I apologise greatly for making you guys wait SOOO DAMN LONG! Actually, 'damn long' would be an understatement -.- I seem to always start with an apology ;-; but it's something I owe all of you guys. OTL I actually had to re-read CoH I (save the embarassing parts XD) to collect myself into the writing style hurrhurr

Notes at the end.

Chapter 26: Worlds Apart

-Zero-

"What do you mean by 'Kiryuu's not coming back?" Kaname asked, and from his voice, I could catch the hint of worry. More for his sister than my brother, I would presume. I watched as Kaname gently stroked her long, brown hair and whisper calming words by her ear.

I must say, Kaname really has a knack for these sort of... er... 'consoling' thing.

"I don't know," Yuki hiccuped, brushing away the tears trailing down her face. "I went to look for Ichiru at the boy's dormitory, but when I saw the state Zero's room was in I got worried and walked in. Only to find this," she pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from her jacket pocket.

I froze when she talked about the state of my room. It didn't exactly have the best sort of view to be looking at, even for a brief second. It wasn't a surprise that she'd be worried over it.

Speaking of my room, I had yet to strangle Kaname for what he had done.

Said brunette took the paper ball and straightened it out. He gave a quick scan of the words inside before frowning and outstretching his arm for me to take it.

Suddenly I got a nervous feeling in my gut. I know Ichiru has a pretty fickle attitude when it came to certain things, and disappearing all of a sudden happened to be one of them. Nevertheless, I took the paper, taking a deep breath in before reading the neatly pencil-scribbled note.

I'll be in town, but don't try to find me. By the way, I took your gun

PS Tell Yuki I love her

Well, no wonder Yuki was breaking down into buckets of tears. Ichiru had proclaimed his love for her, only to run off like that. It occured to me like somesort of runaway bride... er... groom. Despite the mental joke to myself, I felt my blood boil to that. How could he? That was irresponsible and downright cruel of him.

I had crushed the paper without myself knowing. It had taken a lot of will not to throw it to the ground and further abuse the note with the heel of my shoe. I glanced over at the siblings and Yuki had reduced to sniffling.

"I'm going to find him," I declared. The two brunettes looked over at me in surprise. "He's hiding somewhere in town, I'm sure of it."

"Zero, what are you going to do when you find him?" Kaname asked curiously.

"Bring him back," I replied. I intentionally left out 'and murder him', not wanting Yuki to shed further tears. Walking away, I felt a small hand making me halt in my steps, tugging at the angle of my elbow.

"I'll go with you," Yuki said.

"Are you sure?" Kaname asked, caution in his words. For a second there I wondered why Kaname has such response. Sure, Yuki had a bad sense of direction, but it isn't that bad... Oh wait. I almost forgot. Yuki had a slight phobia of being in town on her own.

Yuki gave a confident smile despite her slightly reddened eyes. "Thanks to Ichiru, I'm not afraid anymore, and I really want to find him too."

Somehow, my inner motherly self kicked in upon hearing that. Ichiru, what in the world did you do to/with Yuki in America? Note to self: gun to Ichiru's head until he spills all the beans. And I mean all.

God, when did I start acting like a mother?

"Alright, then. We'll all go together. How does that sound?" Kaname asked Yuuki with a gentle smile on his face. It seemed to melt all her worries away, because her smile grew bigger with a nod.

"Let's go together."

-Normal-

The trio traveled to town via a car, driven by Kaname himself. When the brunette had offered to drive them down, Zero was surprised. He never knew the pureblood could drive. The car was a sight to behold as well. By no means was it some flashy car (Zero was thankful for that), but the black Porsche was a very nice compliment to the someone of Kaname's status.

Just because he doesn't drive doesn't mean he can't... The hunter had thought to himself with a roll of his eyes. It's because he's a damn pureblood that he gets driven around like royalty.

Then again, he didn't think that Kaname knew he could ride a bike either, thanks to secret lessons only his teacher knew. Kaien would chop Touga-sensei into little pieces if he found out that latter had taught Zero how to ride such a dangerous vehicle.

As tempted as he was to flaunt his own skill, Zero tossed the thought to the back of his head. The task at hand was to find Ichiru, not boast around to his lover.

Lover.

The single word almost made Zero blush. Thankfully, Kaname had his eyes on the road and Yuuki, who took the passenger seat, was keeping her own gaze on the scenery outside.

