Zero blinked groggily, completely disorientated as he awoke. His body was slowly healing itself from a pretty nasty concussion. For a moment he had no recollection of what had happened या where he was. His vision was blurry and wouldn't coalesce into focus. The light was dim. He could feel vampire, but his senses weren't any clearer than his vision. Warm breath brushed his neck and he felt the distinctive, sharp smoothness of fangs gliding lightly across his jugular.
"Kaname?" he slurred automatically. What was wrong? Why was his head pounding like this? Why did everything hurt? Why couldn't he think straight?
A soft, mocking laugh close to his ear made Zero's flesh crawl and his body tighten. That wasn't Kaname's voice.
Fingers snarled tightly in Zero's hair and yanked his head back. A symphony of hammers took up a staccato beat in his head and the hunter groaned softly through grit teeth.
"Mmm... no," Rido's voice purred against Zero's throat. "Although I dare say my nephew would punish आप for speaking to him with such little respect if he were here..." he grinned darkly. Zero had used the non-honorific form of Kaname's name, which translated either to close familiarity, या intentional rudeness. Obviously, Rido assumed the latter.
"Or maybe not, my nephew is disturbingly soft with your kind," Rido purred carelessly, slowly worrying the throbbing vein at the side of Zero's neck with his teeth. The unique blend of hunter and vampire blood in his veins, mingled with the Kuran blood he'd been drinking so much of recently, made quite an interesting enticement.
"But I'm not." Rido bit down.
Zero tensed as he felt his blood being drawn and tried to twist his head away. Rido's fingers curled और harshly into his hair, holding him still. Zero realized he couldn't हटाइए his arms. They were trapped behind him and there was some kind of warm weight against his back, but it wasn't Rido, who was beside him.
"Stop it! Leave him alone!" A familiar voice brought the final threads of recollection together in his mind and brought the reality of the current situation crashing down upon Zero. Rido... the alley, the fight...
Worst though, he realized who was behind him. Yuki struggled and he could feel it against his back, but they were bound too tightly together, hands trapped behind their backs. He realized that not all the rumbling was in his head. The ground was shaking like they were moving. In the back of a वैन, वान या a truck maybe, but the windows were all blacked out.
Rido dug his teeth in और sharply and Zero grit his jaw harder against a soft hiss of pain. A shiver ran through him at the disturbing, intimate contact. His already throbbing head started spinning.
The feeling of motion stopped, followed a moment later द्वारा the rumbling. The vehicle was still. Rido reluctantly dragged his head up, wiping Zero's blood from his lips with the back of his hand. "Ah, well, और fun later. Seems we've arrived," he कहा as the door beside them was pulled open from the outside.
The flood of incoming light made Zero wince and blink painfully as he and Yuki were dragged out of the van.
"Where is Kaname anyway?" Aido inquired, taking a break from the thick mound of papers he was sorting through. Deeds, titles, papers of incorporation and corporate charters lay several inches deep across the चोटी, शीर्ष of the hotel बिस्तर and the blond vampire was sitting cross-legged in the middle of them, looking over each one with resigned drudgery.
Wherever Rido's body was hidden had to be reasonably nearby... which meant somewhere in this country. He was probably using some place that belonged to the Ichijos. And considering he was certain to know they were hunting for him, he was probably using one of the और obscure Ichijo holdings that Takuma wasn't likely to know about off the चोटी, शीर्ष of his head. These were all facts that were सुरक्षित to assume.
Unfortunately, the Ichijos had holdings almost everywhere, including a टैंगल्ड web of sub-corporations, joint-ventures, subsidiaries and even dummy corporations that made the Gordian knot look simple. Now Aido, Ichijo, Kain and Ruka were trying to sort through the paper trail to find likely points of interest.
Takuma flicked the paper he was पढ़ना into another pile and didn't answer for a moment. "I don't know," he answered truthfully, although he suspected that the pureblood had gone to find Yuki and Zero. He wished Kaname had asked for his help, but he respected his friend's desire to handle things privately. "You know Kaname. He'll be back when he's back."
Kain reached over and pulled a sheaf of papers off of Chairman Cross's chest. The human was laying on the edge of one bed, eyes closed, glasses askew and now being used as another place to stack files. He'd fallen asleep after about ten मिनटों of looking through papers and had been dead to the world for the past few hours. Probably just as well, Takuma thought. या he would doubtless have wanted to know where Zero and Yuki were द्वारा now.
Kain gave the Chairman an amused look. "Sleeping beauty's still out," he observed.
"Let him rest, he looked really tired," Ruka कहा distractedly as she scanned the thick sheaves of legal size paper she was holding.
Takuma nodded. "I don't think he slept much last night. Hey, who has the Advanta Group charter?"
There was a quick shuffling of documents द्वारा all present. "Uhhh... got it here!" Aido said, pulling out a blue binder.
Kaname moved with a certain sure-footed grace, despite the हुड, डाकू over his head as he was man-handled out of the car. Interestingly, his captors didn't bind him, but merely led him along blindfolded. Obviously, they were counting on the fact that he wasn't going to try anything until he knew where Zero and Yuki were. There was no guarantee after all, that he had been brought to their location. Rido was clever and he was also desperate. That was not a mix to be underestimated.
Kaname felt gravel crunch under his feet. Through the mast, he smelled the faint tang of fresh air mixed with rust, chemicals, charcoal and a heavy mix of sweet and burnt scents. It wasn't an urban या residential kind of smell... he would have guessed they were near a factory, workshop या warehouse of some kind. The faint, muffled whirr of some kind of mechanical equipment somewhere nearby tended to agree with that theory.
He was led up a long flight of stairs and down a concrete hallway that echoed under their footfalls. और stairs, और passages. The air was no longer fresh. The machine sounds were louder and the sweet, burnt scent pervaded the air, like someone was burning a whole summer's worth of marshmallows nearby.
The route they took was long and tortuous, but Kaname marked it down carefully in his memory. He was finally pulled to a halt and pushed up against a wall. The हुड, डाकू was unfastened and yanked off his head. At the same time, he felt the ground rising slowly under his feet. He knew he was in some kind of elevator even before the हुड, डाकू was off.
Kaname couldn't resist drawing a deep breath of the heavy, stale air which was still so much better than the claustrophobic confines of the hood. He blinked, the dim freight elevator seeming bright after the long dark. Kaname ran a hand through his perspiration damped curls and shot a cool, collected gaze towards Ichiru, ignoring the other two वैंपायर in the elevator.
"I trust this tiresome बरसती, लबादा and dagger business is almost done?" he inquired mildly.
Ichiru smiled with equal coolness. "Why, आप got somewhere else आप need to be?"
The freight elevator ground to a halt, but the doors didn't open. Ichiru's pocket buzzed and he pulled the video phone out again, putting it to his ear and speaking a monosyllabic greeting.
He listened silently for a मिनट and then replied to the affirmative. "No problem. We'll sit tight." He ended the call and leaned back against the wall, watching Kaname.
"We're gonna wait here a few minutes," he informed. "Oh, and your Uncle sent आप something to keep आप entertained while आप wait." Using his thumb to navigate the touch screen menus, Ichiru brought up the video-mail messages and selected the new recording that had just been sent. This one wasn't live, but it couldn't have been taken too very long ago.
Ichiru tossed the phone to Kaname, who caught it and turned it around slowly in his hands. He had a nasty feeling he wasn't going to like what he would see. He was right.
A bruised, bloodied version of the face smirking at him coldly from across the elevator appeared on the small screen. Zero. Kaname's chest tightened unintentionally.
