CHAPTER 10: I Was Once a Slave
Two hours before sunset. Thick, gray clouds began to cover the whole sky, and soon rain started to pour. Each drop upon the mud sounded as heavy as a stranger's footfall approaching his doorstep. Deep underground in his office, Hideaki watched the rainstorm from his computer monitor. The screen showed four panels at a time, each telling of the activities inside and around the lair. A glass of wine in one hand, he switched back and forth among various CCTV cameras. His gaze was fixed upon the screen, but his mind was somewhere else. It drifted back one hundred and fifty years ago to that cold night when he had stood by the thick, wooden backdoor of a cheap motel in Moscow, soaked in heavy rain. Five days prior, he had just escaped from Searrs headquarter in Tomsk. His life then had taken a different path, which he had intended never to look back.
The old, metal pin sat idly in front of the monitor, and even though he tried not to look at it, it was always present at the corner of his eyes, always in his mind. He shuddered as his mind raced to find what they would want with him now. The presence of the pin deeply disturbed him how they managed to find him and haunted him even in his own crypt.
His troubled mind was then interrupted by Natsuki showing up on one of the panels on the monitor. After a long conversation during lunch with him, Natsuki left the lair in the afternoon with her bodyguards, and had just returned. Striding confidently through the lobby, she headed into the living room towards the hidden passage, careless of the whispers and baleful glares from some pack members in the hallway. Over the past few years, Hideaki admitted of his failures to persuade her to reconsider living at the lair again, but the three large suitcases in the bodyguards' hands looked hopeful to him. It had only been roughly 12 hours since the capture of the rogue vampire, but his daughter didn't hesitate.
His pensive gaze moved from the living room panel to the panel on the top left of the screen. Fujino Shizuru had naturally wakened up at the hour of twilight as a vampire was spiritually and bodily connected to the night. Their hunger usually struck the harshest at midnight. While most vampires followed such strict routines and diets, Shizuru struck him as being somewhat different. Judging from her strength which, in most cases, came with age, the vampire might be the solution he had been searching for.
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Shizuru sat herself up, her long legs crossed. She was irritated by the handcuff, which allowed her arms very limited movements. But a small, subtle sigh was the only sign of displease she was going to display. She didn't want the guards to enjoy her torture too much since she already considered sitting behind the bars a disgrace.
To her pleasant surprise, the artificial UV light had slightly lost its power on her, though she would never get too comfortable with it. Her eyes now bore the dull crimson shade, and her sight had returned. Although her hair still bled in the lighter shade of blonde, she entertained herself with the thought of a temporary dye.
Glancing around the square, gray room, Shizuru noted four guards playing poker, smoking in the corner of the room. They seemed to be enjoying themselves with a bottle of whiskey and meaningless chats about which girl wolves they'd like to date. For the large part of their lives, werewolves remained their lifestyle pretty much the same as when they were humans, only their supernatural strength provided them with the inevitability to be more aggressive and violent. While werewolves remained in touch with their human nature, vampires usually surrendered their humanity to their thirst and hunger. It was probably the very reason Shizuru felt far less threatened to come close to werewolves than with one of her own kind.
The door burst open and revealed Natsuki in the doorway. She was in a white sweater and a pair of black leather pants. Her long, raven hair was pulled up into a bun, exposing her lustrous green eyes against her pale skin.
Involuntarily, Shizuru noted the fresh, wonderful smell from the woman. She had to ponder how the werewolves handled their life in a world clouded with endless scents almost at all times. The allure and apprehension it brought was frustrating enough for a vampire like her.
The guards popped up from their seats so quickly they almost toppled the chairs and saluted her. In turn, Natsuki looked down at the liquor bottle and littered cigarette butts, and then gave them a glare.
"Leave us." Natsuki's tone unmistakably implied the urgency of her serious business here. The guards quickly nodded and left the room. Only one of them hurried back in to collect the cards and the whiskey, madly bowing to Natsuki in apology.
When the door was closed, Natsuki rolled her eyes and shook her head at the guards' inept discipline. "I can't believe these guys."
Shizuru couldn't help but chortle. "Have you come to save me? It's about time."
"Save you? 'Curse you' is more like it. Do you know how much trouble you're causing me? The whole pack is thinking that I'm taking a vampire's side." Natsuki walked to the bars and knelt down to get a closer look at Shizuru. "Whoa, your eyes! You—you can see now?" Relief evidently settled in her eyes.