Zero shifted at the back, clearing his throat as he tried to composed himself. The sound did catch Kaname's attention for a while, and was peering through the rearview mirror at the other. Zero caught his gaze and shook his head, indicating that it was nothing. The brown orbs went back to the road.

The rest of the trip went in silence and they reached town. It wasn't a huge town, but it was big enough to hide a single person. Possessing a treasured history of its own, the parts of the town still had buildings centuries old that still stood strong. Many were privately owned, but allowed to be publicly entered. Other areas had heavy constructions going on, and these places were perfect hideouts. Especially for Es.

They decided to start off from different parts of town, with Kaname dropping the two off in the central square. Zero had to make doubly sure that Yuki wasn't going to have a nervous breakdown. However, seeing her confidence the moment she had stepped out of the car, he felt at ease.

"We'll meet back here in an hour," Kaname told the other two, who nodded in agreement. He drove off after.

"You head towards the shopping arcade lanes and park. I'll take the other other," Zero suggested. It would be safer if Yuki went to a slightly busier area where other people were. After all, it's not only vampires who could be scary.

"Right, be careful, Zero," the brunette smiled and trotted off in the direction she was made to.

-Zero-

I watched Yuki's smaller silhouette disappeared in a crowd ahead before walking in the oppsite direction. Knowing Ichiru, he would've picked somewhere secluded. In the end, I depended on my gut feeling to lead my way. I ended up cutting through alleyways and dark lanes, only to end up at an abandoned church that took up a land the size of a football field. The building itself only took a small portion of the land, though. The rest was, if I recall right, a cemetery.

I recognised it, since it held quite a history. It had been a refuge during a foreign invasion; anyone who stepped through these doors were in a safe haven. Well, that was the history on the human's side, anyway. In true fact, the invasion was a mere group of ten people or so, but they were actually vampires. This church was an old hunter's quarter in secret.

Oddly enough, I felt compelled to search this place. I've never actually been in here, since I hardly came to this part of the town. As I walked through the gates, a small chill ran up my spine. It felt as if someone had pricked me with a low voltage tazer. Glancing about, all I saw were long grass and leaf-less trees. This place was definitely far from just old – I'd say a good century or two. It's surprising that the building was still erect.

My senses were starting to be tickled, but I couldn't pin-point the exact cause. It resembled an itch which couldn't be scratched, and it was starting to make me uncomfortable, if not annoyed.

I stepped before two large wooden doors, and noticed that there was meant to be a lock on the door. It looked relatively new, and the chain was broken, which meant that it had been a recent break-in. Something glinting in the corner of my eyes caught my attention and I bent down to examine it. Amongst the weeds that were growing through the stone cracks on the church porch, I found a bullet.

It had the hunter's mark on it, engraved on the side of the gold-plated object.

There wasn't even a need to guess - Ichiru was here, and maybe he still is. My instincts had led me here, and the bullet proved it. In fact, the bullet was still mildly warm, which meant he was here quite recently. And maybe, if I were to be quick enough, I would be able to find him and give him a piece of my mind.

Shoving the heavy door open, which creaked in its wake, I walked into the church without much thought. The anger towards my twin started to bubble as I strided in.

Taking a brief moment to scan my surroundings, the first thing my mind processed was the emptiness of the interior. There were no benches, making the hall look very spacious. The only form of decoration were rusted candle stands next to pillars, and they were covered in cobwebs. Right ahead of me was a stone altar with something on it. Behind it was a stained glass window that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. Being rather aged, I couldn't make out what the design was meant to be.

I approached the altar to examine the objects that had been left on it. By then, my eyes had already adjusted to the surrounding darkness, but I had to come in closer contact to see what the shadowy item was.

When I did, though, my blood turned cold. On the dusty, stone altar was my gun and a rose.

It was that very moment I heard a brisk shuffling noise, and my senses screaming in warning at the arrival of a vampire. Pushing myself forward, I rolled over the stone altar that was at the height of my hip, grabbing my gun at the same time. I heard the sound of metal clashing against stone, and by the time I had collected myself on the dirtyy wooden flooring, gun raised, I was staring into a pair of amethyst eyes that resembled mine.

"Ichiru..." I hissed out. My brother returned no greeting, save a smile on his face. He retracted his katana from where he had stuck, and I distinctely saw stone crumbling from the corner where the sword had landed. "What is wrong with you? Why are you doing this?"

Ichiru let out a small chuckle, sheathing his katana. "You're the same as always, Zero. You never listen to instructions. I told you not to try and find me, didn't I? Ah well, it's expected of you anyway, nii-san."

