A faint breeze had begun to blow as I walked into the front garden of the apartment I lived in. It swirled around my ankles, picking up bits of leaves and some discarded paper. Ignoring it, I walked into the building, pushing the door open carelessly.

As I walked up the stairs, I couldn't help wonder what I was going to do about the rent for my unit. I was two weeks behind, almost three, since this week's rent was due in two days. My landlady hadn't come after me, but then again, I hadn't come here once this whole time. Being kidnapped has had its advantages and disadvantages.

Luckily for me, the landlady was nowhere in sight and I hurried up the stairs, in case she appeared and demanded an explanation for my disappearance. Speaking of disappearances, my boss at the workplace would want an explanation - if she even wanted one in the first place. A chill ran down my back as I imagined facing up to Connie, and make up some kind of excuse as to why I didn't show up to work for two and a half weeks without so much as a phone call.

Lost in my thoughts, I tripped over the last step of the staircase and with a small squeal, went sprawling onto the floor at the top of the staircase. Great.

Taking my time on the cold, wooden floor, I rolled over onto my back, lying spread-eagled as I stared up at the grey ceiling. What do I do now?

In all honesty, I felt the situation couldn't have been worse. Even if Connie accepted whatever excuse I could come up with, I was hardly getting a pay rise - I might even get a lower pay. Whatever happened with my job, there was no way I could magic up three weeks of rent within two days. I was screwed, end of story.

Getting up with a sigh, I dusted myself off wearily, barely noticing the grey streaks of dust on the back of my pants. Stepping down the hallway, I found my door without trouble and pulled the key from my back pocket. It had lived in there for the past two and a half weeks, since I was kidnapped to now. Whoever had kidnapped me clearly hadn't been interested in taking any of my belongings. That just cast the motive for my kidnapping under an even more suspicious light.

As I began inserting the key in its hole, I stopped, immediately realising something was wrong. Bending over and peering into the keyhole, I discovered something wrong with the handle. Where the small indent for the keyhole should have been, there was only a lump of formless metal instead. A sudden dread gripping my stomach, I reached for the handle and twisted, finding that the door indeed, was unlocked.

Opening it a crack, I peered through the gap, seeing only my apartment in its normal condition. I could see my bedroom door, closed as it should have been, and a small section of the wall, a small cabinet in front of it. Both looked untouched.

Suddenly the door was yanked from my grasp and pulled open. I fell to the ground with a scream, expecting an attack immediately, drawing my arms up in a defensive position.

The attack never came and I became aware of an awkward silence that radiated within the room. Peeking past my arms, I saw a familiar face peering down at me. Orange eyes, orange hair, an unimpressed expression.

"Akatsuki?" I let my arms drop and sat up. That's why the handle looked melted. "What are you doing here- Wait, forget that. Why did you melt the door handle?!" Now anger kicked in. As I looked around, I saw two other people in my living room. Easily recognisable people.

"Ruka, Hanabusa," I acknowledged them grudgingly, ignoring the fear that swelled up as a tiny voice in the back of my mind questioned why three aristocrat vampires were visiting in the middle of the night.

"Someone looks surprised." Hanabusa had come to join Akatsuki, his ice blue eyes looking down on me smugly.

"We broke into her apartment, who wouldn't?" Ruka stood at Hanabusa's other side, her pale-coloured eyes also looking down on me. I couldn't help but feel helpless sitting in front of these three aristocrat vampires. Scrambling to my feet, I held my chin up, noting with despair that I was the shortest of the four of us, only a little shorter than Ruka.

"Well, what are you all doing here?" Shock and fear made me sound haughty and disdainful and I didn't bother try to amend the impression I was giving. I'd already decided I wanted nothing to do with vampires and rebellions.

"Didn't Kaname tell you we would be here?" Hanabusa finally broke the pause that followed my question, wandering off to sit on the couch again. "Can we sit down? We've been standing too long."

"You already are," I muttered under my breath, but following him nonetheless. The couch was small, intended only to seat two people and there were no other chairs around. I opted to sit at the kitchen bench, as opposed to squeezing up beside Hanabusa. Akatsuki sat next to Hanabusa and Ruka stayed standing, leaning against the kitchen bench next to me. The fact that Ruka had decided to stay next to me surprised me but I chose not to ponder over that fact.

"No. Kaname did not tell me you would be here, so would you mind telling me why you're all here? It must have been important, considering how you melted the lock just to get in." Once again, I couldn't help but mention the busted door handle once again. I was still upset over it - how could I get to sleep knowing my apartment was not secure in the least?

