A/N: Sorry for the long wait, everyone but here it is, Chpt 6!

Zero stumbled out of the car, barely noticing Kara repeating his actions, but with the grace of the not-depressed. He didn't know how he got through the front door or up the stairs but the next thing he knew, he was in his room. He stepped into the shower, not bothering to close the door or turn on the heater, let alone to take off his clothes. What did any of that matter? He was a failure. He turned on the shower and sank to the floor. Yuuki wasn't dead, she probably hated him and she was with him. Nothing else mattered anymore.

Kara shrugged into the warm water of the tub, making sure to keep her hair out of the water's reach. She rarely ever used the tub, except when she felt she'd done something to deserve it. Otherwise, she figured it was a waste of water.

Tonight, she was decidedly happy that she had a better understanding of what was going on in Zero's head. Or at least, that's what she kept telling herself. She knew a few things still bothered her though. First of all, Zero was a Hunter. It didn't really bother her that he was, only that she didn't know if it should bother her or not. Second, she didn't know how much headway she could make into making him more sociable. Third, she wanted to know what he felt for Yuuki Kuran.

If Kara was being honest with herself, it was Yuuki Kuran who bothered her the most. What was she to Zero? From what she understood of Aidou's explanation, she was his foster sister, in a way. Did he feel more for her? Either way, it must've taken a lot to make Zero leave so suddenly, abandoning everything. But if you really thought about it, he didn't exactly have much to go back to.

Kara shook herself out of that confusing train of thought then sighed in frustration. What did it matter to her anyway? She was just here to help Zero. It didn't matter who Yuuki Kuran was to him. Even if they were in love, it shouldn't make a difference to her. Kara sank into the water to hide her blush. Who was she kidding? She knew she was at least attracted to him. She refused to think she liked him romantically. That would be too weird. Actually, she wondered what he was up to right now…

She sighed and rubbed small circles on her temples. Okay, she would get out of here, get dressed for bed, get a bloodpack and take a little peek into his room to check on him before she went to bed. Just a little peek, she reminded herself. Just to check on him. She pulled on an old baggy t-shirt and a pair of shorts. She was brushing her hair when she noticed the noise.

She frowned and peeked out of her bedroom door. It sounded like Zero's shower was still on. That didn't make sense. The last she'd seen of him was when he had disappeared into his room right after coming home. She distinctly remembered hearing the sound of his shower turning on right after that. It didn't make sense for someone to have two showers in the same night and Kara was getting sleepy. It was almost 6 in the morning. She needed to get a blood pack soon, too. Her eyes were starting to glow slowly redder.

"Zero?" she yawned, rubbing eyes as she pushed his door open. "You still awake?"

The room was empty except for the noise of the shower, which had grown considerably louder. Kara turned into the en suite bathroom and froze in the doorway.

Zero sat on the floor, against the wall, motionless as a statue, staring up at her through the ice-cold water. The bathroom was freezing cold and his lips were starting to turn a very faint blue around the edges, as if he'd been swimming on a rainy day for a long time. His gray sweater and black jeans clung to his body, hugging every plane. The little droplets of water slipped down his hair and onto his neck, making little streams and rivers across his black tattoo.

"Uhm," Kara tried to break away from her ogling. "Are you okay?"

He just continued to stare at her, his eyes were a faint red. He needed blood soon, too.

"I don't think it's possible to drown yourself in a shower, you know," Kara leaned against the doorframe.

He ignored her.

"You're going to get a cold," she mumbled as she pulled a towel from the bathroom drawer and turned off the shower.

Zero frowned at her, but didn't protest. He watched as she knelt to hold his hand and pull him to his feet. His brain wasn't fully registering what she was doing; he was too busy being caught up in the memories he was running from. He barely noticed when she threw a towel over him and started patting him dry. He tried to look into her eyes, to see what she was thinking, but she kept them carefully away from his face. She threw the now soaked towel into the hamper and abruptly blushed bright red. His throat tightened as his bloodlust flared up.

She slowly moved forward and lifted the hem of his gray sweater from his ice-cold skin, her eyes glued to her hands. His hands suddenly found hers and she immediately dropped the soaking cloth. He pulled it off then frowned at her again. What good would undressing him do?

He watched her get another towel and throw it over his shoulders then immediately pull a much bigger one from the drawer. Her blush deepened as she held it out to him.

"Umm, Zero?" she bit her lip. "I think I'm going to need you to take your pants off."

That snapped him out of it.

"I'll get dressed," his voice sounded hoarse and cold, even to his own ears.

"Um, right," Kara was red as a tomato, her voice strangely high-pitched. She rushed through the door. "I'll let you get to it then!"

Kara ran out of the bathroom and all the way to her bedroom. She fell onto the bed and buried her face in her pillow, trying not to scream, hyperventilate, pass out or all of the above. She hadn't thought she'd have to ask a guy to do that until… well, ever. She got a cool cloth from the bathroom and threw it onto her face, concentrating on breathing slowly. She had to get a hold of her heart. She couldn't let it get caught up in a boy again. Not after what had happened the last time.

After a couple of minutes, she'd decided she should probably check on Zero. His lips had still been kind of blue when she left. She took a deep breath. Act normal, she told herself. She walked over to his room and peeked through the door. He was already lying on his bed, his arm over his eyes. He had changed into a pair of black pyjama slacks and a dark blue v-neck sweater.

