"Closer"

"Do you think that girl is okay, Aido?" Haruna peered out the window as though she were searching for an answer, even if she were, her mind was too jumbled up to even think straight. Discomforting thoughts were the only things she could think of. She pictured the girl being thrown into jail, or worse, back into that house.

Aido smiled in relief a little, glad to see that she wasn't too frightened because of what happened. "I sent Alfonse to make sure nothing happens to her. After that, the police will take care of the rest. I sent them the address to that brothel or whatever it is and things should start looking bright."

"They won't do anything for them..." She muttered, lazily watching him sip on his tea. "I got lucky, didn't I?"

"Lucky how?"

"You met me first, that's why I'm here - in this warm home with all I could ever ask for. While I'm all cooped up in here and comfortable, those girls are-"

"Are safe now." She stopped rambling, feeling his hand press down on hers, almost as if to keep her from floating into the atmosphere. "Please don't think so much about the past; it will destroy you."

How could she simply forget? Once the water is disturbed, there is no way that the ripples can be stopped. "Our wedding is less than a few weeks. I don't want tears running down the bride's face, got it?" Her lips quaked with nerve-wrecking thoughts. "And please don't blame today's events on yourself."

Earlier, the Hunter Association contacted Aido because he had used his powers to attack a human, thus he had to go down to the association later to settle down the situation. Haruna was burdened with the belief that she had caused all this. "I thought you'd be angry with me for causing a ruckus..."

"After you threw your shoe at him and managed to blind one of his eyes permanently? I'm ecstatic." He smirked, although Haruna could only bury her face in her hands from humiliation. "See you later. If I don't come back from the association, make sure to throw your other shoe at Kiryuu!"

Later

"Won't you come to my wedding?" She stalked the hunter who couldn't seem to get rid of her, much to his efforts. Turning in zigzags and running around campus sure didn't help; she was stubborn.

He turned around, nearly smacking into her. "One thing you should get straight: vampires and hunters don't get along." She frowned, recalling Aido telling her that vampires and humans were trying to get along. Apparently he disliked the idea very much.

"Then don't come as a guest. Instead, come as a hunter who will make sure that nothing goes haywire." A vein bulged. He especially disliked being ordered around by a person who was affiliated with the vampires. "Please Hunter-san?"

He raised his hand, "You!" She shrunk in fear, but felt him snatch the invitation card out of her hand. "I won't make any promises, but keep a leash on your vampire. If I hear that he attacks another human, I'll-"

"That wasn't his fault though!" Zero raised a brow. What reason would Aido have to attack a mere human? Surely he smelled something fishy about the situation. "The guy..." Speaking about her past wasn't something she liked to discuss so openly, especially with this man she barely knew. "He was causing havoc on the street."

"And that was enough to make your vampire freeze his tongue and shatter it?" She nodded. Zero couldn't accept that reason for his behavior. She held her breath, fearing that he'd choke the truth out of her. "... Fine. Just leave me alone, you eyesore."

Later

"See~ Didn't I say that everything would be fine?" Aido said, pleased that his plans for a happy future didn't go too astray. "You needn't worry so much, otherwise you'll go bald."

"You forget that I have the scissors here," she warned, snipping the ends of his golden locks. After much persuasion, she had convinced him to let her cut his hair. He was very hesitant, unsure if she even had experience in cutting hair. "Trust is essential for this marriage to work out, isn't it?" That's what she asked him and he clearly couldn't say anything to that.

He flinched each time he saw a strand fall to the ground. "Did you know each strand of my hair is worth hundreds?" He mourned the bits of it on the ground.

"Really? I did not," she cut a long strand, "know that." He turned blue, unsure if giving her permission to do this was a good idea anymore. She ran her fingers through his hair; he sighed in delight. "And... I'm done!"

"Oh, I don't want to look," he moaned, "no woman would want to look in my direction ever again-... this is amazing," he grabbed the mirror out of her hands, turning side to side. "Where did you learn to cut hair?"

She curtsied, "You're welcome."

He followed her into the house, "Now I'm curious - what other things about you are there that I don't know yet?" It was true, they were engaged yet he still didn't have the slightest clues of her hobbies or skills. "Tell me your favorite color, food, your dislikes, anything and everything!"

She turned away from the sink, shaking the water off her hands and getting it all over him. "You're only asking this now?" She always wondered when he'd ask for the basics. "Thinking of it... You don't even know my birthday or age do you?"

He pondered for a minute. He really didn't. "You could be a pedophile for all I know," she was amused to see him lose his posture for a minute.

"Well... Tell me then!" He continued to follow her around the house.

"What do you want to know first?"

Aido paused, wondering if he should ask the one question that always bothered him. Would she be okay to answer it? There was always one question that crossed his mind when he looked at her, but didn't know how to ask. "Why'd you do it?"

Haruna tilted her head curiously, "Do what? Cut your hair?"

"No..." he doubted himself for a second, "Why did you sell yourself to those men? Weren't there other ways to earn money?"

He expected to get slapped or scolded at for asking such a rude question. When she got real quiet, he was sure he was going to have to jump off a cliff-

"My mom gambled a lot, of course, she's out of that addiction now, but back then it was bad. She had three kids to take care of after my dad left us and I guess squandering money was what helped ease her mind. Eventually, the debt got too bad and it was impossible to pay with a minimum wage job..."

She looked at Aido to see if he still had that curious look in his eyes. "Don't pity me, it's alright," she assured him. He hated himself for not being able to go back in time. "Our situation worsened to the point where we were homeless. It was then that those men promised to supply my family with a nice home and everything else - that was a lie. It came with the price of my mom having to 'work' for them. I didn't want that, so I took her place and the rest of the story is history."

"I'm sorry I asked..." Aido was unsure whether she was upset or angry. She was neither.

"I'm glad you asked. I'm much more relieved now that I got that over with." She brushed a piece of hair off his shoulder, "any more questions?"

Aido didn't feel like asking any more. "My favorite color is green... I don't discriminate against food. I dislike perverts, like you. My birthday is on June 23 and I'm currently 19 years old."

He turned to her with a grin. "Then I'm not a pedophile."