeding, before he shakes his head in response as he decides to stick to his original plan reserving the feeding session until late at night. “Alright then, I’ll see you in a few hours. Akane’s likely in her room or the library downstairs on the ground floor as she works on the completion of her homework.” The pureblood king told the silver-haired guardian as he walked his beloved to the door of his room. A part of him wished he could keep the silver-haired guardian around in his room to enjoy a moment of privacy, but he didn’t want to push it when it was apparent that Kiryuu Zero wasn’t ready for anything more to happen between them as of yet. Kiryuu Zero didn’t bother to reply as he left the privacy of the suite room that belonged to the pureblood king, Kaname Kuran. Venturing down the staircase, the silver-haired guardian closed his eyes momentarily when he arrived on the second floor as he tried to get his senses to work on locating the presence of his future adoptive daughter. It's easier for him to pinpoint the location of Akane at present because the rest of the occupants in the building sans a certain pureblood is already at rest. So, the only vampire bustling around the place whose aura wasn’t a pureblood could only be Akane. “Good morning, Akane. What are you working on?” Kiryuu Zero started as he poked his head into the library situated on the ground floor of the Moon Dorm. “Hey. Good morning. I’m working on the history homework. This is likely the only subject I’ll need to reference in the history books while answering. Mostly because I was originally from a different timeline, so what qualifies for modern history kind of differs from the modern history at this time. Therefore, to avoid scoring a bad grade due to a confusion made in the timeline of events. I figure it best to work on the assignment while referencing the history text published in this era.” The sandy-brown-haired vampire girl answered with a shrug of her shoulders. “I see.” Kiryuu Zero nodded, and for a while, there was a brief moment of hesitation before he finally brought up the nagging question on his mind. “Akane, while I know I should refrain from prying too much into the future, but there’s something that kind of bugs me for some time now.” “...” Akane didn’t respond for a second before she sighed and looked up at her silver-haired cousin as she inquired. “Is this about the boys’ unfamiliarity with Aunt Yuuki?” “Yes. Kaname, I mean Kuran, had already told me that Yuuki was only made a human through the sacrifice of his mother’s life with the use of an ancient spell. He'd also informed me that Yuuki would need to regain her identity as the pureblood princess of the Kuran family soon. So, why is it that the boys remain so unfamiliar with her?” Kiryuu Zero begins with an uneasy look on his face. “Zero, you can just address Kaname-sama's given name in front of me, you know? I’m not going to criticize you for using his given name in front of me because I’m already used to it from where I came from.” In an attempt to lighten up the atmosphere, Akane begins her response to the silver-haired guardian’s inquiry with a tease concerning the former’s slip-up in using the given name of the pureblood king as opposed to the usual surname. “Akane, just answer the question.” Kiryuu Zero threw an exasperated look in the direction of his future adoptive daughter as he gritted out. He didn’t mean to use the given name of the pureblood king; it just slipped out from him without his realization. And he didn’t ask Akane to clue him in on the hidden meaning behind his unintentional slip-up because he knows the reason why it happened. The only reason why he’d allowed the given name of the pureblood king to slip out this easily could only be due to one reason, the said reason is that he’s starting to think of the pureblood king as Kaname as opposed to Kuran. “Okay, okay... don’t rush me. Let me think about how I’m going to explain that without giving too much information about the impending future away.” Akane answered in a placating tone of voice as her mind race to come up with a response that wouldn’t pissed the silver-haired guardian off. “Well, have you thought about how you’re going to word your answer yet?” Kiryuu Zero prompted after a few minutes lapsed by them in silence. “There’s no easy way to say this. The truth is that Aunt Yuuki didn’t survive through the year after regaining her memories and identity of a pureblood. She was killed in battle against Kuran Rido, her uncle, because of a series of misfortunate incidents. Gods, I shouldn’t even be telling you about Rido... You should get the details about Rido from Kaname-sama. In any case, because Aunt Yuuki died in battle, the twins didn’t get a chance to know her while growing up, hence explaining their unfamiliarity with her in this timeline.” Eventually, this was all Akane was willing to say. After all, she didn’t want her silver-haired parent to feel guilty about something that probably wouldn’t be happening in this new timeline since their arrival had already changed things. Neither would she want her pureblood parent to get mad over something that happened in an alternate timeline. In the original timeline where Akane is from, one of the main reasons why it had taken Kaname and Zero so long to cement their bond with one another was due to the death of Yuuki Kuran. Of course, Akane wasn’t told of the details, given that the death of Yuuki Kuran took place before her birth; she didn’t get to witness it either. However, based on what she’d gleaned when the couple fought at home over the subject of Yuuki Kuran, Akane gathered that Kaname had blamed Zero at one point for not being there to protect Yuuki when she required assistance from the silver-haired hunter. Zero, in turn, blames Kaname for keeping Yuuki’s heritage a secret from him that resulted in the unfortunate outcome of Yuuki’s death. So, going by Akane’s understanding of her adoptive parents’ mindset, the most likely situation that resulted in Aunt Yuuki’s unfortunate death was that Kiryuu Zero had stalked off after discovering Yuuki’s heritage as a pureblood and was horrified by the knowledge that he had vowed to protect a pureblood. Kaname likely went off to do some other things that came up for his attention and left Yuuki in the care of Zero, her supposed knight. Only, the ‘knight’ had difficulty stomaching the change in Yuuki’s status from a human to a pureblood that he turns on his heels to leave. Yuuki, sensing that the silver-haired hunter needed time, didn’t insist on getting Kiryuu Zero to stay. Instead, she too ventured off on her own, and that was when Rido Kuran arrived to claim Yuuki. Yuuki naturally fought back to the best of her ability, but seeing as she had just regained her status as a pureblood, her abilities weren’t fully grasped yet. Henceforth, somewhere along the line, she ended up on the losing end and eventually lost her life in the battle. Given that Rido Kuran was said to be killed by Kiryuu Zero, it’s very likely that the silver-haired hunter only arrived on site minutes before or just after Yuuki Kuran was killed. While Akane was deep in her thoughts, Kiryuu Zero was busy digesting the bit of information he’d just gleaned from Akane. What Akane had just revealed to him was quite disturbing; after all, he had been notified by Kaname that Yuuki would likely be woken up within the year. Since the spell to make her a human would only last for ten years. But to think that Yuuki would die in battle against Rido Kuran, her uncle, just confused Zero at this point. Good gods, he’s going to have to speak to the pureblood king soon. Although he has no substantial proof, he is getting the feeling that those cryptic remarks Akane left him with from weeks ago during her rant must have had something to do with Rido Kuran. When Kaname Kuran arrived at the library on the ground floor six hours later, he was met by the sight of his future mate and future adoptive daughter, who seemed to be in a pensive mood. Before he could open his mouth to inquire the reason behind the pensive atmosphere that hung between them, he was met by the sight of his future mate addressing him in a tone that offered no argument. “Kuran, we need to talk. Let's move the conversation to your study.” Kiryuu Zero stated flatly before turning his attention onto the sandy-brown-haired vampire girl as he instructed. “We’ll be in the study; let us know when the twins are awake.” Akane barely had time to nod in response before Kiryuu Zero stepped out of the library and made his way to the study room of the pureblood king with determined steps. Kaname Kuran, meanwhile, followed his future mate into the study room at a slower pace with a frowning look. Somehow, he had a feeling that the upcoming conversation was one he wouldn’t enjoy but couldn’t avoid speaking about. --- “Dare I ask what is it you have in mind to speak with me about?” Kaname Kuran began shortly after the door to the study room clicked shut behind their entry. “You know, Akane once left me with some cryptic remarks about the impending future. She told me to hasten up with the completing of my turning process as there will come a time for me to require the full use of my powers because dark times are approaching. She refused to say anymore and told me that I should come to you for answers. I tried to put it off then, but after hearing what I’ve just heard from Akane... I think this is a conversation that can’t be put off any longer.” Kiryuu Zero begins as he turns serious eyes upon the figure of Kaname Kuran. “Zero, I... what did Akane tell you just now?” Kaname Kuran eventually decided to ask his future mate outright about what their future adoptive daughter had said earlier that brought on his future mate’s decision to approach him for a subject that the former has been putting off addressing. “I’m sure you’ve noticed the twins’ unfamiliarity with Yuuki. Originally, it didn’t come across me as an oddity because I’d assumed Yuuki was a human, and, naturally, humans age and die earlier than a vampire. However, after hearing from you about Yuuki’s heritage as a pureblood. The twins’ unfamiliarity with Yuuki makes me wonder why that was. So, I approached Akane with the question earlier, and the answer she told me was rather disturbing.” Kiryuu Zero admitted in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “I presumed she told you that Yuuki passed on before the twins were born.” Kaname Kuran sighed as he took a few steps forward and brought the silver-haired guardian over to the couch so they could sit down for the upcoming conversation. Upon the words of the pureblood king, Kiryuu Zero snapped his eyes to look up at Kaname Kuran with accusing eyes. “You knew?” “Like you, I don’t know all the details. While you asked Akane for the answer, I got the answer from Akira. Unlike you, I knew what Yuuki was supposed to be from the start, and hence, I’ve got plenty of time to get accustomed to the idea that something untoward had happened to Yuuki from the future that the trios arrived from. Anyway, what did Akane tell you about Yuuki’s death?” Kaname Kuran responded as he pressed the silver-haired guardian for an answer. “As with the twins, Akane didn’t know all the details either, because Yuuki was already gone by the time she was born. What she knew were snippets that she’d gleaned from the arguments of our future selves. Given that she was adopted by our future-selves when the relationship between us was still new, it’s only natural that she’s going to bear witness to all our arguments. So, based on what she’d gleaned, all she could say for certain was that a certain Rido Kuran was involved in the death of Yuuki. So, why don’t you begin by explaining to me who this Rido Kuran was?” Kiryuu Zero answered in an unimpressed tone of voice. “...” For a while, Kaname didn’t speak. He was trying to work out the logic behind Yuuki’s death in the timeline where the trios arrived from. The process didn’t take long; after all, he had a game plan crafted out for the sake of protecting Yuuki in this timeline, so certainly the same game plan must be in place for the other timeline where the trios came from. Yet, the result of that game plan in the other timeline ended up with the death of Yuuki, so something must have gone wrong in that game plan of his. And he had a feeling he knew what had gone wrong in that game plan of his... First of all, his denial of his desires and feelings toward Kiryuu Zero must have been one of the contributing factors toward Yuuki’s demise. Apart from the denial he had towards his feelings and desires, another reason would likely be his tendency to keep secrets. In his original game plan, the silver-haired guardian was meant to be a mere pawn placed on the chessboard to protect the queen – Yuuki. That meant there was no need for him to explain anything to the silver-haired guardian. All Zero needs to do is to protect Yuuki at all cost, and that’s it. The other him probably didn’t factor in Zero’s distaste toward vampires in general, and seriously, in a timeline without the kids to soften up the silver-haired guardian, it might take a longer time for Zero to grow accepting of the vampires’ presence. So, it must truly be a shocker for Zero to accept Yuuki’s pureblood heritage. Even if the silver-haired guardian might have suspected some form of relations between him and Yuuki due to the similar blood scent. Still, when he confessed his relationship with Yuuki to the Kiryuu Zero in this timeline, his future mate had admitted that even with the underlying suspicion of a relation between Yuuki and himself, Zero didn’t think Yuuki was his blood-related sister and fiancée. Therein lies the second mistake his other self made in the game plan. He didn’t deem it necessary to forewarn Zero about Yuuki’s true heritage, and that probably resulted in the ‘knight’ going MIA at the most critical moment in the game. That might ultimately be the reason why Yuuki ended up dead in the other timeline. “Earth to Kaname Kuran?!” Kiryuu Zero stared at the pureblood king that went zoned-out shortly after he revealed the name Rido Kuran as the cause of Yuuki’s death, and he had to resort to snapping his fingers in front of the guy in an attempt to jolt the man’s attention back into reality. “Apologies, I got a little too deep in thought.” Kaname Kuran blinked as he was drawn back into reality, and he reached out to grab the hand of Kiryuu Zero on reflex. “I can see that. Mind telling me what has you so deep in thought?” The silver-haired guardian rolled his eyes momentarily before inquiring. “I was trying to analyze what exactly went wrong in the game plan of my other self that brought about the demise of Yuuki.” Kaname Kuran answered without a second thought and had to grimace when he realized he had inevitably admitted to the silver-haired guardian that he had a game plan. “Game plan?” Kiryuu Zero raised an eyebrow at the pureblood king’s slip of tongue, he knew it was a slip of tongue because he’d caught on to the grimacing look on the face of Kaname Kuran shortly after the guy finished speaking. “Look, Zero... I can explain.” The pureblood king hurried to say, inwardly wincing at the possible reaction of his beloved once it became known to the former that he was treating everyone like pawns on a chessboard. “Go on and explain. I’m listening.” Kiryuu Zero leaned back on the couch with his arms crossed in front of his chest as he fixated the pureblood king with a penetrating gaze. Kaname Kuran sighed in resignation as he finally launched into an explanation about why he had a game plan to begin with. He started with an explanation of who Rido Kuran was and the unnatural obsession Rido had with his late mother, Juri Kuran, conveniently leaving out the detail of how Rido had sacrificed the real son of Haruka and Juri Kuran to wake him, the progenitor of the Kuran clan, from his slumber. During his explanation, he had paused multiple times to try and get a read on the mood of the silver-haired guardian. Truth be told, Kiryuu Zero was tempted to tell the pureblood king to quit stalling and just get to the point. “Kuran, your bloody political games with the senate and Ichijo Asato aside. Just tell me what was it that you wanted me to do in this game plan of yours?” Kiryuu Zero ultimately snapped at the pureblood king with a peeved expression on his face. “I need you to kill Rido Kuran for me.” Kaname Kuran finished in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Why couldn’t you simply tell me that in the other timeline? If you’d simply told me this is what you wish for me to do, in exchange for allowing the other me to feed off from you, instead of going about it in a roundabout manner and using Yuuki to tether me to that game plan of yours. The Yuuki in the other timeline probably wouldn’t need to die.” Kiryuu Zero started rhetorically. “Zero, you’re not mad, are you?” The pureblood king started in a tone of wariness, seeing as this was unthreaded territory, and so, he had no idea what to expect from the silver-haired guardian, to be honest. “Oh, I’m mad but not exactly at you, rather not the you sitting in front of me. I took offence in being played like a pawn, and I suspect the reason why I’m still so calm right now is because none of those dreadful events that are supposed to take place soon have taken place yet.” Kiryuu Zero responded with a huff and an exasperated roll of his eyes. “On a technicality, your family’s demise was kind of my fault, too. I was part of the distraction that resulted in the escape of Shizuka Hiou.” Kaname Kuran couldn’t help but point out objectively to the silver-haired guardian. “About that, I’m annoyed that you had a part to play in her escape, but I can’t lay all the blame on you either. There's no guarantee she wouldn’t have made her escape on another day. As you’ve said, she’s kept behind lock and key in her own family home. Given her familiarity with the environment of her family home, who’s to say that she didn’t have anyone among the people that guarded her that she could plead her case to let her out from her room? Furthermore, I’m more concerned about the culprit that put the name of her ex-human lover on the hit list of the hunter’s association. That's the true catalyst behind my family’s tragedy.” Kiryuu Zero rolled his eyes as he spoke his mind. “Coming back, I understand your desire to keep Yuuki protected from that uncle of yours, given that guy’s obsession with your late mother and, by extension, Yuuki. What I fail to understand is why you couldn’t have killed Rido yourself. I mean, you’ve managed to injure him badly to the extent that he had to go into hiding for the past decade to recuperate. What's stopping you from killing him now that you’re older and stronger? While at it, don’t feed me the cock and bullshit about the only way to kill a pureblood was with the use of an anti-vampire weapon because if that’s the case, your father wouldn’t have died from the attack launched against your family by the hands of that uncle of yours.” Kiryuu Zero deadpans as he steers the topic of conversation away from his reaction to the game plan of the pureblood king and back onto the subject that Kaname Kuran dreaded to its finest. “I was dreading to answer this question and was hoping that you wouldn’t ask.” Kaname Kuran sighed in response to the query coming from the silver-haired guardian, averting his gaze from the lilac eyes of his future mate to focus on staring at his hands as the memory of what Rido Kuran had done to wake him from his eternal slumber came to the forefront of his mind. “Kaname?” Kiryuu Zero prompted as a frowning expression took up his face. He had no idea why, but somehow, he kept getting the feeling that this was truly a question that the pureblood king dreaded to answer. However, the answer is equally important to him, and so, there’s no way he could allow the subject to be dropped easily. So, the silver-haired guardian did the next best thing; he reached out with his hands and grasped the pureblood king’s hands in his. “Zero?” Kaname Kuran started as he was drawn out from his reverie and back into reality. “Kaname, you want me as your mate, don’t you?” Kiryuu Zero began as he fixated his lilac eyes upon the silent figure of the pureblood king. “Of course.” Kaname Kuran responded without a moment of delay. “Now, I’m not sure how a relationship between vampire mates tends to work... but based on what I’ve observed from the dynamics of my parents’ marriage. Honesty and trust are the fundamentals of their marriage. Likewise, if you wish for our relationship to truly work, I’ll need you to be honest and place your trust in me. So, Kaname... would you please tell me why you’d pick me as your choice of weapon against Rido Kuran?” Kiryuu Zero didn’t know what possessed him to say what he did, he simply followed the feeling in his gut as he voiced his words to the pureblood king. “Zero, you do know the implications behind what you’ve just said, don’t you? I'm not going to let you leave after I open up and bare my soul to you, are you aware?” Kaname Kuran starts as he meets eyes with his beloved. “Of course. I assure you I’m fully aware of the implication of my earlier words. So, Kaname, will you please entrust me with your secrets? I swear on my honor that I would not divulge your secrets to anyone, and whatever you shared with me today would remain between us.” Kiryuu Zero responded as he met eyes with the pureblood king with burning determination in his gaze. “Alright, but I think it’ll be easier for you to comprehend by seeing them as opposed to hearing them from my lips.” Kaname Kuran eventually said and then, upon the bewildering gaze of his future mate, reached out to place his hands over the eyes of his beloved as he whispered the incantation of a memory sharing spell. The next minute, the pureblood king had the slumped body of his beloved in his arms. In the opinion of Kiryuu Zero, one minute he was staring into the eyes of Kaname Kuran as he seeks the trust and honesty from the pureblood king. The next moment, he found himself or rather his conscious-self dragged into a scene from the memory of the pureblood king, it seems. He believes himself to be in a memory of the pureblood king because there was nothing he could recognize of the place he found himself in. ‘Was this a crypt? What did Kaname want me to see here?’ Kiryuu Zero thought with a frown as he observed his current surroundings. The sight of the door opening drew the attention of the silver-haired guardian over to look at the entrance to the crypt. The crease on the forefront of his head deepened as he looked at the unknown man with mismatched eyes approaching the coffin that was laid to rest in the crypt with a newborn babe in hand. He watched helplessly as the unknown man with mismatched eyes offered up the babe in his hands as a sacrifice to wake the being lying within the coffin. The entire experience was similar to watching a silent movie; there wasn’t any sound from the memory, just a series of moving pictures. So, Kiryuu Zero figured that he was still going to get a narration of the event from Kaname Kuran when he woke. He knew that much. If the memory shared by the pureblood king ended right after the scene of the being that stirred to life in the coffin devouring the babe, Kiryuu Zero would probably end up with more questions than answers. Fortunately for the silver-haired guardian, the playback of the memories didn’t just end there. So, Kiryuu Zero continues to watch on. He watched as a couple burst into the crypt shortly after the being was done devouring the babe and later warped and shape-shifted to replace the original babe in the hands of the unknown man with mismatched eyes. Flicking his eyes to land on the couple that barged into the crypt frantically, Kiryuu Zero found himself noting the similarities in the outward appearance between the man who was confronting the unknown man with mismatched eyes and Kaname Kuran. Surely not?! The silver-haired guardian found himself thinking as he snapped his eyes back toward the babe that was now taken back from the unknown man with mismatched eyes and handed over to the woman who was now cradling the babe to the front of her chest. After the scene that took place in the crypt, there are a few more scenes featuring the babe before the image of a younger Kaname Kuran takes its place. Eventually, the memories fast forward to the point of the attack on the Kuran’s residence and end with the scene of a younger Kaname Kuran causing severe damage to the body of the unknown man with mismatched eyes but failing to deliver the final killing blow. With the end of that particular scene, Kiryuu Zero felt his conscious-self zapping back into his body like a jolt causing him to groan aloud as he woke. “Damnit, Kaname! I would appreciate a little warning in advance if you were to pull another similar stunt in the future. My head hurts like a bitch now!” Kiryuu Zero couldn’t help but complain as he held his hands up to the sides of his head and tried to massage away the aching sensation of his mind. “Apologies, I didn’t know how to word my response to your query, so I figured that showing them to you is the next best alternative.” The pureblood king answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Correct me if I’m wrong. Given that the scenes that I’ve seen are in the form of a mime performance, I could only draw my conclusions from what I’ve seen. You aren’t exactly Yuuki’s brother, are you?” Kiryuu Zero started after he felt the pounding headache beneath his skull receding to a manageable level. “Yes. I’m not Kaname Kuran. Instead, I’m Kaname – the progenitor of the Kuran clan that Rido Kuran awakened with the sacrifice of his nephew, the firstborn of Haruka and Juri Kuran. Upon my awakening, I devoured the real Kaname Kuran that Rido Kuran sacrificed to bring me to life and took on the form of the sacrificed babe. Regardless, it doesn’t change the fact that I was raised in the same manner that the Kuran couple would have raised their son. Haruka and Juri said nothing, but I suspect they knew I’m not their real son. Still, they didn’t treat me any differently, and that alone was enough for me to see them as my parents. In any case, because I was essentially revived by Rido Kuran, I had an existing master-servant bond with him. That's the reason why I am unable to kill him with my own hands and had to rely on someone else to do the job for me.” The pureblood king responded with an audible sigh while tightening his hold on the hands of the silver-haired guardian. “I see. And I supposed my family’s heritage of being the strongest hunter’s family was the reason why you picked me to do the job?” Kiryuu Zero prompted in a wry tone of voice. “In a nutshell. Shortly after Rido Kuran retreated to recuperate the injuries he’d sustained from our battle, I started to craft out a game plan that would help to hide Yuuki’s existence and to keep her protected. I was on the lookout for the role of the knight for Yuuki when the chairman decided to take you in under his care. That was when I conducted some research into your background and thought you might fit the role of a knight for Yuuki.” Kaname Kuran nodded in response to the comment of Kiryuu Zero before he proceeded to elaborate on his original plan for the silver-haired guardian. “I see. So, in your original game plan. I’m supposedly the knight for the queen, Yuuki. Dare I ask what’s in your game plan now?” Kiryuu Zero nodded in acceptance of the response coming from the pureblood king before inquiring. “Now? Damn if I know. The entire chessboard has been flipped over by this point. The queen has been demoted to a princess in reality, and I have no idea where to place her on the chessboard. The knight is now the new queen, and I’m at a loss about where to find a new knight for the princess.” Kaname Kuran admitted to the silver-haired guardian that he was effectively stuck and out of moves on the current chessboard. “Good. Because life isn’t meant to be a game either way, so screw the chessboard. We'll just take it one step at a time and see where it goes from here. Besides, with the trio's arrival, the timeline is bound to be changed. Rather, I would like to think that it’s already changed. We wouldn’t be sitting down here having this conversation in peace otherwise.” Kiryuu Zero declared, deciding that the pureblood king deserves an incentive for being honest and willing to trust him when asked. The silver-haired guardian mustered up his courage and turned to angle his face towards the pureblood king. “Zero?” Kaname Kuran started in a questioning manner when he noticed the silver-haired guardian suddenly turn in his direction. The pureblood king felt his eyes widening in surprise when he noticed the face of his beloved closing in on his. “Damn it, Kaname. Can you, I don’t know, close your eyes or something?!” Kiryuu Zero snapped as he felt a rush of heat crawling up his face as he thought about what he was going to do in a moment. “...” The pureblood king appeared bemused for a second before deciding to humor the silver-haired guardian by closing his eyes, just to see if he’d guessed the motive of his future mate’s actions accurately. With his eyes closed, Kaname Kuran felt the rest of his senses sharpening. First, he sensed the breath of his future mate inching closer to his face. Judging from the heavy breathing pattern, Kaname gathered that his future mate was quite nervous about what was going to be done. His interest piqued, the pureblood king forced himself to remain still while he waited in silent anticipation. Slowly, Kaname began to feel the sensation of something soft landing on his lips in a hesitant manner. Though it was just a brief brush of his lips, the pureblood king knew enough to gather that the soft sensation that brushed against his lips was the lips of his future mate. And so, reaching out with his hands, Kaname Kuran popped his eyes open as he pulled the figure of Kiryuu Zero back towards him before the silver-haired guardian could retreat fully and started. “Zero, look at me. This is how a proper kiss should be done.” With that said, Kaname Kuran leaned forward and pressed his lips against the lips of his future mate in a decisive manner. Kiryuu Zero, on the other hand, appeared stunned for a second before giving in as he allowed himself to melt into the embrace of the pureblood king while they engaged in a round of passionate kissing. ‘Damn... how did an incentive ends up in a session of full-blown make-out session?’ Kiryuu Zero thought inwardly to himself as he felt himself responding tentatively to the kiss instigated by the pureblood king. Zero’s response to the kiss causes the beast in Kaname Kuran to purr in contentment and happiness. The logical side of Kaname Kuran took that as a positive sign of Zero’s acceptance of their relationship. Then again, the silver-haired guardian had essentially committed to the relationship they had between them with the former request for his honesty and trust earlier on. And so, the pureblood king threw aside any reservations he had and proceeded to deepen the kiss between them. By the time they broke apart for air, Kaname Kuran was breathing heavily while Kiryuu Zero was blushing to the shade of a ripe tomato. It was at this particular moment that the door leading to the study room sounded with a hesitant knock, followed by the voice of Akane sounding from the outside of the door. “Pardon for the interruption, but the twins are awake.” ‘Well...at least, Akane had the decency to knock instead of barging in like Akira did the last time around.’ Kaname Kuran thought as he took a few steps back from his future mate to allow the flustered silver-haired guardian some time to regain composure. “Tell the twins to wait for a few minutes. We'll be out soon.” Kaname Kuran responded on behalf of his future mate, who is still having difficulty in taming down the hot flush in the cheeks. “Here, read this.” Kaname Kuran then handed over a folder of documents he had on the desk of the study room to the silver-haired guardian. “What’s this?” Kiryuu Zero took the offered document with a frown as he inquired the pureblood king in response. “Something that would help you get the heat in your cheeks down, no doubt.” Kaname Kuran responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. Raising an eyebrow in a questioning manner, Kiryuu Zero flipped the file open to get a read at its content. Two lines into the first page of the document, Kiryuu Zero snapped his eyes up at the pureblood king with a look of bewilderment. “What the hell is this?” “This is the pieces of evidence I’ve gathered with regards to Ichiou’s crimes.” Kaname Kuran answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Is there a point for you to show me this evidence?” Kiryuu Zero flipped the folder closed as he handed it back to the pureblood king. He asked in return. “Not really. I just figured that you need something that’ll assist in getting the heat in your cheeks down to a manageable level.” Kaname Kuran shrugged in response as he replaced the folder onto the desk in his main study room. “I see. Well, I think I’m composed enough to meet up with the twins now.” Kiryuu Zero nodded as he made a move toward the direction of the door in the study room of the Moon Dorm. --- Ultimately, Kiryuu Zero spent the late afternoon of Saturday showing the twins the photo album he had recently received from his maternal uncle, handed over through the assistance of his cousin who was visiting their humble little town for a modeling job. Of course, due to the complication that arises from his hunting mission involving Yuuki, and that instead of a single Level E, there are two Level E attacking innocents in town on the previous day. The photo album was brought over and delivered to the chairman through the hands of Wakaba Sayori, who likely gotten it from her elder brother, Wakaba Hiroshi, who came by to have a talk with her about her negligence of venturing into town without her anti-vampire weapons on her person. “A-re? Daddy, is this great-grandpapa?” Kuran Akira was going through the photos of his Daddy at his age in the pocket-sized photo album with great interest when he suddenly spotted someone familiar in the background of the photo. Akira, being Akira, naturally neglected that they were looking over the photos in the album in the front lounge and not somewhere that’s private and out of earshot. Hence, when he blurted out the question on his mind, his words garnered a myriad of reactions from the people hanging around in the front lounge. ‘Great-grandpapa? Wait, someone that Akira-chan addressed as great-grandpapa. Well, it couldn’t have been someone from the Kuran family for sure. Since most of them are already dead by this point. So, it could only be from Kiryuu’s side of the family... but I thought the Kiryuu clan was wiped out by the attack from the blooming mad princess? Better yet, shouldn’t Kiryuu’s grandfather be dead already?’ Ichijo Takuma, who was amid the task of reporting something to his pureblood friend, promptly halted mid-words as he turned curious eyes upon the figure of Kiryuu Zero as he waited for a response from the silver-haired guardian. “Where? Akira, point him out to me in the photos.” Kiryuu Zero refrained from the urge to curse aloud as he leaned in closer to Akira, and he waited for the younger twin to point out the image of his supposedly ‘dead’ grandfather in the photo to him. “Here! He's captured in the background in this photo. Not a direct view, but I think his hairstyle was a dead giveaway.” Kuran Akira gladly obliged his daddy’s request by pointing out the guy he found similar to his great-grandpapa to Kiryuu Zero. “...” Kiryuu Zero took one look and knew Akira was right. Captured in the background of this particular photo taken in the compound of the Fujiwara ancestral home in Kyoto during one of the New Year gathering in all its glory was his grandfather in his original persona as the elusive pureblood – Mamoru Hiou. ‘Should I be thankful that he, at least, had the common sense not to turn up at the Fujiwara ancestral home dressed up in the camouflage of his alias persona? Well, at least, now I know why Mom had to hide this album in her family home based in Chiba. She probably chanced upon this photo and thought it unwise to leave it lying around at home for Dad to find. Given how dad was completely in the dark about the background of grandfather, dad would surely flip if he knew.’ Kiryuu Zero thought as he rolled his eyes at the image of his grandfather reflected on the photo. “So, daddy... is he great-grandpapa?” Kuran Akira turns curious eyes upon his beloved parent and inquires innocently. “Yes, Akira. You're right. It’s your great-grandpapa, alright.” Kiryuu Zero sighed in response as he shared a meaningful look with the pureblood king. He had no intention to repeat the story of his family secret to the members of the pureblood king’s inner circle, so he’s giving Kaname Kuran free rein to disseminate the information as he deems fit. “For the twins to be addressing someone in the photo as great-grandpapa, that would mean Kiryuu’s grandfather is still in existence? How? I thought Kiryuu Mamoru was supposed to be dead before the Kiryuu twins were even born?” Aidou Hanabusa couldn’t help it, he blurted out the question after having connected the dots in his mind. “Kaname, the ball’s in your court. Boys, shall we continue this upstairs in your father’s room?” Kiryuu Zero started as he threw the pureblood king a look before bringing the boys upstairs to continue with the activity of going through the photo album of his childhood photos with Ichiru. “Okay, Daddy!” The boys echoed in unison as they began to trek their way upstairs to the top floor of the dormitory building where the King’s suite is located. “...” Nobody among the night class bothers to stop them, seeing as the no trespassing rule probably doesn’t apply to either of them. After all, the twins were sharing the use of the room with their pureblood king whereas Kiryuu was recognized as the future mate of their king. Even Akane was allowed entry to the fourth floor if she wished, given her relations to their pureblood king in the future. Kaname Kuran waited until his future mate had completely disappeared from view before addressing the members of his inner circle as a whole. “What I’m going to reveal now is to remain within the group. I do not wish for this information to get out to the others. The Kiryuu is, after all, a hunter’s family. It would not do good for the others to find out the Kiryuu relations to a pureblood family.” “Pureblood family? You mean the Kiryuu are related to another pureblood family outside of the Fujiwara clan?” Ichijo Takuma started in surprise. “On a technicality, the Kiryuu is only related to the hunter’s branch of the Fujiwara clan. While the clan head for the Fujiwara clan is a pureblood, Fujiwara Yumi wasn’t exactly related to Zero by blood. They are of two different branches, even if they both descended from the same progenitor. Anyway, we can leave the topic of the Fujiwara aside; due to their unique situation, they are in a league of their own. These days, when we talk about the pureblood, we are usually referring to the seven-pureblood families that still exist in today’s world. Namely, the Kuran, the Hiou, the Hanadagi, the Toma, the Shirabuki, the Ouri, and the Shoto. Previously, there were still the Aisakas, but they have since died out. Now coming back to what I’m saying, the Kiryuu’s relations to a pureblood family. Does anyone wish to guess which pureblood family is the one with relations to the Kiryuu?” Kaname Kuran decided not to spell things out to the members of his inner circle and made them take a wild guess instead. “Are there any hints, Kaname-sama?” Ruka Souen frowned before venturing forward to inquire. “Zero shares certain trait with the members of that pureblood family, we simply didn’t think much of it because it seems improbable at first glance.” Kaname Kuran eventually said, recalling what his beloved had shared with him about the lilac eyes that’s unique to the Kiryuu family being something that was brought over from the Hiou family by his grandfather. “Well...it couldn’t have been the Hanadagi since that entire family is in deep slumber. The Ouri...doesn’t seem possible either.” Akatsuki Kain frowned as he tried to pinpoint the possible pureblood family that could be related to Kiryuu and ended up drawing a blank. “Hmm...could it be the Hiou?” It was Shiki Senri who eventually made the correct guess. “Surely, you jest? The blooming mad princess from the Hiou family wipes out the Kiryuu clan. Why would she do that if the Kiryuu are related to the Hiou?” Aidou Hanabusa appears aghast by the guess offered up by Shiki Senri, but when Kaname Kuran sends an approving look in Shiki’s direction, the blue-eyed blond aristocrat promptly dropped his jaw in shock as he spluttered unintelligently. “What?! Shiki made the right guess?! How? Why?” “How? Well... I’m sure it’s a common understanding that the Hiou family tends to produce insanities and oddballs. However, what isn’t common knowledge is that the Hiou family occasionally produced mutants. Zero’s grandfather was a fine example of a mixture between an oddball and a mutant. I'm sure all of you have heard of the nickname given to Chairman Cross at one point. His reputation as the legendary hunter preceded him. Being legendary meant he’s old, but nobody knows for certain his age, just that he has a lot of experience in hunting. Henceforth, he was given the nickname of the fangless vampire by his former colleagues at the hunter’s association. In any case, Zero’s grandfather was the true fangless vampire – Mamoru Hiou.” Kaname Kuran responded as he began to fill his friends in on the information he knew from Zero at an earlier time. “Kiryuu’s grandfather was the elusive pureblood, Mamoru Hiou?! So, all these times when people thought he was missing, he went and became a vampire hunter?! Not just that, he ‘marries’ himself into a hunter’s family?! Wow... he truly lives up to his reputation of being an oddball.” Ichijo Takuma had a look of awe on his face as he digested the story that was just laid onto his lap by his pureblood friend. “I think what’s truly amazing was how he could hide his vampire heritage so well that nobody suspected anything for years.” Akatsuki Kain deadpans as he soaks in the latest information concerning the future mate of their pureblood king. “Well, aside from his slow aging and accelerated healing... I don’t think he has anything to hide. Being a fangless vampire means he is unable to turn anyone with a bite, and he seldom gets bloodlust. As long as he took a solo mission for his vampire-hunting job, nobody would learn about his unnatural healing ability. As for his slow aging, well, he picked a good time to fake his death. Being a mutant, it also means that the vampire genes in him were a recessive gene, and instead of copulating with a vampire, he picks a human as his partner. That means the vampire gene that’s passed down to his offspring is likely to be recessive as well, making it possible for his children to be born human. I guess, that’s why nobody suspect a single thing for years.” Aidou Hanabusa, the resident genius in the field of science, promptly went into his analytical mode as he explains the reason why nobody remains none the wiser about Kiryuu’s grandfather being a pureblood up until now. Truly, if it hadn’t been for Akira’s question, nobody within their circle would suspect anything. Aidou didn’t question how his pureblood king came to know about such information, he figured that Kiryuu had likely told the pureblood king at some point. What he’s truly curious about is how Shiki arrived at the correct guess. And so, he shifted curious eyes upon the figure of Shiki Senri as he voiced his doubt. “Shiki, how did you make the connection between the Hiou family and Kiryuu?” Shiki Senri was silent for a second before shrugging as he commented, “Well... Kaname said Kiryuu shared similar traits with the members of that specific pureblood family. The only two unique traits of Kiryuu were his silver hair and lilac eyes. The silver hair color was out since that’s a trademark of the Kiryuu clan for generations; the lilac eyes, on the other hand, was something newer, something that originated from Kiryuu’s grandfather based on the hearsay. That, and I recalled having met Shizuru Hiou once at a social event that I'm attending with my uncle, and she, too, had a pair of lilac eyes. So, when Kaname mentioned that Kiryuu shares similar traits with members of that particular pureblood family, the pair of lilac eyes immediately came to the forefront of my mind.” “...” “Holy shit! So, Kiryuu was bitten and turned by his grandaunt?!” Aidou Hanabusa blurted out when he recalled how the elusive pureblood – Mamoru Hiou was the elder brother of the blooming mad princess and promptly blurted out in shock. “Aidou, you do not have to blurt out every single thing on your mind. I don’t know why you’re so adamant about getting confirmation for your theory, but yes. You are right, it was the blooming mad princess that turned Zero. Now, can you please drop the subject already? The topic of his turning has always been a sore subject for Zero, so I would appreciate that you’d avoid bringing up the topic within his earshot.” Kaname Kuran told the blue-eyed blond aristocrat in a tone that offered no room for argument. With that said, he stood and headed back upstairs to join his future family. “Eh? Kaname, but I still had things to report.” Ichijo Takuma, upon noticing that his pureblood friend is leaving, started to say. “I’ll hear the rest of it from you later in the evening. For now, I wished to be undisturbed.” Kaname Kuran throws over his shoulder to his green-eyed friend as he continues his way upstairs to his room. “...” Later, when dinner time comes around, the Kuran-Kiryuu family shifted their location from the Moon Dorm to the chairman’s residence so Zero could showcase his exemplary culinary skills in the kitchen of the chairman’s place. Kiryuu Zero found himself on the receiving end of several pairs of unreadable gazes as he departed from the Moon Dorm and instantly knew that Kaname Kuran had shared the secret of his family with the members of his inner circle. “So, what did you tell them in the end?” Kiryuu Zero asked as they stepped out of the Moon Dorm and made their way over to the chairman’s residence. “Just the part about your grandfather being a fangless vampire from the Hiou family. I didn’t mention anything about your incomplete turning, I figured that could come later after they detected the change in your aura. Until then, just let them think you as a Level D,” Kaname Kuran responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Fair enough.” Kiryuu Zero nodded in response before refocusing his attention to the twins, in particular, on Akira, who had taken off into a run. “Akira, don’t run too fast. You might end up falling if you’re not careful.” “Okay, Daddy!” Akira calls back to Zero as he slowed down somewhat in his speed, while waiting for the rest of his family to catch up to him. “Oh~ Akira, Subaru! My dear grandsons! Grandpa misses you boys so much!” Kaien Cross practically gushes as he fawns over the twins when he sees them entering the house with his adopted son, together with the pureblood king and Akane. “Good evening, Grandpa Cross.” Kiryuu Subaru greeted politely while trying to ignore the squishing that he was being subjected to by the adoptive parent of his beloved daddy. “Oh, Grandpa Cross! I miss you too!” Kuran Akira, meanwhile, responded to Kaien Cross's exaggerated greeting with an exaggerated greeting of his own. “...” ‘I thought Akira was always talking about the chairman being silly? Yet, he always made it a point to indulge in the man’s silliness when he’s around.’ Kiryuu Zero shook his head as he brushed past the silly duo and made his way into the kitchen domain to get started on the dinner preparation. “Chairman Cross, do you have a minute to spare? I would like to speak with you for a moment about the night class contribution to the upcoming school festival.” Kaname Kuran started as he spoke up to draw the attention of Kaien Cross away from the twins and spared them from being subjected to further squishing in the tight embrace of the chairman. “Of course, Kaname-kun. So, how does the night class intend to contribute to the school festival?” Kaien Cross straightened up in his posture as he let go of the Kuran-Kiryuu twins, allowing them to flee to safety by attaching themselves to the hip of his adopted son and Akane, who were bustling around in the kitchen area of the house. “Daddy, what are you going to make for dinner today?” Kuran Akira started as he took in the sight of his beloved parent bustling around the kitchen, gathering ingredients for the upcoming dinner meal. “Well, there isn’t enough time for anything too complicated. So, I’m making us Napolitan today.” Kiryuu Zero answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Napolitan is good, Subaru loves Napolitan, whereas my favorite is still the Omurice. By the way, daddy... any chance of us getting desserts after the meal?” Kuran Akira inquires as he lowers his tone to a whisper, hoping that his request for dessert will escape the earshot of his elder sister. Too bad his prayers went unanswered as Akane promptly turned her warning eyes against him as she directed her words to the silver-haired guardian. “Zero, ignore Akira’s pleas for desserts. He already went above his quota for the sugar intake this week.” Kiryuu Zero, meanwhile, nodded at Akira as he told the boy. “You heard your sister’s words. Besides, I didn’t have plans for dessert today. So, maybe we can reserve desserts for the next time?” “Alright then, daddy.” Kuran Akira sighed in resignation as he responded. “Come on, Akira. Let's head back out. We're more of a nuisance in the kitchen.” Kiryuu Subaru, knowing full well that there was nothing they could do to assist their beloved daddy in the kitchen, promptly went to the figure of his younger twin and started pulling Akira away from the kitchen domain to head back out to the living room. “Eh? But I thought we came in here to hide from Grandpa Cross’s squishy hugs?” Kuran Akira blinked at his elder twin in confusion. “I think if we remain close to father’s side, Grandpa Cross won’t attempt to put his hands on us again,” Subaru commented after a moment of contemplation. “Okay then, let’s head back out to join father in the living room.” Kuran Akira nodded in acceptance of his elder twin’s suggestion, and the two boys held hands as they exited the kitchen domain. Out in the living room, Kaname Kuran had just informed the chairman that the night class would be assisting with the procurement of the decoration needed to get the event hall set up for the school dance. This is probably the only thing the night class could do since their vampiric nature makes it impossible for them to set up and run a booth during the week of the school festival like what the students of the day class is doing. “Oh, does that mean the night class would be sponsoring the cost for the school dance event?” Kaien Cross’s eyes lit up at the words of Kaname Kuran, thinking about the upgrades in the catering menu and decoration budget if the night class members were chipping in financially. “Yes, that’s what I was saying.” Kaname Kuran nodded in response. “Great, I’ll have Zero deliver the list of things to prepare for the school dance event over to you by tomorrow. The school dance isn’t happening until next weekend, so there should still be ample time for the night class members to procure the items necessary for the decorating of the event hall.” Kaien Cross nodded in response, with a beaming smile etched onto his lips. It was during dinner that the topic of Kiryuu Zero’s birthday came up for discussion. It began with Kaien Cross asking his adopted son how the former wanted to celebrate his birthday this year. “Daddy’s birthday? When is it?” Kuran Akira inquires innocently; it was a genuine question because neither of his parents made it a point to celebrate their birthdays from the timeline they arrived from. “Oh, Akira-dear. It’s tomorrow!” Kaien Cross gleefully announced, much to the annoyance of his adopted son. “Daddy?! It's your birthday tomorrow?” Kuran Akira turns his curious eyes upon the figure of Kiryuu Zero as he inquires. “Yes.” Too soft-hearted to direct his annoyance at the innocent little boy staring up at him, the silver-haired guardian could only let out a sigh of resignation as he responded to Akira’s inquiry. “We should celebrate it with a party!” Kuran Akira declared, earning the support of his goofy Grandpa Cross. “No. I’m not having a birthday party.” Kiryuu Zero stands his ground when it comes to the manner of his birthday celebration. He truly wasn’t a fan of parties and the like, so he refused to bow to the whims of his legal guardian. Not even Akira’s puppy eyes would get him to cave this time. “If I may suggest an alternative. Instead of a full-blown birthday party, why don’t we settle for a small celebration over dinner with a birthday cake to commemorate the occasion? We'll just keep it within the family, with no external guests. Would that be acceptable for you, Zero?” The pureblood king spoke up then, offering his input on the subject. On one hand, he didn’t want to force his beloved into doing something the former was not inclined to do, and on the other hand, he didn’t want to disappoint Akira’s enthusiasm in wishing to celebrate the birthday of his beloved. “...” Kiryuu Zero flicked his eyes toward the crestfallen face of Akira before shifting his gaze up to meet the red-brown eyes of the pureblood king before sighing aloud as he answered. “Fine. We'll celebrate my birthday with a family meal and a birthday cake.” “Did you hear that, Akira? Now, why don’t you take Subaru aside to discuss the birthday cake to get for your daddy for his birthday tomorrow?” Kaname Kuran said as he directed his words to the crestfallen boy. “Come on, Akira. You should’ve known Daddy wouldn’t agree to have a party thrown. Parties are just not his thing. The only parties Daddy had agreed to host back in our own time were the solstice balls; even then, it’s to maintain and uphold the image of the Kuran family within the society. So, really... You shouldn’t be this disappointed about Daddy’s reluctance to celebrate his birthday with a party.” Kiryuu Subaru set down his cutlery on the table and shifted his chair closer to his younger twin as he started giving his dejected twin a pep talk to cheer up the boy. “I suppose you’re right, Subaru. Daddy was never much of a fan of parties. Well, in that case, we’ll just have to pick the best birthday cake for Daddy!” Kuran Akira said determinedly before turning his eyes back onto the figure of Kiryuu Zero as he inquires. “Daddy, do you have a preferred flavor for the cake?” “Not really. I’m not picky when it comes to food choices.” Kiryuu Zero answered with a shake of his head. “Okay, that means I have free rein to decide on the type of cake to buy for your birthday tomorrow!” Kuran Akira nodded before shifting his gaze to land on the figure of Kaname Kuran as he voiced his next request. “Father, can we venture into town tomorrow morning to pick out the cake for Daddy’s birthday?” “It can be arranged.” Kaname Kuran nodded in response. With the outing plan for tomorrow morning decided upon, the twins finally return their attention to the half-eaten meal and finish up the rest of the Napolitan pasta made by their beloved parent without another word. ~to be continued~ Date started: 27/05/09 Date completed: 29/05/09 Date edited: 29/05/09 Date revised: 06/03/2025
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Kiryuu Zero stood unmoving in the clearing of the woods surrounding the Moon Dorm as he gazed up at the moon in deep thought. Today marks his 17th birthday and the fourth year he didn’t have his twin around to celebrate the day. Should he be glad that Shizuka Hiou didn’t choose to attack his family home on his birthday? That, at least, allows him to think back on his birthday with fondness instead of dread. The silver-haired guardian had just finished walking the twins back to the Moon Dorm after the birthday celebratory dinner held at the chairman’s residence. Kaname had told him to drop the boys off at the Moon Dorm while he lingered behind to address some issues with that legal guardian of his concerning the ongoing co-existence campaign. Now that he was done dropping off the boys at the Moon Dorm, Kiryuu Zero finally got a moment alone to think about his younger twin, Ichiru. After all, today isn’t just his birthday, it’s also the birthday of his twin, Ichiru. ‘Ichiru...wherever you are, I hope you’re doing well.’ Kiryuu Zero thought as he stared up at the moon that hung in the sky, while reminiscing on his memory of his younger twin. Unbeknownst to the silver-haired guardian, he wasn’t as alone as he would like to believe. Someone else was currently observing him through the eyes of a nondescript crow that was perched atop the tree in the woods with the clearest view of the clearing where he stood. "I've finally found you, my Zero-chan! Aa ... those eyes filled with such depressing sadness; it's still such a wonderful sight to behold." Shizuka Hiou let out a string of girlish giggles before murmuring under her breath. She was observing the sight of the elder Kiryuu twin through the glowing red eyes of her familiar – a crow that was perched atop a tree in the woods of the Cross Academy. It had taken her familiar a fair bit of time to locate the elder Kiryuu twin on the academy grounds of Cross Academy due to its large landscape and high level of human traffic in the area. "Come, I believe it's time for us to start making our journey to the Cross Academy." The female pureblood with silvery-white hair and pink eyes said, directing her words towards her two loyal followers. "Yes, Shizuka-sama. I'll inform Maria to get ready for the trip, then." Kiryuu Ichiru responded as he turned to leave the guestroom that Shizuka Hiou had been staying in while taking up on the hospitality of the Kurenai family. Later on, Monday evening, Kaien Cross requested for Yuuki to meet him in his study after dinner ended for their little pseudo-family. "Yuuki, I need you to head out front and bring in one of our new transfer students." Kaien Cross told Yuuki, despite his uneasiness about the whole situation. Still, he had no choice. It was either Zero or Yuuki who had to go out and meet the new transfer student, but knowing Zero. The former would flip, so it had to be Yuuki. After all, the new transfer student was a night-class student and seemed to be a distant relative to Shizuka Hiou. That was his reason for not sending Zero out there, fearing that his adopted son might go berserk and resorted to threatening the new student into giving out the whereabouts of Shizuka Hiou. “Huh? A transfer student at this time? Wouldn't it be better for the student to wait until after spring break to transfer in? That way, the student would be able to start her education with us in the new school year instead of in the last week of the current school year.” Yuuki Cross started sounding bewildered when she heard the request of her adopted father asking for her to head out to the school gate to meet the new transfer student. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, did I? The new transfer is a student for the night class, not the day class. So, it doesn’t matter when she’s transferring in.” Kaien Cross blinked before realizing that he had yet to inform Yuuki about the identity of the new transfer student joining the Cross Academy at such a peculiar time. “Ah... It’s a student for the night class, huh? Well, I guess the timing of the transfer does not in this case. After all, it’s not as though they are truly abiding by the stipulated syllabus dictated by the educational board.” Yuuki Cross nodded in response as she turned to leave the study room of her adopted father, intending to head outside to collect the new transfer student as instructed. The night class is made up of vampires under the ruling of Kaname Kuran while they are attending school at Cross Academy. On the outside, they appear to be regular students who are studying on a part-time schedule due to the various family commitments during the day time. When in actuality, their vampiric natures make it impossible for them to stay out too long during broad daylight. Hence, the reason why lessons are held for them in the evening hours. Due to the shorter class schedule, it usually takes longer for the members of the night class to complete their high school education. That is, if they were to attend school normally like they’re expected to. Only, they aren’t. As far as Yuuki is aware, most members of the night class could have gotten their diploma right away if they were to sit down for the graduation exams from the point of their enrollment into Cross Academy. So, attending school is just a front for the ongoing co-existence campaign headed by the pureblood king and the chairman of the Cross Academy. Yuuki truly had no idea how many of the night class members pay attention to the lessons that they’re attending at present. Shaking her head to rid her mind of thoughts of the night class members’ goal for attending school, Yuuki Cross refocused her attention to the task at hand. Arriving to a stop at the school gate just as a nondescript black sedan pulled up to a stop outside the school, Yuuki watched on as the door to the back passenger seat opened up and a cute-looking girl with purplish-gray hair and lavender eyes stepped out from within. “Good evening. Are you the new transfer student, Maria Kurenai? I’m Yuuki Cross, one of the school guardians sent over to guide you under the orders of the school’s chairman. Please follow me while I lead you to the admin office where the chairman is now awaiting your presence.” Yuuki Cross took a step forward as she introduced herself to the new student of the night class. “Good evening, Ms. Cross. Sorry for arriving this late, but there’s a bit of delay with my baggage. So, while I’m here to report to the chairman, I’m afraid that my baggage would only arrive in another hour or so.” The voice of Maria Kurenai started as she told the female guardian while apologizing for her tardiness. “That’s okay, we can arrange for your baggage to be dropped off directly at the dormitory.” Yuuki Cross told Maria Kurenai in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “That’s reassuring, thank you.” Maria Kurenai answered with a dazzling smile. Meanwhile, Shizuka Hiou, who had taken up residency in the body of her distant relative, Maria Kurenai, felt something was off when Yuuki Cross started to approach her. The female guardian's blood had smelt a tad too alluring and sweet that even Shizuka Hiou, who had not had much of an appetite for blood ingestion in the recent years, started feeling the temptation to get a taste of the girl’s blood. Just the humming thrum of the rich liquid flowing under the girl’s skin was enough to cause a momentary lapse in judgement that Shizuka Hiou took over the control of the body by closing in the distance between her and the Cross girl. "Oh my ... you looked so delicious." The awfully sweet sound of Maria Kurenai's voice escaped before Shizuka Hiou could stop herself, and inwardly, the blooming mad princess withheld a cringe at the sound of her relative's voice. "Maria-chan! Those words are not to be spoken behind the walls of this academy." The Chairman's voice cut in warningly, reminding her of the pacifist ideals that were in place on the grounds of Cross Academy. "Oh, I apologized for my slip of tongue. I'd forgotten about it." Shizuka Hiou responded, using the annoyingly sweet voice of her distant relative while trying her hardest not to snort at the Chairman's ideals and to frown at the sound of her 'unusual' voice. "It's fine. just remember to refrain from saying those words again. Now, Yuuki, would you please bring Maria-chan to where the night class members are having their lessons?" Kaien Cross instructed, making a mental note to watch the new student of the night class closely. There was something in the girl's aura that kept nagging at him, he had no idea why it was bothering him this much when he could sense no hostility from the girl. "Chairman, I was wondering if I could be granted special permission to utilize the abandoned dormitory building as temporary living quarters for myself. As you know, I've been living in the mountain areas all this time and do not do well in a crowd. So ..." Shizuka Hiou began in a tone of uncertainty as she voiced her request to the chairman of the Cross Academy. "Ah ... I can see where you're coming from. Well then, you have my permission to do so, but it’s only for a week. Within this week, you'll have to get yourself accustomed to spending time in the crowd. After all, that's one of the rules that the night class members in this school have to obey to continue staying on academy grounds." Kaien Cross responded, his tone optimistic once more. "Thank you, Sir. I appreciated the gesture of consideration." Maria Kurenai thanked him before moving to join the awaiting Yuuki on the other side of the door. Inwardly, Shizuka Hiou was smirking to herself. One week was more than enough time to achieve her ultimate aim in coming to the academy. 'Oh ... Zero, I wonder how you'll react to my presence this time around?' "Damn!" Zero cursed aloud as he sat up abruptly in bed, his sleepwear fully drenched in perspiration. Darting a quick look at the timing reflected on his alarm clock seated on his bedside table informed him that he still had another two hours to go before he needs to get himself ready for school. ‘Why am I dreaming about that woman now?!’ Kiryuu Zero frowned as he withheld the urge to groan aloud as irritation coursed through his system. The silver-haired guardian had been woken from his slumber due to a recurring nightmare of his over the years. The nightmare was more of a memory from the night that his grandaunt, Shizuka Hiou, had wiped out his family as she sought revenge for the death of her ex-human lover that his parents had been sent to eliminate. Kiryuu Zero had been subjected to the same nightmare frequently over the years, making him extremely irate at the sight of vampires regularly. These recurring nightmares of his were one of the contributing factors to his accumulated annoyance toward Kaname in the past. However, the nightmare had stopped visiting him in his dreams for slightly more than a year now, which was why his dislike for the pureblood king had toned down significantly even before the trios arrived in this particular timeline. Of course, with the trio's arrival... Kiryuu Zero’s stance towards the vampires in general had mellowed down further, and his reception towards the pureblood king had vastly improved. And now, there’s even an ongoing courtship between them. Either way, his relationship with the pureblood king was the least of Kiryuu Zero’s concerns now. What he wanted to know was why his former recurring nightmare chose to return now. Was it some sort of omen hinting at him of the impending arrival of Shizuka Hiou? Akane did mention his grandaunt would be dropping by the Cross Academy to visit him soon, didn’t she? ‘Maybe I could try to do some fishing from her later in class.’ Kiryuu Zero thought as he grimaced at the feel of his sleepwear sticking to his skin from the perspiration and decided that a shower was needed without delay. ‘Might as well hit the shower; it isn’t as though I could go back to bed after that vivid nightmare from before.’ The silver-haired guardian mused inwardly to himself as he collected a change of clothes from his wardrobe and left his bedroom for the direction of the common bathroom situated down the hallway on the second floor of the chairman’s residence. Meanwhile, back at the Moon Dorm, Kaname Kuran was in a discussion with his vice president, Ichijo Takuma, about the new transfer student to the night class. At the back of his mind, he could detect an underlying hint of irritation stemming from the one-sided bond he had opened between him and his future mate, Kiryuu Zero, and found himself wondering about the cause of his future mate’s irritation. "Kaname? Are you listening?” Ichijo Takuma started with a frowning look on his face when he noticed the distracted look in his friend’s eyes. “Apologies, I got sidetracked for a moment. What was it that you were saying, again?” Kaname Kuran snapped his focus back to his ongoing discussion with his green-eyed friend, he could get down to the source behind Zero’s irritation later. For now, it’s better to remain focused on his responsibility as the president of the Moon Dormitory. “I’m asking you for your opinion on the new transfer student.” Ichijo Takuma rolled his eyes momentarily as he commented. “What about the new student?” Kaname Kuran prompted in return, he fails to find any issues with the new student that transfer into the night class. All the paperwork submitted to the school is in order, and it remains a fact that the Kurenai did have a standing invitation to send someone of their family to attend Cross Academy if they desire. The fact that the standing invitation had taken this long to be utilized took Kaname by surprise. The pureblood king had nearly forgotten about the bait he had put out to lure the Blooming Mad Princess onto academy grounds, given that it had been ages since that invitation was sent out to the Kurenai. “I’m asking you, what do you think we should do with the new transfer student? She requested permission from the chairman to utilize the old dormitory for her temporary living quarters, citing that she isn’t used to living in a crowded environment. The chairman gave her a week to get herself adjusted to the environment of co-living. However, you and I, both know it’s bullshit. She brought a freaking ice-coffin with her as part of her baggage for school." Ichijo Takuma responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. His responsibility as the vice president of the Moon Dorm allows him to perform a check on the baggage of the students to ensure that nothing prohibited was brought onto academy grounds, and the check he was tasked to conduct last night on Maria Kurenai’s baggage disturbed him greatly. Not that coffin isn’t allowed to be brought in, seeing as there are indeed some vampires who prefer to sleep in a coffin than on a bed. Still, not many would go to the extent of bringing in an ice coffin with them while they attended school. Furthermore, the ice coffin isn’t empty. Even if he didn’t know the person sleeping in the ice-coffin at present, something just didn’t sit right with the green-eyed blond vampire of the night class. And so, after performing the check on the baggage of Maria Kurenai, he had immediately gone to his pureblood friend to report on his findings. "I know. In any case, since you are so concerned about her motives for choosing to attend Cross Academy at this time, why don't you take up the responsibility of 'taking care' of her?" Kaname Kuran answered in response as he replaced a book he had opened earlier for leisure reading back onto the shelving of his book collection in the study room of the Moon Dorm. Unlike his friend, the pureblood king wasn’t as ignorant about the identity of the woman that lay in the ice coffin brought in by Maria Kurenai. He did, after all, have a brief encounter with the blooming mad princess when he was younger. Henceforth, he knew who the woman frozen in the ice coffin was after venturing into the old dormitory to take a look at the special baggage brought in by Maria Kurenai in person. Upon the thought of the blooming mad princess, Kaname Kuran halted mid-action as he found himself wondering if the constant irritation stemming from Kiryuu Zero was due to the presence of Shizuka Hiou on academy grounds. After all, his future mate was bitten and turned by the blooming mad princess... so, it’s possible that the silver-haired guardian could sense the woman’s presence, right? "Eh?!" Ichijo Takuma's eyes widened for a second before resigning himself to the idea of playing 'babysitter' to the mysterious new transfer student of their class. ‘Shizuka Hiou, whatever your reasons for being here... you’d best not touched what’s mine or there would be hell to pay!’ Kaname Kuran thought as he focused on the image of the pureblood woman frozen in the ice coffin at present. While it was true that the pureblood king did have it in mind to lure Shizuka Hiou onto the grounds of Cross Academy before, that was at an earlier point in time, before he learned of his feelings for Zero and about the secret of the silver-haired guardian. Previously, he was under the impression that Kiryuu Zero was a Level D and thus would require the blood of Shizuka Hiou to prevent falling to the end. Now, the point is moot. Still, Kaname didn’t bat an eyelid and allowed the blooming mad princess to enter the school grounds. He allowed this because his future mate had told him that gaining access to the blood of Shizuka Hiou was the best way to explain away the reason behind his failure to fall to the end to people like Kaien Cross and Yagari Tooga. He didn’t need to be a genius to figure out that his future mate had no intention of cluing the veteran hunter and the chairman in about his family relations to the Hiou family. That was truly the only reason why he’d allowed Shizuka Hiou to enter the Cross Academy at this point, and now, the pureblood king could only hope that he wouldn’t come to regret his decision of turning a blind eye to Shizuka Hiou’s presence on academy grounds. --- In the meantime, Aidou Hanabusa was in a discussion with his cousin, Akatsuki Kain, over the subject of the new transfer student – Maria Kurenai. The blue-eyed blond aristocrat had no idea why, but he kept receiving strange vibes from the new transfer girl. There’s something about the girl's aura that seemed fishy to him, and that was the reason why he had gotten his cousin to help him out in researching the background information of the girl. "Hanabusa, what is it that you want to know about Maria Kurenai? Everything about her record seems fine to me. If this is about her lack of respect in front of Kaname-sama, I'm sure that it's probably due to her lack of interaction with society that resulted in it." Akatsuki Kain said, after reading through the records of Maria Kurenai for the umpteenth time since he had gotten hold of them. "Akatsuki, have you ever seen that woman before?" Aidou Hanabusa questioned, his brows furrowing in deep thoughts. "That woman?" Akatsuki Kain turns bewildering eyes upon the figure of his ice-wielding cousin, as he sends his cousin a look that demands further elaboration because he truly had no clue about who his cousin was talking about. "Yes, that woman who shared the same pureblood status with our leader, Kaname-sama. The very same person who disappeared after going insane and wiped out the Kiryuu clan to exact revenge for her ex-human lover - the 'Blooming Mad Princess', Shizuka Hiou." Aidou Hanabusa elaborated for the sake of his cousin, who appeared confused by his question. "No, I've never met her before. Rumors have it that she's dead." Akatsuki Kain responded before adding. "Anyway, can we drop the discussion about her? It’s unlucky." “...” Akane who had overheard the conversation between the cousin duo slinked away into the shadow, as she mulled over the difference in the characteristics of the Maria Kurenai in this timeline and the Maria Kurenai that she had gotten to know from the future timeline where she came from with a contemplative look on her face. --- “Wow...Zero, what happened to you?” Yuuki Cross started when she landed her eyes upon the haggard appearance of her silver-haired friend. “Nothing happened. I just didn’t sleep well.” Kiryuu Zero grouched out in response as he pressed a hand to the side of his temples and tried to massage the headache out of him. “Recurring nightmares?” Akane spoke up then, drawing the eyes of her future silver-haired parent onto her person. “Yes. I don’t need you to reveal anything more; just tell me if these recurring nightmares are a sign of her impending arrival.” Kiryuu Zero started as he fixated his penetrating gaze upon the figure of his future adoptive daughter. “...” Kiryuu Akane was silent for a second before allowing an audible sigh to escape her as she nodded her response to the silver-haired guardian. “I see.” Kiryuu Zero responded in a tight-lipped manner before turning around to head for the make-shift kitchen created out from their classroom. He didn’t forget his duty during the week of the school festival even though what he truly wished to do was to get some quality rest, but he also knew that isn’t possible until he was done with his ‘shift’. Their class has been converted into a maid cafe to serve the visiting guests during the week the school festival is in season. Originally, there’s even suggestion to do a butler’s cafe but the suggestion was shot down by the girls of his class citing that his nasty demeanor would only put off the customer’s desires to patron their cafe and so, in the end, their class decided to open up a maid’s cafe instead. So, Yuuki Cross found herself dressed up in the garb of a maid’s uniform, kindly sponsored by the night class because they have plenty of such uniforms lying around in the Moon Dorm due to the maids employed in their services. Kiryuu Zero, on the other hand, took on the role of the barista as he prepares the coffee for the customers visiting their class’s store. “Yuuki, you didn’t flunk the class test last week. Did you?” Wakaba Sayori, who was dressed similarly in the garb of the maid’s uniform, suddenly inquired when she noticed the approach of their class representative stalking towards them with a dark aura leaking out from his person. “Eh? Is there a reason why you brought up the class test last week?” Yuuki started with a somewhat sheepish look on her face as she responded to her dormmate’s query. “The class rep is heading in our direction, and he doesn’t look pleased.” Wakaba Sayori responded before she took a couple of steps away from Yuuki to prevent herself from being caught in the crossfire. “EH?! Oh shit!” Yuuki Cross gulped nervously at the thought of being lectured by their class rep about the results from last week’s test. Honestly, it wasn’t as though Yuuki didn’t make it a point to study for the class test, but the thing is, every single time when it’s time for a test, her mind would choose to go blank on her. Sometimes, she truly hopes she could have the brains of her silver-haired friend who never had a problem passing the test despite skipping out on so many classes on multiple occasions. “Cross! You flunked the math paper again?! Do you know you’ve single-handedly pulled down the entire class average once more?! Now we are stuck with the task of decorating the event hall for the upcoming school dance for the second year in a row. Do you know what it costs me?! I was so looking forward to being able to invite Souen-senpai to the dance as my partner. Now I can only watch on as the other guys send out invitations to the girls of the night class for the school dance.” The class rep huffed in annoyance as he threw daggering looks in the direction of Yuuki Cross. “...” “Class rep, kindly take a chill pill. What's done cannot be undone. Besides, I’m quite certain that Souen-senpai would never accept any invitation to the school dance from the members of the day class. Her interest lies within the night class, believe me, class rep. I would know because I stay in the Moon Dorm.” Akane couldn’t help but intervene as she tried to diffuse the tension in the air. “Yes, class rep. Kindly stop your lecturing on Yuuki Cross. We need her to help us get in patrons. I hope you haven’t forgotten, but we are in the middle of the school festival week. We've already lost out to the other classes in terms of academic achievements, so the least we can do is to ace the inter-class competitions when it comes down to attaining the highest footfall during the week of the school festival. The winner would get a chance to invite a member of the night class for a dance during the school dance event.” Hiromi, the girl involved in the study group of Yuuki Cross, promptly spoke up as she reminded the class rep of his new chance to interact with his ‘goddess’ - Ruka Souen from the night class. “I supposed you do have a point.” The class rep pushes up his spectacles as he eases up on the pressure he has been applying to Yuuki Cross and promptly turns to leave the classroom, citing that he’s going to do a walkabout around the school to check in on the performances of other classes. “Phew! Thank you, Hiromi-chan!” Yuuki Cross promptly hugged her other friend to express her appreciation before turning towards her dormmate with a pouting look as she commented. “Yori-chan, how could you leave me alone to fend for myself?” “Sorry, Yuuki. You know how little patience I had for people who fawned over the members of the night class. I feared I might deck the class rep if he kept on talking about how you’re ruining the chance for him to get close to his goddess from the night class.” Wakaba Sayori responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “...” “Speaking of the members of the night class, Hiromi-chan... I notice you don’t fawn over the members of the night class as well. Is there a reason why?” Yuuki Cross started as she zeroes in her curious gaze upon the figure of her other friend. She had already been clued in on the reason why her dormmate wasn’t a fan of the night class; now, all she needed to figure out was the reason behind her other friend’s impassive stance towards the members of the night class. “You’re asking me why I don’t fawn over the members of the night class? The reason is simple, I know what they are.” Hiromi shrugged nonchalantly in response. “Eh?!” Yuuki Cross gaped open-mouthed at Hiromi before blurting out in shock as she pressed on for further elaboration from the girl. “How?!” “Yori didn’t inform you? I’m her cousin.” Hiromi blinked innocently at Yuuki Cross as she responded. “Huh? Cousin? But your family name...is Serizawa, isn’t it?” Yuuki Cross frowned in confusion as she commented. “Yes, our mothers are sisters. Does that not make us cousins?” Serizawa Hiromi raised an eyebrow as she questioned Yuuki Cross in return. “Oh...” Just then, a few girls who were gazing out from the windows of their classroom had their attention drawn towards a scene taking place in the school courtyard. Over at the school courtyard, an exasperated Ichijo Takuma was busy chasing after the figure of Maria Kurenai, who had taken to wandering about the school grounds in broad daylight, which isn’t exactly allowed. Given that the school rules had specifically stipulated that the interactions between the members of the night class and day class have to take place under the supervision of the school guardians. So, what Maria Kurenai was doing was pretty much against the rules. "Hey, Kiryuu! Your boyfriend is chasing after another girl!" One of the girls from class 2-B, who was glancing out of the window and happened to notice the scene of Ichijo Takuma chasing after an unknown girl dressed up in the night class uniform, promptly calls out towards the direction of the two Kiryuus of their class. "What the hell are you talking about?" Kiryuu Zero frowned as he grouched out in response to the day class girl with a scowling expression. The girl appears baffled for a second before palming her hand to her forehead as she elaborated on her earlier statement. “Not you. I was referring to Kiryuu Akane.” “Huh? What?” Akane blinked in confusion as she met eyes with the silver-haired guardian before the two of them turned their eyes upon the figure of Yuuki Cross as they demanded to know what the girl was referring to by claiming Akane’s boyfriend was chasing after another girl. After all, they both knew that Akane had no intention of getting a boyfriend during the time she was here in this timeline. “I think they’re referring to Ichijo-senpai. He's quite close to Akane, no? Because he’s always around to help Akane, they likely assumed Akane to be involved in a relationship with Ichijo-senpai.” Yuuki Cross then proceeds to explain the common misconception among the student body of the day class. “...” “I see. While on the subject, who’s the girl Ichijo chased after in the courtyard just now? I don’t think I’ve seen her around.” Kiryuu Zero began as a frowning expression took up his features. “Oh, that’s likely Maria Kurenai. The new transfer student for the night class just arrived and joined the night class last night. That's likely why you’d find her unfamiliar.” Yuuki Cross perked up at the mention of the new student as she responded to the query coming from her silver-haired friend. “I see.” Kiryuu Zero nodded in response to Yuuki’s answer, still frowning. For a moment, he’d thought he sensed the presence of Shizuka Hiou. However, it was just for a fleeting second, so the silver-haired guardian was left wondering if he’d truly sensed the presence of the woman who turned him into a vampire or if it was a mere figment of his imagination. "... " Akane rolled her eyes at the fangirls who seemed to have officially classified her cousin as her potential boyfriend on campus. Then again, she supposed it could not be helped. After all, she had no desire to clarify her actual relationship with the green-eyed blond vampire in public. The whole situation is complicated enough, with her going by the identity of Zero's cousin here, and if she were to claim Takuma as her cousin at the same time. Then people are bound to come down with the misunderstanding that the Kiryuu are related to the Ichijo, which is just a big no-no. The last thing she needed was for Ichijo Asato to catch wind of the rumor and pop back in for another visit. “Kya! Idol-senpai!” “Really?! Wow, it’s Idol-senpai in the flesh! What's he doing here? Is he going to visit our class’s booth?!” “Darn! He entered the maid’s cafe set up by the B class!” That was all the warning Yuuki Cross had gotten before she felt herself being hugged from behind and had to refrain from screeching from being held hostage by the blue-eyed blond vampire. “Argh! Aidou-senpai, please unhand me this instant!” Yuuki Cross started in a tone of annoyance and was just about to chew the blue-eyed blond vampire’s head off for venturing out in broad daylight and bringing chaos to the day class students when she found her words being cut off by her silver-haired friend. Kiryuu Zero, still feeling disturbed over the new transfer student from the night class, promptly removed the apron from his person and dumped it casually over his shoulder to an unsuspecting male student tending to the barista counter alongside him with the message that he was stepping out for a moment. And then, the silver-haired guardian turned towards the blue-eyed blond aristocrat vampire and spoke. "Aidou, I would like to have a word with you in private." Aidou Hanabusa glanced over to the silver-haired guardian with a nod as he commented in response, "Sure. It just so happens that I have something that I wish to clarify with you as well." “In that case, I would recommend the two of you to take your conversation to the deserted building at the back of the school building. That's likely the only place a private conversation could be held on academy grounds for the entirety of this week due to the ongoing school festival.” Akane commented as she shared her input on the matter by pointing the duo towards somewhere where privacy would be ensured. Standing in the entranceway of the deserted building situated at the back of the school’s academic building, Kiryuu Zero wasted no time in plunging straight into the crux of the matter that caught his attention. “The new transfer student for the night class. What can you tell me about her?” Kiryuu Zero started as he threw his query to the blue-eyed blond vampire of the night class. “Maria Kurenai. That's the name of the new transfer student for the night class. She's from the Kurenai family, who’s related distantly to the Hiou family. While on the subject, there’s something about Maria Kurenai that doesn’t sit well with me. So, I would like to get your opinion on the matter. Akatsuki keeps telling me that I’m overthinking and blowing things out of proportion because she was being rude to Kaname-sama. However, I don’t think that’s it.” Aidou Hanabusa responded before fixating his blue eyes upon the figure of Kiryuu Zero as he stares. “Even if you keep staring at me, I won’t be able to provide you with the answers that you seek. Not when I haven’t got a chance to come into contact with her. There's not much I would be able to tell from that fleeting glance through the window of the classroom earlier.” Kiryuu Zero deadpans as he responds to the request coming from the blue-eyed blond aristocrat. --- Later that evening, Kiryuu Zero was passing by the Chairman's study when he was called into the room by his legal guardian. Kaien Cross had been coaching his adopted daughter, Yuuki in her studies for some time now, but he actually had some pressing matters' waiting for his attention back in his office at the school. Therefore, upon catching sight of his adopted son, Kaien Cross had called for the latter's attention. "Zero, do you mind teaching Yuuki for a while? I had something urgent which I need to attend back at the school office ..." Kaien Cross started, but upon noticing the dark look on the face of his adopted son. The ex-hunter added as an afterthought. "Well ... if you don't want to, it’s okay. I can always get Akane to tutor Yuuki... " “I truly doubt Akane would have better patience when it comes down to tutoring Yuuki. It's fine, I'll handle it from here.” Kiryuu Zero sighed in response as he resigned himself to the idea of having to spend the better half of his evening hours tutoring Yuuki in her studies. Heading towards where Yuuki was seated, the silver-haired guardian placed his uniform blazer aside as he reached for the assignment that Yuuki had been working on under the guidance of the chairman earlier. Repeating the mantra of ‘be patient’ several times in his mind, Kiryuu Zero began to go over the questions one by one with the adopted daughter of his legal guardian. Throughout the entire tutoring session with Yuuki Cross, Kiryuu Zero had one of his hands placed by the side of his neck. It seemed like the spot where Shizuka Hiou had bitten him four years ago had been pulsing ever since this morning when he had been awakened by that recurring nightmare of his. "Zero, are you okay?" Yuuki Cross started hesitantly, not knowing if her silver-haired friend would take offence at her words. "I'm fine. Come on, let's get these assignments of yours completed." Kiryuu Zero responded, changing the subject swiftly as he gestured to the number of questions that Yuuki had answered wrongly on the worksheets assigned by their math teacher. Yuuki Cross couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. It didn’t escape her notice that her silver-haired friend was once more changing the subject to avoid her inquisition into his condition. It seemed like ever since her silver-haired friend’s vampire nature had awakened, the distance between them had suddenly grown a mile apart. And this development was something that Yuuki didn’t appreciate. Still, Yuuki knew if she attempted to do anything on her own and without consulting Zero in advance, her friend would 'flip'. That much, she knew. With that train of thought in mind, Yuuki Cross shifted her attention back to the questions on her math assignment and end up frowning while her silver-haired friend tried to explain the differences between the four different algebraic equations, and when they should be used in the questions of the math assignments to the best of his ability. "That would be all, and please try to remember them and keep them in mind until you’ve passed the re-test tomorrow morning. You need to clear the re-test, because otherwise you’re going to be repeating the grade and there’s no way I’ll stay behind for another year to keep you company. I’ve already repeated my first year of junior high education because you didn’t want to attend class alone when the Cross Academy was first established. There's no way I’m going to repeat my second year of high school just because you fail to get a passing grade for the promotion to the next grade." Kiryuu Zero emphasized to Yuuki as he made a move to stand and leave the study room of Kaien Cross. Originally, Kiryuu Zero had the intention to return to his room upstairs as he had an impending practical test for his hunting promotional exams to prepare for. As the practical aspects for the promotional exams of the obtaining of his hunting license would require him to leave academy grounds for 3 days at the minimum, he would need to work out a suitable feeding schedule with the pureblood king. That's what the silver-haired guardian intended to plan out when he got back to his room on the second floor of the chairman’s residence. However, before he could even start making his way upstairs, Kiryuu Zero was alerted to the presence of Shizuka Hiou on the academy grounds. This time, he was certain it wasn’t a hallucination on his part, as the vampire in him could sense the call of the master. And so, without a second thought, Kiryuu Zero turned on his heels and exited the chairman’s residence. In his rush to get to the location where he’d sensed the presence of Shizuka Hiou, the silver-haired guardian had forgotten about Yuuki’s undying curiosity about his ‘condition’ and thus ending up getting a tail while he makes his way over to where he’d sensed the presence of his supposed ‘master’. Yuuki Cross knew she shouldn’t allow her curiosity to get the better of her. Experience had taught her that. However, she just couldn’t ignore the look on her silver-haired friend. It was a look that she had trouble describing, it seemed to be a cross between anguish and something else. And so, against her better judgement, Yuuki decided to tail her silver-haired friend from behind as the former left the chairman’s place in a hurry. Kiryuu Zero’s senses took him towards an isolated area of the school, the area that’s reserved for use of major school events. An area that’s deserted and empty for most of the year. Behind him, a curious Yuuki Cross was seen tailing him to the location. If he had been less narrow-sighted, he probably would’ve noticed Yuuki following him from behind. Unfortunately, his entire mind was so clouded with the knowledge of Shizuka Hiou being present on academy grounds that he’d lost track of his surroundings. Not only did Kiryuu Zero fail to realize that Yuuki Cross was following him, but he had also missed out on the presence of the pureblood king who had ventured out to check in on him after detecting the sense of boiling anger from the one-sided bond that existed between them. Yuuki Cross arrived on site just in time to hear some disturbing words coming from Maria Kurenai, the new transfer student of the night class, that was being directed towards her silver-haired friend. Growing concerned about the possibility of a fight breaking out between Maria Kurenai and her silver-haired friend, Yuuki Cross was just about to take a step forward, in hopes of bringing a stop to the confrontation between Zero and Maria Kurenai when she felt someone pulling her back. Yuuki’s first thought was to struggle against the person holding her back, only she didn’t quite get the chance to put up a struggle as she was soon rendered unconscious. ‘Yuuki... honestly, your curiosity is bound to get you into trouble one of these days.’ Kaname Kuran thought as he used his powers to put his beloved sister to sleep. Despite his worry about the plight of his future mate, Yuuki was just as important to him. Therefore, Kaname could not and would not simply allow Yuuki to put herself in danger, out of her concern for the ‘condition’ of the silver-haired guardian. The pureblood king knew Zero would be able to handle himself just fine, and if he were to intervene between what goes on between Maria or rather Shizuka, and Zero. Things would get very complicated, and that was the very thing he had hoped to be able to avoid - at least, for now. Meanwhile, Kiryuu Zero was distracted from his fight with Shizuka Hiou, who was possessing the body of Maria Kurenai, when he thought he heard the sound of Yuuki calling out for him. That moment of distraction costs him greatly, for it was enough to get him injured from an attack of a sword that came from the person guarding Maria Kurenai. For a while, he’d thought the person that attacked him with the sword seemed familiar, but he wasn’t certain as the person had retreated before he could get a good look at his attacker. With the injury came the loss of blood, which in turn caused his bloodlust to strike and reminded him of the sheer fact that he had not approached the pureblood king for his feeding yet. Thankfully, the previous injury that he had managed to inflict upon the body of Maria Kurenai with his anti-vampire weapon was doing a good job at distracting Shizuka Hiou from their fight as well. Thus, the fight between them was forced to a stop, and Shizuka Hiou retreated for the time being. From the shadow of the darkness, two figures watched the scene unfolding in front of their eyes in silence. Neither saying a word to the other, both figures were females and dressed in the unmistakable black day-class uniforms of the academy. One turned on her heels and exited from the area without a word, whereas the other stepped forth into the light and attended to the fallen figure of Kiryuu Zero as soon as Maria Kurenai left the site with her silent bodyguard in tow. “Zero, are you okay? On the scale of 1 to 5, how bad is your bloodlust now?” Akane asked as she ventured forward to hold up the silver-haired guardian before the guy could collapse on his feet. “Akane, what are you doing here? In response to your question about my bloodlust, I'll say it’s about 3 now.” Kiryuu Zero asks with a grimace, as he continues to hold back his bloodlust that’s starting to cloud his senses. His irises glow red momentarily before returning to their usual shade of lilac. “Wakaba Sayori was here earlier to supervise and monitor the situation under orders of her parents, I reckoned. As for me, I’m simply here to satisfy my curiosity. I’ve read about Shizuka Hiou’s appearance in Cross Academy via the records kept by the Fujiwara clan, but I didn’t know how she made it into the school. So, when I noticed the ‘off’ behavior of Maria Kurenai, I just couldn’t help but keep tabs on her. Oh, by the way, Aunt Yuuki followed you here just now.” Akane answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice as she filled the silver-haired guardian in on the happenings that took place on the sidelines while the former was caught in a confrontation with the new transfer student of the night class, Maria Kurenai. “Yuuki was here? She followed me out of curiosity again, did she? Where's she now?” Kiryuu Zero groaned at Yuuki’s nosiness and undying curiosity about his condition. “Yeah, she arrived just in time to hear the antagonizing words thrown in your direction by Maria Kurenai and nearly intervened in the confrontation between the two of you. Thankfully, Kaname-sama stepped in just in time to halt her in the act and put her to sleep with his powers. Anyway, Kaname-sama left with Yuuki soon after he put her to sleep, likely to drop her off at her dorm room. I reckon he’s on the way over to feed you while we converse, given your last feeding was on Saturday. You're due for a feeding today, aren’t you?” Akane commented nonchalantly as she told the silver-haired guardian while acting as a crutch for the injured Kiryuu Zero. “Thank you, Akane. I'll take it from here. Can you head back to the Moon Dorm to keep an eye on the twins? They're likely restless after scenting the blood of Zero in the air.” The voice of Kaname Kuran sounded just as the sandy-brown-haired vampire girl let go of the silver-haired guardian. “Of course, Kaname-sama.” Akane nodded and promptly took off at her highest speed for the direction of the Moon Dorm. With Shizuka Hiou possessing the body of Maria Kurenai at present, it would do no good for the twins to wander around on their own. While on the subject, she probably has to come up with a plausible excuse to explain to the twins why their beloved daddy is fighting with their Aunt Maria. Let's just hope she would have an excuse on hand by the time she made it back to the Moon Dorm to halt the twins from sneaking out to go in search of their beloved parent. Kiryuu Zero, upon losing the support of Akane, nearly stumbled and fell over. Only, he didn’t topple over from the severe injury he’d sustained from his earlier altercation with his grandaunt possessing the body of their distant relative and instead found himself falling into the familiar embrace that belongs to the pureblood king. “Kaname...I thought you went to drop Yuuki off at her dorm room. How are you back so fast?” Kiryuu Zero started as he continues to hold on to the leash of his inner beast, as he struggled to hold his bloodlust at bay. “I left her in the care of Seiren and had instructed Seiren to send her back to her dorm room in my stead. I was concerned that you might injure yourself in the altercation with Maria Kurenai, and I could see that my worries weren’t unfounded. Come now, we can continue the conversation later. For now, you need to feed.” Kaname Kuran said as he unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, giving his future mate easier access to his neck for the feeding to take place. This time, there wasn’t even a need for Kiryuu Zero to hesitate, nor did he require an invitation. Allowing his bloodlust to take over his mind, the silver-haired guardian wasted no time in sinking his lengthened fangs into the exposed neck of the pureblood king. The bite was a tad hastier and less gentle compared to the last feeding session, but given the circumstances, Kaname couldn’t blame the silver-haired guardian. It took significantly longer for Kiryuu Zero to have his bloodlust sated this time. Then again, he was in the pink of health when he last fed. Today, he’s feeding after suffering an attack from his supposed master in the body of Maria Kurenai, an aristocrat related to the Hiou family. He’s taking more blood from the pureblood king, as the blood is not just to satisfy the craving of his inner beast but also to speed up the recovery of the wounds he’d sustained from his earlier altercation with Maria Kurenai. “Sorry.” Kiryuu Zero started after his bloodlust receded, and he was done with the feeding. Slowly, the silver-haired guardian began to lap up the residual blood around the bite wound on the neck of the pureblood king with his tongue while the punctured wound from where he’d removed his fangs started to heal gradually. “Whatever are you apologizing to me for?” Kaname Kuran raised an eyebrow in a questioning manner as he inquired of his beloved. “For not realizing that Yuuki was following me from behind earlier and for ruining yet another of your shirts.” Kiryuu Zero said as he flicked his gaze to the glaring spots of blood stains throughout the button-down shirt donned by the pureblood king. The blood from the sword wound he’d received from the slash of the sword wielded by the bodyguard of Maria Kurenai was the culprit behind the blood stains coating the shirt of Kaname Kuran at present. “It’s fine. The shirt can simply be replaced, but as for Yuuki... I think we both know it’s impossible to stop her from being curious. Right now, I’m more concerned about how much conversation she’d overheard from your confrontation with Maria Kurenai.” Kaname Kuran responded with a frowning look on his face. “She might approach Maria Kurenai when she’s awake to demand an explanation about what happened before, wouldn’t she?” Kiryuu Zero frowned as he thought back about the inquisitive nature of Yuuki Cross and had to withhold a groan. “She might.” Kaname Kuran nodded in affirmation. “Removing her memories of the event might not work, and she might throw a fit if she discovered we’d had her memories manipulated and modified.” Kiryuu Zero responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Indeed, is there anything we could do to stop her from poking her nose into the matter?” The pureblood king inquires his future mate in return. “I’ll speak to her about the dangers of approaching Maria Kurenai alone, and I’ll sic her friends on her so she would have lesser time to dwell on the events of my confrontation with that new transfer student of the night class.” Kiryuu Zero said on an eventuality. Kaname Kuran nodded in acceptance of the silver-haired guardian’s suggestion, It isn’t as though there’s a better alternative available when it comes down to dealing with Yuuki’s curiosity. With the subject of Yuuki discussed and closed for the time being, the pureblood king shifted his attention back to Kiryuu Zero as he started. “Now, would you please join me on a trip to the Moon Dorm?” “Huh? Whatever for? I’m done with the feeding.” The silver-haired guardian was baffled by the suggestion brought forth from the pureblood king. “One, to reassure the twins that you’re fine before they have it in mind to sneak out when my attention was elsewhere to visit you. I’m sure you wouldn’t want them to roam about the academy grounds unsupervised with that grandaunt of yours lurking around. Two, you are going to need more than what you’ve just taken from me to recover from that sword wound you sustained in the earlier altercation. What you took from me earlier was enough to get your wounds healed but not sufficient to get your condition back to optimal. You have an upcoming promotional exam to sit for the attaining of your hunting license, if I remember correctly. Are you sure you can perform well in the exam after sustaining that injury from before?” The pureblood king couldn’t help but remind the silver-haired guardian about the existence of the twins currently residing within the walls of the Moon Dorm. “Fine.” Kiryuu Zero gritted out in a tone of mild annoyance. Having no words to rebuke the pureblood king, Kiryuu Zero could only allow Kaname Kuran to help him back up to his feet and give him a piggyback ride to the Moon Dorm. He'd tried to convince the pureblood king that he could walk the way to the Moon Dorm, but the former flat-out refused to have him walk. Instead, he was given the choice of either getting a piggyback ride on the back of the pureblood king or having the pureblood king carry him in a bridal style manner as they trekked their way to the Moon Dorm from the school’s event hall. Between the option of being carried around by the pureblood in the bridal style manner like a damsel in distress, Kiryuu Zero eventually opted for the piggyback ride on the back of the pureblood king. Though, both options are downright embarrassing in his opinion. Still, if he had to pick one out of the two, being given a piggyback ride to the Moon Dorm seem to be the lesser of the two evils. --- Meanwhile, Wakaba Sayori returns to her dorm room to find an unfamiliar female vampire with an unconscious dormmate standing in the middle aisle that separates the two beds with a troubling look. “Yuuki’s bed is the one located by the side of the window.” Wakaba Sayori offered as she closed the door after her entry. She figured the vampire was likely hesitating between the two empty beds after sneaking in via the window. Usually, the former could have just tucked Yuuki in bed and left without a backward glance. Today, her absence in the room likely caused a bit of confusion for the silent vampire tasked to deliver Yuuki back to the dorm room under the orders of the pureblood king. Seiren nodded and proceeded to tuck Yuuki Cross under the bed covers without another word. Once done, the ninja-like female vampire promptly leapt out of the opened window and vanished into the darkness of the night. ‘Should I prepare myself for getting some late-night visitors over the next few days? No doubt, the vampire that departed is going to report about my absence from the room tonight after curfew hours to the pureblood king later.’ Wakaba Sayori thought inwardly to herself. Whatever Zero had told the pureblood king about her background to allow her to keep the memories of the event that took place in town involving Yuuki, the Level E and Shiki Senri the other day...likely wouldn’t explain why she happens to be absent on the same night that an altercation took place between the silver-haired guardian and the new transfer student of the night class. That is unless Kiryuu Zero had the foresight to inform the pureblood king about her being tasked by the Fujiwara clan to keep tabs on the silver-haired guardian at all times. What Wakaba Sayori didn’t know at this point was that, while it wasn’t intentional, Kiryuu Zero had once let it slip to the pureblood king about her responsibility to keep tabs on him under the instructions of her family in an off-handed manner. Henceforth, it’s very likely that she wouldn’t be getting any late-night visitors, even after the female vampire who had dropped off Yuuki earlier proceeded to report her absence from the dorm after curfew to the pureblood king. Kiryuu Zero hissed as he tried to convince the pureblood king to let him walk on his own feet instead of piggybacking him as they approached the building of the Moon Dorm. “Damn it, Kaname. Can you please put me down? I assure you that I’m fully capable of walking on my own.” “No. I remained firm in my judgment that you are not fit to walk on your own. So, I would rather we continue our way into the building in the same manner.” Kaname Kuran shot back to his disgruntled future mate in return as he trekked the way back to the Moon Dorm with the silver-haired guardian piggybacking on his back. The twins were just about to sneak out of the building after getting past the defense of their elder sister when the door leading to the entrance of the Moon Dorm swung open to admit the entry of the pureblood king with the disgruntled silver-haired guardian in tow. Kiryuu Zero appeared downright embarrassed at being brought over to the Moon Dormitory in the manner of a piggyback ride by the pureblood king. So, as soon as they’d entered through the front door of the building, the silver-haired guardian had insisted on getting down from the back of the pureblood king. “We’re here! Can you put me down now?” Kiryuu Zero grouched out at the figure of Kaname Kuran impatiently. “Of course.” The pureblood king responded smoothly as he made his way over to the sofa couch of the front lounge before he finally set the silver-haired guardian he was piggybacking down into a sitting position on the couch. As soon as Kiryuu Zero was off the back of the pureblood king and settled onto the sofa couch, the two boys of six went speeding towards his direction and promptly attached themselves to the front of the silver-haired guardian with mirroring looks of concern on their faces. “Daddy! Are you okay?” Kiryuu Subaru began as his eyes searched the physical appearance of the silver-haired guardian in detail. “Yes, Daddy! We smelt your blood, a lot of it.” Kuran Akira added with a frowning expression as he joined his elder twin in assessing the physical condition of his beloved parent. “Daddy, you didn’t get yourself slashed by a sword, did you?” Kiryuu Subaru started after taking a moment to assess the condition of the ruined shirt on the silver-haired guardian, and the blood-stained shirt front of the pureblood king. “Eh?!! How’d you know, Subaru?” Kuran Akira turns towards his elder twin as he demanded, the wound on the silver-haired guardian has healed by this point and other than the telltale sign of blood stains. “Well, I would think only an attack from a sword would result in a gash-like damage to the front of daddy’s uniform shirt. That, and I don’t think father would insist on piggybacking daddy back if it’s just a small injury.” Kiryuu Subaru pointed out in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “...” Kiryuu Zero was truly rendered speechless by Subaru’s astute observation of his previously sustained injury. During this time, Seiren had approached Kaname Kuran to give a report on her observations made about the dormmate of Yuuki Cross after she was tasked to send the girl back to the girls’ dormitory of the Sun Dorm. “Boys, I apologize for worrying the two of you. However, I’m fine now. See, the wound has patched itself up after I took blood from your father.” Kiryuu Zero spent a moment looking at the two boys who were tempted to fuss over him and sighed in response. “Father’s right. You shouldn’t be trying to walk on your own yet. Even with the blood taken from Father, all it does is help patch you up so the wound isn’t bleeding still. The regenerative work on your body is still in progress, and you are going to require more feeding from Father through the night to recover the blood you’ve lost in that earlier altercation with Aunt Maria.” Kiryuu Subaru commented in a matter-of-fact tone of voice after he was done with his inspection of the physical condition of his beloved daddy. “Yeah, daddy. Why are you fighting with Aunt Maria, to begin with?” Kuran Akira blinked as he voiced the nagging doubt to the younger version of his silver-haired parent. “...” Kiryuu Zero was rendered silent once more by the innocent query thrown his direction by his future sons. Inwardly, he was wondering how he should go about explaining to the boys that their Aunt Maria wasn’t exactly the Aunt Maria that they knew from their timeline, at present. Instead, it’s their great-grandaunt that’s using the body of Maria Kurenai at this point. “Akira, maybe it’ll be best for you to leave your questions for later. Your daddy needs a bath and a change of clothes first.” Kaname Kuran intervened then, saving the silver-haired guardian from having to answer a question that the former had no idea how to go about addressing at this point. “Huh? Wait a second, I didn’t say I was going to stay...” Kiryuu Zero blinked when his mind caught on to the underlying message in the words of the pureblood king. “Well, you’ve heard Subaru. To return you to the pink of health, you’re going to require multiple feedings through the night. The best way to do that is for you to stay the night at the Moon Dorm. In any case, I’ve already sent Akane off with a message to the chairman informing him of your whereabouts for tonight and to collect a change of clothes for you from your wardrobe.” Kaname Kuran started in a tone that offers no room for argument; even the heated glares thrown in his direction by his visibly annoyed future mate fails to make him budged on the decision made. “...” --- “Here, I’ve brought you a new set of school uniform and a set of your sleepwear from your wardrobe,” Akane said as she handed over the paper bag she’d brought over from the chairman’s place to Kiryuu Zero. “Thanks, Akane.” The silver-haired guardian said as he took the offered bag from his future adoptive daughter with an air of resignation. “Maa... I know you’re a tad miffed about Kaname-sama deciding without consulting you beforehand. However, you must also understand that his decision to keep you in the Moon Dorm overnight was in your best interest. Being slashed with a sword was no joking matter. You might claim that you’re doing fine after taking blood from Kaname-sama, but have you taken a look at yourself in the mirror? The truth is you’re not quite in the clear yet. Your face is too pale, and that indicates that whatever you took from Kaname-sama earlier was barely enough to kickstart the regenerative process of your body. It's simply a patchwork done to stop your wound from bleeding, and that’s pretty much about it. And as your body works to repair itself from the damage done to you by that earlier wound, your bloodlust is going to come back faster and in shorter bursts. Henceforth, keeping you in the Moon Dorm where you have direct access to his blood was the easiest way to go about sating your bouts of bloodlust over the next twenty-four hours.” Akane told the miffed Kiryuu Zero in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “I know. That's exactly the reason why I hadn’t done anything more than sending harmless glares in his direction.” Kiryuu Zero rolls his eyes at the words of Akane as he deadpans in response. “Right, anyway, my job is done, so I’m getting out of here. I'll leave it between the two of you to decide what to do next. In the meantime, I’ll go downstairs to make sure that the boys are kept entertained and hopefully to deflect Akira’s query into the subject of your fight against Maria Kurenai.” Akane shrugged in response before taking her leave from the private suite room that belonged to the pureblood king. “Akane...the boys, I can’t help but notice that they’d refer to Maria Kurenai as Aunt Maria. Why is that so?” Kiryuu Zero couldn’t help but inquire with a frowning expression on his face. “Hmm...looking from your standpoint, I can see why you would find it disturbing to have the boys addressing Maria Kurenai as Aunt Maria. Let's just say that there are some business dealings between our families and leave it at that for the time being. You would know why when the time comes. Also, let me emphasize that the real Maria has a more likeable personality. The current Maria was more Shizuka Hiou than Maria Kurenai, to be honest. So, I think it would be best to keep the boys away from Maria Kurenai as long as Shizuka Hiou is still possessing Maria’s body.” Akane eventually responded before turning on her heels to exit the private suite room that belonged to the pureblood king. With Akane gone from the room, Kaname Kuran finally emerged from the deeper end of his walk-in wardrobe with a brand-new bathing towel for his future mate. Handing the fluffy towel over to the silver-haired guardian, the pureblood king started. “Here you go. I’ll let you decide if you want to use the shower or the tub. I would prefer for you to get a good soak in the tub as I’ve learned that a good soak in the bath does wonders for aching muscles. Still, I'm going to leave the decision entirely up to you. We'll talk after you’re done cleaning up and get yourself changed out from that garb that’s likely damaged beyond salvation.” “...” Kiryuu Zero grimaced as he glanced down at his attire and had to agree with the pureblood king’s opinion that the set of uniform he was wearing was completely damaged beyond salvation. Oh well, at least Akane has the foresight to bring him a new set of uniforms from his wardrobe. Now, he could only hope that Akane did inform the chairman about the reason why he was staying the night at the Moon Dorm because the last thing he wanted was for his legal guardian to leap to the wrong conclusions about his failure to return home tonight. With the change of clothes and the new bathing towel in hand, Kiryuu Zero entered the ensuite bathroom of the king’s suite and had to silently agree with Ichijo Takuma’s comment about Kaname Kuran having the most exquisite bathroom in the entire Moon Dormitory. Flicking his gaze between the bath and the shower, the silver-haired guardian eventually decided to stick with his preferred choice – the shower. Upon peeling off the damaged clothing from his person and stepping into the shower, Kiryuu Zero spared a moment to inspect the pink skin tissues that formed over the earlier sword wound on his front, his body regenerative system had done a decent job in ‘stitching’ him up after he took the blood from the pureblood king. At the same time, he also knew the regenerative work was far from being completed. It would likely take a couple of hours more for the pink scar to fade off from his skin and return his skin to its original pristine condition. ‘It seems like Subaru was right. I do need at least another round of feeding to heal up completely. Oh well, might as well get it over and done with after the shower...’ Kiryuu Zero thought inwardly to himself as he turns on the knob for the rain shower to spray down at him, kicking start his efficient showering session. When it came the time of shampooing and lathering his body, he blanched at the few bottles of liquids that lined the shower caddy after realizing that he could not recognize a single word on the label. Though, they look very extravagant to him. Uncertain of their purposes, the silver-haired guardian left them alone and reached for the shampoo and body wash that he’d recognized from the second row of the shower caddy installed in the shower cubicle of the bathroom. The first thing Kaname Kuran had noticed when his future mate stepped out from the ensuite bathroom of his private suite was the familiar smell of citrus fruits that he often smelt on the twins after their bath. Raising an eyebrow in a questioning manner, the pureblood king started. “Zero, I didn’t peg you for the type to use children's shampoo... I would think you’d prefer something more mature for your shampooing needs.” “Yes, well... I’m not a fan of using children's shampoo. I wouldn’t have to resort to using Subaru and Akira’s shampoo if I could f ****** read and understand the labels of your toiletry products.” Kiryuu Zero deadpans as he throws a look of irritation toward the pureblood king’s direction. Kaname Kuran paused as he thought back on his collection of hygiene products and slowly nodded before commenting. “I apologize for an oversight on my part, I should have guided you through the available hygiene products in the bathroom before allowing you to use the facility. I’d forgotten that the hygiene products I’m using aren’t locally produced, and thus the labels are written in a different language.” “Whatever, the kid's shampoo and body wash works fine for me. Shall we get the feeding out of the way then?” Kiryuu Zero rolled his eyes as he commented. “Sure. We can do that if that’s what you desire. After that, I’ll leave you to sleep off the fatigue in peace while I busied myself in the adjoining study room. I'll also try to have the rest of the members in my inner circle keep the twins occupied so they won’t come upstairs to disturb your well-deserved rest.” Kaname Kuran nodded before adding on as an afterthought. The last thing Kaname wished was for Kiryuu Zero to think he had some nefarious motives for wanting to keep the silver-haired guardian overnight in his room. As much as he desired to watch over the silver-haired guardian while the former slept, he highly doubted his future mate would be able to sleep well with him keeping watch in the same space, at present. The hunter’s sense of his future mate would be blaring so much that instead of getting a good night's worth of rest, his keeping watch while his future mate attempted to sleep might only result in the silver-haired guardian losing sleep for the entire night. Kaname could tell. So, for now, the pureblood king would settle for keeping watch on his beloved from the adjoining room where he is using as his private study. That way, it allows him to be close enough to his future mate and yet still have a considerable distance between them that it wouldn’t make the hunter in his future mate too restless to sleep off the accumulated fatigue. “Don’t you have questions for me?” Kaname Kuran prompted as Kiryuu Zero started to approach him, presumably to get started on the second round of the feeding session. “Just one. Was Shizuka Hiou’s appearance on academy grounds a planned move of yours?” Kiryuu Zero began as he ventured closer to the pureblood king to get the second session of the feeding out of the way. Of course, because he’s of the lucid mind now, it would take a bit of time for his fangs to be lengthened. “It depends.” The pureblood king responded after taking a second to mull over the question put forth by the silver-haired guardian. “What kind of answer is that?” Kiryuu Zero frowned as he retorted. “In essence, I’m only responsible for sending the Kurenai family an open invitation for a member of their family to join Cross Academy as a student of the night class, in support of the co-existence campaign put into motion between the Kuran family and Chairman Cross. This was the bait I put out to lure Shizuka Hiou in, but I had no idea whether or not she would take the bait. She was, after all, in hiding for the last four years, and her last known sighting was in the area where the Kurenai family resided. So, I send out that invitation to the Kurenai in hopes of luring her in. Mind you, I wasn’t aware of your family secret then, and all I could think of is that you aren’t allowed to fall to the end before you’d fulfilled your role as the dutiful knight to Yuuki. And as you know, ingesting the blood of the pureblood that turned a human into an ex-human was the only way to prevent the fall. Given that you’re in Cross Academy, and Shizuka Hiou’s whereabouts was unknown, trying to give her a ticket into the school was the only way I could think of to ensure your chance of survival.” Kaname Kuran explained with a sigh of resignation as he pulled the silver-haired guardian closer, so much so that Kiryuu Zero was now entrapped in his embrace. “I presumed the invitation was sent out upon the establishing of the night class?” Kiryuu Zero mused aloud as he kept his gaze on the smooth skin of the pureblood king’s exposed neck. “Yes.” The pureblood king answered without hesitation. This is something undisputable, hence, there’s no point in trying to sugarcoat it. ‘Two years... it took two freaking years before Shizuka Hiou decides to take the bait. I wonder why...?’ Kiryuu Zero mused inwardly to himself before he decided to let the issue slide. Regardless of whether or not it was a planned move on Kaname’s part to get Shizuka Hiou onto the academy grounds, it at least offers him an opportunity to justify his stabilized condition when he completed his turning process. The question now is whether or not he wanted to ingest Shizuka Hiou’s blood for the completing of his turning or he should take up the offer of his other grandaunt, Shizuru who’s now a member of the Fujiwara clan after her marriage to the son of Fujiwara Yumi. Well, there’s no rush. He has technically until the entire fiasco involving Shizuka Hiou coming to an end before making up his mind. For now, feeding comes first. With that thought in mind, Kiryuu Zero plunged his lengthened fangs deep into the exposed neck of Kaname Kuran, making sure to bite down extra hard to give the impression that he was not exactly pleased with the doings of the pureblood king. Kaname Kuran winced inwardly at the hard bite coming from his future mate, but he supposed he deserved it for how he’d try to play everyone as pawns in a chessboard game previously. ~to be continued~ Date started: 30/05/09 Date completed: 01/06/09 Date edited: 01/06/09 Date revised: 07/03/2025
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The school festival week finally came to an end, and with it came the school dance event. On Monday, Kiryuu Zero first woke from a recurring nightmare of his that had initially stopped but suddenly came back. Next, he’d endured an entire day of the pulsing in his neck at the spot where Shizuka Hiou had bitten him four years ago when she came and slaughtered his parents, turned him, and took his younger twin. Finally, on that very night, he has an altercation with the new transfer student of the night class, Maria Kurenai, who turns out to be possessed by the blooming mad princess, Shizuka Hiou. Following the altercation, he was severely injured with the sword wielded by the bodyguard of Maria Kurenai and had to be nursed back to health by the pureblood king, Kaname Kuran, under the insistence of the twins. For that purpose, he was kept overnight in the Moon Dorm and fed several times from the pureblood king throughout the night before he was finally declared a clean bill of health and allowed to leave at noon, on the following day. Following his departure from the Moon Dorm, Kiryuu Zero returns to his barista duty for the cafe set up by his class during the week of the school festival. The next three days, he was away for the practical aspects of the promotional exams for the obtaining of his hunting license with Wakaba Sayori in tow. Of course, to prevent any odd rumors from spreading due to their coinciding leave of absence from school. Wakaba Sayori continues to use the excuse of visiting her grandmother, who’s critically ill at the hospital, to explain her need to take urgent leave of absence from school, whereas Kiryuu Zero simply leaves it up to the chairman to decide on the excuse to be given to the school teacher. The one thing Kiryuu Zero found out through his altercation with Maria Kurenai or rather, Shizuka Hiou was that due to the extra sessions of feeding he had been subjected to, while under the care of the pureblood king, he was able to get through the three days of his practical exams in the area labeled as the hotspot for Level E activities without getting a single bloodlust. Of course, he also had the foresight to prevent himself from getting injured during the duration of the practical exams. Granted, he had his partner during the practical exam to thank for, because he highly doubt, he could have avoid getting injured if his partner, Wakaba Sayori hasn’t been covering his back during the period whereby the practical exam is going on. In any case, upon Kiryuu Zero’s return to the Cross Academy on Saturday morning, he had gone back to his room at the chairman’s residence only to find a brand-new set of formal gents' suit in black being laid out on his bed. He did not even have to ask to know who had come by while he was away, it was quite obvious that the gents’ suit was a gift from the pureblood king. Given that the suit was tailor-made by someone who served the Kuran family exclusively. Kiryuu Zero knows this because he had the honor of seeing the multiple attires from the same labels in the wardrobe of the pureblood king when he was kept overnight in the Moon Dorm, and had inquires on the subject out of curiosity. ‘Just because I’ve flicked my eyes towards one of the gents’ suits in his collection of formal wear and commented offhandedly that I rather appreciate the design, it didn’t mean I desire to own a set of the same suit in my wardrobe though.’ Kiryuu Zero thought wryly to himself as he took a step forward to inspect the suit laid out on his bed in detail. Upon closer inspection, Kiryuu Zero felt his eyebrow rising a notch as he realized that the suit laid out on his bed was a brand-new set and not the same piece of garment he had seen hanging in the wardrobe of the pureblood king. The design and the main color scheme are the same, with the difference lying in the design of the sterling buttons used. Unlike the set that hangs in the wardrobe of Kaname Kuran, which uses the standard sterling buttons, the set that laid on his bed now uses sterling buttons that come in the design of roses. “...” Inwardly thinking that the pureblood king was truly working on broadcasting the nature of their relationship to the others subtly, given that he had forbidden the former to announce the news to the entire court. Thus far, nobody among the night class knew how much progress they’d made in terms of their relationship. All they were made aware of was how he was now feeding off of their pureblood king and that their king had staked a claim on his person and, in the process, was warding off anyone from attempting to antagonize him on academy grounds. Of course, the new transfer student of the night class was an exception as Maria Kurenai was currently possessed by Shizuka Hiou, the blooming mad princess. The silver-haired guardian had his train of thoughts broken and interrupted upon sensing the approach of his legal guardian, Kaien Cross. “Oh, Zero! You're back! How did your exams go?” Kaien Cross started upon noticing the return of his adopted son. “It was fine. If the Hunter’s Association kept their word, I ought to be receiving my hunting license within the week via registered mail. By the way, what’s with the gents’ suit on my bed?” Kiryuu Zero had an inkling about why the gent's suit was laid upon his bed, waiting to be tried out, but he wished to ascertain just the same. “Ah, that’s for the school dance held tonight at the event hall. Kaname-kun had it prepared and sent over for you, figuring that with you away from the academy and preoccupied with the practical exam for your hunting license. Likely, you didn’t have an outfit prepared for the occasion. So, he decides to save you the hassle of getting an outfit that fits the theme of the event by sending you a ready set of attire. Of course, he’d prepared an evening gown for Yuuki to wear for the event as well.” Kaien Cross answered in a jovial tone of voice as he flashed a beaming smile at the figure of his adopted son. “...” At the same point of time, over at the girls' dormitory building. Wakaba Sayori, who had just arrived back on academy grounds was tasked to play courier for the president of the Moon Dormitory to deliver the box holding the evening gown to her dormmate and friend, Yuuki Cross. “I have been told that you were tasked to keep an eye on Zero?” The president of the Moon Dormitory started shortly after Wakaba Sayori had taken the box of garments from his hands to be handed over to his beloved sister, Yuuki. For a moment, Wakaba Sayori was caught off guard. After all, she didn’t recall receiving any late-night visitor on the night before she left the academy grounds for the practical exams held for freelance hunter-in-training to attain their official hunting license. So, where on earth did the pureblood king get that piece of information from? Unless the said information came directly from the silver-haired guardian himself. “Yes. I presumed Zero was the one that let it slip to you about my responsibility to keep tabs on him under instructions of my family.” Wakaba Sayori eventually responded, after taking a minute to connect the dots in her mind. “Indeed. I did get that information from Zero, I presumed that’s also the reason why you were absent from the dorm room when Seiren was tasked to drop off Yuuki on the night of the altercation between Zero and the new transfer student of the night class.” Kaname Kuran nodded before commenting nonchalantly. “Yes. When the altercation took place between them, I was observing from the sideline together with Akane.” Wakaba Sayori nodded in affirmation to the comment coming from the president of the Moon Dormitory. “I see. Given that you’ve been keeping tabs on Zero for the last few years, I presumed you’d also noticed the appearances of some new faces around him recently. Are you aware of who and what they are?” Kaname Kuran continued with an impassive look etched on his face as he eyed the brown-haired human girl with intent. “I do know of the circumstances that led to their appearances on the academy grounds. I had the misfortune of witnessing them falling from the black hole that opened up in the sky and dropped them in the clearing on the day of their arrival. No worries about me reporting their presence to my father, though. My mother had ordered me to maintain my silence on the subject, citing that the clan head decided to keep the matter on a hush-hush manner within the Fujiwara clan. So, I’m not to divulge anything about the visiting trios to my father, who might let the information slip to the head of the hunter’s branch, or heaven forbids, the chairman of the hunter’s association.” Wakaba Sayori sighed as she responded, inwardly hoping that she didn’t understand the point that the president of the Moon Dormitory was driving at, wrongly. Kaname Kuran said nothing but fixated his impassive eyes upon the figure of Wakaba Sayori for several minutes before nodding as he turned on his heels to exit the building of the Sun Dorm. Inwardly, the pureblood king decides that it might be best for him to sic someone on Wakaba Sayori until he ascertained that the girl isn’t going to report anything he didn’t want getting out to the knowledge of her father and the hunter’s association. “...” Knocking on the door to the dormitory room she was sharing with Yuuki Cross, Wakaba Sayori resigned herself to the idea of playing messenger for the pureblood king as she spoke up from the doorway. "Yuuki, are you seriously going to attend the school dance event in the school uniform? You do know that even backstage helpers are allowed to have a few dances of their own out in the event hall, right?" "Oh, Yori-chan, you’re back. How did the exams go? I do know that even the backstage helpers are allowed to dance when the opportunity arises, but the Chairman had just entrusted me with the duty of maintaining discipline among students who took part in the event. I just thought, donning the school uniform is more befitting for my role as the school guardian." Yuuki Cross started, first voicing her concern about the exams that her silver-haired friend and dormmate had gone to participate in before flicking her eyes down to the school uniform she was wearing and wondering if she should still dress up for the event despite her duties as the school’s guardian. In return, Wakaba Sayori just stared at her wordlessly for a moment before responding. “In answer to your question about the exams. It went well; Zero’s performance was superb. I had no doubts he would clear the exam with no sweat. So, next week this time, he would be considered as a full-fledged vampire hunter with the official license to hunt and shoot Level E as he deemed fit. Coming back to your choice of attire for the event... I think it’s up to you to decide whether or not to dress up for the school dance. Either way, someone tasked me to bring this to you. So, I’ll say some people hope to see you dressed up in something that isn’t the school uniform at the event.” With that said, Wakaba Sayori ventured forward and set down the box holding the evening gown from an established luxury designer brand onto the foot of her friend’s bed before stepping back to allow her curious friend to inspect the content in the gift box. “...” Yuuki Cross raised an eyebrow at her dormmate’s words before venturing forward to unwrapping the gift box. Opening up the lid to the gift box, Yuuki Cross was blessed with the sight of a simple but elegant looking white evening dress accompanied with a white matching ribbon to go on her neck as part of the accessory to complete the look. “Wow.” Yuuki Cross couldn’t help but murmur in awe as she landed her eyes on the dress that lay in the gift box waiting to be worn by her for the upcoming event. Turning curious eyes upon the figure of her silent dormmate, Yuuki Cross couldn’t help but inquire. “From whom did you get the gift box? Are you sure it’s meant for me?” “The president of the Moon Dorm handed over the box to me in person when we crossed paths outside the girls’ dormitory, I would think you’re the only human girl that he would ever pay attention to. So, I hardly think I’d misunderstood the intended recipient for the gift box I received from him in person.” Wakaba Sayori deadpans to her scattered-brain friend. “Eh?! Kaname-senpai gifted the gown to me? Why?” Yuuki Cross had to admit she was caught by surprise. After all, she was very much aware of the ongoing courtship between the pureblood king and her silver-haired friend. Even if she wasn’t exactly in the loop for the latest development in the supposed relationship between the two males that she felt some form of attraction for. At one point, Yuuki was even in a dilemma about the feelings she held towards her silver-haired friend and the pureblood king. And truly, there was even a point that she had wondered if she was the mother-figure for the boy clinging to Zero’s pants and addressing Zero as daddy before Akane explained the identities of the boys to them, shortly after the trios was dropped into their timeline. However, after spending some time observing the physical appearances of the boys, combined with how they were addressing Zero and Kaname-senpai as daddy and father, respectively. Yuuki knew she had likely gotten it wrong, and sure enough, Akane’s explanation about the parentage of the boys had shot down her initial theory of her being the mother for Subaru and Akira. Still, instead of feeling heartbroken by the discovery of the information about the future relationship that exists between her silver-haired friend and her beloved Kaname-senpai, Yuuki Cross felt somewhat relieved. Because that meant that she no longer had to pick one over the other. Thankfully, her feelings for the pureblood king were still in the budding stage, and her feelings towards her silver-haired friend were not quite apparent. After all, she hadn’t quite figured out whether the feelings she held for Zero were familial love or romantic love. Henceforth, the information brought forth with the arrival of the trios from the future timeline kind of put Yuuki’s budding feelings for the pureblood king on hold as she started to study the way Kaname Kuran and her silver-haired friend tended to behave around one another. Originally, Yuuki was of the same mentality as the rest of the night class members when the information concerning the future relationship of the pureblood king and the silver-haired guardian was dropped upon them. The same mentality was that Kaname Kuran and Kiryuu Zero loathed one another. Yet, upon closer inspection, Yuuki had come to realize Zero’s dislike of Kaname Kuran stems from the pureblood’s constant desire to annoy him. That brought another query to the forefront of Yuuki’s mind, and the query was, why does Kaname-senpai always feel the need to annoy Zero? Furthermore, the way the pureblood goes around annoying Zero kind of reminded Yuuki of how the protagonist in the manga, her dormmate, had lent her, behaves around the girl that caught the protagonist's attention. In the manga, the male protagonist dislikes how the girl he likes keeps focusing her attention on another guy and, thus, takes extra effort in befriending the guy that the girl always seems to be focusing her attention upon just to ensure that the girl would spare him a look in his direction. Even if the look was more of a glare than a simple glance in his direction. Wasn’t that what Zero always did when Kaname-senpai was being extra nice and doting on her during the class change-over timing? So, could it be that Kaname-senpai was only showering so much attention on her to attract the attention of Zero? Yuuki Cross couldn’t help but wonder inwardly. It's probably a good thing that Akane wasn’t anywhere around to scan Yuuki’s thoughts; if not, the sandy-brown-haired vampire girl might end up laughing aloud over the hilarity of Yuuki’s imaginative mind. --- When Yuuki Cross finally arrived at the event hall, fully dressed up in the evening gown she was gifted with by the pureblood king. She was not surprised to find her silver-haired patrolling partner already stationed by the side of the ballroom, deeply engaged in a conversation with her adoptive father. Though, she had a feeling that whatever was been discussed between her silver-haired friend and her adoptive father wasn’t a good one judging from the scowling look on her friend’s face. "Ah ... looks like Yuuki-chan had decided to dress herself up for the event too. Papa is so happy!" Kaien Cross greeted Yuuki's arrival with his annoying sing-song tone of voice, causing the eyebrow of Kiryuu Zero’s to twitch involuntarily. "Chairman, do me a favor and shut up! Your voice is grating on my nerves!" Kiryuu Zero gritted out with unbidden irritation while resisting the urge to strangle the ex-hunter right there and then. "A-re? Zero, you're dressed up as well?" Yuuki Cross piped up, her eyes brightening up with interest since she had known her silver-haired friend to be one who detested the idea of having to attend such events. So, she was exceptionally surprised to find her silver-haired friend showing up at the school dance, fully dressed up. "I assure you; it wasn’t my idea to attend this event fully dressed up in formal wear! I was practically forced into this attire under the chairman’s insistence!" Kiryuu Zero gritted out in annoyance as he recalled the memory of the Chairman insisting on him donning the gents’ suits gifted to him by the pureblood king. The silver-haired guardian’s original intention was to keep the gents’ suits he’d received from the pureblood king in storage and reserve them for other occasions that warranted the use of formal wear. As much as he detested the notion of dressing up in formal wear or attending certain events, there were some events that he unfortunately couldn’t skip. The school dance, on the other hand, doesn’t seem like an occasion that warrant the use of formal wear and hence Zero had thought the usual school uniform works just fine for the school event. Especially, if he were to take into account of his responsibility as the school guardian. Furthermore, he had a gut feeling that the attire would be ruined if he were to wear it for today’s event. Still, the chairman kept on yapping about how disappointed Kaname would be if he chose not to wear the gents’ suits prepared by the pureblood king for the event, etc. Hence, in a means to get the chairman to stop nagging, Kiryuu Zero had caved under the pressure and donned the gents’ suits he’d received from Kaname Kuran for the school dance event, in the end. During this time, Shizuka Hiou who was inhabiting the body of Maria Kurenai, was patiently waiting for her chance to strike. She had sent Kiryuu Ichiru to where she had kept her real body hidden while she remained in one of the empty rooms situated near the event hall. She knew the female guardian would come and approach her in time, she was certain of that. Rather, the baits that she had used would ensure to lure the girl over to her like how the fishes would be attracted to the bait of the rod. "Woah ... This must be a miracle. To think that Kiryuu would turn up at this type of event dressed in something other than the typical school uniform. Did the sun rise from the west today?" Someone, a guy who was in the same class and considered himself a fairly close acquaintance of the silver-haired guardian, couldn’t help but comment upon landing his eyes on the attire of Kiryuu Zero as the former entered the event hall with the female guardian, Yuuki Cross, in tow. This, in turn, brought on a new round of gossip to start among the attendees of the event. Kiryuu Zero, on the other hand kept his usual mask of poker face while he ignored the ongoing gossip mill among the attendees of the school dance event as he stood by the side of the event hall. Most of his attention was spent keeping watch on the behavior of the night class members, in particular, those who don’t give a damn for the pacifism ideals in place but is merely attending the Cross Academy and abiding by the rules set in place because their king desires it from them. Still, there were too many of these common-class vampires around for Kiryuu Zero to be constantly keeping watch, so after a moment of consideration, the silver-haired guardian stood and approached the area where Fujiwara Hitomi and Sawashiro Kaori were hanging out. “Hitomi, Kaori – I would like if the two of you keep your eyes on where the four other Fujiwara clan members are located and prevent them from getting too chummy with the members of the night class that comes into contact with them. While I truly doubt the members of the night class would dare go against the rules with their king watching, but who can say for certain that their logical sense of mind would still work after getting intoxicated?” Kiryuu Zero started before either of the girls could inquire of his reasons for approaching them. “Ah... I see. Duly noted. We’ll make sure that none of them are stupid enough to forget about the golden rule while mingling with the night class members.” Fujiwara Hitomi nodded in response as she gave her word to her silver-haired nephew. The members of the Fujiwara clan who are attending the Cross Academy are in the know about the existence of the vampires and that the members enrolled in the night class are all vampires. What they aren’t aware of is that there’s a risk of them, members from the human branch of the Fujiwara clan, being turned even if the vampire who gave them the bite wasn’t a pureblood. After all, the elders couldn’t possibly go around cautioning them outright about the inherent risk of them being turned even if they were being subjected to a bite from a random Level E that prowled the streets. So, all they could caution the members of the human branch was to never let their guards down when walking through any dark alleys and to avoid heading out after nightfall without an escort. That, and to always keep their guards up while in the presence of the vampires. As Kiryuu Zero turned to leave for another area of the event hall, the silver-haired guardian found himself unintentionally locking eyes with a certain dark-haired pureblood standing near the balcony area of the event hall. It was just a brief moment of eye contact, but that brief moment of eye contact was enough to send Kiryuu Zero into a state of flustered blushing. ‘Damn, why did he have to look at me in that manner?! Thank God, I have my back facing Fujiwara Hitomi and Sawashiro Kaori. Otherwise, they might think me weird for blushing out of the blue.’ Kiryuu Zero thought as he threw a mock glare in the direction of the pureblood king before stalking off to where he thought he’d see his hunter friend in the event hall. Kaname Kuran was keeping watch on the twins, who refused to stay behind in the dormitory, claiming to say that they would be bored with everyone out attending the school dance event. Having no other available options on hand, the pureblood king had no choice but to agree and relented on the idea of allowing the twins to join the rest of them in attending the school dance event. The responsibility and duty of watching out for the twins would be shouldered and shared between Seiren, Akane, and himself. Currently, the chairman had explained to the rest of the school that the twins were visiting relatives of Kiryuu Zero and Kaname Kuran, and that they would temporarily be housed in the Moon Dormitory. As much as they wished to hide the existence of the twins from the rest of the school population, it’s unrealistic as someone is bound to notice them roaming the grounds every so often. Hence, the excuse provided by the chairman was that they were the kids of their relatives currently being housed on the academy grounds while their parents attended to businesses elsewhere in the country. So, as long as the boys don’t go around announcing to the world by addressing him and the silver-haired guardian in public as ‘Daddy’ and ‘Father, ’ they should be in the clear. Therefore, the results would truly be disastrous if the twins were to wander about the event hall by themselves, unsupervised. After all, despite telling them multiple times not to address him and Kiryuu Zero openly in public as ‘Daddy’ and ‘Father, ’ they still tend to do it on reflex. Ultimately, it was agreed between Akane and himself that one of them should always remain behind on the balcony with the twins just so to keep an eye on them. Precautionary measures to prevent the twins from wandering off on their own, which is something they tend to do. For instance, the time they got a tad too concerned of their daddy and simply had to go over to the chairman’s place for a visit and ended up meeting the veteran hunter, Yagari Tooga in the process. In any case, due to the presence of Shizuka Hiou on the academy grounds, who’s going around masquerading as Maria Kurenai at present. The boys must be kept away from the blooming mad princess at all costs. Given that Kaname Kuran isn’t exactly fond of the idea of socializing, he had offered to be the one keeping watch on the twins so Akane could venture out to join the rest of her classmates in the day class for some fun. "Father? Can we go and find Daddy?" Kuran Akira asked, looking up at him with one of those pleading 'puppy dog' eyes that would usually work on the adults. Unfortunately, Kaname was not among those who would give in to Akira's request that easily. Instead, he told the boy patiently. "No, Akira. You can't go and bother your Daddy yet. He's 'working' now, but I'm sure he would come over and spend some time with the two of you later." With a dejected look on his face, Akira nodded unwillingly to his father's words. Still, it did not stop Akira from staring longingly at his favorite parent, who was standing on the other end of the event hall. Akane, who had her eyes trained upon Akira for most if not all of the time sighed inwardly with resignation as she headed towards the corner where the silver-haired guardian now stood with Takamiya Kaito, who’s here to supervise the school dance event as a member of the teaching faculty as well as performing his duty as a full-fledged hunter for the Hunter’s Association. It was because of his presence on the teaching faculty that the Hunter’s Association didn’t deem it necessary to send in additional hunters to supervise the school dance event which allows for interaction between the vampires and the humankind. "Zero, care to show your face over at the balcony for a minute? The twins are asking for your presence ..." Akane started making it a point to add on the second part of the statement when she noticed the look of annoyance that crossed the features of the silver-haired guardian. Inwardly, she couldn’t help but wonder what her future pureblood adoptive parent had done to annoy the silver-haired guardian now. “Wait, the twins are here?” Kiryuu Zero turned wide, startling eyes upon the figure of his future adoptive daughter as he started in a tone of incredulity. “Yes, well... they didn’t want to be left behind at the Moon Dorm with only the maids employed in the service of Kaname-sama to keep up with the maintenance of the building for the company. So, after some consideration, Kaname-sama has decided to bring them along to the dance event. Of course, to ensure that the boys wouldn’t wander off by themselves, he had volunteered to keep an eye on them while the dance event was going on with the assistance of Seiren.” Akane admitted with a somewhat sheepish look on her face. "... " Upon the sandy-brown-haired vampire girl’s mention of the twins wanting to see him, Kiryuu Zero sighed inwardly as he approached the area where the balcony was situated with an air of resignation. During the time that he was making his way over to the balcony, the silver-haired guardian wasn’t oblivious to the feeling of nearly half the attendees in the event hall as they set their eyes upon his person as he approached the location of the pureblood king. Honestly, Kiryuu Zero wasn’t the type to enjoy being the focus of attention, and henceforth, the constant feeling of being under the eyes of so many observers was truly a source of irritation to add on to his peaking annoyance. The twins brightened up almost immediately upon noticing the approaching figure of Kiryuu Zero, their beloved daddy. Kuran Akira wasted no time in bouncing over to tackle the silver-haired guardian as soon as he stepped through the double doors that separated the balcony from the rest of the event hall. "Daddy!" Akira greeted his beloved parent in an enthusiastic manner, which would likely cause a commotion if a member from the day class overheard his word of greeting to the silver-haired guardian. Luckily for Akira, the music track for the dance, which was turned up to its maximum volume, was able to hide the sound of the boy's excited greeting from the majority of the attendees to the school dance event. It would not, however, escape from the keen hearing of the vampires present for the event. However, this likely wouldn’t be an issue since Kiryuu Zero was almost certain that everyone among the night class had already known of his role as the other parent for the twins, as well as the chosen partner of their pureblood king, by this point. Yes, partner, this was the term he had taken to dub himself in the blossoming relationship he had with the pureblood king because there was simply no way for him to be able to stomach the idea of being the ‘queen’ for Kaname Kuran. The term queen is too feminine for his liking, and he swears he would deck whoever dares to address him as ‘queen’ in person. "Akira, calm down. Don't get too excited," Kiryuu Zero reminded as he set the boy back down on the ground. "Daddy." Kiryuu Subaru's quiet voice greeted him just as he placed Akira back down on the ground. "Subaru, my dear. How are you today?" Kiryuu Zero started as he kneeled to hug his little mirror image as a greeting. He prided himself as a parent that played fair, even though there were still decades to go before he would even pop them out somewhere from his body. This is something he was trying to avoid dwelling on; the sheer thought of the act that would bring the boys’ existence into reality still makes him feel faint. In any case, since he had picked Akira up earlier, the boy greeted his arrival at the balcony with a tackle run. Kiryuu Zero figured the least he could do was to greet the elder twin, Subaru, with a loose hug. Subaru allowed a small smile to grace his lips as he responded with unbidden joy stemming from the considerate act of his beloved parent. "I'm fine, Daddy. I missed seeing you, though. You haven't been coming around to visit us over the last few days." Upon the sound of Subaru’s response, Kiryuu Zero allowed an audible sigh to escape him as he sincerely apologized to the silver-haired child and he explained the reason for his lack of visits over the past few days. “I apologize for not turning up at the Moon Dorm to visit you and your brother over the past few days. I was preoccupied with something else that warranted my attention, off the academy grounds. I would, however, make sure to send a message over to the two of you in the future if I’m unable to visit the two of you again. Is that okay?” Kiryuu Subaru nodded obediently before his younger twin protested about being neglected. "Hey, what about me?! Daddy?! Aren't you going to visit me too?" "Akira, don’t be silly. Of course, I’ll visit you. I did say I’d come by the Moon Dorm to visit the two of you earlier, didn’t I?" Kiryuu Zero rolled his eyes momentarily as he chided the boy good-naturedly. Akira said nothing but grinned cheekily in response, while Kiryuu Subaru just shook his head at his twin's antics. Somehow, his younger brother just seemed to enjoy the idea of being the center of attention. Noticing that the silver-haired guardian was done addressing the twins, the pureblood king finally spoke up as he reminded his future mate of his presence. “Zero, have I done anything that annoys you unintentionally? You've been ignoring me since you came out here to the balcony.” “No. I don’t think you’re the source of my annoyance, at least, not completely. I think I'm more annoyed at myself for being so easily affected by your words and actions.” Kiryuu Zero eventually answered with a frown marring his features. The sheer remembrance of how an appreciative look directed his way by the pureblood king was enough to make him blush, was ticking him off once again. At the rate it was going, Kiryuu Zero had a feeling that he might never be able to look Kaname Kuran in the eyes without blushing red in the face. After all, it’s rather hard to ignore the burning desire in the eyes of the pureblood king when their eyes meet, be it intentional or unintentional. It was the understanding of what those burning desires behind the eyes of Kaname Kuran meant that resulted in his flustered behavior, that much Kiryuu Zero was certain. “Hmm...but that still doesn’t explain the constant annoyance that I’ve been picking up from your end through the one-sided bond we have between us, though?” Kaname Kuran began, frowning as he addressed his beloved. Kiryuu Zero fell silent at the words of the pureblood king, he agreed he was prone to the feeling of being annoyed today. He had no idea why that is, but he had an inkling it might have something to do with that supposed ‘master’ of his slinking about in the shadows of the dark planning who knows what?! “I honestly do not know why I’m this prone to annoyance today. It may or may not have something to do with the lack of actions stemming from Shizuka Hiou. She's obviously up to something, only I have no idea what she’s planning to do. She purposely flared her aura to alert me of her presence on the academy grounds and lure me out on Monday night for that meeting that turned into an altercation between us. During that confrontation meeting between us, she did nothing but taunt me by reminding me of what she did to my family on that night four years ago. Given the way she was taunting me, I would’ve to be a saint to be able to remain calm, so, naturally I allowed my anger to get the best of me and strike out at her which then evolved to a full-blown altercation between us. Therefore, I’m now truly at a loss of what she’s planning to do by showing up in front of me now.” With a shake of his head, Kiryuu Zero told the pureblood king about what was plaguing his mind before inquiring if the former had noticed anything from the blooming mad princess during the three days he was away from the academy grounds. --- "A-no ... Kain-senpai, did you know where's Kaname-senpai?" Yuuki Cross started as she approached the fire-wielding vampire with the question about the whereabouts of the pureblood king. The female guardian of the Cross Academy had spent the better half of her evening scanning the event hall for signs of the pureblood king for quite some time now. The notion of checking outdoors or even the balcony area of the event hall had not once crossed the mind of Yuuki Cross, as she had no idea of the pureblood king's dislike for socializing events. "I believe, Kaname-sama is out at the balcony." Akatsuki Kain responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. "Thank you, Kain-Senpai." Yuuki Cross responded as she promptly starts heading towards the direction of the area where the balcony for the event hall is situated. Shortly after the female guardian’s departure, Akatsuki Kain, who caught sight of the mild glare directed his way by his female cousin, Ruka Souen, raised his eyebrow in a questioning manner as he inquires, "Why? Is there a problem with me telling her where to locate Kaname-sama?" Ruka Souen 'hmphed' and turned away from her cousin before she froze upon the sight of a day-class male student heading in her direction. "A-no ... Ruka-san, may I have the honor of inviting you for a dance?" The newcomer was none other than the class representative of class 2-B, the class shared between Yuuki Cross, Kiryuu Zero, and Akane. Akatsuki Kain took in the look of distaste reflected on the face of his cousin and couldn’t resist commenting. "Why are you ignoring him? He's kind of pitiful to be left hanging there, you know?" Ruka Souen threw him a glare and as she gritted out in annoyance. "You know as much as I do that I'll never dance with strangers!" "Well, if you insist." Akatsuki Kain shrugged before he took it upon himself to invite his childhood friend and cousin, Ruka Soeun, out to the dance floor with him, which the toffee-haired aristocratic vampire readily accepted. Meanwhile, Yuuki Cross arrived at the balcony to find her silver-haired friend, Kiryuu Zero, talking amicably with the twins. The pureblood king, on the other hand, was looking out at the peaceful scenery with an air of serenity surrounding him. "Kaname-senpai?" The sound of Yuuki's voice jarred the pureblood out from his thoughts, and he turned to regard the girl with a smile. "Yuuki." Kaname Kuran greeted her with an underlying tone of fondness in his tone, causing a certain silver-haired guardian to throw him a look of mild annoyance. Of course, it wasn’t that Kiryuu Zero had an issue about the pureblood king showing affections for Yuuki. He simply thought the least Kaname could do was to seat Yuuki down and have a proper conversation explaining the kind of affection the former held for Yuuki wasn’t in the romantic sense. The last thing he needs is for Yuuki’s existing crush for the pureblood king to blossom further. Granted, Yuuki probably already knew that Kaname had a courtship going on with him and likely wouldn’t allow herself to fall deeper into the charms of the pureblood king. Still, it’s a tad annoying from his opinions. "Zero, am I interrupting anything?" Yuuki Cross asked as she flickers her eyes between the duo, hesitantly. "No, we're fine. Are you here to invite him out for a dance?” Kiryuu Zero prompted as he purposely said something that would likely grate on the nerves of the pureblood king. Sure enough, Kaname Kuran threw the silver-haired guardian a look of mild annoyance after hearing the words coming from his beloved before he shifted his attention back to the girl standing in front of him. “Please ignore Zero’s comment, he’s just feeling annoyed at the fact that nobody has invited him out to the dance floor yet.” "Eh? Hahaha, surely, you’re jesting. I’m quite sure Zero hates the dance floor. Anyway, I'm just here to thank Kaname-senpai for the lovely dress." Yuuki Cross laughed nervously before she came outright about her reason for venturing out in search of the pureblood king. “Figures.” Kiryuu Zero muttered under his breath, not in the least surprised to hear that Yuuki’s outfit came from the pureblood king just like his own. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he heard his inner voice reminding him that the Chairman had mentioned in passing earlier about how the pureblood king had also readied an evening gown for Yuuki. He simply hadn't bothered to inquire after the brand of the gown that was prepared for Yuuki before now. In hindsight, he should've figured that the pureblood king wouldn't gift Yuuki with something that's off the racks. Like the suit he's donning, the gown that Yuuki's wearing for the school dance event was a tailor-made gown from the same designer that works exclusively for the Kuran family. Inwardly, Kiryuu Zero couldn't help but wonder how the pureblood king had gotten his hands on the measurements of Yuuki to have the gown tailor-made on such short notice. “Daddy, did you say something?” Subaru started as he glanced over at the silver-haired guardian with a questioning look. “No. It's nothing. Are you hungry?” Kiryuu Zero promptly changed the subject as he refocused his attention back onto the twins and settled on the idea of ignoring the pureblood king for the rest of the evening. Kaname Kuran spent a moment focusing on the one-sided bond between him and his future mate, deciding that the silver-haired guardian wasn’t feeling anything that warranted caution on his part. The pureblood king decides to invite his beloved sister out to the dance floor for a dance. "Yuuki, can I have this dance with you?" Yuuki Cross found herself freezing up at the words coming from the pureblood king as her eyes flickered immediately to where her silver-haired friend stood. Somehow, she was hesitant in accepting the dance invitation from the pureblood king, in front of the silver-haired guardian. Kiryuu Zero, on the other hand, frowned when he noticed both the eyes of Kaname Kuran and Yuuki Cross landing upon his person and found himself snapping at the duo in response. "Why the hell are the two of you looking at me?! Surely, neither of you would require my permission to share a dance?" ‘Honestly, if Kaname thinks I’m going to take offense at every little thing he does for Yuuki, he needs to get a brain check. Pettiness isn’t in my character, it’s perfectly normal for siblings to share a dance every once in a while.’ Kiryuu Zero rolls his eyes momentarily as he beckons for Akane to pick up some finger food for the twins from the buffet table set up in the event hall. "True, we don't need your permission to dance." Kaname Kuran commented smoothly as he shifted his eyes away from the figure of his future mate and back onto Yuuki. It took a while, but the pureblood king finally caught on to the underlying exasperation coming from the one-sided bond. He finally decided to stop hesitating and just proceed to take his beloved sister out to the dance floor for a single dance. Yuuki Cross, meanwhile, felt her eyes widening when she found herself being pulled into a dance, right out here in the balcony, by the pureblood king. The dance turns out to be something that ignores the tempo of the music being played by the orchestra invited to perform at the school dance event. During the entire period while the pureblood king was twirling Yuuki around in a dance, Kiryuu Zero had his eyes directed elsewhere to avoid looking at them. Not that the sight of the duo dancing in front of him would irk him; it was more for the benefit of sparing Yuuki the embarrassment and guilt for accepting the dance from Kaname Kuran. After all, unlike him, Yuuki was fairly ignorant of the nature of the blood relations that existed between her and Kaname. Okay, fine... the duo wasn’t exactly blood-related since the real Kaname Kuran was devoured by the present Kaname when Rido Kuran offered his nephew up as a sacrifice to wake the progenitor of the Kuran family. Regardless, Kaname Kuran is still Kaname Kuran, just not the biological son of Haruka and Juri Kuran who birthed Yuuki. In any case, since Kaname was determined to bring that particular secret to the grave... Kiryuu Zero shall respect the former’s wish and continues to think of Kaname and Yuuki as blood-related siblings. Coming back, with Yuuki in the know about the ongoing courtship between them, it’s very likely that the girl would feel guilty about accepting the dance invitation from the pureblood king. It was then that he felt it again, the faint pulsing around the area where Shizuka Hiou had bitten him before. Almost immediately, his hand reached up to cover that particular area of his neck. It was a faint movement, but still, it failed to escape from the keen sight of Kaname Kuran and, ironically, Yuuki. That was why she had stepped back and pulled away from the pureblood king abruptly, as she suddenly recalled Maria Kurenai's words to her earlier in the day. Shooting another glance towards the direction of her silver-haired friend, Yuuki Cross turned on her heels and fled the event hall. Her sudden desire to flee from the balcony startled Kiryuu Zero out from his reverie, and he hurriedly flickered his eyes toward the pureblood king. The duo shared a quick look among themselves before Kiryuu Zero promptly took off after Yuuki, leaving behind the pureblood king to make contingency plans for the caretaking responsibilities for the twins. --- Kiryuu Subaru wasn’t a curious boy, nor was he known for being reckless. So, it truly surprised many that it was he who took off after the departing figure of Kiryuu Zero, who went after the fleeing Yuuki Cross, as opposed to his younger twin, Kuran Akira. The majority of the night class members, including the pureblood king, had their focus mainly directed towards the boy with wavy-brown hair. None of them noticed the elder twin darting out of the event hall as he chased after the figure of Kiryuu Zero. Except for one, the eldest of the future Kuran-Kiryuu family, the sandy-brown-haired vampire girl who goes by the name Kiryuu Akane. Akane, upon noticing the sight of Subaru darting out of the event hall, promptly excused herself from the company of her random dance partner and made a move to follow the boy from behind. Kaname Kuran, on the other hand, was only notified of Subaru's absence when the younger twin, Kuran Akira, tugged at the sleeves of his gents’ suits to draw his attention. “Yes, Akira?” Kaname Kuran paused amid his task of barking out instructions to the members of his inner circle to direct his attention to his youngest as he inquires. “I hate to interrupt, but I thought I should inform you that Subaru had taken off after Daddy without an escort.” Kuran Akira stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “What?!” Aidou Hanabusa practically yelped aloud on reflex, causing his fellow friends to throw him a look of annoyance. Kaname Kuran felt his eyes widening just a fraction before he smoothed it over as he barked out an order towards his loyal servant and bodyguard. "Seiren, look after Akira. Do not let him out of your sight!" The pureblood king had a constant frowning expression on his face as he made his way toward the exit of the event hall. Inwardly, he felt anxiety coursing through his entire body as he thought about the possible dangers the few people he truly cared about were probably facing at present. First, his beloved little sister, Yuuki, had turned and fled from him shortly after witnessing Zero’s reflexive act of pressing a hand to the side of the neck where Shizuka Hiou had bitten him four years ago. Next, his beloved Zero, the person who held his heart and his future mate, had dashed out of the event hall in hopes of catching up to his beloved sister and preventing the girl from doing anything too reckless. Before leaving the event hall, his beloved had thrown him a look that trusted him to take care of their future kids. Yet, he’d fail to remember that it wasn’t just Akira that is prone to wandering off without supervision. Though rare, Subaru had his moment of being driven by the concern he held for the silver-haired guardian, too. For instance, the incident of Subaru walking straight into an ongoing altercation between Kiryuu Zero and a Level E while in town. Ichijo Takuma, who caught on to his pureblood friend’s intention to go after the few Kiryuus, decided to create a distraction to allow Kaname to make an easier escape from the event hall without attracting too much attention from the fangirls. So, he signaled for the two models from the night class to come over to where he stood and promptly announced to the day class students who were constantly glancing in their direction that Shiki and Rima would be signing autographs for the day class students who owned magazines with them featured on the cover. Needless to say, the crowd promptly went wild as they rushed up to the front to surround Shiki Senri and Touya Rima with copies of their notebook, queuing in line for the two models to give out autographs. Shiki Senri’s only reaction was to throw his roommate and friend a look that says ‘you owe me!’, before he dragged his modeling partner and friend along with him as they took the offered pen from one of the school’s newsletter club members and start the impromptu autograph session. “What’s going on over there?” Takamiya Kaito couldn’t help but wonder aloud. For a while, he nearly ventured over to take a look at the cause of the commotion, but he was halted in the act by a member of the night class. “There’s no need for you to check out the situation over there, Takamiya-sensei. I assure you that whatever is taking place in that corner is nothing that warrants your concern. It's simply Shiki Senri and Touya Rima, the two models from our class, giving out autographs to their fans and supporters.” Risa Miyazaki, the common-class vampire, explained as she came to a stop in front of Takamiya Kaito, their new math teacher for the term, who’s also a vampire hunter assigned to the Cross Academy by the Hunter’s Association to supervise the progress of the ongoing co-existence campaign in place at the academy. “An autograph session during a school dance event? What brought this on?” Takamiya Kaito stared at the night class girl in front of him with a look of bafflement. “Our pureblood leader wishes to retire from the event earlier but wanted to do so without attracting attention to his person. So, our vice president came up with the brilliant idea to distract the day class girls by getting the two models of our class to give out autographs amid the school dance event.” Risa Miyazaki responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “I see. And you are?” Takamiya Kaito nodded in acceptance of the offered response before asking for the name of the night class vampire girl in front of him. “Risa Miyazaki. The name Miyazaki might not be familiar to you since it’s not a noble family name. You might, however, know the name of my mother better. My mother was Fujiwara Ami, She’s a member from the hunter’s branch of the family specializing in espionage and intel gathering.” “Fujiwara Ami. I knew her; quite a daring woman. I heard she willingly allowed herself to be bitten by a pureblood vampire in a nightclub for the sake of gathering intel. I'm surprised that she didn’t fall to the end and end up procreating with another vampire since you’re standing here.” Takamiya Kaito commented in an off-handed manner. “Well, she got turned but not into an ex-human. Her dormant genes received from the Fujiwara side of the family ensured that she would wake as a Level C, at the very least. As for my existence, let me assure you – it was more of a product of a one-night stand with another common-class vampire she met at a random pub while working on yet another of her espionage missions for the hunter’s association that she accepted from the freelance hunter’s guild. Later, in an attempt to gather more information, she turns the one-night stand into an extra-marital affair, which ultimately brings forth my existence. In any case, my father was quite incensed by her actions and ousted me from the family but still allowed me to keep the family name of Miyazaki since I’m a girl and might one of these days bring in a good bride price for the family. So, while I’m a Miyazaki by name and blood, I’m residing under the roof of the Fujiwara clan.” Risa Miyazaki shrugged as she proceeded to share the story of her origin with the ash-brown-haired vampire hunter in a nonchalant manner. “...” Akatsuki Kain, on the other hand, found himself being escorted by his cousin Aidou Hanabusa while he was on his way to visit the washroom. "Hanabusa? What the hell do you want by dragging me over to the abandoned dormitory at this hour?" Akatsuki Kain frowned at his blue-eyed blond cousin's odd behavior. "I had a suspicion in mind that I wish to justify." That was all Aidou Hanabusa was willing to say as he led his cousin down another flight of stairs towards the basement of the abandoned dormitory building. The closer they approached the basement of the building, the colder the air around them was. By the time they reached the end of the stairs, it was practically bone chilling. Luckily, it was nothing that the two vampires could not withstand. After all, Aidou Hanabusa with his ice-wielding ability is able to thrive under low temperature setting as well. "I knew it ... the 'Blooming Mad Princess' was indeed in the school." Aidou Hanabusa muttered under his breath, while Akatsuki Kain’s reaction was to frown in bewilderment. "But if the body is here, then where is her soul?" Akatsuki Kain, the aristocratic vampire with light-orange hair, could not help but wonder aloud. "Where else but in the body of Maria Kurenai ... I knew something fishy was going on with the aura of that girl ... well, I guess this answers the question of why Kiryuu got into an altercation with Maria Kurenai back on Monday night." The blue-eyed blond aristocrat muttered in response to his cousin’s inquiry while coming to comprehend the reason behind the altercation that took place between the silver-haired guardian of the school and the new transfer student of the night class a couple of days ago. The cousin duo stared wordlessly at the frozen body of Shizuka Hiou for a while in silent contemplation before they were distracted by the arrival of Kiryuu Ichiru, the younger twin of the silver-haired guardian of Cross Academy. “You...you’re the younger Kiryuu twin. So, you didn’t die, after all.” Aidou Hanabusa was the first to recover from the shock of seeing the younger Kiryuu twin in the basement where the body of Shizuka Hiou was kept. Even though Ichiru had on a mask that hides the signature lilac eyes from view, to those who are familiar enough with the elder Kiryuu twin, it wasn't too much of a challenge to recognize the younger twin at first glance. “Indeed. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a task to complete.” Kiryuu Ichiru responded as he nodded to the vampire duo in acknowledgement before approaching the ice-coffin with the body of Shizuka Hiou within and took the body of Shizuka Hiou out from within and leaving behind the ice coffin in the basement of the abandoned dormitory. His task was to retrieve the body of Shizuka Hiou and deliver it to where his pureblood master had instructed him to do so, without a second’s delay. "So, what do we do now? Is it wise to let him leave with that?" Akatsuki Kain questioned as he glances over to his cousin for an answer. "I'll say we notify Kaname-sama. We can't do anything to her since she's a pureblood and we didn't know what Kaname-sama would have in mind to deal with the situation as well." The ice-wielding vampire eventually said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice as he answered his cousin. "Well, I guess notifying Kaname-sama of the situation is the only thing that we can do at present." Akatsuki Kain allowed a sigh of weariness to escape him as he commented in response to his cousin’s suggestion. "I’m glad you agree. So, Akatsuki... I’ll leave it to you to get the message over to Kaname-sama." Aidou Hanabusa then commented out of the blue, his words causing the taller vampire to nearly stumble and fall over in shock. "Hanabusa?" The vampire with light-orange hair and burnt-orange eyes directed a look of bewilderment at his cousin after hearing Aidou’s odd remark. "Nothing, I just had something else to do now. So, would you please go and inform Kaname-sama of what we've found?" The ice-wielding vampire then responded to his cousin's silent question in a tone of neutrality. "If you insist ..." Akatsuki Kain sighed in resignation, knowing that it was pointless to change his cousin’s mind as he promptly turned on his heels to exit the freezing basement of the abandoned dormitory building. Aidou Hanabusa waited until he was certain that his cousin was out of hearing range, that he finally spoke aloud and addressing a certain hidden figure in the dark. "You can come out now, Wakaba Sayori-san." "..." Wakaba Sayori was silent as she stepped into the light, staring up at the blue-eyed blond vampire calmly. "You're lucky that Akatsuki's too distracted to sense you around, and that lackey of Shizuka-sama could not sense you. Else, you would be dead by now." Aidou Hanabusa muttered aloud as he looked at the silent female, with unbidden annoyance coloring his tone. "Are you worrying for my safety? If so, don't bother. I know what I'm doing." Wakaba Sayori responded with a frown before adding placidly. "And while we are on the subject, I honestly doubt that either of them would be able to sense my presence. So far, nobody but you has ever noticed my presence around places where I should not be exploring." “If you know what you are doing, then you shouldn't be attempting such dangerous acts! Do you even know what 'we' could be capable of doing to people like you?" Aidou Hanabusa questioned somewhat agitatedly, he didn’t know why it tended to irk him when he noticed the girl taking to hang around the silver-haired ex-human guardian of the school. To date, he still had no clues about the reason behind the girl’s decision to tag along Kiryuu Zero when the former left the academy grounds for unspecified reasons. He had even gone to file a report with Kaname-sama, but his pureblood leader either didn’t think much about the girl’s presence around the silver-haired guardian, or his leader is aware of the reason why the girl was following Kiryuu Zero around but didn’t deem it necessary to clue him in on the details. Regardless, it just irks him so much to see the girl going out of the way to place herself at risk by exploring places that she shouldn’t be exploring in the first place. To say Wakaba Sayori was feeling baffled was an understatement. She didn’t understand why the blue-eyed blond aristocratic vampire was kicking up such a big fuss over what she was doing. Not even the pureblood king who’s likely the only other person who could sense her presence if the former is around would blow up at her for her spying activities, and yet, the infamous ‘Idol-senpai’ of the night class was so invested in the matter of her safety? So, with a sigh of weariness, Wakaba Sayori begins to address the blue-eyed blond vampire in front of her. "First of all, I'm going to assume that you are talking about the 'vampires' in general when you emphasized the 'we' in your earlier statement. In response to your earlier question, I do know what the vampires are capable of doing to a mere human girl like myself. Still, my duty and responsibility come before anything else, and that includes my safety." Wakaba Sayori responded, sounding weary of the whole conversation. The brown-haired girl had no idea why she was even bothering to provide any form of response to the blue-eyed blond vampire; she could have just turned on her heels and walked away in silence. Perhaps it was due to the underlying hint of concern that lurked underneath the agitated tone that the blue-eyed blond aristocrat had used while conversing with her that prompted her to respond to the words coming from the infamous Aidou Hanabusa. Otherwise, with her personality, she would simply turn and walk away from the site as she had never really felt any desires to interact with any members from the night class, unless deemed necessary. "Did your presence here today have anything to do with your daily observation of Kiryuu? You mentioned the terms 'duty' and 'responsibility' earlier on in your words. What do those duties and responsibilities of yours have to do with Kiryuu? The others might take your constant observation of Kiryuu as a form of personal interest, but I don't think so." Aidou commented as he stared at the human girl with intent, waiting to see if he would receive an honest response from the girl this time around. "Why don’t you take that question of yours straight to your pureblood king or, better yet, approach Zero and ask him yourself? I'm not liable to answer the question for you because it’s none of your business. Speaking of which, I would very much appreciate it if you could just stop stalking me daily." Wakaba Sayori added before departing from the area. Aidou Hanabusa followed soon after, at the same time, he also responded to the girl's statement about his stalking behavior towards her. "Correction: I'm not stalking you. I am only watching you under the specific order of Kaname-sama." Wakaba Sayori merely rolled her eyes at the words of the blue-eyed blond vampire before continuing on her way back to the event hall. Inwardly, she thought that the blond aristocratic vampire might be thinking her a fool if she would believe what he’d told her about watching her under the orders of Kaname Kuran. After all, she had noticed the blue-eyed blond aristocratic vampire watching her since weeks ago. The earliest she had seen the blond hovering near her was shortly after she returned from the freelance hunter’s guild following the completion of the theory exams for the hunter’s promotional exams. Given that she hadn’t even witnessed the Level E incident in town that involved Shiki Senri unleashing his vampire’s ability to save Yuuki at that point, the pureblood king had no reason to be siccing a guard onto her person. Ignoring the presence of the aristocratic vampire who was walking behind her, Wakaba Sayori continued on her way back to the event hall. She knew her efforts to talk the blond into dropping the idea of 'watching' her would be in vain, that is, unless she had a valid reason to approach the pureblood king and lodge a complaint to the former about one of his stalking her. But then again, after her conversation with the pureblood king earlier in the morning, there was no guarantee that the former wouldn’t sic someone to keep tabs on her now. Perhaps that was why Aidou Hanabusa dares to inform me that he’s keeping watch on me under the orders of his pureblood leader. ‘Maybe I ought to have Aidou Hanabusa listen in while I submit my report to my father the next time I’m due to call in for a report. Maybe, after the pureblood king learns of the content of my report to my father, he will retract the order of having Aidou Hanabusa keep an eye out on my actions while on the academy grounds.’ Wakaba Sayori thought inwardly as she picked up her speed to return to the event hall. The last thing she needed was for her cousin, Hiromi, to send out a search party for her if she took a tad too long in her spying activities. The main purpose of her spying today was to verify the identity of the bodyguard of Maria Kurenai. Like Zero, she had found the bodyguard of Maria Kurenai oddly familiar on the day of the altercation. She had first suspected the bodyguard to be Kiryuu Ichiru after catching sight of the flash of silvery strands of hair, but she can’t be certain since the fight between Maria Kurenai and Kiryuu Zero took place in a dimly lit environment, and the actions of her bodyguard was too swift for any substantial conclusion to be drawn. That, ultimately, was the reason why she’d thought to spy on the guard of Maria Kurenai after noticing that the girl had sent her bodyguard away, moments before the school dance event was scheduled to commence. --- Meanwhile, over at the empty room situated near the event hall, Maria Kurenai was waiting patiently for Yuuki's arrival and Ichiru's return with the physical body of Shizuka Hiou. For this trip to Cross Academy, Shizuka Hiou has only taken Ichiru with her and left Kaede to stand guard outside the school. Kaede’s duty was to assist them both in fleeing the school if her plan to obtain the blood of the Kuran succeeded, and should her plan fail, then Kaede’s main responsibility was to ensure the safety of Ichiru. That, and only in the event of her death is Kaede allowed to divulge the truth of the relation between the Hiou and the Kiryuu to Ichiru. After all, she had never told Ichiru of the reason why she decided to take Ichiru away on that night of his family's tragic end by her hands. Yes, Shizuka planned to obtain the blood of the pureblood Kuran in hopes of using the blood to trace the location of that vile man who was her fiancé. After regaining her senses from revenge against her ex-human lover, she had come to realize that the main culprit behind everything was Rido Kuran. Still, the man’s whereabouts remained a mystery over the past four years, so she figured something must have happened to cause the man to go into hiding like she was. To locate Rido Kuran, she would need to utilize a tracking spell, which wouldn’t be possible without obtaining the blood of a pureblood Kuran to serve as the medium for the tracking spell to work. That was the ultimate aim that draws her to the Cross Academy, taunting Kiryuu Zero, the elder Kiryuu twin, and her other grand-nephew was just a way for her to spice things up in her boring long life. Call her a sadist, but she truly enjoyed the look of anguish on the face of little Zero-chan whenever she taunted the silver-haired teen with the events of that fateful night that she slaughtered the Kiryuu couple with glee and turned him with the notion of making him suffer. Of course, what she hadn’t expected was for the Kiryuu to be related to her elder brother. Still, what’s done cannot be undone. As the saying goes, she reaps what she sows. Shizuka Hiou wouldn’t be surprised if her elder brother decided to snuff out her life after discovering her whereabouts. She did, after all, slaughter her elder brother’s son and daughter-in-law, turn one of her elder brother’s grandsons into a vampire, and kidnap the other at the end of the day. The sudden sound of rapid footsteps approaching the room where she was in draws the focus of Shizuka-possessed-Maria Kurenai back into reality. "So, I see that you've decided to come seeking me out, after all ..." Maria Kurenai smirked as she landed her eyes on the figure of the school’s female guardian. "Maria, you mentioned that there's a way to stop Zero from falling to the 'Level E. ' What is it exactly?!" Yuuki Cross started trying her hardest to keep the quivering out of her voice. Yuuki was scared, she knew that much but she refused to give in to her fright. She wanted to help Zero, and she knew that the girl in front of her have the answers to her doubt. "Oh ... my, you sure are anxious. Aren't you?" Maria Kurenai commented, smirking sadistically as her keen eyes caught sight of the returning Ichiru with her real body sealed up in the ice coffin. "I see that they've not been causing any trouble for you, Ichiru ..." Maria Kurenai remarked upon the safe return of the younger Kiryuu twin, Kiryuu Ichiru. "Yes, Shizuka-sama." Kiryuu Ichiru responded in a respectful tone of voice. "Well, I supposed they are smart enough to know that it wouldn't be wise to go up against a pureblood. After all, they were just nobles ..." Maria Kurenai allowed another smirk to grace her lips as she turned her attention back to the dumbfounded girl who was staring at the physical body of Shizuka Hiou in stunned silence. "That's my real body. And the solution to Zero's problem is actually very simple." Maria Kurenai who was still possessed by Shizuka Hiou said as she approached the unconscious body held in the arms of Kiryuu Ichiru. Yuuki Cross watched wide-eyed with shock as the unconscious woman in the arms of the silver-haired man with his features hidden behind a mask slowly woke, while the figure of Maria Kurenai fell unconscious and collapsed onto the sofa couch where she had been perched upon earlier. "All Zero need to do was to drink my blood, and he would be saved ..." The woman with silvery-white hair and pink eyes told Yuuki Cross, sadistically, before turning toward the figure of Kiryuu Ichiru and instructed. “Bring Maria back to the room and recuperate. It'll probably take a bit of time for her to wake.” Shizuka Hiou started as she flicked her eyes over to the couch where the body of Maria Kurenai was slumped over. "Your blood?" Yuuki Cross repeated as a look of bewilderment took up her features and confusion clouded her mind. "Yes, my blood would be what Zero need to complete his change ..." Shizuka Hiou left her sentence hanging there, for she had no intention to let on something which she had kept hidden from everyone's knowledge for years. "Ichiru, what are you still standing around for? Bring Maria back to the room, now." Shizuka Hiou commanded aloud when she realized that her loyal servant and grand-nephew, Kiryuu Ichiru, had yet to move from his original position. "Yes, Shizuka-sama." Kiryuu Ichiru responded as he took a step forward to pick up the unconscious body of Maria Kurenai before turning on his heels and leaving the room for the direction of the abandoned dormitory building. After all, that was where they’d been taking up residence for the time being. Yuuki Cross, meanwhile, was caught off guard when she noticed how the servant of the unknown woman bore an uncanny similarity to her silver-haired friend from the side. However, she did not have much time to figure things out as the woman in front of her had started to speak up once more. "There ... I've told you of the solution to Zero's little problem, so you should give me your blood as a form of repayment. I am, after all, being pursued by many and, therefore, would require more blood and energy to escape from their pursuit. You give me your blood, and I'll give mine to Zero. Blood for blood. Is that fair enough for you? But ... certainly you know what would be the outcome when you allowed a pureblood to bite and mark you?" Shizuka Hiou finished in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. Yuuki sighed inwardly as she nodded to the words of the beautiful woman in front of her, bracing herself for the inevitable that was to come but never did. For her silver-haired friend, Kiryuu Zero had appeared at the very last possible minute, looking breathless from his search for the missing girl. Finally, he had just allowed his instincts to lead him where he deemed it possible to find Yuuki. His eyes widened upon the sight of Shizuka's fangs hovering near Yuuki's neck, and he reacted immediately by drawing out his ‘Bloody Rose’ gun and directing the said anti-vampire weapon at the figure of his supposed master and grandaunt – Shizuka Hiou. "No, Zero ... Don't!" Yuuki Cross yelled aloud as she placed herself between the silver-haired guardian and the figure of Shizuka Hiou. Her innate desire to save her silver-haired friend had rendered her to do the ridiculous by putting herself in a vulnerable position. She had her back to a pureblood in a defenseless manner, after all. "Yuuki, why are you doing this?" Kiryuu Zero began, his tone one of exasperation and bewilderment. "Because only she can save you from the brink of insanity." Yuuki Cross shouted out to her silver-haired friend in distress. Kiryuu Zero froze for a second before he repeated Yuuki's words with blatant incredulity. "That woman told you that she can save me?!" "Yes, Zero. Listen to me! The only way for you to stop the fall into 'Level E' was for you to drink her blood!" Yuuki Cross responded anxiously while hoping that she had not misunderstood the earlier words that came from the pureblood woman behind her, at present. ‘Huh? Stop Zero’s fall to Level E? Since when did I mention anything of the sort to the girl? Wait, was that what the girl had been thinking all this time? She thought Zero-chan was at risk of falling to the brink of insanity?’ Shizuka Hiou blinked incomprehensively at the Cross girl for a second before flicking incredulous eyes upon the figure of the exasperated-looking Kiryuu Zero. Kiryuu Zero, meanwhile, shoots an incredulous look in the direction of Shizuka Hiou as he wonders what the woman was playing at by telling Yuuki that her blood would be able to save him from falling to Level E. Shizuka Hiou’s only response to the incredulous look directed her way by Kiryuu Zero was a mere shake of her head, indicating that she’d said nothing of that sort. The girl wasn’t paying close attention to her exact words. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes openly at the words tumbling forth from the lips of the Cross girl, Shizuka Hiou fought to keep her face expressionless, though she was very much tempted to bang her head against the ground. Inwardly, she was cursing up a storm. Since when did she say anything about stopping Zero's fall into 'Level E'? Granted, if it had been any normal situation, drinking the blood of the master would stop an ex-human from descending into 'Level E' but Zero's situation was hardly considered to be normal, isn't it? The Kiryuu twins had the blood of a 'Fujiwara' flowing through them, but at the same time, they also had the blood of her elder brother flowing through them. This alone both complicates and simplifies things. Complicates things in the sense that the turning of either of them from a human to a vampire isn’t as simple as surviving a bite from a pureblood that easily. Should either of them get themselves bitten by a pureblood that isn’t from the Hiou or Fujiwara clan, the turning process would be quite torturous to endure. In any case, because she has been the one that bitten and turned Zero, it saves the elder Kiryuu twin from that torturous pain, at least. However, it also complicates things because the turning process wouldn’t be complete without ingesting the blood of any members from the Hiou lineage due to genetics reasons. So, until the turning is complete... Kiryuu Zero would be emitting the aura of an ex-human with mismatching blood scents. At the same time, it also simplifies matters because Kiryuu Zero need not rely on getting her blood to complete the change. He could have easily gone to anyone from the Hiou lineage, in this case, approaching her sister Shizuru would be the easiest given her marriage to the heir of the Fujiwara clan. So, why hasn’t Kiryuu Zero done that yet? Originally, Shizuka Hiou had thought Zero was oblivious to the relations between their family like Ichiru. Ichiru has been kept in the dark because Shizuka Hiou didn’t think it prudent to clue the boy in. Zero, on the other hand, likely knew about the familial relations that existed between them, judging from that look of incredulity thrown her way earlier. Since Zero knew about their familial relations... and still hadn’t undergone the completion of his turning, there’s likely only one explanation. He hadn’t revealed the relations between the Hiou and the Kiryuus to his caretaker, this is the only reason why the Cross girl seemed to be working under the assumption that her grand-nephew is an ex-human that requires the blood of the ‘master’ to prevent his inevitable fall to the end. Shizuka Hiou’s musing on the familial relations that existed between the Hiou and the Kiryuu were brought abruptly to an end as Kiryuu Zero started to speak, directing his words to the Cross girl but throwing a venomous look in her direction. "Even if her blood would be my only solution thus far ... I could always drink from her after I've killed her. Isn't that right, Shizuka Hiou?!" “...” At the end of Kiryuu Zero’s statement, Yuuki Cross allowed the anti-vampire weapon ‘Artemis Rod’ she was holding on with a weak grasp to fell to the ground with a ‘clang’. She had thought she was helping her friend out, but it was not until now that she realized that what she was about to do was entirely stupid and that her silver-haired friend would not have wanted her to do that. Seriously, what was she thinking by offering herself up dumbly to the demented pureblood woman? "Enough, Yuuki. From here on, just stand back. I'll handle it from here. Besides what I have with Shizuka Hiou – it's personal." Kiryuu Zero sighed as he told the girl he had grown to care for as a sister-figure, while keeping half his focus on the figure of Shizuka Hiou out of wariness. ~to be continued~ Date started: 01/06/09 Date completed: 03/06/09 Date edited: 03/06/09 Date revised: 08/03/2025
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"Why? Have you allowed yourself to be tamed by someone else aside from me?" Shizuka Hiou’s sudden words confused Kiryuu Zero momentarily as he wondered what the hell the crazy woman was talking about now. It wasn’t until he felt the distinctive tug around the area where Shizuka Hiou had bitten him that he realized what the woman was referring to. He reached out to hold Yuuki back with his free hand while his other hand kept his Bloody Rose gun trained upon the figure of Shizuka Hiou. Kiryuu Zero told Yuuki to settle down and stop allowing herself to get baited by the words of that demented pureblood. Turning towards his supposed ‘master’ and grandaunt, the silver-haired guardian gritted out in frustration. "For your information, I doubt that I've ever been tamed by you." "Oh really? Then why are you acting on my unspoken thoughts?" Shizuka Hiou questioned back in return only to have her grandnephew staring back at her with an impassive look in his eyes. “...” Kiryuu Zero didn’t speak. The only thing he was capable of doing was to keep his impassive stare upon the approaching figure of Shizuka Hiou. The silver-haired guardian had no way of talking back to the former, not when they were locked in a staring contest. Kiryuu Zero had no idea what caused his sudden lack of speech. What he did know was that this was something that occurs when his eyes met those pink orbs that belong to the Blooming Mad Princess. All it took was for them to lock eyes, and he would be robbed of his ability to speak. That, and unless Shizuka Hiou release him from their eye staring contest, he wouldn’t be able to avert his eyes from the ‘Blooming Mad Princess’. Initially, Kiryuu Zero had thought that this was the power of 'restraint' a master would have upon its servant in the vampire society. However, hours of research on the subject had told him enough that what he experienced while in the presence of Shziuka Hiou was unlike the typical master-servant bond. The power of ‘absolute obedience’ was not guaranteed in his situation, and his mind did not exactly blank out on him even when he had done something Shizuka Hiou ‘ordered’ him to do. Only Kiryuu Zero’s decision to restrain Yuuki Cross with his grasp was an action taken under his free will, despite what Shizuka Hiou might have thought. It was simply a coincidence that what he did was what that crazy grandaunt of his wished for him to do. The reason why he’d make an effort in restraining the actions of Yuuki Cross was very simple, he feared that if he were to allow Yuuki the ability to act freely, the girl might end up doing something that pissed Shizuka Hiou off, unintentionally. The silver-haired guardian had no idea why but somehow, he knew, Shizuka Hiou do not appreciate the idea of being interrupted by others while in the midst of a 'game' with him. The 'game' of 'cat and mouse', he had taken to refer to the taunting antics that Shizuka Hiou enjoys using on him. When Shizuka Hiou first bit him, she had told him to 'nurse' his hatred for her to come in search of her for revenge at a later time. True, while he did take the time to nurse his hatred for her as she had wished it to be, he had never once attempted to comb every area of the world just for the sake of finding and locating her. Somehow, deep inside, he knew the former would be coming back for him to settle the 'unfinished' issues between them. So, for four years, he had waited patiently. The sudden feeling of fangs piercing through the skin around his neck caused a shudder to run through the body of Kiryuu Zero, involuntarily as he was rudely drawn back into reality. Cursing himself for spacing out when he shouldn’t, Kiryuu Zero glares at the figure of Shizuka Hiou as the woman decided to give him another bite on the same spot while he was distracted with a trip down memory lane. The first time Shizuka Hiou bit him, he had only felt the pain. This time around, it was painful as usual, but there was an underlying sense of pleasure as well and he started to wonder if this had been how Akane and Kaname felt when he fed from them. "Stop it! That's enough already. Why are you doing this to Zero? Why?!" Yuuki's cries of distress startled Zero back into reality. However, it was the explosion of a window pane within the room that resulted in Shizuka Hiou's abrupt removal of her fangs from his neck. His hold on Yuuki slackened when his blaring senses alerted him to the presence of two out of his three future kids, standing just outside the door. Snapping his head behind, he was just in time to see the aura of pure anger rolling off the body of Kiryuu Subaru in waves, and the pupils of Subaru's red-brown eyes went bleeding red with fury. The raw energy of nature crackled around the boy's surrounding area, sending various furniture across the room and destroying them in the process. 'Shit!' Kiryuu Zero screamed in his mind, knowing very much that this indicated the possibility of Subaru's powers going out of control. He wanted to move but somehow being trapped amid two pissed pureblood, he found himself losing the ability to move from his standing position. With a growl of frustration, he fired a shot from his 'Bloody Rose' at his leg just so to let the pain from the gun wound overtake his vampire senses, thus enabling him to move towards the boy. "Subaru! Calm down! Calm down, do you hear me? Daddy's fine, daddy’s okay." Kiryuu Zero completely ignored the presence of his supposed ‘master’ and grandaunt as he rushed towards the direction of the enraged pureblood child and pulled the silver-haired vampire child into a hug as he started to whisper soothing words to his visibly angered and distressed future son. Inwardly, he was cursing Kaname for losing sight of Subaru. Still, he decided he could chew the pureblood king out at a later time. For now, he needed to calm Subaru down before the boy decided to bring down the entire building on them all. And, of course, Kiryuu Zero was aware that it was probably unwise for him to have his back facing that demented grandaunt of his, but right now, he didn’t have it in him to care much for anything. Nothing matters more to him in comparison to the innate desire to soothe his distressed son. Shizuka Hiou blinked once, then twice as she observed the scene playing out in front of her, before opening her mouth to comment. "How interesting. Looks like we have with us a young pureblood ... and he certainly looked delicious enough to eat." Upon hearing the latest comment from Shizuka Hiou, the silver-haired guardian felt another bout of irritation rising in him. The irritation gave way to raw, unadulterated anger when he felt the trembles coming from the boy he now held in his arms. However, seeing as he had no idea what to say to calm Subaru down this time around, he just settled for holding the boy in his embrace while throwing looks of venom in the direction of the 'Blooming Mad Princess. ' "Shizuka Hiou, shut the f*** up! Don’t you f ****** dare to think about landing a finger on him!" Kiryuu Zero glared as he directed his words toward the female pureblood before he called out for his future adoptive daughter to come in and collect the distressed boy from his arms. He needs his full attention to deal with Shizuka Hiou, and he can’t focus when he has his future son in his arms. "Akane, come in and take Subaru. I don't care where you took him; just get him as far away from here as possible." Kiryuu Zero instructed without taking his eyes off the figure of the demented pureblood woman standing a few steps away from them all. "Hmm... Interesting, very interesting indeed. I would've thought after what I've done to you, you would be looking at all vampires with unbidden hatred, especially the pureblood. Yet, here you are ... showing care and concern for another pureblood vampire. Granted, a child but still a pureblood, nonetheless. And if my hearing didn’t go wrong on me, I could’ve sworn that I heard you referring to yourself as the child’s parental figure. Hmm...given your current age and the boy’s age, could it be that the taboo spell belonging to the Fujiwara clan was invoked? How else could you have fathered a six-year-old pureblood son when you’ve only been turned for four years?" Shizuka Hiou mused aloud as she tried to analyze the situation with the information she had on hand, and upon noticing the stiffening in the body of her grandnephew, she knew she had hit the bull’s eyes. ‘Amazing... I wonder who he’d fathered the child with? Was it the Cross girl? No, it can’t be... the boy likely wouldn’t have ignored the girl’s presence if he’d come from the womb of the hidden legacy of the late Kuran couple. Well, if the boy didn’t come from the future union of the Kuran princess and Kiryuu Zero, then only one single possibility was left. The boy was a product from the union of Kiryuu Zero and the young lord of the Kuran family.’ Shizuka Hiou thought analytically as she continued to flick her eyes between the distressed little pureblood boy and the disgruntled looking grandnephew of hers. "Akane, hurry and go! Shizuka Hiou, for the last time, I am warning you ... do not touch him!" Kiryuu Zero snarled in response as he pointed his gun towards the unmoving figure of Shizuka Hiou. In a mean to distract Shizuka Hiou and to create a chance for Akane to escape the room with Subaru in tow, the silver-haired guardian wasted no time in firing several shots towards the ‘Blooming Mad Princess’ at once. Shizuka Hiou successfully dodged the bullets fired in her direction from the Bloody Rose gun for a while before two bullets hit her squarely in the chest. However, before a third shot could hit her, Kiryuu Ichiru had reappeared in the doorway, throwing his sword in between the figures of Shizuka Hiou and Kiryuu Zero, causing the fired shot to miss its initial target. "Ichiru, haven't I told you not to poke your nose into my business?" Shizuka Hiou started in annoyance as she threw a look of displeasure toward the newcomer. "Yes, you did. Shizuka-sama, but I certainly could not allow myself to merely sit back and watch while my elder twin tried to kill you." Kiryuu Ichiru responded, his tone matter-of-fact as he acted as though he did not notice the look of annoyance that his pureblood master had been directing in his direction since he interfered in the ongoing confrontation between the duo. "Ichiru, so you’re alive, after all." Kiryuu Zero muttered aloud, he knew Ichiru had been taken by Shizuka Hiou but he certainly was not expecting his twin to be alive or rather, he was not expecting his demented grandaunt to be keeping his twin alive and healthy, all this time. Removing the mask that was keeping his features hidden, Kiryuu Ichiru smirked and greeted. "So, you haven't forgotten about me, Zero-niisan." In the meantime, Akane didn’t need to be told twice. The moment Kiryuu Zero fired his first shot at the ‘Blooming Mad Princess’, Shizuka Hiou moved rapidly around the room to dodge the bullet. Akane had taken Subaru with her as they turned tails and fled the room where the altercation was taking place. The fleeing duo met up with the pureblood king halfway and came to a halting stop in front of the perturbed Kaname Kuran. “Akane, what happened?” Kaname Kuran demanded as soon as he landed his eyes upon the figure of the distressed boy in Akane’s arms. “Subaru chanced upon the sight of Zero being bitten by Shizuka Hiou and didn’t take it well. His powers went slightly out of control as he exploded a window pane of the room and trashed around some furniture while at it. Zero, who was initially paralyzed from being stuck between two pissed-off purebloods, had to fire a shot at his leg with the bloody rose to overcome the paralyzing sense of fear stemming from his vampire sense to reach Subaru in time to calm him down. Still, Subaru’s distress didn’t seem any lesser; if anything, it worsened since Zero had kind of ‘outed’ his relations to Subaru in an attempt to get Subaru to calm down so he wouldn’t end up bringing down the entire building on us all. Anyway, we managed to make our escape from the room under Zero’s urging, and he’s now buying time for our escape by firing shots at Shizuka Hiou.” Akane answered in a reporting tone of voice as she tried to summarize the situation that brought on Subaru’s distress to the pureblood king in clear articulation. “I see.” Kaname Kuran nodded and then promptly used his powers to put the distressed boy to sleep. After that, he sends Akane back to the Moon Dorm with Subaru while he handles things from here on. For a while, the pureblood king contemplated on his next course of actions as he took a few steps towards the direction of the room where the confrontation between Shizuka Hiou and his beloved was taking place. However, when it becomes apparent that his beloved is now trapped in a confrontation with the younger Kiryuu twin. Kaname had his decision made as he proceeded to head for the direction of the old dormitory where he supposed Shizuka Hiou would be returning after taking her leave from this part of the school. Back in the room where the altercation was still going on, Yuuki Cross was practically stunned speechless as she gaped at the sight that met her eyes. Ichiru was calling Zero his 'niisan', and going by their near-identical appearance, it’s obvious that they were twin siblings. Then why on earth is he not siding with Zero, and instead was helping Shizuka Hiou? Confusion flooded through her mind, rendering her immobile as she tried desperately to digest the whole situation and trying to figure out just what on earth was going on?! "Shizuka-sama, I know you 'love' the idea of 'toying' and 'playing' with my elder brother, but honestly, are you trying to get yourself killed by not retaliating?" Kiryuu Ichiru commented, sounding rather unhappy about Shizuka Hiou’s lack of response towards the shots coming from the anti-vampire weapon of his elder twin. "Hmph! That's none of your concern, and besides, I had no intention of dying here. After all, there are still things waiting to be done." Shizuka Hiou responded as she started to retreat allowing for the two newly re-united siblings to fight it out among themselves. "Good, because I would be troubled if you were to die on me now ..." Kiryuu Ichiru added before Shizuka Hiou was completely out of hearing range. "No, Oniisan ... I would be very upset with you if you were to simply disregard my presence to go after Shizuka-sama, just like that. After all, I do have lots of things to say to you after four years of separation between us." Kiryuu Ichiru stated as he reached out with a hand to stop his elder twin from chasing after his pureblood master. --- Shizuka Hiou was on her way back to the room that she had chosen for her usage after convincing the school’s Chairman to let Maria stay alone and away from the rest of the night class, when she came across the figure of Kaname Kuran lounging casually by the side of 'her' room. "That's a rather hideous injury you'd suffered back there ..." Kaname Kuran was commenting as the figure of Shizuka Hiou passes him by. "How careless of you to get yourself injured by those anti-vampire weapons. Those weapons are a nuisance for us, isn't that so? For even the healing ability of a pureblood would be restricted once subjected to such injury ..." "May I know just what exactly brought you over? The young lord of the Kuran clan." Shizuka Hiou begins in a tone of impatience, her injury makes her less prone to small talk. She knew the young lord of the Kuran clan was here for a reason, and it was probably to snuff out her life. Honestly, between her elder brother and the young Kuran lord, it was simply a matter of time before either of them took her life for what she’d done to the people they cared about. "This ... used to be my room before the Moon Dormitory had completed its construction work." The pureblood king started randomly and out of the blue, and instead of getting straight to the point, he started reminiscing on the time he’d spent in this old dormitory. "I see, good taste you had then. The room's quiet, I like it very much." Shizuka Hiou commented nonchalantly in response. "That, I'm glad to know. After all, I shared the same sentiments as you on this subject." Kaname Kuran responded as his eyes flashed red for a moment before he suppressed the raging beast in him with his logical sense of mind. Similar to his inner beast, Kaname Kuran came here with only one single motive in mind and that’s to snuff out the life of the ‘Blooming Mad Princess’. Only unlike his inner beast who operates purely on primal instincts, the logical side of Kaname Kuran was more of a strategist. He wants to find out for certain Shizuka Hiou’s reason for taking up his bait before he proceeds to snuff the life out of the pureblood woman in front of him. Shizuka Hiou ignored his words and instead turned her back on him as she inquired. "Answer my earlier question, just what is the reason for you being here in this academy?" "For a couple of reasons actually ... One of which had to do with collecting pawns for my own 'game'." Kaname Kuran began as he approached the female pureblood from behind. It wasn’t exactly a lie to claim that he was here to collect pawns for his game since that was his initial plan. Only, now the chessboard had been flipped due to several unforeseen developments, but he didn’t think it necessary to share with the woman who’d dare to put her fangs on his beloved, not once but twice. Slowly and silently, Kaname Kuran thrust his hand into the body of Shizuka Hiou easily, through her still healing and closing wound she had suffered from being subjected to an attack from the anti-vampire weapons that belongs to his beloved. Shizuka Hiou felt her eyes widening in shock as she felt the hand of Kaname Kuran piercing through her body, then her eyes gave way to realization as she heard Kaname's whispered words by her ears. "I do not like it when people touch someone or something that I treasured, and I loathed it when they tried to place harm upon them." Initially, Shizuka Hiou was bewildered but slowly the bewilderment gave way to recognition and realization. Shortly after, she allows a smirk to grace her lips as she commented, "I must say, I'm not surprised about your attempt to kill me. Though, I must say someone is not going to be pleased about you taking down his 'prey. '" "I'll say my reason for killing you is justifiable. After all, you did try to harm several important people in my life. Currently, I'm holding your heart in my grasp; what do you think will happen if I were to crush it now? After being weakened significantly by Zero's anti-vampire weapons, I think even a pureblood like yourself would just disperse into nothing but sand once I crushed your heart - isn't that so?" Kaname Kuran started to speak in a tone of deadly calm as he readied the hand thrust through the body of Shizuka Hiou in a position to crush the heart of the pureblood woman at any point. Shizuka Hiou grimaced as she continued to taunt the younger pureblood with her words. "If you do intend to kill me, would you just get on with it already? If not, I might just kill the Cross girl the next time I see her. If not, I might decide to make Zero one of my 'dummies. ' Ah, not to forget that little pureblood boy who wandered in while I was taunting and playing around with Zero ... I bet his blood would be delicious too." "Since you wanted me to kill you this much, then I shall gladly obliged and comply to your request." Kaname Kuran seethed as he commented in response to the taunting remarks of the ‘Blooming Mad Princess’. With that, Kaname Kuran withdrew his hand from the body of Shizuka Hiou while he let the former fell onto the ground with blood gushing out from the hole he had caused after pushing his hand through the barely healed wound the ‘Blooming Mad Princess’ had suffered by the hands of his beloved’s anti-vampire weapon. As Shizuka Hiou fell, she did something unexpected. Reaching into the obi of her kimono, the ‘Blooming Mad Princess’ pulled out a small bottle of blood from within as she held it up to the young Kuran lord. "Give this to Zero, will you? Certainly, you do not need me to explain what it is for ... or do I have to?" Shizuka Hiou begins in a wry tone of voice. Kaname accepted the bottle without a word, tucking it away in the chest pocket of his blood-stained gents’ suit. "Any last words?" "I think there's no need for me to vocalize them to you; after all, I'm certain that you know what you’re agreeing to do by killing me." Shizuka Hiou remarked nonchalantly. “Indeed.” Kaname Kuran agreed. If there’s anything the two of them had in common, it’s their vendetta against Kuran Rido. Kaname, for the death of Haruka and Juri Kuran, and Shizuka, for the death of her ex-human lover. Shizuka Hiou had known from the moment she stepped foot onto the grounds of Cross Academy that there was only a single