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Aido scowled in irritation and turned up the collar of his long, black, cloak-like overcoat as a light, but persistent patter of rain began to fall, making the leaves of the trees dance and jitter around them as he and Zero trudged swiftly through the thick woods edging the north reaches of the Ichijo estate. "It would have to rain..." he muttered.

Zero wasn't nearly so bothered by the weather, or was at least far less inclined to whine about it, and continued on silently. His thoughts were fixed on Yuki. Why had she been taken? It had something to do with Kaname, that was almost certain, but what? He had no idea if the pureblood was even still alive or not. That... actually worried him, more than he would admit. But right now, most of his concern was being taken up by Yuki. She hadn't been missing that long, only a little over a day. But Zero felt sick if he let himself think of what might be happening to her. How had he let this happen? His job was to protect her... the one thing in life still worth doing... and he'd failed. But he was going to find her. And he was going to bring her home, even if he had to die to do it.

The Ichijo mansion had been discretely investigated for any sign that that was where Kaname had been taken weeks ago. But there was no one on their side who had the kind of authority needed to pull off forcing a full search of the estate and all discrete, sneaky investigations had turned up nothing.

With Ichijo's scent clearly having been found where Yuki was taken, however... that changed things. They didn't just think he was involved. They were certain of it. Which meant that Ichijo manor was again a target of interest. There were many targets of interest, unfortunately. So many that it was difficult to check them all out. The Ichijos owned massive amounts of property everywhere. Warehouses, shipping yards, factories, offices, foundries, and so many seasonal homes all over this country and several others that it had made Zero's eyes boggle just looking at the list when Chairman Cross had produced it.

The elder Ichijo had completely dropped off the radar right after Yuki's disappearance, and they had no indication where out of the many possible locations he could have taken her. There were a few reports that placed someone of his description driving towards the airport, so a lot of attention was being focused on searching out of the area. The common assumption was that wherever Yuki was being taken, was probably where Kaname was being held, if he was in fact still alive, which gave renewed urgency to the search for the pureblood. Given the lack of luck they'd had searching for him thus far, it was easy to assume that Kaname was probably being held somewhere out of the country.

With so many leads to chase, the only option was for all of them to split up. The Night Class, most of whom had been searching for Kaname since his disappearance in one way or another, now split up into twos to spread out and check every single Ichijo holding for any trace of either Kaname or Yuki. Toga Yagari had already organized the hunters they could trust and they were dispensed all over the world. It was a good plan since they were trained to be ready to hunt vampires anywhere on the globe at a moment's notice. Their task was unique this time of course, as they were trying to save a vampire rather than kill him. Only Chairman Cross and Yagari had been able to swing that one with the hunter's association, but they'd made a good case and won it.

Zero would much rather have been with Master Toga than Aido, but Chairman Cross seemed to be one of the few who felt that it was quite likely Ichijo was keeping his prisoners nearer at hand than it seemed possible to believe, and he'd insisted Zero stay close. Zero had a suspicion he'd been paired with Aido because Aido already knew he was a vampire and even if they didn't like each other, they'd had more personal interaction than he'd had with any of the others in the Night Class, save Kaname.

Whatever the reasons, they were mutually stuck with one another and at least trying to make the best of it. That is, Zero was trying to not want to shoot Aido if he didn't friggin' shut up and Aido was trying to not want to freeze Zero solid just to see if it was possible for the ex-human to get any colder. It was obvious, however, that their priorities lay in very different places. Aido's chief concern was finding Kaname. Zero's was finding Yuki.

The noble and the ex-human had arrived at the outer perimeter of the massive Ichijo estates earlier in the day and spent the past several hours trekking in, having decided to take up a position in the woods near the mansion in hopes of seeing if there were any signs that this might be the right place.

Then, it'd started raining.

By the time they were in view of the house, the rain was really starting to come down and Zero and Aido were competing for whose mood was the foulest as the water ran down their collars and soaked through their long overcoats, slowly starting to wet them through. The trees provided no cover, sometimes actually funneling more water onto them than away from them.

Standing in the rain, watching a house that wasn't doing a single interesting thing except sitting there, being... house-like... was definitely not either vampire's idea of a good time.

