AN: First of all – for those who rather wanted me continuing with my "From This Day Forward" fic – blame my fickle muse. The fact was that I was so very inspired by the mature image of Kain in the last manga chapter, and by extreme (if sadly separate) hotness of both Yagari and Cross in it – I was sort of oscillating between the next chapter for FTDF or the Kain-centered chapter for "Solitaire" (which will be the next one now), and my muse just used this moment of indecision to make me write Zero instead. But the good news is that I have a short vacation right now – so – hopefully you wouldn't need wait for long before I update.

That said – there is a non-canon moment in this chapter that was already mentioned before, but so that you do not forget: in my version of the events Rido did claim Kaname's body through the blood he had given him during the "awakening", and it was Zero – with the help of the Bloody Rose and its anti-vampire vines that had vanquished him finally. So – here we have Zero's POV on the same event.

Also (it is rather a long author's note this time) many thanks for everyone who reviewed "From This Day Forward" and "Picture Perfect" in these last extremely busy days before my vacations. I will update the "review answers" thread for PP and organize a new one for FTDF today or latest tomorrow – so please, check my profile to find the answers for your wonderful reviews. The same goes for everyone whose stories I've promised to review (all too many times already) - in the next two days - I swear!

And - thanks again to YenGirl! What would I've done without you dear?... And – the disclaimers still stand… And here we go finally…

Zero awoke feeling like bloody shit... Come to that – the "shit" part of it wasn't exactly surprising. The remembered pain of his body being virtually torn apart by a ruthless force didn't bode for an awakening full of the sense of well-being... Actually – at that moment he hadn't thought he would come to at all... He had thought he would just – die...

...and the fact that I haven't leads directly to "bloody" part...

He could feel a tingling sensation of powerful blood coursing through his veins, mending the many places in which he still hurt so badly, soothing and invigorating at once, and as one part of him gratefully accepted the lessening of the pain – the other cringed in angry disgust at the fact that once again the decision of living or dying was willfully stolen from him by the arrogant purebloods.

Who was it now?.. Yuuki?.. or Kuran?.. or did they take turns?..

Couldn't they at least let him die peacefully? Didn't they know it would have made everything so very much easier – for themselves? Didn't they know that he would still hate them... still hunt them... till there is no breath in his body?

And he fully intended to do it too... or at least a part of him did...

When he jumped to that roof, led unerringly by the only smell that mattered to him in the world – he fully intended to kill her... to kill Yuuki... no, to kill that monster that had devoured his Yuuki – in her own words... only that could possibly quench the pain that engulfed him whole – the bitter betrayal – not by Yuuki as such, but by the world in general – bent on ripping every reason for living, every single thing he held dear, leaving him to suffer naked and writhing – a fitting fate for the monster he was... To kill her... and then to kill Kuran... and then live just long enough to kill every pureblood that tainted this world... and then at last he would be able to rest... would be able to die...

His resolution burned bright in his mind now – as did the pain of his last, supposedly dying moments, but the events in between blurred in the undecipherable tumult of motion and sound refusing to come into focus... something deterred him... there was someone else on that roof...

Yes… Rido…

…that other pureblood… no, that other hated Kuran that Kaname had cautioned him about… that Kaname had asked him to protect Yuuki from… but protection was far from his mind then – instead he was filled with cold seething rage of a hunter…

…or was it a beast in him?…

…that was being robbed of his prey?.. Yuuki was his!.. Even if all he meant was to kill her… She was his!.. And if the damned pureblood dared to come near her – so much bad luck!.. And the crumbling walls of the Moon Dorm shook and fell at the strength of his and the Bloody Rose's anger unleashed…

And then – as Rido was no more… (or so he thought at the moment…) and there was no one between Yuuki and him…

…he couldn't do it… it could be but a minute-long weakness… but he couldn't do it!.. not when she stood so quietly and openly before him… making no move to protect herself… his mind clinging to the memories of the times she was kind to him, clinging to similarities to the Yuuki that he remembered…

…the understanding in her eyes was my undoing…

…where he should have clung to the differences… and the Bloody Rose writhed with frustration, its wines curling viciously around his arm…

…and then Kuran was there… Kaname… (he hated that necessity to resort to first names – if only to distinguish him from Rido before) stepping out of nowhere right into his shooting line… shielding Yuuki with his own body… so taut with anger now… so very much not the cool and manipulating bastard that Zero had known him for…

"How dare you aim this gun at her?"

