A/N: Sorry about the long wait everyone! I've just been so busy lately that it's been hard to find time to write anymore! Hope this chapter was worth the wait though! Give me some feedback! :)


"What is the meaning of this, Ren?" Carrera exclaimed as she took in the sight of her son walking into their home with a young girl with a blood stained purple top in tow. A top stained in his blood.

"Maaka-sama!" the young woman cried out in surprise before she bowed to her. The instant she did that, and Carrera watched as her green haired side ponytail fell past her shoulder, she realized that she was Karin's friend. She remembered meeting her once before when Karin needed her help with summer homework a year ago.

"You..." Carrera murmured softly as she raked her brain for the girl's name, but couldn't retrieve it. She thinned her red tinted lips in displeasure as she refrained from asking the girl outright. It would come off as terribly rude if she couldn't even remember the name of the human that was best friends with her oldest daughter.

"Maki needs to stay here tonight," Ren informed her as Carrera's golden gaze shot up to glance into her son's identical eyes. Hers narrowed slightly as she tried to read her son's motives in bringing this girl to their home.

He had never brought a woman home with him before, and he knew that such an act was forbidden. Not only was it indecent to allow his younger sisters to be exposed to such blatant bad behavior, but it brought up the possibility of the woman finding out about their secret.

"Sinclair has returned," Ren continued, his face remaining surprisingly serious, "and not that-sad-excuse-for-a-vampire-hunter Sinclair, the real one. The one you used to tell Karin and Anju about when they were little,"

"How do you know?" Calera asked back, not wanting to believe the worst if her son was merely going off of a hunch.

"I was impaled by his sword tonight, in front of Maki," Ren replied as he inclined his head towards the young woman beside him, "and yes, she knows I'm a vampire. So does Sinclair, and he'll kill her if she goes home. The jig's up,"

"I see," Carrera murmured softly before giving Maki a friendly smile, "well then, Maki-san, it seems you'll be spending the night with us tonight. I'll show you where Karin's room is. I'm sure she won't mind if you sleep there tonight," Carrera informed her as Maki sent her a thankful smile in return.

"Give her my room," Ren offered suddenly, and the two women turned to look at him in surprise.

"What for?" Carrera asked back.

"Karin's room smells too much like her human. It'll clog up my nose, and make it difficult to scent out Maki. If Sinclair just so happens to see past our barrier, I need to make sure I can find her. You know it'll upset Karin if her best friend ends up getting murdered in our own house," he explained as Carrera's eyebrows rose slightly in disbelief.

She knew that Karin had her human in her room a lot, but their vampire noses were strong enough to differentiate human scents, no matter how strong or weak they might be. Carrera eyed him apprehensively as she wondered what Ren's motives were in having Maki stay in his room for the night.

"I'll give her your room...so long as you sleep in your coffin," Carrera offered, and noted the slight roll of her son's eyes with a bemused smirk.

"I said give her my room. I wasn't asking you for permission to sleep with her," Ren scoffed, and Carrera couldn't hide her amused smirk when she noted Maki's cheeks immediately heat up in a blush.

"Fine. I'll show you to Ren's room then," Carrera clarified, and couldn't help the playfully impatient glare she sent her son's way. It was just like him to go and make his mother do whatever it was that he wanted her to do. She'd have to watch herself, or she might end up getting walked on by all of her children.

"Come along," Carrera commanded as Maki gave her a swift nod before hurrying to her side. The vampire gave the girl a once over before noting that there was a sense of anxiety about her, and a smidgen of stress that was beginning to mix into the girl's scent. She glanced back at her son to see if he had noticed it too, given that his preferred blood type was stress, but didn't notice him giving the girl any kind of particular attention.

Maybe he's hurting too much to notice, Carrera thought as she took in the severity of her son's wound for the first time. She merely ignored the thought though, because she knew that he'd be alright after a night's rest in his coffin. Unlike humans, a wound like Ren's was the equivalent to a scraped knee. It was something that hurt in that instant, but it would heal without needing much medical or emotional attention.

