"Hey, if you are looking for your friend, she went that way," the wolf told me as he pointed in the direction that Asuka had run. I was shocked that this newbie was helping me so readily, but I nodded and headed in that direction, Koy right behind me.
As we ran, I tracked Asuka's sent, which went farther and farther into the forest. As I ran, I recalled Zero and I's conversation before I left.
Flashback
"Ariel can I ask you something?" Zero asked me, breaking the silence as we just sat there against the tree.
"Sure." I replied. Why did I find myself so interested about everything he said? I loved listening to him, maybe it was because he didn't talk all that often.
"Did you see what happend to me during the fight?" he asked, looking me in the eyes so that he could read my expression and tell whether or not I was lying.
"Yeah," I nodded,"I just didn't want to say anything." I hadn't wanted to make him feel awkward. I felt we all had our problems, and for some reason, I found I wanted to be there to help him through his.
"Did it scare you?" he asked.
"A little." I admitted. I wasn't going to lie to him, that wasn't going to help. He wanted my honesty, and he needed to hear it.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"Why?" I asked, shocked. He took me aback. I frowned.
"For turning into something that I thought I had finally escaped from," he said.
"Oh," That word sounded so lame, even to my ears, but I didn't know what else to say. I didn't want him to feel sorry for something that he was. He was trying to change, and that's what matters.
"If I do it again please don't hesitate to strike me down." he told me.
"If thats what you want." I nodded, though I hoped with all my heart that day would never come. I didn't know if I would be able to do it, but because I had promised I couldn't take it back.
I had wanted to say so much to him, but I had so much to process, I had lost my nerve. It was times like this that I wished I had someone really close to me that I could talk to. Asuka being the closest, but beings she wasn't here, possed a problem.
I had wanted to tell Zero that I cared for him so much that I could never turn away from him just because of whom he was. Sure, he had done things in his past that frightened me a little, but I was no saint either.
When I thought about his saying that I 'should strike him down' my chest ached with a pain I had never felt before. It was so profound and definate. It wasn't the physical pain, it was emotional.
And at that moment I realized it was love.
Coninue?
