Chapter 8

---Next Morning---

Kai quietly stepped out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him as quietly as he possibly could so as not to wake Tala up from his well-deserved sleep. The curtains of the halls window were drawn shut and Kai finally understood why they were like that every morning. Even though the whole hallway was dark, Kai could see a dim light coming from Kyoshi's bedroom, one a little surprising considering he didn't expect them to be up, it being only 6am. The boy silently crept down the hall, standing by the side and slowly peering into Kyoshi's bedroom.

Kyoshi lay on his back on his leather bed, his bare chest gently raising and falling with every deep breath he took. The boy seemed to still be sound asleep, as anyone would expect him to be after all the crying he had done. Tear streaks where practically painted on the pale boy's face but now he could be said to look a lot more peaceful then he was pained as he had been the night before. Both his hands where by his sides, one hand being constantly in Sakura's grasp.

The girl was sitting up on her side, being supported by her elbow as she continued to watch him sleep. She heard a creeping sound outside the door and glanced over in Kai's direction, catching sight of the intruder. She glared at him lightly through her exhausted vision that could be seen in her grey eyes.

Kai tried to figure out something kind to ask as a way to ease the girl's anger, "Is he okay?" he asked in a whispered tone.

Saku allowed the little subject change and nodded vaguely, then lifting the hand she was leaning back on and waved him off. Gladly, Kai walked quickly out of Sakura's view and walked briskly to the kitchen. Saku glanced back over to Kyoshi, taking in his features once more before slowly letting go of his hand and getting out of bed. "Where are you going?" she was asked just as she was leaving the room.

She looked back at Kyoshi, he'd opened his eyes and looked over at the exit, looking at her with sleepiness and hurt in his eyes. She walked over to his side of the bed, crawling just over him, her hand on his cheek as she give him a quick and simple kiss on his almost numb lips. "I'm just going to get some coffee, get back to sleep." She whispered. She watched as Kyo closed his eyes again and shifted slightly on his back into a more comfortable position then she got up and left the room. The girl stepped into the kitchen where Kai was making himself some coffee; he'd instantly looked over at her once she'd stepped inside, "Morning." She said monotonously, sliding a mug off a shelf.

The exhaustion in her voice surprised Kai, making his eyebrows furrow in some confusion, "Did you sleep at all?" he asked.

"No." Sakura said plainly.

Kai turned back to the boiling water quickly and poured some out into the two mugs that where set out onto the counter, "At least you're honest." He commented with a smirk.

"When you're in a business like mine, you have to be honest." Sakura whispered, sliding her coffee cup into her hand. She sipped at the coffee quietly, moving the mug away from her lips and staring at the ceiling as she spoke again suddenly, "Last night…you were watching, weren't you?"

"We just heard…"

Sakura shook her head and looked at him, "You didn't 'just hear'. Kyoshi told me he saw you watching but frankly, neither of us care that you saw but don't you dare hold anything like that against him."

Kai felt, to some degree, hurt by what she said, the idea of her expecting him to do something like that to a person being somewhat surprising, "We won't. It wasn't our intention; we just wanted to see what was happening. Once we saw him crying and you hugging him we went back to the bedroom and that was it."

Sakura groaned, finding no other reason to protest against Kai so she just went back to sipping her coffee in an uncaring manner.

"So…what's wrong with him?"

Saku turned back to him and smirked, "You're straightforward, that's good." She whispered. She placed her mug down onto the counter, bracing herself before jumping back onto the surface and sitting up on the counter. She remained quiet for another moment, keeping her eyes on the ground while speaking, "Living like a vampire…isn't his choice, its been forced onto him and now that he's here the way he is, he's got responsibilities. His life has stresses that we don't even think about; you think he really wants to be inside all the time?"

Kai shook his head a bit, looking up at her, "All that couldn't have possibly come up just because of that." He commented.

Sakura smirked at his comment and jumped off the counter, the conversation being short lived and spoke again, "Of course not, it comes from a lot more than just that but I obviously don't have the authority to tell you these kinds of things." The girl was close to exiting the kitchen but stopped once she reached the doorway, looking back at him with a bit of softening of her features, "If you want to know things about him, then just get to know him, I can assure you that you won't regret it." The girl left a second later, probably to stay with Kyoshi again and cheer him up for a while.

---Later- 9am---

Tala had just woken up a few minutes earlier and gotten dressed and was currently walking down the hall with Kai when the two saw Sakura seated on the ground in Kyoshi's bedroom, the owner of the room being absent. Kai reversed and stood in the doorway, "Where's Kyoshi?" He asked quietly.

Sakura was shocked out of her own thoughts at the sound of his voice, looking up at him quickly. She finally factored in the actual question that had been asked of her, taking a second to answer, "He's in the basement." She said.