The two women remained silent as they climbed the staircase to the second story of the house. Carrera noted that the girl continuously kept looking behind her, and figured she was most likely checking to see if Ren was following them, which he wasn't. Carrera knew that he was most likely heading down to the basement for some much needed blood.

"Will Ren be alright?" Maki asked once they reached the top of the stairs. Carrera gave her a sideways glance as they continued walking, and merely shrugged her shoulders in response.

"Who knows with him. For all I know he could be lying there dead as we speak," she offered, and felt like giggling when she saw the anxious look that crossed the girl's features, "I wouldn't worry about him. I'm sure it's more of an injury to his ego above anything else. It'll take him awhile to get over the fact that he wasn't prepared for the attack more than the physical act itself," she added, and noted the slight look of relief that passed over the girl's face.

"It's just that – I know how much Karin loves all of you, and I know how much it would hurt her to know that something this terrible happened to her brother," Maki explained as she lowered her green gaze to stare at the ground uneasily as they walked, "Karin is my best friend, and I'll do all I can to make sure she's happy," Maki finished.

"You're a good friend to her," Carrera observed, and wondered how her clumsy excuse for a vampire daughter got so lucky, "and I'm glad that you're looking out for her welfare. It means a lot to my family," she added before pausing in front of a darkly painted door.

"Is this Ren's room?" Maki asked, following Carrera's gaze to the black door in front of them.

"Yes, and don't worry yourself about Ren making any kind of visits tonight," Carrera assured her, "once I tell my husband that you're here, he'll keep the boy in line," she added, and enjoyed the faint look of surprise that passed over Maki's features.

"I'm sure he's not going to come up and see me," she replied bashfully before a confident smirk pulled at the edges of her lips and she clasped her left hand on her flexed right arm, "besides, even if he does, I'll set him straight!" she told Carrera confidently.

The vampire stared at this petite slip of a girl before she threw her head back and laughed. The thought that such a young and tiny girl could do anything to ward off a full grown male vampire was hysterical! While the act was utterly impossible, Carrera couldn't help but admire the girl's spunk.

"You're quite the humorous one," Carrera noted with a look of pride, "get some sleep, amazon warrior," she added teasingly while opening the door for Maki. Maki gave her a good humored grin before walking past her to head inside and inspect the room.

Carrera watched her for a moment, and wondered what life would have been like if she could have seen more of the girl. She seems like such a character, Carrera thought with a smile, it's too bad we'll have to erase her memories in the morning.


"Carrera," Henry called when he spotted his wife making her way down the stairs. She turned those golden eyes that he loved so much in his direction, and he relished in her beauty for a moment before he spoke,

"Is it true that Ren brought a human here?" he asked, and felt his spirits fall when she nodded her head.

"He said that Sinclair has returned," she told him, and he gave her a grave nod. Ren had given him a short run through of the night's events before he had gone to grab something to clog up the blood that had still been flowing out from his chest wound.

"What should we do about her, Henry?" Carrera asked as she made it the rest of the way to his side. He pondered over the thought for a moment. Usui had been useful for their daughter, and seemed very trustworthy. Could Karin's friend turn out to be the same?

"I would say we could make another exception with her, as we did for Usui, but..." Carrera began, the uncertainty evident in her voice.

"But?" Henry coaxed.

"We don't know if she will remain trustworthy to us. I believe we were lucky with Usui, but will we be as lucky a second time? Fear can cause many humans to give up their secrets," Carrera stated as she sent her husband a worried glance.

"It would lift some stress off of Karin if her best friend knew our secret. She wouldn't need to pretend to be human anymore," Ren stated as he reentered the room while finishing tying a knot he had made with a towel around his gaping wound, which Henry could tell was already beginning to close.

Their son glanced at both vampires for a moment before grabbing the half drunken bottle of Proud Blood, and proceeded to chug it without leaving time to savor the flavor.

