~Welcome my people to chapter 8! XD It is time for the ultimate combat! *is already armed and ready to kick ass. I know you hate me for not updating but I had so many things to do. GOMENASAI why do I always find myself apologizing to people? O_o oh well lol. Cross has scared me for life I'm telling you. Hmmm well time to head out. It's you and me against the world! …We attack at dawn. XD ~

Disclaimer: *foreign language rant*

P.S.: …Do I have anything to say? Hmmm uh well I do have a new story up but that's about it sooo enjoy! ^^ (Yeah, it's not all that new anymore. ^^' lol)

Kiss Eight: Massive Attack

One Day Prior

A black car screeched to a hault in front of My Guardian Hospital and spit out three people. The first was merely a blur that all but flew through the building's front door. Behind him came another blur with a somber face and a man with glasses.

"Kaname! Seiren! Slow down!" Kaien called to the two vampires but gave up when they disappeared from his sight inside. He sighed and kept running; this was going to be bad.

Kaname ran at his maximum vampire speed to reach room 108 where he should have never left the two most precious people in his life, and his best friend, alone. The pureblood damned his stupidity for what felt like the tenth time that day and had to hold in a cry when he reached the 100 wing and witnessed the damaged that appeared to have come from a large explosion.

A million thoughts ran through Kaname's head when he saw that the blast appeared to have come from the very room he was headed to. What if he had just stayed? He should have taken Yuki and Zero with him. He should have never left. He should have left more people to guard them. He should have just waited to do the damn investigation at the school at a later date. He should have just had Kaien deal with it. What if Yuki was dead? What if Zero was dead? What if Takuma is dead? Are they kidnapped? What if he never sees them again? Who did it? Why did they do it? Damnit!

Kaname let out a frustrated cry at the thoughts and stormed into the room. It was as he had feared. The blast had come from here and the sight was gut wrenching. Everything was damaged, burning, or broken. The room was a complete shell of what it used to be, but that wasn't in the least what Kaname was focusing on. His chocolate eyes stared in horror at the sight of Takuma and Yuki in an injured heap on the floor.

The noble was covering the young girl with his body for protection and shaking the whole time. Whether it was from fear or blood loss he did not know. Takuma had come to a while ago but only had enough logical thought processing to slowly drag his body over to Yuki and hug the girl to himself for protection. The poor boy's vampire senses were so shot that he didn't even notice the not too subtle pureblood presence as Kaname entered the room.

The said pureblood immediately ran to them and kneeled over their bodies, shaking Takuma lightly to get his attention. The noble was afraid to look up fearing that the man had come back and was going to take away Yuki this time, so all he enabled himself to do was murmur a soft "no," and scoot him and the petite girl under him away.

Kaname was a little more than shocked at his friend's reaction and stopped the vampire from moving away with his hand.

"Takuma look at me. It's me, Kaname. Don't you recognize me?" he asked and watched the blonde boy still and slowly look up to meet Kaname's eyes. A surprised gasp emitted from the pureblood's lips when he saw the completely terrified expression on Takuma's face.

The noble's eyes were dilated and glowing a very faint red while his breathing was ragged and blood matted the normally silky blonde hair that covered some of his face. Takuma looked at Kaname as if he was contemplating who he was for a minute. After some silence, the boy's brain gathered enough information to determine that Kaname was of no threat and that it was safe to hand over Yuki to him. Sure, he couldn't necessarily remember who the dark haired boy in front of him was, but there was this…feeling inside him that said the pureblood was his friend.

With all of the failing strength he could muster, the young Ichijo slowly put Yuki into the arms of her brother and then abruptly passed out as soon as he knew the girl was in Kaname's arms.

"Takuma!" Kaname yelled as he saw his friend collapse into a lifeless heap. This wasn't good. Why weren't his wounds healing? What had happened here and…

Kaname's eyes scanned the room hurriedly, trying to find even a glimpse of silver but were only able to land on the Bloody Rose gun that was laying a few feet away. Zero was nowhere to be seen.