Kai nodded slightly and walked off again, leaving Sakura again but this time, a little more frustrated. She'd spent about an hour trying to forget about him so that she could do her work without having the urge to check on him and when she'd finally forgotten Kai walked in and brought up her worries again. It had been long over two hours since Kyoshi had disappeared but considering the sun light was bright outside it meant that he was definitely still in the house. She knew that she shouldn't be snooping around, even if it was her own house but she was still too afraid to go down there when she knew he'd want to be alone for a while.

Well, to be truthful regarding the situation, Kyoshi didn't really want to be alone at a time like this. Sakura had just insisted that he had some time to himself to relax, since he clearly hadn't had times like those lately. It was so hard for them to leave each other alone, the two where always so inseparable. Saku slowly pushed herself off the ground, wavering on her feet at first before walking slowly down the hall. She arrived to a small door that was across from her bedroom, opening it quietly then carefully walking down the wooden staircase.

From the top of the stairs anyone would already be able to hear the sound of a piano being played, a soft, sweet but sad melody. Saku arrived at the bottom of the stairs, walking over to where the boy was at the piano. The boy's eyes were practically glazed over as they followed his hands over each of the black and white keys.

The girl's raven hair trailed behind her as she unhurriedly walked behind Kyoshi. She lowered herself slightly, placing her arms over his, her chest against his back as she placed her hands over his as he played. Her mouth gently rested on his cheek, laying soft kisses there once in a while before she turned back to her hands that moved with his. After another moment of watching their hands and listening to the sad tune her hands slowly pushed down on his, bringing his hands to a sudden and harsh stop, causing a heavy sound from the piano.

Kyo turned his head to the side, a silent question praying on his mind, one that was visible on his face. Saku sat down beside him at the piano, she turned her head to look at him and for a minute she gave him a sweet and honest smile. A smile from her was a lot when he didn't get it that often from her, it made him feel like he was worth the smile at least. The girl rested her forehead against his, still smiling before she gave him a small peck on the lips. He smiled back at her, he couldn't help it this time, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to him.

She smiled a little more contently, her ear against his chest as she listened to the sound of his steady heartbeat, feeling his fingers running through the ends of her black hair. She felt her fiancé's head rest on the top of her own, occasionally giving her a kiss on her hair or forehead. "It's been a while." She heard him whisper to her quietly.

His words made her laugh slightly, making her pull away and look up at him, "Yeah, it has. It still feels good doesn't it?" she asked, stroking his cheek.

Kyoshi nodded vaguely, smiling down at her with a bit of gentleness in his eyes, "And once Hana is gone it'll be so much better."

Saku's appearance turned a little saddened as she continued to look at him, "I'm sorry we postponed things for so long, it's just that the last thing I want is Hana showing up at our wedding." She apologized sweetly.

Kyo couldn't resist laughing again, kissing her softly and quickly, "I completely understand. She's got some serious attitude problems these days, having that at a wedding wouldn't work out too well."

The girl stood up again, stepping past Kyo and facing the stairs so he didn't see her continuous amusement, "Finally we agree on something big, I don't think we have in a while." She told him.

The boy in the room nodded slightly, not turning to look back at her, "I'll be upstairs soon."

"Take your time." The girl raced back up the stairs, stopping at the top before she closed the door when she heard him playing the soft tune on the piano again. The tune wasn't as sad as the previous one, this one having a more…hopeful sound to it if that were possible. She shook her head of all her thoughts, remembering that in a way she was eavesdropping on something that was meant to be private and decided to quietly close the door and walk back to Kyo's bedroom. She lay back onto the bed, her hands behind her head as she stared up at the ceiling as her mind wandered to something she could actually do for the morning. She couldn't very well ditch Kyoshi when she wasn't sure how he was but more importantly she couldn't leave the emotional wreck in charge of two teenage boys.

Her trains of thoughts where once again interrupted, this time by a small knock on the stone doorframe. She lifted her head slightly in an attempt to see who was there, Tala standing in the doorway with questioning eyes, "Can I talk to you?" he asked.

Saku sighed quietly and dragged a pillow from by her side and propping it under her head, replying at the same time, "I don't see any reason why you can't." She gestured to the chair that wasn't far from the bed, Tala instantly taking the hint and sitting down there. "What do you want to talk about?" she swung her legs off the side off the bed, resting her forearms on her legs against her stomach and looked on blankly at him.

Tala shifted uncomfortably under her stare, she really was one to get straight to the point. "I still don't know what Hana wants from me, or why she does."

Sakura decided to keep her anger under control rather than just lash out at the boy for bringing that up again. She finally took in that the boy wanted a little more and considering she wanted to keep Tala and Kai on their side once they found out about Kyoshi she should be as decent towards them as she could. She hung her head for a moment before lifting it again to be able to look at him, "We really don't have a good explanation for everything Hana does or why she chooses the people she does but even if we did you'd probably be better off not knowing." She was really trying to pull off the kindest tone she could but being Sakura…to say the least it was a little difficult. She thought that already, there was something else she should add while she had the opportunity to actually speak civilly to him, "You and your friend need to trust us to do our jobs like we're meant to."