"Hey! That's expensive!" Henry exclaimed. Ren paused in his drinking for a moment to send his father an agitated glare.

"Well if it was safe to go out, I would've gone and found a woman, but seeing as there's a vampire hunter flipping the town upside down looking for me, I assumed it was acceptable to drink this...disgusting blood," he replied as silent tears trailed down Henry's cheeks at the mention of his preference in blood being disgusting.

"Oh Henry!" Carrera cried out exasperatedly, "pull yourself together, it's just one bottle! We'll get another one," she scolded him.

"But Carrera..." Henry sniffled, "I was saving that last bit to get through tonight,"

"Well you're not the one with the gaping hole in his chest, now are you?" Ren ground out angrily as Henry ran over to grab a hold of Carrera's arm.

"Carrera, make him stop. Your son is abusing me," Henry cried as Carrera let out a light growl.

"You make him stop. He's your son too," she pointed out impatiently.

"But Carrera..." Henry began again as Carrera pulled her arm free from his grasp.

"Now isn't the time, Henry. We still need to discuss what's going to happen with Maki," she reminded her husband as his face grew serious at the mention of the human girl.

"Yes, you're right," he replied gruffly, "it seems only right that we erase her memories of tonight and tomorrow night. We'll just have to keep her oblivious to our decision,"

"But you know Karin will fight us when she finds out that Maki knows our secret," Ren stated before chugging another mouthful of Proud Blood, "she'll talk about all the ways that it'll help her get through the day,"

Henry felt his confidence weaken at the mention of Karin. He hadn't thought about how his daughter would feel about their decision. It was evident that she would desire to have Maki know their secret, and have another person to rely on in the daytime. But surely they could convince her that, for the safety of her family, she should allow them to erase her friend's memory?

"Sinclair will be after her too," Ren added as his eyes narrowed dangerously, "he tried killing her tonight when she yelled at him after he stabbed me. I'm more than positive that he'll kill her on the spot if he gets the chance again,"

"She's a feisty one," Carrera noted with a slight chuckle, "she's very courageous, standing up to a hunter like she did, or very stupid,"

"I'm leaning towards stupid," Ren replied solemnly before he took another swig of the bottle.

"Still," Henry began, "it shows a good bit of her character. She stayed by your side even after you got stabbed, and went as far as to defend you when she found out you were a vampire. It takes a very brave person to do that," he noted as he ran his fingers through his thick mustache in thought.

"Well, she's asleep right now. I say we do the same," Carrera suggested, "we can talk more about it tomorrow night. I'm sure Karin will have a lot to say about it, too,"

"Right," Henry agreed with a nod. Ren remained silent as he finished off the bottle of blood.

The three vampires uttered soft goodbyes to one another as Ren placed the empty bottle on the coffee stand before leaving the room, his hands loosely tucked into his jean pockets.

Henry watched his son leave the room for a moment, and noted him pause at the doorway to the basement before he looked towards the staircase, as if considering something.

"Don't even think about going up to your old room tonight," Henry warned with fire in his eyes, which was met with an agitated sigh.

"Do you always assume that I have something dirty on my mind?" Ren asked, seeming to already tell what had his father peeved.

"Of course I do. I remember what it was like at your age," Henry replied hotly, "just know that I'll be keeping an eye on you, so don't try anything,"

Ren merely rolled his eyes at his father before he opened the door to the basement and made his way down the stairs.

"Henry," Carrera called right as Henry was about to follow his son, and make sure that he went straight to his coffin.

"We should go get some more blood bottles while Ren sleeps," she coaxed, "I'm running low on Liars Blood as well, and I need that to make it through the night,"

"How will we make sure that he doesn't go straight up to the human while we're gone? I'm sure you have an idea of how primal Ren can be around women," Henry asked suspiciously in return as Carrera gave him a smug smile.

"Elda is down there, and will keep him to herself when she senses that he's returned," she answered, and Henry couldn't help but mirror his wife's smug smirk, "you know how much she loves him," she added with a toothy grin.

