Disclaimer: Not mine.

EXTREMELY sorry about the long wait! I wrote like 90 percent of this story today when I suddenly found inspiration after eating an ice cream sundae! See, I'd dug myself some plot holes… But while eating the sundae an answer came to me! So here's the next chapter!

Enjoy.

VKVKVKVKVKVKVKVKVKVK

Almost early morning.

"Fire…"

Zephri turned and glared at the man who'd uttered his nickname. Bloody crimson eyes flickered like a flame. Fire's body and mind portrayed his element. Short and messy fiery red hair, eyes, tanned skin, a sculpted brow, and a muscular body bore intimidation.

The man he turned to was Air. This man was quite different from Fire, a polar opposite, if you will. His hair was long, controlled by a ponytail, and a light blond. His eyes a silvery blue, and his skin pale- almost albino. His frame was lean, sinewy, and he bore wisdom.

"Air's right, Fire. We should be careful. Risks should be calculated." The new voice was a tone higher, and much softer. It was Earth. His frame was much like Air, but there was something about him that made him so much different. Feminine, even. His hair was a dark brown, face fair, and shocking emerald green eyes bore love.

"I say we go ahead." Water smirked, stepping up next to Fire. "The weather seems like it'll change soon." The man pointed, and sure enough, the clear blue sky above them, was tainted with gloomy clouds. Dark blue waves of hair brushed Fire's arm. His eyes were teal, his face was tinted a light ocean blue. He was muscular, much like Fire, yet graceful. Water bore control.

Three pairs of anxious eyes stared hard at him. Yet Fire stared back at only one pair.

-x- YUUKI'S POV –x-

I didn't know what to say. So I stood and listened. I didn't sit in any of the comfortable leather chairs or sofas near me, because I was not mentioned to one. So I was meant to stay standing; and I did.

Leviathan was furious.

But his rage was nothing compared to the emotions running through me right now- denial, pain, anger, hurt, betrayal, anger, denial, and then anger again.

Denial because I couldn't believe him at first.

Angry because my own husband had hid so much from me for so long.

Hurt because he went and hurt one of my closest loved ones- one that I didn't even know was still alive.

Betrayal because Kaname had done it for himself.

I could never look at Zero again.

I didn't even listen to anything he'd said after his first telltale words; not like I needed to anyways. He was basically repeating the same things over and over again. And here I am, standing under his roof. I was insignificant. As he finally stopped speaking, I waited for his final verdict. I was ready. Kaname and I would leave the moment he gives his order. I couldn't bear to stay, humiliated by the sin my husband had just committed, and utterly guilty for not knowing until now.

I waited, but he said nothing.

-x-THIRD PERSON POV –x-

Kaname awoke slowly, drifting in and out of his deep sleep. He was warm and comfortable all over, and it was just bliss... But the scent of another vampire's presence in the room startled him out of his temporary nirvana. Trying to sit up, he was shocked to find that he couldn't move- he was bound to the bed.

A shadow loomed over his face, and it took him a moment to register the face above his. Instantly he bared his fangs in a growl, long and deep. The ties that held him to the bed disappeared, and he lurched towards the other being, driven by an unexplainable instinct.

He had the other man by the throat, gripping tightly. Suddenly his curious high left him, and he stood dazed and confused.

"Kuran."

Senses alert again, he glared down at the vampire who spoke so calmly, and found it to be the very vampire providing him shelter.

He released his grip immediately, but said nothing. Leviathan rose and looked into his eyes, trying to read him. Kaname kept himself composed. He was ready to defend his cause.

"Please explain…" The other vampire surprisingly gave him his back, to prod the glowing embers in the brick fireplace.

There was a pause as Kaname tried to find the right words.

"It was the bond. It pulled me, and I couldn't control myself. You of all people should understand." The excuse sounded petty, but he hoped he'd said it with enough seriousness that it could be taken as an honest answer.

There was no reply as the other vampire lord stared into the fire. He was ignoring Kaname.

Kaname's lip twitched in annoyance- such arrogance. He fought to keep himself back from expressing his true thoughts… How Zero had belonged to him in the first place, and how obviously Zero was not happy with Leviathan. But would Zero be happy with him?

