Omg! I'm so sorry! I promise I didn't die or drop off the planet. Along with pc problems and a couple of other minor things like becoming a true blood junkie, a funeral and studying for my exams have all kept me away from writing much:)

Also something occurred to me a while back, that there was one minor detail I didn't write in my summary, although I don't really hate any character, you might have noticed I don't particularly like Lettuce very much. So if anything else happens that isn't exactly in her favour, don't say I didn't warn you all:)

So finally, here's chapter 4!

There was nothing, nothing but the vast expanse of darkness, pressing down on her from all sides, nearly suffocating her. There was no ground that she could see, only feel the hardness of it under her feet, no walls or obstacles visible in the darkness, but somehow, she knew there wouldn't be, or maybe she just prayed there weren't as she ran.

Running towards nothing, she had no real awareness of direction, it all looked and felt the same, she could be running in a complete circle for all she knew, but she had to try, she couldn't just sit and do nothing. She had to try, so she run, hoping she would find an end to the black abyss, calling out as she went, "Mom? Dad?" the only reply she got was the faint echo of her own cries, but there was no other answer. There was never an answer. She screamed out louder, causing her throat to burn and her lungs to protest from the volume of her cry.

There was no feel of time either, she could've been there for days or minutes, and she wouldn't have known which. Unshed tears glistened in her eyes, not from the pain of her lungs and throat, but at being so alone in the eternal darkness. Her running slowed to a walk and she was near to giving up. She tilted her head back slightly and blinked the tears back, she refused to cry.

Without warning she was temporarily blinded by a flash of white light that flared from nothingness in the near distance. It only took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the new light source; it shone like an amber beacon, almost calling to her.

A spark of hope flickered within her as she raced forward towards it, each step she took the light grew larger as she neared her destination. As she reached it she was able to see what the light truly was and her blood ran cold as horror rapidly drowned out the fragment of hope.

Dimly she was aware of her legs that slowly folded beneath her and she sank slowly to her knees on the dark floor, before her roared a colossal fire consuming the manor. She could feel the dry heat on her skin, burning her slightly despite her being nearly thirty feet away.

One hand covered her mouth in disbelief, the other half reaching out to the crumbling manor.

Her family...there was no possible way they had survived that...the house was nearly raised to the ground...

In a few heartbeats the building had caved in and crumbled into a blazing pile of ash and rubble. All she had ever known, destroyed in moments, the only family she had had been burnt alive and buried.

Tears ran freely down her cheeks, trailing wet paths down her hot, dry face as she visibly shook from the sobs that racked her body. She moved her hands to cover her eyes, not wanting to see the smouldering carnage, but she couldn't drown out the crackling sounds of the dying fire.

She jumped when she heard a voice, she hadn't been aware of anyone approaching, or anyone else being here for that matter. She sniffed as she removed her hands, revealing her bloodshot eyes and slightly sooty face.

Before her stood a young boy and girl, probably around sixteen or seventeen, they were both tall, his hair looked like moonlight whilst hers was a bloody shade of red. She flinched slightly as the colour only made what just happened more vivid in her mind.

But she had a friendly face, and they both smiled kindly down at her. The girl bent down and offered a delicate hand to her, "It's alright honey, don't be scared. We're here to help you."

She took the hand and the red haired girl helped her gently to her feet before embracing her, soothing her as she held her close, stoking her near white hair, "it's alright, we're going to take you away from all this." She said softly before they took her away from the fire and death.

With a loud gasp Serenity sat bolt upright, waking abruptly from her all too vivid dream, her chest heaving up and ted in sheen of sweat as she looked wildly around her dark room. Her long dark hair was a mess from sleep and her sheets were crumpled and bunched in places in her restless sleep.

Beside her, Caleb stirred and woke groggily sitting upright. He looked around confused, his dark hair sticking up every which way, before turning his sights to her, "You alright babe?" he asked, despite his grogginess, the concern was evident in every word he spoke.

Not really trusting herself to say anything she nodded instead, knowing he would see, despite the dim lighting. She lay back down as he pulled the sheet and duvet properly over them. Once he was done, he too lay back down and she snuggled closer for comfort, his large arms encircling her small waist as she did so, and she let out a small sigh feeling more at ease. He kissed her hair and muttered a goodnight before he drifted off.

Sleep did not follow shortly, she lay awake for a long time but when it did, her dreams were undisturbed by the recurring flashbacks of her past, which were becoming more and more frequent. Instead a young boy with white blond hair flittered in and out of her dreams, always on the edge of sight. Whenever she turned to look at him, he vanished only to reappear out of the corner of her sight once more, she vaguely remembered him, but from where she could not say and she couldn't place the face. And when she tried to remember when she awoke, she could not picture his face at all.

