Chapter 35- Decision

Zero saw Richard come to him. He was dirty, but he was smiling.

"Zero, I've come to say goodbye."

Zero nodded.

Richard looked up at the sky. "You shall make your own future. The future, remember, is not set in place."

"Why are you saying this?"

"Because I won't be here to tell you how it would have gone. My future is now gone because we changed it. I will disappear, but my present self won't. He will have my memories. Zero, don't give up and don't give in to evil. Be your own person. Make your own future. That's all I want to say before I go. It's almost time."

Zero looked at him. "Richard, I hope you will be my ally in the future."

Richard smiled. "I will. Zero said the same that time too. Except he had a baby incoming and I had just appeared because I wanted to see Mai's fourth born child. She had named him after me with the approval of her husband. He was a very nice little boy. Bright eyes."

Richard sighed. He continued, busy reminiscing the past, "I remember how she reacted when she saw me. She was happy and she showed me her child. I remember when I met you too. You had a sword that Aido had made for you and you told me that 'if you believe in something it will come true'. So I hope that you will have a good future like the one the future other you had."

Zero nodded. He knew that the future had changed and now it was up to them to build a new future. He watched Richard leave his side and he saw him say goodbye to the others.

Adeline watched her brother. He was staring at the building with an odd look on his face. She was irritated for a second. She wanted to leave. She could tell that he was trying to decide something. She wanted to leave, but she didn't want to force him.

She stared at him. Waiting for his decision.

Zero looked back at the building. He felt something change in the air. It was stiffening. It made it hard to breathe for a moment.

He looked at the building behind him. He took one step forward and that was when he sensed it. He ran back in and he went into the same room where Emiko, Mai, had died.

She was there lying on the ground. Her short hair was long, it covered her body. She was naked. Her eyes were closed.

"Emiko," he said. His purple eyes were wide with surprised.

He stepped backwards and he ran back outside.

He went to go get a blanket which Ruka kindly offered to him. He went back inside and he gently covered her.

"Emi-I mean Mai, wake up," he said.

She opened her eyes then. Her eyes were moist. She blinked a couple of times. She rubbed her eyes. That didn't stop the warm water that quietly went down. She sat up carefully. She wrapped the blanket around her.

She was crying.

"Zero-Sama," she said after a moment. "Why am I crying?"

He looked at her unable to do anything to stop her crying.

"Why am I crying like this?" She asked again.

Her face scrunched up. She sniffled and her chest heaved painfully.

She was sobbing now and Zero didn't do anything to stop her. He just sat on the ground and he looked away.

He didn't know what to do.

He only knew her as a strong person. It was frustrating that he couldn't stop the tears of the person who had saved him.

He could sense that something was different with her, but he didn't know what it was. Something about her aura.

He looked at her after a few minutes and he asked her permission to carry her out. She didn't object. She was too busy crying. He carried her gently. The blanket covered her whole body. He brought her outside. He walked toward the others and he stopped when he saw something.

He saw a person walking away. He could see that person's back and he didn't know why it looked so familiar.

He called out to that person. He handed Mai to Aido who carried her over to where Kaname was passed out. He started running.

"Hey!"

The person didn't look back.

Zero noticed that he was holding the hand of a girl with blonde curly hair. He had brown hair and he noticed that he had a scar on his throat.

"Hey! Stop! Adeline, Hyous-"

They disappeared.

He slowed to a stop. He stared at where they had been.

He heard footsteps behind him and he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Zero, we have to get Kaname someplace else," Yuki said to him.

Zero looked at her and he slowly nodded.

Yuki went to Kaname.

Zero saw someone making his way to them. He had long bright red colored hair and bright blue eyes. He smiled when he saw Zero.

"Good day, my name is Richard. From the present. The other Richard had visited my home from arabia. I wasn't going to come, but I needed to see who this Zero was."

Zero shook his hand. "Hello, nice to meet you. My name is Zero Kiryu. I'm very glad you're here."