"This sucks," Zero finally muttered after a while, shifting somewhat impatiently from foot to foot and trying in vain to find a dryer place to stand.

Aido seemed to have given up trying to keep dry and was staring with resigned, moody moroseness up towards the house on the top of the hill. Night was falling. He'd been up all day and that certainly had not improved his mood any. He yawned, trying to keep tiredness at bay. He was about to suggest that they take turns keeping watch and getting a little rest – as nothing interesting seemed in any imminent danger of happening – but he stopped as the sound of a car approaching along the long, winding road threading through the estate caught at his sharp hearing.

Zero heard it after a few moments too and both of them watched as the dark limo finally came into view, driving straight up to the house and pausing in front long enough to disgorge its occupants before pulling away and heading towards the garage.

"Well, well, look who's here," Aido said quietly, a slight bite that sounded more like betrayal than anger edging into his tone as he nodded towards the figure getting out of the car and hurrying up the walk towards the house, trailed by a set of large bodyguards and a servant bobbing along with an umbrella.

Zero squinted a little to see what Aido saw through the drizzling rain. When he did, he understood the reason for Aido's tone.

The rain was really coming down in earnest as Takuma Ichijo made his way swiftly up the front steps of his ancestral home, the neck of his jacket turned up against the chill. A servant ran along beside him, holding up an umbrella that did little to keep off the rain that was being driven about by the gusting wind rushing up the hill upon which the house sat.

Once inside, Takuma looked around. He realized that he was looking for some kind of greeting or welcome after his long trip, but of course he knew none would be forthcoming. Wherever his grandfather was, he wouldn't appear until he wanted to grill Takuma on how things had gone, and the younger Ichijo was certainly in no hurry to see him. As for Rido... Takuma would be more than glad to never see him again... save for the fact that he was holding Shiki captive.

There was no one else here to make this huge old tomb feel like a home, except for the servants. Takuma wished he could go back to the Academy, but he doubted now that his grandfather would ever let him go back.

Of course, for a little while, he'd doubted that his grandfather was ever going to let him out of his room again after the days he'd spent imprisoned in there. Oh he'd been treated fine, the servants bringing him everything and anything he could have wanted... except his freedom. Totally cut off from the world, he'd had no idea what might be happening elsewhere.

Then his grandfather came with a 'chance to redeem himself' by way of a trip to Moldavia of all places to look after the Ichijo interests in a deal that was going down there. Seeing it as his only chance to escape becoming a permanent prisoner in his own house, Takuma had quietly accepted. He'd thought once he was away, he would be able to catch up on what was going on... but it was not to be. His grandfather's bodyguards went with him and they were as much his jailers as his protectors. He'd been whisked straight off to Moldavia on one of the Ichijos' private jets, and had remained there, with no way to contact anyone from home for the better part of two or three weeks now.

Finally, business was concluded there and he had just come back from the airport. He was trying to ignore the silent, restrictive presence of his bodyguards as they followed him into the house, but it wasn't easy. Takuma was, to put it mildly, thoroughly depressed and feeling very alone. Heck, he even imagined he could smell some out of place, lingering trace of Yuki's scent here in the main hall. Yuki, of all people. Talk about completely random. Obviously, he was missing the Academy and his friends there more than even he knew.

He made his way to his rooms in silence and slammed the doors in the faces of his guards. He'd tried to be polite to them, tried to be cheerful and friendly as was his nature. But by now he was thoroughly worn out and he gave up.

Discarding his overcoat carelessly on the floor and flopping onto his bed, Takuma let his face sink into his pillow.

When they were children, Kaname often referred to this house as 'the prison' and his guardian as the warden. Takuma knew he'd always felt trapped here, always felt like the elder Ichijo was watching him. Which he was. He'd certainly paid more attention to Kaname than he ever had his own grandson. Although... it was not the kind of attention that Takuma had ever been inclined to feel the least bit jealous about – quite the opposite, actually. Takuma had always wished he could get his grandfather to just leave Kaname alone. The pureblood had never wanted to live here, although he and Takuma had subsequently become very close friends because of it.

