Sat. back and with a very late update. Sorry, I was in a motivational slump. You're probably gong to kill me for the end of this chapter, but you have to find me first! As a reward for patience, here is a little insight on one of the girls. Anyway, this story has the longest weekend ever, but it's not over yet! Kaitlin said what?! How will everyone else react? Who will be told? Will any one be told? Where the hell are Sarah and Ana? Why don't I have Zero in my possession?! Anyway, I own nothing familiar.

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Chapter 10: Icy butterfly

Sarah

The streets of this little town are somewhat crowded. Today's my last day and I'm still some good hours from the school. Luckily it's around eleven in the morning. Things have been going smoothly in town with little activity. Some little kids tug at their parent's hands and point at me. It's obvious that I'm not native and they don't get that many foreigners in this particular part of Japan. It's understandable to stare a bit. The school is farther from the large cities, which is okay with me. I enjoy the rural landscape. Though, this means fewer bookshops with manga, but whatever. Checking the map around this little town, there is only one other place I need to check before I leave. Let's see how well this will go since today's been very uneventful.

The last two days have been interesting. There are so many different little towns and though they are very small, each is unique. I almost feel invasive every time I come to a little town and the people stare at me. Then again, it feels like I'm on vacation or something. The street I need comes up and I turn down it. When Angelica called me yesterday and relayed that information about the Hunters, I really wanted to get back to school. Why, though, I don't know. Perhaps I was worried about the girls' safety or the students or Cross. She called this morning telling me what the compromise was and that she hadn't called Ana about it yet. Lord knows that she won't take it that well.

The last three towns that I hit had some very small covens in them. That's to be expected since most vampires don't live in massive groups and usually its families. After breaking into their homes and getting some information on them, I hacked some Hunter systems. Yay, for libraries. These little covens are off the records and from what I saw, pretty harmless. They mostly fed off homeless people or animals. They're smart to not attack the known populace and to find other means of food in order to have a safe household. I always left those homes quickly, fearing that a real monster will bring exterminators upon them. They need to stay off the record.

I push the door to the Blue Glass Diner open, a bell ringing quietly above me and seat my self. I arrived in the town around three in the morning and scoped out the few places around here. I fell asleep around six and have been sleeping until about thirty minuets ago. The town is very small. This place seemed to be very active at night for some reason. A waitress comes over and asks me if I'd like anything. I order a simple and quick breakfast, ignoring the woman's watchful eyes. Yes, I know I'm from the U.S. Please stop staring.

The emotional atmosphere is calm with some crackling tension and curiosity. That part is caused by me. It's not too thick, which means I'm not causing that much of an uproar. Glancing around the warmly colored place, some locals immediately cast their eyes at their food. A little boy with chestnut hair stares with his mouth partially opened. I smile and wave at him. His eyes widen a little more and he dumbly waves back. His mother glances behind her, to me, and grabs her son's hand while scolding him for staring. I giggle a bit from this and continue to look around. My food comes soon and I happily devour it. Someone seats themselves in the chair next to me at my table. Who in the hell would do that?

A man a few years older than me sits comfortably in the chair and smiles at me. He black hair is ruffled and a bit messy. He wears a black button up shirt and jeans. His skin is very pale and his eyes are nearly as black as his hair. Is he a local? Some of them stare at us and the atmosphere gets a little tenser.

"May I help you?" I ask, pushing my empty plate to the side.

"I've come to escort you," he says in a velvet voice, "Remember, my aunt told me you were coming in town and to me you here."

Alright, either he's nuts, has mistaken me for someone else or this is a lead to somewhere… or a trap. Might as well play along.

"Oh," I say with some surprise, "That's why I didn't recognize you. I thought she was meeting me."

Some eyes and tension from the people leave and soon conversations begin to get louder. The feeling of satisfaction wells around this man. It seems that I was supposed to follow along whether it's good or bad for me.

"There were some problems at home," he answers with a placid shrug, "Are you ready to go?"

Okay, this guy could either be A. a decoy from the Hunters if there are any here, B. a vampire, though why one would be up at this hour or another inhuman creature, or C. some guy who has mistaken me for someone else. There is the D. option of I don't know and have a bad feeling about this.

"Sure. Where are we going?"

"To Canipre House."

Canipre. Yes, option D. it is. I haven't heard that family name in a long time. I was about six or seven when I first heard it and it was also the last. My eyes rove over the man's face and I try to remember him. It's been too long. Why would I be summoned there? Revenge most likely. How'd they know I was here? Why are they here? Shit, this is really bad.

