Once again, we were back at the association. With the briefcase this time. Zero looked just as worn out as me, not saying a word as we walked towards the entrance. It was still dark, but the sky was slightly brighter than before. We'd spent the whole night chasing down Hana, a briefcase and the association.

Well, you're at your prime at night, so it's just as well.

Shut up.

Both of us stopped in front of the large gate that led to the inside of the building. Wearily, Zero held a hand out for the briefcase, before picking me up under his arm.

"Don't drop me," I warned him warily as the ground dipped frighteningly close to my face.

"I might be tired, but I can push myself further," Zero retorted, his grip on me loosening as we passed under the gate.

"Good to know," I muttered to no-one in particular. I really wanted to sleep.

"I'm letting go now," Zero replied in response, releasing his grip on me suddenly. With a muffled grunt of surprise, I fell onto the ground on all fours, the stone floor jarring my knees and palms.

"Idiot," I mumbled as I picked myself up. Some things never changed.

"Welcome back," Kaien looked up as we marched into the room, wearier than last time. "Have fun?"

"They tried to ambush us," Zero replied coolly. "But we fended them off."

"Looks like you have the briefcase now, though."

"Yeah," Zero continued briefly, placing the briefcase on the table with a thump. "I'm going home now." Taking off the case containing my bow and arrows, he placed it on the ground next to the table.

"Are you planning on walking back home?" Kaien looked amused as he took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes.

"Yes," Zero didn't hesitate and continued to walk out the door.

"Wait! Wait!" Kaien ran around the table, diving to catch Zero around his legs. "Don't gooooo! Zero-kun! Daddy will miss yooouuu!"

What a change.

"Get off," Zero tried to shake his cooing father after his leg, to no avail. "What do you want?"

"How about you stay here for the night?" Kaien hugged Zero's leg even tighter. "Daddy-kun needs some fatherly time with Zero."

Don't mind me just standing here.

"You do realise how creepy you sound right?" A scary aura was emanating from Zero, and I shivered. Kaien seemed slightly daunted, but continued to hold on.

"Not at all."

"No, honestly, get off," Zero continued to shake his leg, while Kaien stubbornly refused to let go.

Soooo, while I just stand here with no way out, how about you guys wrap up the conversation?

"Ah, Saki!" Kaien turned his gaze to me. "Help me persuade, Zero-kun will you?"

"Um," I tried to think of a way out. I glanced at the clock. Four o'clock. "It's getting pretty really late, so maybe we should all leave now-"

"Not a chance!" Kaien pouted. "The two of you should stay in the association. Ereon might still be out there. Since he set up an ambush, he knows you two are out there somewhere. With the briefcase, no doubt. The association building has ancient hunter charms in it, so there's no risk of being attacked here."

As he spoke, Kaien disentangled himself from Zero, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

"You two can stay in the guest room," he beamed at us.

The guest room?

"Aren't there two guest rooms?" Zero sounded like he was having the same thoughts as me.

"One for me, and one for you two," Kaien replied cheerfully.

That old geezer. What a sick joke.

"I'll sleep in the infirmary," I spoke up before he got any more ideas. "I'm fine with sleeping there."

"There's already a patient in there," Kaien pointed out, the corner of his lip twitching. "You'd be disturbing them."

"They can deal with it," Zero interrupted. "I'm not sharing a room with her."

"But, what if a hunter's badly injured when he - or she - returns to the association?"

"In the middle of the night?"

"That's when vampires are active."

"I'll move when they come."

"But the bed will have to be disinfected first."

"That's just an excuse."

"I'm serious!"

I eyed the ex-headmaster warily.

"Just what are you planning to do, making me and Zero share a room?"

"If it helps, there are two twin beds," Kaien huffed. "And I'll be next door in case Zero tries anything."

"I would not try anything with that - girl!" Zero broke in, looking livid. "She holds no interest for me whatsoever and I think she feels the same way!"

"For once, we agree on something," I muttered under my breath.

"So what's the problem with sharing a room if the two of you aren't going to do anything?"