"We were the ones who rescued Zero," Ruka replied this time. Her arms were crossed and she didn't look at me as she spoke. "Kaname told us to bring him to your apartment. He gave us the address and we came here right after we had gotten Zero back. You weren't home and we couldn't have humans seeing us, so Akatsuki had to melt the lock to get us inside."

"Speaking of which, this isn't the most pretty place is it?" Hanabusa spoke up this time as he glanced around my apartment. I felt my eye twitch as I struggled to hold in my temper. First, they melt the lock and break in, then they insult the very apartment they broke into.

But looking around, I couldn't help but agree with Hanabusa. The walls were white-washed, two small windows on the wall opposite the doorway, but there was the lingering patch of dust on the wooden floor, and the whole room in general looked relatively empty and desolate. An auburn-coloured couch, a murky coffee table, a small TV that I never used, a dingy-looking rug lay next to the coffee table. I refused to let my thoughts drift to my bedroom. Considering Hanabusa's smug look, I imagined he already knew what I was thinking.

"It's enough for me," I tried not to let my regret seep into my words. Standing up, I turned to head to my bedroom. "I'd rather live like this than have to deal with the association and vampire society." Opening the door, I stepped into the bedroom, closing the door just as I closed my eyes, sagging against the door, trying to bite back the hopelessness and humiliation rising inside me.

It was hard, getting here in the first place. I'd bumped into my landlady who had first suggested I rent an apartment from her, and when I had moved in, it had just been a sad little place devoid of anything except a small bed,the rug, TV, a fridge, and some cutlery and chipped plates. I'd cleaned it up, bought the sofa after a week of working at my new job, and added the coffee table after another couple of weeks. I'd even added my touch in my bedroom, buying some new quilts and bed sheets. I'd done my best, and now it was all going to come crashing down once again. I was virtually jobless, and the rent was a massive problem. Even my savings wouldn't be able to cover three weeks of rent, I was sure.

Opening my eyes again, I stared into space, not focusing on anything until my eyes caught a glimpse of something white. Blinking, I turned to face the right, managing to focus my eyes and froze at the sight in front of me.

Zero lay shirtless in my bed, sleeping. A large gauze bandage was wrapped around his chest, a small stripe of blood along the bandage. There were faint shadows on his arms and face, that I couldn't tell whether they were faint bruises or just from exhaustion. His pants were ragged and dirty, and a small voice at the back of my mind questioned if the stains he left on the bedsheets would ever come out.

Barely daring to breathe, I stepped up to the bed quietly, staring down at his sleeping form. One arm hung off the side of the bed and his long legs stretched all the way to the end of the bed. My eyes lingered on his face, marvelling how much he looked like Ichiru.

Reaching out, I brushed a strand of silver hair out of his face, feeling the silk-like texture of it, trying to remember if Ichiru's hair had felt the same. I couldn't remember, and a wave of sadness washed over me as I felt regret over how quickly time passed. Two years already.

You should move on.

I struggled between the two points. I was scared of moving on. If I did, I would lose him. Would it mean I no longer treasured my memories of him? Could I even find someone to replace him? It was like jumping off a cliff, not knowing what the emptiness underneath contained.

"Saki." Zero's voice made me jump, and I looked back down to meet Zero's pale purple eyes, not sure what to say. My heart jumped as I saw him struggle to get up, and immediately I went to stop him.

"Don't get up," I pushed him back down. "You're still hurt."

"It's nothing," Zero still persisted in getting up, wincing slightly at the pain. "Help me get up." Not knowing what else to do, I leaned over to support his back as he sat up.

"Tell me it wasn't Hanabusa and Ruka who saved me," Zero muttered to me once he was upright. "I'd hate to be in debt to them."

"It was," I didn't bother try to hide the truth from him. "But I don't blame you if you're not feeling grateful."

"Good," Zero swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "What are you doing here?"

"It's my apartment," I didn't bother trying to help him stand up. He could do it alone. "Something else for you to be grateful for."

"Thanks." I thought I heard Zero mutter as he got up, the bed creaking underneath him. I didn't respond.

"The three of them are in the living room," I say, turning to open the door. "Can you walk?"

"I'll be fine." The two of us went into the living room, Zero moving stiffly as he tried to avoid moving his torso.

Ruka looked up first as the two of us came in, her expression not changing. She still leaned against the kitchen bench, and Akatsuki was still seated on the couch. Hanabusa was on the other side of room, peering through one of the windows at something outside.

"They're here!" Hanabusa turned back around, something like relief washing over his face. "I can see them coming into the building." Then he noticed us.

"Oh," Hanabusa was silent for a moment as he noted Zero's condition. "You should still be in bed."