The video must have been taken inside the same vehicle in which Rido had spoken with Kaname from earlier, because the background was much the same. Kaname could just see the back of Yuki's head in the corner of the frame. He could also see Rido. The vampire's mouth teased and molested the side of the unconscious boy's neck, making a dark, fiercely protective hatred burn in Kaname's gut. Get your filthy mouth off him...
Zero stirred, obviously starting to waken. The first, mumbled name that came to his lips stabbed a spike through Kaname's stomach. The pureblood didn't realize that a flicker of that feeling showed momentarily in his eyes. He didn't notice that Ichiru was watching him with an intent, but now slightly strange look on his face. All Kaname could see was Zero... and the way blood trickled sluggishly down the side of his neck, his face creasing in discomfort and pain as Rido violated him. All Kaname could hear was the pounding in his ears and the rage throbbing in his temples.
The video ended. The phone warped and crackled, shiny screen fracturing into a mad swirl of रंग and then going dark as the LCD broke and the phone turned into a dead, warped chunk of crushed plastic and metal.
Kaname tossed the mangled gadget quietly back to Ichiru, giving him an 'oh, did आप want this back?' look.
Ichiru raised an eyebrow and slid the broken phone back into his pocket. About then the gated doors to the elevator finally ground open. Ichiru brushed द्वारा Kaname, giving the vampire an unreadable look as they stepped out.
Kaname could tell now that they were in a factory of some kind. A sugar refinery, he quickly deduced from the equipment around them. But one that did not look like it had been used in several years. The lack of employees and the dusty state of the equipment didn't explain the fact that there was still a definite thrum coming from somewhere nearby.
Ichiru and the other two led Kaname across the factory floor. Scaffolding and platforms rose on either side and ahead of them. The thrumming was getting louder and the burning sugar smell, which now made sense, was getting stronger.
They turned the corner and Kaname spotted Rido. His uncle was flanked द्वारा about half a dozen other वैंपायर who were probably guards, henchmen या hired muscle. He was standing atop one of the scaffold platforms, about two stories above the main floor of the plant. Directly below him, supported on a metal framework about one story up, was a giant tub as long and as wide as a swimming pool but much deeper. The tub was supported on a fixed framework over a massive row of gas burners. Blue flames licked at the metal, heating it like a giant cooking pot. Inside, melted down, liquid sugar bubbled and boiled, superheated to the point where the sweet substance was thin and barely viscous. In the normal sugar refining procedure, the melting process occurred between the affination and carbonation stages, but Kaname was fairly certain it wasn't done quite like this. Rido had obviously had tweaked the set up here to suit his own purposes.
That became perfectly clear when Kaname saw what Rido was doing. He had a thick length of chain wrapped tightly around each hand. The chains ran down off the edge of the platform and connected to two small, swinging cages which dangled a few feet above the bubbling, magma like surface of the boiling sugar below. The cages were just big enough to fit a seated occupant. They were impromptu affairs obviously created from bent and fused piping and other things probably found lying around the factory, but they were apparently और than strong enough to do the job.
In the cage on the right, Yuki was crouching, arms hugged to her chest, trying not to touch any of the hot metal surrounding her. The heat rolling up in intense waves from the vat below was swiftly heating the metal past comfort and safety.
In the cage on the left, Zero knelt, because he was too big to crouch in the tiny enclosure. His hands were cuffed behind his back and the stoic look on his face कहा he was stubbornly denying the pain of the metal that was slowly starting to heat hot enough to burn.
Only the strength of the vampire holding the cages up kept them from falling down into the vat below. Heated to this point, the liquid sugar was as good as lava या napalm. It would burn away flesh to the bone in moments. Kaname might have been able to survive a trip into that vat, although it would probably take him years in a coma to recover, but Yuki and Zero wouldn't. They would die on contact.
"Kaname!" Yuki cried out in a strained voice somewhere between apprehension and hope when she saw him. Zero's gaze followed the same path and he frowned in concern at seeing Kaname here alone and obviously under guard. He saw his brother standing near Kaname. His gaze darkened and quickly slid away. He couldn't really hate Ichiru completely, because some part of him would always प्यार the little boy he'd tried to be such a good 'big' brother to. But that boy seemed to him to have died the same night his parents did, and Zero could never understand the choices his brothers had made.
Kaname felt cold and hot at the same time. Ichiru's hand on his shoulder told him to halt and remain where he was. The pureblood did. But only because as fast as he was, Kaname knew Rido was just as fast. He couldn't rush the platform as he would like to do, dare not try to snatch, push या levitate Zero and Yuki away from the dangerous ledge. These thoughts ran swiftly through his head. Like moves in a chess game, he rapidly calculated his different options out, considering all the possible counter-moves to each one. Unfortunately, anyway he looked at it, the situation spelled checkmate. The only way he had a chance through brute attack, was if Rido made a significant blunder. He couldn't afford to count on something like that. Not when Zero and Yuki literally hung in the balance.
Kaname was going to have to play his Uncle's game a little longer and try to win himself a better position.
"I didn't know आप had such a sweet tooth, Uncle," Kaname called up with cold condescension; glad he was far enough away that Rido couldn't hear how loudly his दिल was hammering in his chest. "But don't आप think this is a little on the melodramatic side? Seriously... if आप were going to go all out, आप might as well have at least imported a few skulls and bats to compliment the theme." The pureblood's tone was heavy with acidic sarcasm.
Rido was not amused, but he grinned darkly. "I'm a traditionalist, what can I say? Sometimes a little lack of modern convention goes a long way. आप can mock, but I note you've already gathered that आप better stay very, very still या else your little pets are going to end up in a rather bad way."
Yes. Kaname already understood that. He understood that if anything happened to Rido, Zero and Yuki would fall to their deaths. "And do आप expect to stand there forever, Rido? What do आप hope to gain द्वारा all this?" Urgency clawed silently at him.
The flames under the vat were cranked up too high and the roiling liquid sugar was burning and sticking to the bottom of the pan even as it bubbled, like a कारमेल glaze gone badly wrong. The sweet, yet acrid scent of burning sugar rolled upward, making the hot air difficult to breathe for the two captives in the cages.
The soles of Yuki's shoes were starting to stick to the floor of the small cage. Zero's jaw was clenched tightly against the growing pain and he shifted uncomfortably in the cage, glancing morosely below and trying to see a way out of this situation. Nothing was presenting itself. Death द्वारा caramel... sounded like a great slogan for a confectioner, lousy way to die though.
"No, Kaname," Rido replied quietly. "You and I have much to discuss, and I'd prefer to do it somewhere और comfortable. But... you've been nothing but trouble to me for years, nephew. You've cost me everything not once, but twice now, and I don't intend to let that go unpunished."
Kaname felt a dark chill sweep up his spine. He hoped that Rido didn't mean what he thought he did... but he knew better.
"Your parents should have taught आप that bad little boys get their toys taken away from them. I'd rather not completely discard my advantage just yet, but when it comes down to it, I really only need one bargaining chip, don't I? Two hostages are twice the trouble..."
"Rido..." Kaname's voice was dark with warning.
Rido relished the situation in which he had his nephew trapped. "I'll let आप choose, Kaname," he कहा with an evilly contented smirk. "Which one do आप want to sacrifice? One of them is going to die." Rido see-sawed the chains slightly, waggling the cages. "Choose which one, या they both die right now." Rido was serious. He didn't necessarily want to lose all his leverage, but he already had Kaname और या less where he wanted him. Forcing Kaname to sentence one of his pets to the hideous doom below them was delicious, and if Kaname would not oblige, he wouldn't hesitate to carry through on his threat to end them both.
