Three years had gone by since her death and each year on the anniversary of her death, Kid let Killer run wild and unleash hell on an unsuspecting marine ship or base depending on where they were. He always insisted he go alone and the crimson-haired captain didn't bother to fight him on it. Because of his yearly massacre missions, he'd earned himself the title "Soldier of Slaughter".

Kid looked up from the horror novel he'd been engrossed in as he heard a faint dripping sound. He looked to the doorway of the common room and spotted his masked first mate drenched in blood. "You're making a mess."

Killer looked down to the blood pooling around him. "I'll clean it up in a moment." He headed for his room, but paused as he noticed a single blossom sitting on the common room table. His light blue eyes shot to his captain who had buried himself in his book once more. "What's that?"

"For Lyla." Kid mumbled softly not looking away from his book.

Killer smiled softly as he plucked the blossom up with his bloody fingers. "Careful Captain, people might begin to think you're a big softie."

"Shut up." Kid grumbled, but his gaze shifted to his blood soaked first mate.

Killer chuckled as he noticed the younger male struggling, it appeared he had something he wanted to ask, but was battling with himself on whether or not to open his mouth. "Yes?"

"You never told me why they killed her." Kid closed his book.

"It's a long story." Killer said somewhat distantly as he thought back on the days of his youth, the days when Lyla was alive and all was right in the world.

"Hold it right there, Kaname!" A light voice like the chirp of a little song bird yelled from below.

With a sigh the young adolescent with the unruly mane of golden blonde hair opened his eyes and peered down through the branches of the massive tree he'd been lounging in for his afternoon nap. He chuckled as he spotted a ten-year-old girl with pretty shimmering blonde hair wearing a perfectly pressed blue and white school uniform with her hands on her hips glaring up at him through a pair of navy blue rimmed glasses. "I wasn't moving." He teased her and smiled as a faint blush spread across her pale cheeks.

"You have precisely ten seconds to get down here before I give you a detention for skipping class." She straightened herself up to stand a little taller.

"On whose authority?" He pondered.

"As the class monitor, my authority." She bristled.

"You're two years younger than me, squirt. Go bother your own classmates." He shrugged and resumed his lounging with his hands resting behind his head and closed his pale blue eyes.

"If you'd show up to class once in a while, you'd know that I was bumped up two grades and am in YOUR class, numbskull." Her soft voice sounded like it was getting closer.

He peered over the edge of his branch and jumped, startled as he spotted the young blonde standing on the branch below him. She extended a bright blue detention slip to him.

"Now, get to class." She stomped her foot cutely, but the action caused the branch she was standing on to shake unsteadily. Her golden eyes widened in horror as she lost her balance.

"Be careful!" Kaname caught her small wrist that had been in his reach due to the detention slip she'd been trying to give him.

Her feet completely slipped off her branch and she let out a squeak of terror as she was completely suspended at least sixty feet off the ground. "Don't drop me!" She yelped as tears welled in her bright golden eyes.

"Be quiet, I won't drop you if you stop squirming around." Kaname shook his head and pulled her onto his branch with little effort, she was pretty petite and weighed next to nothing. She scrambled closer to the trunk of the tree where the branch was widest and clung to the trunk of the tree as if her life depended on it.

"T-thank you." A faint blush spread across her pale cheeks.

"So, does saving the life of the reckless and clumsy class monitor, get me out of detention?" Kaname asked with a smile.

"No." She shot him a glare and quickly righted her glasses that had fallen askew when she slipped, "You now have two detentions for making me come up here when I'm afraid of heights."

"Eh?!" Kaname gaped at her before a mischievous thought crossed his mind. "You're afraid of heights?"

"Obviously." The blonde girl snapped as she still hadn't released her hold on the trunk of the tree.

"So how were you planning on getting down?" He chuckled as the petite girl paled, she hadn't thought of that, "I thought you were supposed to be smart if you skipped two grades."

"Were you planning on just leaving me here?" The girl squeaked as he took a step away and prepared to hop down to the branch below.

"Well according to the class monitor, I need to get to class right away, no time to delay." He smiled and leapt down to the branch below.

"Wait!" The girl squeaked in a panic, "Don't leave me up here!"

Kaname chuckled and swung himself back onto the branch the petite girl was still cowering and clinging to the trunk of the tree on. "How about I help you down and you forget those detention slips." He smiled suavely.

She shot him another glare, "Or, how about if you don't help me down, I make it three detentions."

"What?!" Kaname snapped annoyed. "If I leave you up here all alone, you won't have anyone to turn those detention slips in to." He smirked as her golden eyes widened in terror. "See you around, Class Monitor."

"No! Don't go!" Tears welled in her golden eyes.

Sighing, he turned his back to her, "Get on, crybaby."

"Don't call me names." She sniffled cutely as she scrambled onto his back.

"Then don't be a crybaby." He teased her as he nimbly leapt down the lower branches before landing swiftly on the ground below. He released her from his hold once they were safely back on the ground and turned to her only to groan as she waved a bright blue detention slip in his face.

"You're still getting one for skipping class." She folded her arms in front of her chest. "Don't make this a habit, I don't want to waste precious study time to chase you down."

He noticed the quiver in her voice and saw her fingers tremble before she quickly tucked them into the crooks of her arms to hide them from his view. She was still scared. "How about I just stay on lower branches." He smirked as he ruffled her shimmering blonde hair messing it all up and knocking the navy bandanna she had tied to separate her bangs askew.

Video- "Numb" A Linkin Park Cover performed by Janet Devlin ... because she is a beautiful individual and i love her take on the song 

A/N: SQUEEEE THEY'RE TOO CUTE I JUST WANTS TO PINCH THEIR LITTLE CHEEKSES (new word)

Killer (Kaname): Age 12

Lyla: Age 10