The prison... it hadn't really seemed a prison to Takuma back then. He would laugh when Kaname said that and tell him he was being melodramatic again... Now, however, Takuma found he agreed completely. This place was one great big gilded cage, and he wasn't sure how he was going to escape. Certainly, he could just run away... he could try, but it wasn't that easy. The Ichijos owned practically everything. There was hardly a pie anywhere they didn't have their fingers in, from business to politics. There was no way you could really run from them. Even Kaname hadn't been able to entirely escape, although he'd certainly managed to gain more freedom than Takuma ever had.

Kaname... where was his friend, right now? Was he at the Academy, wondering if Takuma had turned against him? Was he all right? He knew Ichijo and Rido had been up to something before he was forced to leave, but he didn't know what exactly. He couldn't image that they could get at the pureblood very easily. He hoped not, anyway.

Takuma sighed into his pillow.

Outside, thunder crashed and lightening painted a vivid flash against his closed window shade. As night deepened, the storm was starting to pick up into a howling, swirling gale.

Yuki's blindfold had been removed at the bottom of the stairs, right before she was manhandled into this room by the two vampires escorting her. She'd awoken only about a short while before, dizzy and disorientated with no idea how long she' been kept unconscious. She had been bound hand and foot and blindfolded with no idea where she was or why. She was finally untied, but the blindfold was left on as she was dragged stumbling down a long flight of stairs, shivering slightly because the night clothes she had been abducted in did little to keep out the dungeon chill. The stone floors were cold under her bare feet.

The room she found herself in now looked like a cell and the scent of blood was heavy and oppressive in here, the dark, brooding atmosphere like a lead shroud. She expected that this was meant to be her prison... or worse... her tomb and she was about to verbally lash out at her captors in frightened anger, when she became aware that this room already had an inmate. On his knees, strung up by chains from the ceiling...

Yuki froze, all thought suddenly deserting her as shocked horror rooted her in place. The sad figure in the center of the room was so badly abused it took her a moment to even recognize him... but she knew Kaname too well to not recognize those dark eyes, and the familiar face beneath the pallor and bruising.

"Kaname..." she whispered, her voice sounding small and tinny in her own ears and in the oppressive expanse of the empty room. Tears welled instantly in her eyes as her heart clenched in horrified pain at seeing him like this.

Kaname was deathly pale, his dark, wavy hair disheveled and clinging to the blood that caked the side of his face and his neck. His neck... oh God... his long, beautiful neck was a complete mess. It made her sick to look at. It was obviously he'd been repeatedly and brutally fed upon. Both sides were torn and scabbed with wounds new and old that had not been able to heal. Kaname's body was resistant, almost immune to infection; else he would surely have succumbed to his mistreatment already. His captors had made no effort to bind or treat the wounds they left him bearing.

The rest of the pureblood had fared little better. Welts and bruises crisscrossed his chest faintly. And from the three-quarters angle she viewed him at, Yuki could see that that was mild compared to the state of his back. Kaname's back was so cut and welted, so covered with blood from shoulders to waist that she couldn't even see his skin. Again, old injuries were overlaid with new, some of which were still bleeding sluggishly, speaking of repeated abuse over time.

But the main thing that had almost rendered him unrecognizable was what Yuki's gaze slid back to with sick shock. A horrible contraption contorted Kaname's beautiful face. It looked like some kind of demented horse's bridle, with a thick bit that was locked over his tongue, fastening to a ring on either side of the pureblood's mouth, leather straps pulled tight across his cheeks and disappearing back behind his head. It was a muzzle, Yuki realized with shock. The large, round bit kept her friend's cracked and swollen lips pried painfully open. She could see his fangs glinting dully in the faint light.

There were no words to describe the heartbreak of seeing how badly Kaname had been hurt, nothing that could explain the breath-stealing pain that tore Yuki's heart out of her chest. Fear for herself, for the fact that she'd been kidnapped, was forgotten. She gave a soft, inarticulate cry of sorrow and rage and wrenched away from her captors, running to Kaname. She dropped down on her knees in front of him, her hands gently cupping either side of his face. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"Kaname..." Yuki repeated softly, having forgotten everything else for the moment.

