A small group of women had formed near a gentlemen at the edge of the creek. They weren't quite stepping over each other to get to him yet, but from the energy of the area, it seemed that they also weren't too far from reaching that point. 'Hmm, I wonder if that's him?' She thought. Roihichi had mentioned something about a gentlemen in the area that all of the ladies kept swooning over. She tightened her veil around her face. Best to avoid that scenery- sounded like a recipe for drama to her. Lowering her head, she lifted the water buckets that she had filled and carried them to the doorstop. She carefully placed one at the mat in front of the door and picked up the other, cautiously checking to ensure that the streets were still void of passerbys and loiterers. As she reached the other doorstop, she gently placed the other bucket here as well making sure to not spill the water it had taken her so long to pump. Wiping her brow, she stood and glanced around again to check for the crowds. It seemed that most were near the market. She wondered if the women were still there fawning over the man at the creek. She hoped that maybe the distraction would make it a little easier for her to slip in and out without too many interactions. They'd been here too long anyways- it was time to move on. Adjusting the veil and making sure that it covered up the distinguishing tell-tale scar that lined the left side of her face, she quickly headed towards the market. They would gather essentials and tomorrow would be their last day in this town.

She worked swiftly to gather the food and items that they would need for their travels. She moved quickly, keeping her head down and avoiding contact as much as possible. Even still, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. Years of training and being on the run had made her skilled in evasion and had taught her to trust her instincts and her gut. Cautiously, she began to scope the area. Running would be stupid and too obvious. Better to not let on that she knew, lure the person away from the crowd and catch them off guard instead. Subtly changing direction and looking up from the fruit she held in her hand, she found herself looking across the area into a set of deep red-brown eyes. She momentarily froze, the fruit squeezed in her hand.

"Hey lady! You're smushing that all up!" The guy next to her was tapping her on the arm. She looked down to see that she had crushed the fruit in her hand and the juices were dripping down on to the counter and floor. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, flashing a small nondescript smile. "Let me pay for this quickly!" She fished some money out of her pocket and gave it to the store clerk, careful not to make too much eye contact with him. Then she quietly moved out of the store. 'That was..I'm sure it was…' She was trying to get her thoughts together when coming towards her, she saw him again. They locked eyes and she was uncertain if she should allow him to approach her or give him the slip immediately. Roihichi wasn't around and it would be best to at least have him nearby, just in case. Fortunately, she wasn't forced to make a decision, as before he could reach her, a gaudily dressed, yellow-haired woman slipped between the two of them, placing her hand on the man's chest and flashing a toothy smile in his direction. She saw him look around the intervening woman and try to catch her eye-but too bad for him! She had a few last items to grab, and this oblivious blonde pawn presented her with just the opportunity that she needed in order to escape.

It took her less than a few minutes to grab the last absolutely necessary things that she needed. The plan would change and they would just have to leave tonight. Lost in her thoughts and her rush to prepare them to get out of town, she turned the corner only to bump directly into the single person she had been working to avoid. Speechless she stood rooted in place, her face upturned towards his.

Moments passed. The man chuckled, " I suppose I'll just say it then… I notice, that I myself haven't been able to take my eyes off you, mostly because I find myself enraptured by you. Your beauty and your presence…"

Her eyes narrowed and she took a slight step back, wondering what tricks he may have up his sleeve and preparing to defend herself if need be,

"but…" he continued, his handsome face interrogating hers with his eyes, "I can't help but notice that you also seem unable to take your eyes off me, though my intuition tells me that your reasons don't quite follow the same rationale as mine. Therefore, I take it we must have met before. So, I'll just be blunt and ask - mysterious and beautiful, veiled woman – how is it that you know me?"

Eyeing him cautiously, she straightened her stance and matched his gaze.