Tala sat up straight quickly, looking at her a little sternly, "We do trust you." He shot at her quickly. He watched Saku raise an eyebrow at him inquisitively which made him soften up a little under that look, "Ok so I trust you, I don't know about Kai."

The girl smirked and nodded, "That's more like it but I still think you should have trusted me when I told you Kyoshi would be alright yesterday." She protested.

The red-head was close to laughing but replied anyway, "Then we wouldn't have found out about Kyoshi." He commented.

"Which would have made our lives much easier, if you ask me."

Tala nodded in agreement regarding the statement, after all she was probably right about it, Kyoshi wouldn't have had that emotional breakdown and Sakura wouldn't have had to help him deal with it if they had never found out. "Kai would have trusted you both a lot less if we hadn't though."

Slowly, Sakura reached her hand out to the bedside table and picking up her box of cigarettes. She pulled the cigarette out and tossed the box back onto the table as she thought a bit about his comment all the way into lighting it, "Yeah, you two are really different, how do you get along?"

"You're one to talk, what about you and Kyoshi?"

Saku glared at him almost childishly, "I asked you first." She said.

"We get along just because we've known each other and at least he has a solid personality, I don't." Tala sat back comfortably in the arm chair, replying and speaking as though he'd known the girl for a long time, finally forgetting the distance the two had between them.

Saku pulled the cigarette away to reply, "Well sometimes an unstable personality is good, you're a good example."

Tala opened his mouth slightly to speak but he went blank on a reply so opted the move the subject off himself, "Your turn to answer my question."

Saku turned and lay back against the pillows, staring at the ceiling with the cigarette balanced in her mouth, "Me and Kyoshi, right? We don't get a long sometimes, he's the sweet one out of the two of us clearly. We really put each other in our places, you know? We look after each other a lot, we always have and so we just grew on each other."

"But you're still so different." Tala pointed out again.

Sakura laughed at the way he'd said it, like he was trying to point out so much about the obvious. "I know we are, he knows we are but you really can't help who you fall in love with. He's more like an angel, not a vampire. We're both amazingly stubborn, we need each other to remain in line and do what we're supposed to. I owe him my life for raising me the way he did."

The last bit of her explanation caught Tala's attention, how could Kyoshi have raised her? Didn't she have a family or something? He blinked rapidly at the train of thoughts, settling on bringing these questions to words, "He raised you? Don't you have parents?" Okay so the questions came out a little faster than he'd expected, thankfully not sounding desperate for answers or anything.

Saku looked over at him, a blank look on her face, one that wasn't cruel nor sweet either. She plucked the cigarette out of her mouth and put out into the ashtray, "That's a story for another time." She replied.

Tala nodded in understanding, standing up again and looking down at her, "Thanks. I should get back to Kai." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder towards the living room where Kai probably still was. He watched Saku nod in understanding and he walked out of the room in a hurry.

Saku laughed and slipped another cigarette out of the box, lighting it in a hurry as she lay properly on her back, "Was I actually that curious as a teenager?" she couldn't help the laughing this time, staring up at the ceiling with a content look on her face.

"You're still a teenager." Kyoshi walked into the bedroom, answering with some humor in his voice as he rushed to her side.

"Need I remind you I'm almost twenty?" Saku asked him sternly, raising an eyebrow at him.

"When you're actually twenty I'll give you credit for it but for now, you're nineteen." He took the cigarette out from between her two fingers and placed it to his own lips before sitting down on the bed.

Sakura sat up quickly, looking at him angrily and pulled the cigarette out of his mouth, "I believe this is mine." She glared at him before putting it into her own mouth.

"From my stash I'll bet." Kyo muttered angrily.

Sakura passed him the cigarette to him between her fingers, "Now my stash wouldn't really be a stash if I told you I had one."

Kyo continued to glare at her, taking the cigarette and putting it out in the ashtray with all the other buds. He turned back to her, at the same time wrapping his arms around her waist, "So how are those two?" he asked.

The younger girl sighed a bit and sat back, running her hands along the older boy's forearms, "They're not too bad. The youngest is actually acting like a decent human being but that other guy still gets on my nerves a bit."

"There are good reasons why he would but I'm sure you can handle him." Kyo leaned forward and gave Saku a kiss on the cheek, smirking at his own comment at the same time.

Sakura rested her chin onto Kyo's shoulder, giving him a few kisses along his cheek and neck as she resisted an answer or following comment to what he'd said. All she wanted was to forget about the 'annoying' teenagers that were in the other room, in on their house which she didn't really seem to appreciate. "Children are so adorable but then they grow up and end up like Kai and Tala." She whispered, laughing a bit.