"Hey," Kara said softly. He looked up at her and she defiantly fought her weakening knees. His red eyes and stern features were such a contrast to his adorably messy hair. Altogether, it was absolutely gorgeous. "Your hair's still wet."

He sat up and took the towel she held out to him. He started toweling his hair, covering his whole head with the towel, but his hands were moving too slowly to make much of a difference. Kara wanted to offer to help him, but her words stuck in her throat. She shook herself out of her silliness, since when had she been so pathetic? She touched his hands and he slowly dropped them, she took over toweling his hair, trying to avoid what felt like his face.

"There," she said, plastering on a smile as she pulled the towel off him. It turned into a genuine one when she saw how he looked. His downy soft, silvery blonde hair fell in small fluffy cascades all around his head. She almost giggled. He looked like a baby chicken. If it weren't for his glowing red eyes, he would've looked like a supermodel. She smoothed the silky tresses into a more reasonable arrangement.

He suddenly closed his eyes, his features twisting in pain. He grimaced as his breath suddenly turned shallow.

"Zero," Kara grabbed his shoulders. "Are you-"

He suddenly pulled her close, burying his face in the crook of her neck. Kara shivered as she felt his breath on her neck, the soft gasps tickling her skin. Kara tentatively put her arms around his heaving shoulders. He'd been through a lot today, it was only natural if he felt like crying. She ran her fingers through the ends of his hair, patiently pulling out the tangles as his gasps grew more violent.

Suddenly, his lips pressed against the pulse at her neck. It didn't feel like they were pursed into a kiss, but it was enough to shock Kara into immobility. She felt his lips slowly part and she held her breath. Did he feel the same –

She cried out in pain as his teeth sank into her. He suddenly pulled back, gently pushing her away from him. His red eyes were wide. Kara's fangs lengthened as the scent of her own blood reached her nose.

"I'm sorry," Zero whispered, barely loud enough for her to hear. He looked sad and absolutely disgusted at himself. He buried his face in his hands, too distressed to look at her."Kara, I-"

"Don't," Kara tried to smile at him while hiding her fangs, but it turned into a kind of grimace. She almost sighed; what an anti-climax. "I told you when we first met, remember? Don't apologize for needing blood."

"But I-" he looked torn.

"How about you make it up by talking to me?" Kara smiled. "Lets go get ourselves some packs, okay?"

Zero watched as Kara sank her teeth into a warm blood pack, mirroring her actions and watching as her bright red eyes slowly faded into their normal chocolate brown. Watching her made him feel… comfortable. He was growing attached to the routine they'd developed. She looked up at him as she threw hers back into the bowl of warm water in the middle of the table.

"What?" she asked.

Zero raised an eyebrow at her over his pack. He was still having a little trouble with drinking from a plastic bag.

"You're staring at me," a small smile turned up the corners of her lips.

Zero shrugged.

"What, I'm too pretty for you?" Kara said sarcastically.

"I was just thinking," Zero put his pack into the bowl of ice water then picked both bowls up and strode to the kitchen sink.

"Thinking about what?" she followed him, picking the packs out of the bowls and throwing them in the trash. That threw him off a bit. He didn't know what he had been thinking about, but he couldn't tell her it was because he felt comfortable around her. She'd think he was a psycho.

"I don't believe Aidou." It wasn't a complete lie, he had been thinking about it. When he had been on his bed, 20 minutes ago.

"You don't believe… that she's alive?" Kara said softly, drying the bowls he had just washed.

"No," Zero slowly gained confidence in his argument. It was easy to think about it if he thought of it that way: an argument. "I only have his word for it. And I don't have a reason to trust him."

"That's true," Kara conceded. He followed her out of the back door and onto the covered deck in the backyard. "I'm curious…"

Zero simply stared at her, waiting for her to continue. He was only humoring her for politeness' sake. He knew they were treading on dangerous waters.

"Well," Kara sat down on one of the wooden, pillow-covered chairs. A million questions raced through her mind, all of which she wished she could have him answer. But she knew he wasn't ready. Not yet, anyway. "Are you still game for a picnic tomorrow? I wanted to invite Mel and I invited her cousin before I knew it was Aidou but I could call it off, if you want."

"Anything," Zero said flatly, still glad for a way to distract himself - even if it meant being with Hanabusa Aidou for a day.

"Okay…" Kara said slowly. "That doesn't really help, though."

"Anything," Zero repeated.

"Then how about we have a barbecue here?" Kara's eyes brightened. "We could call my mum over and Mel and Aidou could come over, if you want."

Zero simply stared at her.

"Don't you have an opinion?" Kara grumbled.

"It's easier not to have one," Zero answered frankly.

"Fine, then," Kara smirked. "You'll just have to be content with whatever I come up with."

She deliberately pranced her way back into the house and up the stairs, playfully hoping to get him worried. He needed some kind of emotion, she decided, even if it wasn't for anything important.

When Zero finally made his way back into bed, a funny sinking fell in his stomach. It wasn't big, just a small little tug on his inner sensibilities that he realized was a real playful tug of worry. He knew Kara couldn't possibly cook up a grand ball by tomorrow, but he was also wise enough not to underestimate her. Zero almost smiled. He was starting over. He was putting everything behind him, it didn't matter what Aidou said, that idiot aristocrat was probably just doing it to spite him.

For the first time in a long time, Zero was looking forward to tomorrow.