A/N: Uh…So, yeah. Hello, for starters. I'm really sorry for disappearing on you guys. I'm an ass, I know, but before you start affirming my words, please do keep in mind that so far this year has been extremely stressful and, overall, pretty crappy RL-wise, and now I have to find myself a new job, which only adds to the stress. Plus my grandma is dying of fucking cancer and there's a big fat nothing that can be done about it, which seriously makes me doubt the fairness of this world, because how can it not, when sweet and kind and goodpeople like her have to die while some disgusting, vile, cruel, all-round abominable and downright unworthy scumbags get to not just keep on living, but fucking thrive and make other people's lives miserable for no good reason while fucking enjoying every goddamn second of it. So, yeah, even if you hate me for being gone for so long, try to get over it on your own, because I've honestly run out of energy to care. I do apologize, and I'm sincere in it, but that's it.

On a more positive note, the new chapter is finally — goddamn finally — ready. I always knew I would finish it, so no worries there, I just didn't know when. Either way, it's here, and I'm happy about it, at least.

As always, thank you for all the favs and alerts, and for your wonderful reviews. I still haven't read most of them, but I'm slowly getting there.

Warnings and disclaimer still stand. All mistakes are mine.

Would be happy to hear from you at the end of this.

Please enjoy!

Chapter 43: Finished Seal

"I've been working on something for some time now," Ichiru said absently without averting his attention from the book he had been reading and occasionally scribbling notes on for the last half an hour or so of companionable silence.

Zero turned his head from the window to look at his twin. "What?"

"A spell."

"Spell?" Zero echoed, mildly intrigued, his head tilted slightly to the side in involuntary curiosity.

Ichiru hummed distractedly in acknowledgement while scribbling down something else. Zero couldn't help following the quick movements of his pen with his eyes, and the corners of his mouth lifted in a small, fond smile.

It had always been Ichiru's bad habit; writing in pretty much every spell book that fell into his hands, and unfailingly doing it with a pen instead of a pencil. Nonchalantly leaving his permanent mark on the pages, claiming those books as his own. Their parents had tried persuading him into quitting it, but obviously hadn't succeeded.

A quiet snort escaped Zero at the sudden memory this subtle display of his twin's everlasting impudent stubbornness evoked. It was one of Kaito, back when he had been a teenager, rash and angry — angrier than now, anyway — and downright insufferable, portraying his self-chosen bullying asshole persona to a tee. Ichiru had taken his hunter charms book, having mistaken it for their own — or so Ichiru had claimed, but Zero had known better, especially considering the fact that Kaito had been acting like a particularly nasty bastard that day. During their training, Ichiru couldn't do the physical part, so he had passed the time observing and studying theory, which had been most common for him back then. Naturally, by the end of the day Kaito's book had Ichiru's writing all over its pages, and being the immature prick Kaito had been, he had very predictably and openly lost his cool that he had always strived to keep around older hunters — especially Yagari and their parents — and ended up embarrassing himself in front of one of his greatest idols with the brief yet no less mortifyingly childish tantrum he couldn't help throwing.

In other words, the poor bastard had totally played into Ichiru's hands, and that realization, which had dawned on him later on, had only worsened the blow to his sensitive — not to mention already bruised by then — young ego. He had managed to collect himself in the end, and he had done it relatively quickly, but the damage had still been done, and Kaito's image of so-called 'cool maturity' had been thoroughly ruined.

It had been one of the very few times in their childhood when Ichiru had figuratively wiped the floor with Kaito, and the fact that he had done it while flawlessly maintaining a facade of complete and utter confused innocence and sincere regret had made the whole ordeal even more hilarious than it already had been.

Ichiru lifted his gaze to Zero with a raised eyebrow, undoubtedly curious about the reason for his counterpart's quiet amusement.

Zero shook his head and waved his hand in a silent dismissal of the unvoiced question. Ichiru accepted it with an easy shrug, then returned his attention to his book and continued their initial conversation, replying, "A severing one."

Zero's body followed his head, turning to face Ichiru. "What does it sever?"