Another heart-wrenching ache tore through the pureblood's chest. This was all his fault that Yuki was in this condition. All his fault that Takuma was on the verge of death and unable to heal in front of him. All his fault that Zero was missing and probably scared to death right now. Kaname allowed a small moment of weakness and grabbed Takuma, pulling him towards him. He held both the noble and his sister in his arms and just let the tears come.

Everything was so damn messed up that it had to be a nightmare. One hellish nightmare that he was sure to wake up from and find himself back in Zero's bed like that morning, hugging the young boy close and sleeping his afternoon away. Yes, he would wake up any minute and be face to face with Zero's peaceful face. Yuki would be asleep in the room across the hall, safe in her bed. Takuma would be at home most likely reading manga into late hours of the morning before going to sleep.

Everything would go back to normal as soon as he opened his eyes.

But that wasn't going to happen and Kaname knew it.

Inhaling sharply and wiping the remnants of the tears from his eyes, Kaname school his expression and set his jaw. Now wasn't the time to be dwelling in wishes and 'what if's.' He had to get immediate care for the two children in his arms, hunt down a man who really did have a death wish, and find his Zero.

"Seiren!" he called and watched as she immediately appeared in front of him with her usual impassive expression which only slightly changed into a shocked one when she witnessed the state of Takuma and Yuki. "I want you to take both of them back to Cross-san's home. That is the safest place that I can deter. Call my personal doctors and have them head over there, too, to look them over and heal them. I want you to get as much information on what happened out of these two as you can should they come around before I am able to come back," Kaname explained and watched as the stoic girl swung Takuma over her shoulder and gently picked up Yuki holding her bridal style in her arms. Seiren nodded and mumbled a "Yes Kaname-sama," before beginning to exit the room. She did, however, not leave until turning around and asking out of worry.

"Kaname-sama, what will you do?" she asked, and though her face betrayed her emotions, Kaname could tell that the girl was worried for him. He cracked a small smile before replying.

"I'm going to find my angel," he said simply and didn't have to tell her who that was. Seiren merely nodded in understanding and disappeared from the room along with the two children in her care.

Just as she left, Kaien came racing through the door panting and looking disheveled from the run. His hazel eyes surveyed the damaged room in dismay until they settled on Kaname who was picking up the Bloody Rose and placing it in his pocket. The man straightened himself and entered. He knew that the young pureblood was about to do something that was most likely reckless, but would get results.

"Kaname-kun, where are they?" Kaien asked with the calmest voice he could muster. The boy before him merely glanced towards the window as he detected from Zero's scent that the boy had been taken away through there.

"Takuma and Yuki are with Seiren who is taking them both back to your home for recovery. It is no longer safe in public facilities and your house is the only place that I know of to be completely hidden away from harm," he said and Cross couldn't help but notice that there was no mention of Zero. Had something happened?

"And what of Zero?" he couldn't help but ask and watched as Kaname's shoulders tensed at the name.

"He wasn't in the room when I arrived," was the quiet answer, "He must have been taken away during all of the commotion or at some point later. I picked up his scent and it's leading out the shattered window so I am going to follow it in hopes of finding him," he said and made his way towards said window. He had to hurry before the rain outside washed away his precious boy's scent.

Kaien's heart skipped a beat at the mention of his adopted son's kidnapping. He wanted to talk Kaname out of going simply because they didn't know much yet and he could be chasing a dead end already, but something about the look in the boy's eyes said that he couldn't be talked out of going after Zero and his captor.

The man sighed heavily but let a small smile show. Love sure did make people act crazy but, when he looked at Kaname as the pureblood got ready to leap from the window to the street below, he realized that sometimes it's good to be crazy in love.

Lightning cracked across the cloudy night sky and Kaname was gone from where he previously was at the window. Kaien slowly made his way over and looked down at the now crowding with police, street below. The young pureblood was nowhere in sight, and Cross could only pray that Kaname would bring Zero back without trouble, but something told him that this was a matter that wasn't going to be solved so easily.