The way he had addressed me sent sudden chills down my spine. Then again, something wasn't right. The chill wasn't the sort to react to such a sly tongue. It was a lot darker, cynical... The kind to strike fear through flesh and bones. It felt more like-

"Well done, Ichiru-kun."

Janicelia. I should've recognised that killer aura right away.

I traced the woman's voice to the second level, right opposite of the hall where I was. I had no idea when she got here, but if she had been the moment I stepped into the church, I wouldn't have noticed her anyway. She had situated herself in a blind spot, right above the doorway.

I knew my brother had a knack for working for purebloods, but this was getting ridiculous. Of all purebloods... Her?

"What are you planning to do this time?" I growled out. Knowing her, she was definitely up to something no good. Actually, nothing good has ever came from her. I had a lot of debts to her, and right now it's a plus one to be using my brother.

"Oh, you know, doing the world a favour and getting rid of creatures with the likes of you," she replied casually, looking over the railing casually down towards me.

With the likes of me? When was the last time you looked into the mirror, you old hag.

Striking a cocky grin, which I found myself doing without knowing, I retorted back: "You're just jealous that Kaname chose a mere vampire like me than you to be his partner."

Mentally, I froze at my snark comment. Had I really said that? Never in my right mind would I have done it. There were loopholes to the statement. Why would I even think that she was jealous and... when had I ever admitted to being a vampire? And to drop the bombshell, being Kaname's...

The distraction due to my thoughts failed to notice the female pureblood move, and within the next second I had the wind knocked out of my lungs when my back slammed against something hard. Very briefly, I saw Janicelia's hand lunge for my throat and I was above to shoot her in my defense. However, her other hand move quicker, clasping my wrist and I heard an audible snap, like a twig under a shoe.

A searing pain originating from my hand caused a sharp cry to escape. My gun fell from my hand, and the excruciating pain made it impossible to move. I found myself being lifted a few inches off the floor when a small hand clasped my neck, raising my entire form off the floor against the wall.

"You impudent little fry! If it weren't for Kaname-sama, you'd be perfect for feeding my pets!" Janicelia was almost screaming from anger. This was the first time I saw her this angry. Her eyes were bloodred, boring deep into mine.

She released me, and I fell to the floor coughing from the lack of air. From the corner of my eyes, I noticed something long and thin creeping in my direction. But by the time I was truly able to figure out what they were to even react, another flurry of pain was registered when the things – vines - snapped my shoulders back to seize my wrists behind me. By then it was taking my all not to break into tears from the pain, especially from my broken wrist. It hadn't helped that the vines were serrated with thorns, cutting into my flesh as they coiled around my arms.

"Looking good, Kiryuu-kun," the woman smirked. "And now, we wait."

Wait? For what?"

"Ichiru-kun, get it prepared."

"Understood," Ichiru replied right away. I watched, dumbfounded as he turned to face the open hall. The moment he unsheathed his sword and cut through the air, the candles, which I never noticed were fresh, lit up instantly like some sort of magical performance. It was then that I could see a large symbol glinting a yellow-blue under the candle-lit room.

I swallowed, hard.

I recognised the symbol right away. It resembled the one to my neck, but it had been several differences. There were two larger circles surrounding the taming crest, with very odd writings within the border. The middle square had an additional engraving of a rose.

It had been a high level hunter taming spell. And it was a sort of make-or-break. If the vampire persisted through without being tamed, they would die instantly. So this is her diabolical plan?

"Oh, it's not for you," I heard Janicelia spoke, and I threw her a glare, slightly puzzled. She noticed my confusion, and smiled. "You're just bait – we've got a bigger fish to catch."

My blood turned cold, and my eyes widened. I swear, I had never, ever felt such fear in my life. I couldn't move, and I couldn't even breathe. All there were, was dread through my blood, pain in my heart, and one name which filled my thoughts.

Kaname.

-Normal-

The brunette jerked a little when he felt something seemingly tug in his chest. He glanced around him, wondering if it had been his senses being misleading. Nothing around him was amiss – it had been a pin-drop silence, and there was nothing in the air he could pick up, be it sound or scent.

It had been a comfortable, yet unnerving at the same time. Clutching his chest, Kaname wondered what that weird sensation was. He had never felt that before. Dismissing the oddity, he proceeded back to waiting where the trio had decided on. It was almost late, anyway. They would have to resume their search another day.

"Nii-sama!" A gentle voice called out.

Kaname looked over to greet his younger sister, who jogged over to his side while avoiding collision into other people.