"Well, you're still as perceptive as ever Kaname"

At the sound of his name on her lips, Kaname Kuran gave a slight nod, and a small smile traced his mouth. He reached out a hand for hers, but she remained still. With eyes full of amusement he pulled his hand back. "I just thought that maybe we could sit for a moment and talk? I'm curious to know how I might have known a woman like you" His smile wavered just slightly. "and maybe to learn what I may have done to make you so wary of me?"

She looked up at him. The idea of running into him in this place was still so unexpected and she was caught completely off guard. "I'm waiting for someone. He should be back soon" She told him, buying some time to decide if directly engaging with Kaname would be a good idea or not. He nodded, and looking at his face she could immediately tell that he knew exactly what she was doing.

"I only thought to sit at one of the benches, surely he will still be able to find you if we sit there, correct?" He again offered out a hand to her and patiently waited, watching her face intently to see how she would react now. Determined not to give too much away, she forced a tight smile to her face and boldly placed her hand in his. "I'm sure that would be fine. I suppose there is a lot that I'd like to ask of you as well.." Kaname's smile returned and he gently led her to sit on a nearby bench.

"First, since you obviously know me, I'm at a clear disadvantage here. Will you at least start by telling me your name?"

She hesitated, she didn't want to lie, but she was in no position to divulge that information and definitely not to this man. She looked him directly in his face as she spoke. "No."

A look of surprise followed by amusement crossed Kaname's face. He sat back with a short exhale. "I suppose I didn't really think that you would make it that easy for me. The veil and your closed off demeanor already signals that you likely have information you are looking to hide or someone you may be hiding from. Though I'll assume that if I was that 'someone' you wouldn't be sitting here talking to me" He looked at her carefully from the corner of his eyes "Alright, so you will have no name then, and I won't press the issue. Your secrets are yours after all. Now, will you at least share with me how you know me? Or is this too, hidden information that I cannot be privy to?" He said the last line with a hint of teasing, leaning in to peek into her face with a small grin on his own, as he said it.

She took this opportunity to assess his face. She was surprised by the Kaname in front of her. He seemed much less rigid than the man she remembered. His playful charm was somewhat intriguing and she found herself interested in learning about the 'Human' Kaname had become.

Relaxing just a bit, she met his eyes and turned slightly to face him "I knew you before you lost your memories" she told him. She saw his eyes widen just a bit, but as she would have expected of any Kaname, human or vampire, he kept his composure

"So you do already know that I've lost them?"

"Yes. I'm really not sure if I should say or not… I wasn't there for the specifics or when it happened, and its really only information that was relayed to me…."

"Tell me."

Kaname leaned close to her, his dark eyes now serious and troubled, searching hers. "Please. I would like to know"

Momentarily mesmerized by the deep pools of his heavily lashed eyes, she sat back and turned her own eyes downward before continuing.

"The decision was made single handedly by you, of your own free will, I assure you. You made the choice believing that it would benefit many others especially those that you cared about, and I believe that it also maybe brought you some peace and comfort. Though…" she paused and looked again into his face "I suppose the 'you' now is the only one who could really say for sure if that is the case… I don't know how your life has been, but you look to me like you're happy?"

Kaname leaned back into the bench and frowned. He tilted his head back looking up into the dusky sky

"I am. Very happy. " he sighed, "though it makes me wonder what type of man must I have been to even need such a thing?" He sat in silence for a moment and she allowed him his time. Finally he turned toward her.

"Who was I? Did you know me well and was I that unhappy that I would truly need to erase everything from my life?"

It was her turn for silence as she mulled over the best way to answer this.

"You were complicated for sure. I can't say that I really knew you. The inner workings of your mind were a mystery to almost everyone, even those closest to you." She checked to gauge his reaction trying to determine if she should continue or not. Kaname was quietly listening and seemed mostly unaffected by her words so she continued "There were things that you did that I was… let's say 'unhappy' with. I guess you had your motives and reasons, but all I knew were the actions that I saw and those were only the things that you let others see of you. I can't say for sure if you were really unhappy or not, only the 'you' from before would really know that. But I do know that you were incredibly intelligent and capable, and no way would you ever have done something like this without having thought it through first. If you went through with it, it's because this outcome is absolutely what you wanted"

"Thank you" Kaname's voice was cool and calming. " I think I must have always felt that this was somehow a choice, but to hear it now and to know that it was a deliberate decision, actually does make me feel much better" He moved closer and she could sense a change in his demeanor.