"It's meant to sever the connection between the turned vampire and their master."

"'Meant to'…" Zero echoed, not missing the wording Ichiru had chosen to use. "So it might not?"

Ichiru shrugged. "I haven't had the opportunity to try it yet," he explained.

"So now I'm your guinea pig?"

"Of course you are," Ichiru replied simply, as though stating the most obvious thing in the world. "Who else?"

"Oh, I don't know," Zero crossed his arms over his chest with a shrug of his own, feigning seriousness. "Someone who is not your only brother?"

"No one else meets the required criteria."

Zero arched a sardonic eyebrow. "Which is what, exactly?"

"You know." Ichiru shrugged, gesturing vaguely toward his twin.

"I don't, actually. Why don't you enlighten me?"

"Well, a turned vampire, for starters."

Zero gave a small nod. "For starters."

"With a living master."

Zero ignored a momentary stab of sadness — and a mild flash of phantom pain — at the image of Yuuki that the words evoked in his mind and forced himself to concentrate on the conversation. "Right."

"Someone strong enough to endure the possible effects."

Zero hummed.

Ichiru's expression started to change, and Zero's eyes immediately narrowed. Involuntarily, he tensed, as though bracing himself for what he instinctively knew was to come.

"Someonewho would readily and very enthusiastically agree to it."

Yes, there it was. That expression, that look; that sneaky puppy-dog-eyed look that they both knew Zero couldn't for the life of him resist. Damn him and his 'softy big bro persona', as Kaito loved to call it.

Still, he tried to fight the immediate urge to cave in. "And why would that very enthusiastic someone do it?"

Ichiru could see right through him, however, and he could call his bluff. Always. Which Zero supposed naturally came with having not just a brother, but a twin at that. He just knew all the tricks. And Zero knew he knew. And he could tell them for what they were, but still ended up willingly falling for them over and over again. Granted, there was always the option of turning the tables on Ichiru in the very same manner, but he didn't exert it very often. And not for the first time, he wondered; why didn't he? Oh, right. The 'softy big bro persona'. Damn Kaito and his spiteful honesty and overall lack of filter.

The corners of Ichiru's mouth quirked up ever so slightly for a second into a tiny smirk. It was a brief, momentary slip that Ichiru wasn't at all worried about.

"Because that someone is my wonderful big brother who loves me too much to refuse." Ichiru blinked rapidly several times, apparently attempting to bat his eyelashes at him to make his pleading face look even more…well, pleading. And succeeding. As always.

Dammit.

Zero sighed. He had tried, like he did most times. Valiantly.

"Right?" Ichiru pressed, relentless as ever.

…Valiantly and futilely, apparently.

Zero breathed another sigh, one of definite resignation. Resignation that didn't falter even as he could see Ichiru fighting — rather half-heartedly, in Zero's opinion — the return of his smirk.

"Fine," he finally answered, conceding.

And Ichiru's smirk was back in what probably was a record time. His shamelessly sneaky little brother didn't even have the decency to wait a little and pretend like the result wasn't painfully predictable and Zero hadn't proven himself to be a complete and total 'softy'—God, he was beginning to hate the word. And the fact that it brought Kaito's impossibly smug, self-satisfied face to his mind's eye pretty much every time he heard or thought of it hardly helped its case.

Zero sighed again, shaking his head. "You're such a fraud."

"That I am," Ichiru admitted with a nod, almost proudly.

Of course he would take that as a compliment. Zero wasn't even surprised. It was Ichiru. "Can't you at least pretend to feel slightly contrite over being justifiably chastened?"

The look Ichiru gave him made Zero feel stupid for asking. But what else was new? "Why bother when it's insincere?"

"I don't know, general modesty?"

Ichiru scoffed, and that was enough of an answer.

Zero's lips quirked into a sardonic, lopsided smile. "What, too below you?"

"Can't say it isn't."

Zero rolled his eyes, then shook his head, not bothering to hide his amusement. "Alright," he said, uncrossing his arms and making his way to where Ichiru was seated with his books and notes, "what do I have to do?"