Kaname felt frozen. He knew Rido was serious. His mind swiftly considered and discarded a million different options, a million different things he could try to do that would spare both Yuki and Zero... but in the end there was nothing. Rido had laid his plans and his trap too carefully. He wasn't about to underestimate Kaname a सेकंड time.
Kaname's gaze darted between Zero and Yuki. Choose... how could he? The pureblood was used to making hard choices. Was used to having to choose the lesser of two evils, या sometimes, even the greater. But this... it was impossible, Kaname couldn't choose. Either way would be slicing out an irrecoverable, necessary piece of his heart. Kaname felt his throat threaten to squeeze close as his दिल pumped useless panic through him, which didn't aid his thinking at all. He couldn't even hide the stark anguish that filtered across his face.
Yuki's eyes were wide with shock and fright. Zero's blazed with angry fear as they locked intently on the pureblood below. Choose me. They कहा as clear as words. Choose me so Yuki can live. So help me, Kaname, I'll never forgive आप if आप don't.
Kaname felt like he couldn't get enough air. He couldn't possibly choose Yuki – he loved her desperately and had sworn to always protect her. But... there was no way. He couldn't choose Zero either. He felt like a stake had been stabbed through his chest even thinking about it. The boy was in his heart; in his blood... it would both figuratively and literally kill him to lose him. Standing here, faced with the impossible, Kaname realized clearly for the first time... he loved them both. He needed them both. He couldn't live without either of them.
Which meant there was only one thing left that he could do. When the rules of the game sucked... change the rules.
Kaname took a careful step forward, gaze locking with Rido as held his hands out to the side in a gesture of submission. "I choose a third option, Rido," he कहा quietly. "I choose myself."
Rido's eyebrows raised and it was obvious that Kaname had actually managed to surprise him. It was not possible for the older pureblood to understand why one of their kind, why a near immortal would even think of sacrificing himself for a couple of human pawns. Desire was an emotion Rido understood, प्यार was not.
Rido laughed at his nephew's foolishness. "I don't remember saying that was an option. What use would your death serve me, Kaname? आप waste time..." his grip on the chains started to ease open and the two cages dipped perilously lower.
"No!" Kaname कहा urgently as he saw Yuki and Zero slip down a few inches. "Rido, hear me out. I'm not talking about my death... I'm talking about my life," he explained quickly, bargaining with the only thing he had left to bargain with. "You want my body, don't you? Isn't that what this has been about from the start? You're destroying Shiki's द्वारा possessing him too long. आप need a pureblood body, one that won't wear out and can give आप the power आप had before, and it can only be mine, because I am your only pureblood relative." A resigned thread of fear wound through Kaname's chest, but he tamped it down ruthlessly. He'd made his choice and there was no turning back.
"Don't throw away your golden opportunity, Rido. If आप kill them, death is the only thing you'll ever get from me. Mine या yours, it doesn't matter, either one will not benefit you. But let both of them go, and I will give आप my body. Once I have seen them safely away and out of your reach, then आप can take what आप want from me and I will not fight you," Kaname promised quietly. His voice was steady and even. Now that the choice was made, he would betray no weakness, no hint of the sorrow या terror that was eating his insides alive. Dying would have been one thing... this would be an unending, living death; entombed within his own body for eternity. This would be the fate he feared most, but this was the only way it could be.
Zero and Yuki would live. His soul was not too high a price to pay for them. Nothing was.
The two hostages erupted at almost the same time, putting up a sudden, urgent struggle, despite how precariously that made their cages झूला, स्विंग and shake above the roiling doom below them.
"No! Kaname, don't do it!" Yuki cried in horror. Didn't he know she'd rather die than see someone else behind his gentle, deep brown eyes? Then to see this monster living in her friend's body like he was currently living in Shiki's? He couldn't do this! He couldn't do this... not for them, not for her...
"Don't be an idiot, Kuran!" Zero kicked hard at the bars of his cage, not caring if it did drop. His head reeled in shock. He'd expected Kaname to choose him. He was ready for it; he'd been ready to die for a long time. But this... he'd never expected Kaname to do this. It felt like a physical पंच in the gut to imagine what this deal would do to the pureblood. It was so much और devastating than Zero could have imagined... to think of losing him.
Rido and Kaname ignored them completely, gazes still locked intently on one another as Rido searched Kaname's eyes warily. It was, of course, exactly what he wanted, but he was wary of accepting that Kaname would actually hold to his end of the bargain.
"You expect me to believe आप would do that, for them?" Rido's smile was hard, incredulous. "Swear it to me, Kaname. Give me your blood oath that आप will be mine for eternity, and I will set them free." A light of jubilant gloating crept into his dark eyes. "I'll even let आप say goodbye to them," he added cruelly.
Kaname's jaw worked tensely, but he'd expected such a demand. If he were Rido, he certainly wouldn't have taken his word alone on the issue. The pureblood drew a deep, steadying breath. He dropped gracefully to his knees and unbuttoned his कमीज, शर्ट down to the waist. He sliced two shallow lines on his chest with his fingernails, over his heart. Crimson blood welled to the surface. With deliberate concentration, he dabbed his finger in the blood and drew a horizontal cross-beam across both cuts. There was a reason for the old expression 'cross your दिल and hope to die' although its meaning had long been लॉस्ट to humans. The pureblood solemnly went through the motions that were almost as old as time, forming an unbreakable oath that he would be compelled to obey.
"I swear to you, द्वारा my blood, द्वारा the blood of my parents and of my ancestors that if आप let Yuki and Zero go free, if आप let them leave this place and do not harm them in any way, now या ever... then I will not fight you. I will obey your commands and be yours, for eternity," Kaname gave the oath quietly but firmly, binding himself irrevocably to the promise and to his fate. Shizuka had told him he had conjured a dark destiny for himself. If only she'd known how right she was. She probably would have laughed.
Ichiru started at Kaname. His unreadable face was blank with shock. Whatever he'd expected to witness here today... this wasn't it.
Rido's face was flushed with victory. He'd not missed the very careful and legalistic phrasing Kaname had used, but the loop-hole free bind worked both ways. He would have insisted on an amendment if it hadn't, and Kaname was obviously aware of that. Satisfied, he pulled on the chains, drawing Yuki and Zero back up to safety. Once the cages had returned to solid ground, he left it to his underlings to get them out while he made his way down to where Kaname was still kneeling.
He placed his hand on his nephew's shoulder, leaning down, his breath brushing the side of Kaname's face. "You're a fool, nephew. A complete fool, but I'm not complaining. Go. Say goodbye to your precious human pets. It's the last time you'll see them with your own eyes. Before everything आप are becomes mine."
Kaname rose to his feet, shrugging Rido's hand off his shoulder, not looking at his uncle, but rather towards where Yuki and Zero were being pulled out of their cages. They were struggling with their captors. Zero, still bound, was kicking at everything that moved and getting himself knocked around pretty good in return. Yuki was thrashing so much the two वैंपायर guarding her were forced to pick her up off the ground to keep her still.
Looking at them, Kaname found his center again and peace settled over the nausea spinning in his gut. He had made the right choice.
Kaname made his way towards the platform, pausing partway up to look back towards Rido. "No, Uncle, you're the fool," he कहा quietly. "Because the most important things in life, आप will never understand."