Kyoshi resisted laughing and pushed Sakura back down onto her back, "They can't be that bad." He insisted, pushing her down by her shoulders a little more.

Sakura smirked, her smirk looking a little mischievous at the same time as she fought against Kyo's hold and sat up again, "I'm going out for a while soon so since you believe they're not so bad you can deal with them by yourself." She watched as his face fell a bit, making her smirk grow all the more into an amused smile. She reached forward, gave him a quick kiss on the corner of his mouth and got off the bed. She giggled victoriously as she exited the room and walked down the hall to her bedroom, the sound of her footsteps disappearing with distance.

Kyoshi shook his head, then got off the bed to make his own way out of the bedroom. He noted Kai and Tala where in the living room and to actually get to the kitchen he had to pass by them so he did so as he screamed in his mind for them not to notice him and speak to him. He'd entered the kitchen quickly but looking calm all the same, releasing a breath while thanking for his good fortune. Clearly he'd spoken and prayed too early because a second later Tala appeared in the doorway, greeting him in a quiet manner.

The Vampire clearly wasn't in the mood for greetings or chats but his visage hardly ever gave that off due to his usual calm and concentrated exterior.

Not many people could really see whether or not he was in the mood for a conversation or not, many of the times not even Sakura knew what to do. Sakura was one to listen to her own thoughts and opinions of things, which often clouded her sensitivity to knowing what the right thing to do was.

The frustrated vampire slowly turned to the door, smiling gently but a bit shyly at the same time at Tala, "Hey." He could barely hear his own voice, though he wasn't sure if that was because of his sore throat or faulty hearing from the loud music he was exposed to every night. He wasn't the type to just ditch Tala or anything of the sort so he was going to talk as kind as he could possibly sound and smile like he actually meant it.

"Sakura told me that you saw us last night…we told her we're sorry but I don't know if she told you."

Kyoshi nodded a little, careful not too much, "She did." He lied to him. He didn't need to be told that they were sorry, he knew they were, he could feel it the night before. "She told me that you were sorry, and it's nothing. I don't care about what you saw." Now the guy was lying all the way through, even though it wasn't evident enough for Tala to notice. To him, them seeing him killing someone by sucking their blood and even breaking down later did matter to him because he was ashamed of what he'd become.

Tala wasn't exactly naïve but he wasn't about to doubt Kyoshi's words at the time either. When you lived with and are best friends with someone like Kai, you tend to grow up believing that someone is strong enough not to care about some uncomfortable things. He was surrounded by people that he expected to be strong emotionally. Kai, Kyoshi and Sakura where all those people who had that one thing in common, maybe not Kyoshi as much as the other two. "We just wanted to let you know that we're sorry, that's all." Tala seemed a little defendant at the time, speaking to Kyoshi with a bit more authority then he'd had in a while.

Kyoshi nodded, it was all he could really do at first since after all, he did understand how the other boy felt but for a moment, till he brought that into consideration, he wasn't able to speak so quickly. Once he felt his voice again he spoke quietly, "I know you're sorry, thanks but I don't need to be reminded of it right now." He seemed to disregard Tala suddenly, turning back to the counter to make himself some tea, clearly he needed to calm down and that was the only solution he could come up with under the pressure.

After only a minute of giving Tala his side and some silence he felt the teenager disappear, causing Kyoshi to slump slightly, to a certain degree feeling bad for what he did. Technically, it was nothing he did wrong right? Well he was sensitive, he hated doing all the things he did but all those things he grew up as a mortal not to do where the things that struck him down the most. For another time that morning he was shocked out of his thoughts, this time by the steam that blew out of the kettle and onto his hand which he'd accidentally left on top of it. He'd jerked his hand back, taking a look at it as it healed up in under a second, then Sakura walked in and brushed a hand along his back as she walked past him.

"Stop spacing out all the time, I called you twice." Sakura informed him quietly as she placed her mug in the sink.

Kyoshi shook his head a little of his lack of attention, then turning over to look at her as she seemed to be in a slight hurry to get somewhere, "Sorry."

Sakura smiled up at him a little as she wiped her hands with a towel, "It's alright." She stood up a little more and gave him a peck on the lips before walking out of the room quickly, throwing the towel over her shoulder as she exited which Kyoshi easily caught despite his split attention. He tossed the cloth back onto the table and walked after her out of the kitchen and into his bedroom, he watched for only a second as she stood in front of his mirror touching up her eyeliner before he looked around and asked her, "Where are those two?"

Without turning her attention from what she was doing, Sakura quietly answered, "I sent them home. This way you can have the house all to yourself this afternoon." She watched in the mirror as she saw Kyoshi's reflection while he sat down on the end of his bed, staring at the ground, "What is it?" she asked him, turning to him slowly.