~*xXx*~

That had been a day earlier and Kaname had spent his time going nonstop at tracking Zero's scent. He had gotten side tracked at multiple times but he never strayed away from his goal. He had tracked the boy all the way to a secluded mansion that was a good 4,000 miles away from the actual hospital. (A/N damn I wish I had that kind of sense of smell.) That was where Zero's scent had increased and he felt the boy's presence inside one of the rooms.

The only thing that had made the pureblood suspicious was that there were no guards around the place and all he could sense inside the building was Zero. Proceeding with caution, Kaname entered the mansion and moved swiftly to a room on the third floor which was where he could feel his angel the strongest, but it didn't come that easy.

Enemies who had masked their scent extremely well, appeared from various hiding places in the walls and ceiling to attack Kaname and keep him from his destination. The young vampire was able to handle them fine at first but, after a while, they started bringing out weapons that were specifically made to combat vampires with. Guns, knives, arrows, and spells were cast to throw him off and take him down, but Kaname wouldn't let up.

He was getting beat pretty badly but all he had to do was let his true form slip put just a little bit and it was a done deal. Bodies and body parts went flying as the carnal beast inside Kaname made short work of its adversaries. Blood filled the air but that didn't stop the pureblood from continuing on. He kept making his advances towards the room that was containing Zero while beating away enemies at the same time until he finally made it.

Kaname had opened the door just in time to see a strange vampire leaning over his Zero and getting ready to bite the boy. The pureblood's heart skipped a beat when he saw the frightened face of the small hunter and he let out a primal growl as he leapt into the room and threw the man away from his angel. From then on, it was war…

~*xXx*~

Present Day

A thick tension enveloped the dimly lit room that housed three equally tense figures.

You could cut the air with a knife and still not be able to completely get through it.

Two sets of blazing red eyes glared at each other heatedly from opposite ends of the room, both promising pain and torture worse than death. For the longest time, neither being said anything save for the silent threats sent through eye contact. The only sound brave enough to break through the silence was the nervous intakes of breath by a small silver haired boy.

A clocked ticked on faithfully somewhere in the background, adding to the already hostile environment that was only staying peaceful because no one had made a move. That time was drawing to a close, and it all started when the vampire with multi colored eyes gazed upon Zero with a look promising pain and a sick image of pleasure. Once the boy caught that look, it was over.

The vampire lunged at him, claws extended and fangs ready. Zero shrunk back against the bed.

"KANAME!" he screamed and shut his eyes awaiting the impact that would never come.

Kaname moved in front of Zero and lunged at the crazed vampire with all of his power. He grabbed on to the being's arm and immediately dug his elongated fangs into the awaiting flesh. There was a sick feeling of satisfaction when the young pureblood heard a harsh cry of pain come from the victim of his bite. However, the older man wasn't about to let himself be bested by a mere child.

Bending back the arm that Kaname was latched onto, the older vampire thrust forward with great speed and sent the young pureblood crashing into a wall. The multi colored eyes man looked at the injury from the other's fangs and watched as it healed quickly with only a little bit of resistance. He smirked evilly. Yes, he wasn't about to be bested by a mere child. After all, he could control his nephew just as well as the little silver haired boy he had come to rescue. He was the almighty Rido Kuran after all.

Kaname stood up from his slumped position on the floor and growled at the elder vampire across the room. He really wanted to crush that man with every fiber of his being. Really. His red orbs settled on Zero's hunched form a little way further from him.

"Zero," the name left Kaname's lips before he could stop it and he watched as the silver haired child looked over to him with eyes that expressed fear and apprehension, but most of all complete faith in the pureblood. Kaname could see quite clearly that Zero believed with his whole being that the vampire would win this fight and take him back home.

That was what Kaname decided to go on.

He stood up fully and glared heatedly at his uncle. Right there he made a promise to himself. Kaname mentally bonded the promise into his heart forever. He swore that he would always, always come to Zero's rescue, and not only rescue him, but also bring him back safe and sound every single time. He promised that he would forever fulfill the wishes of the little boy he had grown so close to and make sure that Zero was always able to come home to a loving family, a comfy home, and a warm smile. He vowed to make the boy's days fill with happiness and laughter, and to always let him know that people care for him.

