Since she couldn't leave the Sakamaki mansion (except to go to school), Shizuka had taken one of the many spare bedrooms. This place looked like it was built to house an entire clan, if what Shuu said was true than she'd be right. Her things had been arranged to be brought from her apartment to the mansion. It wasn't as if she could go back there now, seeing as she'd been ordered to stay here or be killed. "By a certain bespectacled vampire" she thought bitterly. The impression she originally had of Reiji didn't do him any justice. The Reiji she'd seen at school looked tame in comparison to the one that lived in this vast mansion. It had been two weeks since Shizuka first set foot in this mansion, she wasn't quite sure if she regretted coming here. Shizuka sat on the bed staring at the bedroom door, hoping that no one would come through it. It was hopeless however, knowing that they could appear and disappear whenever and wherever they please. There was a loud knock on the door, Shizuka flinched at the sound before the door slowly opened. Leaning against the doorway the youngest brother, Subaru scowled at her impatiently. "Reiji wants you to come downstairs" he said sternly, "for the monthly family dinner".
"Dinner?" she repeated, "are you expecting me to let you lead me there?" Shizuka asked. 'Dinner', or food in general meant blood, human blood….her blood. "Was Shuu going to drink my blood in front of everyone else?", she thought as a blush creeped up her cheeks at the idea. He'd done that in front of Reiji and Raito already, Reiji looked furious while Raito looked like he enjoyed it a little too much. "Was everyone else going to drink my blood?" she thought, "probably". Shizuka looked up at Subaru, his hands were balled up into tight fists ready to lash out at something.
"Are you coming or what?" he snarled, his red eyes glaring at her. "It's not as if I enjoy sitting with them eating human food", he snapped. Shizuka sighed with relief, so she herself wasn't the main course after all. She steadily stood up and followed Subaru out of the room. In the past, she'd only seen him around school. He was in the year below so she didn't know him very well, at school he was often found sleeping in the library. She walked down the dark hallway with him in silence, they didn't say a single word to each other as they walked. He would occasionally turn his head and scowl at her. He led her to the dining hall, where the other brothers gathered around a long table. Yui sat across from Ayato, she smiled when she noticed Shizuka come into the room. Shizuka took the empty seat between Shuu and Reiji, Shuu had opened one blue eye to see that she arrived. Reiji pushed his glasses up his nose, and began to eat the food in front of him. Shizuka looked down as her own food, she felt a hunger pang as she looked at the many dishes before her. It was a shame that there was the usual awkward silence in the air. She looked around the table, Ayato, Yui and Subaru eat in silence while Kanato began to help himself to the slice of cake. Raito was staring at her from where he sat as he eat, wearing his usual lecherous smirk.
Next to her Reiji muttered "it's extremely impolite to leave your food untouched". Shizuka looked over at Shuu, who had only taken a few bites of his food. A smirk of her own began to appear on her face, it was a foolish idea and any sensible person would be horrified at the thought of it. Right now, anything was better than sitting quietly and obediently, taking small demure bites and sips of her food and drink. Her hands reached for her knife and fork, violently cutting a large chunk of the stake in front of her. Reiji was startled by her actions, his cutlery froze in place as his eyes observed her. Her was piercing into the large chunk of rich meat, which would barely fit inside her mouth. She smiled a mischievous, defiant smile up at Reiji before she proceeded to stuff the whole piece of meat into her mouth. She chewed loudly with her mouth open, watching Reiji's eyes widen in horror. Ayato and Raito erupted into laughter, seeing their uptight half brother look like he was about to throw a fit. Yui's eyes widened in shock as well, not out of anger but out of fear. In the time she spent at the mansion she had gotten to know and fear the other brothers. She herself wouldn't dare consider behaving that way in front of Reiji. Reiji tried not to cause a scene as Shizuka stuffed mouthful after mouthful of food into her mouth. She only stopped once for a drink, reaching for the glass of red wine in front of her. She quickly drank the dark red liquid as if she were a child drinking juice. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Shuu with an amused smirk as he watched her. Her bare hand reached for the slice of cake, sinking her fingers into the cream and the soft sponge underneath.
