AN : Its me again! Thank you very much to all those to have reviewed my other stories. They are not connected, but do occur in chronological order. This is the third, following 'the Price of Darkness.'

I hope you enjoy this as well!

The Dance of Deception

Zero closed the doors of the Moon Dormitory behind him as he stepped into the hall. For all that he was now a vampire, he moved like a mouse amongst a maze of mousetraps, ever nervous and wary.

He made it to the staircase without challenge. That is, until there was a malicious hiss behind him.

"And where do you think you're off to, ex-human?" Aido asked.

"I've got a bone to settle with Kaname." He did not deign to turn.

"Kaname-sama is resting!" Aido growled, moving in front to block his way.

"Let him pass!" Seiren called from above as she made her way down the staircase. "Kaname-sama is expecting him."

Zero sneered at the pretty blue eyes, made to pass, and was frozen by his ankles to the floor in a fit of petty anger.

"He didn't say in what condition," Aido whispered, grinning.

Zero turned, mouth contorted in a growl, reaching for the gun – but a long, slimy thing wrapped itself around his wrists and tightened, effectively leaving his arms bound behind his back.

"What is this?" he demanded, furious; Zero had a glimpse of a small, dark haired boy – Shiki, his name was – before something slapped itself around his eyes and blinded him.

The smell of rust was in the air, and as Zero's hands twisted within warm, slippery cuffs, he realized that Shiki, who wielded his blood as a weapon, had bound and blinded him with congealed, half solidified blood.

"Well! Go on, then, Zero Kiriyuu! Your master is waiting!" Aido laughed.

Zero took a step forward, and blundered into a candle holder on the wall. The vampires around tittered mockingly.

"Take the witless fool away, Seiren!" Aido commanded, and Zero felt his shoulder taken by a light hand, steering him not ungently.

"Save your anger! You are sightless and helpless now!" she murmured.

Without his sight, his bound hands affecting his balance, each of Zero's steps was as shaky as a toddler's; and though Seiren's arm steadied him, the vampires hissed and sniggered at his dependence.

He stumbled against a step, and Aido's voice rose again in a jeer. Seiren's palm gripped his shoulder painfully when she felt his muscles tense.

"Save it, I said! I have endured no less than you!" Zero took a deep breath to control his anger as they left the steps and entered the silent corridor.

"They treat you the same way?" Zero into the silence, curious despite himself. At first, he did not think Seiren was going to answer. But then she answered.

"I am a mere commoner, claiming lineage to my race only through the much diluted bloodline of my mother, who was raped by a human man and died birthing me. In other words, I was born unclean and defiled. It is only by Kaname sama's kindness that I have a place amongst vampires."

"He makes use of you, like he makes use of all of you. All of us," Zero said.

"Make use of - !

"Open your eyes, Kiryuu. Kaname sama has the loyalty of every single vampire in this school. Our complete loyalty! Not to our clans or to our elders, but to him alone! Would it please him, I would gladly give my life – it is his right to command, and our pride to obey!

"Do you understand, human? You stand amongst us, a mouse trespassing the lair of vipers. You walk, unscathed, unchallenged, by the whim of our lord! And you dare to insult him!

"We all of us know our place – it is time you know yours!"

With that angry outburst, she shoved Zero into a room slammed the door on Zero's foot.

The ex-human extracted it and cursed under his breath.

"Well, Zero. What brings you here?"

The familiar curt voice of the pureblood made Zero stand upright, and his ears strained to detect the direction from which it came from.

"Can you never teach your students courtesy? Remove these infernal bonds." Zero's tone matched Kaname's in cool, disjointed interest.

The cuffs vanished obligingly from his wrist, and Zero immediately raised his hands to unbind his eyes. Alas, the plasma blood around his head had no knots – it was simply a band.

"Come forward, where I can see you."

Uncertainly, Zero took a step. There was nothing in his path, so he took another, and another. Soon he was grimly striding across the room to where he imagined Kaname was sitting on his sofa. He remembered a fireplace on the right – yes, there was that heat now.

"Beware the carpet," came the polite notification, even as Zero's uncomprehending feet stubbornly swung forward, caught on the fold in the carpet and catapaulted him to his knees.

Zero cursed, and raised his hands hesitantly, feeling for any furniture in his way. His hands grasped a cool fluid fabric with a pleasant ester smell; there was a hard but yielding object in it, slightly cylindrical in shape. His fingers reached upward, over a slight depression and then a smooth, raised ridge that had another familiar smell. Then a different fabric, again over a smooth, hard surface…

"Is this your usual way of beginning a statement?"

Kaname's voice, dry enough to wither a cactus, was directly above him.

It was with a jolt of pure horror that Zero jumped and snatched his hands away from what he realized was the thigh and torso of a living, breathing body. His heart pounding madly in shock, he suddenly placed the scent of Kaname's tailored Armani pants – the leather belt – and of course, the outline of his toned body beneath. Words could not begin to describe the pall of mortification that settled over his features.