Blood ran down Zero's chin, his captors finally having pounded him into semi-submission, या at least dazed stillness for the moment. Yuki was still struggling, but she stopped as Kaname approached.
"Kaname, don't do this, please... don't trust him..." she begged urgently, silent tears sliding unbidden down her flushed cheeks.
Kaname shook his head. His eyes were sad, resigned. "I don't have a choice, dear one. It's already done. Shh... come on, don't let me remember आप this way, Yuki. Smile for me."
Yuki tried, smiling tearfully and Kaname cupped her cheek gently with his hand. "I प्यार you, Yuki," he कहा softly, thumb brushing gently at the wet, salty tear trails on her cheek. "If आप believe nothing else about me anymore, at least believe that. Take care of Kiriyu, huh? आप know how he needs someone to watch out for him..." he कहा with a faint smile, lifting his fingers to his lips and lightly licking away the taste of her tears, trying to ingrain a last memory of the way she felt, the way she tasted.
His gaze slid over to Zero, who looked like he was chewing nails and appeared too upset to even give a proper rise at the pureblood's half hearted attempt to tease.
"You're an idiot, Kaname. A freaking idiot!" Zero raged softly, his voice catching despite himself and making the words sound significantly और anguished than angry. "He's going to kill us all anyway!"
Kaname smiled faintly. Of course Rido would try to betray them, but he wasn't so stupid as to do it right away. "No... He dare not break his promise to let आप go safely, या it makes our agreement and my oath to him void." His eyes were drawn to the blood on the ex-human's mouth. Suddenly he was in front of Zero. His hand curled in the boy's hair, dipping his head and catching him in a brief but deeply intense kiss.
Zero was too shocked to हटाइए for a moment. He started to pull his head away but then a strange look passed over his face and he stopped, closing his eyes and remaining still.
Kaname kissed Zero like a drowning man, as if one last touch was going to have to last for an eternity of darkness. Not caring who was watching anymore, Zero returned the kiss. The hunter just heard the barely audible whisper, meant for his ears only.
"When the time comes, Zero... I'm counting on आप to kill me," Kaname murmured almost silently against Zero's mouth. But he knew the other vampire had heard him. His breath brushed Zero's jaw as the pureblood withdrew slowly, licking Zero's taste slowly from his lips.
Zero remained silent, his gaze following Kaname. The pressure in his chest squeezed painfully, like a fist around his दिल that spread upward, making his throat ache fiercely. His eyes were unreadable, but there was a small flicker of understanding there, and a promise. It was all Kaname needed to see. The pureblood turned back to Yuki, fingers trailing softly through her silky hair. There was so much he wanted to say to her, so much he could never explain about his feelings, about how it was possible to mean it when he कहा he loved her, and yet still feel the way he did about Zero. No... He would probably never have found a way to say it even if he had the rest of eternity to figure it out. So now, all he could say was goodbye, and hope that his actions at least spoke louder than the words he couldn't find. His fingers slid out of her hair. Kaname ached for a last touch that he had no right to take from her.
Rido had joined them on the platform now, taking sadistic delight in the pain radiating from the three friends. At a nod from him, Zero's cuffs were taken off. The ex-human glared murder at everyone, but he did not offer further resistance at this point, rubbing his raw wrists as his gaze slid back to Kaname and Yuki.
It was harder than Kaname had thought... saying goodbye to these two. He wanted to linger, but he knew he'd already lingered too long. He could practically feel Rido's impatience mounting and he needed to make sure that Zero and Yuki were off and on their way to safety.
Be happy, Yuki... it's all I've ever wanted for you...
He started to turn away, but Yuki stopped him. She reached up on tiptoes and caught the back of his neck, pulling him down to her level. She pressed her lips to his, catching Kaname in a soft but desperate kiss, much the same way Kaname had done with Zero a moment ago. Yuki was not going to let him go, let him simply disappear out of her life, without ever having kissed him. The flooding sorrow of all the time wasted and all the chances never taken filled her like a crushing weight and her breathing hitched in a little sob. Suddenly everything that had seemed so important या confusing before seemed no longer to matter at all.
Zero looked away, but strangely, he felt no jealousy. How could he at a moment like this? No, he felt nothing but intense sorrow and anger... and determination.
It was Kaname's turn to freeze in shock as Yuki pressed against him with uncharacteristic aggressiveness, born of despair. He melted quickly into the sweet, warm kiss, wrapping his arms around Yuki's shoulders, holding her almost crushingly tight and savoring the touch of her lips as one of the last sensations that would truly be his own. His दिल clenched in his chest.
All too soon, he had to pull away. Kaname smiled softly at Yuki – a real smile, despite the circumstances. He touched her cheek lightly, and then took her hand in his. Reaching over, his other hand caught Zero's with a little squeeze. He brought the two together, entwining Zero and Yuki's fingers. Zero would protect and cherish Yuki always, there was no one else Kaname would have trusted with his treasure. And Yuki would make Zero happy, could give him all the things he deserved and make him forget how this was all going to have to end, what he was going to have to do. If it had to turn out this way, at least Kaname could take this one comfort with him.
Rido's hand came to rest on Kaname's shoulder, indicating that he felt he'd waited long enough. As fun as it was watching this tragic little scene, he was getting impatient and thought that if he had to endure much और of this egregious sappiness he was probably going to be ill. Seriously... Kaname was so much like his father, all rot and sentimental nonsense.
Rido leaned lightly against Kaname's back, breath brushing the other vampire's neck. "It's time, Kaname. Tell your pets to run घर while they still can."
Kaname's body stiffened, but he did not otherwise react as Rido's chest pressed up against his back. He merely nodded. "Go," he कहा softly to Zero and Yuki as he allowed Rido to pull him backwards, his uncle's arms wrapping possessively around Kaname's chest from behind as he buried his face teasingly against the side of his nephew's neck.
Zero felt a hot flash of protective, almost possessive rage आग through him at the display of mock-intimacy. Kaname and Yuki were one thing... but he had an unintentional, yet gut-deep reaction to seeing anyone else lay their hands on the pureblood.
Yuki shook her head, instead rushing आगे and grabbing hold of Kaname, arms twining around his waist as if she could pull him away from Rido, as if she could keep the inevitable from happening. She was trying very hard to be strong, but she sobbed softly, she couldn't help it. The guards quickly stepped forward, grabbing at her to drag her back. Behind him, Kaname felt Rido tense, wary of trickery, and the situation threatened to turn into chaos.
Kaname caught Yuki's arms, prying them away from his waist as gently as he could, pushing her back urgently, fear for her safety sparking in his dark eyes. "No, Yuki, आप must go. Go!"
Kaname's gaze turned to Zero, both imploring and commanding. "Get her out of here!" he ordered as Rido's arms tightened painfully around his ribs, adding to the aching pressure already throbbing there for other reasons. Kaname's eyes pleaded one last request from the boy he'd ironically come to trust implicitly. Protect her.
Zero gave a small nod, cutting through the beginnings of the melee and grabbing Yuki, pulling her wordlessly to his chest and hoisting her up into his arms like a child when she started struggling fiercely with him. She was light, but incredibly hard to keep a hold of when she was अभिनय like this and he held on tightly, but as carefully as he could. Zero's throat was tight as he held Kaname's gaze for half an agonized heartbeat before he quickly turned away, struggling girl still held firmly in his arms as he started away down the stairs towards the exit at a swift, urgent pace.