"Of course," Henry answered as he rested his palm on the small of Carrera's back, "then let's go, my dear, while the night is still young,"


Maki sat on Ren's bed while she idly stared at the glowing screen of her cellphone. She had just called her parents and told them that she was staying at Karin's for the night. They hadn't minded. Maki had a sneaking suspicion that they were probably happy that Karin was finally hosting a sleepover rather than staying at her house all of the time.

Maki let out a sigh as she placed her cell on the nightstand next to the bed before lying back down. As she laid on the mattress her fingertips played with the material underneath her, and she couldn't help but wonder how often Ren slept there. Or with who.

The thought brought a blush to Maki's cheeks as she shook her head madly to get the thought out of her head. Why all of the sudden did she care who Ren was with? He was her best friend's older brother, and nothing else. It wasn't like they were going to hang out and spend time together after this was all over. This was just for a night...wasn't it? Of course it is, Maki answered herself confidently.

Besides, she still needed to coax Winner into going on a date with her. She would never be able to achieve her goal if she kept thinking about Ren.

She just had to stop thinking about his golden eyes, or how good it had felt to be pressed up against his chest. An image that brought another blush to her cheeks even though his blood had been pouring all over her favorite shirt. The thought reminded her that she was still wearing that shirt, and she instantly sat up before glancing down at the large circular blood stain over her chest.

"This will never come out," Maki grumbled softly before reaching for the ends of the shirt and pulling it over her head. She let out a relieved sigh at the feel of the cool air in the room brush against her flesh for the first time. She felt so free and alive in that moment.

She then carelessly tossed her shirt on the ground as she tugged back the black covers and wiggled her body inside. She let the sheet's warmth soothe her racing nerves as she rested her head on Ren's matching black pillows.

What a cliché, Maki thought with lowered lids as she gazed at all the black in the room. Just like what you'd see out of a B-rated horror movie, she added in her mind as she held in a yawn. She closed her forest green eyes then just as the strain on her mind and body finally caught up with her. She was out like a light the moment her world went black.


Karin let out an airy sigh as she stretched her arms over her head before glancing at her sleeping boyfriend, Kenta Usui. Her dark eyes softened as she gazed at him for a moment, revealing in the fact that she was with him, actually with Kenta Usui! The man that she had initially run away from had now become the man she had also fallen in love with.

"Kenta," she murmured his first name lovingly before she blushed prettily at the slight tingle his name left on her lips. She saw him stir slightly, and he leaned in closer to the sound of her voice before a slight smile tugged on his lips.

Karin felt embarrassed just sitting in Kenta's futon, ogling him, but she could think of anything better to do so early in the morning. She took in the sight of his messy orange hair, his tan skin, wide mouth, straight nose, and finally, the outline of his eyes. Those eyes that so many others were frightened of. Everyone but her.

Kenta's eyes were such a unique feature that made him distinguishable in a crowd. A trait that Karin couldn't help but love. What may have seemed fearful to some, was perfection to her. She knew that if she ever bore Kenta a son, she'd pray that he'd look just like his father.

The thought brought a happy blush to Karin's cheeks at the idea of starting a family with Kenta, and how wonderful living with him would be. He would be able to achieve his dream of having a good family, and she could fulfill her dream as well. She could finally belong to the day.

No longer would she suffer the loneliness that she felt once Anju matured into a full vampire. No longer would she fear that she'd be trapped alone for the rest of her life under the sun. She now could own to the fact that there was someone for her, someone who could love her weird and clumsy ways. Someone was finally there to spend time with her when her family couldn't. Someone who loved her just as fiercely as her family did. Someone who –

"Karin?" Kenta asked groggily as he rubbed sleep out of one of his eyes, "why are you up so early?" he asked curiously as Karin smiled down at him, and shrugged in response.

"I couldn't help it," she replied as Kenta sent her a soft smile.

"Anything I can do to help?" he asked as he reached for her. She blushed slightly and bit her lip timidly when she laid out next to him in his futon. He gave her a reassuring smile as he wound his arm around her small waist and tugged her close to his body.