Did he just set this up on purpose?

"We can't stand each other," I snapped. "I think you should be more worried we don't try and murder each other in our sleep."

"Like, I said, I'll be next door," Kaien shrugged. "And the two of you can't beat one another, you know?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Zero rose to the challenge, and I eyed him down. Without Bloody Rose, I imagined I might actually be able to beat Zero, if I used my light.

Maybe.

Maybe not.

"Well, I'm going to bed, you two," Kaien ignored Zero's question and breezed past Zero, out of the office. "The guest rooms are just down the hall. Your room is on the right. Ah, there's also an ensuite connected to it in case any of you need to shower."

The headquarters has these kinds of things?

With that, the door closed, leaving me and Zero inside a deathly cold atmosphere. Without a word, Zero opened the door again, walking out and leaving me alone.

Maybe I should go to the infirmary instead.

But if Kaien was right about disinfect-

Wait, wait, wait, why do I have to sleep in the infirmary? I'm the girl, he's the guy - he should be offering to sleep in the infirmary like a gentleman!

That's right. Feeling proud of coming to a decision so quickly, I walked over to the door, reaching out for the door handle. Not only did I want to not back down to the challenge, a shower sounded nice. Thinking about a shower only made my skin feel grimier, coated with sweat and dust. And since I had my bag of belongings with me, it made it all the more inviting.

Wandering down the hallway, I found the afore-mentioned door, pausing as I reached for the handle. What should I say? Should I just walk in without a word and pretend he didn't exist?

Eh, he does the same to you anyway.

I opened the door, rearranging my features to look disinterested, only to have it fall apart when I found the room empty. Where did he go?

The sound of running water and the splash of a shower drifted in from behind another door on the wall to my right.

He's got first dibs.

Looking around the dark room more carefully, I took note of the furniture, trying to decide which of the two twin beds to take. The two beds were the only pieces of furniture, apart from a bedside table in between them, the feet of the beds facing the bathroom door. Wanting to get settled before Zero came out, I opted to take the bed furthest from the door, tucked up against the wall. The positioning of that bed reminded me of my old apartment.

Maybe that's why I chose it.

A surge of mixed emotions flooded over me as I made my way over to the bed, sitting down on the beige hued sheets. What was I feeling?

Taking off my bag, I put it on the floor, and lay back on the sheets, breathing deeply.

I felt slightly homesick for my old apartment, the safe haven I had created for myself over the past two years. I also felt nostalgia at being back at the hunter's headquarters and seeing Zero, Kaien, Yagari and even the Night Class students. There was also a touch of amusement, I supposed, at seeing how no-one had changed over the years. Was I the only one who changed?

Trying to decide whether it was true, a small nagging feeling continued to bite me, refusing to go away. It made me uncomfortable and tense, unable to relax. What was it?

You're scared.

Was I really?

You're scared. You want to run away.

Like last time.

Like a coward.

The bathroom door opened, but I barely noticed, nor did I care.

"What are you doing here?" The sounds of a towel rubbing stopped with the footsteps.

I twisted my head, struggling to look at him from my position lying down. All I could see of him was the top of his head and the towel covering it. Giving up, I let my head fall back onto the bed.

"What's it to you?" The words were a half-hearted attempt to deter him, my head still too caught up in shame and guilt.

"I thought you were sleeping in the infirmary," Zero retorted. I couldn't see him, but I could feel his hostility.

"I wanted a shower," I replied wearily, not wanting to fight.

Weak.
Coward.
Idiot.
Selfish.

Pushing open the bathroom, I felt the steam from the previous shower rising to my face. Closing the door, I plodded to the front of the mirror.

A brown-eyed girl with long hair stared back. She looked pretty, but upon closer inspection, her skin was unnatural and tight. Her eyes were cloudy and hued with red. She looked pale. She didn't look human.

Because she isn't.

Lazily raising my arms, I pulled my shirt off, dumping it on the ground carelessly, the rest of my clothes following it. In the end, I can only shower. What else could I do?