Kyoshi was still contemplating on whether or not he should speak for about two minutes, being sure that because of his silence Sakura had gone back to fixing her make-up, probably knowing that he would speak when he had the strength to. He did get that strength he needed after a while, his prior time being spent only staring at the ground with an upset look on his features, "I don't want to be alone today." He looked up at her as she turned round once he had began to speak, locking eyes with her.

A small, barely evident smile crossed Saku's lips as she continued to look at him. She walked closer, kneeling on the ground as she stared up at him, "I really think you need to spend some time on your own to relax, get some freedom and be in peace for a few hours. It's something you really deserve."

In Kyoshi's mind he was screaming or more like crying out, saying she was wrong, that he couldn't be alone that day, that he wanted to be around someone, to be able to talk to someone rather than lie by himself for hours as the sun basked in through the window opposite his bedroom. He couldn't do it but more to the point, he couldn't protest that he didn't want to be alone. He was…submissive, she was in control of him at the time, it was for his own good after all, wasn't it? He watched on as the girl got up and left the bedroom, then slowly he released the tension in his shoulders as he heard the front door quietly close behind his fiancé. He hated the fact that he couldn't speak…he just froze up and his voice locked in place, continuously.

He sighed and crawled to the top of his bed, lying on his stomach as he buried his face in his pillow before nuzzling his cheek against it and stared off to the side of the room.

---Flashback---

Darkness had fallen long ago in Japan as Kyoshi sat outside in the park on a bench, staring off into space until another dark figure emerged from the shadows and sat down beside him, her hands fixed in her pockets. Once Kyoshi felt her presence beside him he circled his neck and pushed himself off the bench, walking off to the front to stand in the middle of the dark empty park. Although, he was followed again, a voice accompanying the person, "These dreams you keep having…when do you plan on telling me about them?" Sakura asked him as she stood beside him.

The two didn't dare make eye contact, instead still staring up at the sky where they could avoid the impounding gaze they gave each other constantly, "Why do you want to know?" Kyoshi asked her, demandingly.

"Because you can't sleep anymore…and you're scared. You know I only want to help. It's hard…to watch you like this." Her words where a little broken up, she had been wanting to talk to him about it for a long time but she never knew how she was going to go about the conversation. She stepped forward so all he could see was her back as she looked up at the darkness more, "I can see the fear in your eyes when you wake up, then you hold onto me like you're afraid I'm going to leave you alone to fend for yourself."

Kyoshi averted his gaze from space to look at her once he saw her look back at him for a reply, which he gave her with some hesitation, watching that as he began his answer she turned away from him again, "But that's the thing, I am scared you're going to leave. Every night since my brother left, I've dreamt you die and leave me too. I left for two years so that I can try to live without you but I can't…"

Sakura spun around quickly, her shoes causing a small eruption of dust beneath her feet as she spun "Then don't try to!" she lashed out at him, "We can't live without each other, we know that so there's no sense torturing ourselves." She watched as Kyoshi loosened up under her vicious and angry glares. After a moment she calmed down and smirked slightly, "You know, you're pure hearted, you deserve the world and if I could give it to you then I would but I can't. The least I could do is try to help you the way you've helped me. Don't, for a moment, think that because you're older than me and immortal you know better than me because you don't."

"I don't think that I do." Kyoshi whispered, his voice being carried by the light wind though.

Sakura shook her head a bit and stepped closer, "I want you to live Kyoshi but I don't want you to live miserably, I'll do everything I can to make sure that you living will be a good feeling for you. You just need to trust me with your life, just like I've trusted you with mine for twelve years."

Kyo had tears currently stinging his eyes, tears that where clouding his sight but not clouding it enough for her to lose focus on the girl's voice. When she finished speaking he stepped closer to her, breaking the small gap that was left between them as he pulled his right arm around her waist and pulled her quickly against his chest. The two rested comfortably in each others arms, Saku smiling contently into Kyo's neck, gently resting her hands on his back. At least the two had a bit of an understanding on the situation, heated conversations like these where the ones that got the two to understand each other in the first place. As long as there where more conversations like these, the two would be fine with each other.

---End Flashback---

They knew each other for so long, so much longer than anyone would ever expect. They knew everything about each other yet there where times they couldn't stand each other, when that happened they hurt each other, a major fault the couple had between them. Thankfully it was never so bad that the two had to leave each other, they felt they were meant for each other and nothing was going to stop them from being together. Not even themselves.

She did upset him sometime, more than upset him actually. She made him feel uncomfortable, she made him feel that his opinion didn't always matter and sometimes that what he wanted wasn't what he could get. He hated being home alone with no one to talk to, no one to be with but that what he was left to do occasionally. It didn't matter whether he wanted it or not, it just happened that way. All it left him with was just lying on his bed with some uncomfortable lingering feeling.

