I know its been a VERY LONG time since I've updated but I'm back now and with summer vacation here and finals over and done with, I am back :D I hope you all didn't give up on me 3 and I jope you enjoy this chapter :D

RIMA

Chapter 26: Action

As I watched Ruka leave the room I noticed her exression had changed from the past times I had seen her.

She seemed more at peace with herself, smiling a secret smile as if she discovered something good. The story of her love made me realize many things.

How stronlgy we are able to love, even if we are monsters, how we love reguardless of the fact that it might not be mutual and the fact that loving someone will at some point get one hurt.

Slowly I was recovering my memories and with each new old memory I recovered, I was scared of the being I truly was.

I had loved one man for so long and started to grow feelings for another. What kind of being was I to do that to the one I love?

What had I done? What had happened to cause such an act in me? My hand tightly gripped the silk covers of the bed as I tried my hardest to remember.

But it did me no good.

The memories came when they pleased. There was no way I could force them out.

I loosened my grip on the soft fabric.

How long would it be when the day would come when I knew who I was again? When I wouldn't feel like an empty doll?

I felt myself start to tremble. A mixture of anger and pain, sadness, when there was a light knock on the door. I tensed a little wondering if it was Senri or Rokoru. I didn't know what I'd say if it was either one of them and quickly dried my moist eyes.

A few seconds later Yuki entered. I felt relieved.

"Konichiwa Touya-sama," she smiled as she lightly closed the door. She had a small metal box with her that had tightly closed latches. I immeditaly recognized it for what it was.

Vials filled with the purest of all vampire blood.

I gave her a small smile and a light nod, letting her know it was okay to proceed.

She made her way to me and set the box on the night stand next to the bed. I heard as the latches clicked open and watched her carefully choose the small vial nestled in the middle of the black velvet cushion. She opened the small container and immediatly the smell of the blood stired hunger within me. I could tell my eyes now had a red glow to them, but I was able to control myself.

Picking the srynge that was cushioned next to the vial she began to fill the content with blood.

Her face was calm, composed. But I had a feeling she was tring to be stronge. I had a feeling this facade she was putting on wasnt like her regular self, carefree. I wasn't sure why I felt that but if I was able to have this unknown feeling then maybe she and I were aquainted on some sort of terms.

"Arm please," she asked readying the needle.

I lightly outstretched my arm and she quickly found a vital vein. The sweet flow of the blood gave me the courage to ask her what I wanted. We sat in silence before i spoke.

"What...how much do you know about me and Senri-san?"

I wasn't looking at her and instead focused on the wall.

"Ummmm...well...you see...I wasn't in your class and only saw the two of you when it was time for your classes. I was a guardian any my job was to make sure you made it to your classes without human interference from the day class," she explained, a little embarassed.

I felt a little disappointed.

"But I spoke to him once, during a school annual dance," she went on tucking a long strand of hair behind her ear. I felt hope raise in me again. I looked at her tentivly, wanting to hear every detail.

He didn't have to tell me anything, because just by looking at him it's so clear how he feels about you. How much he loves you. He may have went with someone else, but he really wanted o be there with you. I told him to never stop fighting for you. And I can tell he still hasn't. Not even when you were going to marry another."

The blood flow had ceased and she took the needle out, placing it neatly and carefullly back in its box.

"He really loves you, you know?" she said lightly looking at the small box. A smile on her lips.

"What happened though? What happened to cause us to seperate the way we did?" I cried, a small lump in my throat.

She looked at me with sadness.

"It was you," she said after a while.

"The night you met Rokoru-san."

Before I could say anything she closed the small metal box and clicked the latches back in place. She walked towards the door before turning around one last time. She bowed and gave me a small sad smile before the door opened and she was led away.

Was this my choice then?

I replayed her words in my head and slowly I was satrting to see it unfold.

That night of the dance, I had cried so hard in the shower, something I saw at the dance that hurt so much the pain could have killed me, an umfamilair city with hundreds of lights, a pair of diamond rose hair barretts, the face of a girl my age with green eyes filled with malice...and then everything went to black.

I opened my eyes and couldn't see anything.

I felt as light as a feather standing in the blinding dark.

"It's better if you dont remember," came a vey light voice.

From the dark emerged me, a very young me. A me that looked just like I had at that fateful party.

"Its better if you don't remember,' she repeated in her light voice.