"Before our conversation draws to a close though, I must ask you to elaborate on one small detail of something you mentioned"

She turned to face him, the smile was gone, replaced by a serious look of determination and something else she couldn't quite place.

"You mentioned before that I did things that you were "unhappy" with. I'm not so dull that I can't pick up on your attempt to gloss over that. Tell me directly what you mean. You saw me and your first instinct was to step back and try to get away from me. You clearly don't trust me-". He cut himself off lost briefly in his own thoughts. Quickly his eyes snapped back to hers, "… But I want you to. I don't know why this is, but the idea that you won't, bothers me. Tell me honestly exactly what I did to you in my past. Please don't say it's a secret and that you can't. This… I need to know"

The fire in his eyes was reminiscent of the Kaname that she remembered, but also somehow new, and more human? It touched her heart and made her want to help him. She found that this version of him resonated much more deeply with her, and she thought she might rather like this person that he had become.

"Okay. If you really insist then I'll tell you. But I warn you, I'll tell you the truth and I'll leave nothing out."

Zero laid back against the tree, his eyes shut, enjoying the calm breeze and trying to settle his thoughts. Even after all these years, these trips were still difficult for him. He opened his eyes and sighed. He and Yuki had been on the run and had successfully managed to stay ahead of the Association with no issue for almost a decade. Every other year though they tested their luck. They put their careful lifestyle at risk over 'him'. Zero rocked his head back against the tree. He'd told himself he wouldn't let it get to him and he'd be understanding, but even still… He knew she didn't intend to hurt him, but it was something Yuki insisted on and he refused to disappoint her. So much had changed in their lives and Zero knew that doing this was one small thing they could do that could still give her some comfort.

Immediately following Rido's death 8 years ago, Kaname had become human and his memories had gone with him. It had devastated Yuki, but she'd had no time to dwell on it. The world had changed for vampires in an instant, and the Association was on a mission. Suddenly nowhere was safe and Nobles and Level-E's alike were being slaughtered left and right by the Association's new "hunters". There had been a coup within the Association and members like Kaien and Yaguri went underground establishing their own organization tasked with helping and saving those of the vampire race who wanted to peacefully co-exist. The Association added all of the defectors and their underground organization -New Association or N/A - to their hit list as well. In the midst of all this Kaname was allowed to move on and start his human life without issue. It seemed to be the only promise the Association made good on. Kaname was left alone to start anew, but their promises to him of peace for the vampires were tossed aside just as soon as he was out of the way.

In order to preserve a bit of Yuki's sanity, Zero had made the agreement with her that even as they ran - always staying two steps ahead of the Association - they would still keep tabs on and watch over the safety of Kaname. Every couple of years this included giving her one small opportunity to go and see him in person. She wouldn't talk with him, but usually she would get close, maybe walk behind him in a market or watch him from across a crowded room. Just a simple opportunity for her to be in his presence for a bit, and this seemed to calm her enough and keep her satisfied for a period. Zero hated it, but still graciously went along with it for her sake. It had taken some time, but after Rei's death he had finally fully confessed his feelings to Yuki directly to her. Though she was still conflicted in her feelings for Kaname, without him being in the picture, she had acknowledged her own feelings for Zero as well, and eventually he and Yuki had entered into a relationship of sorts. Zero knew that her feelings for Kaname would always be there and he accepted that as a matter of fact. She couldn't shut them off and Zero would never expect it of her. Still, these trips to 'visit' Kaname did plague his heart a bit… With a heavy sigh, Zero lay beneath the tree waiting for Yuki to steal her glances and time with Kaname in the town. As he lay there, he turned his attention to some local kids playing a game in an open field nearby. He sat up and watched smiling at the carefree play of children with no worries or fears. It made him think of his childhood, training with the other kids. They'd had fun times together then, before his family had been murdered, and his childhood had been stolen…