…yet there was an infinite sadness in the soft brown eyes - mixed with anger… as if the prospect of killing Zero was not a thing that he relished… just a thing that was necessary at the moment, whether he liked it or not… it was so strange to witness Kuran fighting an inner battle over such an insignificant thing as an ex-human's life… Zero would've never…

…but even as Zero adjusted his aim for a closer range and a different height of his target… there was this odd sense of closeness… of deja-vu that he felt… as if their roles were reversible in this moment… he could understand this urge to shield Yuuki… ah! all too good… he could understand this urge to tear apart whatever or whoever threatened her… It was… ridiculous!.. this sense of being one with Kuran…

…two monsters fighting over a girl that was a monster herself…

…and once again it took but a moment's hesitation, a moment's delay – on both their parts – for another unwelcome arrival – as he saw a slow change, almost a torturous ripple run up Kuran's… Kaname's… body – from toes to head, his right eye flickering between brown and blue and brown again, the words hissing between the tightly pressed teeth…

"It's as I… feared… he's claiming… my body now… Ze…ro… you've promised…"

… and then the eye was blue and he saw that by now familiar smirk curl Kaname's lips, that familiar snide tone permeating the very next words that the same lips uttered…

"Did you think I kill so easily, hunter? Now, let's check what that nephew of mine has in store? Ah, the novelty of experience! I'm thrilled! And you?"

His arm started to lift, and the crimson light of the power lit up the eyes – making Zero tense before the blow, his own finger curling around the trigger and the Bloody Rose's vines flaring around the muzzle as a nest-full of snakes…

…and yet there came a flicker of tortured brown behind the blue and the crimson, and a strangled whisper of "Do… it!.." that Zero knew was not Rido, but someone else – fighting a losing battle for the moment of control long enough to say but two words… and he could understand it too – this urge to die if it was the only way to ensure the safety of the person you care for…

He didn't know whether the shot was instinctive or whether Kuran had managed to give him a mental push just before he was wholly smothered by Rido's presence, but even as Zero's finger squeezed and the vines flew forward with murderous speed – it was he, Zero, who cried out "No" and willed them back… willed them back with everything good that was left in the monster he felt he was turning into… because there was Kaname somewhere there inside… and he couldn't kill Kaname… he didn't want to kill Kaname now…

…damned pureblood…

…not at the moment when he understood him so good…

…and then the earth erupted under his feet, terrible force reaping through him, throwing him as a part of debris, bleeding and torn, his consciousness abandoning him too quickly – before he knew whether the vines had retracted in time…

The recollections when they unfolded in full left him shaken and sad… Even if he wanted to – he hadn't the strength to feel the rage any more… besides… he and his plans… an epic failure as usual… He couldn't kill Yuuki, and now it seemed he couldn't kill Kuran… Kaname… either… (Unless he already killed Kuran – and he didn't like the way his chest compressed with painful sorrow at this thought)… He could of course kill himself and end this worthless existence that seemed nothing but bothersome for himself and plain dangerous for the others… In fact – he would have preferred if he had died – back in the rubble of the Moon Dorm…

…Only he was alive, and the fact was becoming painfully obvious by the moment, as his body awakened to every little (and some pretty serious) discomfort that his current state entailed. His eyes opened, but with his vision still partially hazed from the concussion he couldn't make out the outlines of a small darkened room clear enough to get his bearings, and the fact that he was flat on his back (and something advised him to not try and change this position immediately) gave him a limited view of the ceiling and upper part of the walls at best that wasn't overly helpful either.