Yuki actually punched at him, her fists falling uselessly and without much real intent to harm on his shoulders. She wasn't striking out at him, but at the whole, horrible situation, and Zero understood that. After a मिनट या two her struggles finally ceased and she went almost limp in his arms, clinging to Zero and burying her face against his neck as they swiftly got further and further away, heading towards safety, and leaving Kaname behind to pay the price for them.
"Kaname?" he slurred automatically. What was wrong? Why was his head pounding like this? Why did everything hurt? Why couldn't he think straight?
A soft, mocking laugh close to his ear made Zero's flesh crawl and his body tighten. That wasn't Kaname's voice.
Fingers snarled tightly in Zero's hair and yanked his head back. A symphony of hammers took up a staccato beat in his head and the hunter groaned softly through grit teeth.
"Mmm... no," Rido's voice purred against Zero's throat. "Although I dare say my nephew would punish आप for speaking to him with such little respect if he were here..." he grinned darkly. Zero had used the non-honorific form of Kaname's name, which translated either to close familiarity, या intentional rudeness. Obviously, Rido assumed the latter.
"Or maybe not, my nephew is disturbingly soft with your kind," Rido purred carelessly, slowly worrying the throbbing vein at the side of Zero's neck with his teeth. The unique blend of hunter and vampire blood in his veins, mingled with the Kuran blood he'd been drinking so much of recently, made quite an interesting enticement.
"But I'm not." Rido bit down.
Zero tensed as he felt his blood being drawn and tried to twist his head away. Rido's fingers curled और harshly into his hair, holding him still. Zero realized he couldn't हटाइए his arms. They were trapped behind him and there was some kind of warm weight against his back, but it wasn't Rido, who was beside him.
"Stop it! Leave him alone!" A familiar voice brought the final threads of recollection together in his mind and brought the reality of the current situation crashing down upon Zero. Rido... the alley, the fight...
Worst though, he realized who was behind him. Yuki struggled and he could feel it against his back, but they were bound too tightly together, hands trapped behind their backs. He realized that not all the rumbling was in his head. The ground was shaking like they were moving. In the back of a वैन, वान या a truck maybe, but the windows were all blacked out.
Rido dug his teeth in और sharply and Zero grit his jaw harder against a soft hiss of pain. A shiver ran through him at the disturbing, intimate contact. His already throbbing head started spinning.
The feeling of motion stopped, followed a moment later द्वारा the rumbling. The vehicle was still. Rido reluctantly dragged his head up, wiping Zero's blood from his lips with the back of his hand. "Ah, well, और fun later. Seems we've arrived," he कहा as the door beside them was pulled open from the outside.
The flood of incoming light made Zero wince and blink painfully as he and Yuki were dragged out of the van.
"Where is Kaname anyway?" Aido inquired, taking a break from the thick mound of papers he was sorting through. Deeds, titles, papers of incorporation and corporate charters lay several inches deep across the चोटी, शीर्ष of the hotel बिस्तर and the blond vampire was sitting cross-legged in the middle of them, looking over each one with resigned drudgery.
Wherever Rido's body was hidden had to be reasonably nearby... which meant somewhere in this country. He was probably using some place that belonged to the Ichijos. And considering he was certain to know they were hunting for him, he was probably using one of the और obscure Ichijo holdings that Takuma wasn't likely to know about off the चोटी, शीर्ष of his head. These were all facts that were सुरक्षित to assume.
Unfortunately, the Ichijos had holdings almost everywhere, including a टैंगल्ड web of sub-corporations, joint-ventures, subsidiaries and even dummy corporations that made the Gordian knot look simple. Now Aido, Ichijo, Kain and Ruka were trying to sort through the paper trail to find likely points of interest.
Takuma flicked the paper he was पढ़ना into another pile and didn't answer for a moment. "I don't know," he answered truthfully, although he suspected that the pureblood had gone to find Yuki and Zero. He wished Kaname had asked for his help, but he respected his friend's desire to handle things privately. "You know Kaname. He'll be back when he's back."
Kain reached over and pulled a sheaf of papers off of Chairman Cross's chest. The human was laying on the edge of one bed, eyes closed, glasses askew and now being used as another place to stack files. He'd fallen asleep after about ten मिनटों of looking through papers and had been dead to the world for the past few hours. Probably just as well, Takuma thought. या he would doubtless have wanted to know where Zero and Yuki were द्वारा now.
Kain gave the Chairman an amused look. "Sleeping beauty's still out," he observed.
"Let him rest, he looked really tired," Ruka कहा distractedly as she scanned the thick sheaves of legal size paper she was holding.
Takuma nodded. "I don't think he slept much last night. Hey, who has the Advanta Group charter?"
There was a quick shuffling of documents द्वारा all present. "Uhhh... got it here!" Aido said, pulling out a blue binder.
Kaname moved with a certain sure-footed grace, despite the हुड, डाकू over his head as he was man-handled out of the car. Interestingly, his captors didn't bind him, but merely led him along blindfolded. Obviously, they were counting on the fact that he wasn't going to try anything until he knew where Zero and Yuki were. There was no guarantee after all, that he had been brought to their location. Rido was clever and he was also desperate. That was not a mix to be underestimated.
Kaname felt gravel crunch under his feet. Through the mast, he smelled the faint tang of fresh air mixed with rust, chemicals, charcoal and a heavy mix of sweet and burnt scents. It wasn't an urban या residential kind of smell... he would have guessed they were near a factory, workshop या warehouse of some kind. The faint, muffled whirr of some kind of mechanical equipment somewhere nearby tended to agree with that theory.
He was led up a long flight of stairs and down a concrete hallway that echoed under their footfalls. और stairs, और passages. The air was no longer fresh. The machine sounds were louder and the sweet, burnt scent pervaded the air, like someone was burning a whole summer's worth of marshmallows nearby.
The route they took was long and tortuous, but Kaname marked it down carefully in his memory. He was finally pulled to a halt and pushed up against a wall. The हुड, डाकू was unfastened and yanked off his head. At the same time, he felt the ground rising slowly under his feet. He knew he was in some kind of elevator even before the हुड, डाकू was off.
Kaname couldn't resist drawing a deep breath of the heavy, stale air which was still so much better than the claustrophobic confines of the hood. He blinked, the dim freight elevator seeming bright after the long dark. Kaname ran a hand through his perspiration damped curls and shot a cool, collected gaze towards Ichiru, ignoring the other two वैंपायर in the elevator.
"I trust this tiresome बरसती, लबादा and dagger business is almost done?" he inquired mildly.
Ichiru smiled with equal coolness. "Why, आप got somewhere else आप need to be?"
The freight elevator ground to a halt, but the doors didn't open. Ichiru's pocket buzzed and he pulled the video phone out again, putting it to his ear and speaking a monosyllabic greeting.
He listened silently for a मिनट and then replied to the affirmative. "No problem. We'll sit tight." He ended the call and leaned back against the wall, watching Kaname.
"We're gonna wait here a few minutes," he informed. "Oh, and your Uncle sent आप something to keep आप entertained while आप wait." Using his thumb to navigate the touch screen menus, Ichiru brought up the video-mail messages and selected the new recording that had just been sent. This one wasn't live, but it couldn't have been taken too very long ago.
Ichiru tossed the phone to Kaname, who caught it and turned it around slowly in his hands. He had a nasty feeling he wasn't going to like what he would see. He was right.
A bruised, bloodied version of the face smirking at him coldly from across the elevator appeared on the small screen. Zero. Kaname's chest tightened unintentionally.