Zero shook the bad memories from his mind and returned to the happiness of the children in front of him. They all laughed and played, jeering and kidding with each other as they competed and bounced a ball around. All except one. Zero noticed one of the kids who seemed just a bit off from the others. He played well with them and he was obviously athletic and talented, but he was also slightly distant and serious. The few occasions when he did smile, Zero could tell that it didn't quite fully reach his eyes. He seemed cautious and on guard. Leaning in closer, Zero focused in on him, intrigued by such a guarded demeanor in a young child. Zero had been running for a long time and he could easily spot someone else with something to hide. Quietly he watched the kids continue to play, but never taking his off this one child. As the boy deftly bobbed and evaded the other kids, his black hair tumbling around his shoulders, Zero found himself feeling a wave of nostalgia that he couldn't quite place. He sat still as a statue, watching silently until someone kicked the ball in his direction. The dark-haired kid was closest and came running to get it. Zero had time to move. He could easily have ran and hidden himself if he'd chosen to, but he couldn't decide, and instead stayed firmly planted, waiting until the kid came closer, and then reaching to pick up the ball to hand it to him. When the boy came near, Zero held out the ball to him. The kid tossed his head back, flipping his black hair out of his eyes and looking at Zero from behind pale grey eyes. Zero froze, arm outstretched. Something was wrong here. The boy seemed to know it too. Zero didn't think he knew what, but the kid had intuition, and as he looked at Zero's frozen face, he turned and immediately began to sprint through the trees. The other kids began yelling and screaming for him to return, but the boy was gone. He moved swiftly and quietly. It took Zero a moment to come to his senses. He still wasn't sure what was going on himself, but he knew he had to follow. Now. Where was he? The boy barely made a sound so locating him wasn't going to be easy. Zero closed his eyes and focused, then he turned and began running as fast as he could, cutting through the trees in lightning quick steps. He was not going to let him get away.

"Okay. If you really insist then I'll tell you. But I warn you, I'll tell you the truth and I'll leave nothing out."

She looked at him. Kaname was still staring off into the distance, watching the sun start its descent towards the horizon. After a moment he gave a sharp nod and turned to face her, relief filling his eyes. A brilliant smile lit up his face and she pulled back in surprise. This was a first. She had actually never seen Kaname smile like this before. It was something to behold and she could now easily understand the stories she'd heard about the girls at the Cross Academy falling head over heels to get at him, and the women swarming him here in the square. She wished he'd turn it off. She didn't particularly like the feeling this smile on his already handsome face was giving her. She turned away, suddenly finding the horizon more to her liking as well.

"Over a span of years, you and I had many run ins, the specifics of those I won't disclose, but they aren't really important to this anyways. I mention them only to state that we had interacted many times with no real issues between us. However each of us had someone that we loved strongly and there came a day where our bonds of love overlapped and intersected with each other. In my line of work, fear is not an emotion that we are allowed. On this particular day you were the first person to ever show me what that emotion truly felt like."

She paused to swallow, from the corner of her eyes she could see Kaname, his expression was dark and unmoving as he listened in stoic silence.

"You had a goal in mind and anyone who got in the way of that goal had to be removed. Unfortunately, on this day I happened to be the person in your way and I was keeping you from your goal" She sighed. "You threatened my life. You had me in your arms and told me you'd kill me" She heard Kaname suck a breath in at her words and she could feel his body tense.

She shook her head dismissively, "I didn't care though. It was part of who I was and death didn't scare me, it never had. Except that you were adept, and once you saw that, you quickly went for the one thing you realized would scare me. The one weakness I didn't even know I had until that moment. See, Kaname you were always cunning and observant, and when it came to the person you loved, you could even be ruthless. You never failed to catch small details that others would often miss and you knew that my heart belonged to this person before I even realized it. You let me go, and instead you took hold of him. Forcing me to watch, you then threatened to kill him in front of me instead". Rei paused again, this time to take a breath and clasp her hands together to try to stop the shaking. It couldn't be helped. Whenever she thought back to this event, even now, the fear would still try to creep back into her.