A moment ago, Reiji's eyes were wide with horrified astonishment. Now they were narrowed as he stared her down as if to say "don't you dare". She pulled the chunk of cake from her plate and stuffed it into her mouth with her hand. After she was done demolishing the slice of cake, she licked the excess icing off her fingers. With that she pulled out her chair, stood up and walked confidently out of the dining hall. Her stomach ached from the sudden rush of food into her body as she walked back to her room, but the look of absolute horror on Reiji's face was worth it. Shizuka wasn't strong enough to fight any of them, but she wasn't going to completely submit to them. However, her good mood died almost instantly when she opened the door to find Reiji sitting in the corner of the room. He sat in the armchair at the corner of the room, sipping a cup of tea as he held the saucer in his gloved hand. He didn't bother looking up at her when she came inside, "just who exactly do you think you are?" he asked sternly.
"I'll tell you what I'm not..." Shizuka answered as she learned against the wall. "I'm not your doll, I'm not your pet, I'm not a servant who takes orders from you!", despite her yelling Reiji seemed unfazed. That was until he finished drinking his tea and set the cup and saucer down on the bedside table. In the blink of an eye he was right in front of her, boxing her in with his face mere inches from hers.
Reiji's left hand held Shizuka's chin to make him look at her, while his right hand was pressed against the wall. Shizuka stared directly into his eyes, trying as hard as she could to look brave. In his eyes she saw anger and possibly hunger too, it was clear human food wouldn't satisfy their appetites. "That is correct, you would be less troublesome if you were any of those things", Reiji's hand slowly moved from her chin to her throat. "Instead, what you are is a high maintenance harlot who is fond of that spineless, good for nothing, deadbeat" he hissed furiously. Slowly but surely his grip on her throat was becoming tighter, "I never understood his fascination with mortals" he mused. Shizuka struggled and fought against his grip, her eyes trying their best to maintain their defiant glare. "Creatures who serve no other purpose other than to satisfy my hunger, nothing more" he whispered. Shizuka kicked at him, but if had no effect. He didn't seem to enjoy it the way Raito did, but he was unfazed by it. Shizuka didn't cry or scream, even though many people would think she would be foolish for doing so. For one thing, it was difficult to do so when you are doing everything you can to focus on breathing. Another thing was that no one would hear her, no one would come for her. Shizuka violently spat in his face in anger as she continued to fight her. Reiji was furious now as he slammed Shizuka's head against the wall behind her. She fought even harder to keep to keep from crying out in pain, her shallow breaths replacing the screams. Suddenly Reiji released her, watching as she fell on her knees to the floor.
"Aren't you going to kill me?" she coughed, although secretly relieved he didn't.
"Make no mistake I will" He said, "but not before I hear your melodic screams of pain and agony. Do not think me so kind to put an end to you so quickly, so easily. I will break you and watch as you shatter before my very eyes". Shizuka fought to breath evenly, to compose herself, make it seem like his threats didn't frighten her. "If I were you, it would be wise for you to learn your place here" he said as he vanished. Leaving Shizuka kneeling on the floor, too shocked, too stunned to get up. That was a side of Reiji that she had never seen, and it terrified her more than the strict, arrogant person she believed him to be. She tried to get up, clutching the doorframe for support. Her hands and legs shook as she tried, she wanted to cry or scream for help...but she couldn't. She couldn't give them the satisfaction of watching her suffer. She searched through her things to find some clothes, a towel, and some toiletries. Shizuka hoped a warm bath would calm her, she was also worried that the others would spy on her.
She gathered her things before walking towards the bathroom, she looked around her to make sure no one was watching her. She stepped inside, and locked the door in hopes of keeping them out. Although after she locked the door, she quickly realized she wasn't alone. Not because someone was spying on her, but because someone was already having a bath. That someone was Shuu, who for some odd reason was bathing fully clothed and listening to music. That didn't stop her cheeks feeling hot as she tried to look away.
He opened one eye to look at her standing in the bathroom doorway. "Were you expecting to see me naked?" he asked her ,Shizuka didn't answer as she tried to look at her bare feet on the clean tiled floor. "You are brave enough to display appalling table manners in front of Reiji, and yet you shy away from a simple question?", she heard a soft chuckle at the mention of it. "Such a strange human indeed" he mused, still staring at her.