Ichiru smirked, triumphant. "That's more like it."

Idly, Zero wondered if there would ever come a day where he would be able to actually not willingly give in to his shameless little manipulator of a brother.

"Come sit here and try not to move too much."

Suppressing a resigned sigh, Zero did as told.

-o-

"I want you to keep it," Kaname said, handing a beautifully carved box to Cross. "For Zero-kun."

Cross accepted the box, its weight familiar in his hands, and carefully lifted the lid, already knowing what he would find inside. Sure enough, his eyes fell on the elegantly sleek lines of the ever beautiful form of the Bloody Rose. He sighed, looking up at Kaname. "Are you sure about this, Kaname-kun? It belongs in your family."

"Not anymore," Kaname denied evenly. "And it hasn't for a long time. I want Zero-kun to have it. Permanently."

Cross's eyes widened in surprise that was quickly followed by understanding. "I see," he replied, smiling warmly, and pulled the lid of the box closed, his palm sliding over the surface in an absent caress. "Alright, then. I'll be sure to give this to him." But then his smile turned sad and he added, "That is, if he actually comes here and agrees to talk to me at all."

"He will come," Kaname said with absolute certainty, for Cross's sake as much as his own. "You should know that." It was Zero they were talking about, after all.

Cross let the words wash over him, accepting them with quiet gratitude, comforted and precariously optimistic once more. "I hope you're right," he replied, nodding. "I miss him. I miss them both. Yuuki-chan, too…"

Kaname stayed silent.

"How is she doing?" Cross predictably asked after a short while.

"I hear she is adjusting well enough," Kaname replied, averting his gaze outside the window. "Although her studies seem to be giving her quite a grief."

Cross couldn't help chuckling at that. "Some things never change, I see," he said, shaking his head good-naturedly with a fond smile on his face, his eyes turning nostalgic for a few moments of reminiscence before clearing anew as he refocused his attention on Kaname and continued, "And the boys? Any new information on their whereabouts on your end?"

Kaname lowered his gaze with a quiet sigh of disappointment. "Nothing concrete yet, I'm afraid. But there seem to be a few promising leads. I'm having Seiren follow up on them with her contacts."

"I see…"

"What about you?" Kaname asked, on the odd chance that either Yagari or Kaito managed to find out something Seiren hadn't.

"There is still nothing on Touga-kun's end. And Kaito-kun…" Cross trailed off, sighing before resuming after a short pause, "He hasn't been particularly diligent with his reports, so…"

Kaname pressed his lips together at the information. "That is...inconvenient." He wasn't sure that was exactly the right word, but he supposed it would have to do.

Cross gave a crooked, rueful smile. "Not unexpected, though."

Kaname couldn't help huffing a quiet breath at that, this one on the side of annoyance. "That may be so, but I still would appreciate it if he were more forthcoming with us, his personal opinions on the situation aside."

"While I do share the sentiment, it is personal to him, Kaname-kun. We must understand and respect that."

Kaname's only response was a sigh followed by a nod of evidently reluctant assent.

There was a long moment of silence, during which the mood seemed to morph into something softer, lighter; something warm with a sense of nostalgia. Cross's expression changed accordingly, his gaze growing distant with reminiscence. Then, out of the blue-

"Do you remember the night I first brought them here?"

Kaname blinked, eyes a fraction wider, honestly caught off guard by the question. It took him a second longer than usual to compose himself before answering.

"Of course I do." How could he not? He could recall it as clearly as though it had happened yesterday — or only a few hours prior, for that matter. Ichiru, unconscious and bloodied in Cross's arms; and Zero, standing next to them unresponsive with eyes unseeing, his small hand clutched in Cross's much larger one. Kaname remembered being alerted by their presence, remembered seeing them as a threat, as a danger to Yuuki, remembered worrying so terribly about her, remembered demanding that Cross gave them up not long after.

He remembered it all with unsurprising — for his kind anyway — clarity, even though now it seemed surreal to believe he had once felt the way he had and had actually voiced the opinions he had had back then like that.