The video must have been taken inside the same vehicle in which Rido had spoken with Kaname from earlier, because the background was much the same. Kaname could just see the back of Yuki's head in the corner of the frame. He could also see Rido. The vampire's mouth teased and molested the side of the unconscious boy's neck, making a dark, fiercely protective hatred burn in Kaname's gut. Get your filthy mouth off him...
Zero stirred, obviously starting to waken. The first, mumbled name that came to his lips stabbed a spike through Kaname's stomach. The pureblood didn't realize that a flicker of that feeling showed momentarily in his eyes. He didn't notice that Ichiru was watching him with an intent, but now slightly strange look on his face. All Kaname could see was Zero... and the way blood trickled sluggishly down the side of his neck, his face creasing in discomfort and pain as Rido violated him. All Kaname could hear was the pounding in his ears and the rage throbbing in his temples.
The video ended. The phone warped and crackled, shiny screen fracturing into a mad swirl of रंग and then going dark as the LCD broke and the phone turned into a dead, warped chunk of crushed plastic and metal.
Kaname tossed the mangled gadget quietly back to Ichiru, giving him an 'oh, did आप want this back?' look.
Ichiru raised an eyebrow and slid the broken phone back into his pocket. About then the gated doors to the elevator finally ground open. Ichiru brushed द्वारा Kaname, giving the vampire an unreadable look as they stepped out.
Kaname could tell now that they were in a factory of some kind. A sugar refinery, he quickly deduced from the equipment around them. But one that did not look like it had been used in several years. The lack of employees and the dusty state of the equipment didn't explain the fact that there was still a definite thrum coming from somewhere nearby.
Ichiru and the other two led Kaname across the factory floor. Scaffolding and platforms rose on either side and ahead of them. The thrumming was getting louder and the burning sugar smell, which now made sense, was getting stronger.
They turned the corner and Kaname spotted Rido. His uncle was flanked द्वारा about half a dozen other वैंपायर who were probably guards, henchmen या hired muscle. He was standing atop one of the scaffold platforms, about two stories above the main floor of the plant. Directly below him, supported on a metal framework about one story up, was a giant tub as long and as wide as a swimming pool but much deeper. The tub was supported on a fixed framework over a massive row of gas burners. Blue flames licked at the metal, heating it like a giant cooking pot. Inside, melted down, liquid sugar bubbled and boiled, superheated to the point where the sweet substance was thin and barely viscous. In the normal sugar refining procedure, the melting process occurred between the affination and carbonation stages, but Kaname was fairly certain it wasn't done quite like this. Rido had obviously had tweaked the set up here to suit his own purposes.
That became perfectly clear when Kaname saw what Rido was doing. He had a thick length of chain wrapped tightly around each hand. The chains ran down off the edge of the platform and connected to two small, swinging cages which dangled a few feet above the bubbling, magma like surface of the boiling sugar below. The cages were just big enough to fit a seated occupant. They were impromptu affairs obviously created from bent and fused piping and other things probably found lying around the factory, but they were apparently और than strong enough to do the job.
In the cage on the right, Yuki was crouching, arms hugged to her chest, trying not to touch any of the hot metal surrounding her. The heat rolling up in intense waves from the vat below was swiftly heating the metal past comfort and safety.
In the cage on the left, Zero knelt, because he was too big to crouch in the tiny enclosure. His hands were cuffed behind his back and the stoic look on his face कहा he was stubbornly denying the pain of the metal that was slowly starting to heat hot enough to burn.
Only the strength of the vampire holding the cages up kept them from falling down into the vat below. Heated to this point, the liquid sugar was as good as lava या napalm. It would burn away flesh to the bone in moments. Kaname might have been able to survive a trip into that vat, although it would probably take him years in a coma to recover, but Yuki and Zero wouldn't. They would die on contact.
"Kaname!" Yuki cried out in a strained voice somewhere between apprehension and hope when she saw him. Zero's gaze followed the same path and he frowned in concern at seeing Kaname here alone and obviously under guard. He saw his brother standing near Kaname. His gaze darkened and quickly slid away. He couldn't really hate Ichiru completely, because some part of him would always प्यार the little boy he'd tried to be such a good 'big' brother to. But that boy seemed to him to have died the same night his parents did, and Zero could never understand the choices his brothers had made.
Kaname felt cold and hot at the same time. Ichiru's hand on his shoulder told him to halt and remain where he was. The pureblood did. But only because as fast as he was, Kaname knew Rido was just as fast. He couldn't rush the platform as he would like to do, dare not try to snatch, push या levitate Zero and Yuki away from the dangerous ledge. These thoughts ran swiftly through his head. Like moves in a chess game, he rapidly calculated his different options out, considering all the possible counter-moves to each one. Unfortunately, anyway he looked at it, the situation spelled checkmate. The only way he had a chance through brute attack, was if Rido made a significant blunder. He couldn't afford to count on something like that. Not when Zero and Yuki literally hung in the balance.
Kaname was going to have to play his Uncle's game a little longer and try to win himself a better position.
"I didn't know आप had such a sweet tooth, Uncle," Kaname called up with cold condescension; glad he was far enough away that Rido couldn't hear how loudly his दिल was hammering in his chest. "But don't आप think this is a little on the melodramatic side? Seriously... if आप were going to go all out, आप might as well have at least imported a few skulls and bats to compliment the theme." The pureblood's tone was heavy with acidic sarcasm.
Rido was not amused, but he grinned darkly. "I'm a traditionalist, what can I say? Sometimes a little lack of modern convention goes a long way. आप can mock, but I note you've already gathered that आप better stay very, very still या else your little pets are going to end up in a rather bad way."
Yes. Kaname already understood that. He understood that if anything happened to Rido, Zero and Yuki would fall to their deaths. "And do आप expect to stand there forever, Rido? What do आप hope to gain द्वारा all this?" Urgency clawed silently at him.
The flames under the vat were cranked up too high and the roiling liquid sugar was burning and sticking to the bottom of the pan even as it bubbled, like a कारमेल glaze gone badly wrong. The sweet, yet acrid scent of burning sugar rolled upward, making the hot air difficult to breathe for the two captives in the cages.
The soles of Yuki's shoes were starting to stick to the floor of the small cage. Zero's jaw was clenched tightly against the growing pain and he shifted uncomfortably in the cage, glancing morosely below and trying to see a way out of this situation. Nothing was presenting itself. Death द्वारा caramel... sounded like a great slogan for a confectioner, lousy way to die though.
"No, Kaname," Rido replied quietly. "You and I have much to discuss, and I'd prefer to do it somewhere और comfortable. But... you've been nothing but trouble to me for years, nephew. You've cost me everything not once, but twice now, and I don't intend to let that go unpunished."
Kaname felt a dark chill sweep up his spine. He hoped that Rido didn't mean what he thought he did... but he knew better.
"Your parents should have taught आप that bad little boys get their toys taken away from them. I'd rather not completely discard my advantage just yet, but when it comes down to it, I really only need one bargaining chip, don't I? Two hostages are twice the trouble..."
"Rido..." Kaname's voice was dark with warning.
Rido relished the situation in which he had his nephew trapped. "I'll let आप choose, Kaname," he कहा with an evilly contented smirk. "Which one do आप want to sacrifice? One of them is going to die." Rido see-sawed the chains slightly, waggling the cages. "Choose which one, या they both die right now." Rido was serious. He didn't necessarily want to lose all his leverage, but he already had Kaname और या less where he wanted him. Forcing Kaname to sentence one of his pets to the hideous doom below them was delicious, and if Kaname would not oblige, he wouldn't hesitate to carry through on his threat to end them both.
