Cross' eyes widened. "What?! Amane is dead?" he gasped. "What happened?"

Tomui nodded towards the file. "She went missing from her cell about an hour ago. We sent Yagari and a few others out, and they found her by the academy. She..." Tomui lowered his head. "She was tied to a tree and eaten alive by wild dogs."

I glanced over to Cross, saying, "Another murder just like the first."

Tomui shook his head. "No, this is different..." he stated."For someone to kill Amane the way she killed Yao... this means she worked for someone."

Pressing my face into my hands, I muttered, "What the hell..."

Patting Tomui on the shoulder, Cross said, "You can go now; thank you, Tomui-san." Once the hunter had left, however, Cross slunk back in his chair and rested his head in his hand. "Poor Amane... she was so young and helpless. All she needed was someone to love her and she would have turned out all right."

"There's nothing we could have done; even with our protection, she would have ended up dead anyway," I said. "Hand me the file."

My stomach lurched into my throat as soon as I saw the first photo of Amane's corpse. Unlike Yao's body, there was still plenty of meat and blood left to Amane; her head was tilted crookedly to the side, and from the looks of it, her wide golden eyes had been gouged out. Stapled to her skinless forehead was a note reading "Better watch your back". "Cross, do you think this is a threat to you?" I asked, holding up a close up shot of the note.

The hunter shrugged. "Who knows? I've made many enemies over the course of my life, so I wouldn't be surprised if someone was out to kill me."

"Why are you acting so laid back about this?!" I asked roughly. "Just because a little girl died doesn't mean you get to mope; someone is out to kill you!"

Cross shook his head, covering his face and saying, "That's exactly why I'm not worried; a little girl died because of me. Kiryuu-kun... she never heard the truth from me. I've wanted to tell her for a while now, and now I never will."

Now I was getting angry. Slamming my fist against the bed railing, I yelled, "You idiot! You're worried about a kid rather than yourself! She killed a person! She tortured me! Why the hell are you turning a blind eye to what she did and mourning for her?! She was a criminal!"

For the first time, Cross actually raised his voice back at me. "You're out of place, Kiryuu-kun. I'm not turning a blind eye, but I am also not forgetting that for nearly seven years, someone thought I took everything away from her! Seven years of guilt that I have had to live with! Have you not considered that maybe finding her was the only way for me to finally rest in peace?"

My heart stopped as he said this. I honestly had never thought of that. I've never lived with guilt before, so why should I know? But still... he was completely ignoring the basics of being a hunter: to live in fear of being killed every day. I leaned forward in my bed, saying through clenched teeth, "Cross, I don't want you to go back to the academy tonight. Stay with Yuuki and try to act like none of this happened. Your life is at stake here."

His eyes narrowed and his lips drew tight. I had never seen him look like this before, ever. Not even when he was staring down an enemy. "I'm not stupid, Kiryuu-kun. I have been in the hunting business far longer than you have; I think I know what I'm doing." He stood, swiping the file from my hand and heading towards the door.

"Cross..."

He stopped, turning to look at me from over his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Kiryuu-kun... I'm just... a little agitated, that's all." A weak smile replaced the scowl. "You get better, okay?"

(Oh no! Cross is sad! What will happen now?!)

I was still lost in my own thoughts when a knock came to the door. "Hai, come in," I muttered half heartidly.

Kaname let himself in, a small bag slung around his shoulder. He looked worried when he saw the expression on my face. "You don't look like yourself; what happened?" he asked as he set the bag down and sat beside me.

"Nothing," I lied.

He placed his hand over mine, squeezing my fingers lightly. "You know, you always were bad at lying," he said whispered gently. "Com'on, tell me what's wrong."

With a sigh, I leaned my head back against the pillows and stared up at the ceiling. "Cross... we got into a fight a while ago... I... I think I really hurt him..." My eyes felt moist as tears built up in them, but no matter how hard I tried, they wouldn't stop coming. "This is ridiculous..." I muttered, taking my hand out from under Kaname's to wipe the tears from my face. "Why would I be crying like a kid now?!"

A small chuckle escaped Kaname's lips. "Zero-kun, there's no need to worry about anything. I understand if you shed a few tears here and there for Cross. He's been through a lot, I know," he said with a soft smile.

"Oh? You know about today then?"

"I heard about it, yes."

"Then... what would you do, in something like this?"

He leaned back in his chair, a look of deep concentration on his face. "Well..." he started, "I agree with Cross on this one. Even after everything that has happened, Amane still deserved to know the truth, and Cross was the only one who could have lifted his burden from himself. Just relax, Zero-kun. Cross can manage himself."

I looked away, pouting out my bottom lip and scratching the back of my head. "Well, I still don't like it. The guy's going to end up getting himself killed one day, and I'm going to have to be the one to clean up the mess."

Kaname stood, leaning forward and placing his hand over the bandages on my chest. "The wounds... do they still hurt?" he asked, watching watch him as he traced his fingertips along my chest.

"No... not really..." I murmured.

"Good," Kaname whispered in my ear. "After a week of going without seeing you, I don't think I can hold back much longer." Then he looked at the I.V. stuck my arm, his brow furrowing slightly. "Hm... that's a bit problematic..."

"I don't need it anymore," I stated before pulling out the I.V. and leaning closer to him. "I can't hold back much longer, either."