Disclaimer for the rest of the story: I own nothing

Chapter 5

Aidou nearly slapped himself after spending a good five minutes in front of the bathroom mirror. The little brat had gotten him so worked out he had completely forgot a very important detail. Vampire's don't get wrinkles. At least not until they are really old, and for vampires, it takes centuries upon centuries to even get a single wrinkle. Aidou seethed as he glared into the mirror. The brat had tricked him! He had gotten under Aidou's skin and played with his head.

Aidou clenched his fists and marched back towards the kitchen. Oooh, the little prick was going to pay. Plans swirled in Aidou's head as he went through ways to get back at the child. It was bad enough Lord Kaname was being forced to babysit, but the child was completely disrespectful and deceitful. There was no way Aidou was going to let that child spoil Lord Kaname's reputation. Aidou mulled over possible plans to get rid of Zero, but was startled out of his thoughts by the scene in the kitchen.

Aidou's jaw dropped as he took in the messy table and floor. He shot a dark look to the child bouncing with glee in his chair. The brat was trying his patience. Aidou opened his mouth to give Zero a piece of his mind when a chill went up his back. Aidou froze for a moment then turned to see Lord Kaname perched in another chair with his fingers interlaced. Aidou shivered at the cold look Lord Kaname was directing at him. He could feel his gaze roll from his shivering form and to the mess that had taken over the kitchen.

Aidou's eyes widened with realization as he followed Lord Kaname's gaze. He had been ordered to watch over Zero without incident, and yet Kaname had returned to find the mess with no Aidou in sight. Aidou swallowed thickly. It was obvious Lord Kaname was furious with him. Behind that cold yet calm gaze was a place worse than hell. Aidou could already see Kain's disappointed gaze and hear Ruka's snickering voice when they find out that Aidou had somehow, once again, caused Lord Kaname's wrath to come down upon him.

Aidou snapped back to himself as he realized he had been standing there with his mouth gaping like a fish. "U-uhm L-lord Kaname! I-"

"Have neglected your responsibility once again. Yes, I know. But do tell me, what was so urgent that you felt the need to abandon your duty that I had entrusted you with? Hmm?" Kaname lifted a perfect chocolate colored eyebrow as he watched Aidou struggle with himself to give an appropriate answer.

"No! I-I was…You see, he-…the child…then I…It wasn't-…" Aidou fumbled, trying to put the words to his defense together without sounding like a complete moron.

Kaname let him suffer for a moment longer. "You see, Zero here was telling me a very interesting story." Aidou shot a quick look towards the child who was being given candy from Cross. "He was talking about a game you were playing with him. One where you gave a 'mean look' to him nonstop." Aidou wrung his hands while trying to ignore the sweat that was beginning to gather.

"Yeah! And he didn't tell me the rules to the game either! It wasn't fair, so he is a cheater! A CHEATER!" Zero added, pointing the lollipop he was eating towards the culprit. Kaname's lips tilted upward a little in amusement.

"Yes. And after Zero finally got you to talk to him, you ended up leaving him all alone."

"He got all scared because his face was going falling off from all the wrinklies." Zero scrunched up his nose at the thought. Kaname gave Aidou a blank stare at that, and Aidou couldn't help but blush with embarrassment. Being a vampire, a noble, and being so young left Aidou's face without a blemish. Kaname was almost disappointed with Aidou. He had hoped that Aidou wouldn't have been that stupid. But, this was Aidou they were talking about here.

"H-he tricked me! He had gotten me all riled up and then tricked me into thinking I could get them!" Aidou defended weakly. Kaname was not impressed.

"A five or six year old tricked you into thinking that you had enough wrinkles your face was going to fall off, even though you, like everyone else in the night class, are incapable of getting any for eons? Aidou, I do believe your parents will be very disappointed in your lack of self-restraint and possibly learning capabilities." Kaname tutted. "This will reflect badly on the school."

Aidou's shoulders sagged in defeat. "Yes, Lord Kaname."

"Well, since the standard has been lowered so much already, I guess it would do no harm to let you have one last chance to redeem yourself." Kaname mused. Aidou nodded vigorously with hope in his eyes. Cross's head swung to look at Kaname in shock. Kaname never lets anyone off so easily. Cross scrutinized him. Kaname must have had something up his sleeve to be letting Aidou off so easily.