Kaname felt frozen. He knew Rido was serious. His mind swiftly considered and discarded a million different options, a million different things he could try to do that would spare both Yuki and Zero... but in the end there was nothing. Rido had laid his plans and his trap too carefully. He wasn't about to underestimate Kaname a सेकंड time.
Kaname's gaze darted between Zero and Yuki. Choose... how could he? The pureblood was used to making hard choices. Was used to having to choose the lesser of two evils, या sometimes, even the greater. But this... it was impossible, Kaname couldn't choose. Either way would be slicing out an irrecoverable, necessary piece of his heart. Kaname felt his throat threaten to squeeze close as his दिल pumped useless panic through him, which didn't aid his thinking at all. He couldn't even hide the stark anguish that filtered across his face.
Yuki's eyes were wide with shock and fright. Zero's blazed with angry fear as they locked intently on the pureblood below. Choose me. They कहा as clear as words. Choose me so Yuki can live. So help me, Kaname, I'll never forgive आप if आप don't.
Kaname felt like he couldn't get enough air. He couldn't possibly choose Yuki – he loved her desperately and had sworn to always protect her. But... there was no way. He couldn't choose Zero either. He felt like a stake had been stabbed through his chest even thinking about it. The boy was in his heart; in his blood... it would both figuratively and literally kill him to lose him. Standing here, faced with the impossible, Kaname realized clearly for the first time... he loved them both. He needed them both. He couldn't live without either of them.
Which meant there was only one thing left that he could do. When the rules of the game sucked... change the rules.
Kaname took a careful step forward, gaze locking with Rido as held his hands out to the side in a gesture of submission. "I choose a third option, Rido," he कहा quietly. "I choose myself."
Rido's eyebrows raised and it was obvious that Kaname had actually managed to surprise him. It was not possible for the older pureblood to understand why one of their kind, why a near immortal would even think of sacrificing himself for a couple of human pawns. Desire was an emotion Rido understood, प्यार was not.
Rido laughed at his nephew's foolishness. "I don't remember saying that was an option. What use would your death serve me, Kaname? आप waste time..." his grip on the chains started to ease open and the two cages dipped perilously lower.
"No!" Kaname कहा urgently as he saw Yuki and Zero slip down a few inches. "Rido, hear me out. I'm not talking about my death... I'm talking about my life," he explained quickly, bargaining with the only thing he had left to bargain with. "You want my body, don't you? Isn't that what this has been about from the start? You're destroying Shiki's द्वारा possessing him too long. आप need a pureblood body, one that won't wear out and can give आप the power आप had before, and it can only be mine, because I am your only pureblood relative." A resigned thread of fear wound through Kaname's chest, but he tamped it down ruthlessly. He'd made his choice and there was no turning back.
"Don't throw away your golden opportunity, Rido. If आप kill them, death is the only thing you'll ever get from me. Mine या yours, it doesn't matter, either one will not benefit you. But let both of them go, and I will give आप my body. Once I have seen them safely away and out of your reach, then आप can take what आप want from me and I will not fight you," Kaname promised quietly. His voice was steady and even. Now that the choice was made, he would betray no weakness, no hint of the sorrow या terror that was eating his insides alive. Dying would have been one thing... this would be an unending, living death; entombed within his own body for eternity. This would be the fate he feared most, but this was the only way it could be.
Zero and Yuki would live. His soul was not too high a price to pay for them. Nothing was.
The two hostages erupted at almost the same time, putting up a sudden, urgent struggle, despite how precariously that made their cages झूला, स्विंग and shake above the roiling doom below them.
"No! Kaname, don't do it!" Yuki cried in horror. Didn't he know she'd rather die than see someone else behind his gentle, deep brown eyes? Then to see this monster living in her friend's body like he was currently living in Shiki's? He couldn't do this! He couldn't do this... not for them, not for her...
"Don't be an idiot, Kuran!" Zero kicked hard at the bars of his cage, not caring if it did drop. His head reeled in shock. He'd expected Kaname to choose him. He was ready for it; he'd been ready to die for a long time. But this... he'd never expected Kaname to do this. It felt like a physical पंच in the gut to imagine what this deal would do to the pureblood. It was so much और devastating than Zero could have imagined... to think of losing him.
Rido and Kaname ignored them completely, gazes still locked intently on one another as Rido searched Kaname's eyes warily. It was, of course, exactly what he wanted, but he was wary of accepting that Kaname would actually hold to his end of the bargain.
"You expect me to believe आप would do that, for them?" Rido's smile was hard, incredulous. "Swear it to me, Kaname. Give me your blood oath that आप will be mine for eternity, and I will set them free." A light of jubilant gloating crept into his dark eyes. "I'll even let आप say goodbye to them," he added cruelly.
Kaname's jaw worked tensely, but he'd expected such a demand. If he were Rido, he certainly wouldn't have taken his word alone on the issue. The pureblood drew a deep, steadying breath. He dropped gracefully to his knees and unbuttoned his कमीज, शर्ट down to the waist. He sliced two shallow lines on his chest with his fingernails, over his heart. Crimson blood welled to the surface. With deliberate concentration, he dabbed his finger in the blood and drew a horizontal cross-beam across both cuts. There was a reason for the old expression 'cross your दिल and hope to die' although its meaning had long been लॉस्ट to humans. The pureblood solemnly went through the motions that were almost as old as time, forming an unbreakable oath that he would be compelled to obey.
"I swear to you, द्वारा my blood, द्वारा the blood of my parents and of my ancestors that if आप let Yuki and Zero go free, if आप let them leave this place and do not harm them in any way, now या ever... then I will not fight you. I will obey your commands and be yours, for eternity," Kaname gave the oath quietly but firmly, binding himself irrevocably to the promise and to his fate. Shizuka had told him he had conjured a dark destiny for himself. If only she'd known how right she was. She probably would have laughed.
Ichiru started at Kaname. His unreadable face was blank with shock. Whatever he'd expected to witness here today... this wasn't it.
Rido's face was flushed with victory. He'd not missed the very careful and legalistic phrasing Kaname had used, but the loop-hole free bind worked both ways. He would have insisted on an amendment if it hadn't, and Kaname was obviously aware of that. Satisfied, he pulled on the chains, drawing Yuki and Zero back up to safety. Once the cages had returned to solid ground, he left it to his underlings to get them out while he made his way down to where Kaname was still kneeling.
He placed his hand on his nephew's shoulder, leaning down, his breath brushing the side of Kaname's face. "You're a fool, nephew. A complete fool, but I'm not complaining. Go. Say goodbye to your precious human pets. It's the last time you'll see them with your own eyes. Before everything आप are becomes mine."
Kaname rose to his feet, shrugging Rido's hand off his shoulder, not looking at his uncle, but rather towards where Yuki and Zero were being pulled out of their cages. They were struggling with their captors. Zero, still bound, was kicking at everything that moved and getting himself knocked around pretty good in return. Yuki was thrashing so much the two वैंपायर guarding her were forced to pick her up off the ground to keep her still.
Looking at them, Kaname found his center again and peace settled over the nausea spinning in his gut. He had made the right choice.
Kaname made his way towards the platform, pausing partway up to look back towards Rido. "No, Uncle, you're the fool," he कहा quietly. "Because the most important things in life, आप will never understand."
Blood ran down Zero's chin, his captors finally having pounded him into semi-submission, या at least dazed stillness for the moment. Yuki was still struggling, but she stopped as Kaname approached.
"Kaname, don't do this, please... don't trust him..." she begged urgently, silent tears sliding unbidden down her flushed cheeks.