He had been partially right, though; they had become a threat somewhere along the way, just not the one he had initially thought them to become. But even so, Kaname wouldn't wish to undo the events of that night — he would never wish to undo their encounter.

With a small sigh and a slight quirk of one corner of his mouth, Kaname added, "I also remember insisting you send them away."

"And I refused."

Kaname nodded. "You did."

"Despite your strong disagreement."

Another nod. "Despite it."

Cross's lips pulled into a small, somewhat mischievous grin as he asked next, "What about now?"

Kaname blinked, then inclined his head slightly to the side as he regarded the man before him, unsure where the question had come from and whether it even needed his answer. He would think it was obvious.

Still, he replied.

"I wouldn't change a thing."

-o-

"This is…?" Yuuki trailed off, blinking down at the envelope in her hands uncertainly.

"An invitation," Takuma supplied with an easy smile. "To a ball hosted by Isaya-sama."

Yuuki looked up, frowning inquiringly. "Isaya-sama?"

"Shoutou Isaya. The head of the Shoutou family." Takuma tilted his head in question. "Haven't you covered it in your studies with Aidou yet?"

"Oh," Yuuki blinked, eyes widening in realization, then nodded, "Right, he told me about them." A small frown creased her brow as she asked next, "But wasn't he asleep?"

"He was," Takuma confirmed with a nod. "And now he is awake and preparing to host a ball to celebrate his return. Everyone will be there."

"Everyone?"

Another nod. "Everyone."

Yuuki's eyes brightened, hopeful. "Nii-sama too?"

Takuma couldn't help feeling a pang if pity for the girl every time he was shown such an expression. His gaze softened, smile grew sympathetic. He turned away, shifting his attention back to the documents he had been originally checking, hardly registering the words in them, but using them as a convenient excuse not to meet those eyes as he nodded and replied, "As far as I know."

For a moment, Yuuki was ecstatic, but then her demeanor turned nervous. "And…" she trailed off, pressing her lips together.

"Hm?" Takuma hummed, but received no answer. Prompted by the stretched silence, he turned to fully face Yuuki, his head tilting slightly sideways in an unvoiced question.

Yuuki hesitated a moment longer, unconsciously kneading her hands together, before taking a deep breath and speaking, "And Zero and Ichiru? Will they be there?"

Takuma's eyes widened at the question. His mouth formed a silent 'Oh' as he took Yuuki in anew, finally noticing the nervousness in her demeanor.

"I don't know," he answered honestly after a long moment of deliberation. "There is no way of telling, considering…" he trailed off, looking for a better wording, only to end up settling for an unimpressive, "Uh, considering the situation."

Yuuki's gaze lowered, shoulders sagged — whether from relief or disappointment, Takuma didn't know. Maybe from both. Maybe from something else entirely.

"I see…" Yuuki said softly, trailing off, then nodded. "Yeah," she added, "Yeah. Of course."

"Sorry, Yuuki-chan," Takuma offered apologetically.

"Ah, no," Yuuki looked up and shook her head, hands up in a placating gesture and a nervous smile on her face. "It's okay. There's nothing to apologize for, really. I'm sorry I troubled you, sempai."

Smiling, Takuma shook his head in good-natured disapproval. The girl's treatment of him and the others of Kaname's inner circle was still highly inappropriate for a pureblood, and as one of her tutors, he ought to scold her for it, but he never had the heart to. Not to mention that he himself was hardly very encouraging in that aspect, treating Yuuki much the same as he used to. It would be hypocritical to chastise her for sticking to the comfort of familiarity.

"But, um…" Yuuki started hesitantly, a small frown creasing her forehead as she once again lowered her eyes to the invitation she was still holding. "Is it really okay? For me to go there, I mean…"

"Do you not want to?"

Yuuki bit her lower lip uncertainly. "Well, I do, but…" She met Takuma's gaze anew. "It's just that…uh…"

Takuma smiled in understanding. "It's okay to be nervous, Yuuki-chan," he said kindly, encouraging as ever. "It would be your first official appearance to the vampire society, after all. But even so, trust me when I tell you there is nothing to worry about. We will all be there and we will support you, and so will Kaname-sama."