Kaname was stunned. The last thing he'd thought or expected to see was Yuki standing before him in this dungeon, barefoot and in her pajamas of all things. He thought he was dreaming. Hoped he was. So often, he'd seen her in his dazed dreams... but he knew, this time she was really here. And true terror threatened to suffocate him. He couldn't protect her here. Couldn't keep her safe from whatever designs Rido and Ichijo had in bringing her to this place. Kaname trembled softly as Yuki's gentle, warm little hands held his face. Her fingers caressed him tenderly, the first gentle touch he'd felt in an eternity. He'd almost forgotten what it felt like, to have someone touch him softly, to not expect pain from every contact. As much as he hated to see her here... he couldn't help leaning his head into her tender caresses, desperately craving the sweet gentleness of which he was completely starved.

He ached at her tears and silently burned with shame that she should see him this way. He felt a strange, tense hitch in his chest that traveled up to create a hard, heavy lump in his raw throat.

Yuki's fingers slid over the rough straps of the horrible muzzle, seeing the way it had so severely cut and damaged her friend's gentle face and intense anger spiked up to join her heartbreak.

"How could you? How could you do this to him?" she raged, glancing over her shoulder towards the two vampires responsible with burning malice that few would have expected from such a sweet looking girl.

Not waiting for, or perhaps not expecting an answer, Yuki's gaze immediately refocused on Kaname and her arms slid around behind his neck, fingers tracing the straps of the gag back to the buckle which she swiftly started to undo. She couldn't stand to see it on him, it was too terrible, too degrading and painful and her only thought was to try and ease his suffering anyway she could.

As usual, Yuki thought nothing of her own danger. As usual, she trusted Kaname implicitly. The thought that he could hurt her never even crossed her mind.

It crossed Kaname's mind though, and his heart sped up as he felt the buckle of the gag sliding loose behind his head. He tried to jerk his head away. Much as he loathed the hated contraption, right now he wanted it to stay in place. Because Yuki's scent, so close to him, completely filled his starved senses and the blood lust cramping intensely in his insides screamed instantly for her. Her, whose blood had always been the most tempting and intoxicating scent in the world to him.

Yuki didn't understand and thought that she'd been too rough and accidentally hurt him in her haste. "Sorry, I'm sorry... it's okay..." she soothed gently as she pulled the clasp free and eased the straps tenderly away from his cheeks. The muzzle had only been removed on the few rare occasions when Kaname's captors had allowed him to drink some water and eat a little bread, and then it went right back on. It'd not been removed in days now and it almost felt like it had fused to him. The relief was undeniable as Yuki eased it away, even despite his fear. Her gentle fingers caressed the indents and raw skin that the gag left behind as she pulled it carefully away. Hooking her fingers in the rings, she eased the ball shaped bit carefully out of his mouth, her fingers lightly brushing his fangs as she did so.

A deep shiver ran down Kaname's spine and his pupils dilated sharply. His eyes were already blood red, but Yuki showed no signs of being afraid. She was far too busy being worried about him.

Kaname's mouth closed quickly, savoring the freedom to move again, to be able to close and ease the excruciating, leathery dryness of his mouth and tongue. He swallowed raggedly, trying to wet his aching mouth and lips. But there was only one thing they wanted to be wet with. Blood... he needed it; was beyond ravenously starving for it... and Yuki was so... damn... close...

Why hadn't Rido or Ichijo stopped her? Why would they allow him to be unbound...? Kaname's gaze snapped up over Yuki's shoulder, towards where the two vampires stood silently watching the scene unfolding before them. He saw the looks in their eyes... and he understood. They had no reason to stop Yuki. This was their whole intention for bringing her here. They would finally allow him the blood he so desperately needed... but only her blood.

Yuki was touching his face again, gently. Her tears had stilled, but still sparkled silently in her eyes. She leaned in and tenderly kissed the raw, broken skin at the corners of his mouth where the gag had hurt him. Her usual shyness with him seemed to have momentarily evaporated under the burgeoning weight of her deep concern and sorrow. Kaname inhaled sharply, the electric jolt that sang through his weakened body both delightful and completely unbearable as her lips brushed his.

This was perhaps the most horrible thing his captors could have done to him. Putting him into this state where he was near dying of need, and then bringing Yuki here. Every fiber of Kaname's being ached for her... in a way that he knew he dared not take her, not if he truly loved her. And he did. More than life, he did.