It wasn't fair, he'd told himself that many times before. It wasn't fair that things like vampires existed, he didn't want to be the only vampire living, the only person with such dreadful experiences. To get someone to understand how he felt he'd have to rant about it for about an hour, going on about how he had to drain a person's life just to live, how he had to deal with the coppery taste going down his throat. He didn't have time to choke and feel squeamish on the blood, he had to drink it quickly while he still had the strength and opportunity. Did anyone possibly know how hard it was to go home and eat actual food while you still have the taste of someone's blood in your mouth? No matter how many times you brushed your teeth and rinsed your mouth you couldn't wash away the permenant taste there was.

Now obviously, Sakura tried to comfort Kyoshi in every way possible on the subject. She kept reminding him that the people he killed where criminals of all kinds, abusive parents, thieves, rapists and sometimes even stalkers. She reminded him that killing them by draining their blood was no different to shooting them and killing them that way. It was different though, there where big differences, differences she couldn't possibly understand as a mortal.

He couldn't help shifting uncomfortably on the bed, turning over onto his right side and staring through the white curtain into the living room. He hated the silence that filled the house, he couldn't entirely complain, silence was okay but when no one could be found in the house then he felt like he was all alone again. He couldn't help it, he sat up quickly, crossing his legs and crossed his arms across his chest and pulled them close enough for some warmth, he felt he needed it.

He took a deep breath, shuddering slightly as he felt a sudden cold air brush against his shoulders. He looked over at his bedside table, two things in particular sitting there; his cigarettes and his black mobile phone. He slowly stretched out his arm and slid the phone off the black surface. He flicked it open in a bit of a hurry and dialed Saku's mobile number, it had been only just under an hour since she'd left so she couldn't have gotten too far. He kept the phone close to his ear, hearing his own heavy breathing more than he was able to hear the ring tone. Finally he heard her answer the phone in a hurry, and he was quick to speak, "Hey, Saku. When are you coming home?"

"In a few hours, why?" She sounded so rushed, like she was walking down the streets in a hurry.

He needed to tell her the reason, he needed her there, he wanted her there so he wouldn't have to be alone again, "I … I don't want to be alone today, can you please come home?"

Kyoshi was able to feel her smiling suddenly, a small laugh being shed by the girl, one that he could only hear because of his acute senses. He slumped forward slightly, his fingers picking at the knee part of the jeans he wore with some nervousness before he heard her speak again, "Honey, go and lie down for a while, sleep and I promise by the time you wake up I'll be there again."

The fear and pain hit his heart hard again, he sighed once he'd heard her answer, she couldn't possibly think that her reply was even close to comforting but then again she wasn't exactly out to comfort him. "Alright…I'll see you when you get here." He replied hesitantly, he couldn't help it he really didn't want to be alone all day.

"I'll see you later, love you." She hung up. Well…at least she had enough decency and kindness to say she loved him. Still…it didn't sound all that comforting for him to listen to, though it was comforting he was still upset about having to be by himself.

With an exhale of frustration he tossed his phone over his shoulder, it landing on the arm chair that was in the right corner of his bedroom after bouncing off the wall. He couldn't care less about what happened to any of his belongings when he was getting emotional. He really was a gentle and kind person but he couldn't help getting worked up when he was stressed out or emotional. He lay back down again, turning onto his right side with crossed arms. His almost numb finger tips of his right hand traced along his left shoulder, continuing to stare through the white sheet that divided his room from the living room.

Staring in the same place for so long made his vision blur a little, but as he was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn't both blinking or tilting his head enough to fix his eyesight.

---Flashback---

Kyo sat in the corner of the orphanage's attic, his arms wrapped tightly around his legs as they had been brought to rest close to his chest. A form entered the room, the attic door being closed quickly as the person began their short walk across the dark bedroom. The person stopped directly in front of Kyoshi, making him look up slightly before the person knelt down in front of him. Sakura looked at him a little crossly, she was only fifteen but she already had coldness to her features.

"I told you that they're gone, you can go downstairs to get something to eat." She reminded him roughly, at the same time grabbing onto his shoulder and squeezing it.

Kyo just immediately shook his head a little, smiling gently at her as he spoke quietly, "I'm not that hungry."

Saku exhaled and stood up, "Get up and follow me." She ordered him. Kyoshi obviously did as he was asked, wondering at the same time why she was suddenly being so cold all of a sudden. She stood in front of him with crossed arms, "Go and lie down." She continued.

"How come?" he asked her, he really didn't see any reason why she'd order such a thing.