As expected, the words had the desired effect — but of course they would, with Kaname's name in the mix. Yuuki's face brightened, even if only slightly, with uncertainty still present.

"It's okay, Yuuki-chan," Takuma added for good measure. "Everything will go well. You will do well, I'm sure."

Yuuki's expression lifted further, more assured now, and her previously rigid shoulders eased into a more relaxed position. "Thank you, sempai," she said gratefully, finally allowing herself a genuinely happy smile. "I will-"

Whatever she wanted to say escaped her, wiped out of her mind by a sudden flash of white-hot sensation that seized her, paralyzing her entire being. It came out of nowhere, lasting no more than a fraction of a second, and disappeared without a trace. But the impact of it, the effect, was immense. And everlasting. Even though it would take some time for Yuuki to realize it.

"Yuuki-chan?"

"Eh?" Yuuki gave a small jump, blinking out of her daze.

"Are you okay?" Takuma asked, perplexed by the abrupt silence. "You went quiet all of a sudden…"

"Oh." Another blink. "Oh." Yuuki's eyes widened, her face grew warm with panicked embarrassment. "I-I'm so sorry, Ichijou-sempai! I didn't mean to-I don't know what-" she started apologizing frantically, but had to stop halfway, unable to find the words to explain herself. "Uh…"

Takuma let out a light-hearted laugh that gave Yuuki a little start, but still succeeded in easing the tension she was feeling. "It's okay, Yuuki-chan, don't worry about it," he easily dismissed the matter in his usual amicable manner, warm and forgiving as ever. "Shall we have a little break? Ruka-chan brought a new tea with some sweets. We better hurry and try them before Senri and Rima-chan get here," he offered. "Would you like that?"

Yuuki stayed quiet for a moment, slightly taken aback by the sudden offer, but she quickly recovered and replied with an answering smile, "Of course!"

And in the meantime, as the two headed for the sitting room, in another mansion surrounded by a sea of ever-blooming cherry blossom trees, tucked away in a thick, endless forest, far away, Zero gave an involuntary hiss of pain and flinched away from Ichiru's touch, his hand shooting up to cover the side of his neck protectively.

"You okay, nii-san?" Ichiru asked, careful not to make any sudden movements as he withdrew his hands and shifted back to give his twin space that he knew he needed. Zero had been fairly successful in hiding his discomfort so far, but Ichiru could tell his twin didn't want his neck being touched, even by him. The violent — not to mention painful, without a doubt — way he had been turned hadn't left him unaffected, after all. "Was it too much?"

"Uh, no," Zero shook his head with an apologetic smile, "no, it's okay."

Was what he said, but the way he was still covering his neck was telling a different story.

Zero gave a soft laugh. "Really, Ichiru, I just got surprised is all," he insisted in response to the unconvinced look Ichiru was giving him and slowly let go of his neck; the action forced, obviously so to Ichiru, but he didn't comment on it.

"Should we stop?" he offered instead.

Zero blinked, his eyebrows rising slightly. "What? No, don't be ridiculous," he protested. "We aren't finished yet, right?"

Ichiru frowned, pressing his lips into a stubborn line.

Zero sighed after a prolonged silence. "Honestly, Ichiru. It's not really that painful or anything. Let's continue."

Ichiru knew Zero wasn't lying, but he still hesitated. "You sure?"

Zero's lips quirked in a self-deprecating smile. "I agreed to it, didn't I?"

"Mm," Ichiru nodded slowly.

"Then stop worrying and start working. How much is left?"

"This was only the first layer. We still have a few more to go."

"A few more, huh…" Zero sighed, then straightened, steeling himself for what was to come. "Alright, then. Let's do it."

Even with an expressly stated permission, Ichiru couldn't help hesitating a little longer. But then again, he knew his brother too well to think that he would back away now. He was too stubborn for it. They both were; sometimes equally, sometimes one more so than the other. So there was but one thing left to do.

