Chapter 1: A Familiar Face

White and blue blurred together is I rubbed open my hazel eyes, whimpering a bit at the movement. I found myself in a hospital bed with bandages tied around my stomach, right leg, and neck. As I took in my surroundings I noticed 3 crucial things.

First, I was in what looked like an infirmary. Beds lined the white walls in an orderly fashion while medical supplies lay all over. The windows let in the dark of the night sky, a few stars visible through tree branches that lie outside. The smell of cleaning products and blood was strong enough to suffocate even someone with a stuffy nose.

Second, I was truly, undeniably, injured, feeling soreness take over my entire body. It seemed like there were brand new stitches under my bandage on my stomach. I winced once more at the thought. Being wounded was the last thing I needed at a moment like this.

And third, and most importantly, there were 3 men staring at me from the foot of the bed. One had on a green coat, a scarf, and had straw-like hair with glasses. He seemed friendly enough. Another had an eye patch lined in metal, a long, dark trench coat, and a pissed off look on his face, accompanied by one good, blue eye. Sirens went off in my head. He didn't seem friendly. And the third, well the third was my worst nightmare.

Ichiru. The very thing I was running from.

I quickly bounded off the right side of the hospital bed, letting out a gasp as I moved. My muscles screamed at me to stop motion but I couldn't. I had to at least put up a fight. I couldn't let Ichiru drag me back to that hell. I swiftly pulled up my charcoal skirt and grabbed my knife out of its holster around my thigh, ready to defend myself.

Ichiru, wearing some odd black and white suit, pulled a gun from his coat pocket and pointed it at me.

"What the hell?!" I yelled, grunting a bit from the pain. "How did you find me?" The three men looked confused at my words but didn't seem to let their guard down. The two men accompanying Ichiru now stood bracing themselves, holding weapons that they kept in their jackets. I let out a frustrated grunt. They could attack me after I dealt with Ichiru. "Answer me Ichiru! How?!"

That sentence seemed to shock them most. Especially Ichiru. His hands twitched a bit at his name and even the man with raven black hair seemed to widen his one eye. I failed to see what was so surprising.

"D-did you say...Ichiru?" The lilac eyed boy whispered.

What the hell is he going on about? Is he trying to trick me? Is he pretending to be someone he's not in front of these strangers?

"Stop playing games Ichiru!" I grunted, beginning to lose balance due to my wounds. My head began to spin as I stumbled back a bit and caught myself quickly. My throat was dry. Too dry to be standing. And the effects were being felt on my body.

"Please, take a seat. You must be so confused, as are we at the moment." The man with the long blonde hair commented. He seemed softer than the others, yet there was still something dangerous about him. Like he had power under that soft exterior. "We won't harm you."

My eyes shifted from him back to Ichiru. "I'm not going back with you," I said in a low voice. "You'll have to kill me first."

The eye-patched man spoke this time, "Zero, put the gun down now, she doesn't understand what's going on." I looked at the man angrily. Zero? Who the...? Flipping the knife in my hand I stared at them.

Never going back. Never.

Ichiru slowly lowered his gun with a low "Yes, Master." Then, the blonde man spoke again. "Please, take a seat. This isn't Ichiru. This is his brother, Zero. They were twins. Now please, don't strain yourself by standing. Again, we mean you no harm."

I looked into this man's deep auburn eyes. Could I trust him? He seemed to be honest, and I was always good at detecting lies. But it was such a risk. I battled it out for a moment in my head. I then sighed and lowered my knife, slowly leaning back up against the bed, but not fully taking a seat.

"Where am I?" I demanded, the knife still flipping in my lowered hand.

The blue-eyed man answered. "Cross Academy. An elite private school. Now it's your turn to answer. How did you, an obvious former human, manage to show up on the campus of a massive fenced in private school? Ya' know what, even better, how did you get the shit kicked out of you in the process?"

I decided then and there I liked this guy. He seemed tough, something I could only pretend to be for the time being.

I looked down at the knife in my hand, twisting it around as I spoke. "I ran away from a...bad...situation. That's all." My voice started to become lower, finally feeling the effects of being injured in full swing. I grabbed my stomach wound a bit and turned, placing my legs on the bed. I couldn't stand leaning up against the bed anymore, these wounds made it too painful. Plus, at this point, it became obvious that these people wouldn't hurt me. I had answers to questions they couldn't even begin to comprehend. And as long as they thought there was a chance of me answering them, I was safe.

"Why did you call me Ichiru?" Asked the silver haired boy eagerly. "Ichiru is dead. He was taken away a long time ago." The teenager, Zero as they called him, seemed slightly upset at mentioning the death of Ichiru, though with my experience with Ichiru, him dying seemed like a gift from God.

"Well unless he died since I've been here, then you're sadly mistaken. Though I would give anything to see that boy dead. Shizuka and him, they are disgusting, the things they do. But that's just how Purebloods are I suppose." I sighed. My eyelids began to droop involuntarily as I laid my head back against the headboard. My vision became a bit blurred again, but I still had enough to notice Zero now supported himself against the wall to the left of my bed. He seemed shocked.

"Don't speak like that about Ichiru." He commanded in a monotone voice. I used all my force to open my eyes once more, even sitting up a bit. "I'll talk about him however I please. That boy causes so much pain, and according to him it's 'just the beginning.'"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Zero pried, pushing himself off the wall and towards the bed. "Where is he?!" Zero yelled, obviously sick of not knowing.

I felt myself slipping away again, simply standing taking everything out of me. "Like I know where the hell that place is..." I murmured. I tried to focus on staying awake, but with every passing second, it seemed to get harder. "I was way more focused on getting away from him."

My eyes began to shut. And I was thankful for it because I could feel thirst creeping up on me. Better to be asleep before the pain truly struck me.

Zero sighed as I placed my arm over my eyes. " Who are you?" He continued to demand, this time with less hostility. A hopeless whisper had taken over his voice.

"Zero," the blonde began. "We all want answers. But we aren't gonna get any when she's in this state. Give it some time."

Zero glared at the blonde but uttered something in agreement.

"Good," the blonde smiled. "Now just one last question then we'll let you rest till morning. What is your name?"

I moved my hand from my face to my stomach now. "I'll trade you an answer for some painkillers please," I responded in an exhausted tone. The man with glasses smiled and retrieved some from a cabinet. I swallowed them instantly without water.

"Akane"