"Good, then part one is to return to the dorm and gather the night class together in the lounge. I would like to introduce Zero immediately since he is going to be a constant presence from now on." Aidou frowned slightly at this but continued to listen carefully. "Part two will be determined after the meeting, so I would like you to meet me in my office to discuss your punishment for disobeying." Aidou paled considerably when he heard this, catching the dark look in Lord Kaname's eyes as he said it.

Aaannnd there was the catch. Cross nodded to himself as he shifted his attention back to bribing Zero to open up to him again. Cross briefly wondered what Aidou's punishment would entail. Cleaning all of the bathrooms on campus? Wear a dunce hat for a month? Be a slave for a week? No. Not the last one. Cross had a feeling Kaname wouldn't want Aidou to hang around him more than he already does. Cross hummed with amusement as Aidou ran from the kitchen and to the dorms. He probably wanted to get it done quickly so that he could prepare himself mentally for what was to come.

Cross piled different kinds and flavors of candy in front of Zero as Kaname's attention was refocused onto them. Zero was taking the candy, but still seemed cautious around Cross. Kaname wasn't sure if Zero would ever completely trust Cross again after his accidental betrayal. Zero was most likely traumatized from the experience and would be sensitive to trusting other people from now on. Kaname watched silently for a few brief moments, pitying the small boy who was hurt and the sad fool who hurt him.

"Cross, I would suggest you stop while you're ahead of yourself. Otherwise, Zero will be unable to sleep due to a sugar rush. Now, come on Zero. We should head off."

Cross glanced between the large pile of candy, Zero, and Kaname. Cross pouted slightly, but conceded. Zero was having a hard enough time holding the candy Cross had already given him. Cross watched as Zero struggled to get up. His small arms cradling as many candies as he possibly could. A few pieces escaping his grasp and falling to the floor as Zero rushed towards Kaname.

Cross could see how attached the two seemed already. They hadn't been together for more than a day, but to others it would seem like they knew each other forever. Cross saw the small spark in Kaname's eyes every time he looked at Zero. Cross sighed. He knew he had ruined the relationship between himself and Zero before it really had a chance to begin.

Kaname picked up the child causing a couple more pieces of candy to fall from the small pile in Zero's arms. With Zero in his arms, Kaname headed for the door. Zero looked over at the headmaster, and gave a small wave before disappearing from the room.

Cross stared at the doorway with tears in his eyes. Maybe there was a chance to mend what he had broken.

~(A Magical Linebreaker)~

Aidou was pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace trying not to think of what his punishment would be. Lord Kaname was surely not going to go easy on him. After all, this wasn't Aidou's first offense this week. Aidou was just trying his best to make Lord Kaname happy, though all of his plans had failed so far.

"Aidou! Quit pacing. You're giving me a headache." Ruka growled. "Sit and wait for Lord Kaname to return like he told you." Aidou shot a glare at the female vampire. "Your punishment can't be as bad as the one you got when you nearly exposed us that one day. Oh Wait. That's every day! Every day, strutting around flirting with the day class, and to make it worse you seem to enjoy encouraging them to sneak out just to get a glimpse of us."

"Hey! I am not 'exposing' us. I am just providing a bit of fan service with the girls, and I don't see what's wrong with letting them sneak a peek. It's not like we bite…hard." Aidou chuckled a bit weakly at his own joke.

"Actually, Aidou, letting the girls sneak around is what can expose us. What if one of them bleeds from tripping in the dark, and sees our eyes glow?" Takuma reasoned. "It could mean the end of the academy. Kaname's academy." Aidou opened and closed his mouth a few times trying to find something to say in retaliation, but ended up huffing and slumping onto the couch next to Kain. Kaname's inner group which consisted of Takuma, Ruka, Senri, Rima, Kain, and Aidou had gathered by the front door after hearing

"So what did Lord Kaname want to talk to us about anyway, Aidou?" Ruka asked.

"You'll find out when he gets here, Ruka." Ruka growled quietly at Aidou's tone.

"Now, now you two. Don't fight. Aidou was probably instructed not to tell us. You know how Kaname is." Takuma pleaded. Ruka hmphed and turned away while Aidou silently stared at the floor. Kaname often kept secrets. Though Takuma wondered what Kaname had to reveal so suddenly.