Sakura was quick to roll her eyes at his comment, "I grew up being taught that the slowest ones of the group are the ones to get hit first. Need I remind you that you got hit by twelve bullets today and you are the one who raised me knowing that rule?" she asked him rhetorically. Kyo couldn't deny her the truth, she knew the truth and so he could not lie about it. Sakura smirked once he didn't answer and nodded slightly, "Good, so now go and lie down on my bed."

Everything she said was true after all so he actually did as he was asked of. Lying on the bed, he closed his eyes so he didn't have to look into the darkness on the other side of the room any longer. Slowly and vaguely he was sleeping into a comfortable sleep, then he began feeling something cold against his face. He opened his eyes and raised them slightly to look at her, watching as she knelt down beside the bed. Her hair fell over her eyes but the sparkling grey eyes could still be seen by him, a blankness with very little concern in them. She continued running the wet cloth along his temple and forehead, he smiled gently at her before closing his eyes again.

"You're slow." He heard her whisper quietly, a tint of anger in her voice.

He couldn't help but smirk at the comment, "You're reckless." He whispered more gently.

"You're overprotective."

"You don't watch where you shoot."

Saku pressed down a little harder with the cloth, "You split your attention while you're getting shot at, you start smoking in the middle of a gun fight."

"You're ruthless during fights but the people shooting at you are just as ruthless and you don't even take it as a hint that you should take more care of yourself."

"You don't trust me." Sakura bit out rudely.

Kyo opened his eyes at the sound of that, placing a hand on hers that held the cloth on his forehead and pulled it away slowly, furrowing his eyebrow at her words, "What do you mean?" he asked skeptically.

"I learnt from the best teacher this world has to offer, I learnt from you very well, you don't trust me to take care of myself in a fight but you must have had some amount of faith in me at the beginning to have put me into these fights, what changed?"

"You became reckless during fights, and you grew up under my care, if something happens to you then I don't know what I'd do."

Saku rolled her eyes, obvious habit, "I'm pretty sure you'd live." She commented.

Kyo muttered something beneath his breath as he closed his eyes again, despite Saku being so close she was unable to hear it and if she was totally honest with herself then she really didn't want to know what he'd said. She got off the ground, looking down at him and spoke coldly as always, "I'm going to go and change, I'm going out tonight." She left the room in a hurry, the heel of her black boots making a few amount of short thuds against the wooden planked floors before she reached the door and closed it behind her.

---End Flashback---

Kyoshi remembered seeing her after she'd gotten dressed after that conversation of theirs. That was the day he had realized how much Sakura had changed in the two years that he was gone, she'd changed in all possible ways. He remembered, she'd walked in looking like a kinky assassin that looked like she was out to party but dressed to kill. Surprisingly she'd spent that night doing exactly both of those things. Although, he couldn't quite complain about any thing of that night though. She'd looked…to say the least, amazingly beautiful. She'd worn black and purple shorts, a tight black tank top and knee high boots, looking really confident at the same time.

He had to admit, it took him ages to admit to the fact that she had actually changed so much over a span of two years. Her all her body piercing had scared him a bit at first but she hadn't done much and he grew to liking it. Then again, his lip ring was the same as hers so he couldn't really deny that she'd gotten the idea from him. He didn't mind any of it now though, they were in love and that meant dealing with each other, getting the whole package, the good and the bad.

Although, to him there was a lot more good then there was bad. True she did have a tendency to hurt him but overall she dearly loved him and she did everything for him out of her love for him. She'd give up her life for him, they both knew that she would from many experiences.

Of course, he'd need to think about those experiences and go over them but he needed time for that, which he didn't really have because he heard the front door creeping open quietly. His heart instantly skipped two beats at the sound of it, making him shoot up in front. He glanced into the living room through the curtains, seeing a sign of no one. He slowly crept off his bed, and picked the gun up from under his bed and slowly stepped into the living room, ready in a shooting stance with the gun out in front of him. He turned the corner and reached the door, startling Tala who stood there staring wide-eyed in some fright once he'd turned and saw him there.

Kyoshi exhaled heavily and tossed the gun behind him onto the sofa, groaning quietly, "Sorry, I didn't know it was you."

Tala nodded, looking on at Kyoshi a little strangely, almost as though the guy where crazy or something. "It's fine." He shrugged it off obviously.

"How'd you get in?" Kyoshi asked suddenly, turning away and walking back into the living room to sit down.

The red head held up a black string with a silver key attached to the end, "Sakura gave me an extra key so Kai and I could get in without bothering you if you were asleep."

Kyo smirked slightly as he lay on his side on the sofa, placing a pillow under against his stomach, under his arm for support, "You didn't have to worry about that, I didn't sleep at all. Not that I'm complaining or anything, but what are you doing back so soon?"

Tala sat down across from him and shrugged in a reply, "Kai and I went to the apartment, spent some time doing everything we needed and then found we didn't have anything to do so we came back here."

"And where is he now?"