"I don't have a choice, huh?" I quietly mummer, looking at the table.

"No, you don't," he says, getting up and offering his hand to me.

Looking at his hand, I sigh and leave my tip and the amount of the meal. Damn, and here I thought this would be a quiet ending to my trip. Karma. My hand lightly slips into his. He pulls me up with some of his vampire strength while I grab my backpack. Yes, he's is one of them. In fact, we may have met during that mission. It was still so long ago. Does he still think I'm with the Hunters' Special Unit? I wonder what his aunt will say when I tell her that not only am I out of the HSU, but out of the Hunters altogether.

He doesn't release my hand. I could just shift his energy, but that will cause too much commotion. He knows this and is using himself and my secret as a shield for him. Very smart. His aunt must've taught him that. Anger radiates around him. It's nearly chewable. We walk down a few streets, some of which I don't know the name of, but I do know where we are. Right now, he's leading us to the upper district of the small town.

"Do I at least get your name?" I ask, not really expecting an answer.

"I wouldn't think you'd remember me," he mutters.

So I did meet him before.

"My name's Kizuna."

"My name's Sarah."

He stops and looks back at me with a baffled look. I smile and shrug. Guess he didn't expect me to have a name. That isn't the reason he's stopped. There is no real reason to withhold my name.

"Are we just going to stand here, silly?" I say with a quirked eyebrow. He glares and continues.

We come to a three story house with vines crawling up the sides and the front. We enter and remove our shoes. My mountain boots are a bit more difficult to remove, especially since he won't let go of my hand. It's not so much a safeguard now that we're inside, but I won't be able to come back to this town if I harmed this family. I may not be able to come back either way. Soon, we walk up both flights of stairs and head down a dark hallway.

"Your name means bond, doesn't?" I ask, trying to ease his tension, "Do you mind if I ask why?"

"Yeah, I do."

He knocks on a door and opens it. He yanks me through, not being so kind now. He shoves me in front of him and twists my arm behind my back. I wince at the grip, but relax, making it hurt less. A large four-poster bed holds a wrapped up person. She lets her dark hair cascade freely, from what I can see in the dark. A lamp flicks on beside her and my memories flood back. Two terrified faces covered with blood and ash. This woman…I know her. Fuck. I killed half this family when I was little. They're angry. Really, really angry. This woman's husband, brother, sister and daughter, they're dead by my hands. Kizuna's grip tightens further and I welcome the pain. It's what is due.

"Canipre-sama," I say and bow as much as I can. The husband was Italian mixed with something else.

"Life-Eater," she responds with a raspy voice. I visibly wince at the battlefield nickname.

"Please, call me Sarah. I hate that other name."

"Why? It's what you are, what you do," she spits at me, "What you did to our family and others."

"I have no excuse for what I did expect that I didn't know what I was doing then. Even that is a poor excuse."

"You didn't know that you were killing them?!" he shouts behind me.

"I didn't know that killing was wrong," I nearly whisper, "the Hunters found me when I was very young and warped my small mind. I know better now. Nothing I say can ever measure up to what actions took place and the grief both of you have to burden and have dealt with for these years. I understand that you want to kill me and I would agree to let you. I deserve that and more. However, there are those I need to take care of and I won't die here. My leader and best friends would come to my grave and drag me back to the living just to chew me out."

"Life-Eater," she asks, rising shakily out of bed, "You sound like you've abandoned your owners."

Her white lace nightgown is wrinkled, but still elegant. Silvery flowers are embroidered lightly everywhere. Why is she ill?

"The fact that you know what I am and who I am puts both of you in great danger," I say, not looking her in the eyes, "Yes, the E-Shifters are no longer with the Hunters and we are on the run as we speak. Not many in the non-human world know this. The Hunters still try to use past events as scare tactics. Apparently, we did our jobs well. We've been running for nearly six years now."

"So the Hunters have lost their best mindless beasts," she says in a thoughtful voice and comes to me.

"Yes, and we're not as mindless as they like now," I answer with a small smile, glancing up at her.

"Why are you here then?" Kizuna asks above me.

"We found a temporary refuge and are checking for Hunters. That diner you found me in was a place that I was checking out. I wasn't able to see anything because you came a little too early."

"So you no longer hunt?"

"I hunt for Hunters," I say with a sad grin, "We'd like to bring them down, but five against the world is a bit uneven in odds, don't you think? Right now, we're just trying to survive and pass under their radar."