A small smile came to Kaname's lips as he thought of perhaps the silliest vow but, to him, the most important. He vowed to never ever go a day without expressing how much he cared for the young hunter by giving him an innocent and yet so very powerful, butterfly kiss. 'Yes,' Kaname thought to himself briefly. 'Everyday Zero will know how much I care. I won't ever leave him again, and…I will fight to always protect that innocent smile!'

With that thought, Kaname once again headed for his uncle with renewed vigor but changed tactics. Instead of trying to bite or maim him, he went straight for the kill and thrust a talon hand towards the older man's heart. Rido jumped away just in time to avoid being 'de-hearted.'

The vampire turned to face his nephew who was coming towards him poised for yet another attack and decided to be a little creative. He bit his right forefinger and let the blood run freely down the finger before using his power to make the red substance act as the equivalent of a whip. Rido knew Kaname wouldn't be able to kill him but where was the fun in letting his dear nephew know so soon?

It would take away all of the fun in crushing the boy's hope later on.

He thrust his hand forward and lashed the whip across the room trying to slash Kaname and hopefully decapitate him in the process. The younger pureblood dodged with speed, however, and maneuvered around various furniture to avoid the whip that was going as far as to even slice through the dark walls of the room. Kaname could hear the building cracking under the pressure. Man-made structures were never meant to house a vampire battle, let alone one that was between two purebloods.

Kaname took a brief glance towards Zero who was still in his same position by the bed with his knees pulled up and his arms over his head to keep from getting hit by any falling drywall. Once the boy's safety was confirmed, Kaname looked towards his uncle and focused his kinetic powers on breaking down the barrier Rido had put in between their two minds to block out his nephew's interference.

The said uncle knew what Kaname was trying to do but for some reason he found it much harder to counteract the assault on his mental state. Growling fiercely, Rido tried to take a step forward but found that he couldn't lift his leg at all. His body was completely frozen in place. Blazing crimson eyes locked with those of equal color on Kaname. An accusing glare was sent to the younger pureblood, and though Kaname was using everything he had to just keep his uncle in place for a few seconds, he managed a small smirk of triumph at his uncle's distress.

"You little brat, what the hell have you done to me?" Rido yelled in furry as he made desperate attemps to move his limbs that only ended in failure.

Kaname took a minute to respond. His uncle was a very powerful being so the power to restrain him was immense and nearly almost impossible for the young Kuran's body to generate. He, unknowingly to many people, may have been the progenitor of the Kuran clan but being reborn into a body still growing had reduced his strength to just that of a child pureblood vampire his age. It was only thanks to Kami that Kaname was actually able to draw enough power into himself to be able to restrain his uncle. Fighting him off at the same time was out of the question, but he had to think of something quick because this mental struggle between the two was not going to go on forever and Kaname could already feel his hold slipping.

Rido could feel the decrease in strength as well as he found that he was able to be more mobile by the second. A sinister grin spread across his facial features at the sight of his nephew trying with everything he had to keep up the flow of power needed to hold him back. He broke out into a maniacal laugh at the sight; it just amused him that much. To think that Kaname could just waltz in, claim the boy, and beat Rido in the process. Yeah, Rido thought it was that funny.

Zero watched this whole ordeal unfold. He cursed himself for being too afraid to do anything. Kaname was out there fighting for both of their lives and all he was able to do was cower in a corner near the bed. No, he would not allow this to happen. Kaname was not going to fight alone in this. That, Zero was going to make sure of. The young hunter's mind quickly formulated some type of plan. He noticed that Rido and Kaname were both unmoving, and he had no doubt that Kaname was the one causing that, but it seemed that the younger pureblood was losing control over whatever he was doing as Rido seemed to be able to move more and more as time went by. That meant Zero had to act fast before he lost his golden opportunity.

Amethyst eyes scanned the room quickly for something to use as a weapon. Zero wished to Kami that he had his Bloody Rose but now was not the time to dwell on that. He caught sight of what looked like some sort of metal piping lying carelessly on the floor. He could also see the rest of it protruding from the gaping hole in the wall where Kaname had been thrown earlier. However, the one long rod on the floor was enough to do the job Zero wanted so summoning all of his courage, the boy quickly rose and made a mad dash for the metal tool.

