It was a cool spring day, one where the sun was beginning to throw out some warmth and held the hint of the summer to come.

The younger members of the team were still in school, so when Metz had invited them to stay, only Dante and Zhalia had been able to go.

Up until then, the weather had been dismal, too windy, too wet, or too cold, but now it was temporarily clear, and the two were able to venture outside.

Dante dragged her to all of his old familiar haunts; a tiny brook at the end of the garden, venturing into the woodland, finding forts and tree houses everywhere. Zhalia wasn't particularly interested, but followed anyway, not minding at all. It was nice to see him happy and smiling, letting go and leaving his work behind him.

That is, until, they reached a glade within the woods, where the sun shone down and made the grass glow with an almost ethereal light. The breeze sent faint ripples across it. The sight was so basic, natural, so far from where she had known, it made her breath catch slightly. Dante noticed and glanced at her, concerned, asking her if she was ok.

"I'm fine," she nodded, kneeling down to place a hand on the grass. The sun had evaporated all of the morning dew and had left it soft and green. She glanced up at him, a strange look on her face. "It's beautiful."

Dante frowned, but knelt down beside her, curious.

"You're not the type of person I would have imagined to like this sort of place." He smiled, although slightly confused. There was so much he didn't know about her, and he was only just beginning to find out. She laughed slightly, turning to him, her eyes glinting.

"Dante Vale, I lived on the streets from the age of five years old, and got taken in by the Organisation three years after that, to be trained as an infiltrator and an assassin. Do you really think I had a time to lie on the grass and talk to someone I trust?" She glanced back down to the ground, running her hands through the grass before shrugging slightly. "Why not start now?"

He smiled at her, shaking his head, before lying on his back, purposefully encouraging her to join him.

"Considering you added the qualification of trust to that statement, I would presume that you haven't." He grinned, gazing up to the pale blue sky.

She bit her lip slightly, before joining him on the ground. She could feel small blades of grass tickling her neck, but she didn't mind. For a while, they just lay like that, listening to the sound of the other breathing, and to the sounds of the woodland around them. It took a while, but finally, Zhalia found the words to speak.

"The Organisation killed my parents." Her voice was quiet, but he heard her clearly. He sat up slightly, propping himself up on his elbow, glancing at her, concerned, but she signalled for him to not interrupt and he lay back down, but couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"They were researchers, and under the protection of the Huntik Foundation. When they died, I was left alone. They didn't know I existed. So when Klaus came across me, and saw my potential, he thought it as a mere coincidence that I had the same surname. No-one ever suspected. I found out the other day by reading. I found a picture of them." She pulled a photo out from her pocket and held it above her, tears forming in her eyes. It showed a dark haired man, with his arm around a woman, holding a small child, with the same dark hair as her father. "I remember them as if it were yesterday, the stark memory of those last few moments." She closed her eyes and held the photo to her chest, a single tear falling from her eye.

Dante reached out, catching the tear with his fingers and stroking it away. He placed a hand on her cheek, and tilted her face to look at him. The story was sad, and he wanted to hold her within his arms. The only reason that he held back was because it was her. He didn't want to lose her by being foolish.

"Your parents would've been very proud of you, of what you've done, and who you've become. They would've forgiven you for what you did." His voice was low, but he poured his emotions into it, albeit somewhat discreetly. She shook her head.

"You don't know that."

"I forgave you. I'm sure they would've done too." He smiled at her, his hand still on her cheek. "You were always meant to be in the Huntik Foundation, it's in your blood. It just took a while to come around."

She smiled back, her eyes shining. The wind began to pick up a bit, and a dark cloud covered the sun

"Thank you, Dante." She bit her lip, slightly, before standing up and disappearing into the woods, heading back to the house.

As the rain began to fall again, Dante looked up at the sky, still on the floor, before murmuring to himself.

"Anything for you."