"Yuki..." he rasped, his voice raw and broken from abuse and long disuse. "Get away, please... get away from me, Yuki..." he murmured urgently, his pained, haunted eyes holding her with a desperate pleading that she did not understand.

Yuki blinked, staring at him in incomprehension, obviously wondering what she had done wrong, how she'd managed to hurt when all she wanted to do was help. Fresh tears welled and Kaname felt helpless anguish knife through him. He didn't want to hurt her, but she had to get away from him, now, before he lost his control.

"Now, Yuki!" he snapped, making her jump.

Infuriatingly, she didn't obey; instead she rose, reaching swiftly with trembling fingers for the cuffs around his wrists, trying to figure out how to undo them, desperate to get him free, despite the watchful presence of the other two vampires.

The cuffs shocked her, painfully, when she touched them, throwing Yuki sprawling backwards on the floor, wincing and blinking in surprise.

Rido grabbed her wrists in his powerful grip and dragged her back up to her knees, shaking his head with a mocking smile. Yuki shivered a little at seeing that expression on Shiki's face.

"Now, now... little girls shouldn't touch dangerous things. And those cuffs are quite dangerous. The best quality anti-vampire restraints that money can buy... incidentally, humans can't touch them either. Only those who were bonded to the charm, like myself and Ichijo can do that," he said in a mockingly scolding voice. He pulled Yuki up until she was kneeling in front of Kaname again, holding her there. He held her shoulders, dipping his head and teasingly caressing the curve of her neck with his bared fangs. Yuki's cheeks colored and she scowled, twisting a bit in his grip.

Kaname's eyes snapped murder and he growled, for the first time completely unafraid of whatever the other would do to punish him. He would not suffer that Yuki should have to endure his uncle's loathsome touch. He glared at Rido and Rido grinned back, letting his teeth linger threateningly against Yuki's jugular vein before he withdrew his head and shifted his hold to Yuki's wrists.

"You're so hard to please, nephew," Rido scolded. "Here I bring you a tender little morsel, and you turn up your nose and push her away. So very rude of you..." Rido yanked Yuki's arms around Kaname's waist, forcing her to hug him as she knelt in front of where he was chained. Ichijo moved around behind and bound Yuki's wrists together tightly behind Kaname's back, binding her into the embrace so that neither could let go. Rido was slightly surprised that this was necessary. He'd been more than expecting Kaname to fall on the girl as soon as she'd so foolishly removed his muzzle. His nephew was literally dying of thirst, he was well aware of that. The fact that Kaname was resisting so strongly, even in his condition, was a surprise, but it also made this all the more fun. His nephew was undeniably strong of will, but he would cave eventually. Eventually he would have to drink. Eventually, he would kill the girl. Even if he could keep himself from drinking her dry, at the least he would turn her into a vampire. But they'd make sure Yuki would not be drinking Kaname's blood to stabilize her. They would not allow her any blood at all and the hunger would ravage her savagely. She would eventually go mad and die. And Kaname would have to watch it happen. Then he would have to live with what he had done to the woman he loved, and it would destroy him. Drive him insane, like Shizuka, only more so. Once his mind was unbalanced enough... then Rido would no longer need Kaname's consent to claim his body for his own. The younger vampire would be all too ready to fall into the blissfully forgetful realm of deep sleep where he could dwell for eternity, a silent prisoner in his own body as his uncle claimed the pureblood shell for his own and regained his rightful place in the world.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to play with your food, Kaname?" Rido said with dark amusement as he straightened up.

Yuki was trapped on her knees now, arms wrapped around Kaname, her neck vulnerably and temptingly presented right by his mouth. Her eyes widened slightly at the way Rido was talking about her like she was food. They had... brought her here, for Kaname to eat her? She couldn't restrain the faint, dark shiver that ran down her spine.

Blood... so much blood... You don't mind if I eat you, do you, little girl...?

The fear was old, from that time, so long ago. But it had never completely left her. Perhaps the scar of that day would remain forever across the deeper reaches of her consciousness.