"Five?" she asks with pursed lips. She must've missed the plural I used before.

"Yes, there are five known of us. They're all my friends and who I protect. Surely you knew that there was more than one?"

"You understand the difference and consequences of life and death?" she quietly asks, her black eyes studying me.

"Yes," I mummer, looking again at the floor, "I no longer want to be an instrument for death and misery. I'd rather just be me."

"As though you could be anything else! That's all you know how to be!" he snaps in my ear. I twist to look up at his angry dark eyes.

"I remember you now. You were the boy that hid behind a wall downstairs and you had lots of drawings around you. Do you still draw?"

A fist lashes to my face and I stumble a little. I present my face to him again and he hits me again. He was around drawings, but his face was covered in loose blood from his cousin and ash from his uncle.

"Enough, Kizuna," she says with a calmed voice, "She was not being sadistic in that question. Let her go."

"I've changed or rather, I'm enlightened," I say, doing my best to face him, "I find it…indescribable in the most negative way to hurt someone like I had done. Somehow, my young mind knew then that killing was wrong. But, again I was a child that knew no better. What makes it worse is the fact that I have the ability to do it so damn easily. I lost the will to do so a long time ago. I know this won't change what anger you have for me. You have no reason to change it."

He hesitates and squishes my hand one last time before letting go. I rub my joint out and then my face. I don't have room to complain, especially since she's beginning to trust me. Perhaps she's giving up with the immediate revenge.

"You no longer hunt?" she asks again, more to herself and I just nod.

"What an odd turn of events," she continues, "and yet it's such old news within the human realm."

"They did there best to keep our disappearance quiet and they're still trying," I offer, "Though I must recommend not telling anyone that you know this. Saying something will draw unwanted attention to you. In a way, we're fighting off the same people."

"Don't pin us together, murderer," he spits at me.

I say nothing, but look down again. How can I fend off the truth?

"Leave here, girl," she says, looking at a picture on the wall, "Leave and never come back. If you do, we will not hesitate to kill you. There are no Hunters here."

"Thank you, Canipre-sama," I say with a deep bow, "I hope that we never meet again for your sake and your nephew's sake."

I turn to walk out the door, nodding to the flabbergasted man and proceed out of the house. He follows me to make sure I leave his haven. At the door I bid him good night since I know he'll go to sleep after I leave. The dark wooden door slams behind me and the sun blinds my eyes.

A tear slides down my face. They should have killed me after what I did and yet, here I am; a monster let back into the world. Why? Why does anything want to be around me or let me live? I don't deserve it. Why doesn't Takuma stay away from me? My feet begin to lead me away from the house and I exit the little town. I choke my mind away from the gift I received from Takuma. Everything blurs.

Trees pass by me. I haven't acted like this since I was a kid. I sit against a tree, smothering my face in my knees and just cry. There is still work to do, but I can't get up. I stay like this for some sort of time, I'm not sure how long and I pull out my phone. Steadying my voice and wiping my face, I dial Angelica.

"Yes?"

"Do you remember the Canipre family?"

"Yeah, why? What's wrong?"

"I found the nephew and wife, or they found me, would be better."

"…Where are you?"

"Well outside of the town they're in. They told me to leave and that my target wasn't there. What else could I do, but leave?"

"Christ, Sarah. Are you alright? Do you want to bypass the last two towns? You can, you know."

"No, I still need to check those. Don't worry; I'll be back later tonight. I figured that you'd like to know that they are still hanging around and where they are. It's a bit odd, don't you think?"

"Stop down playing this, Sarah. I know you've been crying. Come back to the school."

"There's work to be done, Angelica and I'm not shirking my duties. I'll see you tonight. 'Bye."

"…'Bye."

I didn't mean to sound so harsh, but I don't need pity like a child. My legs get up and they crack as I walk the out sleep of them. Using my energy, I run to the next town and quickly pass through it. This one's clean. I run to the next one as well, wearing myself out, trying not to cry again. The towns are just a blur of colors and sounds. This wasn't supposed to be so depressing. Heh, therapists would have fun with the girls and me. We're just a bundle of problems. I run, only noting the sun dipped and it's around seven. I'm still a two hour run outside of school, but I'm way ahead of schedule. I come to a large and old tree and begin to climb it. I need a nap in a very desperate way. Sitting against the trunk on a large limb, I tie my backpack on the limp and dangle my legs. My phone, set to wake me in an hour, sits in my jean pocket. I cross my ankles and sleep.