"Fine," Ichiru assented. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes in concentration, then slowly breathed out and regarded Zero anew. "The next one is more powerful. Might be a little harder to bear."

Zero couldn't help tensing slightly when Ichiru's hands rose and covered his neck from both sides. Slow and non-threatening as Ichiru had made the motion seem, the instinctive reaction not to let his throat get touched, to keep it safe, was stronger than the knowledge — the absolute, unwavering knowledge — that he had nothing to be afraid of from Ichiru — Ichiru, of all people. He managed to suppress the shameful urge to remove his twin's hands, to slap them away before they even reached his neck in the first place. He managed to limit his reaction to mere stiffening of his body and slight quickening of his pulse, managed even to force the tension away and calm his heart, but he knew it wasn't enough to fool Ichiru.

He had felt it. Seen it. Heard it. And even though he didn't say anything, letting it slide, Zero couldn't help feeling ashamed and frustrated with himself.

His lips pressed together, eyes lowered. "Sorry," he apologized, his voice small.

Ichiru's thumbs shifted, moving up and down in a slow, gently stroking motion. "I know," he said with a soft, kind, if only slightly sad smile. "I get it. So don't you worry, nii-san."

Zero nodded, still not meeting Ichiru's gaze.

Ichiru nodded back. "Okay." He leaned closer, his expression becoming sharper with concentration. "You ready?"

Zero breathed in, then out, and finally lifted his eyes to Ichiru, his mouth lifting in a smile as he replied, "Let's do it."

-o-

"Anything new?" Kaito asked without looking up from reports scattered all over his coffee table the moment he heard his front door open.

"Christ," one of his two visitors, a beautiful red-haired girl, scowled. "Can't we at least get a proper greeting first? Your manners get worse every time I see you."

"And your nagging gets worse every time I see you," Kaito shot back. "But yeah, whatever," he conceded with a dismissive wave of hand, still running his eyes over the reports before him, squinting and scowling and grumbling every now and again when he couldn't make out the writing. "Good work on your mission, so glad to see you both back in one piece," he said in a monotone, which annoyed his female guest even further — not unexpectedly, and surely on purpose on Kaito's end. "So? Did you find anything?"

"Why you jerk-"

"Ise," the second visitor, a tall, light-haired man a few years older than both Kaito and the girl now known as Ise interrupted. "Don't waste your breath and our time. You know how he is."

"But, Miwa-sempai, he-"

"Is a jerk, I know," the man — Miwa — interrupted before Ise could finish while removing his coat and proceeding into the apartment. "That's why you shouldn't let yourself get baited every time he wants to have fun at your expense. There won't be an end to it."

Kaito snorted, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly in a small smirk. "As expected of Miwa-sempai," he said sarcastically, only then finally looking up to meet the older man's clear, ever-placid gaze. "Always so cool and collected. A perfect partner for a hot-headed idiot like a certain someone we know," he continued his provocation, turning to shoot a pointed look to the only girl in the room.

Ise's face went red with indignation, but before she could explode like Kaito surely wanted her to, Miwa stepped in once more.

"Ise, calm down." The girl hardly did, but at least she stayed quiet and in place instead of screeching and attacking Kaito like she most probably was itching to do. With a sigh, the older hunter turned to Kaito. "Takamiya too. Don't take your bad mood out on her. We're here to help."

Kaito huffed. "I'm not taking out anything on her, just stating the truth," he denied, stubborn as ever, even though he knew the other was right. For the most part, anyway.

Miwa breathed another sigh. Ise shot Kaito, who was once again reading his reports, a nasty glare and, to her credit, only gave an annoyed huff and stomped her way into the kitchen past her hunting partner and mentor to help herself to a drink. And maybe some late-night snacks, her recent dieting be damned. There was no way she could deal with Kaito without the help of some additional energy.

The eldest in the group gave yet another sigh — something he had long noticed he tended to do tiresomely often whenever in his current company; his shoulders slowly dropped as tension left them. He supposed they were relatively safe. For now.