"Any luck?" The female brunette shook her head. "I had little as well," Kaname said as he glanced about, looking out for a certain individual. He came to notice that Yuki had her head lowered.

Reaching over, Kaname threaded his fingers gently through her locks and it caught her attention. When she looked up, the pureblood did not miss the tears swelling at the corner of her eyes. Brushing his thumb over where a tear trail had already fallen, he managed a smile for her.

"Worry not. We will find him. That is my promise to you," Kaname said, comforting the young lady. "Kiryuu is a very independent person. He can take care of himself."

Receiving the encouragement in her brother's words, Yuki smiled and brushed away the tears from her eyes. "You're right. It's just that I'm really happy that... he loves me. But to be running off like this all of a sudden..." Tears started to form again and Kaname pulled her against him, lending her his form to lean on. He stroked the small of her back.

"Let's wait for Zero to come back, and we shall head home together."

-Yuki-

It had been a day since Zero went missing, along with Ichiru. To be honest, I didn't know who to be worried for more.

The night before, Kaname and I waited for what seemed to be the longest time. At first, we had thought that Zero had gotten himself lost in some part of the town, but it was highly impossible. Zero was a person with the most miraculous sense of direction.

An hour turned to two, and two turned to three. I started to panic.

"This is all my fault! I shouldn't have agreed to come to town. What if something happens to Zero? I would never forgive myself!" I sobbed even harder.

"Do not take it upon yourself, Yuki. This is not your fault," Kaname tried to cheer me up. But I was far from being consoled. It had only made me feel worse, because instead of being the only one, I had pulled my brother in with me into this pit of sorrow. I had caused Zero to go missing, and now Kaname had to bear the pain mirroring mine.

Every time I look at my brother, he looked twice as tired as before, and it was accumulative. He didn't slept, and neither did he eat. He wouldn't even drink. All he did was silent contemplation. He wouldn't even speak to me. The only thing I could do was wait in my own room and hope my brother would snap out of it.

"Yuki-sama," I heard, startling me a little. I glanced up to my doorway where Aido-sempai was. When our eyes met, he lowered his head apologetically. "I'm sorry to intrude. I knocked, but you didn't respond so..."

"Ah... It's ok, Aido-sempai," I waved the matter off. "Please, come in."

Aido-sempai entered my room and closed the door gently behind him. I headed over to where the couches were and invited him to sit as well.

"Can I help you with anything?"

"To be honest, I know it's none of my business... but what has happened? Kaname-sama and Yuki-sama... the both of you seem more than just under the weather."

Upon hearing him say that, the smile I wore immediately dissipated, and he noticed it. I lowered my head, staring at my fists hands that rested on my knees. Even though Aido-sempai tend to be crude sometimes, he was the sharpest at picking up changes from Kaname and I.

"Lots... of things had happened, Aido-sempai... I don't even know where to start..."

"Is it because of that blasted Kiryuu? I was guessing that he was part of this, and I'm right!" I peered up at Aido-sempai who let out a rough scoff, folding his arms and glaring to the side. "Ever since Kaname-sama had turned nice on him, stupid Kiryuu had been abusing that. It's also Kaname-sama's fault, for being so soft-hearted..."

The emotion that adorned Aido-sempai's face wasn't scornful at all, despite whatever he had just said. In fact, he was looking very sad, and I recognised that expression, much too well.

"Aido-sempai really loves nii-sama, ne?" I concluded. The blond's response to my statement was a big giveaway, with the blushing and stammering.

"Wh-what?! No! I just-" He let out a loud sigh, burying his face into his hands from embarrassment. It was a moment later that he decided to speak again. "I guess... I hated that Kiryuu could bring out the side of Kaname-sama that none of us could... That I would never in my right mind be capable of doing. All I ever seem to do was to make Kaname-sama angry. Kiryuu would, too, but it always held a different atmosphere. It was... clear that something held them together in the end."

So Aido-sempai knew the secret between my two cherished boys. If that was the case, he ought to know what was going to happen.

"Aido-sempai, nii-sama and my engagement will be called off."

Right away, the other stood on his two feet, brows knitted tightly. He said nothing, though, merely staring down at where I sat as my eyes met his.

"As nii-sama had fallen for Zero, I had fallen for Ichiru as well. That's why we all agreed on calling it."

"This is insane..." Aido-sempai fell back on the couch carelessly, head thrown back so far that it hung off the back rest of the couch. It was comical to watch him most of the time, save occassions when he was tutoring me.