Kaname saw the sparkle of fear play through Yuki's eyes and his bruised jaw set tensely. No. He would never do that to her. He couldn't. These past weeks, he had been abused unspeakably by Ichijo and Rido... it was a travesty he could not and would not repeat upon this tender, innocent child. He breathed raggedly through clenched teeth, fighting the intoxicating nearness of her presence, and focusing instead on the warmth of her arms wrapped around him. Yuki's bound hands and arms rubbed painfully against his torn back, but Kaname was already in so much agony, it hardly mattered.

"I won't hurt you, Yuki..." he whispered hoarsely, gently, squeezing his eyes shut tightly. "I promise."

Yuki's gaze caressed Kaname's face gently. Her fear had not been of him. It had been of the past, that old, old terror that still haunted her. She did not fear Kaname. Well, maybe she always had, a little, but not... not for this reason. Not because she thought he'd hurt her. On the contrary... that was one thing she'd never feared.

"Shouldn't make promises you can't keep, nephew," Rido sneered. "Don't be fooled, little girl. I don't care how much you think he cares about you. You have no idea how deeply he's starving right now... it's unbearable, isn't that right, Kaname?" Rido ran his fingernails cruelly down Kaname's lacerated back, making the captive vampire tense in pain and bite back a sharp, agonized groan.

"He'll die if he doesn't quench his thirst. Not right away, maybe not for a long time, purebloods are very strong, after all. But eventually he will fail... and he will not choose your life over his." Rido was darkly amused by the defiant glare that had sprung to life in Yuki's gaze. She wasn't frightened at all, and he thought maybe she was a little stupid. Kaname still had his eyes clenched tightly shut, as if he could deny what was right before him and pretend that none of this was happening.

Instead of struggling to pull away from Kaname as might have been expected given the circumstances, Yuki slid her arms further around him, hugging the pureblood gently and voluntarily, regardless of the ropes that held her there. She bent her head, tenderly kissing the undamaged skin on the front of Kaname's shoulder, not wanting to touch or aggravate the wounds along his neck.

"He doesn't have to," she whispered softly. "Because I choose. It's okay, Kaname..." she murmured, tipping her head to the side and resting it lightly against his shoulder, willingly presenting her neck to him, as she'd done on more than one occasion for Zero. She knew... with Kaname it was different. It represented a step she could never come back from. Yes, she even knew that he might kill her. But she doubted that. It'd always been a possibility with Zero too, and he never had. Yuki wasn't really afraid of becoming a vampire. Okay, maybe she was, but not completely. Kaname had been hurt so badly... she could tell he was starving, she knew the symptoms very well. He needed blood to survive and to heal... she would gladly give him hers, without hesitation.

Yuki closed her eyes, drawing in a slow, deep breath, her hands clasping together behind Kaname's back as she held him. "It's okay, go ahead, drink..."

A half sob caught in Kaname's chest. Yuki's offer was too incredibly precious, and he couldn't bear that it was under these circumstances. Yes, he longed to bite her, for more than just to save his life. He wanted her by his side, forever; he wanted to share with her the deepest intimacy possible, the sharing of blood between two hearts that loved each other. But that would not be this. This would be animal feeding – practically raping the woman he loved in order to sustain his own life, even if it was with her consent. And he had no illusions about what would happen to her afterwards. Rido would never let her have his blood to complete the bond and stabilize her. Kaname would be responsible for her torment and her slow, slow death.

Kaname couldn't do it. Despite what Rido seemed to think, he was not such an instinctual beast that he had no choice, no force of will that remained his own no matter what was done to him or what kind of pain he was in. If it was a choice between their two lives, Kaname could, and would, chose hers.

"No," he whispered softly into her hair, burying his face against the side of her head. "Not like this, Yuki. You do not understand. I can't do that to you."

Yuki's grip tightened earnestly and Kaname restrained a wince of pain that she thankfully didn't notice. "Kaname, it's okay, honest, I want you to... I'm not afraid..." she pleaded softly, tenderly, desperate to ease his suffering.

Kaname kept his face buried in her hair. She had no idea how hard this was for him. He needed her to just accept his decision. "I'm not Zero, dear one," he murmured softly. "I can't just drink and leave you as you were before. The change will be hideously painful and eventually deadly for you, and they will not let me help you as I would otherwise. This is a trap, they want to use you against me, you mustn't let them Yuki, please," he murmured, knowing that the last appeal was perhaps the only one that would get her to stop tempting him with that which he could not afford to take.