Taking advantage of the rare moment of peace and quiet, he let his eyes wander around the relatively familiar by now room, his mind aimless and mostly blank, until he noticed something he had apparently missed during his previous visits. Automatically, his body moved toward the source of his mildly piqued curiosity, which happened to be a framed photograph among a few small towers of old hunter books atop a massive wooden dresser. He picked it up for closer perusal, unable to help a tiny smile at the slightly worn picture before him. There, staring challengingly at him in a way both annoying and somewhat amusing, was Kaito, clearly still in his teenage years, evidently more bad-tempered and difficult than now — hard as that might be to believe. And beside him were the three people he no doubt considered as his family; one already severe even in his younger years, and the other two still children with wide eyes and flushed cheeks and air of pure innocence around them. It was a good picture; heartwarming and precious. No wonder Kaito had kept it — even the great Takamiya Kaito could be sentimental, it seemed.

He allowed another few moments of silence before speaking, "I might have something, Takamiya."

The shift in Kaito was immediate. Even without seeing it, Miwa could tell, could feel it; the very atmosphere in the room had changed.

Returning the picture to its original location, Miwa turned to Kaito, his assumption confirmed. He suppressed a sigh at the expression he was met with, then spoke before Kaito could demand him to, "But there is another thing you should know first."

A frustrated huff, then an impatient reply, "What?"

"It's Ise."

Kaito frowned, his gaze flickering briefly toward the kitchen before returning to the older hunter, an inquisitive eyebrow rising as he asked, "What about her?"

Miwa shook his head. "It's her brother."

A familiar annoying face of a certain red-haired hunter with a nasty attitude flashed in Kaito's mind. He had thought the idiot would have more sense after the events at the academy, but apparently, that wasn't the case. How naive of Kaito and how unbelievably foolish of the older Ise sibling.

"He is looking for them too, Takamiya," Miwa elaborated, confirming Kaito's suspicions. "And his intentions are very different from yours."

Kaito snorted scornfully, his lips stretched into a haughty smirk as he leisurely leaned back against the sofa. "He can look for them all he wants. He doesn't stand a chance. We both know that."

"He isn't alone."

"What, he got followers now?" Kaito mocked.

A light shrug. "Something like that."

"Even so," Kaito shrugged his shoulders dismissively, unperturbed. "They don't stand a chance."

Miwa tilted his head to the side, one eyebrow arched in curiosity. "You seem to have an awful lot of faith in those twins' abilities," he observed.

"Of course I do," Kaito confirmed, looking proud and smug as he straightening in his seat. "I helped train them, watched them become real hunters."

Miwa snorted. "And almost offed one of them several times in the process, if memory serves right. Some mentor you are."

Another shrug. "We all need a bit of tough love sometimes."

Miwa hummed, inclining his head sideways in mock consideration. "Is that what they call 'being an ass' these days?"

"Fuck off."

"But back to Ise," Miwa continued, easily brushing off Kaito's words. "I don't think it's wise to ignore him."

"He's a small fry. And if he doesn't come to his goddamn senses, Ichiru will crush him."

"You don't seem particularly concerned."

"I'm not," Kaito admitted. "I'd gladly kick that idiot's ass myself. He's had it coming for a while."

Miwa sighed and didn't bother to argue. It would be half-hearted at best.

"What about the other one?" he asked instead.

Kaito frowned. "You mean Zero?"

Miwa nodded. "Will he do the same, if Ise happens to come across him first?"

Kaito's frown deepened with unbidden worry, he lowered his gaze in thought. He didn't doubt Zero's abilities as a hunter — never that. His willingness to harm a fellow hunter, even to protect himself, however, was an entirely different matter. Especially now.

Kaito gritted his teeth. Damn that softy.

"…Could be a problem," he concluded after a short while of consideration.

Miwa nodded, having known the answer to his own question even before asking.

"We need to stay on top of things," Kaito added, more serious now. "I want eyes on that prick."

