The child's eyes bore into my own, they were shining with the tears that I knew were about to fall. In my arms lay the body of a man who resembled the child. Her lips moved as if she was speaking but I couldn't hear a thing. Tears spilled over my own cheeks as my hands became slippery with blood as the body seemed to be melting into just that. I began to scream, the body gone by now and the child looking at me with a mournful hatred. I covered my ears and closed my eye. The blood was suffocating me, my lungs felt as if they were about to burst…

I shot up, my body damp with a cold sweat and shaking as I forcefully panted. I shook my head, looking over at the clock.

2am.

Great. There was no way I would be sleeping for a while and so, yet again, I was going to be sleep deprived in the morning. I rubbed my damp, itchy eyes, the nightmare flowing back into my mind. I shuddered, it wasn't the first time I'd experienced it. Her eyes still haunted me, green orbs wide with fright and sorrow. I killed that girl's father.

I turned to look at May; she was sleeping peacefully on the opposite side of the room to me, completely unaware of the doleful eyes that plagued my thoughts.

I slowly slid out of the warmth of my bed and headed into the bathroom where I pulled my black hoodie over my head. I slid my pink boots on, not caring that I was about to go out in my pyjamas as there would be no-body out at this time considering it was hours past curfew and most of the agents would be asleep now anyway.

I silently wandered through the corridors, my boots muffled by the carpet below. I shoved my hands into my pockets as I stepped out into the freshness of the night. Considering it was very early, the coldness of the air pierced my visible flesh like knives. I shuddered, trying to pull my hoodie further around myself.

I made my way towards the great oak tree which stood almost creepily in the night, sliding down its trunk and pulling my knees up to my chest. I rested my chin on my hands and gazed out over the courtyard, trying to rid my mind of those mournful eyes. A tall figure caught my eye; they were standing facing away from me, hands in pockets and looking up at the cloudless sky.

A sudden gust of wind blew and the hood of their hoodie was tugged down, revealing purple, chin-length hair. I tilted my head in confusion, what's Paul doing out at this time? I asked myself curiously before standing up and trotting over to him.

He glanced lazily down at me, rolling is eyes as he did so. He didn't seem at all surprised to see me, although I wasn't really amazed considering we're trained to be ready for anything.

"What're you doing out here?" I asked innocently, rocking back and fourth on my heels.

"What I'm doing here is none of your business." He grunted, turning back to look up at he sky. I raised an eyebrow, following his gaze. The only thing that was visible in the sky was the billions of stars. Is he interested in constellations? I wondered, an amused smile making its way onto my face. Somehow his rudeness himself did not strike me as a person who would be fascinated by astronomy.

We stood in silence for a while until he asked,

"What are you doing out here?" Somehow I felt compelled to tell him the truth, even though he didn't give an answer to the question himself, maybe it was because he was the only one to witness how I murdered that girl's father in cold blood. I shook my head, trying to figure out how I should word my answer.

"Well…" I muttered quietly. "I can't get her eyes out of my head." I didn't feel like telling him about the nightmares, if I did he'd probably smirk and give me an accusing look, telling me that I was pathetic for being affected by the whole ordeal in such a big way.

"…" Unsurprisingly, Paul did absolutely nothing. He just stood, staring into the night with his dark eyes. I let out a long sigh and re-adjusted the position in which I was standing.

"Will she ever go away?" I whispered hoarsely, my voice cracking as I said it. I could feel the tears building at the edge of my eyes and I blinked them away forcefully. Paul turned to face me, his head slowly moving from side to side. No.

I didn't want her plaguing my mind for the rest of my life, her glossy green eyes watching my every move, reminding me during my every waking moment of the terrible sin that I had committed but also throughout my once peaceful dreams. I noticed the man beside me pull something out of his pocket; I turned to him to get a better look at it.

"Here," he grunted, handing me the object and turning his head away. "It's that idiotic story you were reading before in the library." I slowly took the book from his outstretched hand and smiled gently. I guess, he was trying to comfort me in his own little way, and I appreciated it.

I sighed, pulling my knees up to my chest as I waited for May to finish in the bathroom, it was almost time for our first classes and she was still getting ready. I glanced at the book I held in my hands, it's beautiful gold and happy cover completely contrasting with the mood I was currently in. I sighed, that 'late night' stroll had done more bad than good; I was still trying to get that little girl out of my head so it had not helped in that sense and I was extremely tired from the lack of sleep. Big black circles hung under my eyes and I had no way of hiding them so I was going to have to go to class looking like complete crap.