"I had never felt fear before then. Never. I didn't even know what it was that I was feeling at the time. It was just panic and sheer terror. I forgot my training, I forgot everything and at that moment I was ready to throw it all away just to save him and get him away from you. Once you started to hurt him the fear just overtook me. I ended up letting you have what you wanted and something inside me just broke. I couldn't return to duty after that. In my line of work neither weakness nor fear were acceptable and I just couldn't come back from it." She took a deep breath and turned to face him. "It's a long time in the past and I'm over it now, but yes, it was one of only two times in my life that I ever felt that emotion and it was difficult for me to get through. I think that incident was the last time that I saw you, and seeing you again so suddenly today… it brought it all back again… I'm sorry"

Kaname was studying her face, his expression showed only sadness and angst. "Please… don't say that to me" he said in disgust.

"How could you apologize to someone like me?" His face was pained. He put his hand to his face and covered himself. "I asked to know but I didn't think it would be so horrible. How do you even stand to sit here beside me? You really are a strong woman"

She reached out and took hold of the hand covering Kaname's face. She held it in her own as she looked into his face. It was strange to her how much kinder his eyes were now. The Kaname of past had such cold and distant eyes. She had never seen warmth in them before unless of course he had been looking at "her". He had always been so closed off, but now…

"It was many years ago and so much has happened since then" She looked away. "Believe me, I've made bad choices of my own." Turning back towards him, she flashed him a heartfelt smile. "I've always believed in second chances, maybe this new life has been yours? The man in front of me feels different than the one I knew before, and I like that. Besides it's also hard for me to judge the actions we take for the ones we love. I think your actions were based on that too. In hindsight, I don't think you really would have hurt him. If you did, you would have hurt someone else- someone that you really cared about. Not to mention, I'm not even sure if deep down that was who the real you was. So… What I'm saying is – that's in the past. If I won't hold it against you then you shouldn't hold it against yourself. There's a different man with new experiences in front of me and I guess I'm not opposed to getting to know more about him and giving him a chance to earn my trust if that's really something he wants?"

Kaname's sad eyes remained, but the beginnings of a smile crept back upon his face. "You truly are remarkable. To say things like that and mean them". His eyes rapidly searched her face trying to memorize it. Over the years there had been times where he'd been mildly sad about the loss of his memories but now he found himself truly regretting the loss because he didn't want to believe that he could ever forget such a lovely person. There was a warmth around this woman that pulled him in. He wasn't sure if she would really ever forgive the ugly acts that he had done against her, but he would work to atone for them. If possible he would work to get her to see him in a new light. He found he wanted more than just forgiveness from her. Maybe affection and love as well? It was too much to ask he knew but nevertheless it didn't keep him from wishing for it all the same.

Kaname reached out with the hand that she was not holding to touch her face, marveling at the softness of her skin. Keeping his palm resting lightly on her cheek he told her "Yes, I want to know more about you. I plan to earn both your trust and your forgiveness. Give me time and maybe I'll even earn your heart as well"

At these words her eyes widened, and just as she began to pull away, Roihichi suddenly burst frantically into the clearing, calling out to her, his eyes wide and full of fear.

"Roihichi! What's wrong?" She jumped back from Kaname's hand and ran from the bench towards her frightened son. Just as she got up another figure burst out quickly from the nearby trees. In a single fluid motion, she grabbed Roihichi and pulled him behind her, turning into a defensive stance to face the intruder that had chased her son out of the woods.