Yuki fell silent, but Rido bent, raking his fingernails across her neck, drawing blood and making her wince. He grinned as he saw Kaname's whole body respond to the scent, the wounded pureblood coiling like a wound spring. Cruelly, he dragged his fingers through the crimson drops, reaching forward and painting it across Kaname's dry, cracked lips.

Kaname licked the blood off automatically, ravenously, he couldn't help it. The sweet, sweet scent was driving him insane and the taste... the incredible taste... was torture. He'd made his decision. He'd not go back on it... but dear heaven... it was almost impossibly hard. His chest heaved and he pressed his face tighter into Yuki's hair, a soft, strangled sob escaping him at his own, intense inner struggle.

Rido's cruel smile was amused. This was much more fun than he'd expected. By the time Kaname finally broke... he would be easy prey. Rido bent behind Yuki, leaning forward so she was trapped between him and Kaname, and tipped her head to the side. "Well, Kaname, don't say I didn't give you first chance," he said with a small shrug as he dipped his head and sunk his fangs into her slender neck.

Yuki started and winced, biting her lower lip in surprise and pain. It was not an unfamiliar feeling, but Rido hadn't been gentle about it and she hadn't been expecting the bite.

Kaname's reaction was much more violent. There was nothing on earth that could have incited his anger more deeply than having to watch anyone hurt Yuki, especially his ill-begotten cur of an uncle. His eyes snapped open, blazing with an inferno of rage that not even the fires of hell could hope to match and the room turned icy cold, the very air seeming to swirl with a dark, stormy aura.

"Get your hands off her! I swear Rido; I will rip your heart out with my bare hands and make you eat it before you die!" Kaname snapped viciously, his own pain and fatigue momentarily eclipsed by his wrath. It was not an idle or a fanciful threat either. Kaname could and would carry it out exactly as stated if he ever got the chance.

Rido just smiled, running his tongue visibly along the side of Yuki's throat, withdrawing his fangs to let her blood spill freely, staining the pale collar of her nightshirt darkly. His eyes twinkling maliciously, he bit down again, roughly, wringing a small gasp from his victim as Yuki scrunched her eyes shut. Rido was sucking her hard and fast, much more ruthlessly than Zero ever had, even when he'd been half out of his mind. Her heart was hammering wildly in her chest, pounding against Kaname as she held onto him tightly. Everything was white and red... it was like her nightmares... she was unreasonably terrified.

Kaname went berserk at Rido's actions and at the feeling of Yuki trembling like a leaf against him. He yanked powerfully at the chains around his wrists until blood oozed down his arms from where the manacles cut into him. Above them, dust filtered down like dark, anemic snow as Kaname's struggles actually managed to slightly shift and warp the enchanted chains where they were fastened securely to the ceiling. He howled in pure, inhuman rage, the dark, piercing sound ringing through the room and penetrating even the thick stone walls of the mansion, enough to make the outer windows vibrate faintly.

Takuma, sprawled despondently on his bed, sat bolt upright at the faint, unearthly sound that seemed to shudder through the old mansion, as if the house itself had screamed in rage and pain. He couldn't tell where it came from, but the chill it sent down his spine was undeniable. It was a sound that could have been ripped straight out of hell.

The wind was howling at a lower pitch outside his window as rain pelted off the glass. Could it have possibly been the wind? Was I dozing off?

But even as he wondered... he knew the truth. That hadn't been the wind. The feeling that accompanied it was too familiar. It felt like... Kaname. His face paled. What if he hadn't just imagined Yuki's scent in the main hall earlier? Why exactly had his grandfather and Rido Kuran wanted him out of the way? Takuma was not a suspicious person by nature. Sometimes his friends told him he wasn't nearly suspicious enough for his own good. But his head was certainly filling up with questions now. And he didn't like them. Not one bit.

His heart twisted and thudded in his chest in unfounded, but undeniable apprehension as he slid to his feet and crossed over to the door. Opening it, he stepped out to find his bodyguards stationed on either side of the doorway. He was used to that by now and started to make his way down the hall, but the guards stopped him, moving to block his path rather than simply following him.