Though his movements were swift and fast, they did not go unnoticed by the two purebloods. Rido was the first to see and tried with all of his might to reach out and grab the young boy as he whizzed past him. However, the hold Kaname had on him had not weakened enough yet and he could barely get his arm to rise to the occasion. Kaname, however, watched Zero run to the other end of the room and pick up a long metal pipe that seemed to have come from the hole in the wall. Had the young Kuran not needed to concentrate so hard on his power, he would have praised Zero for his quick thinking, but now he had a bigger reason than ever to hold his uncle in place.

Kaname just hoped that this would work and Zero would be able to communicate with Kaname through eye contact. A near silent hiss of pain emitted from Kaname's mouth as his will was reaching its limit and Rido began to get more movement back in him, but there was still hope. Zero was creeping up behind Rido silently and almost expertly. Of course, Kaname gave complete credit to the boy's inner hunter instincts that were probably telling him just the right way to sneak up and take out his natural enemy.

With all his might, Kaname trained his ruby red eyes on his precious boy and tried to tell him exactly what to do. He was in luck because Zero glanced in his direction and the two held the eye contact.

'Zero,' Kaname's eyes spoke volumes. 'listen to me, you have to ram that pipe through that vampire's chest. Aim for the heart! Please you have to understand me!' he begged in his mind and all but sighed in relief when it appeared that Zero had understood the silent message.

Of course, the young boy wasn't the only one.

Rido had picked up on their silent exchange and he moved his body around faster trying to make the power suppressing him break and bend until it was no more. He writhed and clawed and the invisible force and Kaname screamed in agony as an onslaught of mental attacks were launched at him. But still, he would not let down on his grip. With as much composure as he could, the young pureblood looked at Zero from across the room and shouted.

"Zero, do it now!" he yelled and the boy ran forward with the pole stretched out and ready for penetration.

Rido moved around ruthlessly and was bordering a spasm attack as he desperately tried to move away, but he could not avoid the blow that came next.

In what felt like a split second, Zero gave out a harsh cry, shut his eyes tight, and thrust the pipe straight through Rido's chest so that it got lodged in between. The pureblood emitted a loud and blood curdling scream as he felt the metal pierce through his heart, but not fully. It seemed as though the pipe had only taken out half of his heart. The other half was damaged but still there all the same.

Kaname could sense this from the way his uncle hadn't immediately turned to dust when he was stabbed, but he was sure he could let his hold down now as he could see that Rido clearly wasn't about to try anything at the moment with such an injury. Letting the kinetic energy go, Kaname watched as the man opposite of him sank to the ground and collided with it with a dull thud.

Zero stood behind the fallen vampire with eyes that were wide and terrified. Had he really just ruthlessly killed someone? Of course, it was to save his and Kaname's lives but still, it was horrifying to know that he was the one who freaking impaled someone like he was some kind of shish kabob.

Kaname saw his, yes his, Zero's distress and beckoned the boy over to him.

"Zero, come here please," he said softly afraid that any loud noise would frighten the boy more than he already was.

On shaky legs, Zero complied and slowly made his way to a physically and mentally exhausted Kaname. Lilac eyes kept themselves trained on the younger pureblood's face afraid to look anywhere else in fear of seeing the blood that he knew was starting to pool at his feet. Zero could still here the rasping and choking sounds from the body he was walking past as Rido desperately tried to hold on to whatever life he had left in him.

"Come on Zero, it's okay," Kaname called softly and his eyes turned from their blazing red to a soft and caring brown (that was tinted with crimson) in order to reassure the trembling child.

Because of this, Zero moved just a little bit faster towards his destination, but was stopped when a clawed hand reached out and grabbed his legs digging the sharp talons into his calf.

The small hunter cried out in extreme pain as he fell forward onto the carpet and tears streamed down his face from the pain. He felt himself being dragged backwards by the, what should have been, lifeless corpse of Rido Kuran.

"Come here boy…if I can…just…get some of…your blood…" the man wheezed and Zero looked back to try to pull away, but he froze and paled in terror at the sight.