"Why not?" I asked, scared.

"You have the choice to start anew. No one will blame you. You can choose who you truly want. Not from memories or rational thinking," she said pointing at her head.

"But from where it really matters," she went on pointing to her heart, my heart.

I began to cry. I wasn't sure why, but I did.

"How could I do something so cruel?"

"How could I be that selfish?" I cried out.

"The true cruelty will come from remembering and choosing. You will hurt one of them because of your memories. If you remember now neither one will have a fair chance, you wont have a fair chance."

"I am not a coward! I will not runaway from who I was...Who I am," I answered through tears.

"You have the chance to start from the very begginning, to change who you were, who we were. A chance at a new life. A new start," she argued.

"Any pain you knew will be gone, never having existed in your memories."

"I dont care!" I shook my head.

"Do you really want to remember all the pain?" she asked.

Through wet eyes I watched her walk up to me in the darkness. Taking my hands she pulled me down to my knees. Placing her hand over my eyes she took me there, though the memories. I couldn't see them but the pain that swelled within me was unbearable. Feelings of such sadness, of such heart break...over and over again...

How had i survived such pain?

It felt as if the weight of the world had been dropped on me and I couldn't take it anymore. I fell to the floor.

"Do you really want to remember all the pain?" she asked once again.

It was too much.

I wasn't sure how much pain I had gone through, and how much she still hadn't shown me...but still...

There must have been this much pain because there was more happiness, more love than pain.

"I am offereing you a gift like no other...Will you take it?" she announced. This was her final time asking.

"No..." I sobbed.

The younger me seemed surprised.

"No?"

"No...I will not runaway from myself, I will not change my mistakes. I will live with the person I've become," I trembeled.

As she looked at me I knew what she saw. There I was on the floor crying from the unbearble pain, pain she offered to erase from my heart, yet I had said no. I had choosen to live with this pain.

"If it hurts this much, then surely, there must have been more happiness than pain," I explained.

She gave me a small nod and kneeled where I was laying. I closed my eyes, but this time she laid her hand over my heart. I felt something warm and then like a flood of water the pain both eased and intensified and I watched my life, my forgotten memories so clearly.

I was living through it all again.

I awoke as if I had been underwater for years without any air. I was shaking and scared but this time I was in bed.

The pain had subsided.

I was able to remember everything. All of it.

I looked at my hands as they shook and felt relief. I knew exactly who I was.

There was a knock on the door. I wasn't sure how long I had been in that state but i probably looked a mess.

But still, I couldn't wait to see Shiki to tell him.

"One second," I lightly called getting up from the bed. I changed from the pink flowing night-gown to a black flowing one. Leaving my hair loose I went to the door.

"I remember everything," I happily announced tears filling my eyes from all the emotion.

"Too bad, vampire," came his cold voice as he pointed his bloody-rose at me. I stood still, looking behind him to see where the guards were. But they were no where to be seen.

He closed the door behind him, that crazy look in his eyes, waiting to pull the trigger. Yearning to pull it.

"Double-crosser," I whispered breathless.

A loud crash of noise and yells erupted from all directions around us and I realized what was going on.

Kiryu wasn't here to just kill me, he had planned a surprise attack on the masion.

A loud wave of explosion came from behind me and I turned to see a black hole where a solid wall once stood.

"RIMA!" I heard his voice thunder above all the noise.

Shiki.

He was coming to get me, but it was too late.

I'm sorry Shiki I thought to myslef, it seemed like this was our goodbye. A silent tear fell.

"Get moving," he ordered indicating to the hole in the wall where three other hunters, two male and one woman were standing, each with weapons of their own.

Before we could walk any further the wall by the door crashed down sending dust and debris all over. The female hunter pointed her sword at me as the other three hunters created a barriccade between me and Shiki.

"Lets go", she instructed lowering her weapon and taking my arm. I turned one last time to look at Shiki, one final glimpse of him.

He looked like a dark angel, out for blood.

My dark angel.

He and other vampires I recognized including Ruka where getting ready to fight the hunters.

A mixture of fire, ice and blood everywhere.

This is what war looked like.

Shiki caught my eye, nothing but rage and hatred for the hunters filled him. I lighty touched my heart with a heavy swollow before I was led into the darkness.

"RIMA!" I heard his voice one last time...and then the clash of weapons against one another.

~End of a sweet dream, But I'll show you another one ~