"I love you," Karin murmured softly before her face grew even hotter, and she was positive she looked like a swelled up tomato. Kenta's lazy smile turned into a wide grin at that as he bent his head to kiss her lips softly.

"I love you too," he murmured back after he pulled away. Karin smiled up at him as she reached out a hand to rest it against his cheek. She gently rubbed his skin with her thumb as they stared into each other's eyes in silence, each enjoying the closeness and comfort of the other.

They would've stayed that way for who knows how long, but their moment was cut short when Kenta's mom swiftly slid the front door open with a grin.

"Get up you two!" she chirped happily as the couple quickly jumped away from each other to allow appropriate space between them, "Kenta, I need you to go grocery shopping with me today. You're free to come along too if you want, Karin," Kenta's mom suggested, her wide grin still in place as she stared back at the two blushing teens.

"Oh, thank you, but my family is expecting me," Karin replied with a nervous giggle, "I really should be heading out," she added as she glanced outside for a moment, wondering if it was chilly out or not.

"Well, if you're sure..." Kenta's mother answered, and Karin felt guilty when she sensed that Kenta's mom had wanted her to go with.

"Next time we'll go, all three of us!" Karin promised as she grabbed hold of the woman's hands in determination, "I promise!" she added confidently as Kenta's mom gave her a thankful smile.

"I'd like that," she replied sweetly, and Karin held in the need to embrace her. Ever since Kenta had promised to allow her to bite him whenever she needed it, she hadn't reacted to his mother misfortunes. Karin could still sense his mother's moods though, and couldn't deny the fact that she was still battling her miseries over Kenta's missing father.

"Well, you better get going if your family is expecting you," Kenta's mother stated as she seemed to mentally shake herself out of her willowing thoughts.

"Yeah," Karin replied solemnly as she turned to look back at Kenta, who had already gotten out of bed and put on a fresh shirt.

"I can walk you if you want," Kenta offered before turning to his mom, "you wouldn't mind, would you, Mom? It'll only take a second," he promised as she gave him a swift nod with a smile.

"Just remember that we have to go shopping! I don't want you crashing at Karin's place," she told him rather sternly as he gave her a swift nod before ushering Karin out the door.

Once they were outside Karin felt the sudden tug of Kenta's aura and she felt her heart pulse strongly before she glanced up at him worriedly. She saw him looking back at his apartment for a moment, almost sadly, before he turned to look back at her.

"What is it, Karin?" he asked curiously, and Karin almost shrugged off her reaction like she had so many times in the past, but they were together now. Being together meant that she couldn't hide things from Kenta, not that she'd really want to. She enjoyed the openness that they had with each other, and she loved that she could trust him.

"I felt my blood increase just now," she informed him honestly, and gave his arm a reassuring pat when she noted the look of worry that crossed his features, "are you upset about something?" she asked. Karin noted Kenta hesitate for a moment, like he was worried about what to tell her, before his shoulders relaxed and he seemed to give in to her.

"I'm just worried about my mom," he admitted as he gave his apartment another far away look, "I worry that she'll never pull out of her depression, and move on from my dad. She deserves someone who will treasure her, and treat her right," he added.

Karin stared back at him admirably, and couldn't deny that the love she felt radiating off Kenta for his mother was wonderful. That such a man like Kenta could even exist...it blew Karin's mind sometimes.

"I'm sure she'll find someone," Karin assured him as she wrapped her arm around his affectionately, "he'll come when she least expects it!" Karin added with a light giggle. Just the thought of a possible romance brought out a girlie giggle that Karin simply couldn't suppress. She had to admit that she tended to be a hopeless romantic.

The two walked together in accepted silence, and once they neared the entranceway to her home Kenta tugged her close. Karin felt her heart rate increase when he wrapped two strong arms around her body and pressed a soft kiss against her forehead.

She pulled away slightly to look up at him as they shared admiring looks before both moved in to seal their love with a kiss. When they pulled away, Karin caught Kenta's face in her hands as she stared into his eyes determinedly.