~

Stepping out of the shower and breathing into the thick steam, I squeezed water out of my hair, picking up a towel hanging from the rack to wipe my body dry, before wrapping it around my head.

Something was missing.

I frowned, not liking this new feeling of worry.

Whatever.

I moved to get dressed and realised that was it.

I forgot to bring my change of clothes inside with me.

Maybe I could put on the ones I had been wearing before. Instead, my mouth dried when I stared at the rumpled pile of cloth, and grime. Unknowingly, when I had squeezed water out of my hair, the water happened to fall right on the pile of clothes.

Soggy, dirty, dusty and rumpled clothes.

I glanced around the bathroom, hoping for something else I could wear or at least cover myself with so I could go out and get my clothes.

There was a toilet, a sink, another towel hanging from the rack, and, upon further inspection in the cabinet under the sink, nothing else.

Towel, it is.

There's always toilet paper.

Wrapping the towel around myself, I steeled myself to walk out as coolly as I could and return in the same manner.

Walk out, grab the clothes, walk back in.

Simple.

Opening the door as calmly as I could, I walked in the direction of my bed, the movements already planned beforehand, and completely ignoring Zero. In the corner of my eye, I could see his figure lying in bed, as I bent down to pick up my bag. Whether he was sleeping or not, I couldn't tell.

Holding the bag in one hand and my towel in the other, lest it slipped off, I made my escape, hurrying back into the bathroom.

~

When I came back out, wearing the comfiest clothes I could find, not having had the foresight to pack pyjamas, Zero hadn't moved, and lay there, asleep.

Nothing else to do, I moved to my bed, leaving my bag at the side and clambered into it, pulling the tight sheets over me as I lay down.

As I began drifting into sleep, Zero's voice pierced through the veil.

"Hmm?" I blearily mumbled out, unable to hear his words. Anger began to bubble at the fact that he woke me up.

"How well did you know Ichiru?" The question jerked me properly awake, all anger forgotten.

"He was kind," I replied quietly, not sure how to put it. "And gentle. He was understanding and forgiving, and he knew his own flaws and he really helped me, and he was...he was just...right."

"Were you two close?" There was nothing remotely close to hate in Zero's voice. If anything, he just sounded tired. The mention of Ichiru made both of us vulnerable.

"I think so," I replied honestly, then hesitated. "I hope so, at least...why do you want to know?"

"I thought he loved Shizuka," Zero replied. I couldn't help but wonder if there was bitterness in his voice.

"Maybe he did," I replied. "But I loved him."

"Did you really?" Zero sounded slightly doubtful, and instead of getting riled up, I began to wonder myself. What did I like about Ichiru apart from what he showed me?

I didn't even know his birthday, or his favourite colour, or anything. Was I only deciding I was his girlfriend, lost in my own fantasy?

"I don't know," I whispered back, the sudden realisation washing over me.

"Okay," Zero's voice was expressionless and I heard the rustle of sheets as he turned over.

"Were you close to Ichiru?" I felt the urge to ask him.

"Yeah," Zero replied briefly. "Especially when we were kids."

"You guys...fell apart after Shizuka came, right?" I asked softly, despite the warning bells that screamed a sensitive topic.

Zero only grunted in reply, and I bit my lip.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

Zero didn't respond, and I didn't want to continue the conversation.

Another one to add to your guilt.

~~~

So guys, are you proud of me? You're proud of me aren't you? I updated in about half the normal time I take to write a chapter \(^0^)/ Still remembering the days when I updated daily, though ^^"
So, this chapter has a lot of bits, after I realised, even though I said Saki and Ichiru were technically 'dating' (even though they never went on a date), they barely knew anything about each other (young love!). So, I thought, 'I don't have the time to go back and edit, and since their relationship was one of the key points in the plot, it would be an absolute headache.' So I figured I may as well try to bring it into the light (haha, references?) and try to justify it somehow, rather than cover it up.
Anyway, that's it for me and my attempt to save face. Thank you reading, and I would be happy if you voted and gave me comments!
I love you all readers and hopefully the next update will come soon.

~Evil_Incubator