May finally finished and we made our way through the 'school'. Half way there, a young boy came pounding down the corridor and smashed right into May. She grabbed him by the shoulders and began to shake him mercilessly, I just stood there completely unsure of what to do.

"What the hell Max! That really hurt!" She yelled, receiving weird looks from the people around us. I jumped in, in an attempt to pry her from the poor boy that seemed rather dizzy by now. When she let go he repositioned his glasses on his nose.

"Jeez May, you really need to watch where you're going, you klutz!" He said, sticking his tongue out at my friend. I could practically see the steam rising from her head as she clenched her fists in annoyance.

"You were the one who slammed into me Max!" She growled, hostilely making her way towards him again.

"Now now," I sweat dropped, stepping between them before May murdered the kid whose name was apparently Max. "Why don't you introduce me to your… friend?" I said, turning towards May. She huffed and crossed her arms, glaring at him from a distance.

"He's called Max and he's my brother." I turned to look at each of them in turn.

"You guys look nothing alike! I'd never have guessed that," I exclaimed. Max smirked and pushed his glasses up his nose again.

"I'm very glad you think that, I'd be really unfortunate for me to look like that!" He said, pointing accusingly at his sister. I chuckled nervously and before May was able to choke him to death, he sprinted off again.

"Honestly, why do I have to be related to such a brat?!" May huffed as we made our way down the corridor. I gave her a sideways glance and muttered

"I've always wanted siblings." She turned to look at me and smiled, her bad mood seemingly evaporated within a matter of seconds.

"Well, he is an alright kid when he isn't being such a no-it-all jerk," she noted.

"The closest people I had to siblings were Kenny and Leona," I mused.

"I guess you three were really close before hand huh?"

"Yeah, were really were,"

"You know, you're really lucky they didn't get rejected," she declared before waltzing into her classroom and leaving me standing, utterly confused by her statement.

I shook my head, deciding to question her about it later and made my way down to the training room where my class was being held. In my physical classes I didn't have any of my friends to help me so I was completely alone. My training with Paul however was helping me to improve and I was catching up moderately fast. I still had my ass handed to me whenever we had sparring, yet I was slowly improving.

Tokou and Rosa, Silver and Gold, Dawn and Zoey…" Our trainer, Lieutenant Surge, called out the names of people who would be working together for the day. I looked across the room to see a red head watching me closely and then stand and walk towards me.

"Zoey," she said simply, holding her hand up for me to shake, which I did.

"Dawn…" I replied, not knowing how to react to her. From what I could tell, she seemed like a real tom boy, even more so than Misty. She grinned at me and I smiled back; although she seemed nice either way.

Throughout the lesson, my mind was set on what May had said to me earlier; what does she mean by 'rejected' I thought to myself, only to be knocked back to reality, literally, as Zoey's fist collided with my jaw.

"Owww…" I groaned, clutching the spot she had hit.

"Sorry bout' that, you were spacing out and I couldn't get your attention," she stated simply. "Anyway, I may not be in any position to ask, but I will. What were you thinking about?"

I studied her closely, deciding that she may be able to answer my question.

"What does it mean to be 'rejected'" I asked finally. Zoey went silent for a moment and watched me closely.

"A few years ago we had someone betray us, I'm not sure exactly what they did but it was enough for them to change the procedures we had in place. Now when you're about 11-12, you take this trial. All of the older students had to as well when it first came out too, but it basically tests your loyalty and ability. If you fail it, they get rid of you; that's why we have fewer seniors than juniors, it begins in a few months, and so soon they'll be less people running around this place again."

I took a moment to think this through. Kenny and Leona could have been killed… What was I going to have to do? My loyalty wasn't exactly up to scratch and I hadn't actually taken the test yet.

"Hey are you okay Dawn?" Zoey questioned, her face showing concern. "You look a little pale."

"Yeah, I'm all good," I reassured, plastering a tight smile to my face. She shot me another look but didn't mention anything for the rest of the lesson.

"Why didn't anyone tell me about this before?!" I yelled frantically, pacing around our room as May tried her best to calm me down.

"It'll be okay, if anything, I'm sure we'll be able to get Paul to pull a few strings if you do have to take the test." She said cheerily as I shot her a doubtful look.

"He hates me!" I declared, sinking down onto my bed in despair.