I smiled to no one in particular. "It is, isn't it? But I couldn't help it... The more I knew Ichiru, the more I found drawn to him. He had quite a number of nasty habits and thinking, but when I understood what had made him this way, I just felt compelled to be near him. To try and embrace all his negativity and fears, and slowly teach him what would've been better."

Rubbing the back of my neck at the awkwardness of how I had been spilling all my thoughts, and gave a nervous laughter. "It's odd, isn't it. I'm the one who needs to be taught so much more, but here I am trying to be Ichiru's pillar of support."

The person opposite me sat upright in proper composure, and he stared at me for a good minute before speaking. "...Yuki-sama, you seem so mature now..." Aido-sempai's voice was low, cautious of sounding offensive.

"Do I?" I asked innocently, with a wide smile. I found myself finding it to be a great compliment, since Aido-sempai would usually call me a 'silly brat'. "It might be Ichiru's fault, then. You know, I always get teased by him, it's infuriating! Oh, but they say people tend to bully you if they love you."

"...That's true..." Aido-sempai trailed off, taking to staring at the corner of the table.

"Come to think of it, Aido-sempai always gets bullied by Wild-sempai," I randomly commented and it had the blond coughing. The redness in his face couldn't be missed, and I was giggling to myself.

"N-not Akatsuki!" He was trying hard to deny, but it was no secret that the cousins were overly friendly with each other. Wild-sempai was always there for Aido-sempai, and I think it's only the latter who was blind to Wild-sempai's feelings.

Clearing his throat loudly, Aido-sempai dismissed the topic and started a fresh one. "Back to my reason for being here... Could there be something bothering Kaname-sama and Yuki-sama greatly?"

Unable to keep the smile on my face any longer, I went ahead and told Aido-sempai what had happened. About Ichiru going missing first, followed by Zero.

"I wonder..." He started, after getting himself into a comfortable position. He sat cross legged, which seemed to be a habit when he had to think very hard or in-depth. "If it had something to do with Janicelia-sama..."

"Janice-chan? What about her?" I questioned, puzzled to why she would be in the picture. A dark frown on Aido-sempai's face alone was enough to warn myself that there was something more than meets the eyes. What I hadn't prepared myself was listening from him the happening at the Blood Moon Festival.

Words could not describe how devastated I was. I had always taken her for a friend. No, she is a friend. Though our meeting was short, we came to became close very easily. We got along so well that none would've ever thought that we were mere acquaintances. Had she really been only using me?

That would've also explained the happening when I had first brought her to meet Kaname and Zero. Without knowing what had happened, I had simply presented her to them. I thought they would accept her as a good friend, but now that I knew the whole truth...

It was my turn to bury my face in my hands. I felt horrible. I never realised how much I had been hurting those dearest to me.

"Yuki-sama, allow me to help you in your search for the twins," I heard all of a sudden. Those words were sincere, and I blinked at the abrupt request. Aido-sempai was already on a knee, head lowered with the outmost respect.

"I had asked nii-sama to get obtain some help, but he insisted that he would do it on his own, so as to not trouble anyone else..."

"Then I shall personally obtain his permission." That was all Aido-sempai said before leaving my room. Part of me said that I ought to stop him, because as Kaname has said, it wasn't something other people's concern to bear. Yet, I really wanted to accept Aido-sempai's help.

My fingers interlocked, and I realised that they were trembling. I closed my eyes and placed my hands under my chin in silent prayer.

Zero, Ichiru, where are you? Please, please be alright...

I am a failure orz I couldn't get back into the old writing style -sobs- I hope you pardon me for that. It seems like the story is taking a slightly serious(er) turn. to be honest, I can't believe I'm updating -laughs- I know, I ought to be shot, skewered, and barbequed for putting it for o-so-long. 2 YEARS. Holy shit. I can't believe I hiatus-ed it for so long. I bet most of you aren't really even reading any more -sweats-. Oh well. But a promise is a promise, and I am one step closer to fulfilling it! I'm very, very happy to have any and every support you guys offer. In fact, it's those random reviews that pop up in my mailbox that sorta gave me a kick in the bum and tell me to get this going.

Anywho, I hope you like where this story is heading. Hopefully, I don't turn this into a violent fic. Hopefully.

Kurobasu addict :D

Speaking of mature, because of my old writing style it kinda makes everyone seem mature lols. Zero had lost most of his 'i will keel you' haha

Thank you so much for reading ;-;