"I have witnessed many different openings to an argument, and this is the most interesting and unorthodox beginning I have experience yet. I assure you, it is hardly necessary to resort to a blatant intrusion of my personal privacy to gain my attention."

Zero sat back on his heels, seething at his own ridiculous idiocy. He could envision the expression of bored superiority of the vampire before him. His fingers twitched as he remembered the touch of Kaname's muscled stomach beneath them.

"Amusing as it is to observe your self directed look of disgust, I had hoped to squander my weekend in a tavern with a pretty lass or two in my bed. What do you want?"

Zero blanched on Kaname's uncharacteristically lewd statement, but recovered his wits and got to his feet.

"I need information," Zero began.

"Information that you cannot find in the newspapers, the internet, or from the Chairman?"

"I want to know the whereabouts of Sh-Shizuka Hiou," the human continued, stumbling over the name that had haunted his dreams for four years.

There was a pause.

"Shizuka is in hiding. Here whereabouts are unknown, by both I as well as the council."

"She is on the move!" Zero growled.

"And you would know this because…"

"I – I can feel it! A restlessness, a gnawing impatience that is not mine. I want to know when and where she was last seen, and – and with whom."

"Shizuka Hiou made her last attack three years ago, and her scent was cold when I got there. She has not been heard of since then."

"Then give me information about her! Her history, her family – "

Kaname interrupted with an exasperated huff.

"Just how long are you going to keep up with this feeble charade, Zero?"

"Wh – What?"

"Let us be honest. You didn't come here for information; you loathe me too much to enter my room in an attempt to "gather information" about a nagging doubt in your mind."

"What are you implying?" Zero shot back, mustering a sneer.

The blindfold vanished, and Kaname stood before him, smirking in all his dark haired indolence.

"I imply nothing. I simply ask – what do you want?"

"I told you – information about Shizuka –"

"Again with the lies," Kaname commented. His wry demeanour had shifted perceptibly, to be replaced with a sleek, brazen charisma. His eyes glinted, amusement and knowledge behind the swirling cochineal orbs.

With the grace of a prowling predator, he backed Zero against the wall, until the boy was trapped. A gentle finger brushed away the silver grey banks that fell over slanted brows. That slight contact was enough to set Zero's teeth on edge.

"You came here for something else, Zero…are you willing to say it?"

Zero paced his increasing breathing rate with difficulty, returning the sultry, almost mischievous gaze with a lock jawed grimace.

"If you have nothing for me, I will take my leave," he snapped, bringing his hands up to push Kaname away. When Kaname didn't budge, Zero growled.

"Release me! I'm sick of you – the game that you started – this farce of bonding and blood!"

"A game? That I started?

A low chuckle, and Kaname gave way slightly.

"You told me, so long ago, that the history of vampires and humans is stained by centuries of bloodshed and violence. Have you wondered, what becomes of those who walk the fine line between the light and the dark – the ex-human vampires, like yourself?"

"This is not a game that I started, Kiryuu…this is a dance…a dance which has lasted as long as there has been a mingling of both races…"

Kaname was back, pressing him against the wall, holding him there with his hardened body, sending a variety of spasms and twitches through the ex-human.

"A dance of life and love…and loyalty…" long fingers threaded through the silver hair gently, belying their strength.

"…of lust…" Kaname tilted his head to one side, surveying the black tattoo just peeking over the boy's starched collar. A claw followed the contour of his jaw, trailing from his ear to the area beneath his jaw, pressing slightly against his Adam's apple.

"A dance that you have avoided for four years, but so willingly chose to join when you accepted my offer of blood…"

The claw dug in painfully, causing Zero to wince as he pulled his head up.

"I am not willing – !" Zero managed to gasp. The claw pressed deeper still and he stood on his toes to escape its piercing edge.

"You are quite determined to lie," Kaname murmured. He leaned in close, placing his lips against Zero's pale neck, tasted the salty tang of cold sweat, inhaling the musky scent of his youth and innocence.

"Shall we see how long you can keep up with this deception?" he asked, teasing. Zero squirmed as the lips moved and formed each word clearly against his neck.

"No – deception –" Zero grabbed the hand that was forcing his head up, pushed it away feebly. "I don't want this!"

"Really…how about this?" A hand kneaded against his ribs.

"NO!" he insisted, though felt every hard knuckle clearly through his shirt, and the rubbing ridges of bone on bone set his skin alight.

"Not this?"

"N-No…" he reached for the wrist that was sliding beneath his shirt, but merely held on as it continued its path upward.

"And…this…?"

Zero drew a shuddering breath when he felt first the hardness of Kaname's fangs at the corner of his mouth; then the contrasting softness of his lips, a curse that ate away at Zero's restrains with the flowing sibilance of corrosive poison.

The protest at the back of his mind was lost in a ragged pant.

"Get…Get…lost…I don't …want …" he grasped frantically at the few shreds of self control that remained in his hazed mind; they danced and flapped like colourful banners just out of reach, teasing him with his own lust.