result. Either she succeeded in getting her hands on the blood of the Kuran from the Cross girl, given that it’s the girl who is related to Rido and died in the process by the hands of an enraged Kuran lord or the Kuran lord succeed in killing her and absorbing her powers in the process. Like it or not, it remains a fact that Shizuka Hiou was betrothed to Rido Kuran, which makes her an ideal candidate to listen to the boastful rant that comes her way whenever that vile man deems it necessary to visit her at her cage. So, she had the misfortune of hearing about how Rido Kuran had sacrificed the life of his baby nephew to call upon the revival of the progenitor of the Kuran clan to serve as his ‘servant’. Likewise, that vile fiancé of hers had also shared with her about Haruka and Juri having a new baby, a daughter, and the man had vowed to get his hands on the girl one of these days, too. It was because of the intel she had one-sidedly received from Rido Kuran that she knew that the late Kuran couple had a daughter hidden away whose blood would be essential for the tracking spell she desired to use to locate that darn Rido Kuran. Given Kaien Cross’s close acquaintanceship with the late Juri Kuran and how the young Kuran lord had ended up taking residence on the grounds of Cross Academy... Shizuka Hiou concluded that the legacy of the Kuran couple must have been hidden away in plain sight within the Cross Academy, too. Still, of all things she has been expecting, she certainly didn’t expect to find the legacy of the Kuran couple in the form of a naive, human girl. Initially, she hadn’t known for certain. It wasn’t until Kaede sent her the information about the Cross girl that she was finally able to reaffirm her theory about Yuuki Cross being the daughter hidden away by the late Juri Kuran. From there, she started to put her plan into motion... but of course, nothing always goes to plan in life. Shizuka Hiou effectively signed her death warrant from the moment she decided to take on the bait of Kaname Kuran by making an appearance on the grounds of Cross Academy. Outside the room, Aidou Hanabusa felt his eyes widening upon the sight of his beloved pureblood leader killing Shizuka Hiou in cold blood. Although he had no idea what the duo had been conversing about before, he was very much aware of how his respected Kaname-sama had thrust his hand into the body of Shizuka Hiou and took a few gulps of the blood belonging to the ‘Blooming Mad Princess’ in process. Back inside the room, Kaname Kuran licked his fingers clean of Shizuka's blood before turning away from the sight and leaving the room without a backward glance. On his way past the stunned figure of Aidou Hanabusa, he shot the said blond a warning glare as he beckoned for the former to follow him in his wake. Over in the room near the event hall, the fight between the Kiryuu twins was brought abruptly to an end after Kiryuu Zero commented that the blood that lingered in the air had thickened. Somehow, that triggered off the warning bells in the mind of the younger Kiryuu twin, Kiryuu Ichiru as the human guard of Shizuka Hiou promptly abandoned his fight with his elder twin sibling and started running towards the direction of Shizuka Hiou’s room at the old dormitory building as fast as his legs could carry him. "Let go, Yuuki!" Kiryuu Zero started, his voice tight as his eyes kept staring in the direction where he had seen his twin brother, Ichiru, taking off. Inwardly, the silver-haired guardian knew where his twin was heading, for he had seen how frantic his younger twin had been after his comment about the sudden thickening of the scent of blood in the air. Ichiru had muttered that woman's name aloud in a near panic state before dropping their fight and departing from the room in a hurry. "No! Zero, I won't let you go until you tell me just what you intend to do after killing Shizuka Hiou." "Yuuki, let go! I don’t exactly know what I plan to do after Shizuka Hiou is dead. However, what I can assure you is that I wouldn’t be attempting to off myself at any point. Is that satisfactory for you? Can you let go of me now?" Kiryuu Zero rolled his eyes momentarily before responding to Yuuki’s inquiry. He knew if he didn’t provide any form of answer, the girl probably wouldn’t let him go. Still, he wished to be there when Shizuka Hiou drew her last breath. With how thick the scent of the blood with cherry blossoms was, there was no question that Shizuka Hiou was nearing her last breath. Truly, he didn’t wish to arrive on site at a later time than his twin did. So, after he was done answering Yuuki’s query, he forcibly removed his arms from Yuuki’s grasp and took off at the fastest speed he could muster as he chased after his younger twin’s footsteps. Kiryuu Ichiru, upon arriving to a stop in front of the room that belongs to Shizuka Hiou in the old dormitory building, froze completely at the sight of a bleeding Shizuka left alone and abandoned in the room to die. He had hurried his way over as fast as his legs could carry him, but still, he was too late. Judging from the situation, his logic had already clued him in on the fact that Shizuka Hiou was already too far gone to be saved. Still, despite what his mind told him, he felt himself having trouble believing it. Rather, he does not want to believe the fact that the pureblood woman was dying. After all, Shizuka Hiou was powerful, and Ichiru truly believed that if the said female had not been shot in the chest twice by his elder twin brother's anti-vampire weapons, the former would not have been defeated this easily. With that notion in mind, Ichiru's dislike for his twin brother went up by another notch. "Shizuka-sama!" Kiryuu Ichiru rushed over to the fallen figure and cradled the bleeding pureblood to his chest while he tried his best to hold back the tears that were welling up in his eyes. Upon the sound of Ichiru's panicking voice, Shizuka forced open her heavy eyelids as she regarded the newcomer with an unreadable gaze in them. "Looks like it's really hard for a pureblood to die easily and promptly even after being subjected to a fatal injury ..." Shizuka Hiou mumbled aloud in a mocking manner. This was the very last thing she’d wanted Ichiru to see. She had hoped by the time the younger Kiryuu twin reached her, she would have dispersed into sand just to spare her the drama of having to deal with the sight of Ichiru weeping for her death. "No ... Shizuka-sama, I'll give you my blood. You can take them all if you want, but please don't die on me ..." Kiryuu Ichiru started his efforts at holding back his tears but failed utterly as he could feel them running down his cheeks while he conversed with the dying pureblood now. Shizuka allowed a bittersweet smile to tug at her lips as she reached a hand up to wipe the tears off Ichiru's face and spoke. "No ... Ichiru, I would not do that to you. I didn't change you then, and I won't be making you a vampire now as well, even though I'm dying. Besides, you and I both know that it's already too late. I'm too far gone to be saved." Silence met her ears, save for the occasional sniffling sound coming from the weeping teen that held her close and tenderly with care. No wonder people always say that one would always see visions from the past flashing in their minds when they are on the verge of dying. This was exactly what Shizuka was experiencing now. Looking up at Ichiru, she found herself taking a trip down memory lane. "Silly boy, why are you even crying for me? I'm not worth it, you know? I know you like me a lot ... but still, I'm not someone that you should be shedding your tears for. One of these days, you are going to find that person who is worth your tears and affection." "But Shizuka-sama ... what should I do now?" Kiryuu Ichiru asked his voice sounded choked as he struggled to keep his emotions in check. "That is something that you would have to decide for yourself. For it is your life and your future, I cannot tell you what to do about them. You have to make the decision yourself. Do you understand, Ichiru?" "Yes, Shizuka-sama." "Good ... Now, devour me." Shizuka Hiou then ordered, her tone firm and leaving no room for any objections to be raised. Ignoring the sudden look of alarm on Ichiru's features, Shizuka just stared up into those lilac eyes that reminded so much of her elder brother with intent as she urged. "Go on, do not let my blood flow in vain. I've given you my blood before, and I'm giving it again to you now." She had left a bottle of her blood with Kaname Kuran, she trusted the former to give it to Zero without fail. While she had no idea what the current status of the relationship between the young lord of the Kuran clan and her grandnephew, Shizuka dares say that the young lord of the Kuran clan is in love with Zero. Henceforth, she did not doubt that the young lord of the Kuran clan would get Zero to ingest her blood by any means possible. After all, most people are under the impression that her grandnephew is an ex-human and only the ingestion of her blood would prevent the former’s ultimate fall to the end. A smirk tugged at the corner of her lips as she thought of the possible reactions that the majority of the night class would have once the change in Zero was completed after the ingestion of her blood. However, they would not know that it was her blood that brought on the change. She highly doubted that anyone would know the actual reason behind Zero's sudden change in status, rising from the rank of an 'ex-human' to a noble-ranked vampire, all within forty-eight hours after taking in her blood. Spurred by curiosity, she knew that quite a number of the night-class members including the pureblood might start to research on the issue but Shizuka was certain that the actual reason behind Zero's change and transformation would never be found for Zero's maternal side of the family - the 'Fujiwara' have secrets unknown to many but themselves. Therefore, it would eventually lead everyone to believe that whatever changes Zero was subjected to after the ingestion of her blood must have something to do with the 'Fujiwara' instead of her blood. After all, nobody knew about her giving Zero her blood with the sole exception of Kaname Kuran, who was the one responsible for killing her. "Shizuka-sama, your wish is my command." Kiryuu Ichiru responded, somewhat agitatedly, as he started to drink the essence of Shizuka's blood in big gulps while Shizuka smiled in content as she slipped into the blissful state of oblivion while her body turned into nothing but sheer dust. --- It was at this particular point of time that Kiryuu Zero burst into the room but what he witnessed had him frozen to the spot. His younger twin, Kiryuu Ichiru, was drinking from Shizuka hungrily before the pureblood female turned into dust. Yet, despite the clarity of the situation, he still felt inclined to ask. "Ichiru, what are you doing?" Ichiru, instead of responding to his query, merely turned sorrowful eyes upon him with Shizuka's blood still staining the side of his lips and answered. "Zero, it's your fault that she's dead. You and the rest of this academy are to be blamed for her death!" With that said, Kiryuu Ichiru pushed open the window of the room and exited from it without another glance towards the direction of his elder twin. The moment he left the school zone, Kiryuu Ichiru was met by the sight of a grim-faced Kaede. “Shizuka-sama is gone.” Kiryuu Ichiru started in a tone of sorrow. “I know. Let's move out of here first, I have a story about Shizuka-sama to share with you.” Kaede allowed a sigh to escape him as he grabbed the younger Kiryuu twin, who was still reeling from the sorrow of losing Shizuka Hiou, and took them both out of the area at his highest speed. The last thing Kaede wished was to come face-to-face with his cousin that served Mamoru Hiou, at this point. Meanwhile, back in the old dormitory building, Akatsuki Kain arrived at the site to find himself stunned into silence. The blood that splattered and remained on the ground, together with the sand and dust that lingered behind had given him an insight of just what exactly had taken place within the room, earlier on. Still, by the time he arrived there was no one else saved for the frozen figure of Kiryuu Zero who still had a strong grip on the handle of his anti-vampire weapon, 'Bloody Rose'. Logically and realistically, the fire-wielding aristocratic vampire highly doubted that it was Kiryuu Zero who killed Shizuka Hiou, but when he failed to receive any response from the former when he made inquiries into the subject of the death concerning the ‘Blooming Mad Princess’. The light-orange-haired vampire with burnt-orange eyes had no choice but to report Kiryuu Zero as one of the main suspects for the death of Shizuka Hiou, to the senate of the vampire council when they decided to make an inquiry into the subject after receiving news of the confirmed death of Shizuka Hiou on the grounds of Cross Academy. After all, in terms of motives, Kiryuu Zero did qualify. It’s a given that the former always broadcast the fact that he wants to kill Shizuka Hiou as a form of revenge against what the fellow pureblood had done to his family four years ago, on multiple occasions in the past. Nonetheless, the Senate of the vampire council isn’t precognitive. So, at present, they are blissfully unaware of the news concerning the death of the ‘Blooming Mad Princess’. Henceforth, shortly after the arrival of Akatsuki Kain on site, Kiryuu Zero was drawn back into reality as he let out a sigh of weariness before tucking his Bloody Rose gun back into the pocket of the ruined gents’ suits. Flicking a glance down to his attire, Kiryuu Zero rolls his eyes momentarily as he thought. ‘See?! I knew if I wore this to the dance event, it’s going to get ruined!’ Thinking about the dance event reminded him about the distressed Subaru, and so, with a shake of his head, Kiryuu Zero turned on his heels to exit the old dormitory building and made a beeline for the direction of the Moon Dormitory. Though he didn’t ring up the Moon Dorm to check in prior, he trusts his instincts. Right now, his instincts are telling him that his distressed little boy is back within the walls of the Moon Dorm. “Daddy!” As soon as Kiryuu Zero walked through the front door of the Moon Dorm, he was greeted by the sound of a somewhat subdued greeting from the usually energetic Kuran Akira. “Hey, Akira. Where's Subaru?” Kiryuu Zero would have picked the boy up if he could, but unfortunately, due to his earlier act of shooting himself in the foot with his anti-vampire weapon, he isn’t exactly in a good shape to pick the boy up in his arms. So, the silver-haired guardian settled on the idea of holding the hands of the younger twin as they made their way upstairs to the private suite room belonging to the pureblood king. “Upstairs, sleeping. Akane said Father put him to sleep.” Kuran Akira answered in a quiet tone of voice. “I see. And where’s your father?” Kiryuu Zero nodded before inquiring after the whereabouts of the pureblood king. “He’s in the study with Uncle Aidou.” Kuran Akira answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “I see.” The silver-haired guardian nodded, and the rest of the journey up to the top floor of the building was taken in silence. Downstairs in the study room, Kaname Kuran fixated Aidou Hanabusa with a look that demanded absolute obedience as he told the blue-eyed blond aristocratic vampire that under no circumstances was he to reveal to the others what he’d seen transpiring in the old dormitory building. “Yes, Kaname-sama.” Aidou Hanabusa nodded as he responded meekly to the command that came from the pureblood king. “Good. Now, get out.” Kaname Kuran instructed, and the blue-eyed blond scurried out of the study room without a second’s delay. The sound of something shattering in the room had Kaname Kuran sigh as he leaned back in his seat, while he worked on reining in his powers. The downside of absorbing the power of another pureblood is that it takes time for the powers to be assimilated with his own. It had been ages since he had taken the life of another pureblood and put the Absorption ability to use; this is one thing he certainly hasn’t missed. Meanwhile, Kiryuu Zero remained upstairs in the private suite room of the pureblood king for some time, looking over the sleeping figure of Kiryuu Subaru. “Akira, would you like to take a nap? I think Subaru would enjoy the idea of not waking up alone when he wakes.” “Okay, Daddy.” Kuran Akira nodded obediently as he climbed onto the large canopy bed of the pureblood king and settled down next to his elder twin, as he allowed himself to be lulled to a nap by the sound of his beloved daddy telling him the story of the three little pigs. “Sweet dreams, boys.” Kiryuu Zero leaned downward to give his two boys a tender peck on the head before standing from where he was seated as he made his way to the door. With the boys peacefully napping away, he had a certain pureblood king to find and locate. Arriving to a stop outside the study room, Kiryuu Zero nodded towards the figure of Seiren signaling for her to alert the pureblood king of his visit. Usually, the pureblood king would have noticed his arrival and opened up the doors to admit his entry without the need to be told. This time, it seemed the pureblood king was rather distracted for some reason, that he’d failed to pay attention to the surroundings. “Kaname-sama, Kiryuu Zero is here.” Seiren knocked twice on the door to the study before informing the pureblood king of the arrival of the silver-haired guardian. “Thank you, Seiren.” Kaname Kuran responded as he pulled open the door in person to allow his beloved entry into the study room. The first thing Kiryuu Zero noticed upon stepping foot into the study is the presence of broken chips from the table lamps and glass shards that came from the broken window of the study room. “...” Raising an eyebrow in a questioning manner, the silver-haired guardian silently sent forth the question of what happened in the study that resulted in so many damaged items in the room. “Apologies, my grasp on the powers isn’t doing too well at present.” Kaname Kuran admitted as he pulled the figure of Kiryuu Zero into his arms. “Well, I guess there’s no need for me to ask if you’re the one responsible for the death of Shizuka Hiou. The fact that your control of your powers is erratic kind of answers the question.” Kiryuu Zero deadpans as he nestled his head in the crook of Kaname Kuran’s neck before he starts to call upon his inner beast to start feeding. The silver-haired guardian had previously gone three days without feeding while attending the practical exams for his hunting license obtaining protocol. And then, he’d hit himself in the leg with his bloody rose in an attempt to get himself moving when Subaru wanders into the site of his altercation with his supposed master, Shizuka Hiou. So, it’s about high time for him to get a feeding done; if not, he might risk going into a bloodlust by the time midnight comes around. “You knew?” Kaname Kuran started in surprise but maintained his position without moving, as he could feel the hot breath of his beloved inching closer to his exposed neck. Recalling that Akane had mentioned Zero shooting himself in the leg with the Bloody Rose gun, the pureblood king realized that it was about time his beloved required a feeding session from him. “Hmm...” Kiryuu Zero made a noncommittal sound in response as he sank his lengthened fangs into the flesh of Kaname Kuran’s exposed neck. About five minutes later, Kiryuu Zero removed his fangs from the neck of the pureblood king as he began to lap up the residual blood from and around the punctured wounds created by his fangs that were slowly healing up. Once done, he turned his attention back to the pureblood king as he answered. “I made an educated guess. Furthermore, I’ve done quite a bit of research into the ability of a pureblood vampire after being bitten by her.” “Ah... I see, so you’ve learnt about the absorption ability that we, the pureblood, possessed.” Kaname Kuran nodded in acceptance of his beloved’s response. “Indeed. In any case, we ought to talk about the possible aftermath of her death on academy grounds.” Kiryuu Zero started as he changed the subject skillfully, going from the identity of Shizuka Hiou’s killer to what they should do in preparation for the aftermath of Shizuka’s death. “You aren’t angry that I took your kill?” Kaname Kuran begins as he inquires his beloved in surprise. “What’s there to be angry about? As much as I detest to admit, the master-servant bond between me and Shizuka Hiou ensures the fact that while I could wound her seriously, I wouldn’t be able to kill her directly. That, and given how Shizuka Hiou came close to taking Yuuki’s blood today. It's a foregone conclusion that you’ll be enraged. Furthermore, she did take blood from me and even threatened to take Subaru’s blood. With her striking all your taboos within the same day, it’s truly no wonder that you’d decided to snuff out her life. While on the subject, I don’t think you took my kill. If there’s anyone considering the life of Shizuka Hiou a prey of theirs, it’s very likely my grandfather. After all, she did slaughter my parents, her nephew, and niece-in-law in cold blood.” Kiryuu Zero rolls his eyes momentarily at the words of the pureblood king. “I see. With regards to the aftermath of her death, the senate of the vampire council is bound to launch an inquiry into the subject. Given that you’re the only one present at the site of her death upon Akatsuki’s arrival, his statement would likely put you on the main list of suspects as the killer of Shizuka Hiou.” Kaname Kuran begins as he analyzes the subject in a clinical tone of voice. “Well, I'm not surprised. I'm the only one on academy grounds with clear motives of wanting her dead.” Kiryuu Zero shrugged in comment, recalling the various instances he had emphasized on his desires to kill Shizuka Hiou to revenge his parents for what the ‘Blooming Mad Princess’ had done to his family, four years ago. “Is that okay with you? Of course, I’m not going to let the senate get too carried away when they come by to conduct an inquiry on the subject but I also can’t come out with the information that I’m the one that kills Shizuka Hiou. Do you understand what that means?” Kaname Kuran said as he turns his searching gaze upon the figure of Kiryuu Zero as he explained the situation to his beloved. “Are you telling me that you’re going to let me take the rap for you on the subject concerning the death of Shizuka Hiou?” Kiryuu Zero raised an eyebrow in question at the pureblood king. “I would prefer not to do that, but the current situation is that we do not have a third party present who can take the blame for Shizuka’s death on academy grounds.” Kaname Kuran admitted as he tightened his hold on the hands of his beloved. “About that...I do have a possible candidate in mind that could take the blame of killing Shizuka Hiou and is in a position that the senate can’t do anything to him.” Kiryuu Zero started hesitantly at first, but the hesitance soon gave way to determination. “Zero? What are you or rather who are you referring to?” Kaname Kuran began as he started eyeing the silver-haired guardian in blatant disbelief. “Who else but my grandfather? Come on, let’s head out for an excursion trip to the town.” Kiryuu Zero said as he stood from his position on the couch, and he tugged on the hands of the pureblood king to follow him. “Do you even know where your grandfather is?” Kaname Kuran prompted as they came to a stop outside the school gate of the Cross Academy. “I don’t, but there’s a guide available.” Kiryuu Zero responded flatly before shifting his gaze up onto the tall trees that lined the pathway between the town and the Cross Academy. For a while, he didn’t speak as he tried to pinpoint the presence of the guard that his grandfather had sent to keep an eye on him ever since the tragic event of his family took place. “Tsubaki, I know you’re here. Show yourself this instant.” Kiryuu Zero calls out into the darkness. At first, there was silence, followed by a rustle of leaves. Finally, a relatively young-looking vampire boy dropped down from a tree a couple of distance away from the vampire's duo. “Finally, Zero-sama! You called for me!” “...” Resisting the urge to face-palm, all Kiryuu Zero did was to deadpan at the vampire boy who didn’t look older than 14 years old. “Enough. Bring us to grandfather.” “Ah... of course. This way.” Tsubaki nodded as he wiped the cheery smile from his face and started leading the vampire duo towards the building that housed the bar set up by Mamoru Hiou under the alias of Richard Meyers in town. --- In the meantime, Aidou Hanabusa, upon fleeing the study room of the pureblood king, was oddly subdued in his behavior. Not wanting to have to deal with the questions directed his way by his cousins, both of them – the blue-eyed blond aristocratic vampire decided to head out for a breather. Somehow, the idea of staying within the Moon Dormitory does not appeal to him at this point, and neither does the idea of heading back to the dance party and trying to joke around with the day class females sound appealing to him. Therefore, the blue-eyed blond aristocratic vampire found himself wandering out into the woods instead. After all, he needs some time to himself to sort out his thoughts on the whole situation. However, it seems like the woods was not exactly abandoned like what he had thought. Standing under one of the shady trees, conversing with someone on the phone, was the unmistakable figure of Wakaba Sayori. The idea of lecturing the human girl for wandering out alone unescorted was on the verge of tumbling out from his mouth when he stopped himself in time. Because he knew the girl would only find his constant reminder annoying and would then proceed on to remind him of her capabilities to take care of herself. "You know, if you continue to stand there ... you will find yourself getting a sunburn in approximately three hours." Wakaba Sayori piped up from her position under the shady tree after ending the phone call. Aidou Hanabusa blinked before throwing back a retort of his own. "What about you? Why are you still out here? Speaking of which, are you perhaps concerned about the possibility of me suffering from a sunburn when dawn breaks?" "No, I wasn't getting myself concerned over your affairs. I was merely pointing out a fact, and I do not wish to have my female classmates weeping over the idea of their 'Idol-Senpai' getting a sunburn as though it’s the end of the world. As for my reason of staying up late and loitering out here, I honestly doubt that I need to justify them with you." Wakaba Sayori commented in a nonchalant tone of voice. Silence stung the air, for Aidou Hanabusa was not in the mood to involve himself in a verbal argument with the human friend of the female guardian. Wakaba Sayori, on the other hand, was never one that enjoyed the idea of arguing with another and thus was welcoming the tranquil silence that settled between them nicely and without awkwardness. "Shizuka Hiou's dead ..." Aidou Hanabusa begins, not knowing why he was telling this to Wakaba Sayori. Of all possible candidates, but he felt the need to get something off his chest. The exact knowledge of who killed the female pureblood was too much of a heavy burden upon him, though he was not going to reveal to the human girl that it was his beloved pureblood leader who killed Shizuka. "I know ..." Wakaba Sayori's response was soft but audible. Still, it stunned the ice-wielding vampire for a split second as he wondered if the girl had witnessed what he did back at the abandoned dormitory building. Unknowingly, he tensed up at the girl's words as he wondered what his pureblood leader might be capable of doing to the girl. He has been subjected to various death threats by his leader and has known for a fact that Kaname-sama would kill if the need arises. Somehow, Aidou Hanabusa found himself fearing for the safety of the human girl whom he had been ordered to keep an eye on. As though sensing his uneasiness, the brown-haired girl spoke up again. "Whatever you are thinking, you can jolly well discard them. I did not know of Shizuka Hiou's death the same way you did. I was told about it just now during a phone conversation with some of my family's acquaintance. It seemed that someone had just given both the Vampire Council and the Hunter's Association the slip that Shizuka Hiou, a pureblood, had been killed within the academy grounds. That is how I came to know of her death ..." Upon the words of Wakaba Sayori, Aidou Hanabusa felt his eyes widening in shock. For he knew things were going to get downright complicated now; the council would not take the death of another pureblood lightly, and for it to take place within Cross Academy itself spelled trouble for them all. Swallowing nervously, Aidou Hanabusa tried to hide his anxiety by speaking calmly. "Did that person tell you who was the one that reported the event to the council? Have you any idea of the killer's identity?" "I can't tell you who reported the event, but I can tell you the name of the main suspect that the council had in mind to blame Shizuka Hiou's death upon." Wakaba Sayori told the blue-eyed blond vampire calmly, as she uttered the name of one of her classmates, and the subject of her daily observations. "Zero. " "What?!" Aidou Hanabusa started in shock before clapping his hand over his mouth. Thank goodness he had caught himself in time, or he would have slipped up and just blurted out that it was Kaname-sama, not Zero, who had been responsible for the death of Shizuka Hiou. Wakaba Sayori chooses to disregard Aidou's reactions as she continues to speak. "That's the name of the killer that the informant had chosen to tell the council. However, I do not believe it in the slightest bit. Nonetheless, I think the council would just take the informant's words for it and choose not to investigate the situation deeper. So, I guess we could pretty much assume that the council would send their envoys over with a warrant of arrest for Zero in a few days." "..." For a while, Aidou Hanabusa just stared at the human girl in silent contemplation. There seemed to be a mystery surrounding the girl; he wanted to know what that was, but he knew Wakaba Sayori would never reveal it to him or anyone else, for that matter. At least, not at this point, but he was certain that one of these days, the girl’s secret would be out in the open for everyone to know. Somehow, deep underneath his own heart he wanted very much to be the first person who get to know about the girl's secret. "Shit!" Aidou Hanabusa cursed aloud as the thought fleeted past his mind, causing the human girl to stare at him quizzically before turning away from him. 'Stop it, and snapped out of it! Stop thinking about something that would never happen, and she's a human. For heaven's sake, things would never work out between them! ' Aidou Hanabusa told himself repeatedly inside his heart, The girl had first caught his eyes when he noticed for the first time just how different Sayori's reactions to the members of the night class had seemed when compared to the rest of the females from the day class. The girl had always greeted them politely whenever they crossed each other's paths within the school grounds, but that was it. Wakaba Sayori would never be seen among the fan-girls, instead, it was by the side of Yuuki if the girl did happen to be hanging around the vicinity of the Moon Dormitory. Nonetheless, he had not given the girl's existence any thought before. It was not until he started noticing the girl following Kiryuu Zero off the academy grounds that he finally started paying extra attention to the girl. Over time, he felt himself somewhat drawn towards the personality and characteristics of Wakaba Sayori. Even though it had only been slightly more than two weeks since he started to watch the girl, Sayori had never failed to fascinate him. Even though today was the first time he spoke to the girl in person. True, the girl had always been keeping an eye on Zero, but according to his observation, Sayori was not observing Kiryuu Zero out of personal interest. At least, it was not in the sense of romance but one out of sheer duty and responsibility. He had seen how Sayori would always frown when Kiryuu Zero got himself injured and how the girl had taken to talking for a prolonged period over the phone in the middle of the night and out in some isolated areas for fear of disturbing anyone with her phone conversation. "Wakaba Sayori ... Who are you, actually?" Aidou Hanabusa found himself musing aloud as he stared at the silent girl from behind. "Hmm...? Did you say anything just now?" Wakaba Sayori turned towards the blue-eyed blond vampire and asked, cocking her head slightly to the side as she regarded the daze-like blond. Aidou blinked, coming back to his senses, and nearly blanched upon recalling his previous words. Still, he shook his head and responded. "Nothing ... just talking to myself." "Oh ... alright then, I'll be off now. Although, I'll say you might want to hurry along too unless you intended to get yourself a sunburn." Wakaba Sayori said as she reminded the blond yet again of the possibility of being burnt if he were to stay out in the woods any longer. It was after all, the spring season as they are now in the third week of March. Soon, the time for the Spring Break would be upon them. Unlike the sun during the winter season, the sun in the Spring season is a tad stronger. Therefore, it would truly be torture for vampires like Aidou to stay out in the sun for a prolonged period. --- “Mamoru-sama, you’ve guests!” Tsubaki announced as he led the figures of Kiryuu Zero and Kaname Kuran through the back door of the bar and up a flight of stairs towards the second floor of the building. “...” Kaname Kuran had to admit, of all the possible places he’d imagined Mamoru Hiou hiding away, this was the last place he would’ve thought to find the new lord of the Hiou family. With the passing of Shizuka Hiou, Mamoru Hiou was essentially the only one to inherit the Hiou family fortunes, left behind by the previous lord of the family who'd recently passed on. After all, Shizuru Hiou had already married out of the family and is now part of the Fujiwara clan. “Zero and young lord Kuran? Oh my, this is truly a surprise.” Kiryuu Mamoru, or rather Mamoru Hiou, remarked with a slight raise of his eyebrow as he beckoned for the duo to take a seat at his cozy little dining table in his little studio apartment situated directly above the bar he owns and operates in this humble little town. “Cut the crap, gramps! With Tsubaki keeping an eye on my surroundings, I'm quite certain you’ve been kept updated with the recent developments between the two of us.” Kiryuu Zero rolled his eyes as he responded to the remarks of his grandfather. “Right. In that case, let us cut to the chase. Shall we? I presume the two of you are here to speak to me about Shizuka’s death?” Mamoru nodded before prompting. “Indeed. I must first apologize for getting ahead of you in snuffing out her life. Though, I must say I don’t regret a single moment of doing so. Your sister has a terrible personality.” Kaname Kuran started as he took over the baton from his beloved to keep the conversation going with the grandfather of Kiryuu Zero. While Kaname Kuran spoke with his grandfather, Kiryuu Zero spends his time surveying the living quarters of his grandfather. Though, this wasn’t his first time coming into contact with his undead grandfather but this was definitely the first-time Zero stepped foot into the living quarters of the former. “The situation right now is that we need a scapegoat for the senate of the vampire council when they launched an inquiry on the subject.” Kaname Kuran finally went into the main topic behind their visit to the humble abode of Mamoru Hiou this evening, after spending a moment to outline the entire event that transpired this evening leading up to the death of the ‘Blooming Mad Princess’, Shizuka Hiou. “Zero suggested to come to me, did he? Looks like he did study quite a lot about the house rules of the Hiou family while researching into my dear sister.” Mamoru snorted at the memory of how his grandson had soaked up the information from the books, he had Tsubaki left on the desk of his grandson every so often, like a sponge taking to the water. Funny that his grandson had never once questioned Kaien Cross about how those books came into existence. Perhaps his grandson did know what he was doing, but simply chose not to comment on them. Just then, a knock sounded on the door before the door swiftly opened up and closed, admitting another vampire boy. This time slightly older than Tsubaki but didn’t look much older than Kiryuu Zero. “What do you have for me today, Tsubasa?” Mamoru Hiou prompted as he flicked his eyes over to where the newcomer now stood, ready to give his report. The vampire teen named Tsubasa hesitated slightly as he flicked his gaze towards where Kaname Kuran and Kiryuu Zero had sat, drawing an eye-rolling response from Tsubaki, who was perched on the railing of the window on the second floor of the building. “Tsubasa, meet Kiryuu Zero – my grandson- and Kaname Kuran. The young lord of the Kuran family and the partner of my grandson.” Mamoru Hiou started as he introduced the vampire duo to his bodyguard, Tsubasa. “...” For a while, Kiryuu Zero thought of correcting his grandfather’s statement about Kaname being his partner but then decided against it in the end. Mostly because with Tsubaki around, his grandfather likely had already known about the eventual existence of Subaru and Akira. Furthermore, with the ongoing courtship between him and Kaname, on a technicality, his grandfather isn’t wrong to introduce the pureblood king as his partner because they are bound to get bonded and mated to one another, eventually. “Zero, and young lord Kuran. Meet Tsubasa, like Tsubaki – he's also one of my bodyguards. Due to my unique circumstances, my parents deemed it necessary to sic quite several bodyguards around me to safeguard my safety. Tsubasa and Tsubaki are siblings, their parents are currently out of town. I had them stationed full-time in the UK to keep tabs on your uncle and his family. So, now I only have Tsubaki and Tsubasa keeping guard around me these days. However, due to my daily activities under my alias... they are usually busy with other tasks.” Mamoru explained with a nonchalance shrug of his shoulder as he introduced his guards to the vampire duo seated in his little, cozy apartment space. “Tasks like keeping tabs on me, you mean?” Kiryuu Zero rolled his eyes once more at his grandfather, thinking that he had several people watching out for him. For instance, the Fujiwara had Sayori watching him and Risa Miyazaki is also watching out for him to a certain extent. His grandfather had Tsubaki watching out for him. Now, Kiryuu Zero simply hoped that he had no more unnamed guards that he didn’t even know existed within or around the academy grounds whose purpose was to keep a lookout on his welfare. “Maa...maa, that’s Tsubaki’s duty. Tsubasa was a tad different, I had him focused on watching the Senate while I handled the watching of the Hunter’s Association on my own.” Mamoru Hiou answered before shifting his eyes back onto the figure of Tsubasa as he inquired. “So, Tsubasa – care to share what intel you return with from the senate today?” “Someone leaked the news of Shizuka-sama's death to the senate approximately an hour ago,” Tsubasa responded in a reporting tone of voice. “... that’s fast. Who leaked the news to the Senate? Was it anyone from the academy?” Mamoru Hiou prompted as a frown marred his features. “It was your other grandson, Mamoru-sama.” Tsubasa told Mamoru Hiou placidly in response. “Ichiru!? Why would he do that?” Kiryuu Zero had all but blurted out upon hearing Tsubasa’s intel. “Tsubasa, did he give the senate a name for the culprit behind Shizuka’s death?” Mamoru Hiou frowned as he pressed on for further details. “Yes. He offered up the name of his twin to the senate.” Tsubasa nodded as he answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “...” Kiryuu Zero was stumped; the sheer knowledge of his twin framing him for the death of Shizuka Hiou was just so ridiculous that he didn’t know what to make of it. “Ichiru, that boy... he’s been left in the care of Shizuka for far too long.” Mamoru Hiou ‘tsked’ under his breath as he muttered under his breath in displeasure. “Young Lord Kuran, the matter you’ve just mentioned. I agreed. While I do not know what Ichiru is playing at, I suspect he decides to frame Zero out of his own will. He likely has the foolish idea in mind to avenge that sister of mine and continue her plan to seek and track down Rido Kuran. There's a rumor that Rido Kuran was hiding out in the vampire council, Ichiru likely offers up Zero’s name to the senate to gain a ticket into the senate and the vampire council.” Mamoru Hiou first spent a moment analyzing Ichiru’s thoughts pattern to his baffled grandson who isn’t good at mind-games like the rest of them, before turning his eyes back to land upon the figure of Kaname Kuran as he responded. With that said, the new lord of the Hiou family signaled for Tsubaki to lead the two of them out while he beckoned Tsubasa forward to share further intel that the former had for him from the senate. “...” “Come on, I’ll walk the two of you back to the Cross Academy,” Tsubaki announced in his usual cheery tone as he showed Kiryuu Zero and Kaname Kuran back out of the alley where the bar belonging to Richard Meyers was located and back onto the main street that will take them back to the Cross Academy. To be continued Date started: 04/06/09 Date completed: 06/06/09 Date edited: 06/06/09 Date revised: 09/03/2025
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Are you heading back to the chairman’s place or would you be dropping by the Moon Dorm?” Kaname Kuran started when they arrived back at the entrance that led to the Cross Academy. Tsubaki, the guard that Mamoru Hiou had taken to sic on Kiryuu Zero had slinked back to the shadows of the night, shortly after he’d walked them back to the school. However, given Tsubaki’s task was to keep tabs on Zero, the pureblood king had reasons to suspect the boy was hanging around somewhere close to the academy. Kiryuu Zero frowned as he appeared to mull over the question for a moment before deciding to join the pureblood king on the journey back to the Moon Dorm. He would like to check in on the twins once more, Subaru's condition worries him. Until Kiryuu Zero had seen how the elder twin behaved after waking up from the sleep Kaname placed the boy under, likely, the silver-haired guardian wouldn’t be able to sleep well even if he were to head back to the chairman’s place. “I’ll join you on the return trip to the Moon Dorm. I'm concerned about how Subaru is doing.” Kiryuu Zero answered, his mind made up. “Has your wound healed up?” Kaname Kuran inquired as he halted mid-steps to turn and assess the physical condition of the silver-haired guardian. “All nicely healed up. I was the one who fired the shot, of course, I wouldn’t fire a shot that would seriously impair my walking capability. I was merely limping slightly earlier, but after the feeding session before we left the school to visit my grandfather. I'm now as good as new.” Kiryuu Zero rolled his eyes momentarily as he responded to the query coming from the pureblood king. “Good. Akane told me Subaru’s distress stems from two reasons. One was when he witnessed Shizuka Hiou sinking her fangs into you, and the second reason stems from the shot you’d fired at yourself. It's good that the wound in your leg has since healed up, otherwise, Subaru might blame himself for your injury when he wakes.” Kaname Kuran commented in relief as he pulled the silver-haired guardian along with him as they stepped through the front door of the Moon Dorm. “...” Kiryuu Zero wasn’t an idiot, a quick scan of the faces belonging to the night class members and he knew, they had all been filled in by Akatsuki Kain about the site of Shizuka Hiou’s death and now all of them were looking at him in varying degree of disbelief. Although, Aidou Hanabusa’s expression was one of conflict. Inwardly, the silver-haired guardian wonders if the blue-eyed blond was among the few who knew of the true circumstances that led to the death of his former ‘master’ - the Blooming Mad Princess. “Come on, Zero. Ignore them, I will speak to them about the matter later. Now, let’s head upstairs and check in on the twins.” Kaname Kuran said as he dragged his beloved upstairs to his private suite room, but not without sending a warning look in the direction of the members of his inner circle. “Have you heard? The Blooming Mad Princess was killed on the academy grounds.” Vampire A started in a whisper. “Yeah... rumors have it that it was Kiryuu who did it.” Vampire B whispered in return. “Serious? Why do I find that a tad of a stretch? I get that Kiryuu is always talking about killing her to avenge his family, but he was turned by her, wasn’t he? Wasn't there a clause that makes it impossible for a servant to kill the master? They might be able to harm, maimed, and hurt but not to the extent of delivering a fatal blow.” Vampire C points out objectively to his two friends. “Akatsuki, what do you reckon happened in that room?” Ichijo Takuma slung his arms casually over the tall vampire with light orange hair as he whispered in curiosity. “Damn if I know. By the time I arrived on site, the Blooming Mad Princess was already a pile of dust and sand on the ground. All I could see was the splatters of blood on the ground, and Kiryuu kneeling by the side of the pile of sand that was originally the Blooming Mad Princess with his anti-vampire weapon tightly held in his grasp. I asked him what happened, but he refused to answer, what am I supposed to put down on the report? I could only write down what I’d seen. However, I don’t believe it was Kiryuu who killed the Blooming Mad Princess. After all, based on the various accounts from the eyewitnesses... when the blood scent was at its thickest level, Kiryuu was still involved in a fight with his twin in the room near the school’s event hall. It takes quite a fair bit of time to move from that place to the room where Shizuka Hiou drew her last breath. However, due to no other possible candidates on the academy grounds who have a motive to want Shizuka Hiou dead, Kiryuu would likely end up as a scapegoat for the senate.” Akatsuki Kain analyzed the situation objectively with his fellow friends who belong to the inner circle of Kaname Kuran, the pureblood king. “I’m with Akatsuki on this. I truly don’t think Kiryuu has it in him to pull the trigger, he’s too much of a softie at heart. Level E aside, I've never seen Kiryuu opening fire to kill. Most of the time, it’s just warning shots.” Shiki Senri then shares his opinion in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Yeah, even with Level E, he tried his best to end it fast. Mercy killing at its finest.” Touya Rima added from Shiki’s side, as she thought back on the various occasions, she had witnessed the silver-haired guardian amid a hunting mission for the hunter’s association in his trainee days. “Hanabusa, what’s your opinion on the subject?” Akatsuki Kain started when he noticed the oddly subdued mood of his cousin. “Yeah, it’s unlike you to be this silent on subjects like this. Wasn't it your hobby to play investigator?” Ichijo Takuma butted in as he leaned his weight onto the blue-eyed blond vampire playfully. “...” Aidou Hanabusa spluttered unintelligently for a moment, before sighing aloud as he stated in an adamant tone of voice. “Kiryuu didn’t do it. That much, I’m certain.” Inwardly, the blue-eyed blond wanted to groan aloud at the amount of pressure he was under. The torture of knowing the answer but being unable to share it due to being sworn into secrecy by the king was truly terrible. If only, everyone could stop talking and discussing the subject of the death of Shizuka Hiou on academy grounds. Poor Kiryuu, having to take the rap for Kaname-sama, despite being innocent. Still, what brought on Kaname-sama's decision to kill the Blooming Mad Princess? Aidou Hanabusa couldn’t help but wonder inwardly to himself as a frown marred his features. The members of the inner circle were whispering among themselves as they speculated on the latest event that transpired on academy grounds involving the resident silver-haired guardian. Back upstairs in the private suite room of the pureblood king, Kaname Kuran and Kiryuu Zero spend a moment to check in on the twins before retreating to the privacy of the adjoining private study for another round of the feeding session. Kiryuu Zero thought an additional round of feeding was unnecessary, but Kaname Kuran had insisted claiming that a five-minute feeding session was too brief. They might work well enough to speed up the healing of Zero’s wound, it probably wouldn’t be enough to sate the thirst of the beast. And so, Kiryuu Zero had caved and allowed himself to indulge in the euphoria of feeding off the pureblood king, his future mate, once more. Future mate, as surreal as it was to think about Kaname Kuran in this manner. Kiryuu Zero had grown to accept the fact. Especially, after he had realized his growing feelings towards the pureblood king. While it’s true that his feelings for Kaname aren’t as strong as what Kaname harbors for him, the attraction is still there. And with time, Kiryuu Zero is certain that the feelings he held for the pureblood king would only continue to grow. How could he not feel the desire to reciprocate when he’s reminded of the love Kaname harbors for him, every single time he fed off from the pureblood king? Moreover, Kiryuu Zero knows now what the future has in store for him, and he has to admit he quite enjoys the idea of having a family at the back of his mind. This was something he hadn’t thought possible after getting turned by Shizuka Hiou, that fateful night four years ago. And then, the time vortex dropped the trios into his lap, and he was suddenly reminded of the fact that once he got past the undesirable part of having to take blood from another regularly and embrace his vampire self. He could still get and create the family he desired, albeit in a different way than he’d once thought he would be getting. Hence if the attraction and love he’s now feeling for Kaname Kuran stemmed from his innate desires for a family? So be it. “Enough?” Kaname Kuran prompted when he felt the silver-haired guardian removing the fangs from his neck, after feeding for about ten minutes. “Enough.” Kiryuu Zero nodded in affirmation as he responded. “Well, in that case, let’s talk about Tsubaki.” The pureblood king started as he eyed his beloved with a look of morbid interest. “What do you want to know about Tsubaki?” Kiryuu Zero sighed, this was a topic he knew would be brought up for discussion after the visit to his grandfather. “How long have you been aware of Tsubaki’s existence in your vicinity?” Kaname Kuran inquires out of curiosity. “Four years. Tsubaki has been assigned to keep track of my actions ever since Shizuka Hiou slaughtered my parents and turned me. I was half comatose when the Fujiwara clan retrieved me from the front porch of my family home in the wake of Shizuka’s attack. Given the uproar of the news of the attack on my family home, grandfather probably heard of the news wherever he was and visited me while I was unconscious and being attended to at the ancestral home of the Fujiwara clan. It's likely after his visit that he decides to sic Tsubaki on me, to keep tabs on me just to ensure that I didn’t try to off myself or something. Initially, I didn’t know Tsubaki was his guard, I had assumed him to be a guard of Shizuru. After all, Shizuru’s bodyguard was named Tsubomi. Tsubaki had gone slinking into the dark once Kaien Cross took on the guardianship responsibility of me, and I was shifted from the ancestral home of the Fujiwara clan in Kyoto to the Cross Residence located in the middle of nowhere. To date, I still don’t understand why he would choose to live in a place without any form of public transport. Anyway, coming back... after I moved into the Cross Residence, Tsubaki came by to check in on me once per week. Every time, he would only swing by when I was asleep and leave behind books for me to read. I didn’t question why those books were chosen, but having nothing better to do... I read them. It's through those books Tsubaki brought me that I picked up knowledge about pureblood as well as the proper ways to kill a pureblood. I thought this information would come in handy when I sought revenge on Shizuka Hiou, so I put in extra effort in remembering them.” “I see. When did you realize Tsubaki was sent to watch out for you by your grandfather?” Kaname Kuran prompted after a moment of silence when he realized his beloved had zoned out on him, probably stuck in a trip down memory lane. “Hmm...just slightly before the night class is established. I was out on a hunting mission and chanced upon Tsubomi. I asked her then if it was okay for Tsubaki to remain outside for so long. Tsubomi looked at me once with a look of bewilderment before responding that Tsubaki doesn’t answer toward Shizuru but directly to my grandfather. That was when I knew about the true allegiance of Tsubaki.” Kiryuu Zero shrugged nonchalantly in response before he realized that he was still seated upon the lap of the pureblood king and hastily shifted away to sit on the empty spot of the couch in the private study instead. “I see. So, what’s the house rule of the Hiou family that he claims you’d remembered so well?” Kaname Kuran pondered for a moment before voicing the nagging doubts he had in his mind since his beloved mentioned that there was nothing the senate could do about Shizuka’s death if his grandfather agreed to take the rap of killing Shizuka Hiou for him. “The Hiou family are notorious for producing insanities otherwise known as berserkers. It was for that reason that some of them had never been allowed to travel outside the house. And in the case if one of the berserkers broke out of their cage and wreaked havoc in town, disrupting the lives of the locals. The lord of the family has the right to subjugate the member who broke the rules, and if the berserker were to reject being subjugated by the lord of the family. The lord of the family reserves the right to snuff out the life of the said member who went berserk. Considering what Shizuka Hiou had done to my family, my grandfather does have the authority to exercise the right to snuff out her life. That's the house rule in place for the Hiou family, it hasn’t been executed since the establishment of the vampire council and the senate but it’s an old existing rule in place for the house. Hence, the reason why the Senate wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. It's kind of like they can’t overrule you in your territory... something along the line. It's just if they are set on persecuting me for the death of Shizuka Hiou, even if you can overturn their judgment... it’ll take time. Time that would only serve to cause further distress to the kids, they likely wouldn’t take it well if I were to end up in the holding cell at the senate while you work on getting me released from their custody. So, I figured I might as well get my grandfather in to take the rap in this case. Win-win for us all. Besides, with grandfather back in the spotlight... the senate might have to think twice about laying claims on the fortunes that belong to the Hiou’s.” Kiryuu Zero shrugged as he proceeded to recite the house rule for the Hiou family to satisfy the curiosity of the pureblood king. “I see. So, now we’ll just wait for the Senate to send in their guys to conduct the inquiry. Since we are already on the subject of Shizuka Hiou, when do you intend to complete your turning process? She did pass me a bottle of her blood for your ingestion, do you want to take it now?” Kaname Kuran nodded in response before recalling the bottle of blood that now sat in the drawer of his private study and promptly turned inquiring eyes upon the figure of Kiryuu Zero. “Wait, she passed you a bottle of blood for me after you’d crushed her heart? What's she playing at?” Kiryuu Zero found himself frowning once more at the thought of his supposed master, it seemed like even in death, the woman still managed to confuse him. The pureblood king merely shrugged before standing to move over to his desk retrieved the bottle of blood that belonged to Shizuka Hiou and handed it over to Kiryuu Zero. The silver-haired guardian, meanwhile, made no move to accept the bottle of blood from the pureblood king. Just the thought of ingesting the blood of that woman made him frown and had his nose scrunched up in distaste. “Surely, it’s not that bad? Shizuka Hiou might have a terrible personality, but she is still a pureblood with the distinctive scent of cherry blossoms... I’m sure the taste won’t be too difficult for you to stomach. Albeit I’m sure her blood wouldn’t taste like nectar to you given your abhorrent hatred of her.” Kaname Kuran pointed out objectively when he sensed the reluctance on the silver-haired guardian’s part when it came down to the idea of ingesting the blood provided by Shizuka Hiou to complete the turning process. Honestly, there’s a part of Kaname that is very much curious about the changes that his future mate would display following the completing of the turning process. “I know. However, I just couldn’t handle the idea of ingesting her blood. Every time I thought of her, I could only remember how she’d slaughtered my parents in cold blood and how she’d taunt me as she sank her fangs into my neck, turning me against my will. The three times I met her, none of the experiences could be considered good. The first time I met her; she wiped out my family and cursed me to a life of eternity that I didn’t ask for and taught me the feeling of true hatred. The second time I met her; she was possessing the body of another while she taunted and baited me into a fight which ended up with me getting slashed by Ichiru’s sword. The third time I met her; she’d nearly gotten her hands on Yuuki’s blood and traumatized our future son. Now, I had been told that to complete the turning, I’d have to drink her blood. Pardon me for saying this but it’s a tad too hard for me to stomach the idea at present. Unlike Ichiru, my impression of her hasn’t been good... that, and truly, after witnessing how Ichiru had devoured her as she drew her last breath. The image was so disturbing that the sheer idea of ingesting her blood just turns my stomach.” Kiryuu Zero eventually said as he tried to explain to the pureblood king just why exactly he was having trouble reaching for that offered bottle of blood. “...” “If ingesting her blood turns your stomach, how willing are you to bite your grandfather for blood?” Kaname Kuran raised his eyebrow questioningly as he prompted. In response to his query, the silver-haired guardian had promptly turned green at the thought before throwing him a look of annoyance. “Disgusting.” “Exactly. See! Your human side might still appear undecided, but your beast knows whose blood it desires. After drinking from me, I honestly doubt your beast would be inclined to take blood from other sources. However, sometimes one would have to ingest the blood of another out of necessity.” Kaname Kuran couldn’t help but smile despite the situation, his inner beast is preening because their future mate is willing to drink from them. “Is that your roundabout way of telling me that I'm falling for you?” Kiryuu Zero rolls his eyes as he addresses the smug-looking pureblood king. “Hmm... maybe? In any case, the ingestion of Shizuka’s blood is an act of necessity for both of us. I did it because I need to absorb her powers, you, on the other hand, need it to complete your turning and unlock the true potential of your powers. So, if you have trouble ingesting them voluntarily... maybe, I ought to help you with the act.” Kaname Kuran responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice before uncapping the cap to the bottle of blood as he emptied the contents into his mouth but didn’t swallow. Kiryuu Zero felt his eyes widening at the actions taken by the pureblood king, and unbiddenly, the images of what Akane did to him back in late February came rushing back to the forefront of his mind and he gasped. “Wait, Kaname... you’re not thinking of doing the same thing Akane once did to me, are you?” He didn’t get any response from the pureblood king. Kaname Kuran couldn't respond as he now had the blood of Shizuka Hiou in his mouth. Heading straight for the figure of Kiryuu Zero, the pureblood king wasted no time at prying open the mouth of his beloved with his lips and later proceeded to ‘kiss’ the blood of Shizuka Hiou into the silver-haired guardian. ‘I can’t believe I got force-fed the blood of another into my system twice through the means of a kiss?! First from Akane, and now from Kaname. Damn, the kiss was good... if only, it wasn’t the taste of Shizuka’s blood that I’m tasting while being kissed.’ Kiryuu Zero thought as he found himself swallowing the blood of his former master on reflex as he responded eagerly to the kiss instigated by the pureblood king that began as an act of force-feeding. The duo remains in a lip-locking position for quite a fair bit of time, breaking apart only because they are both out of breath. Neither spoke, instead, they focused on looking each other in the eyes. The duo was about to start kissing once more when the sudden sound of a gasp followed by the distressed cries of ‘Daddy’ coming from the adjoining bedroom snapped the attention of Kaname Kuran and Kiryuu Zero back to reality. Almost immediately, the silver-haired guardian pulled the door to the private study of the pureblood king open as he made a beeline towards the large canopy bed placed in the center of the adjoining room and promptly picked up the silver-haired child into his arms as he started whispering soothing words to the distressed boy. Next to the distressed Kiryuu Subaru, the younger twin, Kuran Akira stirred as he blinked blearily up at the sight in front of him. Deciding that his parents likely wouldn’t have time for him, and he still hasn’t quite napped enough yet. The wavy-haired child promptly decides to go back to sleep, allowing the pureblood king and his future mate to focus their full attention on consoling his elder twin who’s still displaying signs of distress from the earlier run-in with that demented relative of theirs. “Hush, Subaru. It's okay, your father took care of her. So, nobody would be hurting us now. See, daddy is fine.” Kiryuu Zero started as he wiped away the tears of distress from the face of the elder twin. “Daddy?” Kiryuu Subaru started upon the familiar sound and feel of his beloved parent’s presence. “Yes, Subaru. It's daddy. We're safe now. The bad woman is gone. Your father took care of her. Now hush before you wake your brother from his nap.” Kiryuu Zero said as he placed extra emphasis on the mention of the word ‘safe’ while rubbing soothing circles on the back of the silver-haired child. “Father?” Subaru begins as he starts looking around for the figure of his other parent. “Yes, Subaru?” Kaname Kuran started as he stepped forward to give the silver-haired boy a clear view of his presence. Kiryuu Subaru spends a moment looking at the younger versions of his parents before shifting his gaze to take in the sights of his current surroundings. Upon the recognition that they were now in the private suite that belonged to the pureblood king, the future firstborn of the pureblood king and the silver-haired hunter finally allowed himself to heave a sigh of relief. “I apologized for running off earlier, Father.” Kiryuu Subaru begins first by apologizing to the pureblood king, before turning his eyes upon the figure of his beloved parent and continuing with his apology. “I’m sorry for allowing my emotions to get the best of me and endangering us all by allowing my powers to run rampant. In hindsight, I should’ve known better than to chase after Daddy, but I was worried. I've never seen the two of you looking so concerned at the same time before.” “...” “Subaru, I’m not going to say I’m happy with the disappearing act you pulled on all of us earlier today. However, given the amount of distress you’ve undergone earlier this evening, I’m going to let it slide this one time. Still, I must emphasize that you’d abide by the rules given, the next time around. This time that you and your siblings landed yourselves in isn’t all that safe either. Granted, the situation during this time might not be as dire as the situation from where the three of you arrive... it’s not exactly peaceful. I'm not sure how much of the family history the lot of you have been in the know, so I figured that once Akira woke up... I might as well give the two of you a crash course on our family history. Perhaps, after the crash-course, the two of you would have it drilled into your mind that why the two of you need to stay put when instructed.” Kaname Kuran eventually said. Inwardly, the pureblood king was thinking Subaru was lucky that the ‘villain’ he came face-to-face with today was Shizuka Hiou. Due to Shizuka Hiou’s inherent desire to taunt and play around with Kiryuu Zero, while she tries to attain her goal of getting her hands on the blood of Yuuki. Her focus wasn’t entirely centered on Subaru, if anything, Subaru’s presence only serves to fuel her desire to mess with her so-called ‘servant’ further. Yes, her treatment of Zero had traumatized Subaru to a certain extent but Kaname still thinks the boy has it lucky that it’s Shizuka Hiou that he ended up encountering. After all, Shizuka Hiou had only hinted at her desire to get a taste of Subaru’s blood, and even that, it’s very likely something she’d said to get a rise out of Kiryuu Zero upon discovering the importance of Subaru to the silver-haired guardian. If it had been that vile Rido Kuran that Subaru encountered, the experience would have been far more unpleasant for the boy to handle. Ultimately, Kiryuu Zero ended up spending the night once more in the private suite of the pureblood king at the Moon Dorm. Unlike the previous time whereby the silver-haired guardian was made to stay under the request of the twins and the pureblood king. This time, Kiryuu Zero made the decision himself, out of his concern for the mental well-being of Subaru. --- “Why is Subaru glued to the side of Kiryuu today? I thought it’s usually Akira that’s glued to the side of Kiryuu when he’s visiting the Moon Dorm?” Ichijo Takuma couldn’t help but inquire when he noticed the unusual sight of the elder twin sticking close to the side of the silver-haired guardian who had somehow decided to stay overnight in the Moon Dorm as opposed to heading back to the chairman’s place, voluntarily. “Beats me. You might have better luck getting an answer out of Akane than from me.” Akatsuki Kain deadpans at the green-eyed blond vampire as he stifles a yawn. The time is 7 am on Sunday, the fire-wielding vampire would usually be in bed by this time. However, due to the death of Shizuka Hiou on academy grounds last evening... he was tasked to put together the report required for submission to the senate after his ice-wielding cousin informed him last night following a walk in the woods that someone had leaked the news of Shizuka Hiou’s death to the senate. Where exactly did his cousin obtain the information, Akatsuki had no clues, but he knew his cousin was right. Shortly after Kaname-sama returns with Kiryuu from a trip that took them out of the academy grounds, their pureblood leader instructs him to start putting together the inquiry report for the members of the senate who are bound to come calling upon them to inquire after the matter, first thing after sunset. And so, Akatsuki Kain was now busy compiling the report that’s to be submitted to the senate this evening. Until he’s done with the compilation of the report, likely, he wouldn’t be getting any sleep. “Akane, can I take up a bit of your time?” Ichijo Takuma calls out to the attention of the sandy-brown-haired vampire girl who had just passed them by in the library of the Moon Dorm. “Sure, what’s up?” Akane asked as she dropped herself onto the empty seat next to her green-eyed blond cousin. “Why did Kiryuu stay the night? I was under the impression that he still isn’t accustomed to the idea of sleeping in a building that’s full of vampires. At least, that was the excuse that was given when he rejected Kaname’s suggestion to transfer into the night class back in late Feb.” The vice president of the Moon Dormitory asks as he starts fishing around for information concerning the silver-haired guardian’s decision to stay overnight at the Moon Dorm, last night. “I would’ve thought the reason is rather obvious. He stayed for the benefit of Subaru. Though, he stayed overnight last night... I assured you; that he probably didn’t get much sleep. I’m sure you’ve noticed the way Subaru’s sticking close to Zero today. The reason why Subaru’s gluing himself to the side of Zero had to do with his encounter with Shizuka Hiou last evening.” Akane sighed wearily as she responded to the query of her green-eyed blond cousin. “Subaru met the Blooming Mad Princess last night?! How?” Ichijo Takuma blurted out in shock, drawing the attention of the cousin trios – Aidou, Akatsuki, and Ruka onto his person at the same time. “Long story short, Subaru snuck out of the event hall and followed Zero out of curiosity last evening. His reckless decision to follow Zero led him to chance upon the scene of the altercation between Zero and the Blooming Mad Princess which resulted in an experience that caused some distress to the boy. Subaru’s distress was the reason why Zero had decided to stay overnight in the Moon Dorm last night.” Akane shrugged in response, and considering the run-in with Shizuka Hiou wasn’t something she wanted to be reminded of, she ended up giving her cousin a watered-down version of the event instead. In the meantime, Aidou Hanabusa who happens to overhear the ongoing conversation between Akane and Ichijo Takuma had an epiphany about the possible reasons that brought on his pureblood leader’s decision to kill the Blooming Mad Princess. Perhaps, Kaname-sama killed Shizuka Hiou because the woman had traumatized young Subaru, who had the misfortune to chance upon the confrontation taking place between Kiryuu Zero and her. Aidou Hanabusa thought as his eyes landed upon the silver-haired duo who were currently huddled up on the couch of the private library in Moon Dorm as the silver-haired guardian read a traditional folktale aloud to the somewhat unsettled silver-haired child. It took approximately a day and a half for Subaru to recover from his unfortunate encounter with the Blooming Mad Princess. During the day and a half, Kiryuu Zero had remained behind the walls of the Moon Dorm as he kept the twins company. However, his focus and attention were mainly on his future firstborn. Kaname Kuran, on the other hand, specially took time off his scheduled plans to give the two boys a crash-course in their family history. The crash-course in the family history naturally included the mention of his villain uncle, Rido Kuran, and the Blooming Mad Princess whom Subaru had the misfortune of encountering, that hailed from the Hiou family. “Hmm... so, is this Rido Kuran the father of Uncle Shiki?” Kuran Akira asks toward the end of the little crash course the pureblood king had given the twins about their family history. “Yes. How did you guess?” The pureblood king asks as he directs his eyes upon the figure of his little mirror-image in everything sans the eyes, that was inherited from his beloved. “I heard Uncle Takuma mention something about Uncle Shiki being your cousin before we arrived in this timeline. That, combined with the little family history lesson you’d given us, I kind of made an educated guess?” The six-year-old Kuran Akira shrugged in response to the question hailing from the younger version of his father. “Indeed. Your Uncle Shiki is my cousin and the illegitimate son of that vile uncle of mine. Because Shiki was born illegitimately, he was not given the surname of Kuran and went by the family name of his mother.” The pureblood king responded with a nod, and because he dreaded the topic of Rido Kuran, he refused to answer any more questions that came from the younger twin about his cousin’s biological father. “Akira, that’s quite enough snooping. Just know that your granduncle Rido is a dangerous and vile man, and that, one of these days, your daddy and I are bound to battle it out with him. When that happens, the two of you are to stay put with the guards we’d sicced on you two.” Kaname Kuran told the curious Akira with his firmest voice. “So, Granduncle Rido is more dangerous than the great-grandaunt Shizuka from Daddy’s side of the family that Subaru had the misfortune of encountering last evening?” Kuran Akira begins deciding to steer the subject away from his granduncle Rido and move on to the great-grandaunt Shizuka on the Hiou’s side of the family tree. “How did you figure it was great grandaunt Shizuka that I met last evening?” Kiryuu Subaru turns toward his younger twin with a frowning expression on his face. Given how distraught he had been after his encounter with Shizuka Hiou yesterday evening, so much so that his father had to put him to sleep while he was in Akane’s arms. Subaru highly doubts he had the time to share the experience of his little ‘adventure’ with his younger twin. “Well duh... I’m not sure if you are aware since you had been placed under the sleeping spell by father-dearest but it’s not exactly a secret that our great-grandaunt shows up on the grounds of Cross Academy, by this point. Before Daddy told me to join you in the nap, I happened to hear about the infamous Blooming Mad Princess dying on academy grounds while listening in to the circulating news among Father’s inner circle. That, combined with the murmuring I’d heard from you while you were under the effect of Father’s sleeping spell. I kind of concluded that you’ve had an unfortunate run-in with that demented relative of ours from Daddy’s side of the family.” Kuran Akira responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice as he clued his elder twin about how he’d concluded that it must have been Shizuka Hiou that Subaru had a run-in with, on the previous evening. “...” “I see. But why is she so mean to Daddy?” Kiryuu Subaru furrowed his brows in deep thoughts as he recalled the confrontation scene between his beloved parent and the infamous Blooming Mad Princess, he’d chanced upon on the previous evening. “That, I do not know, Subaru.” Kiryuu Zero sighed as he told the boy who had calmed down significantly from the experience of his encounter with that deranged grandaunt of his, last evening. “Oh...okay and what’s going to happen now?” Kiryuu Subaru blinked as he digested the words of his daddy before voicing his next query to the younger versions of his parents, with a look of concern apparent in his eyes. “What do you mean, Subaru?” Kiryuu Zero started as he shared a quick look with the pureblood king before returning his attention to the silver-haired child nestled to his side on the couch situated within the private suite that belonged to Kaname Kuran. “Daddy, you said Father took care of her earlier while I was distressed after waking from a nightmare. By taking care of her, does that mean that Father was the one that killed her? Akira did mention that the ongoing circulating news among father's inner circle was about our great-grandaunt dying on academy grounds. Being one of the few remaining purebloods in the world, her death is going to be investigated by the senate, isn’t it?” Kiryuu Subaru started as he flitted his concerned gaze upon the figure of his future parents. “Subaru, you shouldn’t concern yourself on such matters. Leave the issue of dealing with the senate to us, the adults to handle.” Kiryuu Zero allowed a sigh to escape him as he tugged the boy closer to him as he commented. “Indeed, Subaru. The Senate isn’t going to be a problem. Your great grandpapa has decided to help us out in dealing with the senate of the vampire council. Now, your brother is craving some ice cream. Your daddy and I, would be bringing Akira out for a little excursion into town for his ice-cream treat. Would you like to join us on the trip to town?” Kaname Kuran begins as he suggests a little impromptu trip into town to get Subaru’s mind off these adult matters. Seated beside the pureblood king, Kuran Akira snapped his head up to glance at the younger version of his father in surprise. Blinking rapidly, the boy tried to recall if he had requested ice cream at any point today but found himself drawing a blank on the subject. Still, being one who adores sweet treats, he wasn’t going to say no if his beloved parents were going to indulge in his sweet tooth for today. Henceforth, he’d wisely held his tongue despite his confusion at the situation at hand. Over the top of Subaru’s head, Kiryuu Zero raised his eyebrow slightly at the pureblood king’s mention of their little excursion trip into town. ‘You came up with that on a whim, didn’t you? I certainly didn’t recall Akira voicing his desires for ice cream just now.’ Kiryuu Zero seem to be sending the message silently to the pureblood king as they met eyes over the top of the head of their future firstborn. Granted, he wasn’t exactly expecting his silent query to be answered directly in his mind and hence when he heard the pureblood king’s voice in his mind, the silver-haired guardian nearly jumped out of his skin. ‘I simply thought an excursion trip into town would do some good in getting Subaru’s mind away from the matters that concern the aftermath of Shizuka’s death. And truly, this is an event that took place way before their time. The boy shouldn’t even be spending his time worrying about what kind of troubles the senate would be causing us when they came by to investigate the death of Shizuka Hiou.’ Kaname Kuran, on the other hand, merely arched an eyebrow elegantly in surprise when he heard the voice of his beloved sounding in his mind. While the pureblood king wonders how he could hear his beloved’s thoughts when they haven’t bonded in the official sense, Kaname Kuran is calm enough to send his thoughts back to his future mate without batting an eyelid. ‘Wait, we didn’t just communicate directly with our minds, did we?’ Kiryuu Zero was startled momentarily when he realized he could hear the response of the pureblood king resounding in his mind. ‘That, we did. I must say I’m surprised because this usually isn’t possible until we bonded officially. Furthermore, it’s you who started this conversation by sending me the message on your end first. Because I’m very certain I can’t initiate a mind conversation with you without an existing two-way bond between us. Still, even if you’d allowed me to bite and mark you now... the two-way bond wouldn’t allow me to initiate such communication between us until we consummate our bond with the use of a ritual for our union. So, whatever this is... I suspect it to be one of your newfound abilities that comes in the package of your completed turning. While on the subject, this marked the twelfth hour since you ingested Shizuka’s blood.’ Kaname Kuran sent back to the silver-haired guardian who appears rather unnerved by the sudden mind-link that opens between them. “...” Kiryuu Zero barely restrained the urge to groan aloud as he averted his eyes from the pureblood king, and in the process ended their little silent conversation. A few seconds later, he heard the voice of the pureblood king speaking up. “Zero, shall we conduct a little experiment on this newfound ability of yours?” Kaname Kuran begins with an intrigued look on his face, upon realizing that for them to hold a silent conversation among themselves, eye contact is needed. That, in turn, brought on another curious inquiry on his part. Kaname wonders if this newfound ability of his future mate would work on anyone, including humans, or if it’s only applicable for usage on vampires like them. “Experiment as in?” The silver-haired guardian raised an eyebrow questioningly as he responded to a comment coming from the pureblood king. ‘We test out how this little newfound ability of yours works by testing them out against the other members from my inner circle.’ Kaname Kuran suggested mentally when his future mate turned in his direction with a questioning look as they met eyes once more. “... I have a better idea. Why don’t we just try out the ability on Akane and hear what she has to say about it? I think that’s way better than us figuring out how this ability of mine works through the means of trial and error.” Kiryuu Zero eventually said after a moment of silent contemplation over the suggested idea from the pureblood king. “Daddy? What are you and Father talking about now?” The sound of Kiryuu Subaru speaking up reminded the duo that they weren’t alone, as they turned their focus back onto the curious boy in unison. “Nothing. We are just discussing the newfound abilities of your daddy after he completes his turning process.” Kaname Kuran responded with a tender ruffle of Subaru’s hair in a show of his affection for the boy. “Ah... is this about Daddy’s ability to hold a conversation with anyone as long as there’s eye contact between them?” Kiryuu Subaru piped up before turning his eyes upon the figure of his daddy as he began to study the aura of the silver-haired guardian in concentration. “You knew?” Kaname Kuran shifted curious eyes upon the figure of his future firstborn with Kiryuu Zero as he inquired. “Yes, well. The two of you, I meant, the future versions are fond of holding silent conversations whenever possible. Father is only able to hold such conversations with Daddy exclusively through their marital two-way bond, a little ability that they gained after the completion of their official bonding. Daddy seems to have the ability to hold silent conversations with practically everyone who maintains eye contact with him at any point in time. Quite a useful skill, it comes in handy when it comes down to keeping Akira in line during a solemn event. Whenever Akira starts getting restless and starts fidgeting around, Daddy never fails to silent him with a look. Later, Akira would let it slip to me that Father had Daddy threaten to cut off his sweet treats if he didn’t behave.” Kiryuu Subaru answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, as he shared his knowledge about this little ability of his beloved parent. “Hey! Why did you have to go and tell them about that?! Now, their younger selves are going to use the same tactic on me whenever I misbehave.” Kuran Akira pouted childishly at his elder twin for sharing that bit of information with the younger versions of Kaname Kuran and Kiryuu Zero. “...oh, so... as long as there’s eye contact, it’ll work?” Kiryuu Zero mused aloud, uncertain what to make of the latest discovery of his newfound ability yet. “Yep. This ability of yours is uncannily similar to Akane's. Only, Akane could read the minds of the people she had eye contact with. Yours, on the other hand, was the ability to project your voice directly into the mind of the person that meets eyes with you and in the process enabling a mental conversation to take place.” Kuran Akira bobbed his head up and down as he told the younger version of Kiryuu Zero. “Yeah, so if you didn’t want people to know what you’re thinking while meeting eyes with them. You've got to learn to control how to stop the projection of your thoughts when you don’t want people to hear what you’re thinking upon meeting eyes with them. I would suggest for you to practice on us, and Father before testing out the ability on others.” Kiryuu Subaru shrugged as he added to the response of his younger twin before changing the subject he turned back to the younger versions of his parents and asked. “So, are we still going on the trip to town?” “Of course, we are. So, boys go and get your jacket on, and then we’ll go downstairs to locate Akane. We might as well get our dinner in town.” Kaname Kuran answered in response before glancing over to his future mate for the former’s opinion on his suggestion. Kiryuu Zero shrugged wordlessly in response, deciding to just go along with what the pureblood king had suggested for them to spend their evening, today. He didn’t ask but he had reasons to suspect that Kaname Kuran had suggested the trip to the town on purpose. It's likely a ploy to get the boys out and away from the Moon Dorm when the senate of the vampire council sends in their lackey to conduct an inquiry into the death of the Blooming Mad Princess on academy grounds. “How do you intend to explain your absence from the school when the members from the senate drop by for questioning about the events leading up to the death of Shizuka Hiou, shortly?” Kiryuu Zero found himself voicing his doubt to the pureblood king when they utilized the use of the public washroom facility at the restaurant where they were getting dinner for the day. “How did you know that’s the reason behind my decision to hold a family outing, today?” Kaname Kuran directed a question of his own in return towards the silver-haired guardian, a curious tone in his voice. “Just a hunch. As Subaru had mentioned earlier, it's almost a guarantee that the senate would be launching an inquiry into the subject of Shizuka’s death. Considering how it was vital for the existence of the twins and Akane, but mostly the twins to be kept a secret from the members of the senate... it’s only natural for you to want them out and away when the lackey of the senate is visiting the Moon Dormitory. And unlike the time with Ichiou’s visit, it’s not realistic to send the twins off to the chairman’s place because whoever the senate sends to Cross Academy to conduct the inquiry is bound to request a chat with the chairman as well. Given its Sunday, the conversation between the chairman and the member of the senate looking into the matter of Shizuka’s death is bound to occur within the chairman’s residence. Henceforth, the only way for the existence of the twins to remain a secret from the senate was to have them away from the school grounds during the period whereby the inquiry process is taking place.” Kiryuu Zero responded analytically as he rinsed the soap lathering his hands under the running water of the wash basin in the public washroom facility of the restaurant. “Indeed. You're right, I did suggest the family outing to get the boys away from the academy grounds. As for the reason behind my absence at the Moon Dorm, well, I was planning to return to the academy grounds without you and the kids after we were done with dinner. That way, I could simply tell whoever Ichiou sent to the school to investigate the death of Shizuka Hiou, that I was preoccupied with something else. During this time, you and Akane can take the twins shopping or bring them to visit their great-grandpapa. I will send out my bat to locate you, once it’s safe enough for the twins to return to the school.” Kaname Kuran responded as he nodded in acceptance of the response provided by his beloved about his earlier query. Ultimately, Kiryuu Zero didn’t bring the twins over to the bar operated by the alias of their great grandpapa. Not that he’s against the idea of having the twins meet that grandfather of his, but more because Tsubaki had popped out of nowhere to inform him that the bar was closed for the day and his grandfather was away to call on an old friend. So, it might be best for him to postpone the meeting between his grandfather and the kids until a later time. --- For Shoto Isaya, the old and wise pureblood lord of the Shoto family. He certainly hadn’t expected his first visitor following his waking from a fifty-year slumber to be one of the two infamous fangless vampires that he considered his friend. Only, in the situation of Kaien Cross, the man was born human but made to become a fangless vampire after Juri Kuran pulled him back from the brink of death by bestowing quite a generous amount of her blood while having a medic work on treating the more serious injuries. Mamoru Hiou, on the other hand, was a true fangless vampire born into a pureblood vampire family that comes equipped with the skills and abilities of the pureblood vampire, sans the fangs to turn humans into ex-humans. “Mamoru, I’ve to say. I wasn’t expecting you to call on me this early. I've only just woken from my recent slumber, this morning. Dare I ask how long it has been since I fell asleep?” Shoto Isaya begins as he beckons for the young pureblood lord of the Hiou family to join him in his private sitting room. “Fifty years. I'm glad you didn’t sleep any longer, I need someone to tell me that I'm overthinking things.” Mamoru Hiou responded as he accepted the offered glass of water dosed with the artificial blood tablets. “I would offer you an alternative beverage if available. Unfortunately, I've only just woken from my slumber and hadn’t exactly gone shopping for groceries yet. So, dare I ask what have you so troubled?” Shoto Isaya, probably the oldest pureblood lord alive in this world given his 3000 years of age, commented in a tone of morbid interest. “It’s fine. I'm the one who chose to visit you as soon as I've received news of your awakening.” Here, Mamoru Hiou took a sip of the beverage offered and had to frown at its bland taste. Well, it’s a good thing he seldom gets bloodlust, or rather, bloodlust was never a thing for him due to his status as a fangless vampire. So, he needn’t force himself to ingest this artificial blood as regular as the rest of his guards. “Indeed. That still doesn’t change the fact that you’re stalling. What exactly brought you over to my doorstep with such a troubling aura leaking off your person?” Shoto Isaya deadpans. “I’m not sure if I’d ever mentioned to you before but my son, I meant my second born married a descendant of yours.” Mamoru Hiou started then, the frowning expression not leaving his face. “Wait. Hold up. Since when do you get hitched and procreate?” Shoto Isaya held up his hand to halt his lilac-eyed friend from speaking as he voiced the nagging doubt in his mind. “...Right, apology. I forgot you were asleep when that happened. Okay, the thing is fifty years ago, shortly after you went into your slumber. The one you’d just woken up from. As you know, I left behind my pureblood family shortly after I reached the age of maturity to explore new horizons. I was simply in an adventurous mood, so I went to become a vampire hunter. Originally, I started out taking up freelance hunting missions from the freelance hunter’s guild operated and managed by the Fujiwara clan. And in the year, you went into your slumber was when I met my wife. Kiryuu Megumi is a feisty little human girl, who despite not having the aptitude for vampire hunting refuses to give up on her family legacy. Long story short, I fell for her against my better judgment and later married her without my parents’ blessings.” Mamoru Hiou started somewhat sheepishly as he proceeded to give his long-time friend a watered-down version of the events leading up to his marriage union with his human wife. Shoto Isaya nearly spat out his drink then, turning incredulous eyes upon the figure of his fangless friend. The pureblood lord of the Shoto family repeated with blatant disbelief, “You went and got yourself hitched to a human wife from the infamous hunter’s clan without notifying your family?! How in the world did you manage that?” “It helps that no pureblood ladies or families would want a fangless vampire as their son-in-law, for fear of producing more mutants. Henceforth, my parents have never managed to get me a betrothal contract before I left home. Their attention is fully focused on my sisters then, so I’m left alone to decide on my life decisions. So, I spun a tale about how I'm an orphan and introduced myself to the Kiryuu as Mamoru, without giving away my family name. Given that my wife was the couple’s only daughter, I ended up ‘marrying’ myself into the Kiryuu family. And during the fifty years when you were slumbering away, my wife had given me two sons who are both fortunate enough to be born humans. In hindsight, I probably have my recessive vampiric genes to thank for. Albeit I'm now officially down to one single son after one of my sisters went berserk and slaughtered my eldest and his wife, four years ago. That's a story for another time, and probably a story you can wriggle out from Kaien Cross when he visits. Coming back, my purpose for today’s visit had to do with my younger son. As I was saying before, he married one of your descendants.” Mamoru Hiou rolled his eyes momentarily as he told his friend just how he’d managed to get himself hitched without anyone from his family finding out. That, he figured was part of the reason why Shizuka hadn’t thought twice before slaughtering his elder son and daughter-in-law in cold blood. “A descendant of mine?” Shoto Isaya was baffled for a moment, his wife and son had died centuries ago. His wife had sacrificed her life to make their only son a human, and he had allowed her to do so. Ever since then, Shoto Isaya has been living a life of solitude and having nothing better to do, he tends to fall into deep slumber opting to wake every once in fifty to hundred years just to get caught up with the latest affairs lest he get completely out of touch with the society. “Your human descendants. Your wife made your son a human with that ancient spell, didn’t she? Naturally, your son went on to get hitched and procreate with some human chicks out there, in the years that followed. I'm not sure how long it has been, but between then and now, one of your son’s descendants must have opted to leave the country and settled down in the UK where my youngest resides. Yes, my youngest isn’t in the country. He'd expressed his lack of desire to continue with the family career of hunting vampires, so I shipped him off to the UK to study and later took over part of the business running for the Hiou family. Again, yes... unlike my human wife and elder son who had no clues about my heritage. My youngest was aware, he’s a smart boy and managed to figure it out before I told him of my heritage. In any case, coming back to the subject of his union with your descendants. Long story short, they got acquainted and decided to get hitched. I met that descendant of yours once, it was during the time I was faking the death of my alias as Kiryuu Mamoru. One look at her and I could tell she had the Shoto genes in her, lying dormant. Still, I cannot exactly object when Yahiko tells me that he wants to marry her. I have no reason to object given that his chosen wife was human. So, they married. When they had their firstborn, I had Tsukasa and Alice keeping tabs on the newborn for months before heaving a sigh of relief that the boy has turned out human.” Mamoru Hiou paused here to take a sip of the offered beverage before continuing with his lengthy explanation behind the purpose of his visit to the Shoto residence, tonight. “Now, Yahiko, my youngest is telling me that his wife is expecting a second child in seven years, and I found myself getting worried once more. No matter how diluted your blood is running through the veins of my daughter-in-law, it didn’t change the fact that she had dormant vampiric genes in her. My son, on the other hand, had the recessive vampiric genes inherited from me. He would have been a Level B if my genes hadn’t been recessive. Henceforth, there's always a 50% chance of an atavism occurring in their offspring, they got lucky when they had their firstborn. This time, I’m not sure if they would be as lucky.” Mamoru Hiou answered with a sigh of weariness as he downed the offending beverage in one single gulp before setting down the wine glass back on the coffee table in front of him with a ‘clink’. “I see. Well, there’s still time until the child is born. Until then, prepare your son mentally for the possibility of gaining a vampire child in the family and for his wife to have a difficult birth that comes with complications. I seriously doubt that that descendant of mine had any clues about the dormant vampiric genes in her and the existence of vampires in general. When the time comes, ask your son to consider having the child sent elsewhere if the child was indeed born a vampire. After that, have someone modified the memories of that daughter-in-law and grandson of yours. I doubt your son’s memory needs to be modified since he has an idea of the existence of vampires given the family history of the Kiryuu. Furthermore, letting your son remember the entire experience has one benefit. It might caution him to practice contraception the next time around he decides to get intimate with his wife because like you say, there’s an inherent risk of their offspring ending up displaying signs of atavism.” Shoto Isaya shrugged nonchalantly in response, unlike Mamoru, he wasn’t as worried about the situation because whoever this descendant of his was, he didn’t know her on a personal scale. Mamoru, on the other hand, is different seeing as the other party involved in the situation was his son. “So, in short, you’re telling me to clue him in on his wife’s origin?” Mamoru Hiou commented after taking a moment to digest the words of his old friend. “Well, how else are you going to explain to him why there’s a chance of his offspring ending up as a vampire at birth?” Shoto Isaya deadpans as he sips away at the glass of red liquid he has in his hands. “...” --- With the arrival of Monday, it marks the start of a new school week. However, this is going to be a short week of school as the Spring Break is due to begin on Thursday. With only three days remaining in the current school year, naturally, the day class students are extra hyped up during the regular class change-over timing. The graduating students are screaming the names of their favorite night class members at the top of their lungs. “Damn, my ears are ringing. Was it just me or are the lot of them overzealous today?” Shiki Senri winced as he took a few steps backward from the blue-eyed blond aristocratic vampire who had the largest number of fangirls among the day-class girls. “Here, you can have these. They will help to muffle out the sound. Be prepared for them to behave in this manner until the school break for the spring holiday. These overzealous girls are from the graduating year, they likely wouldn’t have a chance to see all of you up close after leaving school. I guess, that’s why they’re so enthusiastic right now. Count yourself lucky that neither of you is in the day class because otherwise, you might find yourself having to turn down love letters at every corner of the school.” The sandy-brown-haired vampire girl, who goes by the name of Kiryuu Akane in both timelines told the mahogany-haired vampire with a sympathetic look on her face as she handed over a pair of earplugs for the night class model. “...” “How did you get back in with them crowding the entrance of the dormitory?” Ichijo Takuma inquires out of curiosity when he notices the familiar figure of his young cousin standing next to his roommate. “I took a page out of Seiren’s example by using the ninja ways of traveling,” Akane responded cheekily at her green-eyed blond cousin. It took a while for the vice president of the Moon Dorm to catch on to the underlying meaning behind Akane’s words, and when he did, Ichijo Takuma couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the sandy-brown-haired vampire girl as he deadpans. “Couldn’t you just tell me that you didn’t use the front gate when you returned to the dorm?” “Aw... but where’s the fun in it?” Akane grinned as she answered. “Whatever. Are you heading back out, again?” Ichijo Takuma prompted when he noticed the girl’s attire remained the same, the only thing missing from her person was her bookbag. Though, Akane still had a notebook, and a writing pen held in her grasp as she joined the two of them in the queue to leave the Moon Dorm. “Yep. I'm meeting Sayori in the school’s library to get a head start on the social studies project. The teacher-in-charge issued that project for our spring break assignment, and we were to submit it at the start of the next school year. Unlike Zero who got partnered up with Yuuki for the project and could optimize the use of the upcoming spring holiday to complete the said assignment as they are not going anywhere. The same cannot be said for me and Sayori, as Sayori is duty-bound to return home for the upcoming spring holiday. So, we need to compress the time needed to finish up the assignment into the remaining days of this school year. Hence, right now, I'm going to meet up with her to get the brainstorming session for the project out of the way. While on the subject, do you have a laptop I could borrow to draft out the project outline and overview?” Akane answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “...I thought curfew is starting in an hour for the day class students?” Ichijo Takuma blinked as he shifted bewildered eyes upon the figure of his sandy-brown-haired cousin. “Yes, but it’s okay. I got the chairman to permit Sayori to remain out after curfew, Sayori is aware of the secret about the night class members and gets to keep her memory of the event. Furthermore, like Zero, she’d taken the promotional exams for the hunting license. So, she isn’t like the other day class girls who are defenseless against the people of our kind.” Akane shrugged as she explained her reasoning to the green-eyed blond aristocratic vampire. “I see. And yes, you can use my laptop to work on the overview and outline for your class project.” Ichijo Takuma eventually responded as he addressed his sandy-brown-haired cousin. “Damn... I’m getting a headache from all those noises.” A common-class vampire who had the misfortune of standing near Yuuki Cross winced as he heard the female guardian blowing into her whistle once more as she tried desperately to get the crowd of fangirls to stop screaming the names of the noble-ranks vampires at the top of their lungs. “Good evening, Yuuki. Where's Zero?” Kaname Kuran started as he voiced his query to his beloved sister, after trying and failing to locate the familiar figure of the silver-haired guardian in the vicinity of the area where the class change-over usually took place. “Well... he’s busy rejecting the girls’ who dare to confess their feelings for him with a love letter in hand. For all his scowling and glares, you cannot argue that he has good looks that would draw people in.” Yuuki Cross started with a cheeky grin, as she recalled the peeved look on her friend’s face when she told Zero to turn the girls down politely instead of scaring them off with his infamous glare. Yuuki’s cheeky grin evolved into a mischievous grin when she recalled the various occasions in the past when she’d joined her silver-haired friend in his cafe-hopping activity, only to have people approaching her friend asking if he was a member of the night class at Cross Academy. Good Gracious, the dark look and aura rolling off Zero’s body then is quite memorable. That was way before the future trio arrived in their timeline, and back when her silver-haired friend was still having difficulties coming to terms with the notion of being turned. Of course, Yuuki hadn’t understood why her silver-haired friend’s mood always soured when the topic of the night class was brought up for discussion then. She had only figured out the reason after witnessing her friend’s taking blood from the neck of Akane, and then she had gone back to badger her adoptive father into telling her the story about when her friend got turned into a vampire. After all, when Kiryuu Zero was taken in by Kaien Cross, nothing was mentioned about his turning, and all Yuuki was told was that Zero’s family was wiped out in a tragic event and so, the silver-haired boy would be joining the Cross Academy from then onward. “...” The pureblood king looked at the expression on his beloved sister’s face and decided not to pry into the subject. So, all he did was give a gentle pat to the head of the female guardian before leading the rest of the members for the night class towards the direction of the school’s academic building. Kiryuu Akane followed the group of night class members as they filed out through the front gate of the Moon Dorm in an orderly manner. As soon as they waded through the throng of fangirls crowding the area outside the Moon Dorm, the sandy-brown-haired vampire girl split up with the group of night class members and started heading towards the direction of the school’s library. “Apology to keep you waiting, Sayori-san. It's a nightmare wading through the throng of fangirls crowding the entrance gate of the Moon Dorm during the routine class change-over time.” Akane offered as she approached the brown-haired dormmate of Yuuki Cross and the eventual secretary of her silver-haired adoptive parent. Even so, by the time she’d met Sayori after the Kuran-Kiryuu family officially adopted her. Wakaba Sayori was quite old in the age and had to rely on the use of a walking stick to remain stable on her feet. “It’s fine. Let's go in then, I presumed you had the keys to the library building on your person?” Wakaba Sayori inquires as she flicks her eyes to the locked building ahead of them. “Of course. The chairman gives it to me when I visited him to seek permission for you to remain out after curfew.” Akane answered as she held out the key that would unlock the school’s library for them, and stepped forward to proceed with the unlocking of the door that will allow them to access the library facility on school grounds. --- Aidou Hanabusa was skipping out on the last period of their scheduled classes for today with his fire-wielding cousin in tow, under the command of their pureblood leader to patrol the academy grounds on a lookout for uninvited guests when they chanced upon the figure of Wakaba Sayori and Akane stepping out of the school’s library building. The cousin duo took a moment to glance up at the sky before looking back at the two girls in front of them. The words to lecture Wakaba Sayori for staying out so late were on the tip of his tongue when Aidou Hanabusa was forced to swallow them due to his cousin beating him to the task of addressing the two girls who were just locking up the building that house the school’s library. The blue-eyed blond aristocratic vampire had no idea why, but he didn’t like the idea of the day-class girl putting herself constantly in danger by being out after curfew. Even though, he knows now that the girl could protect herself against dangers from vampires like him, given her training in the areas of vampire hunting. Still, that didn’t mean he liked the idea of the hazel-eyed human girl roaming about on the academy grounds after curfew alone just because she was duty-bound to watch Kiryuu. Aidou Hanabusa, despite failing to wriggle an explanation out of Wakaba Sayori had managed to get his hands on the above information by approaching the subject in a roundabout manner. He had, ultimately, pieced together the information after several rounds of fishing conversations with the resident female guardian of the school over the past forty-eight hours. However, he still had no idea why Wakaba Sayori was duty-bound to watch Kiryuu Zero because the girl had never offered him an explanation on that front and instead told him to approach his pureblood leader for an answer. Only, this was something Aidou would never dare attempt so, he went to the next best alternative, by approaching Yuuki Cross to gain answers about the mysterious Wakaba Sayori that intrigues him, a lot. And so, the blue-eyed blond vampire was now made aware of Wakaba Sayori’s skills in vampire hunting after an enlightening conversation with Yuuki Cross about the hazel-eyed human girl. Aidou Hanabusa had approached the female guardian with the harmless but curious question about why her dormmate never fawns over the members of the night class like the rest of the girls from the day class, and Yuuki Cross had proceeded to share with him the information about Wakaba Sayori’s knowledge about the vampires by cluing him in on the girl’s relation to Wakaba Hisashi, who’s serving as the counselor for the Hunter’s Association at present. That, and the reason why Wakaba Sayori had followed Kiryuu off the academy grounds on two separate occasions, was due to her joining the silver-haired guardian to attain the freelance hunting license by sitting for the promotional exams for freelance hunters held by the freelance hunters guild. “Dare I ask why the two of you are still here at this time? I thought, students of the day class had a curfew implemented that they aren’t allowed outside of the Sun Dorm after curfew?” Akatsuki Kain started as he kept his eyes on the two girls in front of him, though his question was directed toward the figure of Wakaba Sayori rather than on Akane. After all, between the two, Wakaba Sayori is the normal day-class girl who shouldn’t be lingering out after curfew. “...” Wakaba Sayori’s response to the infamous ‘wild-senpai’ was a nonplussed look on her face as she shifted her eyes to land on the sandy-brown-haired girl standing by her side, signaling for the girl to handle the explanation because she wasn’t in the mood to interact with anyone from the night class. Inwardly, she was wondering if there were still members of the night class who didn’t know of her identity as Yuuki’s dormmate. Surely, if they’d all been told, Akatsuki Kain wouldn’t have assumed she was just another random day-class girl, right? “To answer your question, Akatsuki-senpai, we are working on the social studies project that’s to be completed outside classroom time. Given that we are staying in different dormitories, it's kind of difficult for us to work on the project outside of the academic buildings. So, I figured I could ask permission from the chairman for us to utilize the use of the school’s library for the project work and in the process get my project partner the required permission to stay out for a longer time after curfew begins. The social studies teacher was adamant about us completing the assignments in pairs. Given that it’s against the rule to invite a human into the Moon Dorm, outside of the school’s guardians, using the school’s library was our best alternative. Of course, I’d dare to suggest using the school’s library because I knew that the members of the night class prefer to use the private library housed within the dormitory for whatever research work they are doing.” Akane responded to the query coming from Akatsuki Kain in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, going as far as to provide a detailed explanation by addressing the unasked questions on the mind of the fire-wielding vampire with the use of her special ability. “Honestly, when you mention getting permission from the chairman for your friend to stay out longer, I was expecting an hour or two at most. Five hours is just plain ridiculous.” Akatsuki Kain couldn’t help but take on a lecturing tone as he addressed the figure of Kiryuu Akane. “What can I say? Time flies when one isn’t exactly paying attention to the time while working conscientiously away on the class assignment.” Akane shrugged nonchalantly in response to the fire-wielding aristocratic vampire in front of her. “Well, if there’s nothing else. I'll be heading back to catch some winks now. We'll meet up tomorrow at the same time to continue with the remaining research for the project. While on the subject, I would appreciate it if you could do your part for the project by getting the outline and overview out during the spring break and emailing them to me so I can compile them into a report on my end.” Wakaba Sayori started as she directed her words toward the sandy-brown-haired girl who appeared to be in a bickering session with the infamous ‘wild-senpai’ of the night class. “Sure.” Akane nodded a tight-lipped smile at Wakaba Sayori, while she inwardly wondered how on earth is she able to access her email which probably hadn’t existed in this timeline yet. Oh well, maybe she could badger Zero into allowing her the use of his email account or better yet, ask her other cousin if she could borrow the use of his email account, in addition to the use of his laptop. “I’ll walk you back to the Sun Dorm.” Aidou Hanabusa started in a tone that offered no room for negotiation as he made his presence known by volunteering to escort Wakaba Sayori back to the Sun Dormitory where the day class students reside, moments before the hazel-eyed human girl could leave the site. “...” For a while, Wakaba Sayori contemplated the idea of rejecting the blue-eyed blond vampire’s offer to escort her to the Sun Dorm. However, she eventually discarded the notion, as she’d recalled the blond aristocratic vampire’s newfound hobby of stalking her. Between the options of being followed from behind by the infamous Aidou Hanabusa’s stalkerish behavior and allowing the former to walk her back to the dormitory as an escort. The second option sounds more appealing to her than the first. “So, is there a reason why you’d insisted on escorting me back to the Sun Dorm?” Wakaba Sayori began as they started to trek the way to the direction of the Sun Dormitory where the day class students reside. “Well...there’s a chance that we would be getting some uninvited guests on school grounds today.” The blue-eyed blond aristocratic vampire answered somewhat distractedly to the query from Wakaba Sayori as he was keeping half his attention on scanning the perimeters for unfamiliar presences. “Uninvited guests?” Wakaba Sayori blinked as she tried to figure out who the blue-eyed blond aristocratic vampire was referring to. “The senate might be sending someone in to cause trouble for Kiryuu, today.” Aidou Hanabusa answered flatly in response. “I see.” Wakaba Sayori nodded in acceptance of the offered response from the blue-eyed blond vampire. She, too, had received intel from her father that whoever leaked the news of Shizuka Hiou’s death in Cross Academy had also hinted that it was the silver-haired guardian who was responsible for her death. The duo wasn’t even halfway through the path that would take them to the Sun Dorm when both halted as their senses alerted them to an approaching group of foreign vampires' presence from the direction of the school gate. At the same time, Wakaba Sayori could detect the silent vibration coming from the pocket of her uniform skirt where she had previously stuffed her mobile phone within. “...” The duo shares a look between themselves before Wakaba Sayori reaches into the pocket of her uniform skirt to pull out her mobile phone that’s vibrating non-stop to answer the offending gadget. The call turns out to be from her father, informing her to keep a lookout on the results of the senate’s attempted arrest of Kiryuu Zero and update him about whether the arrest was successful. Depending on the outcome of the senate’s visit, the Hunter’s Association might need to intervene. “Right.” Wakaba Sayori answered with a roll of her eyes before hanging up the call she shifted her eyes to land upon the blue-eyed blond aristocratic vampire as she commented. “Looks like I won’t be getting any quality rest tonight. Are you going to check things out? I might as well join you on the trip. In the case that the senate managed to arrest Zero on-site, I’ll need to report to my father so he could get the Hunter’s Association to intervene in bailing Zero out of jail or something.” “Hah?! As though the senate would be able to arrest Kiryuu that easily. Kaname-sama would never let the lackeys of the senate touch Kiryuu.” Aidou Hanabusa deadpans in response. “I thought so, too. Still, I’ve been ordered to keep an eye on the situation and report the outcome to my father once there’s an outcome.” Wakaba Sayori shrugged in response. Back in the classroom where the members of the night class were having their last lesson of the day, Kaname Kuran turned towards the rest of his classmates and spoke. "I have a favor to ask from every one of you here ..." Everyone within the night class stood and turned towards their pureblood leader as they responded with the utmost respect. "It’s our pleasure to be able to serve under you, Kaname-sama." Ichijo Takuma was openly beaming; Touya Rima and Shiki Senri both nodded wordlessly to the words of their pureblood leader. Only Ruka Souen was frowning, but still, she refrained from commenting otherwise on the actions of the pureblood king. Instead, she only expressed her concerns about what the council might do in response to their intervention in the situation. “Ruka, do you not trust my judgment on the matter?” Kaname Kuran prompted as he addressed the toffee-haired female aristocratic vampire from his inner circle with a look of intent. “Of course not, Kaname-sama. I trust you with all my heart.” Ruka Souen was quick to respond. “Good.” The pureblood king nodded before shifting his eyes towards the front of the classroom where the teacher in charge of this lesson stood. The teacher upon catching on to the meaning behind the look given to him by the pureblood king promptly announced that class is dismissed for the day. With that said, the teacher swiftly stepped aside as he allowed the group of night class students to pass him as they flocked out of the classroom under the lead of their pureblood king. It was a good thing that the teacher-in-charge of their last lesson for the day wasn’t Takamiya Kaito, the full-fledged vampire hunter assigned to the school as a teacher-in-training. Because, otherwise, it might be a tad difficult to get the hunter to agree on ending class earlier than expected. Back outside the building that housed the school’s library facility, Akatsuki Kain and Akane were left staring at the departing back figures of Aidou Hanabusa and Wakaba Sayori in deep thought. ‘Was this when Uncle Aidou’s attraction towards Wakaba Sayori begins?’ Akane mused inwardly to herself as she filed away the scene she’d just witnessed for future reference. Akatsuki Kain’s thoughts were a tad more leaning toward the confused side. After all, he had never seen his ice-wielding cousin so eager to play escort for any females before. So, the fact that his cousin volunteers to walk the day class girl back to the Sun Dorm without him instructing Hanabusa to do so, was a miracle by itself. “Akane, what did you say the girl’s name was earlier?” Akatsuki Kain started as he turned his inquiring eyes upon the figure of the girl who would eventually end up as the adoptive daughter of his pureblood leader. “Sayori, her name’s Wakaba Sayori.” Akane responded with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. “Any relations to Counselor Wakaba from the Hunter’s Association?” Akatsuki Kain began after a moment of silent contemplation. “Sayori’s his daughter, I believe. While on the subject, Counselor Wakaba is first and foremost the right-hand man to Fujiwara Haruto, the current head of the hunter’s branch from the Fujiwara clan before he’s the counselor to the chairman of the Hunter’s Association. So, please do not get the allegiance for the Wakaba family wrong on that account.” Akane responded before deciding to add on the second portion of her answer as an afterthought. “That’s the dormmate of the female guardian?” Akatsuki Kain frowned as he clarified with the sandy-brown-haired vampire girl. “Yep.” Akane nodded in affirmation. For a moment, Akatsuki contemplated the idea of asking the girl to see if she knew why his cousin was so eager to play escort for Wakaba Sayori, but in the end decided to let the subject drop for the time being. Not because he isn’t curious about Hanabusa’s morbid interest in the dormmate of Yuuki Cross, but simply because the lackeys of the senate had just arrived on academy grounds. “Ah... the uninvited guests are here, I reckon. Here’s where I take my leave, I shall head back to the dorm to keep an eye on the twins’ and leave the group of uninvited guests to your lot.” Kiryuu Akane remarked in an off-handed manner before turning on her heels to return to the Moon Dormitory. Kiryuu Zero was patrolling the other section of the school grounds when he heard the rustles coming from the trees situated near the area where he oversaw patrolling. Flicking his gaze over to where the rustling was heard, the silver-haired guardian was met by the sight of Tsubaki, the guard that his grandfather sicced on him. “Just thought I should give you a heads-up, the lackeys from the senate would be arriving on the academy grounds in about 5 minutes. Oh, and it seems they have an arrest warrant out for you.” Tsubaki told the figure of Kiryuu Zero before taking his leave abruptly, once more. “...” While Tsubaki was off to give Kiryuu Zero’s a heads-up on the situation concerning the arrest warrant the senate had issued to the lackeys to bring with them on their visit to Cross Academy, Tsubasa who has been tasked to keep an eye on the senate had delivered the same piece of information to the new lord of the Hiou family, Mamoru Hiou. “Arrest warrant? It seems they truly wanted to pin Shizuka’s demise on Zero... that wouldn’t do at all. Tsubasa, get the car ready. We need to get moving as well. Let's go and visit Ichiou, shall we?” Mamoru Hiou murmurs under his breath momentarily before instructing his guard to get the car ready. Meanwhile, he proceeds to get himself changed out from his camouflage gears and revert to his pureblood persona for the night. In the meantime, Yuuki Cross’s eyes scanned her surrounding area warily. Somehow, the area that she was patrolling just now gave her the creeps. There was something in the air that felt strange to her, and she thought she had seen shadows moving around this part of the school and that was why she had ventured over to inspect the area in detail. "Excuse me, little girl ... Is this the Cross Academy?" Someone spoke up from behind her, causing Yuuki to nearly stumble and fall over from shock. "So, what if it is?" Yuuki Cross shot back in defiance as she pulled out her Artemis rod in defense, there was something about this man's aura that reminded her awfully of the vampires. However, she failed to understand the reason why unknown vampires were intruding on the school grounds of Cross Academy. "Oh? So, you are a guardian too? In that case, would you be so kind as to let me know the whereabouts of the male guardian of the school?" The unknown vampire said as he smiled creepily down at Yuuki Cross, causing the girl to shudder involuntarily. Yuuki Cross stared up at the intruder uneasily, inwardly she knew they were looking for her silver-haired friend. However, she failed to understand why these unknown vampires were looking around the school for signs of the silver-haired guardian. Yuuki was about to ask another question when she felt someone pushing her behind. It was not until she heard the voice of the newcomer speaking up, did she realized it was Zero, himself who was shielding her from the intruder's range of attack. "Lackeys from the senate of the vampire council, I presumed. Dare I inquire on your reasons for asking after my whereabouts?" Kiryuu Zero questioned as he blocked the unknown vampire's attack on Yuuki, effortlessly. "Zero, how’d you know to find me here?" Yuuki Cross started sounding relatively surprised. It's one thing if she has been bleeding, but she hasn’t gotten injured anywhere yet. So, how did her silver-haired friend know where exactly she was patrolling at this hour? Unfortunately for her, the lackeys from the senate didn’t allow them a moment of idle conversation as the person leading the team on this visit to the Cross Academy promptly withdrew a single sheet of paper document from the inner pocket of his suit and held it up to the silver-haired guardian as he started to speak. "Kiryuu Zero, according to the orders issued by the Vampire Council, we are here to arrest you for the murder of the pureblood - Shizuka Hiou." The unknown vampire who appears to be in his middle-aged begins as he addressed the figure of Kiryuu Zero. "Eh?!" Yuuki felt her eyes widening in shock, she knew, her silver-haired friend hadn’t been the one to murder Shizuka Hiou. Yet, before she could even get her words out, she was silenced by a look from her silver-haired friend. ‘Yuuki, quiet!’ Kiryuu Zero instructed as he addressed Yuuki with the use of his newfound ability after meeting eyes with the girl. Yuuki Cross found her mouth forming the shape of an ‘O’ when she heard the unmistakable voice of her friend resounding in her mind. A dozen questions started swimming around in her mind as she wondered when her friend had gained the ability to speak to people directly in the mind, but upon the warning look directed her way by her silver-haired friend decided to leave her questions for later. However, the female guardian did make sure to send her silver-haired friend a look that demanded an explanation when they were done dealing with the intruders. After silencing Yuuki with a look combined with the use of his newfound ability, Kiryuu Zero sighed inwardly at the thought of having to deal with the girl’s inquisitive questions once he averted the crisis of being arrested for something he hadn’t done. Resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose in weariness, the silver-haired guardian indicated for the lackey of the senate to continue speaking. "We prized the existence of the pureblood as a valuable asset, and yet you went around our back and killed Shizuka Hiou without us noticing until it was too late. Now all you need to do is to surrender yourself to us and agree to the idea of being placed on trial in front of the council and if the council is satisfied with your reasons of justifications on the issue. You might very well be pardoned for the sins committed, which I find too 'easy' for you." The person in charge of addressing Kiryuu Zero glared as he finished his speech with a calculating gaze. Deciding that he didn’t particularly enjoy being subjected to the calculating gaze coming from a vampire that he dislikes, Kiryuu Zero reacted purely on instincts as he reached out to grab the hand of the man and start crushing the bones of the uninvited guest’s fingers on academy grounds. The victimized vampire growled aloud upon realizing what Zero had done and hissed aloud on reflex. "How dare you ...?!" The intruding vampire started before he started to smirk upon sensing more of his comrades closing in on the two guardians. "Even if you managed to take me down today, how many of us do you think you can defeat? At the end of the day, you would still have to surrender yourself to us." As soon as the injured vampire finished his words, the rest of the invaders on the academy grounds tonight had the two guardians of Cross Academy surrounded. Knowing that things are bound to get messy and troublesome, Kiryuu Zero whispered harshly to his fellow guardian friend and spoke aloud, this time since he had his eyes trained on the group of intruders and had no time to send a mental message to the sister of his future mate to take cover somewhere. "Yuuki, leave. This had nothing to do with you, I'll handle them myself." "No, I’m not leaving you alone with them." Yuuki Cross responded in a tone of determination as she steeled herself for the newcomers' possible attack. ‘Kaname, don’t you dare to blame me for keeping Yuuki around while the confrontation is taking place. She's just too stubborn to heed my advice to take cover somewhere.’ Kiryuu Zero thought as he sighed inwardly at Yuuki’s insistence to aid him in the task of facing off with the group of lackeys sent in to arrest him under the orders of the vampire council. Still struggling to get his powers under control following the absorption and assimilation of Shizuka Hiou’s power to his own, Kaname Kuran found himself accidentally pulverizing one of the uninvited guests who showed up on the grounds of Cross Academy tonight. The pureblood king was rather annoyed at his beloved sister’s refusal to heed the advice of Zero to leave and take cover somewhere for one. Two, he was unhappy at the senate’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for his future mate despite having received the report compiled by Akatsuki under his request providing several accounts from the eyewitnesses explaining that the silver-haired guardian hadn’t been present anywhere near the site where Shizuka Hiou met her demise. The result of his heightening annoyance ended up with his barely controlled powers to lash out momentarily and end up pulverizing the poor sod who had been unfortunate to be standing near him. The sudden dissipation of a member among the group of unwelcome guests caused several heads to turn toward the direction where the attack had originated. To the surprise of both guardians, they suddenly found themselves surrounded by the entire group of night class members. ‘The entire class? Honestly, isn’t this a tad overkill?’ Kiryuu Zero thought inwardly to himself as he took in the bunch of familiar and unfamiliar faces from the night class that surrounded them and the group of lackeys sent in by the senate to arrest him. "Certainly, the council would have known by now that Shizuka Hiou, herself had done quite many things that were highly frowned upon by our society over the past few years. Isn't that so?" The sudden sound of Kaname Kuran's voice caused those servants of the Vampire Council to freeze mid-actions, as they turned towards the newcomer and bowed to the young pureblood lord with respect. "K... Kuran Kaname-sama." They greeted, half with fright and half with respect. Kaname Kuran stared down at them with a mask of indifference, while he continued to speak in an unimpressed tone of voice. "Just because the existence of pureblood is extremely rare these days, the council deemed it 'right' to subject Kiryuu to some form of penalty? Especially, after having received a first-hand report from a member of my inner circle providing a valuable eyewitness account that would prove Kiryuu’s innocence on the subject concerning the death of Shizuka Hiou." "... Kaname-sama, if a pureblood like yourself were to side with them on this matter. We would be unable to accomplish our mission for the day, therefore we sincerely seek your cooperation by staying out on this particular issue." The vampire who had the misfortune of getting his finger bones crushed by Kiryuu Zero pointedly ignored the pureblood king’s mention of the report filed and submitted to the senate by Akatsuki Kain and instead focused on their aim of arresting Kiryuu Zero, so the silver-haired guardian could stand trial in front of the council. Kaname shot them a look that resembled a cross between annoyance and disdain, as he spoke up once more. "Are you people trying to 'pollute' the environment of the Cross Academy which I've come to treasure and love?! Answer me this, the lackeys of the vampire council." "But ..." The head person in charge of the squad attempted to speak, only to find himself subjected to an invisible attack of fury from the irritated pureblood and froze momentarily in shock. "For the last time I am warning you ... Scram!" Kaname Kuran's eyes glow red with unmasked fury, as he gritted out the words in frustration. Seeing no other options available for the time being, the 'law enforcers' of the council had no choice but to leave the academy grounds without Kiryuu Zero. However, they made it a point to inform the young lord of the Kuran family that his actions on this issue would be reported to their superiors accordingly. Silence reigned. Nobody on site dare to speak following the pureblood king’s rare display of raw and unadulterated fury that finally got their uninvited guests to depart from the academy grounds. Yuuki Cross couldn’t helped but tightened her hold on the sleeves of Kiryuu Zero out of anxiety, somehow, she finds the pureblood king a little too scary for her liking this evening. It gave her the creeps and reminded her just how scary a vampire could be. Sensing Yuuki’s underlying anxiety, Kiryuu Zero sighed inwardly as he threw the pureblood king a pointed look. Making sure to meet eyes with the former, the silver-haired guardian started to address the pureblood king with his newfound ability as he spoke through the mental link. ‘Take a chill pill, Kaname. You're frightening Yuuki.’ Upon hearing the familiar voice of his beloved sounding in his mind, Kaname Kuran blinked as he recalled this phenomenon as one of his future mate’s newfound abilities after the ingestion of the blood from Shizuka Hiou. The corner of his lips couldn’t help but quirk up in response, as the pureblood king hurried to get his leaking aura of blatant displeasure under control. Somehow, the absorption of Shizuka Hiou’s power took a long time to assimilate with his own. Therefore, it tended to leak when he was feeling too agitated or too relaxed. ‘My apologies. I didn’t mean to frighten Yuuki.’ Kaname Kuran sent back to his future mate as he took a deep breath to cool off his temper, it wouldn’t do to continue displaying his displeasure for all to see. Once the pureblood king managed to calm his bubbling anger down to a manageable level, he ventured over to where the two guardians stood as he inquired. "Are the two of you, okay?" "Kaname-senpai, it wasn’t Zero that killed Shizuka Hiou!" Yuuki Cross had all but blurted out the moment the pureblood king approached them, instead of answering the question. The silver-haired guardian, on the other hand, simply rolls his eyes at the pureblood king’s redundant question. Considering it was he who crushed the bones in the fingers of one of the uninvited guests earlier, he would think he was faring well. Kaname Kuran allowed a sigh to escape him before nodding in acknowledgment to his beloved sister, "I know ... Trust me, I'll handle this. Don't be worried, it'll be fine." ‘Don’t expect me to thank you for this. Given that this is essentially your mess to clean up.’ Kiryuu Zero deadpans to the pureblood king dryly in his mind, as their eyes met inconspicuously above the top of Yuuki’s head. ‘Yes, I know. Would you drop by the Moon Dorm later?’ Kaname Kuran managed to send it before the mental link with his future mate got cut off when their eye contact broke. ‘Whatever for? I don’t need a feeding... and I’ve just seen the twins earlier on in the day.’ Kiryuu Zero raised an eyebrow as he sent back to the pureblood king in response. ‘It’s been forty-eight hours since your ingestion of Shizuka’s blood, we ought to explore and see if you’ve gained any other newfound abilities. Furthermore, we need to discuss your feeding arrangement and the caretaking arrangements for the upcoming spring break.’ Kaname Kuran sent as he pointed out objectively to the silver-haired guardian. “Fine. I'll drop by after I’m done with the routine nighty patrol.’ Kiryuu Zero thought as he sent the final message over to his future pureblood mate before averting his eyes, effectively putting an end to their mental communication by shifting his focus onto the figure of Yuuki Cross. "Come on, Yuuki ... let's go. There are other places on campus that needs to be inspected, before we could call it a night." The silver-haired guardian started, dragging the adopted daughter of the Chairman after him and leaving the whole group of night class members to stare after their departing figures. "Hmph! Such an ungrateful chap! Kaname-sama has just gone up against the council for his sake, and he just walked off without a word?! The least he could have done was to show his appreciation for what Kaname-sama had done for him, isn't that common sense?!" Someone among the night class members commented aloud, unhappily. “...Idiot!” Risa Miyazaki couldn’t help but muttered under her breath as she took a few steps away from her idiotic classmate, inching closer to where the noble ranks stood. ‘Truly an idiot, anyone who truly thinks it was Kiryuu that took the life of the Blooming Mad Princess ought to get their brain checked out by medic personnel. Given that Kiryuu was framed, it’s almost guaranteed that he would be in a foul mood. The fact that he hadn’t thrown any nasty glares in their direction was probably his way of showing appreciation for Kaname-sama's defense of him in front of the Senate. Anything more would be pushing it, given how much distaste the silver-haired guardian harbors for vampires.’ Another common-class vampire that has the brain to think at full capacity thought with an eye roll of his eyes. Shiki Senri scanned his eyes around the reactions of the common class vampire and had to avoid rolling his eyes at the dumbed ones. Seriously, nobody is thinking that Kiryuu Zero would thank his cousin verbally for what happened earlier, right? Did nobody take note of those wordless meaningful glances taking place between his cousin and the silver-haired guardian, all this time? Who's to say for certain that those two aren’t holding a private conversation with their eyes that only they would be privy to? Especially, given the nature of their current relationship to one another. "That's enough!" Kaname's voice cuts in smoothly, his features remained a mask of indifference making it hard for most of the night class members to guess his thoughts. "Takuma, bring them back to the Moon Dorm. I need to go and visit the Chairman before Yuuki beats me to the task and reports today's incident to him." Kaname Kuran instructed in a tone of authority. "Sure!" Ichijo Takuma responded good-naturedly as he beckoned for the rest of the night class to follow his lead. ~ to be continued~ Date started: 06/06/09 Date completed: 10/06/09 Date edited: 10/06/09 Date revised: 14/03/2025
