Chapter 7: What Was Seen

Upon landing on the cold hard barn floor I let out a wince. I looked up at the attacker, the white horse that I momentarily thought was my friend. "Bad horse." I told her. She only stood there, giving me the scariest look an animal has ever given an innocent.

I looked around the barn from my new seat on the ground and noticed something I wasn't expecting. Zero was laying on a pile of hay right next to the monster of a horse, fast asleep. I sucked in air at his sight, like it would make me quieter. How I hadn't noticed him there before was beyond my level of intelligence.

I was puzzled at the sight of Zero asleep. His hair fell in front of his normally hard his eyes and his chest slightly moved up and down. He wore what he had on earlier, only a black jacket in addition.

He seemed so peaceful and innocent when he was asleep. It would be hard to believe that this very teen killed a person only a few hours ago. It would be even harder to believe that it was his job to kill, and that he seemed to love it and hate it at the same time. As Zero slept his hands twitched a bit along with his eyes, like he was seeing something vivid in his dream.

I wondered what a boy like Zero would dream about. Friends from school? Old memories? But then it hit me. He wouldn't undergo dreams. At least not all the time. Anyone that has dealt with the wrath of a Pureblood is bound to have nightmares more often than not. I sympathized for the boy. I knew what it was like to attempt sleep after watching my parents die. It was something no one could ever cure. Nothing helped. Pills, remedies, exercise, sleep became exhausting. The very thing that was supposed to give you time off from all my problems had become something to be feared. And fearing the night was a terrible thing, because you could never avoid it. I just wondered if it was the same for Zero, if sleep haunted him too.

I tried to decide whether to wake up the boy or just leave silently. Waking him up would mean getting yelled at, insulted, and then brought back to the Headmasters house. Leaving would entail a longer walk, more alone time, and less time stuck in that house. My choice was obvious.

I stood myself up as gracefully as humanly, or I suppose vampirely, possible. Then began backing my self out of the barn slowly. I was about to touch the door handle when the demon horse let out a loud cry, waking the boy.

Zero's lilac eyes shot open, first taking in the horse and then me. My jaw dropped as I tried to find an explanation for what I was doing here, especially while he was asleep, but I just couldn't find one. "Why are you always where you're not supposed to be?" He grunted, wiping the sleep off his face with his right hand. He slowly got up from the hay, small pieces of his makeshift cot falling from his clothing. Zero began petting the horse next to him, the demon horse that had gotten me caught. The animal seemed to calm down under Zero's gentle touch, which I found peculiar. What an unlikely set of friends.

"How can you pet it?" I asked. Zero looked up, as if he had forgotten I was there while he was petting the beautiful monster. He shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't even know. Maybe those are the best kinds of friendships, the ones that can't really be explained.

I was completely lost in my thought when Zero began walking towards the exit. As he walked by me and through the door he grabbed my arm and dragged me along with him. I was pulled out of the barn in a swift motion, like I weighed nothing compared to this silver haired body builder.

"Zero!" I cried out, squirming under his iron grip. It felt as though he was gonna snap my arm in half if I tried to pull away. I hadn't realized it till now, but Zero was strong. Skinny, tall, but strong. His athletic build was dragging me across the grassy area outside the barn.

I kept tugging away from the boy, trying to get out. This was all too familiar. Being dragged and pushed around helplessly. I couldn't handle the resemblance.

"Fetch me a drink, Akane." Shizkua Hio whispered to me as she sat on her satin couch. We were in her mansion, hidden behind many trees, a forest so large not even I couldn't memorize it. Shizuka smiled at me as she hugged one of the three girls on the couch next to her and giggled.

She had always liked human company, and when she heard there was a school a few miles outside the forest she just had to "make" friends with the girls. The sight was sickening. I stood on the sidelines, against a wall next to an elegant fire place. The lit fire bounced off of the red walls of her living room.