-o-

"Does it hurt much?" Ichiru asked as he helped Zero into bed, his eyes cautious on the newly finished seal he himself had placed on the side of his twin's neck.

Zero hummed absently. "Not really. Just…burns," he replied, half-out of it with tiredness. His fingers twitched, hand started rising, but he stopped it and lied down on his side, resisting the seemingly constant new urge to touch his neck. It wasn't painful or particularly unpleasant, but it was still slightly uncomfortable in its foreign, throbbing nature. Still a separate thing, not a part of him, despite being branded into his skin. He didn't think he would stop being conscious of it anytime soon.

Ichiru's brow furrowed with concern. "Should I get you something?" he offered. "Painkillers? Wet towel? Anything at all?"

Zero shook his head slowly. "No…no, it's okay. I'll just sleep it off."

Ichiru pressed his lips together, unconvinced. "If you say so." But he conceded nonetheless, however grudgingly. He could already see Zero's eyes drooping. "Just tell me if you need anything."

"Mm," Zero hummed with a small nod and closed his eyes, unable to keep them open any longer.

He was out like a light within seconds.

Ichiru exhaled a long breath and gingerly placed his hand on Zero's head, his thumb gently stroking his counterpart's identically silver hair. He searched Zero's sleeping face for any signs of pain or discomfort, but found none — only tiredness, and that pulled another sigh out of Ichiru. Then, unbidden, his gaze gravitated toward the seal on his twin's neck, and like Zero, he had to resist the urge to trace his fingers over it and feel the slightly raised, still heated and now marred skin.

It was a strange sight, those sharp crossing lines forming a geometric rose-like design on the side of Zero's neck. Even stranger yet was to realize that it was him who had placed it there, and Ichiru struggled to decide how he felt about that.

"Is he going to be alright?" Maria's quiet voice reached him. She had been hovering at their door for a while, hesitant to approach yet unable to leave. Ichiru had been vaguely aware of her presence, but hadn't done anything to acknowledge it, choosing to wait for the girl to decide and act on her own instead. Like he tended to do most of the time.

Ichiru nodded, humming. "Of course," he replied, equally quiet, letting his gaze linger on Zero before slowly shifting it to Maria. "I'll make sure of it."

"What did you do?" Maria asked next as she stepped into the room and shortened the distance between herself and the twins by a few paces, careful not to make noise and get too close lest she disturbed Zero. "I could feel it echo all the way from my room."

"I placed a severing spell on him. It's designed to free him from the shackles of the master-servant bond."

Maria's eyebrows rose in surprise. Her eyes flickered to Zero briefly, immediately finding the new addition to his neck and lingering there before returning to Ichiru. "Did it work?"

Ichiru shrugged, turning to regard Zero once more. "We won't know for sure until…" he trailed off and gave another shrug.

"I see…" Maria's gaze followed Ichiru's, involuntarily getting drawn to the intricate design again, then lowered to her hands. She hesitated for a moment, her lips pressed together, then looked up at Ichiru, took a breath and spoke.

"Here," she extended her hands, presenting Ichiru with an envelope. "Shizuka-sama asked to give this to you."

Ichiru blinked down at the envelope, then looked up at Maria. "What's inside?"

"An invitation."

"To…?"

"A soiree. Hosted by a close friend of Shizuka-sama."

Ichiru arched an eyebrow. "And what does that," he shot the envelope a pointed look, "have to do with me?"

"Shizuka-sama is going to attend. And she wants us to go with her," Maria explained, looking at Zero for a moment, "All of us."

Ichiru frowned. "You're joking."

"It isn't obligatory. Just something to consider. For you and Zero-kun."

Ichiru's first reaction was to flat-out refuse, and he almost did, the words ready and waiting on the tip of his tongue. But then something compelled him to reconsider, and after a brief hesitation, he reached out to accept the envelope.

"I'll hold on to it," he said. "For now."

If Maria was surprised by Ichiru's decision, she didn't show it; only gave Ichiru a small relieved smile and a grateful nod, wished him to have a good rest and, with another silent glance at Zero, swiftly left the room.