Killer (Kaname)- Age 19

Lyla- Age 17

Kaname laughed as Lyla let out a squeal as they raced back to their apartment building in the pouring rain. The storm had come out of nowhere; the sky opened up after they'd gotten their groceries packed up and started back toward their apartment, drenching them in an instant.

"Come on, class monitor, you're falling behind." Kaname laughed as he called her by the moniker he'd called her when they were still in the academy.

"I have little legs!" Lyla yelled as she tried to keep up with his powerful strides.

"At this rate, we'll have to swim." Kaname teased her before slowing to her pace and slinging her over his shoulder, groceries and all. Lyla let out a panicked yelp as she found herself being swept off her feet. Without Lyla slowing him down with her short strides, they made it to the apartment building in a matter of seconds, sopping wet and laughing hysterically.

Kaname set her on her feet once they reached the ninth floor and chuckled softly at her waterlogged appearance. Her oversized blue sweater was dripping wet and looked to be weighing her down, she was soaked to the bone, her glasses were covered with raindrops and impairing her vision and her hair had turned into a wavy sopping wet mess. Despite looking like a drowned rat, she was adorable and he couldn't help but smile down at her as she shivered at his side.

"Go take a hot shower and change into some dry clothes before you get sick." He took the grocery bags, that she had demanded she carry so she could feel useful, from her and headed for the kitchen to put everything away as she begrudgingly retreated to her bedroom.

Lyla was under a lot of stress with her work as a research assistant and feeling disheartened as the scientist she was working for treated her like a glorified retriever, they only sent her for coffee and food runs and hardly let her do any kind of research. On top of the stress at work, she was struggling to find research material for her dissertation and was dealing with a lot of advanced coursework in her classes. She was trying to do too much and he was worried she was going to crash. He tried making more meals that were enriched with immunity boosting vitamins but he had still begun to notice a slight pallor to her skin and a feverish glaze in her golden eyes of late.

As he finished putting away the perishable food, his heart dropped as he heard Lyla scream from her bedroom. "LYLA!" He bolted for her room, heart racing, hoping she was alright.

Barreling through the door to her bathroom he found her wrapped in a small blue towel, cowering in fear by the vanity. Her face flushed bright red as she spotted him in the doorway and she let out a panicked yelp and attempted to cover herself more, only succeeding in almost losing her grip on her towel.

"What happened?!" He hurriedly averted his gaze.

"There's a spider in the shower." She squeaked as she scrambled to her feet to get a second towel. Her towel slipped below her clavicle dangerously close to revealing her nearly flat chest.

"What the hell is that?" Kaname growled as his gaze caught the edges of a large dark jagged scar poking out near the top of her chest on her left side.

Lyla's cheeks flushed once more and she hurriedly attempted to cover the scar, "N-nothing." A gasp escaped her as he grabbed her by the wrist halting her from covering it up. "K-Kaname!"

"That's not nothing. What happened?" He demanded as he pulled the towel down slowly to reveal a little more of the scar but careful not to expose her. It stretched further down than he was willing to drop the towel, just how big of a scar was it?

"It was when I was a kid." Lyla said softly as she tried in vain to cover the scar up.

"What happened?" He repeated coolly.

"You'll only get upset if I tell you." She whimpered as she attempted to pull from his hold, but he was serious, his pale blue eyes were filled with rage at the idea that someone had hurt her.

"Lyla." His voice was losing its gentleness.

"My parents were revolutionaries. They were often a thorn in the World Government's side. My parents were targeted, the government wanted them to be silenced. We were attacked, at our home by marines. They thought everyone was dead."

Kaname stared at her in horror, they murdered her family, and she joined them? "Why did you agree to go to the academy?"

"With his last breath, my dad told me I had to live. It was the only way. They said if I didn't agree to go to the academy, they'd execute me." Her voice was soft and broken. Tears welled in her golden eyes.

Kaname pulled her into his arms, wrapping her in a warm embrace. He had no idea what to say, he'd had no idea the pain she'd gone through before joining the academy and the cruelty she endured while there. Rage broiled inside of him as he held the crying girl in his arms. He rubbed her back gently as she silently sobbed against him. How had she always been able to smile at him and laugh with him, despite everything she'd been through.

"I'm sorry." He breathed softly into her damp hair.

"W-Why?" She sniffled cutely.

"You've been through hell."

"But, I met you. It hasn't all been bad."

His heart skipped a beat in his chest and before he knew it, he was sweeping her face upward toward his with his thumb and index finger and bending down to kiss her. She gasped against him as he pressed his lips to hers. Instead of squealing and fleeing as she had done the first time he'd tried to steal a kiss, her face flushed scarlet and she kissed him back. He pulled away from her as he felt something primal stir within him.

"Sorry. That was probably not good timing." Kaname shook his head as he realized he'd attacked her while she was crying and practically naked.

"It's okay." Lyla squeaked, her voice an octave higher than usual and her cheeks burning crimson.

"Where's the man-eating spider?" He sighed as he forced himself to look away from her.

"I-in the shower."

Kaname peered behind the curtain and chuckled softly, it was a small black spider. He crushed it with a tissue and flushed it down the toilet. "Better?"

She nodded and turned her back to him as she scanned the rest of the bathroom to make sure the spider didn't have any friends. Kaname looked to the bubbled-up scars on her back and he felt sick with himself, she'd gotten those scars with him, in the rapids when they were escaping the monster she had tried to warn him about.

He reached out and traced one of the bubbled-up scars and stared in awe as the petite girl let out a gasp; her knees buckled beneath her causing her to fall to the floor. Her bright golden eyes were wide and her breathing was coming in short shallow gasps. She'd reacted as if his touch had shocked her.

"Wh-what are you doing?" She gasped as her face burned with heat.

"Those were my fault." Kaname noted morosely.

"The alternative was getting eaten." Lyla reminded him, "I'm okay with how things turned out."

"If I'd just listened to y-."

"Kaname, is this why you feel like you need to take care of me? Do you blame yourself for me getting hurt?" Lyla asked him curiously. Her heart hurt at the idea of him caring for her out of guilt.

"No, though I do feel bad for letting you get hurt." He noted as he helped her to her feet and politely averted his gaze so she could right her towel.

"Why do you always take care of me, then?"

Kaname chuckled as he pulled her in for another kiss, "For a genius you sure are dense sometimes. I'd thought it was pretty obvious by now."

"What?" She squeaked before getting swept up in his kiss.

"I love you."

Video- Diamonds By Imminence