I pushed open the door into the building, going inside, where Mum and Yagari were waiting.

"That little insolent brat," Mum was muttering under her breath, still steaming over the near miss. "In all my life I have known him, he dare-"

"Saki managed to duck," Yagari tried to console her. "And the council and association will punish him."

"He could have killed her!" Mum cried out, not for the first time. "And I'm supposed to stand by and watch?"

"He won't try again, I'm sure," Yagari replied, but he looked doubtful.

"So, maybe we should leave," I tried to intervene. "It's not going to make things better if we stay." Mum still looked like she wanted to March back outside and chop of Akiya's head. Don't ask me how I felt. I should be used to it, I mean, whenever I meet a hunter, my first thought is always, 'they hate me.' I was lucky I'm still alive actually. That arrow was awfully close to my head.

"How about we go and have our picnic?" I tried to distract Mum. "I'm getting kind of hungry." Wrong. I was the opposite of hungry. That incident with Akiya left a dry taste in my mouth, dissuading me from eating.

"Hmm." Mum had a steely look in her eye, and now, my annoyance at Yagari was completely gone, replaced with worry for Mum, and possibly Akiya as well. He is the one that's going to be murdered soon after all. I'll hold a bit of sympathy for that.

"I guess we can go home now," Mum finally said, but she sounded distracted. "Let's go." She set off at a brisk pace, walking through the hall, in the direction of the exit.

I heaved a sigh of relief walking after her, and sensed Yagari do the same next to me.

"She has a quick temper," Yagari muttered to me out of the side of his mouth. "Akiya should be careful."

"Agreed," I replied, keeping my voice low. "Don't let her hear us."

Yagari came back to the house with us, and for once, I didn't mind. Hopefully he could calm Mum down.

"I'll get the food ready," Mum headed to the kitchen. "Do you think you could find the picnic mat?"

"I'll try." I replied, as I headed off to the storage room.

As I searched the shelves for the mat, I thought I heard low voices talking. Maybe I shouldn't pry, but - I couldn't help it. Slowly climbing down from a stool I was standing on, I snuck to the door of the room, looking out.

The voices were still talking, and they came from the kitchen. Making my way as quietly as I could, through the hallway, and to the kitchen entrance. Pressing myself up against the wall, I dared to peek in.

Mum and Yagari were deep in a conversation of whispered voices. To me, it looked as though they were arguing, as Yagari raised his hands in desperation, and Mum mirrored the action.

"She can't go back... dangerous...." Bits of their conversation floated over to me, while I tried to figure out what they were talking about.

"Kaname...trust...needs...I promise..." Yagari's voice drifted across in reply. Both of them seemed too preoccupied to notice my presence, even though the two of them were both hunters.

"...don't care... darn pureblood...won't risk... life" Mum was starting on a new line, her anger and determination re-established. I should probably go now. It wouldn't help if I got involved as well. The darn pureblood must have been Kaname, and they might have been talking about the academy, but what for? I didn't get it.

Just leave them be.

Quietly drifting into the storage room again, I renewed my search for a picnic mat. Where was it? A rug couldn't be that hidden could it?

Almost as though by magic, I pulled aside a cardboard box and saw it, sitting there innocently, rolled up and dusty. As I reached out for it, I felt my senses cloud over, and red cover my vision.

Just a little bit more. Soon you'll be perfect. A wonderful puppet. It's even better when they fight, after all, it does get boring when they have no free will.

The voice was loud. Too loud. I wanted to block it out, but it kept talking, whispering sinisterly about blood, puppets and control. Shrinking back, I clapped my hands over my ears, trying to block it out. If anything, it made it worse. It was like the voice was coming from inside my head, and now, it just echoed around my head.

I'll always be there.

Waiting.

A finger tapped me on the shoulder, and I jumped in the opposite direction, on the verge of screaming.

"It's only me," Yagari's gruff voice broke through the spell. "What's with the look on your face?" I relaxed, the hairs on my neck slowly settling.

"It's nothing," I replied hesitantly. "Just me."

"Well, have you found the mat?" Yagari peered at me carefully. "Your face is white like a sheet."

"Oh." Instinctively my hand went up to touch my face, but there was nothing to feel. "I, uh, saw a spider." Yagari's mouth twitched.

"So I have to teach you to shoot better, overcome your fear of spiders, and what else? Become a better person?" The last shreds of fear fell away, replaced by indignance.