"You are not to go near him for the rest of your stay. In fact, not even after. I speak to you not as an enemy or a rival, but as your equal." Finally Leviathan turned and gave him his eyes. It was clear that Leviathan was still angry as hell, but reason was edging into his emotions. He would gain nothing if he harmed Kaname now- in fact, he would probably be in a lot of trouble if he did… But Kaname wasn't satisfied.

"Sure, we are equals. But are we in his heart?" Kaname retorted bluntly, smirking slightly at his crude remark. Both purebloods knew who Kaname was speaking of.

Thunder crashed suddenly outside, and it was raining instead of snowing today.

"Perhaps not. But Kuran Kaname, raping the one whom you claim you love does not do any good." Now Leviathan was smirking coldly, and Kaname's face fell and twisted into an angry grimace.

-x-

Young Kegan was speaking to the guards. The sun was supposed to be coming up soon, but the sky darkened as the storm moved over the region.

"It's raining! It's cold!" One whimpered, stomping his feet on the ground in an attempt to warm himself.

"There is no one at the moment to take your shift!" Kegan glared at the man, getting more and more fed up by the second.

Thunder crashed again, loudly, and the rain fell harder.

"Fine." Kegan muttered. "I will take your shift for now- but you must be back in no more than half an hour. If you don't return I'll report you guys slacking off!" Even though the two whiny guards annoyed him to no end, Kegan still held mercy.

"Thanks!" One guard breathed, relieved and stomped noisily into the mansion. The other was so grateful he almost fell on his face bowing to him.

"Now get out of my sight." The blonde servant nodded towards the doors.

A few minutes passed, and all was silent save for the rain pounding on the ground. Kegan stood under a delicate umbrella that was not granted to the guards. Even under this protection, he was already feeling cold and queasy. Regretting his decision to take mercy, he shivered and counted the minutes that had already gone by.

Lightning illuminated the mouth of the forest, and a clap of thunder soon followed.

Half an hour had passed.

"Damn, why aren't they back? I'm always too kind to them… Those ungrateful little sods…" Kegan muttered, his chattering teeth making his words come out broken and fragmented.

The path before him lit up again for a split second, and he caught something in the corner of his eye.

"What took you fools so long?" He groaned, trying to keep his voice strong. Never mind about the cold. Soon he would be inside, enjoying a nice glass of blood.

However, as soon as he finished the thought, his umbrella was snatched easily from his numb hands.

"Wh- you goofs! Give it back!"

Another strike of lightning brought light to the face Kegan was staring into, and his breath caught in fear. This was not a guard.

-x- ZERO'S POV –x-

A bell rang in the distance… Somewhere. I couldn't tell where I was. First, it was that single solitary bell, ringing delicately. But soon, more bells began ringing, and I was overwhelmed by the sound. I jerked from my sleep with a shout, and the first thing I had seen was his face. Strange- I've seen this face every day for weeks now, but it seemed like this time was the first time I'd laid eyes on him.

"Shhh…" His whispered to me as he gathered me gently into his arms. He was warm, and I pressed closer against him. I was aware of what had just happened before I fell into my blessed unconsciousness… But there didn't seem like much I could do now.

Suddenly I groaned- my head spun, and a multitude of colors, distorted sound, and curiously clear images filled my head. People who had no names, people with no faces, things that had seemingly no relevance to me, objects I felt an eerie connection to but could not grasp their meaning, and a throbbing pain somewhere in the back of my head.

I closed my eyes and slid into an escape again.

When I awoke again, the warmth was still there, but something had changed. A chill slid up my spine, and I wrenched open my lavender eyes. I was in some place where there was not much light… Everything was a shadow.

I saw someone's face- but I had no idea who this person was.

"He's awake!" I heard him dimly, but I saw his mouth move. Then three more heads bent over me, and I recognized none of them. Where was I? Who are these people? Distress and fear filled my entire being.

Then a fifth head came into view- and this one I recognized.

"Kegan!" I shouted, and sprung myself from my position to grab at his wet cloak, relieved. Pain shot up my legs and my belly, but I ignored it and kept hanging on. Although the pain was dull and wasn't that bad, it reminded me unpleasantly about my current situation.

I saw his eyes grow wide for a second, and he painfully wrenched my hand from his clothing. Then he looked from side to side, before pushing me away entirely.

I was caught by a warm body, and he lifted me back onto the bed I suppose I must've been on…

"You are Zero?" The man speaking to me had fiery red hair. I'd never seen such a vibrant color in hair before.