"I love you, Kenta Usui," she told him firmly. Kenta's face warmed in a blush before he gave her a smile and took her face in his hands as well.

"And I love you, Karin Maaka," he answered, and the two stared at each other for a moment before they started laughing at how silly they probably looked.

"I hope you have fun shopping with your mom," Karin told him as they let go of each other's faces and put some space between them.

"It won't be as much fun as it is when you and I go grocery shopping," Kenta stated with a half smile, "she doesn't buy thirty heads of garlic like you do," he teased as Karin let out a light giggle at the memory.

"They were cheap!" she defended as Kenta let out a laugh and nodded.

"I know," he replied with a grin, "I better go, or we'll be saying goodbye all day," he added as they shared a quick kiss before Kenta waved goodbye to her while he began walking back home. Karin waved back and watched him go until he was out of sight. When she couldn't see the blue scarf that she had knitted for him last Christmas billowing in the wind, she turned to go inside.

The moment she stepped into her house, Karin was happy to find that everything was in order. Her family hadn't been too active the night before, which was a good sign. Karin let a soft yawn escape her as she took to the steps of the staircase two at a time. While she had slept quite well with Kenta last night, she hadn't gotten many hours of actual sleep.

"I'll take a quick nap, and then do some homework," Karin sighed happily as she reached the top of the stairs. As she walked down the large hallway she passed Ren's door, and remembered that she had lent her brother one of her history books from class. She'd need it if she wanted to do her homework later on.

So, she paused in front of Ren's room as she mulled over going inside. Typically Ren slept in his coffin, but there were the few times when he'd sleep in his bed whenever he got tired of his coffin. Karin wondered if she'd get lucky and he'd be asleep in the basement.

"I'll just tell him that I needed my book to finish my homework," Karin murmured reassuringly to herself as she turned the knob and opened the door, only to gasp loudly in surprise.

Ren was in his room, but he wasn't alone.

There, amongst the layers of his bedsheets, laid her best friend Maki. Her friend didn't stir as Karin's eyes turned from her to Ren, who was standing a few feet away from his bed with what looked like Maki's shirt balled in his hand.

"What did you do to Maki?" Karin screamed in outrage as she tried to piece together what she saw, and what it could possibly mean. Had Ren...seduced Maki? In all her life she had never imagined that her older brother would ever be interested in her best friend.

Not only was Ren a womanizer, but Maki was nothing like the women Ren was into! Karin and Anju had already fought over this when Maki had been her first bite. Couldn't Ren understand that Maki meant a lot to her?

"It's not what it looks like," Ren assured her gently as he slowly brought up his hands, "just relax – there's nothing to – "

"I – Is that blood?" Karin shrieked when she noted the blood stain on Maki's favorite purple blouse, "did you bite her?" she asked as her face got hot when a rather disturbing image of her brother lovingly biting into her best friend's neck appeared in her mind.

"No, I didn't bite her," Ren scolded in a whisper, "don't you think I have any self control?"

"No!" Karin replied angrily, "Maki's my best friend! How could you?"

"Karin...?" Maki called out to her softly as she rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands before she sat up to look at her friend with hazy green eyes.

Karin stared back at her friend, horrified, when she saw that from the waist up all Maki was wearing was a bra. And a rather sexy bra at that. Karin hadn't even known that her friend was into wearing lace.

"What time is it? Did I oversleep?" Maki asked groggily as she turned her sleepy gaze from Karin to Ren. Karin noted his body stiffen when their eyes locked. Karin observed the rather awkward exchange between them as her previous anger began to subside. She wondered instead if Ren had tried to sneak in, and Maki hadn't the faintest idea he was there.

Her suspicions were soon answered when Maki angrily screamed "pervert!" and threw one of his pillows at his head.


A/N: I know this is kind of an odd place to end, but it's really late, and this is how far my brain is willing to work for me tonight. Hope everyone liked it!