"You don't have to teach me that," I retorted. "At least I can cook better than you." Yagari's face stiffened so quickly, it almost wasn't funny. Clearly he didn't want to be reminded of his screeching ensemble of cooking pans.

"Just get the mat and we can go," he huffed, leaving the room with a sniff. I couldn't help but smile. Bugging Yagari was fun. More fun that Cross Academy. And he probably still wants to stick with Mum, so he'll have to put up with me. This was funny.

"Ready to go?" Mum asked me as I entered the kitchen, patting some dust off the picnic mat. Yagari shot me a murderous look with his good eye, still looking annoyed. I guess he doesn't like being reminded of his failures.

----

The park was airy and breezy, the sun beginning to rise high in the sky. A nice day for a picnic, I suppose. Mum, Yagari and I made our way through the trees, weaving through the tall boughs, to reach a nice grassy field, which virtually glowed in the sunlight.

"How's Cross Academy?" Mum asked me, as she sat down on the mat, opening the picnic basket. "Are they treating you well there?"

"Hmm?" That question came out of nowhere. "Yeah, the rest of the Night Class are nice enough." I could have sworn it saw a shadow cross Mum's face. The conversation with Yagari - it couldn't be-?

"Really?" Mum didn't sound convinced. "Yagari was telling me that Kaname Kuran hasn't been treating you with much respect."

"He's probably just overreacting," I tried to wave it off, shooting a glance in Yagari's direction. "I mean, I'm right here, perfectly fine, no scars or anything." That was wrong, I did have that scar on my left arm, from the accident with the car when I was little, but that didn't count.

"From what I heard, it wasn't so much abuse, but more like misuse." Misuse was right. Kaname treated me like a puppet on strings for dangerous jobs.

"Well, I am considered a Level C in the Night Class," I tried, once again, to brush it off. "So naturally the vampires don't think as highly of me."

"I see," Mum lapsed into a thoughtful silence, but dread clenched my stomach, a significant contrast to the happy scenery around. A toddler ran past our mat, stumbling on his short legs, as he ran towards a beckoning mother.

The silence drew on, and Mum and Yagari had yet to say something. I'm pretty sure that, the next thing they say, will be another question about Kaname and how he treats me. Hell. I had to change the topic. Quick.

"So, when are you two getting married?" I blurted out, my mind racing. The atmosphere shifted suddenly, as Mum and Yagari stared at me in shock, and...guilt?

"What are you talking about?" Mum waved a hand in dismissal. "Of course we're not going to get married. I'm too old for that anyway."

"Yagari's just as old as you," I muttered under my breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Saki, have we mislead you somehow?" Yagari began, every inch of his tone bittersweet. "It's strange that you would mention-"

Thwack!

A bright red ball flew straight through the air, sailing into Yagari's face. Despite being unharmed, Yagari stared in a shocked stupor, as the ball rolled off the mat, to be collected by a giggling toddler.

"Are you okay, Yagari?" Mum inspected Yagari's face, holding it gently in her hands. "I don't think that ball would have done any harm anyway." She released his face, sitting back on the mat.

"I'm fine," Yagari responded gruffly, meeting my knowing look with a deathly glare. "It'll take more than a ball to stop me."

"Yeah, so I was asking," I piped up again, unable to resist the opportunity to tease again. "When are you two going to-"

"Hey, look," Mum interrupted me. "Doesn't that guy look familiar?" All three of us turned to stare at where Mum was pointing.

At first all I could see was a silhouette, outlined by the sun. Then features came into recognition, as silver hair and pale skin become recognisable.

"Oh," I felt my heart stop momentarily. Yagari's snicker behind me was audible.

"So," he scrutinised me and Ichiru, who stood about 20 metres away. "When are you two going to get married?"

"Shut up," I punched him in the knee. "Mum, Yagari's bullying me."

"But really," Mum ignored my outburst. "Are you two together? You never told me."

"We're not!" I almost wailed. "I'm not with him. He's just a friend."

That's what you say.

"Do you think he's noticed us?" Yagari glanced at Ichiru. "He seems pre-occupied." He had a point. Ichiru was standing there, staring at the air in front of him, his lips moving, forming invisible words.

"Should we invite him over?" Mum suggested.

"No." That was straightforward for once.