"No he doesn't; what about that book he gave you? I doubt he's ever given anyone a gift before until now." She smirked slyly as my eyes shifted to the golden, leather bound book that lay on our desk.

"Oh please, the only reason he gave it to me was because he grabbed it from my hands on a mission and must have forgotten to put it back." I sighed.

"Well, Max is going to have to take it soon, and there's no way a know-it-all brat like him could fail, so if he can, you'll pass for sure!"

"But you said only the top 50 or so pass…" I moaned, wallowing in my own pity. "I'll never get that good."

"Look, you might not even have to take it, anyway I have to go, I have a mission to go on, I'll see you later Dawn." And with that, I was all alone.

I pulled my knees up to my chest, the silence enveloping me in its soft, melodic beats. I sighed, deciding that now was not the time to dwell on the matter. I'd just have to deal with that stuff at a later date and so I got up and grabbed my maths book out of my bag.

Dawn…

My head whipped up, I looked around but couldn't see anyone.

Dawn…

It said again but slightly more urgent this time. The voice, it sounded so familiar, it put a sense of longing in my heart. I got up and looked around frantically looking for the source of the noise yet I was alone in the room.

Help me.

My eyes widened, it was the same voice I had heard a few days ago while down at reception.

Please.

It seemed completely raw with emotion now, pleading and begging me to do something to help it. My heart suddenly sped up a million beats a minute, I recognised that voice, I can't believe I hadn't before. I must truly be going crazy now.

"Dad…" I whispered hoarsely to the room around me, tears spilling over my eyes and down my cheeks. "Dad!" I said again, louder and more forceful this time. "Please, answer me!" I cried, my heart feeling as if it had been ripped out of my chest.

"Dad!" I screamed. "Please… Don't leave me again," I sobbed, slumping to the ground and curling up in a tight ball, hugging my knees tightly. "Please…"

I could faintly hear the door opening and noticed that someone was sanding a little way from me, maybe unsure of what to do.

"Dad…" I whispered again, the tears still streaming down my cheeks and the sobs violently shaking my body. I felt someone gently pull me to a sitting position and through the blur of tears, I noticed lavender hair. He sat down so he was as level with me as he could be considering his height. I felt myself fall onto him, my head resting on his strong chest.

Normal POV

Paul sat there awkwardly, completely and utterly unsure of what to do and so, the only thing he could think of was to stiffly wrap his arms around her small stature. He sighed irritably, realising that his shirt was getting damp because of her tears. He managed to bare it however, after all, he'd made him a promise, and that promise had to be kept.

They sat there like that for quite a few minutes while Paul thought over what Dawn was saying. He had no idea what had caused her to get like that, her father had been dead for years, why was it affecting her so much now?

He sighed, understanding all too well what it's like to loose someone so precious to you, this facility was sick and twisted like that, they didn't care who they killed if it was to their advantage. The children born into this environment were truly cursed.

Dawn's breathing soon slowed and Paul realised that she had fallen asleep. He sighed irritably but couldn't help but think that she looked kind of adorable as she was. He mentally shot himself for thinking such stupid things and gently lifted her up to put her in her bed.

"Hey, Dawn I dunno if you're in here but just to let you know the… door is… open…" Kenny called, walking into the room only the stop and find Paul holding Dawn bridal style, the purple haired man's emotionless mask kept in tacked as the other boy stared him down.

"What the hell are you doing with her perv?!" Kenny screeched, getting ready to tackle Paul to the ground. Paul glared at the younger boy before lowering Dawn into her bed.

"I happened to be putting her to bed because she fell asleep," he growled, walking back towards the door. Kenny's face turned bright red.

"What gives you the permission to… to come into her room uninvited?!" He snarled sharply. Paul was unfazed and smirked at the remark.

"I was merely helping her; anyway, what gives you the right to come here uninvited?" He questioned coolly.

"Well, unlike you, I happen to be her closet, childhood friend!" he retorted childishly. Paul merely looked at the boy, his face kept to that stoic mask he always wore; he then walked out of the room and down the corridor, leaving Kenny fuming.

"What a jerk!" He growled before shutting the door and slumping onto the couch by the other side of the room.

Ahh the fluff, you gotta love it. I can just imagine some adorable ikarishipping moment happening and Kenny just standing in the background, steam practically rising from his head as he gets all jealous because he was her special childhood friend and he found her first xD I honestly came up with that test thing completely spontaneously as I was writing because I realised that there'd probably be way too many people there if they just let everyone through so we'll have to see how that turns out.

~X Ray