Shizuka tried to change the subject, "I don't usually expect to see anyone bathing fully clothed" she said. Taking small steps as she crossed the space between them. "Aren't you going to catch a cold?" she asked him, he only shook his head in response. He opened his eyes to look at her, Shizuka could only stare back at him as his deep blue eyes held hers.
"Do you want to join me?" he asked, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. Shizuka felt like her heart threatened to burst through her ribs, the memory of what happened in the music room clear in her mind. Shuu was the only one who didn't frighten her, no matter how he tried to convince her otherwise. She dipped her fingers into the bath water, it felt cold but not unbearable.
"I-I shouldn't" Shizuka stammered, trying to look away from him. She could still feel his gaze burning into her skin.
"That still doesn't answer my question" he said, Shizuka's hand rippled through the bath water as she contemplated what she would do next.
"I should probably help you out of there" she said, reaching out to take his arm. A voice inside her head kept screaming at her, telling her to walk away now. Over time, that voice became quieter, until it was barely a whisper. She tried to hoist him out the of the bathtub. even though she was only a few inches shorter, he was still heavy to carry. With one arm over her shoulder, she practically dragged him to his room down the hall. When she opened the door, she set him down on the bed. His wet clothes had dampened hers, as well as the bed sheets. Shuu looked annoyed as she had pulled him from a perfectly good sleep. She was about to go over to the wardrobe to get a dry change of clothes, when Shuu suddenly reached out and pulled her down next to him. In that moment, Shizuka had to remember how to breath as she stared in the his deep blue eyes.
"If you're going to awaken me, then make it worth my time" he growled, Shizuka's heartbeat thundered painfully as she leaned in to kiss him. She felt his hand around the back of her neck, pulling her close. After what seemed like an hour, she pulled away to unbutton her blouse and remove her ribbon. She brushed her shirt lapels to away, until it hung off her body like a shawl. Shuu leaned in, piercing her neck with his fangs. Shizuka felt the sharp pain of his fangs, and his colds hands holding on to her. Her own hands balled up into fists as she held on to the bedsheets. As he released her chuckled darkly "you still don't understand, do you? How long can you go on acting as if this doesn't frighten you?". In an instant Shizuka was pushed onto her front, she felt Shuu's breath on her back and he bit into her shoulder. "No matter how you try to hide, I can always taste the bitterness of fear in your blood", Shizuka felt him smiling against her back. He moaned as he savored the taste of her blood, tasting her fears and desires as he drank.
"I'm not afraid, I trust him, he wouldn't want to kill me" she protested in her mind, until a voice said in her mind tried to warn her "except he wants you to fear him, he wants to break you until you are nothing more than a doll". Shuu's scent filled her nostrils, as she buried her face in the pillow, inhaling into the fabric which Shuu rested his blonde head on day after day. She heard the rattle of drawers on the bedside table as Shuu reached for something. Shizuka was about to look up to see what it was, until she felt cold metal against her skin. She heard the sound of fabric being torn, she shuddered as the blade touched the skin on her thigh.
Shizuka felt his fingers trailing against the soft, pink, lace fabric of her underwear. "Such innocent underwear for someone so bold" he remarked, as he turned her on to her back. Shuu lifted one of her legs onto his shoulder, his nose inhaling the scent of leg blood coursing through her calf. As he sank his fangs into her skin, the sharp pain served as a reminder that this wasn't a dream. In time she came to enjoy the sensation it gave her, the way her body felt weightless yet alive.
Shizuka felt the knife tear through her underwear as she lay there, exposed, vulnerable, with nothing to hide and nothing to fear. Her eyes glazed over with lust as she stared up at him, never daring to look away from him. Bite after bite and kiss after kiss marked her body, branding her and serving as a reminder of this night. This night in which she had become intertwined with him, he became a part of her as she became a part of him. The world around them seemed to drift away as she felt his icy, cold skin against hers. as they lost themselves in each other's bodies, Shizuka had given him her heart, body, and soul.