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Well, aren’t you going to explain to me what happened just now?” Yuuki Cross tapped her feet impatiently against the ground as she came to a stop in front of the school’s stable where the horses for their horse-riding classes were kept. “I presumed, you’re referring to how I managed to speak to you non-verbally?” Kiryuu Zero sighed as he prompted the currently human sister of the pureblood king in response. “Yes! How did that happen?” Yuuki Cross practically demanded with both hands placed on her waist while glaring at the silver-haired guardian. “...” For a while, Kiryuu Zero didn’t answer. He was busy coming up with a plausible excuse to explain his newfound ability without giving away his familial relation to the Hiou family. Eventually, he decided he was still going to have to claim that this newfound ability took place after he ingested the blood of his supposed ‘master’. The question now was how to go about cluing Yuuki in about his ingestion of the blood from Shizuka Hiou. “Can we address the subject after we get back to the chairman? Seeing as this likely isn’t going to be a one-time occurrence for my use of this newfound ability of mine, I would prefer to the explanation out of the way in one go, instead of having to repeat the same explanation multiple times to different people.” Kiryuu Zero said after a moment of silent contemplation. Figuring that since he’s going to lie, he might as well just tell the lie a single time instead of repeating the lie to different people at different times. “Fair enough. In that case, let’s wrap up this night patrol and head back to the chairman’s residence without a second delay.” Yuuki Cross caught herself before she could launch into a ranting episode about her friend avoiding the subject, and after spending a moment to consider the words of her silver-haired friend, grudgingly agreed that her friend does have a point. “What are you doing here?” Kiryuu Zero couldn’t help but blurt out upon noticing the familiar figure of Kaname Kuran in the living room of the chairman’s residence when Yuuki and he finally ended their nightly patrolling routine for the day. “I was just informing the chairman about the group of uninvited guests that showed up on the academy grounds earlier.” The pureblood king responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Oh, so Kaname-senpai told the chairman about the incident involving the trespassers already. Well, that does save us the hassle of repeating the incident.” Yuuki Cross nodded before turning her attention to her adoptive father as she commented. “Aside from the trespassers who were sent in by the vampire council, everything else was normal on academy grounds, tonight.” “Thank you, Yuuki.” Kaien Cross nodded before shifting his eyes to land on the figure of his adopted son as he started. “Zero, Kaname-kun was telling me that the vampire council issued an arrest warrant for you?” “That, they did.” Kiryuu Zero nodded in response to the inquiry coming from his legal guardian. “Now, are you sure that Shizuka Hiou’s death has got nothing to do with you?” Kaien Cross fixated his stern gaze upon the figure of his adopted son as he sought clarification on the subject. “Yes. I fired a total of eight shots at her on that day, of which, she managed to dodge five of those shots. Two out of the three shots that she failed to dodge hit her, while the other shot was blocked off by Ichiru’s sword. In any case, the shots that managed to hit her were nowhere near her head or heart, which is the fatal spot to cause the instant death of a pureblood. Furthermore, as much as I hate to admit, the existing master-servant bond that existed between Shizuka Hiou and myself would prevent me from killing her. The most I could do was to injure her severely, and ask Yuuki. She was there, and she could prove that Shizuka Hiou was still walking when she left the room where our altercation took place.” Kiryuu Zero sighed as he proceeded to repeat the day’s event to the chairman, figuring that he might as well tell the entire story from the beginning to the end. “Was there no possibility of her dying from extreme blood loss?” Kaien Cross pressed on with a solemn expression on his face. “Chairman Cross, need I remind you again that Shizuka Hiou is a pureblood who doesn’t die easily. The only way to kill pureblood like her was to crush their heart or for them to take a shot to the head directly with the anti-vampire weapon. Extreme blood loss would only result in her going into bloodlust, not death.” Kiryuu Zero deadpans with a roll of his eyes as he answers the latest query from his legal guardian. “I see.” Kaien Cross’s frown remains on his face as he tries to figure out why the senate seems determined to blame Shizuka Hiou’s death on his adopted son. “Why do you think the vampire council is so determined to pin her death on you?” “I’m an easy target, I guess. Given that she died on academy grounds, and I’m, like the only person with a valid motive to wish her dead? In any case, whatever the reasons I’m sure it involved some bloody politics among the vampire community. So, why don’t you just let Kaname handle the senate?” Kiryuu Zero ‘tsked’ under his breath before gritting out in annoyance as he addressed his legal guardian. The given name of the pureblood king slips so easily off his lips that the silver-haired guardian didn’t think anything was amiss until he spotted the twinkling eyes of his legal guardian and the spark of surprise followed by blatant joy in the eyes of Yuuki Cross. ‘Shit! I didn’t just slip up and address the pureblood king by his given name outside of the night class, did I?’ Kiryuu Zero thought rhetorically, as his eyes met the red-brown amused gaze of a certain pureblood. “That, you did.” Kaname Kuran sounded amused as he responded to the rhetorical question of his future mate aloud, drawing the eyes of Kaien Cross and Yuuki onto his person. “I beg your pardon?” Kaien Cross started as he flicked his eyes between the pureblood king and his adopted son, all the while wondering if he’d missed anything. “Geez, you don’t have to answer that. It's a rhetoric question.” Kiryuu Zero withheld the urge to roll his eyes at the pureblood king as he deadpans. And then, turning back to the chairman, the silver-haired guardian commented. “It’s nothing you need to concern yourself with. He's responding to something I'd been thinking to myself.” “I know. I responded simply because I felt it prudent to do so. While on the subject, I’m glad that you’ve finally dropped the use of my family name in front of the chairman.” The pureblood king remarked with a smug look on his face. “So, I did. You'd best not make me regret my decision.” The silver-haired guardian finally rolled his eyes, this time around as he retorted. “Zero, are you implying that Kaname-senpai is responding to your silent question? So, it’s not just me that you could speak to, directly in the mind?” Yuuki Cross blinked once then twice before gasping aloud as she turned curious eyes upon the figure of her silver-haired friend. “Well then, Kaname-kun. Please do see to the matter of clearing Zero’s name with the senate.” Kaien Cross eventually nodded as he shifted his attention back onto the figure of the pureblood king. Turning back to Yuuki, the ex-hunter started with a somewhat baffling look on his face as he prompted. “Okay, I think I'm missing out on something here. Can anyone fill me in on just what exactly I've been missing?” “Of course.” Kaname Kuran responded with a nod before shifting his eyes to land on Yuuki, waiting for the girl to announce his beloved’s newfound ability to the chairman. Based on what he had noticed from Yuuki’s earlier comment, the pureblood king gathered enough to know that his future mate must have utilized the use of his newfound ability on Yuuki at some point during the confrontation with the lackeys of the senate. “Chairman! You wouldn’t believe it! Zero can now talk to anyone directly in the mind, it seems! He did it with me earlier, and he’d done it again just now with Kaname-senpai. Although judging from the lack of surprise on Kaname-senpai's part, he’d probably known about this newfound ability of Zero ahead of me.” Yuuki Cross started as she turned indignantly to the legendary hunter, Kaien Cross, as she complained. “Sorry, I think I misheard. You didn’t just imply that Zero, he had gained a newfound ability to speak to another person with the mind. Did you?” Kaien Cross begins with a look of incredulity on his face. “Yes! That's precisely what I’m telling you!” Yuuki Cross nodded in affirmation as she responded to the incredulous words of his adoptive father. “Zero, is that true?” Kaien Cross shifted imploring eyes upon the figure of his adopted son as he joined his adoptive daughter in pressing the silver-haired guardian for a proper explanation about how he came to gain the newfound ability. “Yes. I've come to discover that I now possess the ability to project my thoughts across to anyone who met eyes with me and held a conversation through the means of a mental link.” Kiryuu Zero sighed as he answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. Kaien Cross found himself floundering for words and took a couple of minutes to regain his speech ability. The first thing he did upon recovering his speech was to throw out a single syllabus at his adopted son. “How?” “You’re asking me how it is that I’d gain this ability, I presumed?” Kiryuu Zero started as he glanced questioningly at his legal guardian and upon receiving the wordless nod from the man, sighed as he answered. “I do not know of the specifics, but this is a newfound ability of mine that got unlocked after ingesting the blood of Shizuka Hiou.” Taking a deep breath, Kiryuu Zero answered mindful to keep his tone flat and void of emotions. “Huh? Wait, so, you’d managed to drink her blood on that day? When did you drink her blood? Was it after you went chasing after your twin?” Yuuki Cross begins with a frowning expression on her face. “Yes. I managed to ingest her blood that day. She was already gone by the time I arrived at the room where she drew her last breath. Ichiru was already lapping up her blood at that point, and there was so much blood on the floor where she was lying before turning to dust. So, I took liberty to take a few gulps while at it.” Kiryuu Zero eventually said, going along with his original excuse given to Yuuki about drinking from Shizuka Hiou after her death. After all, there was no way in hell he was going to explain that the ingestion of his supposed master’s blood was via the means of force-feeding, with the pureblood king kissing the blood into him. Furthermore, it makes no sense for Shizuka Hiou to ready a bottle of blood for his ingestion before her death. So, it would be best for that little detail to be omitted from his narration of the events. Throwing a warning look in the direction of the pureblood king, Kiryuu Zero projected his thoughts directly into the mind of his future mate. ‘Don’t you dare to let anything slip to them all, as far as everyone is concerned – I managed to get hold of Shizuka’s blood shortly after her death.’ ‘I wouldn’t think of it, it’s too complicated to explain how I was able to get my hands on the bottle of blood from her that’s meant for your ingestion. That wouldn’t have been possible unless I was her killer, and that’s something I would like to keep hidden. So, you can rest assured that I wouldn’t be letting anything slip on my end.’ Kaname Kuran send silently back in return, before taking it upon himself to break the eye contact between them this time. Kaien Cross and Yuuki both heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing about Kiryuu Zero’s ingestion of the blood of Shizuka Hiou. That, at least, meant that the silver-haired guardian was in no danger of falling to the end from here on. They both truly had thought all hopes were lost after hearing about the death of Shizuka Hiou on academy grounds, to be honest. “Oh, so you’d managed to drink her blood. That's good. Still, that didn’t exactly explain why you would be able to speak directly into my mind though?” Yuuki Cross sounded relieved that her friend was no longer in danger of falling to the end, but she didn’t forget her original query about her friend’s newfound ability. “As I've mentioned before, I believe that to be a newfound ability of mine that got unlocked after the ingestion of that woman’s blood.” Kiryuu Zero sighed as he repeated his statement from before. “How peculiar? I haven’t heard of any Level D gaining a new skill after the ingestion of the blood from their supposed master before.” Kaien Cross commented with a frowning look on his face. This was when the pureblood king took it upon himself to join the conversation by remarking, “Actually, I would like to point out that Kiryuu Zero is no longer a Level D. His aura, right now, appears to be on par with a Level B. The ingestion of his master’s blood appeared to have unlocked certain ability that comes with part of the vampiric gifts that was inherited from his mother’s side of the family but was suppressed due to the hunter’s bloodlines in him.” “EH?!” Yuuki Cross turned her startling eyes towards her beloved Kaname-senpai as she gaped open-mouthed at the latest piece of information dropped onto her head in blatant surprise. “Zero’s a Level B now? How did that come about?” Kaien Cross flicked his eyes between the figures of Kaname Kuran and his adopted son, Kiryuu Zero with confusion. “That, I have no idea. It might be due to the Kiryuu blood suppressing the Fujiwara blood in him or something similar. Given how easily it was for members of the Fujiwara clan to be turned, the fact that it took Zero up to four years to succumb to his first bloodlust was a miracle by itself. While on the subject, it’s worth noting that none of the members who were turned that carries the bloodline of the Fujiwara in them, regardless of their family name ended up as a Level D. Thus far, the lowest rank that came up on documented records was a Level C.” Kaname Kuran offers with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. “I was hoping I could spare them that explanation, why did you have to go and tell them about the leveling up of my ranks in the hierarchy of the vampire community?” Kiryuu Zero couldn’t help but throw out to the pureblood king, his future mate with a tone of mild annoyance. “You are forgetting that the members of the night class could easily gauge the change in your aura, I figured it best for the chairman and Yuuki to hear it directly from me than have them hear about that from the circulating rumor mill of the night class.” Kaname Kuran responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice as he addressed his beloved. Of course, taking into consideration his beloved’s reluctance to reveal the family secret of the Kiryuu family, Kaname ultimately chalked everything up to the peculiarity of the Fujiwara clan when addressing the strange phenomenon that took place on his future mate. “I see... okay, fine. So, Zero’s a Level B now. At least, that explains why he now has a special ability of his own.” Kaien Cross murmurs under his breath as he digests the bit of information dropped upon his lap by the pureblood king before shifting his attention back onto the figure of his somewhat annoyed adopted son as he prompts. “So, what can you do with this newfound ability of yours, Zero? Apart from holding a mental conversation through the means of maintaining eye contact, that is.” “At present, all I'd managed to gather was the ability to project my thoughts to anyone who meets eyes with me. The other person could send a response back in my direction if eye contact wasn’t broken, allowing us to hold a mental conversation. I’ve been told the ability comes in handy when it comes down to disciplining the kids while in public. It's kind of an odd ability to have, but then again, Akane could read people’s minds through eye contact. So, maybe it’s a bit of a Fujiwara clan thing...” Kiryuu Zero answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Okay, and is this your only newfound ability?” Kaien Cross nodded in acceptance before prompting once more. “That, I’m not exactly sure. I'm still exploring though I’ve been told by Akane that my anti-vampire weapon might take on a new form if I were to attempt to use them now. Wary of the new form it might take, I haven’t exactly gone on to try using the Bloody Rose yet.” Kiryuu Zero eventually said as he looked his legal guardian in the eyes and added mentally as an afterthought. ‘I was told the new form of Bloody Rose can be rather destructive, as it kind of melted and got absorbed into my body from the future the trios arrived from. Hence, my apprehensiveness at putting my anti-vampire weapon to use at present.’ “...” Kaien Cross nearly jumped on reflex when he heard his adopted son’s voice sounding in his mind, before realizing that his adopted son had used the ability of mental communication with him, this time around. With a sigh, the ex-hunter responded to his adopted son, aloud. “Still, as a vampire hunter, it’s unrealistic to not utilize the use of your anti-vampire weapon. Perhaps, you can give your bloody rose a try and see for yourself what the new form is like. I’m sure Kaname-kun wouldn’t mind a friendly spar with you to train up your familiarity with the new form of your anti-vampire weapon when it happens. While on the subject, Tooga will be returning soon, and you might want to take some time to think about how you’re going to come out with him on the information about your new status as a Level B. As for your current relationship with Kaname-kun, I'll leave it to you to decide if you want to disclose anything on that end to Tooga when he returns.” Upon Kaien Cross’s mention of his mentor’s name, Kiryuu Zero blanched momentarily before nodding wordlessly in response. He had hoped that his legal guardian could handle the explanation to his mentor about his new rank in the vampire community. However, it seems his legal guardian decided to let him handle the explanation to be given to his mentor, on his own. Oh well, on the brighter side, at least, I can avoid disclosing the development of the relationship between me and Kaname to Master Tooga. The silver-haired guardian thought silently to himself, and because he had his eyes lowered, nobody managed to hear what he was thinking, this time around. Leaving his adopted son alone to stew in silence, Kaien Cross shifted his eyes to the figure of Yuuki Cross, his adoptive daughter, and suggested that the girl stay overnight in her room at home instead of returning to the Sun Dorm. Kaname Kuran, on the other hand, stood to take his leave from the chairman’s residence and while he made his departure, the pureblood king didn’t forget to drag the silver-haired guardian alongside him for his return trip to the Moon Dorm. “...” --- Meanwhile, over at the building that housed the senate of the vampire council, the vehicle of Mamoru Hiou pulls up in front of the building entrance. Upon stepping out of the vehicle, Mamoru Hiou makes it a point to flare his pureblood aura before stepping foot into the building. “Good evening, Lord Hiou. How may I be of assistance to you?” The secretary of Ichiou began, as he found himself sweating under the pressure of the elusive pureblood lord of the Hiou family. “Where is Ichiou? I have something of utmost importance to address with him.” Mamoru Hiou started in an impassive tone of voice. “Right this way.” The secretary started and promptly started leading Mamoru Hiou towards the office of Ichijo Asato, within the building that houses the senate of the vampire council. When Ichijo Asato first heard the mention of him getting a visit from the elusive pureblood lord, Mamoru Hiou. His first reaction was that the former was here to request a report from him concerning the death of the Blooming Mad Princess, Shizuka Hiou. So, after Mamoru Hiou was shown into his office, Ichijo Asato wasted no time in expressing his regrets and condolence for the Hiou family on the loss of a member of the family to a mere Level D. Mamoru Hiou listened impassively as Ichijo Asato fed him some crappy story about how his demented sister had the misfortune to meet her demise at the hands of her supposed servant and had to refrain from the urge of rolling his eyes. Finally, when Ichiou was done speaking, and before Mamoru Hiou could speak up... the common-class vampire who was tasked to lead a team over to the Cross Academy with an arrest warrant for Kiryuu Zero returned empty-handed as he reported to Ichiou about the failed attempt at arresting the silver-haired guardian. “You failed? Such a simple task and you failed to execute it?” Ichijo Asato gritted out with blatant irritation as he addressed the common-class vampire standing in front of him with the report. “With all due respect, young lord Kuran had intervened and demanded us to leave by going as far as to pulverize one of the members of our team to make his point. For fear of him removing us from the academy via force, we had no choice but to retreat.” The common-class vampire responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “I see. So, Kaname-sama had intervened to defend Kiryuu Zero, did he?” Ichijo Asato would have cursed under his breath if it weren’t for the presence of the elusive pureblood lord of the Hiou family that was seated in front of him. Even though he didn’t have much respect for a fangless vampire lord, appearances must be kept up. “I apologize for cutting in; however, I'm in a rush for time. Ichiou, I'm not here to press you for the outcome of the investigation into the death of my sister, Shizuka Hiou. If anything, I’m here to request that you let the matter slide and stop trying to hold my sister’s death against that supposed servant of hers. You knew very well that anyone with an existing master-servant bond wouldn’t be capable of inflicting fatal injury on the master even if they were at odds. If you really must get down to the bottom of my sister’s killer, then let it be known that it was me who had someone disposed of her while she was in a vulnerable state.” Mamoru Hiou interjected after sparing a moment to assess the interior of Ichiou’s office and pinpoint the corner where his other grandson, Kiryuu Ichiru had taken to hide himself from view. “Pardon?” Ichijo Asato blinked as he flicked his eyes back onto the figure of Mamoru Hiou in surprise. “I said, it was me who’d ordered the execution of my dear sister when she was weakened from the injuries sustained by the hands of her supposed servant.” Mamoru Hiou deadpans as he repeats his words from before. “Why would you order for your sister to be executed?” Ichijo Asato was beyond baffled, this was certainly a development he hadn’t been anticipating. “One, for breaking out of her prison. Two, for lashing out against our parents in an act of defiance resulting in the severe injuries of our parents that had them succumb to an early grave. Finally, she goes berserk and commits the atrocious sin of slaughtering the Kiryuu couple to avenge an ex-human toy of hers. Any of the above was enough to mandate the use of an old family rule for the lord to order an execution of the life of a member who went berserk in the family. I could have a copy of the ancient rule sent in for the vetting of the senate if required.” Mamoru Hiou answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, before standing to take his leave from the office of Ichijo Asato, leaving the man alone to his thoughts. “...” Knowing that it wouldn’t be good for his relations with the Kiryuu family to become public knowledge, Mamoru Hiou mentioned nothing about the Kiryuu couple being his son and daughter-in-law. It's probably good that Mamoru has it in mind to use camouflage when he went vampire-hunting in the past. So, his pureblood persona wasn’t identical to the appearance he was using while he was playing the role of the vampire hunter, Kiryuu Mamoru. The only constant across all his personas was his lilac eyes, and that’s only because he didn’t enjoy the sensation of putting color contacts into his sensitive eyes. While Mamoru Hiou spotted the iconic shoulder-length silvery-white hair with lilac eyes, his looks were quite youthful for his age. He didn’t look any older than thirty when he was already well into his thousand years of age. Then again, considering how Shoto Isaya didn’t look older than the mid-forties when the man was already over three thousand years old. Age truly didn’t matter for pureblood vampires like them who were cursed to live a life of eternity. Either way, when Mamoru was still going around under the alias of Kiryuu Mamoru, his hair was significantly shorter with a mustache to boot. The mustache was mostly there to prevent anyone from noticing that he wasn’t aging like he ought to, after some time. For his new alias of Richard Meyer, he got a beard instead of a mustache and used a colored wig in the shade of honey blond. “Kaede, do you think Grandfather noticed my presence just now?” Kiryuu Ichiru begins a good hour later after Mamoru Hiou departs the building that houses the senate. “Of course. Mamoru-sama has good sensory skills, which is why nobody dares to spy on him. They got found out within seconds if they were to attempt spying on Mamoru-sama.” Kaede answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, opting to leave out the bit of information about how his presence had also been uncovered by the lord of the Hiou family. Unlike Ichiru, who was left alone, he was summoned and received a lengthy lecture from the visibly annoyed lord of the Hiou family. The lord of the house first berated him for going along and encouraging Shizuka’s whims, before demanding to know if he’d played a part in the slaughtering of the Kiryuu couple. Kaede hates to admit but he nearly shits his pants then, thankfully, due to Shizuka’s insistence on avenging that ex-human lover of hers single-handedly. Kaede didn’t lift a finger to help, the most he did was to watch from the sidelines as Shizuka wiped out the Kiryuu clan from existence. However, that didn’t stop Mamoru Hiou from being miffed at him at least, he needn’t worry about the lord killing him for something that he didn’t do. After that, Mamoru Hiou practically makes him swear his allegiance to Kiryuu Ichiru, and that makes it explicitly clear to him that Kiryuu Ichiru was harmed in any way in whatever ploys they are carrying out on the sly, he would be held solely responsible at the end of everything. --- Back at the Cross Academy, Kiryuu Zero allowed himself to be dragged off by the pureblood king without much protest. Partly because half his mind was still focused on coming up with the tactic to employ when he had to update his mentor about his new status among the vampire community, by that, he meant the actual rank within the hierarchy and not the ‘cementing’ of his role by the side of the pureblood king. Still, even though, they had yet to officialize their relationship with a proper bonding... Zero already knew he had promised to bind himself to the pureblood king after he’d demanded trust and honesty from the man, sometime ago. “What’s on your thoughts?” Kaname Kuran begins when he notices the distracted state of his beloved. “Hmm...? Nothing, I'm just thinking about how to explain my new status as a Level B to my mentor when the time comes.” Kiryuu Zero responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “So, you’re going to inform your mentor about that, huh?” Kaname Kuran begins with a raised of his eyebrow elegantly. “Ideally, I would prefer to not address the matter because as I’ve said before, as humans... vampire hunters like my mentor aren’t going to be able to tell the actual rank of a vampire that they come across because they can’t read the aura. However, given my newfound ability, I would rather tell him before he had to find out through alternative means. By that, I don’t mean for him to find out through a blab from the chairman.” The silver-haired guardian sighed as he responded with an air of resignation around him. “Ah... you are talking about slipping up and ending up projecting your thoughts to him unintentionally, I presumed.” The pureblood king nodded as realization dawned on him, as he tightened his hold on the hands of his future mate while they walked their way over to the Moon Dorm. “Yes. The chairman said earlier, that he’s bound to return soon. Given how new this ability of mine was, I seriously doubt I’d be able to get a full grasp on the ability before he came back from wherever he was and requested a meeting with me.” Kiryuu Zero allowed a sigh to escape him as he answered. “I see. Speaking of your newfound ability, do you want to try using the bloody rose and see what happens? Honestly, I would rather you try it out now and get used to the new form that your anti-vampire weapon adopted than fumble with it when you’re caught in a situation where the weapon truly needs to be utilized.” Kaname Kuran started objectively as he addressed the figure of Kiryuu Zero. “Point taken. I'll think about it. Now, I think it’s time to check in on the twins.” Kiryuu Zero eventually said before removing his hands from the grasp of the pureblood king as he picked up his pace once the building of the Moon Dormitory came into sight. As soon as Kaname Kuran and Kiryuu Zero walked through the entrance of the main wing of the Moon Dormitory, they were greeted by the entire group of the pureblood king’s inner circle. Nodding towards the group wordlessly, Kiryuu Zero left the group behind to report whatever they had in mind to their pureblood leader and headed straight for the direction of the king’s suite located on the top floor of the dormitory building. “Oh good, you’re here. I'll leave you to coax them to their nap, while I return to my room to catch some sleep.” Kiryuu Akane started as soon as her eyes landed on the approaching figure of Kiryuu Zero, before turning on her heels to leave the king’s suite for the direction of the guestroom where she’s taking up residence while in this timeline. “...” Kiryuu Zero watched as his future adoptive daughter fled the room at the first opportunity that arose, before shifting his focus back onto the twins who were now lying atop the large canopy bed that belonged to the pureblood king and prompted. “Did the two of you give Akane a hard time again?” “In my defense, she’s just cranky because she wants to go to bed. Patience has never been her strongest point.” Kuran Akira started as he defended himself to his beloved parent. “That, and I’m sure Akira being on a sugar high just drives her up the wall.” Kiryuu Subaru added in a softer tone from where he was situated on the large canopy bed of the pureblood king. “...” Downstairs, Ichijo Takuma was giving Kaname Kuran a message he’d received from his grandfather moments ago. “Kaname, my grandfather had requested your presence at the council tomorrow at 4.30 pm for a discussion about the behavior you’d taken against the underlings of the senate. Someone had reported your act of pulverizing a member of their team to my grandfather and he would like to get an explanation from you on that.” Ichijo Takuma said as he told his pureblood friend with a somewhat baffling look on his face. “I presumed, they didn’t bring up the mention of the arrest warrant meant for Zero, in the phone call. Did they?” Kaname Kuran commented upon the sight of the baffling look on his friend’s face. “Indeed. How'd you know?” Ichijo Takuma blinked at his pureblood friend in surprise. “They likely didn’t bring it up because the point was moot. Zero’s grandfather likely visited the vampire council after receiving intel about the senate’s decision to pin Shizuka Hiou’s death on Zero. To counteract the senate’s plan to penalize Zero for the death of Shizuka Hiou, the pureblood lord of the Hiou family likely claimed that it was him to have ordered the execution of Shizuka Hiou when she was still vulnerable from the injuries she’d sustained at the hands of Zero.” Kaname Kuran stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice as he took a seat in his chair in the front lounge of the Moon Dorm. “Huh? How is that possible? Isn't it a bit of a stretch for Mamoru-sama to claim responsibility for something that took place on academy grounds when he’s nowhere near the vicinity?” Ichijo Takuma frowned as he questioned his pureblood friend in return. “He didn’t need to be around, he didn’t say he was the one that killed Shizuka but that he was the one that ordered the execution of Shizuka Hiou. In short, all he needs is for someone who does his bidding to be on the academy grounds when Shizuka Hiou met her demise, and his statement will hold.” Kaname Kuran responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Wait, you mean... there’s someone who does his bidding around on academy grounds?” The green-eyed blond vampire blinked as he digested the meaning behind his pureblood friend’s words and found his eyes widening in surprise. “Yes. Mamoru Hiou has someone who does his bidding hanging around the academy grounds. No, the person who does his bidding isn’t an existing student of the night class. I'm quite sure, Mamoru Hiou sent that guy in to keep tabs on Zero. So, that person tends to hover near the Sun Dorm and the chairman’s place.” Kaname Kuran commented as he thought about the guard, Tsubaki that Mamoru Hiou had sicced upon his beloved, to keep watch on Zero’s well-being from a distance. Shifting his focus back to the present, the pureblood king asks if there’s anything else to report. Once ascertained that everything that required his attention had been reported, Kaname Kuran nodded before making a move to head for the staircase, intending to head back to his private suite in search of his future mate. --- "Ooi! Hanabusa, are you sure that you don’t want to join us?" Akatsuki Kain started frowning as he took in the sight of his cousin burying and hiding himself underneath the covers of the blanket. "Yes, I am serious about not going to the Council with you people. So, if you are going, please hurry along and don't keep the rest of them waiting!" Aidou Hanabusa muttered aloud, his voice coming out muffled as he was still under the covers of his blanket. This evening, the members of the night class would be accompanying their pureblood leader to the vampire council to straighten things out with them, on the issue of the pulverization of an underling of the senate, on the previous day. However, on a technicality, the incident took place earlier in the day during the wee hours. However, due to the vampires keeping a nocturnal schedule, they typically start a new day around 3 pm. Therefore, making what happens in the wee hours of the day as something that took place on the previous day. Under usual circumstances, Aidou Hanabusa would have joined his cousin and the rest of the inner circle to accompany their pureblood leader on the trip to the vampire council. The blue-eyed blond aristocratic vampire is too sleep-deprived to care about joining his cousin on a trip to the vampire council, this evening. The reason behind his sleep-deprivation lies in a certain human by the name of Wakaba Sayori. Aidou knows he’s getting a tad too invested in the affairs of the human girl, and that this isn’t a good sign. So, he was up half the morning dwelling on what he ought to do with his morbid interest in the girl. Thus, he ends up falling asleep sometime around late morning, henceforth, he wasn’t exactly in the mood to go on an outing with the rest of the inner circle because sleeping in sounds so much better for his current sleep-deprived state of mind. Furthermore, Aidou is also feeling a tad uneasy about visiting the vampire council this evening. Though, everyone seemed certain that the death of the Blooming Mad Princess wouldn’t be brought up in today’s meeting with Ichiou at the council, who is to say for certain that the topic wouldn’t be touched upon? Given how he’d the misfortune to bear witness to his pureblood leader’s act of snuffing out the life of Shizuka Hiou, the blue-eyed blond aristocrat thought it best to not join his friends for the trip to the council, today. “Father, can we go and visit Daddy?” Kuran Akira asks before the pureblood king can leave the Moon Dormitory with the members of his inner circle in tow. “Of course.” Kaname Kuran nodded in response, before landing his eyes on the figure of his future adoptive daughter as he started. “Akane, bring the twins to Zero. You can continue working on your project outline on the laptop while you’re there. I’m sure Takuma wouldn’t mind leaving his laptop behind for you to utilize over the spring break.” “Got it,” Akane responded before packing up the things she would need for the completing of her social studies project. Once done, the sandy-brown-haired vampire girl beckoned for the twins to join her as they trekked their way over to the chairman’s place. Before leaving the Moon Dorm, Kaname Kuran leaves Risa Miyazaki in charge of the night class for this evening’s lessons. Given that only the members of the inner circle would be joining him for the trip to the vampire council, he didn’t deem it necessary to cancel classes for the day. Henceforth, the rest of the members from the night class would still need to attend classes later. Though he’s aware that Aidou Hanabusa would be remaining on academy grounds, there’s no guarantee that the resident genius of the night class would be showing up for classes this evening when none of the members from the inner circle would be attending school. Henceforth, the pureblood king figured he might as well leave Risa Miyazaki in charge of the common-class vampire attending classes tonight. “No problem. Between Takamiya-sensei and I, we would ensure that nobody misbehaves tonight.” Risa Miyazaki responded in an offhanded manner. Kiryuu Zero, on the other hand, wasn’t in the least surprised when Akane showed up at the doorstep of the chairman’s residence with the Kiryuu-Kuran twins in tow. Bending down to give the twins a loose hug each as a form of greeting, the silver-haired guardian shepherds the trios into the house. The pureblood king had already clued him in about the meeting that’s to be held at the vampire council shortly revolving around the incident that took place on academy grounds, in the wee hours of this morning. It appears that Ichiou is going to make a fuss out of Kaname’s accidental pulverization of an underling of the senate, after it became apparent that he could no longer be held responsible for the death of Shizuka Hiou, after that grandfather of his intervened. “Daddy, Grandpa Cross isn’t around?” Kiryuu Subaru begins when he doesn’t sense the man anywhere near them after entering the house. “Not yet. It's only 3.45 pm; school’s still in session. He would only be coming back in around 5.45 pm.” Kiryuu Zero told the elder twin in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “I see.” Kiryuu Subaru nodded in response before allowing himself to heave a sigh of relief. Not that he had anything against the chairman, but he would very much prefer it if the man didn’t try to pinch his cheeks every time they were here for a visit. “Daddy, if school’s still in session... why aren’t you in school now?” Kuran Akira begins out of curiosity. “I’ve got a free period, so I’d decided to come back and get a head start on the dinner preparation.” The silver-haired guardian responded before asking if the boy wanted dessert that day. “Dessert? Of course, I want to have dessert. Is daddy going to make dessert to go along with the meal today?” Kuran Akira piped up in enthusiasm. “Well, I have enough ingredients for the creation of the mango pudding in the pantry, I believe. Dinner isn’t until 7 pm, since that’s when your Aunt Yuuki would be able to make it back given how we need to oversee the routine class change-over hour. Today should be manageable since the common-class vampires didn’t have as many fangirls as the noble ranks. Yuuki should be able to handle the overseeing duty on her own.” Kiryuu Zero begins and upon noticing the sparkling eyes on the face of Akira, gathered that dessert is to be served at the end of tonight’s dinner. “Okay, so we’ll have homemade mango pudding for dessert. What about the main course? What are we having for dinner?” Kiryuu Subaru ignored his cheery twin and directed his query to the younger version of his silver-haired parent. “Lasagna.” came the single-word response from the silver-haired guardian of Cross Academy. “Ah... your no.3 specialty dish.” Kiryuu Akane butted in then, making her presence known as she passed them by to enter the kitchen domain to get a drink from the chiller of the fridge. “You numbered them?” Kiryuu Zero raised an eyebrow questioning the sandy-brown-haired vampire girl as he started. “I think it was father that numbered them. He numbered them in the sequence he got to try out your homemade meals during the courting stage of your relationship from where we came from. Number 1 was, of course, the Omurice that Akira adores. Number 2 was the beef stew. Number 3 was the lasagna; number 4 was the Naporitan. Number 5 was curry rice; number 6 was any of your donburi menu. Number 7 was your homemade miso soup. Numbers 8 to 10 were all desserts if memory serves me right. Number 8 was Tiramisu; number 9 was apple crumble or apple pie. I can’t recall exactly, just that apples were involved. Finally, number 10 was your signature home bake treat, the chocolate chip cookies, which according to him was something he’d frequently gotten a taste of even before he decided to court you in a formal sense.” Akane responded as she promptly began citing off the specialty menu of the silver-haired guardian from the timeline she’d arrived from. “...” Kiryuu Zero had no words for revoke. On a technicality, the pureblood king did get to taste his homemade chocolate chip cookies on far more occasions than he desired to name. After all, the chairman likes to serve refreshments whenever Kaname Kuran swings by for a visit, and his chocolate chip cookies were always part of the refreshment menu served along with the pot of freshly brewed English Breakfast Tea. And then, because of Yuuki’s atrocious kitchen skills, the Valentine day’s chocolate treats that the pureblood king receives from Yuuki annually, mostly came from his hands as well. Though he had forbidden Yuuki to mention that the treats came from him specifically every year, he gathered the pureblood king likely knew of it. No wonder Kaname always glanced in his direction when thanking Yuuki for the Valentine day’s chocolate treats. With a shake of his head, Kiryuu Zero rid his mind of the thoughts about Valentine's Day’s chocolate treats, to refocus his attention back on the present. “Zero, is there a power outlet around for me to charge up the laptop? While on the subject, are you able to establish contact with Sayori-san? We still have a few more topics to cover for our social studies project. Can we invite her over for dinner, and have her join me here for the project discussion? Our initial agreement was for me to meet up with her at the school library, after dinner... but given how I'm entrusted with the task of babysitting the twins. I can’t exactly keep to the original plan.”Akane started as she made her request known to Kiryuu Zero, her future adoptive parent. “I doubt there’s any available power outlet downstairs. You can head upstairs and use the power outlet in my room. I'll get Yuuki to inform her dormmate to join us for dinner and later join you upstairs to continue the project work. In the meantime, I'll keep the twins entertained downstairs with the board games.” Kiryuu Zero shrugged nonchalantly as he easily offered up his bedroom for Akane to utilize as a project meeting point. “Thank you, Zero! I know I could count on you.” Akane beamed as she promptly headed upstairs to the room that belonged to the silver-haired guardian to set up the laptop that she’d taken the liberty to borrow from Ichijo Takuma. While Akane ventured upstairs to charge up the laptop for the project meeting later, Kiryuu Zero pulled out his mobile phone to drop Yuuki a message asking for her to ask if her dormmate could swing by for dinner and meet Akane at the chairman’s place for the project discussion meeting. Yuuki Cross, upon receiving the text from her silver-haired friend promptly dropped what she’d been doing in favor of locating her dormmate and friend. A quick look around informs her that Sayori is nowhere in the vicinity. ‘How odd? It isn’t like her to take off the moment the school bell sounded for the end of a class... oh well, I guess I’ll just send her a message then.’ Yuuki Cross thought as she proceeded to compose a quick text of dinner invitation to her friend and dormmate. Wakaba Sayori was on her way out of the school to venture into town for a dinner meet-up with her visiting brother when she felt a buzz coming from her mobile phone. Retrieving the said gadget from her uniform skirt, she was met by the sight of an incoming text from Yuuki inviting her to the chairman’s place for dinner. Apologetically, Sayori responded to her friend’s message that she had another dinner appointment for today and thus would not be able to turn up for dinner at the chairman’s residence. Minutes later, she received another text response from her dormmate and was told that Akane was unable to meet up with her at the library for their social studies project and invited her to swing by the chairman’s place after she got back from her dinner appointment to work on the project instead. This time around, Sayori agreed easily and informed her dormmate to relay the message that she would swing by the chairman’s place around 7.30 pm to meet Akane for their project brainstorming session. The timing is 6 pm, about the time for the routine class change-over to take place. Aidou Hanabusa decided to skip out on classes for the day and thus was taking a walk around the school's vicinity when he caught sight of a familiar figure heading towards the school gate. The said figure was none other than Wakaba Sayori, and since it was stated in the school rules that anyone who wished to leave the academy grounds must register with the school office. Aidou was genuinely surprised to find the girl leaving campus this late. Granted, knowing the girl’s capability to hold her own in a confrontation with any potential Level E that prowls the street, Aidou really shouldn’t be surprised about Wakaba Sayori’s daring act of venturing into town alone during the hour of sunset. On a technicality, the blue-eyed blond vampire knew this was not the first time he had caught Wakaba Sayori loitering outside after curfew, but this was indeed the very first time that he noticed the girl leaving campus at such hours of the day. Even the last time around, when she had the misfortune of encountering two Level Es while following Yuuki Cross into town and ended up witnessing Shiki unleashing his powers to save Yuuki Cross from being attacked by a Level E, it hadn’t been this late. At least, the sun hadn’t even begun to set that day. The same couldn’t be said for today. So, out of concern for the girl’s safety, Aidou Hanabusa decided to follow Wakaba Sayori silently from behind, taking it upon himself to act as the girl's bodyguard. Wakaba Sayori sighed inwardly as she could not helped but noticed a certain blond vampire following her from behind silently, ever since she stepped out of the academy's ground. Usually, she might not have minded the fact that the blond had opted to follow her around but this evening, she would be meeting up with her elder brother to discuss certain things that she absolutely does not want the blond to hear about. 'Is there anything that I could do to keep him away?' Wakaba Sayori thought with a frowning expression on her face. For a while, the hazel-eyed girl contemplated the idea of taking a bus to town instead of walking over, but she soon discarded that idea. After all, who was to say for certainty that Aidou Hanabusa would never hop on the bus? Besides, she had the image of Aidou Hanabusa gaining himself more fangirls if he took a bus ride to town. Surprisingly, Wakaba Sayori felt a twinge of annoyance upon the sheer idea of that possibility, much to her confusion. 'Why am I feeling annoyed by the possibility of him gaining himself more supporters? It never did bother me in the past, right?' Wakaba Sayori could not help but wonder inwardly, with confusion. Deciding to just chalk the slight twinge of annoyance to the never-ending number of fangirls coming towards her and bothering her about her non-existent relationship with Aidou Hanabusa. The hazel-eyed girl opted to disregard the matter entirely and continued her walk down the path that would lead her toward the direction of the town. “Over here!” Wakaba Hiroshi raised his hand to catch the attention of his sister who’d just arrived at the coffee house and seemed to have trouble pinpointing his location. “Sorry to keep you waiting.” Wakaba Sayori begins as she reaches over to give her elder brother a loose hug as a form of greeting resulting in Wakaba Hiroshi’s baffled reaction. “Is there a reason why you’re greeting me this enthusiastically today?” Wakaba Hiroshi started in confusion as he addressed his younger sister. “I have a tail following me into town, and I didn’t exactly want him to overhear the content of our conversation.” Wakaba Sayori answered with a sigh. “Oh, you have a vampire following you into town.” Wakaba Hiroshi nodded as understanding dawned on him. He did recall Sayori complaining to him via a text that the pureblood king had deemed it necessary to sic a guard on his sister. “Indeed.” Wakaba Sayori couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the thought of the blue-eyed blond aristocratic vampire who seemed to be following her around, every day without fail. --- An hour later, Aidou Hanabusa returned to the school in a bad mood. He had followed Wakaba Sayori out to town fearing for the girl's safety only to find the girl meeting up with some unknown guy, in a coffee house behaving rather cozy with one another. The blue-eyed blond aristocrat knew he might have over-reacted on the issue. There's no guarantee that the guy whom Wakaba Sayori met up with was her love interest, for all he knows the guy could simply be that elder brother of hers. Still, it did nothing to change the fact that the resident genius of the night class was feeling upset. Good lord, I can’t believe I’m feeling upset over some little human girl and her chummy behavior with another human guy. The moment Aidou Hanabusa realized what he was on the verge of doing, the blue-eyed blond promptly turned on his heels to depart from the vicinity of the coffee house that he had seen Wakaba Sayori entering, mere minutes ago. This is bad, why is the sight of her hugging another guy affecting me this much? Why do I feel the urge to pull her away from the guy she’s hugging? Surely, I'm not crushing on her, am I? The blue-eyed blond aristocrat was so engrossed in his thoughts that he failed to realize the fact that he was approaching the direction of the Chairman's residence until he heard the unmistakable sound of Yuuki Cross calling out for his attention. Blinking twice, he snapped himself out from his thoughts only to realize that the female guardian was questioning on his reason for coming over. "I'm hungry, is there anything to eat around here?” Aidou Hanabusa responded and without waiting for an invitation he made his way through the front door of the Chairman's residence. Later, he proceeded to drop himself on an available seat that surrounded the dining table. It was not until Aidou Hanabusa settled himself down comfortably on the seat, did he finally realize that he now had several pairs of eyes upon himself regarding him with unmasked curiosity. "What?! Why are the whole lot of you people staring at me?!" Aidou Hanabusa could not help but snap aloud in annoyance. "I thought you said you weren't coming over to join us for dinner? Then why are you here now?" Akane begins in a tone of curiosity as she eyed the ice-wielding vampire with an assessing look. Aidou Hanabusa flushed crimson, red from embarrassment as he forced himself to respond in a calm-like manner. "Well, I'm hungry and since I was just around the vicinity so I thought I could try my luck out and see if there's any possibility of me finding some food for myself here, instead of having to head over to the cafeteria." Following the end of the blue-eyed blond aristocratic vampire’s response, the time-traveling trio stared at one another in unison before Akane pretended to cough while she hid the laughter that was threatening to erupt from her. Kiryuu Subaru, on the other hand, stared down at his plate where his untouched piece of chocolate pound cake remained sitting innocently in front of him. Kuran Akira, on the other hand, just sighed before making a move to speak up. " ... Honestly, Uncle Aidou ... You need to stop the bad habit of venting your frustration by eating whenever you have problems in paradise. It’s unhealthy." Kuran Akira's sudden words startled the blue-eyed blond so badly that he nearly choked on the piece of cake he was being served by Yuuki while waiting for the male guardian to cook them their dinner. "What the hell?!" Aidou Hanabusa started as he stared at the younger boy in shock before he recovered himself and said firmly. "I do not know what you are talking about!" Akane snorted before interjecting. "Oh please! Who are you trying to kid?! You are glaring at your cake with venom and stabbing it as though it's your loathsome arch-nemesis! Although, I had no idea what you have on your mind ... but it reminded me awfully of a certain friend of mine when he's jealous about something or someone." Aidou Hanabusa spluttered unintelligently, his cheeks turning red from both embarrassment and indignation at Akane's words before deciding that it was pointless to get himself worked up over the fact that Akane had managed to see through his mask of disguise. Therefore, he turned his attention back to the piece of cake sitting in front of him again. Only this time, instead of glaring at it with venom, he was staring sullenly down at it. "Alright, enough chattering! No talking during mealtimes, remember?!" Kiryuu Zero interrupted, as he came out from the kitchen placing a plate of lasagna in front of them. "Yes, Daddy!" The twins chortled in unison, before requesting for more ketchup sauce. Akane, meanwhile sprinkled some black pepper on her portion before scooping up a mouthful and chew upon it without hesitation. Aidou Hanabusa, on the other hand, stared down at his share of lasagna in skepticism before staring up at the silver-haired guardian and asked in a sarcastic manner. "Are you sure this is edible, Kiryuu?" Kiryuu Zero felt his eyebrow twitching slightly at the words coming from the ice-wielding vampire, but he wisely remained silent. No point getting into an argument with the blond over something as trivial as the issue of 'food'. Deciding to disregard the blond entirely, Kiryuu Zero settled down at the dining table with his portion and started to dig into his meal as well. Yuuki Cross followed suit soon after, upon ensuring that they had saved up some of the remaining lasagna for the Chairman's consumption later. Dinner progressed uneventfully, nothing much had happened unless you counted the incident of Aidou stealing Akira's share of dessert that got the younger twin upset. The boy had wailed and complained loudly to Zero that his Uncle Aidou had stolen his mango pudding, which ended up with Zero placating the boy with his share of the dessert. “Hush, Akira. You can have mine.” Kiryuu Zero stood as he shifted his mango pudding to the front of the wailing boy, before throwing Aidou Hanabusa a look of exasperation. ‘Honestly, how old are you? How thick-skinned of you to stoop to the level of stealing dessert from a boy, who’s decades younger than you.’ Kiryuu Zero couldn’t help but send the message to the blue-eyed blond through the means of a mental link established when he met eyes with the ice-wielding vampire. Needless to say, Aidou Hanabusa was so startled that he yelped aloud and nearly dropped the pudding in shock. “Holy hell! How did you manage to do that?!” Aidou Hanabusa blurted out in shock, after recovering from his initial fright at hearing the voice of the silver-haired guardian in his mind. “That’s my special ability.” Kiryuu Zero deadpans before turning his attention away from the ice-wielding vampire to focus on his future sons. “Special ability? But I thought...never mind, I can’t believe I hadn’t noticed it before. Since when did you start emitting the aura of a Level B?” Aidou Hanabusa frowned as he took a moment to study the aura of the silver-haired guardian in detail. “Very recently, I assured you. The ingestion of my supposed master’s blood must have unlocked something in my bloodline that allowed for the change in status from an ex-human to a noble rank. Honestly, this is quite a mystery for me as well. You are welcome to study it in specific, should you desire.” Kiryuu Zero deadpans as he responds to the query that comes from the blue-eyed blond aristocrat. “...” --- After dinner, the twins huddled close to their daddy and even offered to help the silver-haired guardian out in the cleaning of the dishes. That ended up with Yuuki, Akane and Aidou seated on the sofa couch in silence, and randomly flipping through the channels on the television set. Unable to bear with the silence, Yuuki Cross took a deep breath as she gathered up her courage to ask. "So Akane, how's your project with Yori coming along?" Akane blinked before registering the girl's question and responded. "It's coming along nicely; we will be meeting up later for one last time. After today’s discussion, all that’s left is to compile the findings into a proper report for the teacher when school reopens. For the report, I'll be handling the overview and the outline. Sayori will handle the rest of the report and send the completed report for printing and binding when it’s done. I'll just need to email her the completed outline and overview for the project when the time comes." Yuuki Cross nodded before turning towards the blue-eyed blond vampire and asking the first question that popped into her mind. "So ... Aidou-Senpai, why aren't you with the rest of the night class members today?" "Nothing ... just don't feel like going out today ..." Aidou Hanabusa responded vaguely, not wanting to reveal too much of the reason behind his reluctance to join the rest of them at the council's meeting this evening. "Eh? But I thought I saw Uncle Aidou leaving school earlier on ..." This coming from Kuran Akira, who had just emerged from the inside of the kitchen during the period whereby his daddy was conversing with his elder twin sibling. "What?!" Upon Akira's statement, Yuuki Cross turned accusing eyes upon the blond and demanded that the fellow vampire provide a reason for his leaving the academy without seeking approval from the chairman in advance. "For your information, I was playing escort for your dormmate who ventured out into town at sunset, alone." Aidou Hanabusa couldn’t help but snap in annoyance when he got tired of Yuuki Cross’s nagging about him not gaining permission from the chairman before leaving the academy grounds. “Erm... on that account, I’m sure Sayori can handle herself just fine. She might not have gotten her hunting license from the mail yet, but I'm quite certain she’d cleared the practical aspects for the hunter’s promotional exams.” Akane sweat-dropped as she butted into the conversation, upon noticing the look of worry on Yuuki’s face and the somewhat tensed reaction from the ice-wielding aristocrat. “I know.” Aidou Hanabusa gritted out before letting out a huff of breath, as he stood to leave the chairman’s place for the town once more. Despite being annoyed, the blue-eyed blond still decided to return to town and safeguard the dormmate of Yuuki Cross as the girl made her way back to the academy grounds. “Yori, mother approved of your decision to serve Kiryuu Zero. The clan head had also given her stamp of approval on your decision. Now, all you need to do is inform our father about where your allegiance lies and stop the ongoing reports to the hunter’s branch of the family. While on the subject, Mom and Dad got into a row a couple of nights ago regarding you.” Wakaba Hiroshi started as he signaled for the waitress to bring him the bill for their orders. “Huh? They got into a row about me? Surely, it isn’t about me picking Kiryuu Zero as my master, is it?” Wakaba Sayori blinked as she glanced questioningly at her elder brother. “Of course not. Father might not be happy about you deciding to serve Kiryuu Zero as a guard, but there wasn’t much he could do in that aspect. No, Mom and Dad fought because Dad came up with the brilliant idea to draw up a betrothal contract between you and the grandson of Ichijo Asato.” Wakaba Hiroshi commented in a wry tone of voice, as he spared a moment to observe the expression of his younger sister with unbidden glee. The bodyguard of Fujiwara Akemi neglected to mention that his mother had retaliated by claiming that if they were to stick to the traditions of an arranged union for the next generation. Sayori should be matched up with another candidate among the retainer families that served the Fujiwara clan, and if their father desires to have a vampire as a son-in-law. They could look in the direction of arranging a betrothal with the Tachibana family, as opposed to betrothing Sayori to the grandson of Ichijo Asato. Of course, their father had to come back with the argument that the grandson of Ichijo Asato is studying in the same school as Sayori, and that would give them ample opportunities to connect and bond as opposed to the Tachibana boy who was based in Kyoto. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to hear any further as it was then that their parents noticed his presence in the same room as them and put a temporary halt on their argument over the prospect of Sayori’s future life-partner. “Excuse me?!” Wakaba Sayori felt her eyes widen in response to the words of her elder brother and had to thank her lucky stars that she hasn’t been drinking, or she might have choked on her beverage. “By any chance, was this Ichijo Asato the very same man who set up the renowned Ichijo Enterprise and is also currently the head of the Vampire Council?” Wakaba Sayori repeated faintly as she fixated her piercing gaze on the figure of her elder brother, Wakaba Hiroshi. “Yep.” Wakaba Hiroshi nodded in affirmation. “What the hell is Father playing at, by attempting to draw up a betrothal contract between me and a noble-rank vampire?” Wakaba Sayori started in a tone of incredulity. “That, I have no clues. He probably has some hidden agendas of his own. On that account, I'm not even certain if his master knew of his intention to betroth you to the grandson of the infamous Ichijo Asato.” Wakaba Hiroshi shrugged in response, after all, what he knew, he’d overheard during the argument of his parents before leaving home to visit Sayori in this humble little town, situated on the outskirts of West Tokyo. “...” “Do you need me to walk you back to the school?” Wakaba Hiroshi inquires as they venture out of the coffee house. “Nah, I don’t think that’s necessary.” Wakaba Sayori shakes her head in response before turning on her heels to head back toward the direction that will take her back to the Cross Academy in deep thought. The startling information she had received from her elder brother before the end of their dinner meeting was distracting her so much that she hadn’t noticed that she was being followed by a Level E. It wasn’t until she felt the chilly air from the ice, a result of Aidou Hanabusa activating his powers from behind that Wakaba Sayori finally snapped her focus back into reality. The sight of the ice-wielding vampire freezing the Level E creeping up on her finally clued Sayori in on just how precarious her position had been moments ago. With a sigh of weariness, the hazel-eyed girl thanked the ice-wielding vampire for the ‘save’ before refocusing her attention on making it back to the academy grounds. This time, she dared not allow her mind to dwell too much on the words of her elder sibling. “When did you get back? I thought you’d left just now?” Wakaba Sayori started after a moment of silence, deciding that holding a conversation with her self-proclaimed bodyguard might help distract her from trying to figure out her father’s hidden agenda who was trying to draw up a betrothal contract between her and Ichijo Takuma. Of all possible candidates, why the Ichijos? Sure, it’s common for her family to abide by the custom of having an arranged union. Still, usually these arrangements were made between the retainer families that served the Fujiwara clan. For instance, the union of her parents as both the Wakaba and the Mishima are both loyal retainer families for the Fujiwara clan. Her elder brother was engaged to the daughter of the Matsushita family, another family that served the Fujiwara clan. So, even if choices are so rare they had to explore the idea of matching her up with a vampire family. Wouldn't it be more logical to betroth her to someone from the Tachibana or the Sasaki family, both common-class vampires that are bound to serve the Fujiwara family, in the same way as how Seiren was bound to serve the Kuran family? So, how on earth did her father come to the notion of betrothing her to Ichijo Takuma?! Wait, was this something that her father came up with after hearing about her decision to serve Kiryuu Zero? No, that couldn’t be... what has her decision to serve under Kiryuu Zero got to do with her father’s decision to draw up a betrothal contract between her and the grandson of Ichijo Asato? No, this likely isn’t about her, but more centered on his hunger for more power. After all, her father has always been a power-hungry sod. The man wouldn’t have picked Fujiwara Haruto as his master to serve otherwise, and he’d assisted his master in usurping Fujiwara Satoshi from the head of the hunter’s branch for the clan using Kiryuu Zero’s survival as a bargaining chip four years ago without batting an eyelid. The thought of her power-hungry father caused Wakaba Sayori to frown angrily before she decided to vent her mounting displeasure on the poor Level E who got frozen in the block of ice from Aidou Hanabusa’s power. “I did leave earlier to get something to eat, but I didn’t think it wise to allow human girls like yourself to travel back to the academy grounds on foot without an escort. So, I came back after getting some food. It's a good thing I did come back for you, what would’ve happened if I hadn’t been there earlier?” Aidou Hanabusa answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, as he worked on keeping the undertones of his annoyance hidden. “Well, thank you for earlier. I got a bit lost in my mind that I wasn’t paying enough attention to my surroundings.” Wakaba Sayori sighed as she thanked the blue-eyed blond for his timely intervention with the Level E, earlier. “You’re welcome.” Aidou Hanabusa shrugged nonchalantly in response to the gratitude coming from the hazel-eyed human girl who’d caught his interest. “Now that I've gotten the gratitude out of the way, can you unfreeze him? I'm not in a good mood right now, and I would suggest that you step away after removing the freezing spell on the Level E vampire.” Wakaba Sayori started as she retrieved her anti-vampire weapon, a dagger coated with numbing poison that proved detrimental to the nervous system of a vampire from the thigh strap, she had strapped to her thigh that’s kept hidden from view under the cover of her uniform skirt. Slightly apprehensive, Aidou Hanabusa obliged the girl’s request as he removed the freezing spell, he had used on, the former ex-human to allow Sayori to do whatever she desired with the Level E vampire. Cringing slightly, the blue-eyed blond watched as Wakaba Sayori plunged her dagger into the sides of the Level E that’d just regained freedom before pulling the dagger back out to plunge into yet another acupuncture point of the former ex-human vampire. It took a good old fifteen minutes before Wakaba Sayori decided to end the life of the former ex-human who had now fallen to the end, by plunging her anti-vampire weapon, the dagger straight into the head of the former ex-human. “You aren’t a sadist, are you?” Aidou Hanabusa didn’t know what possessed him to ask, but he just must ask that question. “Under usual circumstances, no. I only behave in this manner when I'm pissed with my father or something he’d done.” Wakaba Sayori responded nonchalantly as she tucked away her anti-vampire weapon to restart her journey back to the Cross Academy with the ice-wielding aristocrat as her escort. --- Aidou Hanabusa sighed as he turned away from the window, his expression unreadable. He had trouble deciphering his feelings at this point, all that he was aware of was that annoyance played a big part in his current dark mood. Part of him was annoyed at himself for being attracted to the human girl, Wakaba Sayori, despite having seen the sadistic streak buried underneath all that calming facade that the girl had displayed for all to see. It should technically unnerve him since he prides himself as someone who prefers a partner with a docile personality. A scary woman who reminded him of his mother shouldn’t be on his consideration list, and yet, he still found his attraction for Wakaba Sayori growing. Despite having found out the identity of the guy Wakaba Sayori met up with at the coffee house after he’d dropped the girl off at the chairman’s place, through the conversation between Yuuki Cross and the hazel-eyed human girl that caught his interest. Aidou Hanabusa had come to realize that the idea of seeing Wakaba Sayori with another guy annoys him greatly. A foreboding sense of dread fills him when he realizes he wants the human girl for himself. 'Shit! I am so 'dead' ... Of all the possible candidates to be interested in establishing a relationship with, I had to pick a human girl. Should I be thankful that the beast in me hasn’t started craving or desiring to get a taste of her blood yet?' Aidou Hanabusa thought gloomily to himself, but there was nothing that he could have done to put a stop to his growing attraction towards Wakaba Sayori. Still, at the rate it was going... the blue-eyed blond had a feeling that it was only a matter of time before his inner beast started developing an interest in the human girl. The sudden entrance of his cousin, Akatsuki Kain, drew his attention away from his thoughts as he turned inquisitive eyes upon the newcomer. "Yes, Akatsuki? Is there anything that you require from me?" Aidou Hanabusa begins as he addresses his orange-haired cousin and roommate. "Yes, there is indeed someone who needed something from you, but that person is not me," Akatsuki responded in response to his cousin’s query, while handing out his mobile gadget to Aidou Hanabusa. "Who's that on the other end of the phone?" "Your father, Uncle Nagamichi. Somehow, he claimed to say that you are unreachable and thus decided to call me instead." Akatsuki Kain responded with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. "I see. Well, the battery in my phone went flat apparently." Aidou Hanabusa blinked as he dug out his mobile phone from wherever he’d stashed the offending gadget earlier and sighed in resignation upon noticing its black unresponsive screen before commenting to his cousin. Bracing himself mentally for the possible nagging conversation that was to come in time, Aidou Hanabusa raised the slim blue phone gadget belonging to his orange-haired cousin to his ears as he greeted his father politely. His father spends five minutes of the conversation lecturing him on his lack of insight to have his phone battery fully charged, and another five minutes questioning him on the well-being of their pureblood leader before cutting into the main reason for the call. "I see. Yes, I will inform Kaname-sama about it. Alright, I'll try but no guarantee. We both know how much Kaname-sama detested the idea of socializing. Yes, I know. What?! Honestly, you cannot be serious about this ... Yes, I understand that he would not object to the idea but ... Okay, Fine! I know ... I'll try, alright?! Excuse me, Mother-dearest! Are you aware of what you are saying?! No! There's no way am I going to agree to that idea! Mother, I am not interested in getting myself tied down with a family at this stage of time. I'll let you know when I have the idea or notion, in mind alright?! Until then, please leave the issue alone and I do not wish to have the subject brought up for discussion again!" Akatsuki observed the many times whereby his cousin had rolled his eyes at whatever that was being said on the other end of the phone, throughout the twenty minutes of the conversation and he started to grow worried over the possibility of his cell phone being frozen by his cousin. Inwardly, he heaved a sigh of relief upon the sight of the conversation being ended and Hanabusa handed his mobile phone back to him. "So ... what's up?" Hanabusa threw him a look of annoyance before responding. "Nothing's up, with the exception that there's going to be a party being held in the underground estate that my family owned in town tomorrow evening and that I was supposed to invite and persuade Kaname-sama into joining us for the party." "... That wasn't all there was to it, right?" Aidou Hanabusa rolled his eyes upon his cousin's question and proceeded to growl aloud. "My parents had it in mind to introduce one of my younger sisters to Kaname-sama as a potential partner to spend his life with ... In other words, a match-making attempt." "Oh ... I see. We both know your father’s attempt to matchmake your sister to Kaname-sama wouldn’t work given how Kaname-sama has already decided on who to take on as his future life partner by this point. So, that couldn’t be the driving factor behind your agitation. So, what was the reason behind your current annoyance?" Akatsuki Kain nodded before commenting on his cousin’s mood analytically. "That was my mother wanting to know if I am ready to settle down yet ... and that she had quite several female candidates from well-respected noble families waiting to be introduced to me." Aidou Hanabusa responded, with another exasperated roll of his eyes. "Another match-making attempt for you then ... so what are you going to do?" Akatsuki Kain prompted in response to his annoyed cousin’s remarks. "Nothing. I'm not going to do anything." Aidou Hanabusa answered in a terse-like manner as he turned away from his cousin's inquiring gaze. Akatsuki Kain observed his cousin quietly for a second before opening his mouth to speak. "Hanabusa, I hope you know what you're doing. The excuses that you are using right now would not work in the long run, one of these days the adults are just going to decide on your behalf, and you won't get a say in the matter. In the meantime, I'll go and inform Kaname-sama about the issue of the upcoming party organized by your father, somehow, I had a feeling that you aren't keen on the idea of approaching him, yourself. Speaking of the party, when was it?" "Tomorrow evening, over at the underground apartment situated within the abandoned building towards the end of North Street 4 of the town," Aidou responded in a monotonous manner as though he was quoting something directly from the textbook. --- "Zero, can you come in here for a minute? There's something that I need to inform you." Kaien Cross called out to his ward's attention when the fellow male guardian passes by the Chairman's office in the school’s administrative building on the following day. "Yes? What is it that you need to inform me about?" Kiryuu Zero started as he entered the chairman’s office situated in the school’s administrative building. Today marks the final day of the school term before the school goes on a one-week break for the spring holiday. It is also the day of graduation for the third-year junior and high school students from the day class. So, Kiryuu Zero is quite busy getting the ad-hoc duties done in preparation for the graduation ceremony that will be taking place in an hour. Henceforth, whatever his legal guardian had in mind to tell him, he just wished the man would make it quick. Kaien Cross slipped a piece of paper as well as the ID card signifying his adopted son’s identity as a full-fledged vampire hunter across the table towards the direction of Kiryuu Zero and started. "This came for you from the association. They wanted you to go and supervise a party hosted by a vampire tonight, in town." "..." Kiryuu Zero said nothing but stared at the piece of paper that served as the official notification of the order issued by the association in deep thought. Slowly, he flicked his eyes toward his hunting license that comes along with the latest order assigned to him by the Hunter’s Association and refrained from cursing aloud. “Let me guess, they specifically informed you that I'm not allowed to get my hands on the license if I do not agree to take on the supervision mission for them, tonight?” The silver-haired guardian took a deep breath to compose himself before addressing the figure of his legal guardian. The last thing he needed was to alert his future pureblood mate of his bubbling anger and draw the former over to check in on him in person over something this trivial. "Indeed. In any case, the vampires attending the party tonight are majority from those well-respected bloodlines so I think there shouldn't be a big problem with you supervising them." Kaien Cross nodded in response as he slides the paper containing the details about tonight’s supervision mission to his adopted son, over the table for the silver-haired guardian to skim through the information and committing them to memory. "Fine. I'll go." Kiryuu Zero response came out sounding curt and the aura enveloping him was dark and unfriendly. Still, against his better judgement the Chairman decided to comment about Zero's mood after his adopted son had agreed to obey the order issued by the Hunter’s Association. "You don't seem to be very happy about this ..." Kiryuu Zero shot the Chairman a look that promised a 'slow death' and growled aloud. "I am indeed not happy about this whole issue, but then again. Since I am not given a choice in this matter, what else can I do aside from accepting and obeying the order that was being issued to me?!" The Chairman felt himself breaking out in cold sweat as his adopted son subjected him to another death glare and started to laugh awkwardly. To which, Kiryuu Zero just rolled his eyes before leaving the office altogether fuming inwardly at the latest order issued to him by the Hunter’s Association. Halfway across the lawn, Kiryuu Zero decided to make a trip to the Moon Dormitory. He thought he’d best pop in to reassure the pureblood king that he was doing perfectly fine lest the guy decided to visit him in person to uncover the cause behind his boiling anger, later. Furthermore, they would need to finalize the caretaking plans for the twins during the upcoming spring holiday given that the entire Moon Dorm would be empty of occupants during the holiday period. As for his feeding, though with the ingestion of Shizuka’s blood, he no longer requires feeding once every three days. However, they aren’t certain how long it would last in between feeding before his bloodlust decides to rear its head, again. So, to be on the safe side, Kaname had decided to withdraw enough bottles of blood to be set aside for his consumption during the week when the night class is away on their spring holiday. Upon the silver-haired guardian’s arrival at the entrance gate of the Moon Dormitory building, the guard stationed at the security checkpoint merely took one look at him before waving him in. No questions were asked, and neither were those questions required. First and foremost, Zero's role as the school guardian allows him the authority to drop by the Moon Dormitory for a visit, whenever he deems it necessary. Secondly, ever since the trio's arrival, he had been coming over so often that the guards stationed at the security checkpoint of the dormitory would just wave him into the building and turn one blind eye to his actions toward their resident pureblood. Finally, their pureblood leader had already told them to just allow the male guardian to enter the Moon Dormitory whenever the said guardian felt the inclination to visit. Pushing open the door without even bothering to knock, Kiryuu Zero entered the main wing of the building calmly and daringly. Unlike Yuuki, who would always try to hide away from those inquiring gazes of the night class members, Kiryuu Zero was completely at ease with the gazes he’d received upon his person as he walked briskly through the front lounge of the Moon Dormitory building. "A-re? Kiryuu? Are you here to look for Kaname-sama?" The Vice President of the Moon Dormitory, Ichijo Takuma started as he caught sight of the silver-haired guardian while on his way to the kitchen to retrieve some snacks for himself. "Indeed. Is he around?" Kiryuu Zero nodded as he queried the green-eyed blond vampire in return. He didn’t bother inquiring after the whereabouts of Akane, knowing for a fact that the sandy-brown-haired vampire girl is likely in class, at present. Unlike him who gets to skip the morning classes due to his duty as the school’s guardian to prepare for the upcoming graduation ceremony, Akane had to attend the morning classes despite today being the last day of the current school year. "Ah ... Kaname-sama's in the private lounge. Do you know where that is?" Ichijo Takuma responded before inquiring, as he was suddenly reminded of the fact that the private lounge was one of the few places that the silver-haired guardian hadn’t gotten a chance to visit when he came by the Moon Dormitory, recently. It took a while for Kiryuu Zero to recall exactly where is the private lounge located, but eventually he managed to dig out the knowledge from the far back of his mind from the floor plan of the Moon Dormitory. “I think I know where that is, the door that’s adjacent to the private library, correct?” “Yes, that would be it. I presumed you don’t need a guide to show you the way.” Ichijo Takuma nodded in response to the query from the silver-haired guardian. He's still abiding by his promise to keep a respectable distance from Kiryuu Zero, ever since that accidental kiss between him and the silver-haired guardian, his pureblood friend kind of forbade him from getting too close to the male guardian of the school. So, if Kiryuu Zero were to require assistance in locating the private lounge, he’s probably going to have to send a maid to guide the former over because he values his life too much to volunteer himself as a guide for the silver-haired guardian. “It’s fine. I don’t need a guide.” Kiryuu Zero answered in a clipped tone of voice before continuing his way toward the direction where he recalled the private library was located. From there, he took a moment to sense the presence of his future pureblood mate using his sharp vampire senses before arriving at a stop at the correct door that leads to the private lounge of the dormitory. --- Kaname Kuran was seated on his 'chair' in the lounging area, flipping through the ancient spell book that had been passed down through his family members for generations when his beloved silver-haired hunter entered the room. Putting aside the book elegantly, ensuring that he had the book cover facing down such that Zero would not be able to tell just what exactly he had been reading up on. After all, the pureblood king had no desire to let his beloved discover that he was researching the spell for the marriage bond he’d intended to use on them when the silver-haired guardian finally gave him the green light to proceed with the cementing of their existing bond. That, and he was looking up for the spell that would ensure that their future offspring would be born as purebloods instead of noble. For it is especially important to keep the blood lineage of the 'Kuran' pure. Due to Zero’s status as a Level B and his status as a pureblood, any offspring between them if conceived with just the use of the fertility spell would only guarantee children between them. To ensure that their offspring are born pureblood, Kaname figured that there must be several spells in use his future self had decided to cast upon Zero when they decided to procreate and bring the twins into existence. Seeing as Kaname still had no idea what spells were utilized when they conceived the twins, he thought it might be best for him to get a head start in researching such spells from the ancient spellbook passed down the generation in the Kuran family. For that reason alone, Kaname had taken a trip back to the ancestral home of the Kuran family. Not the house that his parents had been staying before they were attacked by Rido, but the ancestral manor house owned by the Kuran family. The one house he could call his own since it was where he’d stayed when he was the progenitor of the Kuran family and later where generations of his descendants had resided before they decided to move out into houses on a smaller scale in recent decades. He’d taken a trip back to that house because that was where all the ancient spellbooks had been stored. To date, there are still some loyal servants keeping up with the maintenance of that manor, and he’d received quite a warm welcome when he popped by the place last night after that meeting, he’d had with Ichiou at the vampire council. While ideally, he had hoped to make the manor his home again with Zero by his side, he knew, that place was too humongous for his future mate’s liking. So, they would likely just spend a couple of days in that manor house before relocating to a cozier residence elsewhere. The reason why they would need to spend a couple of days in that manor house was due to the ritual room available in the manor that’s essential for their official bonding to take place. In short, the ritual room is where they would need to consummate their bond and cement their union in the official sense. Regardless, this is a topic that would likely only come up for discussion after they’d disposed of that darn Rido Kuran. So, for now, it’s best to focus on the present. “Zero, what brings you over at this time?” Kaname Kuran begins as he steers his attention away from the thought of the official bonding between him and his beloved that likely wouldn’t take place until later, to focus on the reason behind Kiryuu Zero’s visit this morning. “Caretaking arrangement for the twins. Spring break begins tomorrow. That, and the party hosted in town tonight for the night society.” Kiryuu Zero responded as he dropped himself onto the empty seat on the Victorian-style sofa couch in the private lounge of the Moon Dorm. Gone were the days when he would remain guarded and wary while in the presence of the pureblood king. His mentor will likely have an aneurysm if he knows what he has been doing with Kaname Kuran these days. So, it’s probably best for his mentor to remain in the dark about how much progress he has been making in this relationship he had with the pureblood king since the arrival of the trios. Kiryuu Zero thought inwardly to himself. “Ah... yes, the party hosted by the Aidou family.” Kaname Kuran commented as he thought back to the visit, he had received from Akatsuki Kain last night shortly after his return from his detour trip taken to his family’s ancestral manor home. “The party is hosted by the Aidou family? I see. In that case, I gathered that the entire night class will be attending then?” Kiryuu Zero raised an eyebrow at the information that wasn’t reflected in the missive of his supervision mission received from the Hunter’s Association as he remarked questioningly to his pureblood king. “I wouldn’t say everyone would be attending, but most of the members within my inner circle would be attending. Attendance wasn’t mandatory for the common class vampires.” Kaname Kuran responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “I guess, Risa will get babysitting duties for the twins tonight. Given that Akane would be focusing on working on her project and likely have little patience to spare for babysitting duties, even though she’s not going to attend the night society party taking place tonight in town.” Kiryuu Zero frowned as he concluded about the caretaking personnel for the twins, tonight. “Going by your conclusion, shall I take it that you’re assigned to supervise the party tonight?” Kaname Kuran started as he began to connect the dots by linking up his beloved’s presence in the Moon Dorm this early, and the boiling anger he’d detected from the one-sided bond between them stemming from Kiryuu Zero, earlier. “Yes, the Hunter’s Association dared to send the mission missive together with my hunting license directly to the chairman hinting that unless I obliged their request to supervise the night society party tonight, I wasn’t allowed to get my hands on my hunting license.” Kiryuu Zero huffed in annoyance, gritting his teeth once more as the memory from earlier came rushing back to the forefront of his mind. “Ah... while I do sympathize with you, there’s nothing I could do on that account.” Kaname Kuran remarked as he stood from his chair and moved towards the Victorian-style sofa couch so he could be closer to his future mate. “I know. And until my mentor is done with his investigation into the Hunter’s Association, I'm not allowed to go directly against the orders of the Hunter’s Association. That just makes me so frustrated at times.” Kiryuu Zero huffed in annoyance as he allowed himself to be pulled into the comforting embrace of the pureblood king. Kaname Kuran held his beloved in his arms as he rubbed soothing circles on the back of the silver-haired guardian for a while, before leaning downward to capture the lips of his future mate with his own. From then on, it becomes a full-blown make-out session between the duos. Kissing turns out to be a great form of distraction, at least, it did distract Zero enough to disregard his bubbling irritation towards the Hunter’s Association for the next half of the day until it’s time to prepare for the trip out to the party event. “Feeling better?” Kaname inquires when they finally break the kiss a couple of minutes later. “I would ask how you’re so good at kissing, but I don’t think that’s something I would like to hear about. I've decided against the idea of asking. Alright, time for me to go. The graduation ceremony for the day class begins in thirty minutes. I'll come back after the graduation ceremony ends.” Kiryuu Zero rolls his eyes at the pureblood king in response before removing himself from the private lounge of the Moon Dorm. “Well, if it makes you feel better. I haven’t kissed anyone else on the lips since I was roused from my eternal slumber by Rido Kuran.” The pureblood king remarked in an offhanded manner as he pulled Kiryuu Zero in for one last kiss before allowing the silver-haired guardian to leave and return to the school. ~to be continued~ Date started: 11/06/09 Date completed: 16/06/09 Date edited: 16/06/09 Date revised: 16/03/2025