Ichigo taped her foot lightly against the leg of her chair repeatedly, patiently waiting for Lettuce to arrive at the Cafe. Her arms were half crossed, her right arm over her chest, hand resting on her left arm, whilst her other hand fidgeted absent-mindedly with the cat charm around her neck, as she sat back in the comfy chair, quietly watching Mint and Zakuro talk softly to each other. Pudding was on her phone, her fingers moving at a rapid pace over the key pad, her homework lying forgotten in front of her. Ichigo smiled as she took note of the obvious change in the young girl. No longer the immature and hysterical young girl she once was, instead, she had blossomed into the beautiful fifteen year old that sat before her.

Ryou and Keiichiro were nowhere in sight, they were more than likely having a quiet discussion downstairs or in the kitchen.

Without warning the front door bell jingled cheerfully as the door swung open. Ichigo jumped slightly at the unexpected noise as her eyes shot to the door, to see the figure of Lettuce walking in.

Stalking would perhaps be a better description, and without looking at Ichigo, Lettuce sat down in a huff, grumbling out a barely audible, "Hey".

'Someone's in a pissy mood,' thought Ichigo, 'probably that time of the month or something, she's never this rude.'

Ichigo shrugged the odd greeting off and replied with a, "Hi Lettuce." that was echoed by the other girls. The response Ichigo got was an icy glare before Lettuce looked away. It was such an unexpected reaction that for a moment Ichigo sat dumbstruck, blinking like an idiot, completely stunned by the hostility from the most unlikely of people.

Ichigo wasn't the only one to notice Lettuce's strange behaviour; Mint and Zakuro regarded her silently from the other side of the table, Mint's hand frozen in mid gesture, whilst Pudding just stared, seeming to forget the phone in her petite hands.

Regaining composure, Ichigo gave a small, "hmph" before shifting her seat slightly so that she sat taller and ignored the green haired girl entirely.

Mint and Zakuro watched Lettuce for a moment more before returning to their conversation. Pudding opened her mouth and in a rather timid voice asked, "Everything alright Lettuce?"

"I'm fine." She snapped back.

For the second time that morning Ichigo was struck dumb as she looked at Pudding, whose eyes shimmered slightly at the unusual hostile outburst.

Mint and Zakuro exchanged equal looks of 'what the hell is wrong with her' looks before shifting their cool gazes over at Lettuce who sat with her arms crossed glaring straight ahead, which thankfully was at the large vacant spot between Ichigo and Pudding. Zakuro, who sat closest to Pudding, reached out and placed her hand lightly on Pudding's arm and offered a small but comforting smile. Pudding looked up at the older girl, a small smile of gratitude on her lips.

Ichigo opened her mouth and closed it again. Although she would have liked nothing better at that moment to give Lettuce a good piece of her mind for her rudeness, she decided against it. Ichigo would confront her later, when it was just the two of them, four against one was a highly unfair situation to place someone in. Ichigo was still the leader, and that meant behaving like one, she couldn't reprimand someone in front of everybody else.

There was a definite air of unease after Lettuce's snippy reply, fortunately the girls didn't have to suffer long, in a few moments there was the all too familiar sound of footsteps echoing up the staircase from the basement that resounded in the empty cafe.

"Girls? Are you up here?" came Ryou's confused voice from the passage, a moment before his tall form filled the doorway. "Oh, you are here, for a second I wasn't sure, you were all so quiet."

He strode into the room and glanced at the girls seated at the round table, whether or not he noticed the tension between them, he neither said nor made any indication.

"Come on downstairs, we've got something to show you."

Unease or no, the girls stood up together with the scrapping of chair legs on tile and made their way across the room to follow Ryou into the hall, and down the flight of stairs.

When the girls emerged on the landing, they were greeted with the brightly lit lab and Keiichiro, who's back was currently towards them as he sat hunched forward slightly in front of a computer. He spun his chair around when he heard them approach, and it was evident he had had little or no sleep these last few days. His face was slightly sunken, his eyes rimmed with the dark bags and slight stubble was growing out. His mouth however was smiling, "Ah girls, good to see you, I have good news."

I know it's a lot shorter than normal, but I thought I better just upload it to get back into the writing scene :)

Will try to have the next chapter up as soon as possible:)

So, let me know what you think so far:)

-Serenity