"No." I responded in my stern voice. The guests all turned to look at me, shooting me pouty looks for my answer. I didn't need to do anything for this monster. She wanted to torture me for my actions, watching her manipulate innocent teenagers was torture enough.

"Akane." She snapped, her voice still graceful but now a bit more stern. "No need to be so rude. Drink." At her last word I felt a tingle in my neck, the same spot she had bit me a couple weeks ago.

"I said no." I shot back. I straightened the bottom of my short black dress Shizuka had given to me. It resembled something a maid would wear, only completely black and lacking a head piece. I saw it as a representation of my dark past, present, and future. Along with a reminder that I was hers, from the clothing to blood. It was disturbing.

Shizuka slowly stood from her seat, making my muscles instantly tense up. No. Please no. The woman pushed forward and grabbed my left arm, gripping it to the point where I had to bit my lip. "Be right back ladies," she told the guests. She began dragging me out of the room and into the hallway. I grabbed onto whatever I could in the hallway, trying to fight back. It was no use though, she moved swiftly, ignoring my almost silent whimpers. About five doors down from the living room is where she chose to enter, throwing me in like I was nothing. She entered as well and shut the door.

"Why do you have to do this to yourself, Akane?" She began. "It's truly no fun." I made my way up from the floor, leaning against the foot of a bed frame. The room she picked was what she called "my room". Even though it would never be that. It was almost identical to the living room, painted red, fireplace, built in bookshelves. Only now it was accompanied by a queen sized bed and a paneled window that always had the blinds shut.

"Why do you always get yourself into trouble. First, hurting Ichiru, then being disrespectful to me in front of my friends." She walked closer to me with every word, making me feel smaller and smaller with every passing second.

Not again. Please not again. I began to shake, unable to stop my bodies natural reaction to a Pureblood. Their power was unmistakable, and when directed at you even disturbing.

Shizuka was now in front of me, pushing me back against the bed frame so I had no escape. She grabbed my hair and yanked it to the side like she always did. "I asked for a drink." The scent of blood filled the air.

Once I started hyperventilating Zero let go of my arm. "Hey, what's the matter with you?" He asked, putting his hands up proving he let go. I held my arm and began backing away from him, still to scared from the memory. Every time one came to mind I couldn't stop it. It just consumed me until it was over, making me relive the horror of each situation.

My heart beat like I just ran a marathon. I felt like I couldn't control it, I couldn't control anything. I backed up as far as I could from Zero till my back hit a tree. Then, I just turned and bolted. I needed to run. I needed to give my heart a reason to beat this way, it couldn't be because of her. Everything was already because of her.

"Hey!" I heard Zero call out from behind me. I could hear his foot steps tailing me, but I didn't care. He could shoot me for all I cared, as long as I would stop seeing them.

I swerved left and right, stumbling at some points from running so fast. I pushed air in and out of my lungs, forcing myself to keep going. I continued to run off my problems through the moonlit woods.

I soon found a stone path and decided to follow that, figuring no one would be out at this hour anyways. The sound of Zero's footsteps were still behind me. I looked back to see him pretty far away in the distance, but when I turned back forward the unexpected was standing in front of me.

Kaname Kuran was walking down the pathway towards me. I halted to a complete stop and considered another direction to run, but words escaped his mouth before I could make a break for it.

"Akane." He greeted, putting on another fake smile. I kept my distance from the Pureblood, absolutely not in the right state of mind to hold a conversation with him. Even if it was polite small talk.

"What?" I asked. I was panting as I stood there. Finally getting my heart to lose control for a good reason. "Out on a night run?" He pried, it was obvious this wasn't the intent of his presence. "Uhm...not exactly." I broke to him, still panting like a dog. Kaname tilted his head at my answer, and then as if just to throw him off more Zero ran up besides me.

"What the hell?!" He yelled at me. He looked up at Kaname and gave him a glare that said it all. Both the boys frowned at each other. What's that about?