"Yes?" I reluctantly answered, not sure if I'd made the right choice by giving him my name… But then again he should know it anyways, if Kegan was here. And if Kegan was here, I was relatively safe, right?

"Good. Call me Fire." He smirked and left my side. There were 6 people in this room, including me. 'Fire' seemed to have some friends who looked just as strange… But I stared long and hard at Kegan, for he was avoiding eye contact with me.

Something tells me I'm not in the safest place after all.

Fire and his friends called Kegan out, and together they left the room. Actually, they opened a flap in the wall and walked out. I was in a tent… I know I should be distressed and worried… Perhaps even trying to escape, but I was in a haze and didn't understand the situation… And Kegan was here. How bad could it be? Kegan was a loyal friend of Leviathan, so he'd never plot to hurt me… Right…?

Behind the thin cloth I could hear fragments of a conversation.

"Arent going to hurt him… Are you?" That sounded like Kegan…

Mutter mutter.

"Are you going back on your word?" A voice I did not recognize. The voice continued on, "Don't you remember how… replaced?"

Mutter mutter.

"You hate him- admit it."

I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand- somehow, I knew it was me they were speaking of. It felt like I was at the edge of something I couldn't name or grasp.

Kegan's voice again- although I couldn't hear him clearly.

"We won't…"

Mutter mutter…

"…See what she wants…"

Mutter mutter…

"…Don't know…"

The conversation ended and the tent flap opened. I pretended to not have heard anything. Two men entered- one with a strange complexion, and another with beautiful green eyes. Wait- does that guy have blue skin, or was it the dim light playing tricks on my eyes?

As he neared I could tell that indeed, one of the men had blue tinted skin. In fact, everything about him was blue- his hair, his eyes, his tunic and cloak… They were all various shades of the color. I didn't like him- his eyes were distant. I felt strangely brave, and did not react to him.

The man walking behind him had fair skin and the most beautiful green eyes I'd ever seen in my life… I liked him, because he looked like a nice guy.

"You do know why you're here, right?" The blue man stared down at me coldly.

"As a matter of fact," I began, glaring up at him. "No." Even though I appeared to be rude and arrogant, my hands were in fists and shaking slightly.

He smirked. Damn him. He must've seen it.

"Call me Water. This is Earth." The muscular man motioned to the one behind him.

I gave him no response, but worry began knotting up my stomach again. This can't be good. Kegan somehow hates me, and these people assume I know why I'm here?

"Do you remember that day in the meadow, where your beloved pureblood vampire lord found you?" Water lowered his face so we were at the same level, spitting out his last words were venomous malice.

I grimaced.

"He's not my beloved." I retorted shakily. But I wasn't sure… Was he? Leviathan had always been good to me… Of course besides that one time, but it was no comparison to what Kaname had done. Did Leviathan know about this?

I must've spoken my last thoughts out loud, for Water chuckled.

"No, he does not know."

My eyes widened, and I pushed myself up higher on my wrists. Then it's confirmed- I'm definitely in trouble.

The blue man's smirk grew bigger.

Earth was studying me, and finally he spoke. "Well, at least you remember. Do you remember all those level E's you thought you killed?"

Yes, I did remember. Where was he going with this?

"What do you mean, thought I killed? They were dead!" I was confused now.

Water grunted, "Well, yes, they were dead. But they were not Level E vampires."

I sat there confused for a few moments before it suddenly came to me that these men in front of me were not vampires. Yet they were certainly not human, I was sure.

"What were they then…?" When had my voice become so shaky?

"They were the children of Selene." Water's face was blank, and Earth flinched.

I must be missing something, because those words meant nothing to me.

Taking in my vacant expression, Water sighed. "They were the children of Selene, our leader. You see, we are of a race called the Vaylances. We are in a way like vampires, but we consume energy instead of blood. We're a small race- hunted in the early days for our blood, so you might not have heard of us."

I shook my head slowly. So I had not killed level E's. I'd killed innocent people… I couldn't dwell on my thoughts for long, as Earth began speaking.

"We travel in covens. Our coven is a large one, and Selene is our lady and leader. We follow her in our travels. The Level E's you came across that day were Vaylances." His face was grave, and my mouth turned sour.

"I'm sorry?" I croaked.

