Chapter one

The Mukami manner was far different from the Sakamaki's mansion. Though it wasn't home, Yui missed her bed at the Sakamaki home. The canopy that had towered above her and the room decor, that consisted of everything frills and pink, made her feel like a doll living in her own morbid version of a dollhouse. Though Ayato and Laito had joined her many times before uninvited, her bed was still her safe place. The Mukami's bed for her was not home. Though the room was beautifully designed and she was never awoken to the feel of cold-blooded man feeding from her thigh, the atmosphere was just wrong. It was lonely. No one was fighting, Kanato wasn't snickering with Teddy, chaos was limited. The longer she lay in the Mukami bed, the more she yearned to be back at the Sakamaki mansion. That was home now, no matter how dysfunctional and invasive it may be.

"It's time for your supper, Sow."

Yui jerked her head up from her pillow and gazed up into the hateful eyes of Yuma. He had appeared right before the foot of her bed and after hearing the gasp she released as she leapt in shock, a smirk begin playing on his lips. Yui blinked and said in a small voice, "Thank you." Within a moment, Yuma was gone and Yui was left to prepare herself for supper. Yuma had been wearing his school uniform which caused a bout of excitement to rise in Yui's chest. She lifted her body from the bed and pranced over to the tall dresser, opening it by the delicate handle and taking out the clean uniform that had been hung up for her the day previous. She stripped from her nightgown and proceeded to dress herself for school, as well as comb out her hair and slip on her cross around her neck. She peeked at herself in the mirror and despite the bags that had collected underneath her eyes, she looked presentable enough and even smiled.

When Yui hesitantly opened the door to the dining room, the boys raised their heads from their plates. Kou and Yuma were thrown into a fit of giggles, and Azusa sat unphased by the girl as she took her seat beside Kou. Kou bumped her with his shoulder unintentionally rough and opened his mouth to speak before Ruki could say calmly, "You're not going to school." His penetrating eyes met Yui's and she frowned, her disappointment apparent despite her lack of protest. Ruki tossed his cloth napkin onto his finished plate and said, "It's already created too much of a fuss. Azusa will stay home with you." Yui froze in her seat and broke the eye contact she had been clinging to with Ruki as he spoke. Her gaze traveled over to Azusa, who was sitting at the end of the table and popping the remainder of a dumpling into his mouth. He was unphased, even as Ruki said his name, and stared at his plate as he ate. Though he often seemed gentle and quiet, Yui found it difficult to forget the last time they had been alone together and feared what may come of it tonight. "Eat!" Yuma ordered as he stood from the table, grabbing the plate of dumplings and tossing a few onto Yui's plate. She was no longer hungry.

Yui and Azusa sat in silence among the bountiful plates as the other boys had filtered out and each made their way to school. Azusa continued to eat, and just like the way he spoke, he did so slowly. Yui gathered enough courage to look up from her full plate and stare down the table at Azusa. "Azusa-kun," she whispered. He paused and looked up from his plate, lowering his fork and avoiding her eyes. "I am going.. to my room. Please.. Clean, Eve." Then, he was gone. The fork had he been holding chimed against the plate and just like that, Yui was left on her own - both puzzled and thankful. She did as she was told and then went back to her room, stripping herself of both her uniform and the smile she had seen earlier in the mirror. Despite dressing herself in the fine silk nightgown and cocooning herself in the sheets, she could not sleep. With Azusa disinterested and the others at school, she took the opportunity and dared to explore the mansion.

The sound of the master clock striking midnight caused Yui to practically leap from her skin as she ran down the hallway. She found herself lost in the foreign mansion, in the depths of where only candles lit the way. The ceiling was high and haunting, and with each step she took, the sound of her house slippers hitting the floor echoed among the halls. She clutched a lit candle stick in one fist and her cross in the other, her breathing uneasy. Despite the fear building in her chest, there was also a sense of excitement burning within her. She would have never been able to do this at Sakamaki household. She wasn't truly lost considering she could easily retrace her steps but something within her was telling her to keep pushing forward. Last time she had wandered, she found one of the last pieces she had of her father. If that could be hiding in the last mansion, surely there could be something here.

But the deeper she buried herself into the mansion, the less excitement simmered in her belly. It was now purely fear. She wished she had stayed in her room and despite trying to retrace her steps, every hallway now looked the same. It felt like she had been walking for hours. But then, she heard it. A soft cry. "Eve," the voice said. "My Eve." She followed the voice, which she soon recognized to be Azusa's. It was coming from the room she had just passed and though his voice was muffled through the door, she could still hear the soft weeping. "Azusa-kun?" Yui choked as she approached the door. Suddenly, the voice stopped and she froze in place. Her palm touched the door and she cringed at how cold it was. All of the hairs on her body stood up and suddenly she felt an urging panic. She shouldn't be here. "Oh.. Come in..." She heard Azusa say from the other side of the door. He sounded much closer. She had no choice now but to enter.