Rido's face was distorted and a horrible mix of his human form and whatever the hell was trying to emerge from within him. One side of his face was normal save for the vampire fangs that had elongated and prepared for a bite, but the other half was morphed wand warped into a strange black substance that would never be classified as skin. A completely black eye stared murderously at Zero and a row of extremely sharp and long teeth lined from the front of his mouth, all the way to the side of Rido's face.

Had Zero not been so scared he might have screamed.

"Give me…your…BLOOD!" Rido bellowed and pulled the small boy back with one quick movement. That seemed to get Zero moving again because he curled himself up into the fetal position and screamed, but never felt anything happen.

Opening his amethyst eyes ever so cautiously, Zero looked up to see that Kaname was hugging the boy to himself tightly with a fierce protective gaze locked on his uncle.

"K-Kaname?" Zero squeaked out and saw the pureblood look at him with a tender gaze.

"Don't worry, you're safe now Zero. I won't ever let you get hurt again," he said softly and trained his gaze back on Rido. The deranged vampire was still trying to crawl towards them, chanting about the blood he needed. Kaname sighed heavily. This had to be taken care of now. He turned towards Zero and held the boy's face gently between his hands. He had used up too much power to put the boy to sleep now but if he could trust Zero to do this one thing for him, he could take Rido out with the little amount he had left.

"Zero, I want you to close your eyes and cover your ears for me, alright? Please do not open them until I come to you and hold you in my arms again. Can you do this for me?" the pureblood asked and watched Zero nodded slowly. Kaname placed a butterfly kiss on the boy's forehead as a thank you. "Alright, time to do it." He said and gently closed Zero's eyes with his fingers. Kaname then placed his hands on the small ones of the hunter and lifted them to the boy's ears. He hugged Zero tightly and made sure that the boy could neither see nor hear him. After he deemed it fine, the pureblood stood and faced the pathetic creature before him.

Rido cackled like a lunatic as he struggled to contain the beast within that was just waiting to escape from within. Kaname just glared at him and couldn't help but wonder how it came to this.

"Hahahaha!..Ne-…phew! Hahaha…want to give…me your blood? You…can't kill me!...I made you!...So yo-…u might…as well gi-…ve me your…blood to…heal m-ARGH!" Rido grit his teeth as he felt Kaname step on his spine with all of his strength.

Kaname knew that he couldn't kill Rido. It was something that he hated with his whole being, but not being able to kill him didn't mean that he could rip the pureblood limb from limb until he was within an inch from death. No, nothing stopped that at all. So, that's exactly what Kaname did, and for quite a few agonizing minutes, screams and roars of pain echoed throughout the old mansion.

Some of those cries could not be blocked out no matter what was done, and sometimes those horrible cries of torture still haunt Zero's dreams in the dead of night.

~*xXx*~

Kaien stared warily out his living room window. It had been a full day since he last saw Kaname and with what words had been exchanged between them; he could only worry sick for both the pureblood and his treasured adopted son. The man ran a hand through his hair and sighed. Why did this have to go and happen? Who was out to get the children he held dear and why? Yes, that was the most important question. Why the hell would anyone target innocent children? Tenyo wandered over to the man and nudged his leg with her nose to snap him out of his daydream. Kaien smiled down at her appreciating and pet her head softly before standing up.

Well, dwelling on the matter was doing no good and so Kaien let his feet take him away from the living room area and to Yuki's bedroom; thought it looked more like a mini hospital room now. Tenyo followed silently, her usually peppy attitude was dulled now since when she saw the little girl she knew as Yuki coming back unconscious with another strange boy, and her master was not with her. Nor was the other boy that affected her master's emotions.

Her heart dropped at that. Where had they both gone? Where they hurt? She would never forgive herself if she wasn't there to protect her master when he needed her. The husky sighed to herself. There was no use in pondering the horrible things that could have happened. What she needed to do now was faithfully wait for her master to return, guard the girl who is so close to him, and trust the other dark haired boy to bring her master back safely.