Water and Earth shifted uncomfortably. "You are not completely at blame. It was an accident. You've seen true level E vampires nearby that day, and when they appeared you must've mistook them for your targets. They must've looked menacing, because they were hungry at the time, and couldn't find their element."

My head snapped up. "What element?"

Water and Earth looked at each other, and Earth shrugged nonchalantly. Water began to explain:

"Each Vaylance is drawn to one element at birth. It could be Fire, Earth, Water, Air or Spirit. But rarely Spirit. Our lady Selene is of the Spirit, and it's why we follow her. I am of the element Water, hence what you call me, and Earth his element. We feed on this element for energy. Earth feeds from the ground and plants, fire feeds from the sun, Air feeds from the wind, and I the water-"

"What are your real names? It can't possibly be Water and Earth." I narrowed my eyes at them suspiciously.

Water narrowed his eyes as well. "We cannot tell you that. Anyways, as I was saying, those Vaylances you saw that day were starved. There was no water in that forest- no creeks, rivers or waterfalls. The closest thing to water they saw all week through their travels was the blood pumping in your veins."

I shivered involuntarily. "W-wait… Would that make them a vampire?"

Water rolled his eyes. "Of course not. They would feed on your energy, not your blood. By the time all of them were done with you, chances are, you would've still been alive."

My throat constricted. I had harmed so many innocents when I could've helped them?

Behind Earth I saw Kegan peeking into the tent. As soon as he was aware of my gaze he disappeared.

"Where are you taking me…?" I ventured.

"To lady Selene."

"Why? What does she want?" Something was definitely off- but was it worth it to try to escape? I was in no shape, and obviously these men would overpower me. And my hunter powers had no use on their race.

Water and Earth looked at each other, and yielded no response.

I covered my face with my hands, breathing heavily.

"How…?"

-x-

"Where is he?" Claude, a young maid of the mansion muttered as she searched high and low for Zero. She'd prepared fresh clothes for him, but couldn't find him. Darn the man. Had he escaped? Claude thought as she took in the open window in his room. She knew her master would not be happy if the clothes were not delivered…

She knocked timidly on Leviathan's door, and moments later it creaked open. A rather tired looking pureblood stared at her.

"I-I'm sorry, milord, but I can't find Zero." She grinned apologetically. She was always bad at finding things.

Leviathan didn't seem to get it yet. "What? Has he gone out…?" His words were slurred, and Claude took a step back. Had he been drinking alcoholic blood?

"H-his window was open…"

His eyes snapped wide open and the yelling began.

-x- KEGAN'S POV –x-

I was so tired… To the point of collapsing when I finally reached the gates. It seems like the guards did not come back at all. I was actually thankful, or else they would've noticed my absence. At least the rain had stopped. The sun had come out now, and my eyes felt like they were burning.

It also didn't seem like anyone had tried to breech the gates, so I breathed a sigh of relief.

I stumbled into the mansion, wobbly and unstable. A maid caught sight of me and grinned. I ignored her and trudged up the stairs, only to stop abruptly when I caught my reflection in a mirror. I was filthy. There was mud smudged on my face, twigs in my hair, and leaves stuck on my wet clothes. Evidence.

I ran down the halls in a panic, hoping no one would see me. I actually ran past a few people, but they seemed busy running around doing something too, and did not notice me. I barged into my quarters and pushed open the door to my bathroom. There, I prepared a bath for myself. A nice, warm bath.

I took off my clothes and sank into the warm water. It was like heaven- all my stress flooded away.

After the bath I would arrange it so no one knew where I was. This would be relatively easy, and then I would feign ignorance. I knew nothing because I was standing guard the entire night. And while standing guard, I'd seen no one.

I felt like laughing out loud like an insane maniac. Perhaps I was one.

I felt like a newborn chick. I was innocent and ignorant. No one would suspect me. I knew nothing of Zero's kidnapping.

-x-

Muhaha! I think this one can be called a cliffhanger for once? Excuse me about typos, if there are any. I was in a hurry to get this one out! I feel really bad- I made you guys wait for MONTHS. Sorry all.

I'm thinking of starting another multichapter VK fanfic. It's an AU fanfic where Kaname sells Zero to a vampire brothel, but later regrets it, so he goes to the brothel to visit Zero… He finds him changed, and without memory. The story develops from there. Does it sound interesting? At all?

Again, please review. Reviewcookies keep me going.