Takuma and the rest on the inner group perked up as they felt two presences approach the building. One was Kaname, but the other one was strange. It felt small and it was hard to read the aura. Senri tilted his head to the side and looked at Takuma questioningly. But Takuma just shook his head. He had no idea who it was either.

Everyone looked towards to doors in anticipation as they opened to reveal Kaname with a small child in his arms. The group, with the exception of Aidou, was frozen in shock. Aidou just huffed quietly and looked away from the scene. He really didn't like how close the two seemed. And judging by the look on Ruka's face, she didn't either.

"Kaname, who is this little guy?" Takuma asked as he crept forward for a better look. The child was hiding his face from the group by pressing his face into Kaname's shirt. Takuma now understood why Kaname hadn't gathered the whole night class. The child did not seem to like meeting new people, as 'most children didn't, and introducing the boy to a room full of older people so suddenly would have been stressful for the little tyke.

"This, Takuma, is Zero, and he is going to be a guest here for a while. The headmaster is in the process of adopting him, and so for now Zero will be staying with us. I will need you all to help me guarantee his safety during his stay." Kaname was just glad that the majority of the candy Cross gave Zero was gone, though it would have been better had the candy disappeared because Zero had dropped the majority of it rather than Zero eating it on the way to the dorm. He set Zero on the ground, allowing the other vampires a better look at Zero now that his face was revealed.

"He's so cute!" All eyes widened and stared at the shocked form of Ruka, the stony princess. Ruka was flustered at her own outburst and covered her mouth with her hand. She really didn't know what came over her. After all, the boy was a human. Why on earth did she react like that? Ashamed of her own lack of control, Ruka turned away slightly, hiding her face from view.

"I agree." Rima stated quietly. Senri nodded beside her in agreement. Knocked out of their stunned silence, the group burst into questions and comments about the newcomer.

"Is that his natural hair and eye color?"

"How old is he?"

"Why didn't the headmaster let the boy stay with him?"

"Where did he come from?"

"He smells sweet."

"He's cute. Can I keep him?"

Zero did not appreciate the attention. He felt overwhelmed by the storm of questions directed at him and Kaname, and ended up trying to hide behind Kaname's leg with a slightly scared look on his face.

"What is his name?" Takuma asked, silencing the other questions with a smile. The group, excluding Aidou, hadn't even thought about the fact that they didn't even know the child's name.

"Zero. His name is Zero." Takuma's smile dropped for a brief moment at the odd name, but shrugged it off and crouched down in front of Zero with a kind smile on his face.

"Nice to meet you, Zero. I'm Takuma. Please feel free to come to me if you need anything." Zero only stared at the vampire with his brows slightly furrowed. Noticing that Zero wasn't going to say anything, Takuma decided it was best just to introduce everyone.

Through the whole introduction Zero did not say a word, just watched silently and intently. The group found it odd, but didn't dare say anything.

"Thank you, Takuma. I am going to take Zero to bed now. Goodnight." The group bowed and chorused "Goodnight, Lord Kaname."

Kaname nodded back before taking Zero's hand and guiding him towards his bedroom.

~(What's this? Another linebreaker?!)~

"Kana…" Kaname looked at Zero curiously as he began to tuck Zero into bed.

"Yes, Zero?"

"Why do you feel different from Cross and those people downstairs? Cross and those people don't feel the same, but you are even more different than that!" Kaname's jaw almost dropped. This boy was very perceptive, but he really couldn't feel auras, could he?

"What do you mean Zero?" Zero frowned.

"Uhmm…I mean…You just feel…stronger? Not like Cross's strong, but a different strong. It's almost scary. Yours feels stronger than everyone downstairs." Kaname's eyes widened a fraction. The child could feel the auras. Even Cross's and his own which were both suppressed. This child had the ability to sense suppressed auras of both hunters and vampires. Zero was a very curious being indeed.

"It's because you have a special gift, Zero. But for now let's keep this a secret between us, okay? Not everyone will like your gift, and will put you in danger." Zero's frown deepened, but he nodded slowly. "Thank you, Zero."

Zero smiled and snuggled under the covers.

"See you in the morning, Kana."

"Goodnight, Zero."

Hey people! I am not dead, and I didn't abandon this story. Life is just crazy right now. Thank you for bearing with me. I made this chapter longer than usual so I hope you enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I will be doing more really, really slow updates, but I will do my best.

Big thank you to my reviewers, followers, and favoriters!