Kaname shook his head. His eyes were sad, resigned. "I don't have a choice, dear one. It's already done. Shh... come on, don't let me remember आप this way, Yuki. Smile for me."
Yuki tried, smiling tearfully and Kaname cupped her cheek gently with his hand. "I प्यार you, Yuki," he कहा softly, thumb brushing gently at the wet, salty tear trails on her cheek. "If आप believe nothing else about me anymore, at least believe that. Take care of Kiriyu, huh? आप know how he needs someone to watch out for him..." he कहा with a faint smile, lifting his fingers to his lips and lightly licking away the taste of her tears, trying to ingrain a last memory of the way she felt, the way she tasted.
His gaze slid over to Zero, who looked like he was chewing nails and appeared too upset to even give a proper rise at the pureblood's half hearted attempt to tease.
"You're an idiot, Kaname. A freaking idiot!" Zero raged softly, his voice catching despite himself and making the words sound significantly और anguished than angry. "He's going to kill us all anyway!"
Kaname smiled faintly. Of course Rido would try to betray them, but he wasn't so stupid as to do it right away. "No... He dare not break his promise to let आप go safely, या it makes our agreement and my oath to him void." His eyes were drawn to the blood on the ex-human's mouth. Suddenly he was in front of Zero. His hand curled in the boy's hair, dipping his head and catching him in a brief but deeply intense kiss.
Zero was too shocked to हटाइए for a moment. He started to pull his head away but then a strange look passed over his face and he stopped, closing his eyes and remaining still.
Kaname kissed Zero like a drowning man, as if one last touch was going to have to last for an eternity of darkness. Not caring who was watching anymore, Zero returned the kiss. The hunter just heard the barely audible whisper, meant for his ears only.
"When the time comes, Zero... I'm counting on आप to kill me," Kaname murmured almost silently against Zero's mouth. But he knew the other vampire had heard him. His breath brushed Zero's jaw as the pureblood withdrew slowly, licking Zero's taste slowly from his lips.
Zero remained silent, his gaze following Kaname. The pressure in his chest squeezed painfully, like a fist around his दिल that spread upward, making his throat ache fiercely. His eyes were unreadable, but there was a small flicker of understanding there, and a promise. It was all Kaname needed to see. The pureblood turned back to Yuki, fingers trailing softly through her silky hair. There was so much he wanted to say to her, so much he could never explain about his feelings, about how it was possible to mean it when he कहा he loved her, and yet still feel the way he did about Zero. No... He would probably never have found a way to say it even if he had the rest of eternity to figure it out. So now, all he could say was goodbye, and hope that his actions at least spoke louder than the words he couldn't find. His fingers slid out of her hair. Kaname ached for a last touch that he had no right to take from her.
Rido had joined them on the platform now, taking sadistic delight in the pain radiating from the three friends. At a nod from him, Zero's cuffs were taken off. The ex-human glared murder at everyone, but he did not offer further resistance at this point, rubbing his raw wrists as his gaze slid back to Kaname and Yuki.
It was harder than Kaname had thought... saying goodbye to these two. He wanted to linger, but he knew he'd already lingered too long. He could practically feel Rido's impatience mounting and he needed to make sure that Zero and Yuki were off and on their way to safety.
Be happy, Yuki... it's all I've ever wanted for you...
He started to turn away, but Yuki stopped him. She reached up on tiptoes and caught the back of his neck, pulling him down to her level. She pressed her lips to his, catching Kaname in a soft but desperate kiss, much the same way Kaname had done with Zero a moment ago. Yuki was not going to let him go, let him simply disappear out of her life, without ever having kissed him. The flooding sorrow of all the time wasted and all the chances never taken filled her like a crushing weight and her breathing hitched in a little sob. Suddenly everything that had seemed so important या confusing before seemed no longer to matter at all.
Zero looked away, but strangely, he felt no jealousy. How could he at a moment like this? No, he felt nothing but intense sorrow and anger... and determination.
It was Kaname's turn to freeze in shock as Yuki pressed against him with uncharacteristic aggressiveness, born of despair. He melted quickly into the sweet, warm kiss, wrapping his arms around Yuki's shoulders, holding her almost crushingly tight and savoring the touch of her lips as one of the last sensations that would truly be his own. His दिल clenched in his chest.
All too soon, he had to pull away. Kaname smiled softly at Yuki – a real smile, despite the circumstances. He touched her cheek lightly, and then took her hand in his. Reaching over, his other hand caught Zero's with a little squeeze. He brought the two together, entwining Zero and Yuki's fingers. Zero would protect and cherish Yuki always, there was no one else Kaname would have trusted with his treasure. And Yuki would make Zero happy, could give him all the things he deserved and make him forget how this was all going to have to end, what he was going to have to do. If it had to turn out this way, at least Kaname could take this one comfort with him.
Rido's hand came to rest on Kaname's shoulder, indicating that he felt he'd waited long enough. As fun as it was watching this tragic little scene, he was getting impatient and thought that if he had to endure much और of this egregious sappiness he was probably going to be ill. Seriously... Kaname was so much like his father, all rot and sentimental nonsense.
Rido leaned lightly against Kaname's back, breath brushing the other vampire's neck. "It's time, Kaname. Tell your pets to run घर while they still can."
Kaname's body stiffened, but he did not otherwise react as Rido's chest pressed up against his back. He merely nodded. "Go," he कहा softly to Zero and Yuki as he allowed Rido to pull him backwards, his uncle's arms wrapping possessively around Kaname's chest from behind as he buried his face teasingly against the side of his nephew's neck.
Zero felt a hot flash of protective, almost possessive rage आग through him at the display of mock-intimacy. Kaname and Yuki were one thing... but he had an unintentional, yet gut-deep reaction to seeing anyone else lay their hands on the pureblood.
Yuki shook her head, instead rushing आगे and grabbing hold of Kaname, arms twining around his waist as if she could pull him away from Rido, as if she could keep the inevitable from happening. She was trying very hard to be strong, but she sobbed softly, she couldn't help it. The guards quickly stepped forward, grabbing at her to drag her back. Behind him, Kaname felt Rido tense, wary of trickery, and the situation threatened to turn into chaos.
Kaname caught Yuki's arms, prying them away from his waist as gently as he could, pushing her back urgently, fear for her safety sparking in his dark eyes. "No, Yuki, आप must go. Go!"
Kaname's gaze turned to Zero, both imploring and commanding. "Get her out of here!" he ordered as Rido's arms tightened painfully around his ribs, adding to the aching pressure already throbbing there for other reasons. Kaname's eyes pleaded one last request from the boy he'd ironically come to trust implicitly. Protect her.
Zero gave a small nod, cutting through the beginnings of the melee and grabbing Yuki, pulling her wordlessly to his chest and hoisting her up into his arms like a child when she started struggling fiercely with him. She was light, but incredibly hard to keep a hold of when she was अभिनय like this and he held on tightly, but as carefully as he could. Zero's throat was tight as he held Kaname's gaze for half an agonized heartbeat before he quickly turned away, struggling girl still held firmly in his arms as he started away down the stairs towards the exit at a swift, urgent pace.
Yuki actually punched at him, her fists falling uselessly and without much real intent to harm on his shoulders. She wasn't striking out at him, but at the whole, horrible situation, and Zero understood that. After a मिनट या two her struggles finally ceased and she went almost limp in his arms, clinging to Zero and burying her face against his neck as they swiftly got further and further away, heading towards safety, and leaving Kaname behind to pay the price for them.