"Where… am I?" He asked - partly hoping, partly fearful that someone was in this room besides himself – instantly aware of how parched his mouth felt, thirsty (not for blood – the coppery aftertaste of that was strong on his dry palate - but for simple water), he was so thirsty…

"The infirmary," someone said in an unfamiliar voice, and by craning his neck despite the pain he could just distinguish a long-limbed figure sitting relaxed in the farthermost corner by the door, "this little chamber off it they reserved for those, whose disease is suspected to be infectious."

"Ah… the quarantine…" He really wanted to ask whoever it was for water but the unfamiliarity of the voice unfazed him… he rather thought that it would be… who? Yuuki?.. well, at least someone whom he would know… "Have I been… unconscious… for long?" He asked instead, understanding suddenly that he had absolutely no idea of what had happened in the Academy in general – he could sense a lot of unknown vampires converging into the premises before – but had been too preoccupied with his plans and then the battle to really care.

"Around twenty-two hours."

The vampiress (as was pretty obvious by her somewhat bedraggled but still mostly white uniform) moved closer to the bed, and his initial shock from learning that he was actually out of it for almost a whole day, gave way to the newer shock – at the realization that he really knew this person – he just never in all these years had heard her talk.

"Sei…ren…" he whispered, his dry tongue catching on the consonants of her name, the sheer disbelief all too obvious and mixed with suspicion. Seiren? Holding a bed-side watch over him? Not on his life! Unless… "Was it Kuran who told you to guard me?"

An angry snort showed just what the vampiress thought about such a perspective, as she unceremoniously lifted his head with one hand and almost pushed a cup with water into his lips with another.

"Don't overextend your hopes, Kiryuu… But," she felt compelled to explain her reasons for being here after all, "the last orders that Kaname-sama gave me concerned staying close to Yuuki-sama at all times… and she won't leave your side…"

"Yuu…ki?" The question turned into moan as Seiren released his head letting it fall to the pillow with a painful jerk. Now though - with his head tilted like that - he was able to see the one that he was asking about – lying limply sprawled and pale on the other bed – a worry for her overriding any bodily discomfort he was currently feeling.

"Yuu…ki," he queried urgently, valiantly trying to lift himself to a semi-sitting position, so that he could see her better, his efforts feeble and unsuccessful until the vampiress decided to take pity on him and dragged him higher, pushing the pillows farther under his back. But even the bitter remorse at being handled like this couldn't last in the face of his prime and only concern. "Is she?.. Was she hurt too?.."

"Not in the battle," Seiren didn't even make an effort to hide the contempt heavily permeating her words. "She just gave almost all of her blood for you… And she willed us not to interrupt her, because she knew that we would have… As it was we couldn't act until she weakened too much and couldn't hold us out anymore…"

Zero closed his eyes, mortified by the import of what he just heard. Yuuki… gave all her blood for him?.. For the very person who swore that he hated her?.. who threatened to kill her?.. And his conscience supplied unhelpfully that it was something that didn't even sound like such a surprize – however he tried to push her away - his Yuuki had never hesitated to do just such a foolish sacrificial thing…

But what of Kuran?.. Why hadn't he stopped her?.. The probable answer burned with painful clarity in his mind…

…because you killed him… that's why…

…yet he found himself unable to ask – and have the horror confirmed… So he asked another question instead that was more pressing and almost as scary…

"She… will she be alright?"

A fleeting expression almost akin to compassion flickered for barest second within the cold steel eyes, directed, Zero was sure, not at him – but at the girl in the other bed.

"Yes… she should be… though it took a ton of blood tablets we couldn't really spare, and the blood of a few of us, who barely could spare it either… but now all she needs is just plenty of rest... And so do you…" she stretched her hand suddenly pressing the palm firmly to his forehead, and he felt the faint warmth enter his mind making his eyelids droop sleepily.

"No!" He jerked out of her touch, though his neck and back violently protested the abrupt movement.

"Don't be a child, Kiryuu…" Hissed the vampiress disparagingly, "you need rest! Yuuki-sama almost gave her life to save yours, and I won't see her efforts go a-waste!"