"He went to buy something to eat. As I recall, he said something about me looking like a white sheet of paper and needed some food."

Kyoshi laughed a bit, that was good at least he was laughing for a while and not crying, even if he was laughing over little things, "And clearly he's not going to trust you to eat anything that was in our fridge."

"I really don't know why he's so overprotective, I can take care of myself." Tala was clearly frustrated as he spoke, not in the least liking the idea that Kai was so protective of him suddenly.

"Well he must have some amount of faith in you, he let you here alone with me after all." Kyoshi reminded with a smirk.

Tala nodded, Kyo was right partly, "Yeah, it took some convincing but he let me. Besides, I trust you…probably more than I trust Sakura and she's actually mortal." Once he'd finished his sentence he winced slightly, realizing that came out all wrong. A) He pretty much just insulted Sakura and B) he rubbed in the fact that Kyoshi wasn't human. "Not the way that sounded." He apologized quickly.

Kyoshi laughed, "It's alright, I get it." He assured as he laughed, clearly having forgotten his early anxiety and enjoying the moment. "Really, your friend is just trying to look after you because he doesn't know what you're both up against."

Tala nodded slightly as he bit down on his lip, feeling a little upset at being deprived of his own pride these days, "Yeah, I know."

The two sat in the room in silence for a moment before Kyo lifted his head slightly and spoke out to the boy, "Why do you trust us?" he asked suddenly.

The red-head was taken aback by the question, it confused him that he'd ask that so suddenly when they hadn't even touched the subject for a minute. He whispered something quietly as he sought for the right words, for the right explanation actually but managed to bring together a few words, "I'm not entirely sure of anything at the moment…not even my own personality so I'm just trusting my own instinct of a person rather than working off of experience like he is."

The blonde turned onto his back, his hands on his stomach as he stared up at the ceiling with a blankness in his eyes as he waited a moment before speaking, "It's always good when a person can do both, it gives them a better chance of making the right decisions. You two are a team though, it's a good thing you can balance each other out." Tala nodded in agreement, once he had to think about it all then it really did make sense to him. "Why aren't you sure of your own personality?" he turned his head to look in his direction and make some eye contact.

Tala sat back comfortably in the arm-chair, staring up at a point on the ceiling to break the eye contact he had with the vampire. He contemplated for a moment on telling Kyoshi the truth, Kai would probably kill him for it later if he did but he wanted to make his own decisions again. A moment later he sighed and spoke, "I was in a twisted abbey that if I told you, you wouldn't even begin to believe how terrible it was there. The man in charge had surgery performed on all the students to enhance their power and such." He paused for a moment and could hear Kyoshi's arm brush against the back of the sofa as he'd sat up to look at the speaker with some interest, tugging the pillow into his arms and holding onto it as he listened intently. "I was one of his early experiments so obviously he was always trying to perfect things on me. One thing he did were implants in my brain which ended up making me a cyborg. That time passed, now I'm out, and so are the implants but with all that time of not being able to make decisions that were really my own and not having opinions or even a personality, I have a lot I need to sort out."

Kyoshi rested his chin on his arm that was perched on the pillow, he kept his eyes focused on the boy even though he'd refused eye contact, "Maybe I'm out of line in saying this…but maybe your friend has the right to be worried about you and treating you the way he does." He never could control his own opinions, even with Sakura, one time or another she was going to find out his opinion on any subject whatsoever. "I still think he should take notice of what you want out of your life but he's trying to look after you because he knows you aren't safe out here."

"Out here?" Tala asked in a hurry, looking at Kyoshi suddenly.

Kyo nodded in regards to the question, "In the abbey, no matter how bad it was in there, he knew that to a certain degree you were safe. Well, safe if you compared things to being outside the abbey which he knows more than you. He's just trying to protect you from the pain, some kind of pain, he knows that you've never felt."

"I know but there's only so much one person can take." Tala agued stubbornly, he knew Kai meant well but there where some things he couldn't handle.

"Obviously everyone has their limits but you'll work things out, look at me and Saku, we're overprotective of each other, we disagree a lot even though we share most of the same beliefs, we've got a strong friendship and more and we still managed. You two have a strong friendship from what I can see, you can make things work out."

Tala nodded in some agreement as he continued to ponder on Kyoshi's words, "Maybe you're right."

Kyoshi laughed, "Of course I'm right, when it comes to friendships and relationships I don't think it can get worse then me and Saku." He was joking but there was so much honesty in his words that it sound so real, maybe it was though.

A/N: Another long chapter, the only reason I'm posting the chapter now and am not continuing writing this one out is because it almost exceeded the 1MB limit that fanfiction's updater has on it. So, please leave me a review so that I can continue writing this and the next chapter should be up soon.

Also, for those Cats And Dogs fans, once this fic is over I will be writing the sequel to that story since it was liked so much.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review. Take care everyone!