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Zero, I heard there’s a new ice cream parlor in town.” Yuuki Cross begins once the graduation ceremony comes to an end, and the graduating students start to depart from the academy grounds with their family members gradually. “Sorry, Yuuki. As much as I would love to join you in town for the visit to the new ice cream parlor, maybe you might want to ask Wakaba to join you on the trip. I have a mission to prepare for that would take place this evening and thus wouldn’t have time to babysit you on a trip to town.” Kiryuu Zero deadpans to the girl he’d grown to care for like a sister, and technically, Yuuki would end up as his sister since she’s related to Kaname. “Oh... okay. I'll go and ask Yori then.” Yuuki Cross sighed as she went to go in search of her friend and dormmate. “Yori-chan! Hiromi-chan! Would any of you care to join me on a trip to town? There's a new ice cream parlor that opened for business recently, and I wanted to give their banana split a try.” Yuuki Cross started as she pleaded her case to her two friends from school by using her puppy eyes on them both. “...” Wakaba Sayori shared a look with her cousin from her maternal side of the family, Serizawa Hiromi before shrugging as they turned towards Yuuki Cross with the response. “Sure. Just nice that I’ve something to pick up from the gift store in town. We could swing by to pick up the item I've ordered before heading over to the ice cream parlor.” Serizawa Hiromi answered on behalf of her cousin, Wakaba Sayori. “Out of curiosity, why didn’t you get Kiryuu to accompany you into town for the ice cream parlor visit?” Serizawa Hiromi just had to ask, since the silver-haired guardian was usually Yuuki’s top choice when it comes down to seeking companionship for a visit into town. “I did ask him earlier, but he turned me down citing that he had a mission to prepare for.” Yuuki Cross responded on reflex before slapping a hand over her mouth, fearing that she had revealed something she shouldn’t be revealing to her friends. “It’s fine, Yuuki. Okay, so he has a mission tonight. Did he ask you to seek me out for the task of accompanying you into town?” Wakaba Sayori reassured her friend that it was fine that she’d divulged Zero’s mission to Hiromi and her. It's not as though they are going to do anything that will hinder the silver-haired guardian in the execution of his mission, tonight. Furthermore, her cousin, Hiromi might not be a hunter, but she knew enough information about the vampire society to keep her out of the loop by this point. “That he did. He told me earlier this morning that if he’d received his license, you’d likely gotten your hands on your hunting license by this point, too.” Yuuki Cross nodded in response. “Well, he got that right, at least. My license arrived in the mail, yesterday evening.” Wakaba Sayori responded as she flashed her hunting license in front of her dormmate’s eyes, to set Yuuki’s mind at ease. “That’s good. Well then, shall we get a move on?” Yuuki Cross beams at her friends as she linked arms with them and dragged them off along with her as they ventured out of the academy. “How do you girls want to head to the town? Via foot or the bus?” Yuuki Cross started as they came to a stop outside the school gate of Cross Academy. “Let’s take a bus. I'm not a fan of walking thirty minutes into town.” Serizawa Hiromi decided as she declared. “Fine, in that case, we’ll take a bus.” Wakaba Sayori rolls her eyes at her cousin’s words, if it’s up to her, she would opt for the option to venture into town on foot. After all, it would take them more than half an hour to get to the town, given that there’s a thirty-minute interval gap between the frequencies of each bus. “So, what is it that you are going to pick up at the gift shop?” Yuuki Cross started curiously while waiting for the bus to take them into town to arrive. “...” Serizawa Hiromi panicked for a moment, as she started shooting pleading looks in her cousin's direction for help in diverting Yuuki’s attention. She wouldn’t have been panicking if the item she was picking up was normal, heck, even picking up an anti-vampire weapon would not make her panicked this much. After all, Yuuki knows all about the vampires and stuff... but no, she’s picking up some homemade potions that are essential for her medicine cabinet which she’s running desperately low in stock. Her mother had said that she would be sending the potions to the gift shop owned by the Fujiwara clan which was initially set up as a contact point for the freelance hunters stationed in this part of the town because there isn’t a freelance hunter’s guild in this area. In any case, potions aren’t something Hiromi could share with Yuuki due to the statute of secrecy that applies to non-magical beings. While Hiromi’s talents in witchcraft don’t lie in the areas of spells-crafting or healing, she has an innate talent for divination. Her family, the Serizawa, was one of the few remaining pure wizarding bloodlines in this part of the world. Witchcraft in the Asian regions is dying out, while the Western region continues to blossom. In the past, there had been schools that nurtured magical talents. These days, this magical knowledge is being passed down to the few remaining wizarding families through the means of home-schooling. Upon receiving the silent plea for assistance from her cousin, Wakaba Sayori sighed as she told Yuuki. “It’s likely some trinkets her family had thought to send her. Have you seen her dorm room? It's full of things like Dreamcatcher, crystal balls, and the like. Hiromi’s hobby was witchcraft, something that comes out from the folklore. Her family likes to indulge in her hobby, so sometimes they will send her little trinkets that have been rumored to carry magical power.” “...” “Hah...right. I recalled seeing her black pointed hat of a witch that she claimed she was using for a cosplay event sometime last month. Of all things, why does she have to pick witchcraft as her hobby? Though, her tarot reading was eerily accurate.” Yuuki Cross remarked in a bemused manner. ‘Well duh...though, my training wasn’t complete. I’m still a witch, okay?! Given my innate talents in divination, of course, my tarot reading is going to be spot on!’ Serizawa Hiromi fumed silently in her mind. Honestly, if it weren’t for her severe allergic reactions to many of the off-the-rack household medicines, she wouldn’t relied on the homemade medicinal potions prepped up by her family to keep her medicine cabinet in her dorm stocked up. Thankfully, she didn’t have a nosy dormmate who liked to sift through her belongings, otherwise, it would be very difficult to explain what all those unknown liquids found in her medicine cabinet were. Upon entering the only gift shop in town, Serizawa Hiromi and Wakaba Sayori greeted the person who tended to the shop cheerfully. “Akina-san, has my package arrived yet?” “Oh, Hiromi-chan. Yes, they’re at the back. Just let Momo know your name and she will retrieve the package for you.” Akina, the shopkeeper told Serizawa Hiromi cheerfully in return. And then, shifting her eyes to land upon the figure of Wakaba Sayori, Akina added as an afterthought. “Sayori-chan, I think you have a package as well. I'm not sure what’s in them though, it was just dropped off earlier today by the courier man.” “...” Wakaba Sayori blinked in surprise before nodding cautiously as she instructed her friend, Yuuki to stay put while she ventured into the back to check on the package she had received. “Yuuki, do you mind waiting for a while? I'll head to the back to check on the package I’ve received.” Wakaba Sayori said as she directed her words to her dormmate and friend. “Sure. Take your time. I'm in no rush.” Yuuki Cross answered before shifting her attention onto the shopkeeper as she inquired if the shop doubles up as a drop-off point for parcel collection. “Oh yes, this was a recent development. Business is bad these days; to keep the business going, we must expand the services provided for the customers. So, recently, we have also offered our shop as a pick-up/drop-off point for parcels. We do mail-order and internet commerce businesses for customers as well, so we have an existing partnership with the local postal and dispatch services nationwide. Henceforth, by offering our shopfront to serve as a pick-up/drop-off point for parcels, we are offering the residents an alternate pick-up point for their mail-ordered merchandise. After all, there’s no guarantee they’re going to be home when their parcel arrives, isn’t it?” Akina, the shopkeeper told Yuuki smilingly before moving on to attend another walk-in customer for the day. “...” Yuuki Cross had been waiting patiently for her friend, Wakaba Sayori to re-emerge from the backroom of the shop where the parcels are gathered when she noticed a little boy crying near the entrance of the store. Placing the few items that she had been inspecting back onto the display cabinet, Yuuki headed toward the little boy and asked. "Little boy, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" The unknown little boy shook his head as he continued to cry and made a move to keep a tight grip on Yuuki's coat sleeve. "I want my mommy." That was all that the boy was willing to say, causing Yuuki to sigh aloud in resignation. Turning towards the shop vendor, Yuuki said. "I'm taking the little boy out in search of his mother if Sayori and Hiromi emerge from the backroom while I'm away. Tell them not to worry, and that I would head back to the school myself." Akina, the shop vendor nodded in response to Yuuki's request though she was frowning when Yuuki led the little boy away to go in search of the little boy's mother. Something about the situation doesn’t sit right with her, but despite being entrusted with the task of tending to the shop owned by the Fujiwara clan. Akina was no hunter, nor was she a member of the vampire branch of the Fujiwara family. As such, she couldn’t tell for certain that the little boy who lured Yuuki Cross out of the shop was a vampire child. Serizawa Hiromi was conducting a check on the potions she had received in the latest package sent to her by her parents, while Wakaba Sayori found herself receiving a new bottle of the poison that she’d taken a fancy to use on her anti-vampire weapon, her vintage dagger handed down to her by her mother, who no longer used it as she had now took up a desk job since her retirement from the frontline. With that settled, Wakaba Sayori and her cousin, Serizawa Hiromi headed back to the front of the shop. However, instead of finding Yuuki Cross waiting for them in front of the display cabinet. They found someone else, probably another walk-in customer standing in the spot where Yuuki stood earlier. With a sigh of resignation, Sayori left her cousin to be on the lookout for signs of the missing female guardian while she headed towards the shopkeeper hoping to find some clues as to where her friend had wandered off, despite being a magnet for dangers. "Akina-san, did my friend tell you where she was heading off for?" Wakaba Sayori started as she readied her mobile phone on her person. "She said to inform you that she would go back to the school herself, apparently she's off in search for the mother of a lost boy who had wandered into the shop earlier on while the two of you are preoccupied at the backroom of the shop. " The shopkeeper, Akina responded. "I see. In that case, please let her know that I'll be waiting for her in the Ice-Cream Parlor should she decide to drop by later." Wakaba Sayori told Akina, the shopkeeper despite knowing that the chances of Yuuki ending up wandering off elsewhere and getting herself caught red-handed by a certain silver-haired guardian was far more possible than heading back to the gift-shop, in search of them. "Sure, I'll be sure to inform your friend if she did make it a point to come back here in search of the two of you," Akina answered with a nod before directing her attention to the next customer queuing to make payment at the cash register. “Hiromi, come on. Let's go. I'll head over to the Ice-cream parlor to wait for Yuuki, can you help me bring my package back to the school? Just leave it atop of my desk would do.” Wakaba Sayori said as she handed her parcel to her cousin and instructed for Serizawa Hiromi to drop her parcel off at her dorm room upon her cousin’s return to the school. Meanwhile, back at the school, Kiryuu Zero returns to the Moon Dorm with two intentions in mind. One is to brief Risa Miyazaki about her upcoming babysitting duties for the twins. Two, to borrow an outfit suitable for the night society party from the wardrobe of Kaname Kuran. Honestly, if the gent's suit gifted to him by the pureblood king weren’t damaged from his altercation with Shizuka Hiou, he probably could use them. Unfortunately, that outfit was already damaged, and he highly doubted the day class uniform would be considered appropriate attire for the night society party. After stepping through the entrance to the Moon Dorm, Kiryuu Zero hesitated momentarily as he tried to decide on which wing to visit. Eventually, he decided to locate Risa Miyazaki first and thus he took a step towards the direction that will bring him to the sub-wing of the dormitory. “What’s he doing here? Isn't Kaname-sama over at the main wing?” one of the unknown vampires started as he whispered to his companion. “I think I know why he’s here.” A male vampire with lime-green hair answered as he stood to approach the figure of Kiryuu Zero, much to the bewilderment of his dormmate. “Are you here for Risa?” The vampire with lime-green hair started as he came to a stop in front of the silver-haired guardian. “Yes. Can you get her for me? Lime-green hair... that’s a familiar trait, are you from the Amagi or the Amamiya family?” Kiryuu Zero begins as he responds to the words of the unknown common-class vampire. “Sure.” The vampire with lime-green hair nodded before beckoning for his dormmate to get Risa Miyazaki over, while he remained behind to make small talk with the silver-haired guardian. “Amamiya. I'm Amamiya Souta. The Amagi are the ones with Indigo hair, furthermore, the Amagi are of noble rank. So, if they were to attend Cross Academy, you’re much more likely to find them in the main wing of the building as opposed to the sub-wing.” The vampire with lime-green hair answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Ah... I see. I apologize for the mix-up but I’m not familiar with the vampire families that served the Fujiwara family.” Kiryuu Zero responded, trying to keep the sheepish tone out of his voice. “Understandable, the Fujiwara family are based in the Kansai region and seldom ventured out of the area. The Kanto side belongs to the Kuran, it was an old rule that was established among the purebloods. The hunter’s branch of the Fujiwara clan is based in the Kanto area, so naturally, you would be more familiar with the family names of the vampires that served the Kuran family as opposed to the families that served the Fujiwara family.” Amamiya Souta answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. Thankfully, Risa Miyazaki arrived soon after, and Kiryuu Zero was immensely glad that the awkward conversation between him and the common-class vampire going by the name of Amamiya Souta could end. Once the silver-haired guardian was done relaying the instruction to Risa about her babysitting duties for the night, he promptly turned tail and fled the sub-wing of the dormitory in favor of locating the pureblood king within the main wing of the building. “...” “Zero? Is there anything you’re searching for in particular?” Kaname Kuran begins when he senses the presence of his future mate in his private study of his suite room after he emerges from his walk-in wardrobe with a new set of gent’s suits for his beloved to borrow for tonight’s occasion. “Do you have a book on the record of the families that served different pureblood lords or ladies in your private collection of books? I swore I just had the most awkward conversation with a common-class vampire just now because I mixed up the family name of the vampires that serve under the Fujiwara family. And then he mentioned how it’s understandable for me to be unfamiliar with the vampires that seldom ventured out of the Kansai area, and I'm now kind of scrambling for answers.” Kiryuu Zero responded while reaching for the offered gent’s suits held out in the hands of the pureblood king. “I see...while I do not have the book in my private collection. I'm sure you can find them in the public collection kept in the private library of the Moon Dorm. Feel free to browse through the collection of books in the library downstairs during the spring break. Seeing as the keys to the dormitory would be handed over to the chairman for safekeeping during the period we are away.” Kaname Kuran answered as he pulled the silver-haired guardian into his arms and took a deep breath as he inhaled the lovely scent of his beloved. He could feel the pulsing in his fangs as they threatened to lengthen and sink into the flesh of Zero’s neck, but he willed them back for the moment. ‘Not now, after the spring break perhaps.’ Kaname Kuran soothed his inner beast before commenting aloud. “Zero, you smelled so delectable.” “Is that your way of telling me that you’re craving for a taste of my blood?” Kiryuu Zero queried Kaname Kuran in return. “Yes. Do I have permission to take your blood?” Kaname Kuran started as he muzzled his nose into the crook of his beloved’s neck and inhaled deeply. “I hope you’re not telling me that you intend to take my blood now. We don’t exactly have time for a feeding session.” Kiryuu Zero sighed as he responded to the words coming from the pureblood king. “Oh no. Not now. I was going to suggest sometime after the spring holiday. If I took blood from you now, I wouldn’t be able to leave your side anytime soon. However, I would suggest that you feed off me one last time tonight after the end-of-the-night society party. That way, the two bottles of blood I’d withdraw for your consumption would likely tide you through the next week that I'm going to be away from the academy grounds.” Kaname Kuran responded with a shake of his head. “I see. I assumed that by allowing you to take blood from me, we would be moving on to the next stage of our relationship?” Kiryuu Zero nodded before voicing his doubt to the pureblood king. “Essentially. What we have now is a one-sided bond, and a two-way bond would be formed between us when you allowed me to feed from you. If what we have is a courtship at present, after the forming of the two-way bond, we would essentially be engaged. Of course, the last step which is the consummation of the bond, or mating is the equivalent to marriage between vampires.” Kaname Kuran responded as he finally let go of the silver-haired guardian so his beloved could prepare to get himself changed for the upcoming night society party. “I see. In that case, we will revisit the topic after the spring holiday.” Eventually, Kiryuu Zero answered. In a way, he was glad that Kaname Kuran had informed him ahead of time instead of just biting him for blood without giving him any heads-up. So, essentially, he had about a week to come to terms with the idea of being bitten and marked by another pureblood. Only, this time, the bite wasn’t meant to curse him into a life of eternity but one that would bind him to the pureblood king for the rest of his life. “Good. Now, I'll leave you to get changed in peace while I head downstairs to check in on our boys.” Kaname Kuran responded before turning to leave his private suite for the front lounge where the boys were currently being babysat by Risa Miyazaki. --- Back in town, Yuuki Cross was getting more and more uneasy with every step she took as she followed the little boy around the town. For a while, it had appeared to Yuuki that they were going around aimlessly but when it became apparent to Yuuki that they were starting to approach the less populated area of the town. Yuuki practically balked as she came to a halt at the entryway of a dark and deserted alley. Turning her attention to the little boy who had dragged her out of the gift shop in search of his mother, Yuuki Cross started to ask. “Are you sure we are heading in the right direction?” The boy, who was, possessed by Rido Kuran, the true head of the Kuran family choose to ignore the question asked, and continues to walk ahead. After what seemed like an eternity, the boy with mismatched eyes, one red and one blue, finally stopped and stood silently in front of an abandoned building. "Thank you, big sister. I've found my mother...!" The little boy then turned around to face Yuuki Cross, beaming innocently and happily up at the female guardian of the Cross Academy. Then the boy proceeded to give Yuuki a 'hug' to show his appreciation towards the chocolate-brown-haired girl. "Eh?!" Yuuki felt her eyes widening, and despite finding it strange that the boy's mother was hanging around such an unpopulated area, heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing the boy's words. "That's good ..." Yuuki Cross started before she was hit by a sudden dizzy spell and fainted on the spot. The last thought on Yuuki’s mind before losing consciousness was why was she so dizzy? A nasty smirk graced the features of the innocent little boy for a split second before it disappeared without a trace. Turning around to venture into the abandoned building as makes his way down towards the underground basement of the building owned by the Aidou family, the little boy had a smug expression donning his features. Inwardly, Rido Kuran thought. ‘I hoped you’d enjoy my little greeting, dear nephew of mine.’ Minutes away from rejoining the family that the little boy belongs to, Rido Kuran finally plastered on an expression that could be counted toward innocent as he rejoins the boy’s family. The downside of possessing the body of a young boy was that he had to keep up appearances. His nephew had done a good job in damaging his body to the state of disrepair, he could not use his body and repair itself to a functional state unless he was given the blood of a pureblood. So, while his true body lies in a coffin tucked away in the underground room of the vampire council, Rido Kuran could only works in the shadow by switching bodies every so often through the means of possession. However, it takes a toll on both his mental strength and the host’s physical strength for a soul-transfer spell to hold. Furthermore, the host for his soul had to be a willing participant in the spell. The more closely related the host is to the spellcaster, the better the spell will work. Unfortunately for Rido, due to the practice of incest relationships within the Kuran family, it’s very hard for him to find a relative who’s willing to be possessed by him with the soul transfer spell. The boy he’s now possessing is very distantly related to the Kuran, the blood relation is practically non-existent by this point. The fact that he could use this body for this long was a surprise to him. Truthfully, if it weren’t for the fact that this body is quite cooperative with his soul, he wouldn’t have remained in this body for this long. After all, there wasn’t much he could do while in possession of a child’s body. In addition to the lack of powers, while taking up residence in the body of a child, he had to put up the act of an innocent boy nearly every waking hour of the day. It helps that the boy’s parents are staunched supporters of him, and they are the ones to offer up the boy as a host for his soul willingly. So, they are willing to give him the freedom to roam about unsupervised and do as he pleases. Otherwise, he would never agree to the idea of using the boy to host his soul, no matter how willing the parents of the boy were. Approximately ten minutes later, two black sedans arrived at a stop in front of the abandoned building and the members of the night class, together with the silver-haired hunter, Kiryuu Zero filed out of the black sedan. Aidou Hanabusa and his cousin, Akatsuki Kain, who was among the first to reach the entrance of the abandoned building was the first to discover the unconscious figure of Yuuki Cross sprawled in front of the entranceway to the building where the night-society party was held. “Kaname-sama! Somehow, Yuuki Cross fainted in front of the building that leads to the entrance for tonight’s party.” Aidou Hanabusa wasted no time in calling out for the attention of his pureblood leader. “...” Kaname Kuran and Kiryuu Zero shared a look among themselves before they both stepped forward to get a good look at the unconscious girl sprawled in front of the entranceway to the abandoned building. Wordlessly, Aidou and Akatsuki stepped aside to clear out the pathway for their pureblood leader and the silver-haired guardian to reach the unconscious female guardian. Kiryuu Zero frowned while allowing the pureblood king to do the honors of examining the unconscious girl. The first thing Kaname did was to check for a pulse, and when he found it with ease. The pureblood king allowed himself to breathe easier, and then in a tone of resignation, Kaname commented as he picked the unconscious girl off the ground. "Ah...ah, seems like Yuuki had a knack of getting herself landed in trouble." “So, what’s the verdict?” Kiryuu Zero prompted as the pureblood king picked Yuuki off the ground in a bridal-style manner as they entered the abandoned building. “Yuuki likely encountered a vampire child and had her energy sucked out of her. Nothing that a good sleep couldn’t cure. We should just let her sleep it off.” Kaname Kuran reassuringly told his future mate, before turning toward Aidou Hanabusa as he inquired. “Aidou, is there a guestroom available that we could use to house Yuuki temporarily?” “Of course, Kaname-sama.” Aidou Hanabusa nodded as he took the lead and began to lead his pureblood king toward the direction of the guestrooms housed within the abandoned building owned by his family. --- During the time while waiting for Aidou Hanabusa to find them a guestroom to hide Yuuki’s human presence from the party attendees, Kiryuu Zero had already obtained the mobile phone of the female guardian to drop a call to Wakaba Sayori, whom he presumed was the person accompanying Yuuki into town. It's a good thing that he knew where Yuuki usually stashed her phone on her person, and thus there’s no need to search her entire person for the slim mobile gadget tucked away in the pocket of her skirt. In the call, Kiryuu Zero instructed Wakaba Sayori to head back to school and that Yuuki would be returning later with him and the rest of the night class. When inquired on the reason, there wasn’t much that the silver-haired guardian had revealed to the brown-haired dormmate of Yuuki Cross, but that Yuuki had somehow wandered into the venue where the night society party was held. Given the high vampire traffic that evening, they decided to keep Yuuki in the guestroom of the building where the party was held to prevent her from ending up as a snack for some of the notorious law-breaking members of the night society. Wakaba Sayori then explained in simple sentences how she got separated from Yuuki. According to Wakaba Sayori’s account, all she did was pick up a parcel from the backroom of the gift shop, and when she returned to the shopfront. Yuuki was already gone from the shop. Based on the saying of the shopkeeper, Yuuki went off to assist a little boy in search of the missing parent. After ending the phone call with Wakaba Sayori, Kiryuu Zero went on to share the information he’d gleaned from Yuuki’s dormmate who was the one that accompanied Yuuki into town, this afternoon. “Yuuki’s truly a magnet for trouble.” Kiryuu Zero couldn’t help but remark after he ended the call with one equally troubled Wakaba Sayori. “So, did you manage to find out what brings Yuuki to this part of the town?” Kaname Kuran prompted in response to his future mate’s remark. “Not exactly, but I could harbor a guess. According to Sayori, Yuuki wandered off by herself while she was preoccupied with the task of picking up a parcel from the local gift-shop. Yuuki encountered a little boy crying for his mother and decided to offer her assistance in searching for the boy’s misplaced parent.” Kiryuu Zero commented in a dry tone of voice before letting out a sigh of weariness as his eyes landed upon the unconscious figure of Yuuki Cross once more. “Ah... so, Yuuki ended up helping a vampire child then. Vampire children below the age of five had yet to obtain fangs for blood taking, so they tend to suck the energy out of the people they encountered through the mean of a friendly gesture. Most would feel slightly faint after being subjected to a hug or kiss from the child, the amount of energy taken by the child is minimal. Vampire adults usually feel fine after the encounter, the same couldn’t be said for the humans. They tend to lose consciousness for a while after getting their energy sucked out by the vampire child.” Kaname Kuran then explained the logic behind Yuuki’s fainting spell in front of the abandoned building owned by the Aidou family to the somewhat bewildered silver-haired guardian. “Oh... okay, you’d mentioned below the age of five. So, does that mean Subaru and Akira already had their fangs grown out by this point?” Kiryuu Zero couldn’t help but clarify as he voiced his query to the pureblood king. “Yes. Both are now at the age that a single bite from them could turn a human into an ex-human. However, I'm sure neither would attempt to challenge the law unnecessarily. Given your history, I'm quite sure our family discipline about blood-taking from humans is quite strict and unbending. In any case, if you’re concerned about the subject, we could always have a chat with the boys upon our return to the academy grounds. For now, I think you should shelve the topic for later. Given the nature of your newfound ability, I'm sure you wouldn’t want anyone to accidentally catch wind of your thoughts when you unintentionally meet eyes with someone while keeping watch on the party attendees, would you?” The pureblood king reminded as he eyed his future mate with a meaningful gaze. “You’re right.” Kiryuu Zero said as he nodded in response to the comments coming from the pureblood king. After seeing to the fact that the unconscious Yuuki had been placed in one of the empty guestrooms, kindly arranged by the blue-eyed blond vampire of the night class, Aidou Hanabusa. Kiryuu Zero decided to make his way toward the hall where the party for the night society was held. Unlike a certain pureblood king who's merely here at the party for the sake of socializing and networking. He, on the other hand, had a proper job to do for the Hunter’s Association. His job for tonight was to supervise the progress of the party, ensuring that the members of the night society had abided by the general rules set by the Hunter’s Association about hosting parties and other events, in areas where human populations are common. With Kiryuu Zero's departure with the rest of the night class members, it was now entirely up to Kaname Kuran, the pureblood king to keep an eye on the unconscious Yuuki Cross. It didn’t take long for Yuuki Cross to regain consciousness. Then again, the energy sucked out from the female guardian was minimal. So, naturally, it wouldn’t take too long for the girl to wake. Blinking once, then twice before bolting upright into a sitting position on the ghastly sofa couch of the guestroom. Yuuki Cross scanned her surrounding area warily and tensely, it wasn’t until her eyes landed on the familiar figure of Kaname Kuran that the female guardian of the Cross Academy finally allowed herself to relax somewhat. "Kaname-senpai?!" Yuuki Cross started only to be silenced by the pureblood king who had started to address her, at the same time. "Yuuki, how did you end up fainting in front of the entrance to the night-society party organized by the Aidou's family?" Kaname Kuran couldn’t help but question Yuuki with a look of morbid curiosity. "Eh?! You mean, I'm now at the venue where the party for the aristocratic members of the night society was held?" Yuuki Cross gasped in response, visibly stunned by the meaning behind the words coming from her beloved Kaname-senpai. Kaname Kuran was about to respond when he found himself interrupted by a knock on the door to the guestroom they were in. Taking a moment to sense the identity of the visitor, the pureblood king beckoned for the visitor to enter when he determined that it was his green-eyed blond friend, Ichijo Takuma seeking entry to the room. “Come in.” "Kaname-sama, I just thought it prudent to inform you that the head of the Aidou's family is pressing Hanabusa about when you are going to make your appearance at the party, once more. Judging from the situation, it wouldn't be long before Hanabusa lose his ground in front of his father." Ichijo Takuma begins in a matter-of-fact tone of voice while directing a nod of acknowledgment towards the female guardian of the school, Yuuki Cross from his position by the door of the room. "I got it, please let them know that I'm coming." The pureblood king told his friend, before turning his attention towards his human sister, Yuuki Cross as he instructed. "Yuuki, please kindly remain in the room until one of us comes for you. And speaking of which, please do not answer the door unnecessarily." Kaname Kuran emphasized before making a move to follow the lead of his green-eyed friend as they made their way towards the hall where the party was taking place. “Takuma, please return to the room and get the details about how she’d ended up fainting in front of the entrance to the night society party from her. However, Wakaba Sayori’s account offered us some insights on the matter. We need the actual details, I didn’t manage to get anything out of her, just now.” Kaname Kuran instructed his green-eyed friend when they were halfway down the hallway that would bring them to the event hall. “Sure.” Ichijo Takuma answered good-naturedly as he promptly did a U-turn to return to the guestroom where Yuuki Cross was currently situated within. Yuuki Cross jumped slightly when she heard the door leading to her room open and closed once more. Flicking her gaze up, she allowed herself to heave a sigh of relief when she realized it was just the vice president of the Moon Dorm returning to the room. “Pardon my intrusion, Yuuki-chan. However, Kaname instructed me to get the details behind your collapse in front of the building on his behalf. So, would you care to share the events that led up to your fainting in front of the building’s entrance?” Ichijo Takuma begins with a friendly smile that he knew would never fail to get the female guardian to relax in his presence. “Ah... right, well... it’s like this. I was visiting the town with my friends, Sayori and her cousin, Hiromi. They have some parcel to pick up from the gift-shop, before accompanying me to the ice-cream parlor. I was supposed to wait for them at the shopfront while they went to the backroom to collect their parcels, when my attention was drawn to a little boy, around the age of four or five. I couldn’t tell, crying outside the shop. I didn’t see any adults around who seemed related to the boy, so I decided to step out of the shop to find out the reason behind the boy’s crying episode. He informs me that he can’t find his mother, thinking that he might be lost, I offered my assistance to bring him around town in search of his mother. He was the one leading the way, and for some reason, he led me down toward this part of the less populated area of the town. Finally, we came to a stop in front of the building when he declared to me happily that he’d found his mother. After that, he leaned in to kiss me on the cheek and then I fainted.” Yuuki Cross promptly went into a summary of the events that led her to the front of this building, followed by her sudden fainting spell. “...” For a while, Ichijo Takuma was silent. After hearing the account of Yuuki Cross’s version of the events, he felt inclined to agree with Kiryuu Zero’s conclusion about the female guardian being a magnet for trouble. Especially, trouble that involves vampires. “Yuuki, I'm sure Kaname had informed you where we are, right now. Correct?” Ichijo Takuma begins then. “Erm... yeah, sort of. He did ask me why I fainted in front of the entrance to the night-society party earlier.” Yuuki Cross answered meekly in response. “Indeed. We are currently in the building where the night society party held by the Aidou family took place. This building was under the ownership of the Aidou family, that’s why we had been able to get a guestroom to house you while waiting for you to regain consciousness. After all, we can’t be seen going around with an unconscious human in a building where the party for the night society is underway. Coming back, do you know why you experienced that fainting spell earlier?” Ichijo Takuma remarked nonchalantly before steering the topic back to the fainting spell that Yuuki Cross had experienced at the entrance of the building. “Erm, no. Not exactly. Would you like to provide me with an explanation of why I fainted at the entrance of the building, Ichijo-senpai?” Yuuki Cross shakes her head in response. “In essence, you fainted because you had your energy sucked out of you by a vampire child. As the vampire child is too young and doesn’t have fangs yet, children at that age don’t take blood from their victims but take the energy from whoever they encounter, instead. You have the misfortune of getting your energy sucked out of you when he leaned in to give you a kiss of gratitude for assisting him in locating his missing parent.” Ichijo Takuma answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Oh... so, the child that I met earlier was a vampire child?” Yuuki Cross sounded faint as she commented. “Indeed. While it’s rare for such a young child to be brought to a night society party, sometimes it does happen. In any case, what happened had happened. Now, please kindly remain behind this door and do not leave the room unnecessarily. There's an ensuite bathroom in this guest room, so there’s no need for you to leave the room even if you need the washroom.” Ichijo Takuma told Yuuki Cross once more as he repeated his pureblood friend’s advice to the female guardian, before exiting the room and leaving the girl to her device in the guestroom on a property that belongs to the Aidou family. Over at the event hall, Kiryuu Zero was trying his hardest to ignore the ongoing whispers around him. One of the most popular discussions that was going on between the party attendees was about his change in status from an ex-human to a Level B. Should he be thankful that news of his status as the chosen mate of Kaname Kuran wasn’t public knowledge yet? Throwing a glare towards anyone who dared to glance in his direction, the silver-haired hunter stood rigidly by one of the isolated corners in the event hall, while carrying out his duty as a hunter by supervising the proceeds of the party hosted by the night society. "Hey, kid! Why are you so stiff?” The sudden feeling of someone slapping him on the shoulder nearly caused Kiryuu Zero to retaliate by nature, if it was not for the fact that his vampire senses had alerted him to the presence of a familiar veteran hunter nearby. He would have freaked out upon sensing someone approaching him from behind. "Master Tooga, I would greatly appreciate it if you stopped sneaking up from behind me. If it was not for the fact that I know from your aura that you happened to be someone that I knew on a personal scale, I would have struck before I could stop myself in time." Kiryuu Zero deadpans in response to his mentor’s sudden appearance at the party hosted by the night society, this evening. Yagari Tooga chose to ignore his former student's words and instead questioned gruffly in return. "Why are you here? I hope you are not here by the invitations of these aristocrats." Kiryuu Zero shoots his mentor a look of annoyance before grounding out in irritation. "As much as I’d hoped to be here under the invitation of those aristocrats, as that would mean I needn’t remain in the event hall and could find somewhere to lounge around until the party ended undisturbed. I’m here under the orders of the Hunter’s Association, instead. I’m not allowed to get my hands on my hunting license which was already issued until I completed this supervision mission on behalf of the Hunter’s Association. Can you believe it? Instead of sending the hunting license to me via registered mail, which is the norm. They delivered it to the chairman alongside the missive for this stupid mission, citing that the chairman is not allowed to let me have my license unless I agreed to supervise the party tonight." "Okay, fine. I got it, you detest attending parties of any kind. Honestly, you aren’t amenable to the idea of attending a party event even with that ‘thing’ around?" Yagari Tooga couldn’t help but question, as he eyed his former student with a critical gaze. For a while, all Kiryuu Zero could do was frown as he tried to figure out what his mentor was driving at. It took a while for him to finally connect the dots, that the ‘thing’ his mentor said was referring to a certain pureblood king. He was so used to the notion of his mentor referring to the pureblood king as the leech that once his mentor swapped the term out with something else, it stumped him. "Master, dare I ask what brought on the change in your reference toward Kaname... Kuran? Because I was quite used to the term leech coming from you that it stumped me for a while, when I heard you referring to him with another term." Kiryuu Zero eventually responded to the words coming from his mentor with a baffling look on his face. "Pardon me for using the term 'thing' to describe him, but I can hardly call him any of those names which I would have very much preferred under such circumstances. I had, after all, a job to do as you do and I would appreciate it if I do not have a whole cohort of enraged aristocratic vampires after me just because of my usage of one of those unsuitable names that I have in mind for him." Yagari Tooga responded, resisting the urge to growl at his student for picking on his sudden desire to drop the term 'bastard' or 'leech' when referring to the pureblood king, Kaname Kuran, who would one day become the life partner of his star pupil. "Is that so? Here I thought that perhaps you had allowed yourself to be sweet-talked by Akira's ability to charm anyone crossing his path." Kiryuu Zero commented sarcastically. Just before Yagari Tooga could respond, they were interrupted by a sudden moment of silence. Flicking their eyes towards the entrance of the event hall, they found the source behind the sudden quietness among the party attendees. As it turns out, the sudden moment of silence was brought upon by the arrival of the pureblood king, Kaname Kuran, who finally decided to make an appearance at the party event. The first thing Kaname Kuran did upon entering the event hall was to scan the event hall for the presence of his beloved. Finally, he located Kiryuu Zero in an isolated corner of the event hall with the familiar figure of Yagari Tooga. Nodding toward that corner in acknowledgment, the pureblood king finally returned his focus to the crowd surrounding him. The crowd surrounding the pureblood king then follows the vision of the dark-haired pureblood to land their eyes in the corner where the hunters overseeing tonight’s party event stood and had to refrain from frowning. Why in the world did their esteemed pureblood king feel the need to acknowledge the presence of the vampire hunters at their night-society party, they had no clues. However, unlike their polite king, most of the attendees of the party event opted to ignore the presence of the hunters. Albeit they do have a nagging question on their mind concerning the hunters, in particular, the silver-haired hunter who’s emitting the aura of a Level B. However, that couldn’t be right, could it? After all, based on what they’ve heard, the elder Kiryuu twin was turned by the late Shizuka Hiou. By right, shouldn’t the silver-haired hunter be emitting the aura of an ex-human? So, why is he emitting the aura of a Level B? Still, despite their curiosity on the subject, it didn’t mean they were going to start approaching the corner where the hunters stood to strike up a conversation with the silver-haired hunter. Returning their attention to their pureblood king, the attendees of the party event who were crowding Kaname Kuran started speaking once more. Only this time, it was to greet their pureblood king who had decided to grace the party with his presence with words of appreciation. Throughout the entire few minutes, Kiryuu Zero had kept his eyes solely fixated on the pureblood king. Inwardly, the silver-haired hunter was awed by how patient Kaname Kuran was with the behavior of the aristocratic vampires crowding the man. Honestly, how many of those questions are stupid and meaningless? And then there’s the never-ending bootlicking comments showered upon the pureblood king. Seriously, where does Kaname find his patience for such things? Kiryuu Zero doubts he had the patience for such meaningless drivels, if it had been him who was in the position of the pureblood king now – he would have rolled his eyes multiple times by this point. The sudden feeling of his mentor placing a hand on top of his head, forced him to shift his eyes away from the pureblood king and back onto the veteran hunter standing by his side. "Yes, Master Tooga? Is there anything you require from me?" "No, I was just trying to remind you of the fact that your job here today is to play supervisor to these vampires. Not to stare at that 'thing' like one of those female aristocrats who had trouble averting their eyes from his charming disposition." With that said, Yagari Tooga promptly turns to leave for another corner of the event hall, leaving behind his star pupil to stare after his departing figure in shock. 'Damn ... does that mean that I was staring at Kaname like one of those love-stuck females loitering about the corner of the party, waiting for him to glance their way?!' Kiryuu Zero thought as he resisted the urge to groan aloud from sheer frustration. --- “Hanabusa, kindly stop fidgeting about. I know you are bored out of your mind, but please, tonight’s party was organized by your father. The least you could do was to give him some respect.” Akatsuki Kain commented as he passed by his fidgety cousin to get to the side where his toffee-haired cousin, Ruka Souen stood. “Exactly, and while doing that, kindly refrain from staring in the direction of Kiryuu. I know you are upset about him staring at Kaname-sama at every possible chance but please if Kaname-sama himself is not at all bothered by his stares, you should remain calm about it, too.” Ruka Souen added while she sipped away from her champagne glass filled with unknown red liquid. “Nice taste of RHB-positive blood in here…” “Seriously, Ruka. Can you stop making such disturbing comments? Those are just normal fruit punches that you’re drinking. While on the subject, whoever said I was upset about Kiryuu staring at Kaname-sama at every chance he’d got? I'm more concerned about him snapping and putting my sister in his range of fire because of how my father was trying to play matchmaker for Kaname-sama and Tsukiko-nee-san, at every opportunity that arises.” Aidou Hanabusa retorted to his female cousin with slight annoyance, inwardly thinking as though his family would be caught serving real blood to the attendees with hunters supervising the proceeds of the party event. “I’m sure Kiryuu had more sense in him. He had to keep up with the act of a vampire hunter under this setting, so no matter how displeased he was with the matchmaking attempts your father was pulling. There's no way he would open fire at your elder sister, just because she was standing exceptionally close to Kaname-sama.” Akatsuki Kain said as he reassured his fidgeting blond cousin. Kiryuu Zero, in the meantime, was taking a quick toilet break. He was currently in the washroom splashing water onto his face, while repeating his duty for tonight like a mantra in his mind. There was no way for him to rejoin the party out front with what his mentor had classified as the look of a love-struck teen expression. Kaname Kuran, on the other hand, was still stuck amid his socializing acts and whilst he had tried to catch the eyes of a certain silver-haired guardian that passed him by; the former had been adamant on treating him as though he was invisible. Inwardly, the pureblood king wonders why his beloved is ignoring him once more. Did he accidentally piss his future mate off without his knowledge, again? Unbeknownst to the pureblood king, Kiryuu Zero was merely ignoring him because he had a duty to perform but he couldn’t do his part as a responsible hunter if his eyes were to stray towards the pureblood king every so often. “Kaname-sama, may I have the pleasure to introduce to you, my daughter?” Another guest had come forth to greet the pureblood king, causing Kaname Kuran to shift his attention back to his task on hand. Socializing and politely turning down any potential matchmaking attempts brought up by the attendees for today’s party event. Yagari Tooga, meanwhile, busied himself with the task of surveying the crowd that gathered within the halls, while shifting his position by changing directions every few minutes, unlike his disciple who had chosen to stick to the far end corner of the event hall. Fifteen minutes later, he found himself back in the company of his disciple situated at the further end of the event hall. “Words had been going around that the woman had her life snuffed out by the new lord of her family. Do you know anything about that? She died on academy grounds, didn’t she? While on the subject, I've been hearing something rather interesting from the party attendees today. They were saying that you’re emitting the aura of a Level B. Care to explain?” Yagari Tooga started mindful to keep his tone low, no doubt, he was trying to avoid detection from the surrounding vampires. “I know. What is there to explain? I injured her severely, and someone else decided to waltz in to deal her with the final blow, snuffing out her life in the process. I didn’t see who it was that took her life, given how I was entrapped in a face-off with Ichiru in another room, then. By the time I made it over to her room, she was already dead.” Kiryuu Zero responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, mindful not to give anything away about the real killer of Shizuka Hiou and that it had been his idea for the new lord of the Hiou family to step up and claim responsibility for the death of Shizuka Hiou. There's no way he would divulge the Kiryuu’s relations to the Hiou family to his mentor, period. “I see. And what of the other circulating rumor?” Yagari Tooga prompted as he kept his eyes fixated on the figure of his star pupil. “The one about me emitting the aura of a Level B?” Kiryuu Zero raised an eyebrow in response to his mentor’s words as he prompted. “Yes.” Yagari Tooga nodded in affirmation as he waited for an explanation from his disciple to come. “That isn’t a rumor. Indeed, I'm now a Level B. The change occurred shortly after I ingested the blood of that woman. I honestly had no idea what brought on the change, Kaname’s theory was that the ingestion of her blood unlocked the full potential of the Fujiwara bloodline in me. After all, none of the members with the blood of the Fujiwara flowing through their veins that got turned ends up as an ex-human. The lowest thus far had been a Level C.” Kiryuu Zero answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, mindful to avoid meeting his mentor’s eyes. The last thing he needed was for his mentor to overhear his thoughts through his newfound ability that he’d yet to master the art of switching on and off. “...” Yagari Tooga was rendered silent for quite some time after hearing the explanation given by his star pupil concerning the rumor about the aura of the elder Kiryuu twin being Level B instead of one that of the rank of an ex-human, circulating among the party attendees. “You mentioned facing off with Ichiru earlier.” Yagari Tooga begins after a moment of silence, deciding to set the topic of his disciple’s change in status among the vampires' hierarchy aside. Anything in relation to the Fujiwara clan never fails to leave a bad taste in his mouth, in any case, it’s good to know that his disciple was no longer in danger of falling to the end. “Yes, I did mention facing off with Ichiru earlier. He seems well, healthy and stronger even.” Kiryuu Zero let out a melancholic sigh at the thought of his younger twin. He left out the bit about Ichiru drinking regularly from Shizuka Hiou as a human, believing that his mentor would find that information too disturbing to stomach. “I see. And he wasn’t turned by that woman?” Yagari Tooga murmured in response, this was the nagging doubt on his mind. His disciple had once mentioned that the younger Kiryuu twin was taken by that woman while he was left to bleed out on the front porch of the Kiryuu’s residence. Of course, that didn’t happen as his disciple was recovered by a member of the Fujiwara clan who was in the area and carted off to the ancestral home of the Fujiwara clan for first-aid treatment. “Huh? No, she didn’t turn Ichiru.” Kiryuu Zero responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “That’s rather disbelieving. Why turn you but leave Ichiru alone? What is that woman playing at?” Yagari Tooga frowned as he commented. “That, I have no clues. Perhaps, she left him alone because Ichiru was the one to let her into the house that night. Or it could be that they bonded over the misery of being kept indoors all the time. Her in the cage and Ichiru in our room? Who can say for certain?” Kiryuu Zero shrugged nonchalantly in response. “Fair enough. Where's Ichiru now?” Yagari Tooga simply had to ask. “No idea. Likely somewhere around? He isn’t exactly fond of me at present, given that he’d blame the death of that woman on me. He hated me so much that he’d gone to the vampire council and claimed it was me who took the life of Shizuka Hiou when he knew I had no chance of doing so. Being trapped in a fight with him and all that.” Kiryuu Zero shakes his head in response with a sigh of weariness. “...” --- Yuuki Cross sat alone in the empty but posh room within the property of Aidou Hanabusa’s family, feeling very much restless. Being bored out of her mind, the girl had started to take an interest in observing the room around her. ‘A room without any windows…’ Yuuki mused to herself, as she found the sheer idea of a windowless room striking a familiar chord in her. It was then that the door to the guestroom that Yuuki Cross was situated within swung open without warning, the sound of the door opening startled the dark-haired girl as she spun round to face the intruder to the room she was in. Her expression of surprise gave way to perplexity and confusion when she recognized the intruder to be the little vampire boy from before. Yuuki knew now that the little boy crying for his mother and requesting her assistance to help him in his search for his missing mother was a vampire child. Ichijo Takuma, the vice president of the night class had kindly clued her in, on the reason behind her sudden fainting spell from before. “Big sister… I’m sorry.” The boy inched himself halfway through the open doorway and said to Yuuki, before turning to run off through the open doorway, leaving a panicky Yuuki Cross behind in his wake. “Wait up, little boy! Please don’t let anyone know that I’m in here, will you?” Yuuki Cross attempted to run after the little boy, only to find that there was no longer anyone in the corridor way. ‘Strange…’ Yuuki thought and if she had any common sense in her she should have gone back into the room and locked the door behind her. Unfortunately, the female guardian of the Cross Academy allowed her curiosity to get the best of her and caved in to her desire to see for herself just how the party of a vampire society is like, especially after she was tempted by the sound of the music that travels down the hallway from the main event hall. Slowly and cautiously, Yuuki Cross crept along the hallway as she peeked at the party going on below her at a lower level. Scanning the faces of the attendees for the night-society party, Yuuki swallowed upon the recognition of many famous people who she somehow chanced upon prior – be it on TV, News, or even from the gossip between her classmates. Her thought then drifted back to what she had heard from her adoptive father, Kaien Cross, about the existence of many vampires who had taken up the lifestyle of camouflaging themselves while appearing in public. Just then, the sudden appearance of a familiar silver-haired figure caused Yuuki Cross to duck and hide on reflex while inwardly wondering about the reason behind her friend’s presence at a night society party event. ‘What in the world is Zero doing here at a party organized for the night society?!’ Yuuki Cross thought with a frown marring her features. She highly doubted that Aidou-senpai would invite Zero along to the party event. On the off chance that the blue-eyed blond aristocratic vampire did extend an invitation to her silver-haired friend, Yuuki doubted her friend would accept the invitation. So, why is Zero here?! Is he here as a waiter or a servant? Yuuki wondered because judging from the expression of her silver-haired friend, it sure didn’t give off the impression to her that her friend was here to party and relax. Could it be that Zero is here because of his other duties? For instance, to oversee the party event as a full-fledged vampire hunter under the orders of the Hunter’s Association. Yuuki Cross thought, recalling that she’d read somewhere that the Hunter’s Association would always send an envoy to a socializing event hosted by the vampires that took place in a place with high human traffic. --- Kiryuu Zero could yell, but he refrained from doing so. He was already the center of attention, no point drawing more attention to himself. However, the silver-haired hunter was beyond exasperation when he started sensing the presence of a certain female who was supposedly unconscious when he’d last seen the girl while performing a walk-through in the event hall as he kept a lookout on the behaviors of the party attendees. Now he could only hope that nobody else had detected the presence of Yuuki Cross, a mere human trapped in a vampire’s territory. “Kaname-sama, I’ve heard that during the most recent dealing with the council, you’d taken your position to side with the humans. Is that right?” Some aristocratic vampire’s words draw the attention of Kiryuu Zero away from the wandering Yuuki and back to the event hall. A quick look to his side, the silver-haired guardian finds himself standing just a few steps away from the pureblood king. “I wouldn’t say I was siding with the humans. I’m just saying that we shouldn’t neglect the facts sitting in front of us, in favor of pinning the blame on someone who’s simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Kaname Kuran was heard answering the vampire who brought up the mention of his defense of Kiryuu Zero when the vampire council had sent out a team with an arrest warrant for the silver-haired guardian. ‘Kaname, Yuuki snuck out of the room.’ Kiryuu Zero seized the opportunity to send the message upon meeting eyes with the pureblood king. ‘Try and locate Yuuki before anyone else does.’ Kaname Kuran sent back to his future mate in response, inwardly cursing his sister’s inability to stay put when instructed. ‘I’m on it.’ Kiryuu Zero sent back before he darted back out of the event hall to go in search of the wandering Yuuki Cross. Kaname Kuran watched with silent eyes as the silver-haired hunter went in search for his beloved sister, before shifting his focus back to the figure of Aidou Nagamichi, the father of Aidou Hanabusa. The man was rather adamant on the idea to matchmake him and Aidou Tsukiko, the elder sister of Aidou Hanabusa, it seems. Based on what he’d gleaned from Akatsuki Kain, it seems like the blue-eyed blond aristocrat from his inner circle had not been pleased with the antics of Aidou Nagamichi, for the entirety of today. Given that the Aidou family was the host for tonight’s party, Kaname Kuran didn’t want to come across as rude so, he didn’t turn down Aidou Nagamichi’s suggestion for him to meet the daughter of his host, Aidou Tsukiko. As the pureblood king spared a moment to exchange pleasantries with the elder sister of Aidou Hanabusa, he eventually found himself trapped with a bunch of the aristocrats who had expressed their desires for him to meet their daughters or wards that they had brought along with them to the party event. “...” Aidou Nagamichi was rendered speechless by the sight that meet his eyes. All he wished was for an opportunity for the pureblood king to meet one of his daughters, how did it end up with every aristocrat being invited to the event trying to introduce their wards or daughters to the young lord of the Kuran family? “See, I told you, father, that this isn’t a good idea.” Aidou Hanabusa muttered aloud within the earshot of his father as he watched his beloved pureblood leader get swamped by a bunch of enthusiastic aristocrats. “My utmost apologies for interrupting this little session, but please refrain from crowding up to Kaname-sama because it would end up with him being upset and thus ruining his socializing mood for the rest of the evening.” The sound of a newcomer startled the aristocrats out of their enthusiastic mood, as everyone shifted their glance to the entrance of the event hall. “Sara Shirabuki-Sama…” Someone amidst the hall whispered in recognition. Sara Shirabuki is a member of one of the seven pureblood families that still exist in this world. As she made her way towards Kaname Kuran, those who were crowding around the dark-haired pureblood began to part way as they cleared out a passageway for the daughter of the Shirabuki family to reach the young lord of the Kuran family. “It’s been a long time, Sara.” Kaname Kuran greeted as he lifted the hand of the female companion to his lips, the aristocratic way of showing respect to a respectable female member of society. Even though, he didn’t have a fond impression of the pureblood lady in front of him. Sara Shirabuki might appear to give off the impression of a demure young lady in public, but Kaname had the misfortune of chancing upon a scene of her disciplining her servants in a nasty manner prior. Ever since then, Kaname had tried his best to steer clear of the daughter of the Shirabuki family whenever possible. “Indeed, since you left for school, I believed.” Sara Shirabuki responded, her smile never wavering under the gaze of Kaname Kuran. Yuuki was on the upper-floor sneaking glances downwards as she took in the diplomatic exchange between the two purebloods when she felt a hand landing on her shoulders. A yelp nearly escaped from her lips but another hand managed to clap over her mouth, thus successful in the task of silencing the unintentional yelp of hers. “Care to explain why you aren’t in the room where you are supposed to be staying?” Kiryuu Zero started in a tone that left Yuuki Cross with no room for argument. “I was worried… about the little boy from before, I wanted to know for certain whether or not has he found his mother yet,” Yuuki responded with slight hesitation on her part. Somehow, she had a feeling she would be chewed out by her friend if she were to admit that she was lured out of the room by that same little boy from before. “Still, it does not change the fact that the specific order given to you was to remain where you are, no matter the circumstances.” The silver-haired hunter concluded as he started to drag Yuuki back to the guestroom where she should be staying put during the proceeds of the night society party event. The duo had just returned to the room for about five minutes when Kaname Kuran returned from his socializing for the day. The first thing that the pureblood king did upon his return to the guestroom was to lecture Yuuki for another ten minutes, emphasizing the reason why she should not be wandering about in a property that’s swarming with vampires who aren’t completely under his rule. “I’ll leave her in your capable hands then; I’m here as a hunter to supervise the party, so I can’t afford to be absent for too long.” Kiryuu Zero stated in a flat tone of voice while taking his leave from the guestroom that Aidou Hanabusa had arranged for the use of the pureblood king to house the female guardian of Cross Academy while the night society party was underway. “Kaname-senpai?” Yuuki’s questioning voice brought the pureblood king’s focus back to reality, as he shifted his gaze away from the closed door and back towards the figure of his beloved sister in front of him. “Never mind. I'll let it slide this time. However, should there be a next time, do bear it in mind, that you’re not supposed to disobey the orders given specifically for the safeguarding of your life.” Kaname Kuran concluded before he laid his head atop the stomach of Yuuki Cross. The girl had been sitting on the bed while listening to the lecture from the irate Kiryuu Zero before his return. Now, Kaname is simply taking advantage of the situation by pushing the said girl to lie back down on the bed while he rests his head on the girl. He figured since Yuuki tends to wander off by herself despite being told to stay put, he could put a stop to the girl’s wandering acts by using her stomach as a pillow for his head while he took a quick cat nap. “Eh… Kaname-senpai, what are you doing?” Yuuki Cross started in a tone of utter bewilderment. “Be silent for a while, will you? My head is pounding from the entire ruckus going on down there.” Kaname Kuran muttered aloud in a tone of mild annoyance. Inwardly, Kaname was cursing his status as a pureblood because that would mean frequent socializing trips to parties soon. That’s a result of his way of handling the prospective matchmaking attempts downstairs. As much as the pureblood king wished he could announce to the entire group of aristocrats downstairs that he was not interested in their matchmaking attempts because he already had found his destined mate, Kaname knew it wasn’t advisable to do so, at present. And so, despite how annoyed he was by the various matchmaking attempts the aristocrats’ shoved his way, he could only suck it up and deal with them accordingly. Meanwhile, Kiryuu Zero who had re-entered the event hall nodded discreetly towards the vice president of the night class before continuing his way towards where his mentor had stood waiting for his re-entry. “Where did you go? The party is about to end.” Yagari Tooga started as he flicked a questioning look in the direction of his star pupil. “I know. Good riddance, the earlier the party ended, the better. Yuuki is going to be the death of me, I swore.” Kiryuu Zero muttered aloud to his mentor in response. “What has Cross’s adopted daughter got to do with your disappearance earlier?” Yagari Tooga said as he threw yet another questioning look in the direction of his star pupil before muttering something about it being a waste of his time to supervise the party this evening because the target, he had been pursuing failed to show up, in the end. “Yuuki is a magnet for trouble. We found her unconscious in front of the building earlier, due to a lack of time, we could only house her temporarily in one of the guestrooms while the rest of us made our appearance at the party event. She had one specific order to abide by, and that was to remain hidden in the assigned room and not to leave the room, no matter the situation. Yet, she was found wandering out in the hallway while sneaking around to get a glimpse of the ongoing party.” Kiryuu Zero opted for silence regarding his mentor’s target and instead spent his time complaining to his mentor about Yuuki’s disobedience while the party event was underway. “I see. Well then, I should probably get going. Help me say ‘hello’ to those brats of yours.” The veteran hunter began as the night society party finally came to an end. “Will do.” Kiryuu Zero nodded in response to his mentor’s words, before stuffing both hands into the pockets of the pants from the gent’s suits he had ‘borrowed’ from the wardrobe of his future mate as he ventured forward to do one last sweep-through of the event hall to check that nothing was amiss. Yagari Tooga, meanwhile, took his leave from the party while Kiryuu Zero lingered behind to wait for a few more minutes. He waited until the servants of the Aidou family started to clear away the dishes served during the party before returning to the guestroom where Kaname Kuran was left to keep an eye on Yuuki. “I assume your duty for tonight is done?” Kaname Kuran prompted as soon as he sighted the return of his beloved into the guestroom arranged to house Yuuki Cross and served as his resting room while the party was underway. “Not quite, it can only be considered complete after the whole lot of you arrive back on the academy grounds.” Kiryuu Zero deadpans in response, before heading towards Yuuki Cross to land his fist lightly on the head of the girl who managed to land herself in trouble every single time she’d ventured into town. “Hey! What was that for?!” Yuuki Cross protested, upon the feel of the fist of her silver-haired friend landing on top of her head. Though the knock was a light one, it didn’t prevent her from complaining aloud. “That’s for causing further complications to my duty tonight!” Kiryuu Zero threw back at Yuuki Cross with an impassive look on his face, though if one were to observe in detail – his eyes reflected a hint of mild mirth. “…” Yuuki stared before puffing up her cheeks in annoyance to the actions of her silver-haired friend. However, there was no way for her retaliate against the comment directed her way by her friend because she had to agree, her blatant disobedience from before did end up causing some troubles for the members of the night class. “Well then, shall we get a move on?” Kaname Kuran spoke up then, rising from his seat to lead the way out of the room with the rest of the members from his inner circle following suit. Mindful to keep up appearances, Kiryuu Zero didn’t allow the pureblood king to reach for his hands. Instead, the silver-haired hunter tucked both his hands into the pocket of the suit pants as he made his way to the black sedan that belonged to the pureblood king and climbed into the side passenger seat without waiting for an invitation. The entire drive back to the Cross Academy was taken in silence. Not a tense silence, but it didn’t change the fact that nobody is in a mood for idle conversation. At least, that was the case in the vehicle that the pureblood king was driving. Kaname Kuran had a near-permanent frown etched onto his features as he drove them back to the school, his mind was still on Yuuki’s fainting spell in front of the building where the night society party was held. Even though, he had yet to receive the report from Takuma, the pureblood king already had an inkling that everything would be summed up as a mere coincidence. Only, he had a feeling in his gut that what happened wasn’t exactly a coincidence, but something planned. However, nobody is going to believe that because he didn’t have substantial proof to support his argument. Kiryuu Zero, on the other hand, was dwelling on the whereabouts of his younger twin, once more as he kept his eyes on the scenery that passes them by on the drive back to the school. During the party earlier, he thought he’d seen Ichiru slinking around in the shadow, but he wasn’t certain. Especially, since he didn’t have much time on hand to investigate given that half his focus was on locating Yuuki then. Yuuki Cross, meanwhile, was seated at the back passenger seat of the vehicle, sandwiched between the fire and ice wielding aristocrats, feeling very much awkward. Akatsuki Kain had a bored look on his face as he stared out of the window screen of the vehicle, Aidou Hanabusa, on the other hand, had a constant look of annoyance plastered onto his features. ~to be continued ~ Date started: 16/06/09 Date completed: 10/11/09 Date edited: 10/11/09 Date revised: 17/03/2025