Kaname complied; he drew away, only to be yanked back by trembling fingers. He was pulled right up against Zero, hips and legs side by side.

Pale eyes looked at him in horror of their owner's actions, staring back in desperate defiance as Kaname laughed gleefully.

"Traitorous," the pureblood breathed with a smirk, eyes a vivid crimson. "Disgraceful…"

He nonchalantly stuck his hand down Zero's trousers and pinched his flesh – hard.

Zero yelped and leapt most unbecomingly at the unwarranted invasion. He twisted away, his glare springing back to life, finally summoning a statement coherent enough to convince himself.

"Keep your hands to yourself!"

"A spirited defense!" Kaname's voice was low and approving.

"Almost convincing..." his hands moved under his pants to where Zero was the most sensitive, and the boy spat and bucked at the soft caress. Another touch, and Zero could no longer curse.

Kaname's dexterous fingers wound around Zero like vines round a tree, traced their path like burning brands, searing, scalding, and scorching his skin.

"Any last statements?"

It was a taunt that Zero, teeth clamped on bleeding lip, was in no position to counter; the last cruel jibe before Kaname proceeded to break him completely – to rend the last patches of his pride and scatter them like ashes in the night, and seal his victory in this reckless game of trickery and deceit.

There was no gentleness now, only wanton and ruthless brutality; he gripped Zero's hips, claws lengthening and piercing his skin, drawing blood. Zero thrashed, lashing out and catching Kaname on the shoulder.

"Keep your hands to yourself!" Kaname mimicked, throwing the sentence back at him.

Zero tried to wrench himself away; but Kaname was too strong.

Too strong, too fast… and very, very violent.

A tortured moan escaped Zero's lips. Every muscle in his body was contracted to its limit, taut and rigid; he struggled and flailed as much as he could, but could not shield himself from his own feelings.

"No…" he felt his skin tearing under callous claws, felt them explore him. All the while, Kaname was goading, inflaming, provoking his body with uncanny skill and sheer audacity.

"No…" he couldn't voice, let alone hear his own pathetic objections, lost in the minefield that was his flesh and skin, exploding with pain and pleasure.

"No… more…"

Lips, uncompromising and demanding, covered his; he kept his teeth clenched, for as long as he could; only when his heart pounded for oxygen did he open up.

He opened his mouth and tasted dominance, harsh and unforgiving as fire forged steel; it fed the already smouldering flame in him, and it grew rapidly, uncontrollably, pushing out all other emotions in his mind, until it exploded from him in a burst of lightning that seemed to come from every pore in his body.

He cried out then, and sagged against the wall, panting heavily. Sweat stung his eyes, mixed with his tears; it laced the angular edges of his jaw and collected at his chin before dripping off.

Kaname raised a hand, wet with a clear white fluid, to Zero's mouth.

"Drink," he ordered.

Zero shook his head mutely, half dazed.

He could not meet those merciless scarlet eyes, but he shook his head, whimpering softly, begging, beseeching.

Kaname was relentless. He fisted Zero's hair warningly.

"Do it. Taste your own shame."

Unwillingly, eyes closed in defeat, breath coming in ragged sobs, Zero closed his sore lips around Kaname's fingers. He lingered there, tasting his own bitter subjugation. His stomach churned, and he made to let go.

The hand in his hair tightened, tugging painfully, threateningly, until he had swallowed every last bit of his sin – and his pride.

"Good boy," Kaname praised, patting his head. He released Zero and watched as his knees buckled, pitching him to the ground. Hands covered his face; the slender shoulders quivered.

Kaname seated himself, lounging lazily on the sofa. He took Zero's chin and forced it up, a thumb running over the bruised, swollen lips.

"The truth, now…was that not what you came to get?"

The truth?

If Zero could find mirth in this wretched humiliation, he would have laughed. The truth was engraved in every trembling muscle, painted in the stains of blood and lust that spattered his white pants like a macabre work of art. He could only bow his silver head in answer.

"You are a skilled player in this dance of deceptions, Zero…however…the next time, I will not tolerate your lies and untruths anymore than I will disobedience. Is that clear?"

There was a barely perceptible whimper.

"Get out."

Kaname's attention turned to other things; Zero struggled to his feet on muscles that would not support his weight.

At the door, Zero stopped.

"This…this isn't over yet," he said. He crossed out of the room and shut the door.

"No, Zero," Kaname murmured. "It most definitely isn't."

END

I like it when Kaname's being evil...I wish the anime / manga showed his personality more forcefully; he seems to be lounging around all the time.

How was it? Is this as good as or not as good as the first two? Constructive criticism is very welcome. Especially on the word count - my stories are just getting longer and longer and longer! I don't want it to get too convulated...is it too lengthy?

I was so tempted to right an all out yaoi scene between Kaname and Zero, but somehow Kaname seems too refined to get "down and dirty" between the sheets with some low level ex-human…what do you guys think? A cold, calculating Kaname or a passionate, fiery (if a little OOC) one for a change? Let me have your opinion!

See you soon, and thank you for reading!