Takuma frowned. "I've had a long trip. I'm hungry and thirsty and I want to go to the kitchen and get something. Get out of my way."

"Not a safe time to be wandering about," one of the guards said simply, taking Takuma by the shoulder and steering him back towards the bedroom. "You should rest after your trip. We'll have food sent in to you right away." The tone was polite, but firm. Despite the show of serving him, it was he who was in their power and all of them knew it.

Takuma's neck muscles worked angrily, but he simply gave a clipped nod and spun on his heel. "Fine. Tell them to make sure it's something hot. It's freezing in here," he said in icy tones before slamming the door again.

Crap... what was he going to do now?

Out in the wet, darkened woods, gazing up at the faintly twinkling lights of the mansion on the hill above, Zero and Aido froze. For half a moment it seemed like the dark night had grown even darker and a chill wind rushed by them, making the rapidly falling rain drops feel like icy needles against their skin. The faint, distant sound that stirred them could have been the howl of some nocturnal creature perhaps... or maybe even the wind... only no wind, no animal and no human could sound like that. Zero wouldn't have thought anything could sound like that. It chilled his blood.

Zero looked towards Aido, his hand over his eyes to keep out the sheeting downpour. "What was that?" he whispered in low tones, just audible above the lashing of the wind and rain.

Aido was staring at the house, a dark look on his face. He appeared heedless of the relentless rain plastering his wavy blond hair to his face and neck as he turned a half haunted, half steely gaze upon Zero. The ex-human realized that it wasn't water beading on Aido's shoulders now, it was ice, forming like a thick crust, like the silent anger in his cool blue eyes. Aido had the fingers of one hand pressed against his neck, as if he felt something there, in the bite area. "You already know."

Zero's jaw set tightly. Yes, he guessed he did. He'd just been hoping that he was wrong. He didn't want to know what kind of anger or torment could wring a sound like that from a living being. Zero realized that he felt a weird tingling in the back of his mind that felt a lot like the throb he'd felt in his neck when Shizuka was near. Only this was different... Suddenly, Zero realized instinctually why Aido was holding his neck, and why the look in his eyes was so sure. Kaname must have bitten him at some point, and now he felt the other vampire there, pulsing faintly in the old, completely healed wound, even as Zero felt him curiously pulsing in his blood... for it was he who had bitten Kaname, not the other way around. The thought that this was possibly what Shizuka had felt when he was near her, was not at all welcome and he did not dwell on that.

"Kaname is here. It's a good bet Yuki is too," Aido said darkly, already reaching quickly for the radio under his sopping jacket in order to contact the others.

Zero followed suit, but even as he was pulling his out, he heard Aido cursing sharply and looked over, eyebrows raised.

"Piece of crap won't work! It's wet to hell," Aido growled in uneasy frustration, whacking the communication device's shell a couple of times to try and get a response. "I don't know if the rain's drained the battery or if the whole thing's just shorted from being wet..." he muttered, bending over to create a small area that was at least a little less wet beneath his body as he quickly pried the radio apart with his fingers, scanning the innards. Aido was more than moderately intelligent, much more, and he was quickly scanning the internal circuitry of the device, trying to see if there was a way to salvage the radio.

Zero's radio still turned on and he keyed in the correct frequency quickly, calling for someone to come in. Chairman Cross, reluctantly, had remained at the Academy to keep things as normal as possible for the oblivious Day Class students and to act as the main contact point for all the teams in the field. But Zero couldn't raise him. All he got was wailing static. A minute later, his radio too shorted out and went dead as the omnipresent moisture of the driving rain interrupted the electrical connections.

Scowling, he tossed the useless object away and grabbed Aido's arm, pulling him back upright. "Forget it, it's no good. Mine was working, but we're not getting any signal. The storm must be causing too much interference!" he raised his voice to be heard over the wind.

For a moment, the aristocrat and the ex-human's eyes met and held in the terrible realization that they had at last found what they sought... but there was no way to get the word to anyone else. It was half a day's hike from here to the nearest road. They hadn't dared take a vehicle, since they were trespassing on private property the whole way and they had needed to avoid the estate guards. They were only supposed to watch and report... but of course that plan was out the window.

So now it was up to them. That's all there was to it.
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