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It was approaching 10 pm on Wednesday when the black sedan driven by the pureblood king came to a stop in front of the school gate of Cross Academy. The reason why Kaname Kuran had opted to stop the vehicle in front of the gate as opposed to driving into the school and straight to the Moon Dormitory is simple. The chairman of Cross Academy, Kaien Cross, and Wakaba Sayori, the dormmate and friend of Yuuki Cross were found waiting for their return at the school gate. “Oh gosh, why are they standing out here braving the chilly wind instead of staying somewhere indoors where it’s warmer?” Yuuki Cross couldn’t help but remark innocently when she noticed the figure of her dormmate and adoptive father as the black sedan pulled to a stop, in front of the waiting duo at the school gate. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the girl he’d grown to see as a sister, Kiryuu Zero deadpans. “They’re waiting for your safe return, I’d wager. You did, inconveniently, land yourself on the doorstep to the vampire’s lair, a couple of hours ago.” “Surely not?!” Yuuki Cross couldn’t help but gasp as a look of horror crossed her features at the words of her silver-haired friend. “Unfortunately, Yuuki. I'm with Zero on this. Go on, I think you owe your friend an apology for worrying her with your disappearance act, earlier today.” Kaname Kuran commented as he glanced at Yuuki through the rearview mirror of the black sedan. And when he noticed how Yuuki had kept her head down to avoid meeting his eyes, the pureblood king could only sigh inwardly in response. It appears that his conversation with Yuuki earlier had unnerved the girl so much that she had trouble meeting his eyes. Upon the comment from the pureblood king, the blue-eyed blond aristocratic vampire pushed open the door of the back passenger seat to the vehicle and alighted, without complaint. After all, Yuuki Cross was sandwiched between him and his cousin, Akatsuki Kain. One of them must alight from the vehicle to allow the female guardian to step back out onto the pavement of the school grounds, where Chairman Cross and her dormmate, Wakaba Sayori stood waiting for her return. ‘You aren’t alighting?’ Kiryuu Zero shoots a questioning look in the direction of the pureblood king as he inquires mentally when their eyes meet briefly after the black sedan pulls to a stop in front of the school gate. ‘No, I had yet to receive the report about Yuuki’s fainting spell from Takuma. So, I'll be heading back to the Moon Dorm and get the report from Takuma first. Are you alighting here?’ Kaname Kuran sends back to his beloved, curiously. ‘I see. Yes, I'll be alighting here together with Yuuki. I would like to get my hands on the hunting license that’s currently being held by the chairman under orders from the Hunter’s Association. I would appreciate getting the license on hand and halting the Hunter’s Association from issuing me with more missions that I can’t turn away while dangling my license in front of me like bait. I would, however, swing by the Moon Dorm as soon as possible.’ Kiryuu Zero thought in response before putting an end to the ongoing mental communication with his future mate by cutting off the eye contact between them. As the silver-haired hunter alighted from the vehicle from the side passenger seat, Aidou Hanabusa got back into the sedan. Shortly after, Kaname Kuran steered the vehicle straight toward the direction of the Moon Dormitory, catching up with the other black sedan that got ahead of his vehicle after a slight delay they had, at the school gate. Once the black sedan arrived in front of the building of the Moon Dormitory, Kaname Kuran exited from his position behind the steering wheel of the vehicle and dumped the key to the vehicle into the waiting hands of the chauffeur who usually drove them around town, indicating for the chauffeur employed in his service to move the vehicle back to where it was originally parked. Back outside at the school gate, Yuuki Cross made a beeline for the direction of her adoptive father and dormmate with an apologetic look on her features. “Yori-chan, I’m sorry!” Yuuki Cross started as she greeted her dormmate and friend after arriving at a stop in front of the waiting duo. And then, turning towards the figure of Kaien Cross, Yuuki begins. “Chairman, I apologize for worrying you as well.” “It’s fine. Your friend’s the one worrying over your safety. I, on the other hand, had confidence in Kaname-kun and Zero’s capability to keep you safe from harm.” The chairman, Kaien Cross, responded smilingly. Then, he shifted his focus onto the figure of Kiryuu Zero as he started to inquire about the mission his adopted ward was forced to accept under the orders of the Hunter’s Association. Upon the chairman’s statement, Yuuki Cross promptly shifted the focus of her attention back onto the figure of her friend and dormmate, Wakaba Sayori as she began to apologize once more. “You should be. You had me worried sick back there!” Wakaba Sayori responded in a steely tone of voice, as she started to inspect her friend’s physique from top to bottom, trying to ascertain that her friend wasn’t harmed in any sense after a trip straight into the territory of the vampires. “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean it. I was just trying to be helpful to a little boy who got separated from his mother, how was I to know that the boy wasn’t a normal child but a vampire child? Unlike you, I can’t exactly tell them apart because I’m not equipped with the hunter’s sense. While on the subject, where’s Hiromi?” Yuuki Cross hurried to apologize to her worried friend once more before changing the subject to inquire about the whereabouts of her other friend. “Back at her dorm room, I supposed. I sent her back to school ahead of me and asked for her to drop off my parcel in our dorm room while at it.” Wakaba Sayori rolled her eyes at her dormmate and friend, as they started heading towards the direction of the Sun Dorm. “I see. Yori-chan, why are your hands so cold?” The moment Yuuki Cross reached for the hands of her dormmate to start pulling them in the direction of the Sun Dorm, the female guardian of the Cross Academy couldn’t help but inquire. “Well duh, how long do you think I’ve been waiting for you at the ice cream parlor? Imagine my surprise when I received a phone call from your number only to be greeted by the sound of Zero’s voice informing me that you had the misfortune of ending up fainting in front of the entrance to the night society party. Anyway, I left the ice cream parlor and returned to school then, figuring that it might be best to update the chairman of your whereabouts lest he panics over your MIA stunt. So, I visited him at the chairman’s office in school cluing him in on your whereabouts. We have been waiting outside the gate for your safe return ever since.” Wakaba Sayori deadpans as she explained the reason behind her cold and clammy hands to her dormmate and friend with an impassive look etched onto her features. That, in turn, sparked off yet another round of sincere apologies from the chocolate-brown-haired girl. “That’s quite enough apologies from you already, Yuuki. Anyway, tomorrow’s the start of the spring holiday break. I've yet to pack my baggage for the holiday. As punishment for making me worry, you’re going to help me with my packing.” Wakaba Sayori practically demanded Yuuki and successfully rendered the female guardian silent. ‘Finally! I swear if she were to apologize to me one more time, I'm going to get Hiromi to silence her magically. Speaking of Hiromi, I wonder if she would mind me spending the spring holiday at her family home.’ Wakaba Sayori thought with an inward sigh. She was scheduled to return home at the start of the spring holiday, but in light of the recent development, she doesn’t exactly feel like going home to see the face of her father. The family home of Wakaba Sayori is situated in Chiba, an area within the Kanto region. It would take about 1.5 hours for Sayori to commute between her family home and the Cross Academy. The commute would require several transits on the local train service and a short journey via the bus service that ply between the town where the Cross Academy is located, and the neighboring town where the train station is located. Now, because Sayori’s parents work for different masters, her parents live apart from one another for half the year. Her mother spends two weeks per month in Chiba, and two weeks in Kyoto. The two weeks that her mother is in Chiba are often spent arguing with her father, it wasn’t always this bad... but the arguments between them kind of escalated after Fujiwara Haruto ousted Fujiwara Satoshi from the head position for the hunter’s branch and took the position forcibly. Her father had a part to play in Fujiwara Haruto’s ploy to usurp the position from the maternal uncle of Kiryuu Zero, and her mother found out by chance and didn’t approve. In any case, judging from the information she’d gleaned from her elder brother when he swung by to visit her the other day. Her parents are likely still rowing over the subject of the betrothal contract her father had drawn up for her without her knowledge. Because of that, Sayori wasn’t very keen on returning home. “Yori-chan, what are you thinking?” The sound of Yuuki’s voice jarred the brown-haired girl out of her thoughts and back to reality. “Thinking about whether to go home this spring holiday.” Wakaba Sayori answered in a matter-of-fact tone as she sighed aloud in weariness. “Eh? Where are you going to go if not home?” Yuuki Cross blinked in surprise as she voiced her query across. It's an ironclad rule that all students were to return home during the school term break. The only exception to the rule was Yuuki and Zero, who are both adopted wards of the chairman and thus are allowed to remain on academy grounds during the school holidays. “I was thinking of seeking refuge with Hiromi at her family home. Either that, or I might decide to visit my maternal uncle who resides in Kyoto. In any case, anything beats the idea of returning home this spring holiday. My father had done something I'm not happy about, and I don’t want to see his face, at present.” Wakaba Sayori commented to Yuuki in a tone of annoyance. The brown-haired girl hid the information about her father drafting up a betrothal contract for her and the vice president of the Moon Dorm away from her friend’s knowledge because she didn’t think it necessary for her friend to know. “I see.” Yuuki Cross nodded as they entered their dorm room. Flicking her eyes to her dormmate, the female guardian started. “Well then, shall we get started on your packing?” --- Back at the Moon Dorm, Kaname Kuran spared a moment to check in on the twins before thanking Risa Miyazaki for her babysitting effort, this evening. And then, the pureblood king instructed Shiki Senri and Touya Rima, to keep the twins occupied before beckoning for his green-eyed blond friend to join him at the main study room of the Moon Dorm. “I presumed you called me in here for the report about Yuuki Cross’s version of the events that led to her fainting in front of the entrance of the night society party?” Ichijo Takuma begins before his pureblood friend can even prompt him to start reporting his findings on the subject. “Indeed.” Kaname Kuran nodded as he signaled for his friend to begin reporting the information that was gleaned from Yuuki. “It is as we’d speculated. Yuuki was so helpful and kind that she volunteered her assistance in helping an unknown child locate his missing parent. Turns out the child was no ordinary child but a vampire child, who then decides to show his gratitude in the form of kissing Yuuki Cross on the cheeks that end up sucking some energy out of the girl resulting in her fainting at the entrance of the building where the night society party was held.” Ichijo Takuma responded as he summarized the information, he’d gleaned from Yuuki Cross to his pureblood friend. “So, you think this is merely a coincidence?” Kaname Kuran took a moment to mull over his friend’s words before inquiring. “At least, until more evidence shows up to prove otherwise.” Ichijo Takuma sighed as he nodded his response to his pureblood friend. Pinching the bridge of his nose in weariness, Kaname Kuran dismissed his green-eyed blond friend from his presence. Instructing Seiren to send Kiryuu Zero in when the silver-haired hunter arrived, the pureblood king leaned back in his seat as he closed his eyes to rest for a bit. Initially, he was going to take a quick cat nap back at the guestroom where Aidou had offered for them to house Yuuki while the party was underway. However, he didn’t quite get the cat nap that he’d required because Yuuki started bringing up the mention of the windowless room striking a familiar chord in her, and then, he promptly went on full alert mode. Thus, instead of taking the cat nap he required, Kaname Kuran ended up hearing how his beloved sister had felt about the lack of memories of the first few years of her life. Even though it was only for a split second, Kaname came close to ‘wake’ the pureblood Yuuki, right there and then. And so, he asked how Yuuki felt about becoming a vampire which got the girl staring up at him with a wide-eyed look. Soon, the party ended, and the members of his inner circle rejoined him in the guestroom alongside Kiryuu Zero, and the conversation he had with Yuuki was brought to a halt. Coming back to his mounting exhaustion, Kaname vowed to fit time in for a nap shortly. Hopefully, he could entice his beloved into staying overnight at his room, once more. Not to perform any acts of intimacy, that’s not quite possible with the twins around in the same room. Kaname was hoping that they could all enjoy a peaceful nap together. Given how his beloved was no longer tensed with the idea of staying overnight in his room, the pureblood king was going to work on the goal of getting his beloved used to the idea of sharing his bed. Bed-sharing was something that would eventually come into play with the nature of their relationship. The previous two times that Kiryuu Zero stayed overnight in his room, Kaname was nowhere near the bed. The first time, he was in the adjoining private study while his beloved slept on his bed in the main room. The second time, they were both in the adjoining study while keeping watch on their distressed son, Kiryuu Subaru. Anyway, this time, Kaname was hoping for the silver-haired hunter to agree to the notion of joining him and the twins on the same bed while they slept. The sound of knocking on the door to the study room jolted the pureblood king’s focus back to reality. Kaname Kuran looked up just in time to witness the sight of his beloved hunter entering the room. “Zero.” Kaname Kuran greeted as he promptly moved across the room to pull the silver-haired hunter into his arms for an embrace. Muzzling his nose in the crook of Kiryuu Zero’s neck, which ironically happens to be the same spot where Shizuka Hiou had bitten the silver-haired guardian twice, the pureblood king inhaled the comforting scent of his beloved deeply. “...” Blinking once then twice, Kiryuu Zero had to say this wasn’t what he was anticipating from the pureblood king upon his entry into the dimly lit study room. Hesitantly, and with a dash of caution, the silver-haired hunter started. “Are you okay?” “Yes, I'm fine. No worry, I'm not going to bite and mark you. I did say that’s something I planned to do after the spring holiday. I'm just exhausted and thought a deep inhale of your body scent would calm my unsettling mind, for the moment.” Kaname Kuran responded with a snort when he sensed the underlying hesitancy in the voice of his beloved after his nose-muzzling act at the spot where the silver-haired hunter was most sensitive. “I see. And did it help?” Kiryuu Zero raised an eyebrow at the pureblood king’s words before questioning in return. “Somewhat. While it didn’t completely set my unsettling mind at ease, it did do good for my mental capability. Anyway, shall we get your feeding done before I share with you the troubling thoughts that plagued me since the start of the night society party, today?” Kaname Kuran suggested as he started to unbutton the buttons to his shirt so his beloved could have an easier time accessing his neck for the feeding to take place. “You’re going to have to unbutton another button of your shirt, if you didn’t want me to ruin this shirt of yours.” Kiryuu Zero remarked in a matter-of-fact tone of voice as he pointed out the glaring fact. “Right. There, all done.” Kaname Kuran kept one hand on the waist of his beloved while using his free hand to unbutton the next button on his shirt, allowing his future mate better access to the unblemished skin of his neck. It took another minute before the pureblood king felt the sensation of fangs sinking into the flesh of his exposed neck. It always takes longer for his future mate to bite him for blood when the silver-haired hunter is instigating a feeding session with a lucid mind. The feeding lasted for several minutes, and when Kiryuu Zero removed his fangs from the neck of Kaname Kuran. The first thing he commented upon was the taste of unease he’d detected in the blood of the pureblood king during the feeding session. “Hmm... I’m not one to give a review after feeding off your blood usually, but I have to say that there’s a lot of unease I’ve managed to detect from your blood, today. So, care to share with me what is bothering you, at present?” Kiryuu Zero begins after he finishes lapping up the residual blood around the punctured wound where he’d bitten the pureblood king for blood. “You managed to taste that from my blood, huh? Looks like I'm more worried than I believed myself to be.” Kaname Kuran sighed in response before dragging his future mate with him over to the Victorian-style sofa couch and settling them both onto the couch as he figured this was going to be yet another long conversation. “And what exactly troubles you? Was this about Rido Kuran, again?” Kiryuu Zero prompted as he allowed himself to be led to the Victorian-style sofa couch of the study room without protest. “Not completely. My worries stemmed from several areas. One is Yuuki’s appearance this evening outside the entrance to the night-society party. Despite how everything appears to be a mere coincidence at this point, there’s a part of me that remains unconvinced on the subject. Two, Yuuki shared with me today about her curiosity concerning her amnesia. Three, she told me earlier in the guestroom at the building where the party was held that the windowless room struck a familiar chord in her. That got me thinking if the memory seal placed on her was weakening.” Kaname Kuran sighed wearily in response as he shared the top few worries, he had on his mind and all of them revolved around one single person, Yuuki. “Okay, apart from those worries you had for Yuuki... is there anything else that troubles you?” The silver-haired hunter prompted knowing that more things are bothering the pureblood king, which hasn’t been mentioned. “Well, I’m a tad concerned about Sara Shirabuki showing up in the Kanto region without an invitation. I'm not sure if you’re aware but she isn’t exactly on the attendees' list for the party organized and hosted by the Aidou family.” Kaname Kuran admitted reluctantly to his future mate. “Pardon me for saying this, but tonight’s party event does not require an RSVP in advance. So, in short anyone from the night society is welcome to waltz in and join the party, if they desire. So, you can’t fault her for gatecrashing the party.” Kiryuu Zero pointed out objectively to the troubled pureblood king. “I know. Well, on the brighter side, her decision to gatecrash the party did save me from the prospect of being showered with more matchmaking proposals by the bunch of enthusiastic aristocrats.” Kaname Kuran commented wryly in response as he thought back to the number of proposals flocking in requesting for him to meet various respectable young ladies of mating age. “Still, her appearance in the Kanto region does kind of bug me, and not in a good way.” “Don’t you think you’re worrying too much or reading too much into the situation? While it’s true that the Shirabuki’s territory lies in the Tohoku region, there are no rules that bar the members of that family from entering the territory of another pureblood. After all, we are now in modern times, the blood wars era is a thing of the ancient past. Because if you were to get down to the technicalities, the Hiou should be based in the Chubu region. Yet, my grandfather is prancing around Kanto actively as he switches between his new human alias and his pureblood persona with ease. That, and I'm quite sure instead of remaining behind on his land based in the Kyushu region, Shoto Isaya is currently residing in his villa home situated somewhere in the Kanto district as well.” Kiryuu Zero barely managed to hold back a roll of his eyes as he addressed his somewhat paranoid future mate. “I know. That's why I was reluctant to tell you before. I'm not too worried about your grandfather and Shoto Isaya’s presence in Kanto because they aren’t the type to stir up troubles in their wake. Shizuka Hiou doesn’t count, because her goals are quite straightforward so, I kind of know what to expect. Sara Shirabuki, on the other hand, is a tad more unpredictable. More importantly, Sara Shirabuki didn’t particularly care for the co-existence campaign going on and wouldn’t think twice about turning a human into an ex-human.” Kaname Kuran eventually responded with a frown. “Okay, in short, you don’t like to deal with unpredictability. That's what bugging you with the appearance of Sara Shirabuki because she’s an element that you cannot control. Well, you can always have Seiren to keep tabs on her for you if you are concerned about her motives in entering your land.” Kiryuu Zero rolled his eyes momentarily as he told the still-troubled pureblood king. “Point taken. Maybe, I do need to have someone keeping tabs on her while she’s in the Kanto region.” Kaname Kuran conceded with a nod after sparing a moment to mull over the words of his future mate. “So, coming back to your concerns about Yuuki. First, what’s making you think that Yuuki’s collapse in front of the night-society party’s entrance wasn’t a coincidence? Two, why would you think that Yuuki’s offhanded remark about the windowless room being familiar to her was a cause for alarm? Third, this isn’t the first time Yuuki has expressed curiosity about her emptied memories. She simply didn’t tell that to your face before.” Kiryuu Zero stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice as he addressed the pureblood king. Upon the words of the silver-haired hunter, Kaname Kuran took a moment to digest everything before responding. “I didn’t know Yuuki had expressed her curiosity about her empty past before.” “Yes, well... she thought she owed her survival that snowy night to you when you saved her from the Level Es, and she didn’t want to inconvenience you with the thoughts about her memory loss. I figured that was why she’d avoided speaking on the subject with you until now. That, in turn, brought us to the next question – why the windowless room would spark off a familiarity chord in her that alarms you this much?” Kiryuu Zero shrugged nonchalantly in response to the pureblood king’s comment. Kaname Kuran was silent for a moment before letting out a sigh of resignation as he responded, “You’d recalled me mentioning Rido’s unnatural obsession with Juri Kuran, previously?” Here, the silver-haired hunter nodded wordlessly in response. Taking that as his cue to continue with his explanation, Kaname Kuran resumed his speech. “So, after Yuuki was born to our parents, she was kept hidden away in the underground room at one of our family villa houses. For the first five years of her life as Yuuki Kuran, the underground room was all that she knew. Given that the room was situated underground like the guestroom in the abandoned building belonging to the Aidou family where the night society party was held earlier in the evening, naturally it would also be a room without a window. I was alarmed by Yuuki’s remark of the room striking a familiar chord in her because I feared, this might be a sign of the memory seal on her weakening.” “I see. Finally, about Yuuki’s fainting at the entrance to the night-society party. What exactly was it about her earlier incident that unsettles you?” Kiryuu Zero continues to prompt, unlike the rest of the members in the inner circle of the pureblood king, the silver-haired hunter doesn’t discount his unease about Yuuki’s incident being something that occurs coincidentally. “That’s the thing. I'm not sure, all I had going for me was a gut feeling that it was no coincidence for Yuuki to show up unconscious at the entrance to a night society party that I was expected to attend.” Kaname Kuran sighed aloud in response as he placed a hand on the side of his head while attempting to soothe the headache pounding away in his mind. “Hmm... is heterochromia common among the vampire community?” Kiryuu Zero asks after a moment of silent contemplation. “Not very common, based on my understanding. What brought on this question of yours?” Kaname Kuran blinked at his future mate in bewilderment. “Rido Kuran is one of the few vampires to have the condition of heterochromia, right?” Kiryuu Zero continues to ask, double-checking on the fact since he’d only seen that man once and that’s through the memory shared with him by the pureblood king. “Well, yes. I think he’s the only vampire to be born with that condition in the past two millennials. It was atavism, I believed. Since neither Haruka nor Juri has that condition. Either way, why did you bring up the mention of heterochromia with me?” Kaname Kuran threw the silver-haired hunter a questioning look as he commented in response. “Would it help if I tell you that there’s a little boy who’s attending the party having the same heterochromia condition that I'd briefly chanced upon in the hallway while on a lookout for Yuuki? I'm uncertain if that’s the same boy that Yuuki had taken it upon herself to offer her assistance for, but I could always check with her later if required.” The silver-haired guardian eventually offered in a wry tone of voice. “...” Kaname Kuran didn’t speak for several minutes as his mind was suddenly overrun with various thoughts and speculations about what that villain uncle of his had been doing over the past decade. And then, the pureblood king turns towards the silver-haired hunter with a look of complication on his face as he comments. “Are you trying to imply that he’d put the soul transfer spell to use on that little boy?” “You can’t deny that as a possibility. Furthermore, the boy is from the Kubo family. About 18 generations back, a daughter of the Kuran clan married into the Kubo family. Considering that the soul transfer spell would only work if there are blood relations between the host and the spellcaster, in theory, Rido Kuran can transfer his soul into the boy as his body isn’t fit for functionality due to the damages, you’d inflicted upon him a decade ago.” Kiryuu Zero responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “18 generations back, that’s even further back than the relations between the Kurenai and the Hiou.” Kaname Kuran commented after he noted down the information dropped into his lap by his beloved with a look of bemusement. “Yes, well. The Kurenai, though, was classified as a distant relation to the Hiou, is not truly distant. 16 generations back, a daughter of the Hiou married into the Kurenai family, starting off the relations between the families. However, 10 generations ago, the younger brother of the lord Hiou took on a daughter from the Kurenai family as his consort. Finally, Maria Kurenai’s mother was a cousin of my grandfather, if I remembered the Hiou’s family tree correctly.” Kiryuu Zero shrugged nonchalantly in response to the comment of the pureblood king. “Right, and just how on earth did you chanced upon the relations between the Kuran and the Kubo? I highly doubt you would know the family tree of the Kuran family this well... 18 generations back, even I don’t go that far when combing through the familial relations on the family tree.” Kaname Kuran remarked drily as he kept his curious gaze on the figure of his beloved while waiting for the response to come. “Of course, I didn’t research into the family tree of the Kuran family. There wasn’t a need for me to do so. The information was kind of dropped into my lap by Tsubaki in an offhanded manner when I chanced upon him in the event hall at the party. That was how I chanced upon the knowledge that the party doesn’t require an RSVP to attend. Tsubaki was doing his duty to keep tabs on me by shadowing me around whenever I left the academy grounds.” Kiryuu Zero couldn’t help but roll his eyes as he shared this little bit of information with the pureblood king. “I see. That makes so much sense. There are quite a few historians and record keepers in the Hiou family in the past few millennials. The library collections of the Hiou family likely have the highest numbers of books on pureblood relations, customs, and cultures.” Kaname Kuran eventually nodded in response. “I would like to point out that the library collections of the Fujiwara family are just as vast. I'm quite certain that the same information could also be found in the archives room of the Fujiwara family. They are the true record keeper. Akane mentioned that she’d found a record of the chronological timeline of events that transpired in Cross Academy, from the time they arrived, in the archives room of the Fujiwara family. Given that the ancestor of the Fujiwara family was one of the five progenitors in vampire history, I’m sure there are instances whereby the records of the Fujiwara family overlap with the Kuran, especially if we were to go back to the records dated 11,000 years ago.” Kiryuu Zero then shakes his head as he comments in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Wait, the Fujiwara family was descended from one of the five progenitors?! Who was it?” Kaname Kuran sat up straighter then, as he glanced at his future mate with a blatant look of morbid curiosity. “Not you, of course. Not the one that donated her heart to the furnace for the hunters to craft anti-vampire weapons out from, either. Of the remaining three, two are Caucasians. Who else is left?” Kiryuu Zero deadpans as he rolls his eyes momentarily at his future pureblood mate. “Hajime?!” Kaname whispered in utter disbelief. “Indeed. He should still be lying in some crypt of the unfrequented Fujiwara estates in the Kansai region. After all, there isn’t anyone crazy enough to rouse him from his eternal slumber with a sacrifice within the Fujiwara clan.” Kiryuu Zero shrugged in response while eyeing his future mate with a sympathizing gaze. “Yes, well. As much as I detested Rido Kuran, I can’t argue that one good thing came out of his decision to rouse me from my eternal slumber.” Kaname Kuran sighed in response, reaching out to pull his future mate closer to him on the couch and commented. “I wouldn’t have met you if he didn’t sacrifice his nephew to rouse me from my eternal slumber in the crypt, that day.” With that said the pureblood king promptly captured the soft lips of his beloved with his own. Kiryuu Zero felt his eyes widen momentarily before his eyes flitted shut as he allowed himself to melt in the embrace of Kaname Kuran and reciprocated by responding eagerly to the kiss instigated by his future mate. “Zero, stay the night with me?” Kaname Kuran started shortly after they broke the kiss for air. Originally, the pureblood king was going to add the twins to his request but then decided against it. He wants his beloved to stay on his request for him, and not their future sons. “...fine.” After a moment of deliberation, Kiryuu Zero eventually nodded his consent to the pureblood king’s request for him to stay the night. And so, the duo promptly shifted their location from the main study room on the ground floor to the king’s private suite situated on the top floor in the main wing of the Moon Dormitory. --- On the way back to the king’s suite located at the top floor of the main wing, the duo made a pitstop at the front lounge of the Moon Dorm to collect the twins. “Subaru, Akira. Come along now, let’s get the two of you into the bath before it’s time for the two of you to take a nap.” Kaname Kuran called out to the Kiryuu-Kuran twins at the bottom of the staircase and waited patiently for the boys to join him and his future mate on their return to his private suite. “Is Daddy going to stay the night with us, today?” Kuran Akira started when he noticed the younger version of his silver-haired parent standing next to the younger version of his pureblood parent. “Indeed. Come along now. Your daddy is still on a different body clock from us, so kindly stop dallying. The earlier we get the two of you cleaned up and settled into bed, the earlier your daddy can go to bed.” Kaname Kuran pointed out objectively to the younger twin. Upon arrival at the private suite belonging to the pureblood king, Kiryuu Zero couldn’t help but turn to the pureblood king with a questioning look. “Are they capable of taking a bath without assistance?” “Why don’t you join them in the bath and observe their capability in the department of cleaning up? I've taken my turn at bathing them for the last month, I think it’s about time for you to take your turn at cleaning them up in the bath.” The pureblood king commented suggestively to his beloved with an amused glint in his eyes. “...” Kiryuu Zero blinked at the pureblood king in surprise, somehow, he’d trouble imagining Kaname Kuran bathing the boys. It just doesn’t quite fit in with the image he’d of the pureblood king, then again, before the arrival of the trios... he had never seen Kaname Kuran displaying his fatherly side either. And so, the silver-haired hunter found himself taking the twins with him as they entered the extravagant ensuite bathroom belonging to the pureblood king for a cleaning-up session. Kiryuu Zero spent a moment staring wordlessly at the twins before letting out a sigh as he queried. “So, was it the bath or the shower when your father cleaned the two of you up?” “The bath. Father was more of a fan of the tub. He usually rolls up his sleeves and wash us up before taking his turn in the bath. He tends to put the two of us together in the tub and wash the two of us at the same time. Of course, we did the shampooing and lathering of the body soap ourselves. All he did was assist us in getting the shampoo and soap off our bodies with the water from the attached showerhead that comes with the tub. At times, he would allow us a good soak in the tub before rinsing off the soap from our bodies. After that, he would clad us up with the kids’ size bathrobe and tell us to leave the bathroom to get ourselves changed into our attires while he took his turn in the bath.” It was Kiryuu Subaru who responded to the query from the silver-haired hunter. “I see. Well then, in that case, I'll take a page out of his sample and wash the two of you the same way.” Kiryuu Zero eventually said, after flicking his eyes between the tub and the shower stall. While the silver-haired hunter is more of a shower person, he couldn’t help but agree that the shower stall though spacious enough to fit two at one time was a bit tight to fit three, at the same time. Even if two out of the three occupants are kids. So, in the end, he went for the tub. Unlike the bathrobes for adults which are white, the bathrobes for the kids’ usage are in blue. As soon as Kiryuu Zero was done rinsing the soap and shampoo off the boys, he’d wasted no time in wrapping them up in the kids’ version of the bathrobes before sending them out to the idle pureblood king waiting outside in the main room of the suite. Once the boys were sent out to the pureblood king to take charge of the task of dressing them, Kiryuu Zero promptly turned on his heels to head for the shower stall. Not seeing the appeal of standing in the tub while showering, the silver-haired guardian decided to return to the individual shower stall for the completion of his turn at showering. Of course, given his lack of foresight to bring along his sleepwear as he hadn’t been thinking of staying overnight when he’d first visited the Moon Dorm, Kiryuu Zero ended up borrowing a set of pajamas from the wardrobe of the pureblood king. By the time the silver-haired hunter deemed himself decent to leave the privacy of the ensuite bathroom, Kaname Kuran was already done dressing up the boys and finished drying off their hair with the use of a hairdryer. Now the twins have been set atop the large canopy bed waiting for their beloved parent to emerge from the bathroom to coax them to bed. “Daddy! Father says we will be staying with you for the next week, is that true?” Kuran Akira started as soon as he saw the approach of the silver-haired guardian heading in their direction. “Yes. That's true. The school would be breaking for the spring holiday with effect from tomorrow, and your father would be leaving school to go on a vacation with the rest of your uncles and aunts. They would return to the school when the new term begins.” Kiryuu Zero responded as he came to a stop in front of the canopy bed and he tried to decide where to place himself on the bed. “Eh? We aren’t going to have a family vacation when the school break for the spring holidays?” Kuran Akira begins in surprise, while his elder twin merely rolls his eyes in response. “Akira, we’re in the past timeline. The family vacation isn’t a thing yet, and besides, remember how our father always ends up getting various social calls from various aristocrats who reside in the area where we’re vacationing? I suppose it wouldn’t be much different in this time, and our existence is to remain a secret from the outside world.” Kiryuu Subaru rolled his eyes at his younger twin as he reminded his brother, pointedly. “Yes, thank you, Subaru.” Kaname Kuran nodded at the silver-haired child before shifting his gaze onto his little mirror image as he commented. “Akira, listen to your brother. However, I wouldn’t be opposed to the idea of bringing the two of you as well as your Daddy with me by the time the summer holidays come around. That is, presumably, we’ve gotten rid of Rido Kuran by then.” ‘Oh, so, you’re anticipating the final face-off with that uncle of yours soon, eh?’ Kiryuu Zero was sent mentally to the pureblood king when he managed to meet eyes with his future mate. ‘Well, yes... that’s what my instincts are telling me. I was hoping he would strike soon, so, I would’ve lesser things to worry about. Anyway, we can have the conversation later without the twins around.’ Kaname Kuran sent in response, before turning to address the twins, aloud. “Boys, would you mind scooting towards the middle of the bed? That way, your daddy could have enough space on his side of the bed.” Kaname Kuran started when he noticed that the boys were lying in a position that was slightly off the center of the bed. He intends to put the twins in between Zero and him, tonight. The pureblood king figured this would be the best sleeping arrangement for them when he managed to get his beloved to spend the night in his private suite, for the time being. “Sure, Father.” Kuran Akira, upon hearing the words of his father, wasted no time in shifting his position on the bed. So, that the space on both sides of the bed is left empty for the younger version of his parents to take up, later, when they decide to take a nap or sleep. “Right, so... where should I sleep then?” Kiryuu Zero stared at the two empty spots on the bed looking lost for a moment before voicing his doubt aloud to the room’s occupant. “Whichever sides you preferred.” Kaname Kuran’s voice came from the inside of the walk-in wardrobe, he was picking out a new change of clothes for his use after taking his turn in the bathroom. “Boys, do you have any idea if your father has a preferred side for his sleeping arrangement?” Kiryuu Zero rolled his eyes at the words coming from the pureblood king and shifted his attention to the twins, instead. “Left side. Father tends to take the left when it comes down to sleeping arrangements. So, Daddy can go on to occupy the right.” The response came from Kiryuu Subaru as Akira was busy stifling his yawn. “Well then, go on and take your nap if you are tired. We will leave the bedtime story for later. In the meantime, Daddy shall go, and blow dry the hair with the hairdryer.” Kiryuu Zero took note of the yawning from Kuran Akira and remarked. Initially, Kiryuu Zero had thought he would have trouble getting a full night’s sleep in a building full of vampires. However, that couldn’t be further away from the truth. The truth is he managed to sleep through the night, although he did wake briefly when he sensed the approach of the pureblood king closing the distance between them only to kiss him on the top of his head. “Goodnight, Zero. Sweet dreams.” Kaname Kuran had whispered after planting the light kiss on the top of his head. Too sleepy to respond, Kiryuu Zero merely peeked blearily up at the pureblood king before succumbing once more to the lure of his sleep. The pureblood king, meanwhile, stood at the foot of his large canopy bed to take in the sight of his future family slumbering peacefully and had to admit, he found himself loving the image. Allowing himself a moment of peace as he shoved the plaguing thoughts and worries about the impending future concerning that vile uncle of his, and the possible motives of Sara Shirabuki’s appearance on his land to the back of his mind. Kaname Kuran decided to enjoy the peaceful moment while it lasted. With that notion in mind, the pureblood king headed for the empty side of the bed and joined his beloved Zero, together with their future sons for his long overdue nap. His nap lasted two hours, and when he woke, he was fully refreshed with a clear mind. With a clearer state of mind, he was then able to replay the conversation he’d had with his beloved earlier in the study room about the possibility of Rido Kuran utilizing the use of the soul transfer spell on an innocent boy from the family that was distantly related to the Kuran family. ‘Okay, the child might be innocent but the parents of the child, not too much.’ Kaname mentally corrected himself after mulling over the idea. Decision made; he darted another look in the direction of his future family and stepped out of his room to head back down to the study room to start planning his next move. Since the chessboard had already been flipped, all he could do now was take one step at a time and adapt his plan accordingly to the situation that arose. --- “Shiki? Shiki!” Ichijo Takuma frowned when he noticed his roommate zoning out on him. Eventually, he had to snap his fingers in front of the mahogany-haired vampire to jolt his roommate back to reality. “Apologies, what was it that you were saying?” Shiki Senri blinked as he refocused his attention back on the figure of his roommate and friend. “I’m asking if you would be joining us on the trip to the villa house of the Aidou family for the upcoming spring holiday.” Ichijo Takuma sighed as he repeated his words from before. “Huh? The villa house of the Aidou’s family? I was under the impression that it’s Rima’s house that you guys would be visiting though, was I wrong?” Shiki Senri started in a tone of confusion. “No. You weren’t wrong, only we were never planning to visit the Touya’s home. It was always the villa house of the Aidou family that we’re aiming for, the reason why we’d said we would be visiting the Touya this upcoming spring holiday, is because we are trying to avoid Hanabusa’s father from showing up at their family villa house with his single and unattached daughters, in a mean to continue with his ploy to matchmake Kaname.” Ichijo Takuma then proceeded to explain why everyone had been under the impression that it was the Touya’s residence that they would be visiting this upcoming spring holiday, that begins tomorrow. “I see.” Shiki Senri nodded understandingly before he provided his response to his roommate and friend about his spring holiday plans. “As much as I would love to join you guys at the villa house, I can’t. I met my uncle earlier at the party, and he’s asking for me to spend the upcoming spring holiday at home.” “Oh, so, you would be going home for the holiday then.” Ichijo Takuma started in a tone that sounded disappointed for a brief second before he penned down Shiki’s decline to join them for their vacation trip to the villa house of the Aidou family situated in Kamakura, an area within the Kanagawa prefecture within the Kanto region. “Yes, so you guys go ahead and enjoy yourself at the villa house of the Aidou’s family. I, on the other hand, would be heading home to spend some quality time with my mother.” Shiki Senri responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. Shiki Senri might appear nonchalant on the outside as he told his roommate and friend about his intention to go home, this spring holiday. Inwardly, he was filled with the feeling of unease. Mainly because his uncle has never demanded his presence during the school holiday before, this time though, his uncle made it a point to request for him to return home straight away after the term break begins. In the past, he was always allowed to spend a few days in the company of his friends during the holiday before he had to return home to spend some time with his mentally unstable mother. ‘I wonder why uncle is so insistent on my presence at home this spring holiday?’ Shiki Senri thought inwardly to himself while trying to ignore the foreboding sense of doom that formed in the pit of his stomach. After penning down the response of his roommate, Ichijo Takuma proceeds to leave the room to check in on the decisions of the remaining noble rank members. He'd skipped consulting Aidou, Akatsuki, and Ruka, knowing full well that neither of them would want to spend the upcoming holiday apart from Kaname. Hence, the only other person to check in about the spring holiday plans would be Touya Rima. Arriving to a stop in front of the room shared between Ruka Souen and Touya Rima, Ichijo Takuma raised his fist to the door as he knocked lightly to seek permission for entering. “Ichijo, what brings you over at this time?” It was Touya Rima that answers the door naturally, the only one who could get Ruka to move from her spot in front of the vanity table is the pureblood king. However, they all knew that it’s very unlikely for the pureblood king to visit them at their room. If there’s anything that their king requires from them, chances are the king would send Seiren over to ask for their presence elsewhere. “Just conducting a final check on your holiday plans. Spring break would begin tomorrow, we would be operating under the ruse of visiting your family home but heading for the villa house belonging to the Aidou family in the Kamakura district, instead. You are welcome to leave at any point, but it’s best that you travel alongside us and remain with us for at least three days. Just in case Aidou’s father decides to call, and we could have you around to keep up with the ruse of us spending the holiday in a property under your family’s name.” Ichijo Takuma responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “I see. Will do. Currently, I do not have any additional plans for the upcoming holiday. While on the subject, would Shiki be joining us for the holiday?” Touya Rima inquires after giving her consent to join the rest of them at the villa house belonging to the Aidou family on the coming spring break. “Unfortunately, he’d to decline our invitation. He met his uncle earlier at the party and was told to go straight home after the school break for the spring holiday.” Ichijo Takuma shrugged nonchalantly in response. “I see.” Touya Rima nodded before asking if there was anything else that the vice president required from her, and upon receiving a negative response promptly shut the door to the room in the face of the cheery blond. “...” With the response from Touya Rima confirmed, Ichijo Takuma was left with nothing else to occupy his time. He could easily do his packing for the holiday later since the night is still young. And so, after a moment of consideration, the green-eyed blond vampire decided to go in search of his future cousin. Knowing that Akane was likely working away on her class project on the laptop he’d lent her earlier in the week, Ichijo Takuma headed straight for the direction of the private library on the ground floor of the Moon Dorm. True enough, after poking his head through the doorway of the private library, it didn’t take him long to locate his sandy-brown-haired female cousin at one of the tables typing away on the laptop while referencing her notes. “Still working hard at your project, I see.” Ichijo Takuma remarked as he dropped himself into the seat opposite Akane in the private library of the Moon Dorm. “Yes, Takuma. Is there anything you require from me? While on the subject, I don’t think I can finish doing my part for the project before the spring holiday begins, so, can I hold on to your laptop for a little while longer?” Kiryuu Akane begins without sparing a moment to glance up at the newcomer at her table. “Sure. This laptop you’re using was the spare, I had a newer laptop with better specs so you’re welcome to keep this for as long as you required.” Ichijo Takuma shrugged nonchalantly in response before falling silent. “Good. Now, I'm sure you didn’t come in here to stare at me for no reason. So, kindly speak your mind because I'm not exactly in a mood to put my special ability to use.” Kiryuu Akane deadpans. “Okay, here goes nothing. I'm not here to fish for information about the future. However, I was recently informed by my grandfather that he had a betrothal contract drawn up for me. I'm not sure who it was since he never came outright to me with the information, but I do get the hint that my betrothed is likely a human. Hence, I thought it best to seek confirmation from you. Was my wife a human from the future you arrived from?” Ichijo Takuma began after a moment of hesitation. “...” For a while, Akane didn’t speak. Her mind was busy comparing the information her cousin let slipped to her with what she’d known from her time. Finally, the sandy-brown-haired vampire girl spoke up. “Now, I think I know which betrothal contract you’re referring to... let me reassure you that the contract would never come to fruition. Primarily because the contract was drawn up without taking into consideration the girl’s inclination, and I don’t think you’ll be keen when you know the identity of the girl that you are betrothed to. Granted, I wasn’t expecting this to take place this early. It certainly looks like the twins and my arrival had sped things up on many levels, and I’m not just referring to the relationship between Zero and Kaname-sama.” “Ah... I believe I know why my grandfather had decided to draw up a betrothal contract for me at this time.” Upon Akane’s comment about having sped things up with her arrival from the future, Ichijo Takuma allowed a grimace to show on his face as he commented. “Oh? Why do you think is the cause behind your sudden betrothal to a human girl?” Akane begins in a curious tone of voice. “Well... I’m sure you’re aware that there are some ongoing rumors revolving around the nature of our relationship on the academy grounds, by this point.” Ichijo Takuma started in a cautious tone. “If you’re talking about the ongoing circulating rumor about us being a couple. Yes, I do know about that.” Akane remarked drily in response to her green-eyed blond cousin. “Okay, good. At least, I needn’t fill you in on the misconceptions the rest of the school has about us. Either way, it seems someone in the night class had the misfortune of letting an acquaintance of my grandfather overhear their gossiping session and this little bit of information somehow wormed itself into my grandfather’s knowledge. Given that he didn’t exactly have a stellar impression of you during his visit to the Cross Academy, he thought since I have a penchant for pursuing human girls; he might as well direct me to a more acceptable candidate.” Ichijo Takuma responded with a shrug as he shared his insight on the subject with his sandy-brown-haired cousin. “...” Akane’s eyes took on a look of incredulity before commenting. “Acceptable? I would like to think he allowed the betrothal to take place because there aren’t any other offers on the table for his picking!” “Akane, do you know who it was that I’m betrothed to?” Ichijo Takuma started as he narrowed his eyes at the sandy-brown-haired vampire girl. “Well duh, it’s Yuuki’s dormmate and friend. Wakaba Sayori, the girl and partner who I am working on this project with.” Akane rolled her eyes momentarily as she answered. “Oh... okay, that’s unexpected. So, you were saying that the betrothal wouldn’t come to fruition. Can I take it as she isn’t the one who I end up marrying in the future?” Ichijo Takuma nodded slowly before clarifying with the sandy-brown-haired vampire girl, who would one day become his cousin. “Of course. I’ll have you know, that Sayori isn’t very happy with her father right now. Oh, and do not under any circumstances share with your friends about how you were betrothed to the dormmate of Yuuki. Especially, do not let the information slip to Aidou Hanabusa, if you’d valued your life.” Akane couldn’t help but emphasize to her green-eyed blond cousin before the guy could leave the library of the Moon Dorm; after getting the information he seeks from her. “What has Aidou got to do with...?! Wait, surely you aren’t implying that Aidou’s interested in that girl, are you?” Ichijo Takuma started in confusion before a look of blatant disbelief crossed his features as he finally caught on to the underlying meaning behind his future cousin’s words of caution. Akane’s only response was in the form of a smirk followed by the comment, “Sayori has been complaining to me about a certain blue-eyed blond vampire’s stalkerish behavior around her, lately.” “...” --- After the conversation with Akane, the green-eyed blond aristocratic vampire went on to go in search of his ice-wielding friend. His search took him out of the Moon Dorm and towards the direction of the Sun Dorm. Upon his location of his blue-eyed blond friend, Ichijo Takuma didn’t venture forward and instead spent a moment observing the direction of his friend’s gaze. His eyebrow rose significantly when he realized that his friend was constantly keeping an eye on the occupants within the room that he believed was the dorm room that belonged to the female guardian of the Cross Academy. “...” Inside the dorm room shared between Wakaba Sayori and the adoptive daughter of the chairman, Yuuki Cross. The brown-haired girl took a break from her packing for the upcoming holiday to glance out of the window of her dorm room only to be met by the sight of a familiar blue-eyed blond vampire keeping watch on her from a distance. “Is there a point for you to keep watch on me today? I'm not going to be leaving the dorm after curfew tonight, so you can kindly head back to the Moon Dorm for the day.” Wakaba Sayori couldn’t help but point out objectively to the ice-wielding aristocratic vampire who had taken it upon himself to keep tabs on her for some unfathomable reasons. “Yori-chan, who are you speaking to?” Yuuki Cross, who has been assisting her dormmate and friend with the packing couldn’t help but inquire when she heard the sound of her friend addressing someone via the window of their dorm room. “Aidou Hanabusa.” came Wakaba Sayori's monotonous reply. Yuuki Cross blinked at her friend in confusion until the brown-haired girl caved in to provide her with an elaboration on the earlier response. “I was speaking to Aidou Hanabusa just now. As you know, I was tasked by my parents to keep tabs on Zero. The information somehow got into the hands of the controlling pureblood king that he’d decided to sic one of his loyal subjects to monitor me in response.” Wakaba Sayori deadpans, she wasn’t particularly fond of the pureblood king as she found the guy displaying some uncanny similarities to her control freak of a father, from time to time. “Oh...” Yuuki Cross fell silent at her friend’s words, as much as she’d wished to defend her beloved Kaname-senpai to her dormmate. She found herself at a loss of words to defend her former crush to her friend and dormmate. Meanwhile, back outside, Ichijo Takuma took that as his cue to show his presence to his blue-eyed blond friend. “She’s right, you know? While Kaname sics you on her to keep an eye on her actions, I'm sure Kaname didn’t mean for you to stalk her to this extent. It's one thing if she’s on the move, but right now, it seems she has no intention to leave the dorm. Furthermore, tomorrow is the start of the spring holiday. Unless you have the intention to ditch our vacation plans in favor of stalking her during the spring holiday – you'd best return with me to the Moon Dorm.” “How long have you been here?” Aidou Hanabusa started as he turned inquiring eyes upon the figure of his green-eyed blond friend. “Long enough to gather that you’re pining.” Ichijo Takuma deadpans with a roll of his eyes. “I’m not pining!” Aidou Hanabusa spluttered unintelligently as he responded indignantly. “Hmm...deny as much as you wish, but I remained affirmed in my judgment that there’s an underlying sense of longing I detected from the read of your aura when you keep watch on the girl.” Ichijo Takuma commented with a shake of his head, inwardly thinking why is it that everyone he knew tends to be in denial of their feelings when it happens? His pureblood friend, Kaname, had spent a great amount of his time ‘stalking’ Kiryuu with his bats before the future trios arrived in their timeline, and forced Kaname to reevaluate the kind of feelings he had for the silver-haired guardian. Now, it appears that Aidou is behaving in the same manner... I wonder how long it would take for Aidou to snap out of his denial about the feelings he’d held for the human girl. One good thing about Wakaba Sayori’s status as a human is that she could not overhear the conversation that was going on between Aidou Hanabusa and Ichijo Takuma as they were whispering. The sense of hearing for a human isn’t as sensitive as a vampire, and henceforth, the girl fails to hear Ichijo Takuma pointing out to the blue-eyed blond vampire about how he was pining for her attention. “Whatever! Let's just head back to the Moon Dorm. While on the subject, what brings you out to the Sun Dorm?” Aidou Hanabusa rolls his eyes as he turns to leave for the direction of the Moon Dorm, in a huff of annoyance. “I was searching for you.” Ichijo Takuma answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Searching for me? Whatever for?” Aidou Hanabusa blinked in confusion as he queried his green-eyed friend in return. “Just to give you an update about the spring holiday plan. Shiki won’t be joining us this year. His uncle had demanded his presence at home during the school break for the holiday. Shiki had a run-in with his uncle at the party hosted by your family earlier in town.” Ichijo Takuma then proceeds to update his blue-eyed blond friend about the slight changes to the number of people heading to the Aidou’s villa house for the one-week vacation in Kamakura, tomorrow. “I see.” Aidou Hanabusa nodded before inquiring if there were any other changes that he needed to be made aware of. “So, other than Shiki not joining us this spring holiday. Are we getting any new participants in our upcoming vacation plan?” “No. Kaname has no intention of bringing the twins along with us to your family’s villa house. The existence of the twins needs to be kept secret from the public, and there’s no guarantee that we wouldn’t be getting any surprise visitors at your family’s villa house once news got out that we’re vacationing in Kamakura as opposed to spending our holiday at the Touya’s residence in Saitama.” Ichijo Takuma answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Okay, I guess that meant that the twins will be staying at the chairman’s residence for the duration of the spring holiday then?” Aidou Hanabusa nodded in acceptance to the response coming from his green-eyed friend. “Yes. Likewise, Akane would be staying at the chairman’s residence for the upcoming spring holiday, too.” Ichijo Takuma nodded as he added as an afterthought. --- Kiryuu Zero woke to the sound of items being packed away in suitcases, sitting up in bed, it took the silver-haired guardian a couple of minutes to recall where exactly he was. “Good morning. I hoped you slept well last night.” Kaname Kuran greeted when he noticed that his beloved hunter was now awake and stretching languidly on his king-size canopy bed. “Good morning. What time is it now?” Kiryuu Zero started as he failed to locate a clock within reaching distance. “6 am.” Kaname Kuran answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “I see. Where are the twins?” Kiryuu Zero stifled a yawn as he inquired after failing to notice the figures of their future sons anywhere within the room. “They’re in the walk-in wardrobe trying to decide what to pack in their little suitcase.” The pureblood king responded in an amused tone of voice. “You’re telling me that you’d invested in kids’ luggage for them?” Kiryuu Zero blinked up at the pureblood king with a look of disbelief. “Yes, well. They're going to be spending an entire week with you, and it’s quite tedious for you to make repeated trips back to the Moon Dorm to collect anything of theirs during the duration of the holiday.” Kaname Kuran shrugged nonchalantly in response. “Okay, fine. Though, I must say while I appreciate your sentiment in making my life easier... but you’re aware that they aren’t going to be here forever, right? What are you going to do with their kids’ luggage when they return to their timeline?” Kiryuu Zero couldn’t help but point out objectively to the pureblood king. “Hmm... well, I guess their belongings and the luggage I bought for them could either go into the storage somewhere. Alternatively, we could always let them bring their baggage along when it’s time for them to return to their timeline. It might serve as a reminder to them about their time spent in the past with us, decades later.” Kaname Kuran had a pondering look on his face as he responded to the query from the silver-haired hunter. “Fair enough. What time would the members of the night class leave the school?” Kiryuu Zero inquires as he removes himself from the comfy bed of the pureblood king to make his way into the ensuite bathroom for his morning routine. Despite the rare occasions of him spending the night at the Moon Dorm, it seems his future mate had decided to allocate a designated space for his use at the vanity sink complete with the toothbrush he’d used the last time he’d stayed overnight in the Moon Dorm. The toothpaste he was sharing with the pureblood king, but he does get a face and bathing towel of his own for usage on days when he was convinced to spend the night at the private suite that belongs to the pureblood king. “The common-class vampires would be leaving first, with the earliest to depart in an hour. I would be among the last to depart from the academy grounds as I need to ensure everything is intact before handing over the keys to the Moon Dorm for the chairman to keep during the period of the spring holiday.” Kaname Kuran responded as he continued with the sorting of his personal belongings while deciding which books to bring along with him for the spring holiday. “I see. Shall I bring the kids with me when I leave the Moon Dorm shortly?” Kiryuu Zero inquired after he was done with his morning routine, and changing out from the pajama set that the pureblood king had lent him for his use, last night. “Just leave the pajamas on the bed, the maids will come in and collect it for laundry shortly. I still have some packing to do here, why don’t you head downstairs to the library and take your pick at the books that you’re looking to borrow? You did mention wanting to have a look at the book with the records of the families serving under the different pureblood families through the decades previously, didn’t you? You can check in with Seiren about the location of those books, seeing as she’s the one that procured those for the library.” The pureblood king told his beloved as he glanced up briefly from his packing task. “Do you need help with your packing?” Kiryuu Zero inquires after taking in the number of suitcases lying open around the room. “I don’t, I’m done with the basic packing by now. All I need to do now is to decide on the type of reading material to bring along with me for the spring holiday. The twins, on the other hand, might require some input from you about what to pack for their one-week stay at the chairman’s place.” Kaname Kuran answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Well then, you were saying that they’re in the walk-in wardrobe, weren’t you?” The silver-haired hunter begins as he starts heading in the direction of the walk-in wardrobe that belongs to the pureblood king. It took an entire hour for the twins to finish their packing, and slightly longer for the pureblood king to finish up with his packing for the upcoming spring break. After the packing was done, Kaname Kuran promptly sent the twins off to check in on Akane to see if their adoptive sister was done with her packing. Once the twins departed from the room, the pureblood king wasted no time in pulling the silver-haired hunter into his embrace for a quick round of kissing session. After all, he wouldn’t be getting any moments of intimacy with his beloved during the next week when the school is on a break for the spring holiday. “Zero, I'll miss you.” Kaname Kuran breathed in a whispering tone as he muzzled his nose into the crook of the silver-haired hunter’s neck after they broke apart their kiss for air. Kiryuu Zero didn’t speak, he was too busy fighting off the heat rushing up his cheeks to respond to the words coming from the pureblood king. Unable to voice his response verbally, the silver-haired hunter opted to send his response through the mental link established as he met eyes with Kaname Kuran. ‘As much as I dreaded to admit, I think I'm going to miss your presence dearly, too. The boys would make sure of it, either way.’ Kiryuu Zero thought as he projected his words to his future mate via the mental link, he’d created between them with the use of his newfound ability. ‘Glad to know my presence would be missed. Though, one of these days, I’m going to make you admit your feelings for me aloud. Speaking of, have you given any thought about testing out your anti-vampire weapon yet?’ Kaname Kuran sent non-verbally back in response to his future mate as they maintained eye contact with each other. ‘I think I'll put it on hold until after the spring holiday. With the twins around, it’s highly unlikely that I'll be taking up any hunting missions for the coming week. Now, how about we head downstairs to the library so you can assist me in locating the book that I'd wanted to borrow?’ Kiryuu Zero thought in response, with a raise of his eyebrow at the pureblood king. ‘Sure, let us convene at the library then.’ Kaname Kuran sent in response before pulling his beloved with him as they departed the privacy of his suite room on the ground floor of the main wing where the private library of the Moon Dorm is situated. While in the library, the duo reverted to the usual verbal means of contact as their eyes were required on the task of scanning the titles of the books on the shelves in the library. It was during this time that Kaname Kuran brought up the mention of Yuuki’s name to his beloved. “Zero, do me a favor, would you?” Kaname Kuran begins as he scans the titles on the shelve that he recalls was the last time he’d noticed the book which his beloved is keen on borrowing. “What kind of favor?” Kiryuu Zero prompted automatically in response while he plucked out random books from the shelving every so often to inspect the contents page just to see if it fit the criteria of what he was looking for. “Keep an eye on Yuuki. Let me know if you’ve noticed anything amiss with Yuuki during the spring holiday. It's about time for the memory seal on Yuuki to weaken as it’s approaching the ten-year mark from when Juri Kuran sacrificed her life to make Yuuki a human.” The pureblood king responded, turning his eyes to land upon the figure of Kiryuu Zero momentarily as he stated his point. “I see. And how should I contact you if Yuuki truly displayed signs of recovering her lost memories?” Kiryuu Zero glanced back at the pureblood king in response with a curious tilt of his head. “I’ll give you the number on my mobile phone. Hand me your phone, I'll save the number into your contact list.” Kaname Kuran answered after a moment of silent contemplation. “I wasn’t aware that you have a mobile phone.” Kiryuu Zero remarked drily as he handed over his mobile phone to the pureblood king. “Yes, well. I do own a mobile phone; I just don’t use it regularly. It's mostly used for business contacts and so, the phone tends to be on Seiren than on my person. On second thought, I’ll give you the number to the villa house belonging to the Aidou family as well. Just in case, you’re unable to reach me on the mobile number since there’s no guarantee that Seiren is going to be around when you called.” Kaname Kuran eventually said as he added another contact to the phonebook of his beloved’s mobile phone. “Better yet, why don’t you add in the number of Ichijo and Akatsuki while at it? Based on my observations, these two are the only ones that make it a point to carry their mobile phones on their person 24/7.” Kiryuu Zero rolled his eyes momentarily before adding as an afterthought. “Fair enough.” Kaname Kuran thought for a second before conceding to the validity of the silver-haired hunter’s observation. Thus, minutes later, Kiryuu Zero ended up with four new contacts sitting away in the phonebook of his mobile phone. ~ to be continued~ Date started: 16/03/2025 Date completed: 20/03/2025