"Lets go." Zero ordered, walking away this time instead of pulling me. I followed quietly, wanting to get away from Kuran as well, but obviously for different reasons. Kaname shrunk behind us, watching us might I add, as we continued on into the night.

As we were following the path to God knows where Zero began to ask questions about our current predicament. "What happened back there? When I grabbed your arm." I looked to my right away from the taller boy, not wanting to fully acknowledge the topic.

"I-I don't want t-"

"Don't give me that shit. What. Happened." Zero demanded. His voice was cold as ice. I could now see that I really pissed him off. I felt bad for him. He was going through so much and I got thrown onto his plate like an extra serving of steak. He couldn't do this alone. I decided to be truthful.

"Shizuka Hio wasn't the nicest host. Obviously." I let out a sigh and tried to look at the boy. "If you didn't do as you were told there was repercussions. When you grabbed me it just brought back some...stuff. I don't…" I trailed off, my hands shaking the slightest bit. Zero just nodded, knowing of her cruel ways. Silence filled the air till Zero broke it.

"Im sorry for grabbing you." He whispered. His words made me look up at him. Did he just apologize to me? "Uhm." I tried to respond. "It's- It's okay. You didn't know and it was just an innocent thing and I shouldn't have been out there." I mumbled on.

Hush fell between us as we walked the next couple feet.

"Zero. Do you sleep better in the barn?" Zero looked down at me, examining my hazel eyes. "Yeah." Was all he managed out. I nodded this time. I was right, sleep doesn't come easy for either of us. But who could blame us? No amount of sleeping pills in the world could ward off those nightmares.

"Does she still come to your dreams? Or do they just happen by themselves?" I continued. Zero looked down at me, giving me a look that said "you're pushing it." But he still gave me an answer anyways. "At first it was her coming to me, but over the years she stopped trying. I was just left with the memories after that." Now Zero looked me in the eye. "But since you came back she's been trying again. That's why you need to tell us what happened, so we can figure all this out." He frowned. Zero was still upset at me for hiding my past, but I couldn't help it. My goal was to let it go.

"Well once Yagari comes back I'll get to leave and you won't have to worry about Shizuka Hio ever again. I'll be her moving target." Zero sighed at my reasoning. I noticed the Headmasters house growing in font of us. How we got back there I had no idea.

"That's a stupid plan," Zero sighed as he ran his hand through his silver strands. I crossed my arms. "I don't care. It's better then that place. Shizuka Hio loves games, so I guess I'll give her one." Zero looked down at me with a puzzled look. "Games?" He wondered. I kept eye contact now, finally about to stop shaking. "Well, yeah. She loves them. I heard her countless time say that she was getting bored. When that happened Ichiru would do anything to make her entertained again."

Zero's eyes grew at my words. I guess he never knew where Ichiru's complete loyalty lied. I climbed the steps onto the porch of the Headmaster's house and opened the door, holding it open for Zero as well. We entered the abode and moved to the living room where the Headmaster was standing, pacing back in forth.

He threw his arms in the air and hugged me. "Where have you been?" He interrogated as he pulled away. I couldn't find the words. I was stuck between being surprised that he actually cared where I went and actually telling him the truth about it. I was choking till Zero stepped in. "I took her on a few of my patrols tonight, thought it would be different to have some company."

Cross' jaw dropped at the response. "You wanted a friend?!" He ran up to Zero now and hugged him, saying a bunch of goofy things in addition. Zero wasn't amused at all, he looked like he was going to puke at the simplest touch. "Get off of me." He let out. Headmaster Cross did as the boy told, frowning a bit though.

"Well, you should go to bed Akane. I have some important things to discuss with you tomorrow." Cross told me. I tilted my head a bit. "What important things?"

He looked at me like he didn't want to say, at least not yet. "Headmaster?" I tried again.