Expecting the room to be the same as she had had her last encounter with Azusa in, Yui was shocked to notice it was completely different. The walls were a burning maroon color and the room was lit solely by the fireplace blazing across from her as she stood in the doorway. The fire was ablaze but the room still somehow felt cold as ice. Towering glass cabinets lined the outskirts of the room and the center only consisted of a dark rug and a single cushioned chair. Though the rug was nearly black, Yui could still see the reflects of the crimson liquid pooling right before the fireplace. Azusa stood only a yard away from her, clutching his wrist and smiling weakly. The tips of his fangs gently plucked his bottom lip as he hummed, "Eve... you came... for me. Come... come, closer." Yui sprang forward and grabbed Azusa by his forearm, turning it to expose the fresh slice running vertically across his wrist. "Azusa-kun!" She cried. It was like nothing she had ever seen before. The cut she had left on his hand days before was incomparably shallow and superficial compared to this fresh wound. "Why, Azusa? Are you trying to die? It's so much - too much - all the blood!" He simply smiled and collapsed down onto the single chair, yanking her onto his lap. He caressed her with one arm and held the bleeding wrist in front of her face. She felt vulnerable and exposed, left with no choice but to curl up in his lap and stare at the monstrous sight of Azusa bleeding out before her eyes. "Eve," he whispered, "I didn't know... that you... loved me." Blood spurted from the slice and he turned his arm over, exposing a faint scar across the back of his hand. He lifted it to his own face and gently kissed it, whispering again, "Oh, Eve..." Yui had watched helplessly as the blood poured down onto her lap and stained her nightgown red. Azusa-kun's blood. She grasped his forearm again, this time with a softer touch, and dragged Azusa's gaze from the scar to her eyes. She began to apply pressure with her fingers and said, "Do you want to die? Is that what you want?" Azusa, very well knowing that a single cut wasn't enough to do him in, gently smiled. Eve's touch made him feel warm. "I am trying... to feel alive," he cooed.

Yui stared at Azusa with fearful eyes as he lifted his arm from her clutch. He clasped his lips along the cut, smearing blood across his pale cheeks, and sucked on his own flesh. Yui sat frozen on his lap. This boy who always seemed so calm was suddenly turning into something else, something hungry and lustful. He then leaned forward and closed his eyes as he pressed his mouth onto hers and penetrated her bottom lip with his teeth. Yui squealed against his lips as he gently began to suck the blood from her lip. He let out a small groan and whined softly, "More... more..." An odd, hot sensation slid down Yui's throat and she realized it was the taste of both her and Azusa's blood, it made her quiver. Azusa lay one hand on the small of her back and the other clutched onto her hair, soaking her blonde locks with his crimson blood. Gentle suckling sounds poured from his lips as Yui's began to turn numb. He then released her lip and purred into her mouth as his tongue fumbled carelessly into her mouth. This was new to him. Ignoring the insecurity bubbling between them, Azusa sucked her tongue between his lips and teasingly jammed his fangs down just enough to beads of blood from it. He gulped and swallowed the small bit of sweet blood. He pulled away for a breath and said, "Now... I know... you love me. My precious.. Eve." She opened her mouth to protest before he sunk his fangs into the flesh of her shoulder. "Azusa-kun, please don't. Please, stop..." The sound it made was enough to make her faint but she somehow remained conscious. As he suckled at her skin, she slowly raised a hand and placed it onto his back. He sunk his fangs deeper down and she whined, cringing at the feel of his teeth sinking inside of her. All she could say was "no" despite the thousands of thoughts swirling in her head. Azusa-kun was feeding on her but this time, she knew that he was aware that he could not be want he was hoping - he couldn't be Adam. This wasn't a chore. He hadn't seeked her out and it somehow felt different than one the other boys would feed on her. She just couldn't figure out why. This boy who strangers would view as gentle and quiet, maybe that's truly what he was. Even as his fangs shifted inside of her flesh and he sucked her blood, Yui ignored the pain and wished to still see him as the silent boy at the dinner table. But he was tearing her apart. The simple answer was that he was a monster, just like the Sakamaki boys. Tears poured down Yui's cheeks. Somewhere inside of her, she wanted to believe that in this cruel world she had been introduced to, there could be someone she were truly precious to despite how silly that wish truly was. And then, the pain suddenly came to an end. Azusa withdrew his fangs from her shoulder and she stared at him with wide, tear filled eyes. He gazed back at her and was no longer smiling. He closed his gentle eyes and she gasped as he leaned forward to softly lick her tears. The word "no" kept spewing from her lips but on the inside, all she could think was how innocent that one act was. Licking her tears. Maybe this was love to Azusa. He whispered something to her but Yui was too focused on her own thoughts and still caught up in the moment of the simple yet caring act. Even if this wasn't an act of love, even if Azusa wasn't capable of love... he was someone that Yui decided she would try to love. Even if she wasn't truly precious to him, he would be to her. She could protect him from himself.