"No, damn it!" He felt his own temper flare accordingly, as his guilt and frustration sought for release "I'm not refusing! Just show a bit of patience and tell me what happened after I… passed out… that's all!"

"Ah… yeah…" The vampires relented. "You've missed quite a lot, haven't you?" She perched on the edge of his bed, and her brow furrowed in an attempt to present as concise account as could be and end it at that. "Well… there was quite a number of level D's and E's brought by Rido… sama…"

Zero smirked a bit – his mood lifting a notch from the sub-zero depths to which it had fallen - it was so inbred in the nobles, this regard for the purebloods - that she couldn't drop the respective "sama" even though it positively reeked with resentment when attached to the older Kuran's name.

"…and the Council of Elders and the Hunters' Association as well… but the Day Class is safe - though for a moment there it was touch and go… before your teacher and some other hunters arrived… never thought I would be grateful to the hunters…" she shook her head as if the very thought was incomprehensible, before admitting, "We were outnumbered too much…"

"My teacher… Yagari-sensei… is he alright?" Zero strived to clarify before she continued and was surprised to see an almost fond expression and a twinkle appear for a moment in Kaname's body-guard's eyes.

"Your teacher, Kiryuu, is something… if he weren't alright, I don't know who would… well, I… maybe. But I'll concede it's a draw…"

Ow… shit… coming from her it was almost a declaration of affection, wasn't it? An admission of equality – for sure… And some wicked part of Zero stored it for further usage for when (and if) he needed to taunt his sensei a little. He chose not to pursue the subject further with the vampiress though - being somewhat fearful that in her wrath Seiren just could overdo the "sleep well" spell that she intended to use on him into a "rest in peace".

In fact she was pretty much losing the patience with him as it was.

"One more question, Kiryuu, and I'm sending you off to sweet oblivion… Don't glare at me," she added angrily. "If you could see yourself now, you'd be surprised that I have given you so long."

Zero contemplated his options – he wanted to learn about the Chairman too, but he was uneasily aware that Seiren more likely than not resort to promises unless she meant to follow on them - explicitly, and there was one question that he had avoided for long enough, something he wouldn't sleep until he finally knew… God, but it needed some courage to voice it though…

"Kana…" he started but quickly corrected himself, "Kuran?.. Did he…" Survive was what he wanted to add but the word lodged like a clot in his throat and wouldn't bulge. His eyes were firmly glued to the stoic vampiress face and a frown of surprised incomprehension passing over it sent the tingling sense of near relief throughout his body.

"Kaname-sama?.. Not that it is any business of yours, but he left right after he brought you here…"

It was Kaname who brought me?

But that meant that he was alive… that Zero didn't kill him after all… yet even as a cool hand pressed over his forehead again and he started to slip into the welcome drowsiness, another thought struck him – a horrible possibility that refused to be left unexplored.

"Was he… himself?" His words were slurring sleepily and the whole concept of possession was too complicated to make sense for those who hadn't witnessed it, even if he were able to explain…

The blurry spot that was Seiren's face drew nearer, her voice sounding quizzical, almost amused – she probably thought he was just mumbling senselessly on the verge of sleep.

"Himself… what do you mean by that?"

"Rido…" He whispered, as if the name alone could suffice. He was so… so very tired now…

But surprisingly the vampiress had caught his meaning perfectly, because her voice sounded almost tender as the spell she worked sent him further into oblivion.

"Ah… that… we would've sensed it, you know?.. Don't worry, Kiryuu, he was undoubtedly himself…"

And then the sleep finally claimed him… a bittersweet dream… where he saw Yuuki (her former self) chirping something happily at the head of the table… and the Chairman and his sensei quietly discussing something by the window… and himself and Ichiru sat to both sides of Yuuki over their bowls of tomato soup… yet even there, in the dream, he knew it was but a dream, something that "never could be"… and still clung to it stubbornly…

Only – each time he concentrated on eating his soup – he knew without doubt that it was Ichiru there, sitting across from him… but each time that he looked at his brother's face it blurred - merging into the one of the brown-haired vampire…

And he could so kill Kuran for spoiling his dream… he could so… so… kill him for that…