He was having trouble staying focused on talking with Richard. He wanted to stop that person. He was sure that it was him. Richard smiled. He looked at where the other people were. He saw Mai and his eyes widened.

"Mai," he said.

His mouth opened surprised. "Why is she here? What happened? The other Richard said very little about what was happening."

"She just got revived, I don't know how. But, she follows my commands. Though, I wonder if that is going to change or not."

Richard looked at him. "She is very loyal to those she considers worthy of her service. I never knew she was still alive even after I left."

Zero looked at her. "Why did you leave?"

Why did you choose to leave the person you love?

He was sure now that the person he had seen was Hyousuke.

Richard looked at him with his bright blue eyes and he said, "I left because I thought I wasn't good enough for her. And I knew that she belonged with someone else that was not me. I knew the moment Hyousuke came through the door that he was going to be the one for her. She would always talk about him. I also left because I would only do harm to her future."

The future.

Zero still didn't know what he was going to do. He looked over at Yuki. Was he going to harm her future? Was he right for her? Was Kaname the one for her? Should he leave her? He couldn't do that even if he wanted that. He couldn't stop loving her.

He still didn't know what that mark on Kaname meant. He was sure that it was Erich's mark which meant that he was probably still alive. Except he had sensed that Erich had died. He didn't understand what had gone on, but he knew that he was going to have to do something about Kaname.

"Kiryu, may I ask something?"

"You can ask anything," he said.

"Do you know where Hyousuke is? I haven't seen him here. I was told that he was here," Richard said.

"I don't know," Zero said.

He remembered the brown hair and the scar on his throat. He was sure that it was Hyousuke.

"He left," he whispered barely audible. It was like he never said it.

He looked at everyone. And then he looked at the forest.

"Zero," someone said weakly.

It was Maria. She had opened her eyes. She looked weak and she was too pale.

He went to her. "Yes," he said.

"Where's Aido?"

"Aido!"

Aido had been busy talking to his cousin. He looked over at where Zero was and he ran to Maria. He smiled in relief.

"You're awake again. Are you okay? Do you need something?"

Zero went away from them to give them privacy. He saw Yuki with Kaname's head on her lap. He saw Mai leaning on the tree. Her head touched the tree trunk. She was busy looking at the tree with a blurred vision. Richard was walking toward her with an odd hesitation and fear. He didn't have anything here. He looked at the forest again.

He remembered Hyousuke. He had left everything without looking back.

Zero took a step forward. He had nobody holding him back. Nobody noticed him. He took another step forward. He flinched and he took a step back. Even if he wasn't needed, he needed to stay. He couldn't leave. He looked over at everyone. Yuki was running her fingers to her brother's hair. Her expression was full of love. Zero saw Aido tending to Maria. Ruka was talking to Akatsuki. Richard was standing protectively over Mai. He didn't touch her. He only silently stayed to give comfort.

"Zero," someone said.

Zero looked over and he saw Kaito. He looked like an outsider among the others. He went to Zero.

"I need you to come with me. Come back to the Hunter Society. We need you." It was like Kaito could sense that he was struggling with something.

They were friends for a long time so he would know if something had happened.

"Yes, of course," he responded. "I'll go back with you."

Zero yelled for the others to get ready to leave.

I really apologize! I am so sorry for updating so slowly! I am really sorry. Sorry for updating too slowly. I was busy with homework and tests. I was mentally fried. But now, it's summer so I will update frequently if I can. Sorry a lot. I will definitely update sooner. Oh, I have a poll and I would really like it if you guys could vote on the question. Thank you a lot. Well, I will probably do want I want but I would really like to know your opinions. Well, this story certainly took a dark edge. Ha ha, really sorry about that. I hope I didn't confuse you guys with the two Richards that appear in the story. The Richard in the beginning is the Richard that was from the future that came to help present Zero. The Richard that appears later in this chapter is the one that was in hiding(?). If you still have any questions, just ask me and I will answer. Oh, I would really appreciate reviews and comments. See you later and stay healthy!