"Akane, you haven't provided us any information on Shizuka Hio. Now, I know you didn't want to attend classes, but, and I swear it wasn't my suggestion, the Association thinks that the addition of classes to you being here may help you become more comfortable, and even open you up a bit. So they are requiring that you start classes as soon as your wounds are healed, which they are."

My hands curled up into fists at my side. "No!" I yelled. "That's the stupidest thing I've heard of. Why would I need to prolong myself being here? They don't even have the right to do that. Why are they in control of your school?" This was ridiculous. They could make me stay here all they wanted, but they couldn't force me to do silly tasks like play school.

"Akane, you have to understand how vital this situation is. They are dealing with an unpredictable Pureblood that has no respect for the law. Normally, the association would be bringing you into their facility in town and extract the information from you in an inhumane way. This is the best I could get you." He reasoned. His face was stern and serious, where did the soft sympathetic man disappear to?

I sighed and considered the situation. Yeah, it was true this was better than getting dragged into some cell and forced to talk. But for them to think I was concealing this information for Shizuka? How insensitive. Initially, this "peaceful" way of life at the academy is supposed to end in me giving up the information on Shizuka. They had me cornered. I needed to make a move.

"What can I do to get out of this?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Akane, I am afraid you can't do anything." He sighed. I shook my head and responded with a low whatever. I was so sick of this life. This ruined life.

The Headmaster left the room after a couple minutes and went to bed, obviously uncomfortable with my reaction. Zero and I sat on opposite sides of the three person couch, watching the news displayed on the flat screen above the fireplace. I tried to focus on the news, hoping it would calm me down a bit.

"What happened to make you hate school?" Zero asked. I looked to my right and met his eyes. How did he know?

"I don't know what you're talking about." I whispered. I pushed myself up off the couch and was about to leave the room when Zero stepped in front of me. "Stop running." He ordered. "It's exhausting for everyone." Zero seemed tired, not only physically from all the running earlier, but mentally. He seemed to be barely able to smile at times, yet he still found all this energy in him to go to town all day and fend off a level-E and keep a strong front. Then go to bed every night without any chance of sleeping well and sift through the endless nightmares. It must become so mentally taxing for him, I would know. I admired him for that, for his strength. But something I could do without was his pushiness. I didn't trust easily, he needed to respect that.

I always had trouble trusting people. Ever since I was little I easily saw that people could say whatever they wanted and not mean it. I believe I first began to understand this concept when I was ten years old. I had always tried to make friends when I was young, but for some reason it didn't come easily to me. One day I was invited to the park with a group of neighborhood kids. They said they would meet me there, though they said it while snickering. I sat on the playground bench for four hours waiting for them to show up, they never was the first time I realized that words didn't mean a damn thing. It was a lesson that I had continually been reminded of my entire life. It was a lesson I didn't forget. Couldn't forget.

"Let me keep to myself. I don't need someone to sit around and listen to my problems when I'll just end up dealing with them by myself anyways." I responded. Pushing past Zero I made my way to my temporary room. I sat down under the window like I had been forced to by pain just this morning.

"I would talk to you about it, Mom." I whispered to her, though I knew she wasn't here.

I shut my eyes.

"Ichiru!" I chuckled as my silver haired friend ran from me. Trees and darkness surrounded the boy as he joyfully sprinted. He was still young, like we both had been when we met. "Ichiru don't run from me!" I called to him as I followed energetically.

As seconds of playing chase passed I felt a tightness in my chest. It warned me of something, but I couldn't figure out what. "Ichiru. I seriously think we should stop!" I yelled to him. I couldn't hear Ichiru's young voice, but my dazed self knew he had said everything was fine. He kept pushing forward, despite my distress.

Finally the trees ended and opened up into a field. The wind was blowing, making the tall grass sway uncontrolably. The sky was cloudy and black, like it was the middle of a stormy night.

Ichiru stood still in the middle of the field. I ran up next to him and saw his young face, preserved and innocent like I remembered. I stared at the huge lilac orbs and the shaggy silver hair. I had to stop myself from touching his simple button nose. I missed this boy, missed him so much tears fell from my eyes.