Zero don't reply at first, walking over to the kitchen in two long strides to seat himself on the kitchen bench. Ruka slid along the bench, putting space between the two of them.

"Who's coming back?" I don't bother sitting down, staying standing. "Kaname?"

"And Kaien and Yagari," Hanabusa added, but he didn't look unhappy.

"Okay." I had no idea what to do. Just after I'd made my vows to never get pulled into the rebellion, it just had to come and make itself welcome in my home, melting the lock and pulling all the generals in with it.

What was I going to do?

~~~

"You had a list of names of who was against the rebellion?" Kaien looked at Zero without concern for the first time. If anything, he looked elated, like he'd finally found a lead.

"I did," Zero answered in frustration. "But it must have been taken from me when I was kidnapped." He ran a hand through his hair, the picture of annoyance.

"That's a problem," Hanabusa commented. We were seated around my kitchen table, Zero, Kaien, Yagari and Akatsuki squeezed onto the kitchen bench, me sitting on the table on one side, Hanabusa leaning against the fridge, Ruka next to him against the cupboard, while Kaname stood at the opposite end of the table.

"Shut up," Ruka glared at him. She turned back to Zero. "You said someone else had the names, who gave them to you. Would he have another copy?"

"She, not he," Zero corrected, before replying to the question. "She probably will - I wrote out a second list for myself."

"So we can visit her now," Hanabusa seemed pleased with himself, almost as though he had come up with the conclusion himself.

"That's ridiculous," I pointed out. "It's almost 12. Her shop isn't a 24-7 kind of shop." Hanabusa seemed lost for words at that point. I, on the other hand, almost kicked myself. What was I doing, contributing to this discussion when I had decided not to get involved?

"We can still try, though," Yagari pointed out. "If she truly is as mysterious as she sounds, there's the possibility she's still up at this time. Zero and Saki should go, since they already know the way there."

"No!" The cry burst from my lips before I realised it. Everyone looked at me immediately with mixed expressions of surprise, confusion and disapproval. Kaname's was the only one with a trace of amusement.

"I-I mean, I need to get my job sorted out," I stammered, trying to meet their gazes. "I've been missing for two weeks, and-"

"You might as well quit that job," Yagari interrupted, his clear blue eye staring at me. "Once the war starts, you won't have a moment there. Not to mention it's almost 12 as you pointed out. Your cafe isn't a 24-7 shop is it?"

"No," I reply hesitantly. "But, I still need to get it sorted out, and-"

"You won't be able to keep it," Yagari persisted. "If you haven't been fired already, you'll probably be fired if you don't keep showing up."

"If it's the rent you're worried about," Kaien piped up. "You can always stay with Yagari. You know, spend time with your daddy." He shot a rueful glance at Zero who tactfully ignored it.

"Like he said," Yagari continued. "You can stay with me. There's no need to worry. Once the war's over, we'll think about what to do next." He seemed set on this turn of events, and I couldn't feel any resolve to tell everyone that I wanted to withdraw. Maybe it was the expectant look in their faces. I shrunk beneath the weight of it.

"Ok," I replied quietly. I would go and find Hana then. Maybe there'll be a chance for me to change Yagari's mind or something else.

Or you could run away again.

"Zero and Saki will go find Hana," Kaname took control of the situation, his voice calm and expressionless as he spoke. "The rest of us will stay behind and discuss more plans on how to face this threat."

"Maybe I should go with them-" Ruka began to speak up, but Zero shook his head.

"I won't be kidnapped again, if that's what you're thinking," he growled. "I was caught off guard, but I'll be alert now."

"You don't have Bloody Rose though," Kaien pointed out. Something flashed in Zero's eyes. Regret? Guilt? Did he feel guilt for losing Bloody Rose and the list of names in that one kidnapping?

"I'll be fine," he muttered, looking away. Kaien gazed at him for a moment, then nodded.

"Very well."

~~~

I actually meant for this chapter to be longer, but it was already long enough as it is now, so I've ended it earlier than I intended ^^" Don't worry, it means the next chapter will be uploaded faster, seeing as the plan for it is already written out. This chapter was a bit of a filler chapter, but I hope you guys don't mind ^^ Sooooo, what do you guys think is going to happen? Scared what will happen? Bloody Rose is gone, don't forget - lost in the hands of the enemy *dun dun duuuuuuun!*

Thanks for reading and don't forget to comment and vote! ^^

Also, a thanks to a certain @CoffinGorl for giving me that kick to get my butt moving (more like pulling my heartstrings, actually). Here's your chapter, hopefully I haven't lost you :P

~Evil_Incubator