Her entire body went cold as she found herself face to face with Zero, a frozen expression on his pale face. She almost went limp, her legs threatening to give out from under her. "Zero…" she heard herself croak. She stumbled forward and then found Kaname at her side, grabbing her arm and helping to hold her steady. He looked at her with concern in his eyes, and then he looked towards Zero, a menacing glint on his face "Are you alright?" He asked her, his eyes never leaving Zero's face. "Yes, I'm fine" she said, standing up and pulling her arm back.

Zero's eyes flashed briefly to Kaname with another look of shock, but then rested back on her, and then finally looking towards the boy peeking from behind her, his expression unsurprisingly baffled.

"Rei…."

Zero took a hesitant step forward "Is this real? Can it really be … you..?" Kaname stepped in front of her and this time Zero fully shifted his gaze to him. "And what are you doing here? Why are you with Kaname?" He looked back to her, his eyes accusing. At this, Kaname stepped back

"I see. So you know me too. Apparently I'm in the middle of more than I know…"

"Yeah, you are. And this is one time you better back off " Zero threatened. He took another step towards Rei, his eyes filled with confusion. "Tell me I'm dreaming, tell me I'm wrong and you're not really standing in front of me after all this time?"

Rei clutched at her chest. It hurt and she couldn't breathe. She wasn't ready for this. Not now, not with Roihichi here…

Straining for air, Rei broke her eyes away from Zero's pain filled gaze. She couldn't bear it. Looking towards the trees she tried to breathe and to focus. "Zero.. I…I…"

"I thought you were dead Rei. DEAD!" He screamed. "Do you get that?! And now, here you are. Your memories seem to be intact. Maybe a little scarred, but your body seems to be in working order as well… and yet you've left me thinking that you were dead all this time?!" Zero was breathing frantically. "Not to mention…" Zero stepped to peer around Rei's back "There's the question of-"

"No!" Rei cut him off. "No. Not here." She shook her head emphatically. "I know I owe you explanations Zero, but please for the sake of everything, don't ask this now", Rei took her hand and pushed the peeking boy further behind her body.

Zero looked at her desperately trying to understand.

"Look Zero, neither of us need to call attention to ourselves. This area… We've done a few missions here in the past. Do you remember?"

Zero nodded mutely.

"We had a stronghold near here. About 2 to 3 days journey. Go to where you've been staying, and I'll go to ours and pack up. We'll meet you there in 3 days time. At that point I'll tell you everything and anything that you want to know, if you'll just wait?" Rei looked to Zero with pleading eyes.

Zero stared at her. Those violet eyes that he hadn't laid eyes on in 8 years. Fury and sadness welled up within him. Angrily he shook his head. "8 years and now you ask me to wait longer? You think that I trust you? 3 days, so that you can slip away for another 10? No way"

Sadly Rei stared at the angry man in front of her. Wondering to herself just what 8 years had done to him, and marveling at how it still hadn't been long enough to make a difference in her affection for him.

"Zero, whatever else you may think, time hasn't changed my heart. It could be 8 years or 80 and it wouldn't matter. If you'll know that then you'll know that I will see you in that place in 3 days." She looked into his eyes and wondered what he would see in hers. Was the love she still felt reflected in them when he looked at her, or did his anger towards her now blind him to it?

Zero huffed and angrily looked away from her, turning his head towards the trees.

"Fine then, 3 days and no long- Yuki!" Surprise flickered across his face.

Turning to follow his line of sight, Rei recognized Yuki standing at the edge of the trees, silently watching the exchange, a sad, tight-lipped expression on her face. Rei opened her mouth to say something but Yuki had turned and slipped into the shadows in a blink of the eye.

Zero moved to follow her, but stopped and looked back. He gave Rei a firm look. "By sundown on the 3rd day , I will see you there" His eyes shifted to Kaname, who was standing quietly in self-reflection. "I suppose you'll be bringing him with you now?"

Rei thought briefly. "I will if he decides he wants to come". Zero gave a quick nod and darted off after Yuki.

After he left, Rei turned to pull Roihichi close to her, collapsing to the ground with him in exhaustion and anxiety. There was a difficult journey ahead.