'He had better or I'll tear him to shreds.' She thought to herself. Yes, if Kaname didn't bring Zero back he was going to have a female Cujo on his hands. (A/N just in case you don't know, Cujo is a killer dog in the famous Stephen King novel ^^)

Kaname wasn't kidding when he had his finest doctors come to Cross' house. Seiren had safely brought both Yuki and Takuma to the home and both had been placed in the petite girl's bedroom and hooked up to various machines and devices one would normally find in an actual hospital.

While Kaien was deeply grateful for the doctors' expertise and sheer dedication to getting the two children back to full health, he couldn't help but feel not needed. Perhaps it was his parental instinct but he felt that he couldn't do a thing to protect the precious children that had been brought into his life, and what was worse was that he had allowed one to go out and retrieve another that had been taken away. Cross was so worried about them all that it scared him. He felt that if anyone of the small beings that were the future were to disappear or die, he would lose himself in the grief that would follow.

That was when Kaien realized just how much of his heart had been given to each and every one of them.

They were now a part of him as he hoped he was a part of them.

A small hand rested itself on Kaien's shoulder and he looked down to see Seiren looking up at him with a very small smile that showed him she could understand his feelings and to let him know that he was not alone in this. He smiled at her with an appreciative gaze.

"Thank you Seiren-chan," he said softly and she nodded then walked over to the two young ones that were resting on the bed side by side.

It seemed that Yuki had pulled herself into an almost comatose state in order for her to deal with what had happened and for her body to fully be able to heal. Though she appeared not to have many wounds, her internal organs said otherwise. The blast that had gone down in the hospital room had shaken her up more than anyone had guesses and caused some serious damage to her kidneys. One was bleeding and the other was bruised badly.

However, Cross had thanked Kami when the doctors had said that they would be able to repair them to the point where they would be as if they were never damaged, and the wounds she had already sustained from her previous encounter with her mysterious attacker at school had almost already fully healed itself. Ah the wonders of medicine.

Takuma, though, was a whole different case. The doctors, Kaien, and Seiren had to scrath their brains and pull together in one big effort to first: discover what hunter spell was affecting the noble's healing abilities. Second: find a way to slow down the bleeding long enough to find a spell that could counteract the affect, and three: find and apply said spell.

It had taken a while, but with everyone's combined effort, the spell had been found and Takuma's recovery was coming along nicely. Kaien had even provided a bag of blood for the boy to drink when he had woken up. Well, he did so in the request for no one to ask where he got it from. Cross is a strange man.

Takuma had been able to wake up a few times. He had had minor pains and a fierce thirst (which the blood helped with) but other than that, he had been pretty much in good shape. The doctors, however, did still request that he stay bed ridden for a few more days before he began moving again and doing regular activities.

The noble had taken the information with a smile as he did everything else and did exactly what the doctors told him. The times he did wake up though, he talked with Cross about the things that happened and asked various questions that pertained to Yuki and Zero, which Kaien did his best to answer since, in all truth, he wasn't too clear on the situation himself.

Seiren regularly came around giving updates on Yuki's status should Kaien happen to not be in the room at the same time and the older man was grateful for her presence. She helped him with paperwork or with chores around the house that he wanted to take up in order to distract himself from the dangerous situation they were all in. Had Kaname been right? Was this house really the safest place? It was just an ordinary residence. There was no reason why it should give off a particularly safe aura, but perhaps that was what Kaname was counting on. The fact that the house looked as innocent as any other must have been the pureblood's trump card.

Cross chuckled to himself. Once again Kaname Kuran had proved that he is not a mind to be messed with and always planning ahead down to the last second. Seiren looked at Cross and arched an eyebrow. She wasn't sure if she should be happy that the guy was actually happy for a moment or concerned because he was laughing at nothing.

Kaien looked at her with a sheepish face when he realized that he must not sound very well at the moment and shrugged as he laughed just a little bit more at the confused face that was Seiren. The girl merely shook her head and repeated the gesture to him before going about her business.

It happened near 11:56 pm at night. Everything in the Cross/Kiryuu household was quiet until harsh banging sounded at the front door. Kaien came out of his room cautiously when the banging continued. Someone was seriously trying to get in the house.

