Whooie! This is a bit tough, but I'm going to try to pump out at least two chapters a week for the duration of the summer. After that, probably once a month.

Anyways, I'm going to just say that Marcus's mental age will be that of an eighteen year old until his physical body actually becomes eighteen, at which point he'll progress normally. Otherwise relationships get weird.

The next few months were pretty rough. Zero barely ever left his room unless it was to go to the bathroom or eat. Kaien made him eat meals at the table with the rest of us but he always stayed silent until he was done with his meal, not reacting to any attempts at interaction. Not even Yuki's attempts at cheering him up worked, and she could get Kaname to consistently laugh.

It wasn't like he didn't have a good reason to be depressed. He had had his entire life torn apart. And to top it all off, he was now one of the very same creatures that destroyed his family. Hell, you could practically taste the self loathing whenever you caught him looking in the mirror. It all came to a head when Kaname came to visit.

You see, Kaname had , much to Yuki's dismay, made himself a scarce sight at the Cross estate after the Kiryuu incident. I doubted that Zero was even aware of Kaname's existence, much less that he was a Vampire. And so of course when Kaname had finally decided to visit, it didn't go well.

Zero, Yuki, and I were all eating breakfast one morning. I was listening to Yuki as she regaled me about her dream the night before, and Zero was being his usual silent self.

"...And then we all went to the top of the mountain!" Yuki exclaimed excitedly. This story about her dream had gone on for quite a while, and it was nice to see her so happy about something.

"That's very nice Yuki," I said "did anything else happen?" I'll be honest, I was fishing a bit. Since my few dreams were so strange, I was wondering if anyone else faced anything similar. If they did, I'd have to ask Kaien about them just to be safe.

"Not that I can remember." Yuki responded, much to my relief. The dreams I experienced were not anything I wanted her near. We then all heard a knock at the doorway. Lo and behold, it was Kaname.

"Hello Yuki, Marcus. May I join you three for breakfast? Perhaps you can introduce me to your new friend?"

Yuki immediately shot up from her chair and practically tackled Kaname, completely unaware of what was about to happen. I was looking at Zero's face. He obviously immediately recognised that Kaname was a vampire, and I could see his eyes roiling with anger. I could see him start to tense and so I followed suit. Last thing Yuki needed to see was a fight break out, she was fragile enough as it was.

And suddenly a butter knife was in Zero's hands and he was charging at Kaname. I quickly rushed over and tackled to the ground. He tried to break free, but I had two years on him and he hadn't been eating nearly as much as he should for the past few months.

"Vampire!" He yelled accusatorially at Kaname. This wasn't good. Yuki was looking scared, and the last thing we needed was another panic attack.

"Yuki, why don't you go show Kaname some of the drawings in your room. I'm sure he'll be happy to see them." I requested, sending a pointed look at Kaname.

He nodded in understanding. "That sounds grand. Come along Yuki."

After the two left, I looked down at a now silent Zero. To be frank, I was at a loss on what to do. He was obviously angry, and while he couldn't just go around attacking people, I was hesitant to punish him for his actions. I looked into his eyes once more and saw a complexity of emotions. Hate, hurt, shame. Hate and hurt were understandable. He saw the very thing he hated most, and reacted on instinct. Shame less so.

Ah, he was ashamed of scaring Yuki. Well, that scored him some points in my book. But I was still at a loss as to what to do about the situation. He clearly needed to blow off some steam. Ah, I had just the thing.

We had gone to the training grounds. Or more accurately, I had dragged Zero to the training grounds.

"And what are we doing here?" He asked, an indignant tone to his voice.

"You're going to blow off some steam." I said. "Come at me, hand to hand. No victory condition." He raised an eyebrow at that, looking like he had forgotten about the fiasco earlier. Zero shrugged, and then charged.

It was an educational experience, to say the least. Because while I had at least twenty pounds on Zero and he was half starved, I was forced to admit that he was good, that he was more talented than me. It wasn't a real challenge for me, but I could see the skill shining through. Every single time it was possible for a counter or block, he did so with perfection. Hell, before the tragedy, it probably would have been a scarily even fight, despite the fact he was so much younger than me.

And after a while, I saw a bright smile shining on his face. After months and months, Zero was finally doing what he was born for.

We continued with this for about an hour, but it was starting to become clear that Zero was too exhausted to continue. Once I had finally called it a wrap, he collapsed to the ground. I sat down next to him.

"You're good." I said. "Really good."

"You -hah- too." He panted.

"You know you're going to have to apologize." I said. "To both Yuki and Kaname."

"I'll apologize to Yuki," He offered, "but really, the vampire?"

I gave him a hard look. "Look, Zero, I get that you're angry, and you have every right to be. But Kaname had nothing to do with what happened to your family. And so you're going to apologize. After all, you can't just go around attacking every vampire you see."

"Fine. But only if we do this again sometime."

I was dreaming again. But this time, I was in some sort of large cave, staring out at the exit, seeing the same forest as before outside.

"Welcome to mine burrow, little hunter." I turned around and saw the same creature as before laying on its side, many eyes and all. I stayed silent and still, a feeling of dread overpowering me. "You should thank me for bringing you here. Who knows what could have happened to you out there."

I managed to find my voice. "And who… who are you?"

"You could not possibly comprehend my name. But the title Olde Huntress should suffice." she said with a chuckle.

"And what might have happened to me out there?" I asked.

"While the Wood is my domain, many other nightmares prowl. And a hunter's soul is such a rare prize." She responded.

That was not good. That was not good at all. The thing literally referred to itself as a nightmare!

"Oh worry not," It said, as if reading my mind, "You shant be staying here long. In fact, I will even send you off with a gift. A reward for venturing so far beyond your mortal coil." It got up and strided toward me.

"What do you mea-!"

Without warning the creature picked me up in its mouth, biting down hard enough to draw blood. It then started running out of the cave despite my cries of pain, and threw me up into the sky. And I just kept going up, and up, and up.

I woke up in my bed screaming and covered in blood. I looked down at myself to see wounds. The very same wounds dealt to me by the Olde Huntress. They were real!

I needed to talk to Kaien.

And so the fun begins! I'm really starting to get into the swing of things, and I hope you enjoy what's to come. Have a great day everybody!