Ichiru tilted his head, like he was confused to as why I was crying. "I miss you." I whispered to him, answering the question that was never asked.

As the last word left my mouth the ground began to shake with loud booms sounding through the air. It sounded like stomping, being amplified by drums. I looked around me, examining the woods we had just left. They were pitch black, except for one portion.

Ichiru now faced a part of the woods that was slowly filling with red eyes. The eyes I had witnessed just hours before. Eyes that were punished to death. Level-E's.

"Lets go!" I cried to Ichiru, trying to tug him away from the beasts. But the boy wouldn't move. He just stared at them with a smile wide across his face. He seemed fascinated by the creatures that I knew were life threatening. I pulled on my friend violently now, unable to move him no matter what I tried. "Ichiru, please!" I cried harder now. He needed to come with me. I couldn't lose him again.

Over twenty level-E's emerged from the trees now, all faceless except for their haunting glowing eyes. I began backing away from the crowd, away from Ichiru, when my back hit a brick wall. I turned to find a male pureblood, his dark hair covering all his features. His lengthy arms gripped my shoulders in front of him, forcing me to stay put.

I squirmed in his large hands, trying to find a way out. My younger self couldn't though, he was too strong. Blood filled my vision as the dream faded away quickly.

I woke up screaming as tears streamed down my face. Lilac eyes were the first thing I saw before I covered my face with my hands.

Zero kneeled in front of me, gripping my shoulders just like the dark haired man had.

"Akane whats the matter?" He asked me, trying to get my hands off my face. I couldn't find the words, I just kept moaning broken up words out and crying, unable to explain the situation.

"Akane, please talk to me." He begged. I tried to form words through the tears, but found trouble. "Th-e-re's…" I tried to explain. "There's s-someo-n-n-e el-se." I warned Zero.

"Theres someone else…?" Zero repeated back. I could only look at him and nod. He seemed so confused but I couldn't get a hold of myself enough to explain. After consideration Zero's eyes lit up. "Someone else coming after you?" I nodded again at his correct guess. He deepened his glare.

"It's okay, you're safe here." He comforted. I shook my head no to the boy. I wasn't safe here. No one was. The man in the dream, he was powerful. He was a Pureblood, but he was different. He was working on hate, something that was far more dangerous than Shizuka's game.

Zero pulled me into his arms, making me freeze. I loosened up slowly, realizing how safe I felt in them. I hadn't been hugged like this since my parents had died, and I really needed it.

Seconds passed and Zero pulled away. "You need to lay down." He informed. He grabbed my arm and forced me the three steps it took to get to my bed. He pushed me by the shoulders into a sitting, then laying down position. I looked up at him from the bed, unable to stop shaking. "Just relax for the night," the silver haired teen ordered. He then turned to leave.

"Z-zero!" I whimpered. He turned back to look at me. I covered my face nervously. I was too afraid of what I saw to control myself. "Can you please stay?" I requested through the salty tears.

The teen looked confused for a moment but then nodded. He grabbed a wooden stool out of the corner of my room and brought it over to the edge of the bed.

I don't know how long it took, but I fell asleep staring into lilac eyes.

Early update! Like, really early update actually. Well, if you're wondering why I'm posting this days before I should be it's because of a massive AP test I have on Wednesday. I spent extra time during the week working on this chapter so I could post it early just in case I'm a day or two late next week. Who knows though, I could totally ace the test and post this on time (there is a .1% chance of that happening).

Question: Do you guys like Akane's flashbacks? Her dreams?

I personally love writing them, even though it makes me feel like I am giving you a crumb of the back story at a time, I feel like it's way more interesting then having Akane just spill her guts to everyone she meets. Plus, it gives you time to think about the past relationships and events that effected all the characters in the present. What do you think?

Thank you immensely for looking at my words! Have a lovely day!