So quick that it wasn't even seen, Seiren appeared before Cross and motioned with her finger to keep quiet. The man did as he was told and watched the girl carefully make her way to the door, all the while not emitting a sound.

Tenyo came down the hall and stood near Kaien. Her position was poised for attack and she bared her teeth while bringing forth a low growl. Everything was still in the household as Seiren placed her hand on the doorknob and readied herself.

Mentally counting to three, the girl swung the door open and shot her hand forward coming to s top just centimeters from the person at the door's neck. However, she immediately withdrew her hand and bowed deeply in the person's presence.

"Ah! Forgive me, Kaname-sama!" she said quickly and heard a light chuckle.

There Kaname stood on the porch looking as if he had just been through hell and back with a sleeping Zero in his arms looking slightly less messed up. Either way, Seiren could breathe a sigh of relief since her lord and his companion had returned safely.

"Don't worry about it Seiren, I am just proud at how thoroughly you have been protecting this household in my wake." Kaname said simply and Seiren let him in.

"Thank you Kaname-sama," came the girl's soft reply which was almost drowned out by the loud joyous cries of Kaien Cross and playful barks of Tenyo.

The husky jumped around happily. Her master was back home safe and sound along with the other boy who brought him back just as she had hoped. Tenyo sniffed around the two excitedly, her tail going a million miles an hour. She heard the dark haired boy laugh lightly and continue carrying her master to his room. The man, who she thought was kind of scary in a way, followed them the whole time bombarding the dark haired boy with questions that, Tenyo guessed, he just couldn't answer at the moment.

They all entered her master's room and the dark haired boy kindly requested that the other two people leave. They did, Tenyo could tell, reluctantly, but all the same. The dark haired boy placed her master on his bed gently and brushed away some of her master's hair.

Tenyo jumped up onto the bed and curled up next to her favorite boy in the world. She was never going to let him out of her sight again. She could smell the blood on him and only hoped that none of it was his.

Kaname watched the dog curl up next to Zero protectively and he couldn't help but smile at that. He was so glad he was able to get the small boy back safely. A warm feeling settled itself in the pit of the pureblood's stomach at the thought of Zero finally being safe for the first time in a few days. His smile grew when he saw the lilac eyed hunter start to wake up and rub his eyes.

Those beautiful and uniquely colored eyes looked up into Kaname's own brown ones and Zero smiled. He extended his arms towards the pureblood and Kaname eagerly took the boy into his arms. Maneuvering carefully, Kaname placed himself on the bed and placed Zero so that the hunter was lying on top of him. The silver haired boy smiled happily and nuzzled Kaname's neck affectionately.

"Thank you for bringing me back, Kaname," he whispered softly and began to drift off to sleep to the feeling of Kaname stroking his silver hair gently. The pureblood kissed the top of the boy's head softly.

"I will gladly come to your rescue every time, Zero. Every time and any time," he replied and felt the small boy hug him tighter before falling asleep with a smile on his face. Kaname followed him soon after. That fight had taken everything out of him and he needed rest pronto.

The questions could wait until morning. Planning the next move could wait until morning. Telling everyone everything could wait until morning. All that mattered to Kaname now was that he finally had his precious boy with him sleeping soundly as it should be, and that he would wake up to Zero's adorable and angelic face come morning.

Yes, that was all that mattered now.

Fate wants to give them some peace for a while.

She is happy with the strong bond these children have forged with each other.

But her ultimate test still awaits...

~FINALLY! *almost dies on top of the laptop because of the mental strain of writing this chapter* Oh my Kami! I am so sorry guys! I didn't intend for it to take me this long to get this chapter up. I was infected actually. I came down with a horrible, horrible disease called 'Writer's Block.' Ugh…just the name makes me wanna puke, but I did it! ^^ The next chapter and I'm getting oodles of ideas now so I'm praying that the next chapter won't be too far off okie? If I reach 200 reviews next chapter, I will cry AND make it a mondo humongous chapter! XD I love you all! Thank you for putting up with me! Until next time, Sayonara! ^^ ~