7th Night: Whispers for the Night
"Sometimes all you have to do is listen…"
The rain began to slowly fall from the evening sky as the pitter patter sound it made resonated within the town. Ashia stood there for a brief moment allowing the rain to soak her. She was still preoccupied with what happened earlier between her and Kaname. "What is really going on here...?" Ashia muttered to herself before realizing that she was already drenched from the rain. "I'm all wet!" She quickly ran for shelter and found a nearby waiting shed. "This is just great…" Looking at her current appearance, she was one big wet mess. "I shouldn't have just stood there like a statue." Releasing a huge sigh, Ashia watched the rain covering the entire town like a blanket. The stillness of her surroundings, it was like a ghost town. Somehow, this scenery reminded her of a distant memory.
"Someone help me please!" It was a very frightened and desperate call from a little girl at the age of 6. She had attracted a rather aggressive Level-E vampire bent on draining her blood. In her run, she stumbled and could only cry as the rain drown out any sounds of hope. She should have listened to her father when he told her not leave the house and not to go out alone. But she didn't. She wanted to see the circus show at town. In the end, she got lost and placed herself in this scary predicament. Now here she was staring into those blood red eyes filled with great hunger. The vampire bared its fangs at her and she widened her eyes in horror. It was then the vampire lunged at her and she closed her eyes in regret waiting for death. But after a few seconds, nothing happened to her. "So, here you are Ashia…."
The cool and comforting voice filled her heart with warmth and joy. Ashia opened her eyes and saw one of the students of her father. "Mamoru…" He was panting slightly despite the cold weather and relief was shown across his face. He sheathed his sword with a small sigh. Mamoru was a lot older than her but she had always admired him. On his feet, a pile of dust was drenched by the rain. Mamoru offered a smile as the rain continued to fall on them. He removed his coat and put it over her head to serve as a makeshift umbrella. "Were you scared? I'm sorry. I'm glad you're not hurt-" He was still talking when Ashia immediately embraced him. Mamoru was surprised for a bit but returned the gesture and then lifted her into his arms like a princess. "Let's go home…" Ashia nodded and leaned her head upon his chest. It was then that a fleeting yet pure thought entered her head. "I want to be with him…"
Reaching out her hand to catch some of the raindrops, Ashia had a rather sad smile on her face. The memory was bittersweet in her opinion. Mamoru was now constantly on travel for missions and is known as one of the top hunters. She barely gets to see him even back home. It would be more impossible now. There is a small voice inside her that says that she could still see him. But, Ashia knew that was what people called as hope. "I wonder how he is now…" She retrieved her hand from the rain and released another sigh. "I should worry more about myself." Closing her eyes, Ashia listened to the falling rain hoping for it to cease at some point soon.
"Mr. Itou, you certainly live up to your reputation." An elderly man spoke looking at Mamoru from behind who had just eliminated a nasty group of vampires responsible for the kidnapping and murders around the area. "I only do what I believe is right." Mamoru said as he sheathed his sword and faced the elder man. "Vampires need no mercy. They are an abomination needed to be erased from existence no matter what the case maybe." He stated with such stern yet calm conviction as the dusts from the vampires he killed flew passed him and his eyes of dark blue held only pure contempt.
Lavender eyes looked outside the window as the rain continued to fall without any signs of stopping anytime soon. The night class has already come to an end but Ashia has yet to return from the headquarters. "Zero." Kaito called out to the younger hunter who seemed to be in deep thought. Zero looked at Kaito to show that he had heard his name. "According to the headquarters, Nightless had already left a few hours ago." Those calm lavender eyes suddenly were hazed with concern as Zero turned his back at Kaito and left. "Oi Zero! Are you going to look for her? Let the rain stop first! Oi Zero!" Kaito called after him but it fell on deaf ears. Zero continued to walk away until he was gone from Kaito's sight. "That guy tends to be unreasonable at times."
"I hope you don't mind me inviting you out of the blue, Zelark." Golden eyes gazed at the one who spoke. "Not at all, Unan." A small yet gentle smile was given to Zelark from the man now known as Unan. The man is a fellow hunter and a resident scholar/doctor of the Guild. He is also a close friend of Zelark and Fredrich known for his gentleness and wisdom. "I thought you would need a change of scenery to ease your mind." Zelark snorted before looking at the pristine lake as the light from the sky reflected upon its surface like magic. "I heard that Ashia is doing quite fine." Unan stated while holding a basket filled of herbs that would be used as medicine. "For now…" Zelark said while plucking out one herb from the list the Unan gave him earlier.
