When she did turn around, she was greeted by none other than the face of Lelouch, smiling warmly. The two children we bouncing happily and tugging on her summer dress, wanting a part in their embrace. The couple laughed and allowed them access, facing each other once more and sharing a loving kiss. Arms tightly wrapped around each other never wanting to let go...

Ishi stirred as she took in a very familiar scent, opening her eyes and trying to take in her surroundings, still a bit groggy.

Lelouch noticed that Ishi began to stir in his lap so he stopped playing. He brushed the strands of hair that were in front of Ishi's face. "Hey sleepy. Time to get up."

"Morning already?" Ishi cracked weakly, giving a tiny smile and sitting up, realizing what (or whom in this case) she was sitting on. "How did I get here...?"

Lelouch brushed aside the hairs from Ishi's face. "You collapsed and fell asleep after you went for your walk. You really scared me back there, Ishi. What was that? Never seen you act that way before."

It all came back to her now; he was talking about her breakdown. Ishi lowered her eyes, taking a deep breath. It was about time she told him anyway. "That...is a result of watching your entire family being torn limb from limb before your very eyes...from having their gore covering your body from head to toe before it soon becomes your turn for the kill...from unexpectedly surviving and living with the memories for the rest of your life..." She said shakily, fists clenched tightly. Tears were threatening to leak out of her eyes again.

"Woah woah woah. Don't go there, Ishi. It's okay. It's just a memory. Calm down." Lelouch didn't know what to do. He had never had to do something like comfort someone before.

Trying to not humiliate herself further, Ishi fought back the tears with all her might, gritting her teeth and unknowingly sinking her nails into the oak floorboards. "I haven't recalled these memories for two years..." she choked out quietly.

"So don't recall them. If these memories hurt you so much, just keep them locked away. You can't torture yourself like this because of something that happened in the past. Sure it was tough to deal with but if you let it keep a hold on you like this, there will come a time when you won't be able to handle it anymore." Lelouch didn't know if he was helping but all he knew was that Ishi was in pain and he couldn't just sit there and do nothing.

"...Is that what you say to yourself when you think about your mother's death?" Ishi asked quietly.

Lelouch thought back to when he was still a young immortal. "...I didn't always cope with it that well..." Lelouch looked at his hands and recalled those many nights. "Let's just say that those who saw me didn't always go back to their families," Lelouch looked back up at Ishi with dim eyes, "I just hope you do this better than I did..."

"Do what? Cope with the fact that I had to watch as my entire family was devoured by werewolves before it was my turn?" Ishi asked spitefully, "Or should it be that I survived my deathbed when a vampire decided to come along and have what was left of my blood as a midnight snack?"

The Kobaneoh clenched her fist tightly, accidentally piercing her lip with her fangs and drawing a tiny bit of blood. "That damn vampire... I should have died those years ago. If it wasn't for him..." Ishi growled, "...If it wasn't for him then I would be with my family right now!"

Ishi was right. There was no way he would be able to compare what she had gone through. While he did lose his mother, Ishi lost her entire family. Lelouch can never compare to that. "I don't know... but I am glad you are still here, if it counts for anything." Lelouch didn't know what else he could do; could he protect her when he couldn't even relate to her?

Actually...it did count for something. If the massacre had not occured on the night it did then Ishi would probably never have met Lelouch Kastina. Never met the man she fell in love with. Thinking about that last part made Ishi move closer to Lelouch, snuggling into his side and burying her face into his chest.

Lelouch wished that time would just stop here and that no one could ever disrupted them, but there were still people after him and there always will be as long as his father was still head of the family. Plus, the locals were getting a little too noisy for their own good.

"Maybe we should be getting out of here. Seems like people are starting to wonder who we are. That, and I don't want innocent blood to stain my hands if more hunters come here." Last thing Lelouch wanted is more people getting killed because of him and what he was.

"Normally I would jump at the thought, but..." Ishi moved her gaze to her still-healing injury, moving it slightly and hissing at the electricity coursing throughout her limb. "My leg. It still needs to heal. I would be able to temporarily run with some blood, but I doubt anyone here is willing to donate some."