A constant vibration wakes me. My hand whaps the phone, effectively shutting off the alarm. The sky is very dark now. I stretch my stiff and locked back. My backpack is still tied and that I didn't fall off. Untying it, I jump and immediately start running. I can feel the pain welling in my heart again. I run, blind to time, and soon find myself a few hundred feet from the school gate. My lungs heave and my arms and legs shake. That's right; I haven't eaten since this morning.

I sneak onto the campus, easily avoiding the Night Class and prefects. Opening the Sun Dorm main door, I see Angelica on the staircase. She stands on the third step, making me feel shorter than usual, with a blank look and crossed arms. Silver light cascades over her dark skin. She seems like a towering shadow; my shadow. The blank composure I have is beginning to break. She walks down the steps silently and tugs me into a deep hug. Her wide arms tighten around my whole frame and I hug back, silently crying into her shoulder. Soon, four other arms wrap around me, two on each side.

Rena whispers comforting words while Kaitlin rubs my shoulders and leans her head on the side of mine. All I need is Ana to lean her forehead on my back and wrap her arms around my stomach. I imagine her there. I feel protected in this mass. My emotions freely rip out of me as I cry harder. Eventually, I stop and they let me go. Angelica puts an arm around my shoulder and walks to me my room.

"Do you want to talk?" she asks, sitting me on my bed.

"Why? Saying these things is like beating a dead horse," I mummer, placing my backpack next to me, "You know what I'll say like I'll know what you'd say. Here are my maps and extra information I got. The majority of places I visited were clean."

She takes the maps and other papers, sending a worried look at me and glances at the papers. I should go eat something, but the cafeteria is closed and I don't have any food here.

"Lemme know when Ana gets back," I say, rising to get some pajamas, "I know she won't come back to the room for a while when she gets back. She'll want to see all of the maps and process them in a computer as one large document."

"Alright, Sarah," she says, heading towards the door, "See you later."

She looks one more time and shuts the door. Locking it, I change into my old silk shirt and shorts. Uncaringly tossing my backpack on the floor, I curl in my blankets and try to let my body drift into sleep. Though everything within me is very tired, I can't sleep. Shuffling to the edge, I reach for a dark velvet box.

I don't know why he gave me this. I got him some manga I thought he'd like. Something with humor. I slowly open the box and an icy blue butterfly clip shines even in the dark. It has silver and gold twisting lines from the body of the butterfly and silver edges on the wings. It's a very thick and strong clip. I've already tried to see if it would stay in and it does. I can even hide a Tear in it.

Why? Is it because he thinks that I'm a normal person? If he had seen me tonight or when I went to the Canipre House, would he still come around me? Probably not. I was such an idiot when he gave me this. A small smile forms on my lips from that little magical mess up.

I run with my gift in hand and hope I won't be late for the meeting. My sweatpants make loud swooshing sounds as I run down the hall to the library. I got the first two books of a manga series for Takuma for Valentine's Day. If the girls knew I'm dong this…I shudder to think what would happen. Oh the taunting. The books aren't wrapped, seeing as how that's a bit ridicules and wasteful of paper. If it was Christmas, I'd wrap it then. Entering the empty library, I look for the blonde guy, but don't see him. I glance at the clock above the door and see that I have about five minutes to kill before he usually gets here.

A sigh of relief blows past my lips and I decide to look around the library as usual. The last visit where I knocked into him as been well ignored…at least by him. I'm doing my best to brush it off, so it's sort of become an untouched topic. At least, neither of us has brought it up. I wander through the history section and look at some books covering the Feudal Era of Japan. I'd like to look through the one on myths, but I don't know if I have the time to. Slipping one out of the shelf, I look at the content page. This one seems interesting.

"Good evening, Wave-san."

"Hello, Takuma-san," I respond with a grin, "How are you this evening?"

"Well, now that this holiday is almost over," he answers with a slightly worn look.

"I figured that," I say with a laugh and put the book back, "Kaitlin and Rena woke up to screaming this morning. They're closest to the gates and needless to say both of them were not happy. You'd figure that the students would have more dignity, but I guess not."

Now I'm getting nervous. I have the manga behind my back so he can't see it. We talk a bit more, I tell him about some of my classes and he tells me about some funny family stories. Glancing at the clock, I notice that he has more time than I do. Let's make this a bit smooth…wait, I just forgot what I was going to say to him. Crap! I had this worked out for me to sound somewhat intelligent and not like a klutz! Ahhh, I don't know what to say!