"You should have more faith in Ashia." Unan commented as he removed an unwanted herb from Zelark's basket. "It's not about that…" Zelark mumbled as he continued his herb-gathering. Unan heard his words and released a soft sigh. "Since 17 years ago, you have changed." Zelark paused midway from plucking a herb on the ground while Unan continued on. "What exactly happened, Zelark? Among the three of us, you were the most dedicated in eradicating the vampires." There was a rather tense silence between them before Zelark stood properly and turned around to look at Unan. "I found the light in the darkness." This was Zelark's cryptic reply as he left Unan to go to another area to gather the rest of the herbs on the list.
Ashia run along the rather slippery and wet streets of the town. She could not afford to just wait until the rain stopped when it looks like it won't any time soon. It was so far into the night and she wanted to lie on a warm bed already. "Why rain now of all times?" She muttered as she continued to run maintaining her footing in the process. Her jacket was now drenched and she could feel her body shivered due to her wet apparel. In a split moment, she lost her footing and fell flat on her bottom. Ashia released a rather loud and frustrated sigh. "Aw… That hurt…" Ashia mumbled while watching the unrelenting rain poured down on her.
"Here you are." The rather relaxed yet cool tone brought Ashia to a past memory. Raising her head and looking behind her, the visage of a man holding an umbrella over her head was before her. His face was a little blurred due to the rain and the night. "Mamoru…?" She muttered and the man heard it. "Who?" That answer rattled Ashia from her semi-trance state and Zero's face was now clearly shown to here. His lavender eyes filled with confusion looked at her. "Kiryuu-san!" Ashia exclaimed in realization and embarrassment. "I'm so sorry! I mistook you for someone else." She stood from her fallen position and smiled apologetically. There was silence as Ashia looked at the umbrella and asked. "Did you come to pick me up?" Zero looked away and walked away with umbrella in hand. "Hey, wait Kiryuu-san!" Ashia called out to him as she ran after him and fell once more but this time face forward.
"Kaito-sensei." Upon hearing his name, Kaito looked and saw Yuuki."So you're back." Kaito noted while Yuuki nodded then asked. "I wanted to ask where Zero is." Kaito didn't answer immediately and stared at Yuuki. This made her rather nervous and awkward as well. "I just wanted to ask him something." Yuuki added and this time Kaito finally answered with a sigh. "I don't know. He just went out on his own not caring if it's raining." Yuuki looked slightly surprised and sad at the same time. "Oh…" Kaito looked out to the window beside them. "My guess, he's looking for Nightless since she had yet to come back from the headquarters." That idea snapped Yuuki from her sad state and somehow she felt a little pang of something within her heart. It was rather unpleasant. "With Nightless-san…" Yuuki muttered to herself.
"I could walk really…" Ashia spoke in a rather shy yet determined tone. "Then, jumped down." Zero said casually without even looking at her. This made her quite annoyed and pouted angrily while holding the umbrella to save them from getting wet further from the rain. "Fine, it's your fault anyway." Ashia mumbled with her eyes closed. She seemed to have sprained her ankle and even had a rather red nose for falling face first. Zero didn't retort knowing that was partly true and he was rather stopping himself from remembering Ashia's appearance during that incident. It was quite funny. "You better not be laughing." Ashia warned Zero with a glare who glanced at her and then looked away. Silence followed them but it was rather comfortable as they walked through the rain. "Aren't you going to ask me anything, Kiryuu-san?" Zero gave a slight shrug. "Should I?"
Ashia gave out a sigh due to Zero's rather uninterested answer. "I'm officially your partner now." Zero stopped from walking and looked at Ashia in a rather indifferent manner. "You don't want to?" She asked the rather silent Zero who avoided her inquiring gaze. "Are you really fine with it?" Ashia leaned her head finally on his chest which startled Zero but he hid it well. "That makes me think, you don't want me as a partner." Zero began walking again as he replied. "It's not like that." Listening to Zero's heartbeat was like a lullaby to Ashia. "I meant what I said at the stables every word of it…" Closing her eyes slowly, she started to drift between being awake and asleep. "You're not scary. You're actually so gentle, Kiryuu-san…" Zero closed his eyes as he was completely against of what Ashia said although, he was happy she thought of him like that. "You speak like you know me well…"
Zero waited for a clever retort but nothing came. The umbrella that sheltered them fell on the ground. "Oi, Night-." He wasn't able to continue his words for he saw Ashia's sleeping face. "And she falls asleep." She had such a peaceful face and the reddened nose just added to her charm. Fortunately, the rain had finally stopped so there was no need for an umbrella. Her even breathing was like a gentle melody that soothes his darkest thoughts. "Maybe, you do know me." Zero muttered as he held Ashia more closely. He has no intentions of waking her at the moment although; he would have her change into something dry. With what she was wearing now, she would definitely get sick. Closing his eyes briefly and a rather unnoticeable smile, he softly whispered. "You are hopeless."