"Erm, Takuma-san," I start with a nervous hint, "My time's running a bit short…so…"

"Oh, sorry if I kept you long," he answers with an apologetic smile.

"No, that's not it," I say, waving my hand a bit and balancing the books, "It's just…look, I've haven't a good way to tell you this, so here it goes. I have a gift for you, but I'm most definitely not a fan girl of any sort. I just wanted to get you something because I…well; I enjoy talking to you and consider you kind of like a friend. Which is weird considering the situation, but odder things have happened, so here."

I present the two books after that ridiculous sounding explanation. My face isn't red…yet. Must stay distracted…if I stay distracted I won't turn red. He takes the books with a wide eyed expression, seeming taken back that I would get him something he'd like. I hope he likes it. My fingers play with the hem of my shirt and I can feel my face heating up.

"Uh, see you later Takuma-san," I say and walk around him, "Ana'll kill me if I'm late. 'Bye."

"Wait, I also have something for you."

"Say what now?" I ask in a flat voice. That was unexpected.

He smiles at me and hands me a dark velvet box. Looking between him and the box in his hands, I gently take it. I can't help but stare at the object.

"Are you going to open it or stare as though it will talk?" he playfully asks.

"Oh, err, right."

I open it to find a beautiful butterfly clip. Holy cow! There's no way I should take this! I mean, look at it!

"Takuma-san, I can't accept this!"

"Why? Are you not able to accept things from me?" he asks with that still playful tone.

"Uh, no that's not it that. It's just that this is so expensive and I just…I can't—"

He takes the clip from me, removes the Tear from my hair and fixes it in my hair. Wait, he can actually do this sort of stuff? Cool hands lightly brush stray hair from my face. Did he just…? Oh my God, he did.

"You look wonderful."

"I'm in sweats and a T-shirt and you say that?"

"You always do."

Holy crap, that's my cue to leave. Entering unknown territory here.

"You should go," he gently says, removing the clip while handing my dagger back, "I wouldn't want you to get caught by your friends."

"How did you…"

"That's my secret," he replies with a small grin, "I wouldn't want you to be tormented by their taunting."

"Perceptive, aren't we?" I mummer.

I begin to walk away. Looking back, I immediately run into a chair. Catching myself, he shakes his head a bit and I nearly run out the door. What in the world just happened? It was a surprise that he had a gift at all. My brain is a little dazed…alright, really dazed. My feet wander me back to the Fight Hall and before I open the door, something clicks.

Where in the world am I going to hide this?! I need to get to my bag without getting caught. Good thing this shirt's baggy. Slipping the box half down my waist band, my shirt covers the rest. I do my best to check and make sure that it can't be seen. I walk in, passing the girls and getting to my bag. Gently placing it in the bottom, I cover it with my school clothes and some other objects.

This thing is still a surprise. He probably is wondering where I am. Normally, I spend a few good hours in the library around the time he wakes up. Maybe he thinks I'm avoiding him. Am I? There are so many things in this life to avoid. Does this fall into that category? Sliding the box back under the bed and snuggle back into my blankets. Perhaps I'll tell Ana about it when she get's back. If she's not too tired. No doubt Angelica will tell her about my little run in this the past. Canipre. I still think I deserve more than death.

We all probably do. Does Aido understand this if he's serious about Kaitlin? In fact, does Cross even know what risk he's taking by letting us be here? He was one of the best Hunters, but he wasn't brought into the restricted operations because of his soft heart. We are the restricted files of the restricted flies. There aren't too many that know about us or what we are. Only that we can steal life away by a simple touch. Cross doesn't know this. He may not see us being here as a big threat. We'll probably leave in a few months just because we'd feel like it's been too long in one place. It's possible to be found out sooner than that. Hunters know we're in the general area.

It's amazing how no one really understands just how big of a deal it is to know us. I don't think Kuran really cares. Can't blame him. He knows, knows us…or at least Ana. She says they could've been really close friends, almost brother and sister. They just understood each other so well, even at that young age. I wonder what it's like to have a flawless connection with someone other than E-Shifters. The girls are marvelous, for sure. I think I would die if even one of them died. We've been there for each other as much as we can, considering the circumstances we've been faced with. I still can't help but wonder.

Someone urgently bangs on the door, making me jolt a little. Flinging the blankets, I turn on the lights and open the door. A dagger is in my hand. Kaitlin stands with a very worried and slightly scared look on her face. I mirror with my own worry.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I ask.

"It's Ana."