"I'm beginning to think that these bars can't hold me forever. Better let your daddy know, so that he'd put me somewhere with a sunroof." Shizuru shifted in her pose, trying to lose the discomfort around her wrists.
Hugging her knees, Natsuki studied the captive with a curious look. "With all those drunken bastards here, you could probably break out of this cell yourself."
"It wouldn't be so much fun, would it? I'd like to see a werewolf breaking me out instead," Shizuru lied with a smile. She had regained her sight, but she was in no condition to flee on her own with so little blood she had taken after the three-week slumber in the flooded tunnel.
"Baka," Natsuki grumbled, briefly looking away.
"Any refreshment for me? A few rats, perhaps? That's the least you could do for a prisoner."
"Too bad. I wasn't allowed to bring any foods, drinks or weapons in here."
"No food. No escape plan. I'm truly disappointed." Shizuru faked a frown.
"If you think I'd force your way out of here, you're wrong. I'll never turn against my own kind. I'll be diplomatic for once since it's a vampire's life on the line. As you can see, I'm not in a hurry," Natsuki stated, perking her chin up.
Shizuru nodded. "That's very encouraging to hear."
"Now, turn around. Let me see your back."
Shizuru momentarily stopped. "I'm quite all right." The nasty wounds on her back hadn't healed, although her mind had tried to tune out the searing pain.
"Yeah, right." Natsuki got up and walked around the cell to take a look on the wounds.
"I'm fine, really. Natsuki, you don't have to… No, stop…" But Natsuki didn't seem to listen. Shizuru shot up to her feet and fiercely turned to face her. "Stop." Her voice came out gentle, and her tone was even as practiced.
Natsuki halted at once. "What was that…? The skin—your skin was…"
Shizuru stared straight into the green eyes, capturing Natsuki body and mind. Her lips eventually parted, and she whispered, "You didn't see anything."
The two stood face to face for a long moment before Natsuki slowly turned and walked back to her previous spot. She sat down on her heels and tiredly rubbed her face, her shoulders trembling.
Shizuru then sat down and crossed her legs as she did before, her gaze fixing upon Natsuki. "Are you all right, Natsuki?" She found it strange that she was, indeed, sincere in her question, and not just striking up a trivial conversation to bring Natsuki back.
"Where… Where was I…? Oh, yeah, I had to move back here now, because, frankly, other than Chie and I, the rest of the pack want to see you dead. You see now all the troubles you're causing me? Damn it. I hate being here."
"But this is your home." Shizuru kept her tone flat. She continued to watch the werewolf for further side effects.
Natsuki were rubbing her arms as if she was cold. Her empty, yet frustrated gaze drifted away and came to fix upon a dark spot on the stony ground. Natsuki's mind was now a temporary blend of various tastes, sounds and scents she didn't recognize their sources.
I'm sorry, Natsuki. But it's for the best for both of us…
It was one of the oldest powers practiced among vampires, in which Shizuru had always considered it a dark art. The feat required much mind power and precision from a vampire, or else the result could have gone awfully wrong. A grave example was how Reito mind murdered his former lover, Tokiha Mai. She believed that it wasn't his full intention to bodily harm her, but it was due to his failure to control his power. In various other cases, the victim's cerebral capability was completely damaged.
"Natsuki?" Shizuru asked again when Natsuki failed to respond. She must admit that Natsuki was among the hardest people she had ever cast the spell on. Being a natural born werewolf meant many things, Shizuru was certain of that.
"Yeah," Natsuki finally retorted, letting out a big sigh. Her gaze seemed to be clearer, her voice livelier. "Yeah, it should feel like home, but it doesn't. Aside from my father, they don't see me as one of them because I'm a natural born… Yeah, they might be right after all." She looked uncomfortable talking about it, but Shizuru was pleased that she did open up a little.
"You are special," Shizuru remarked.
Natsuki instantly looked away. "No. Far from it. I couldn't save Aoi and Suzushiro. I couldn't save Ahn."
Shizuru took a deep breath in and assured, "There was nothing you could do about it. It's important that you tried."
"Why didn't you turn Ahn? You could have… You could have a friend."
A friend.
Shizuru looked up, struck by Natsuki's genuine sentiment. Having a companion was never one of her immediate needs. In fact, she feared it. She feared the attachment and regrets that were almost inevitable to follow. Her path had best to be alone. However, a slightly different approach now might be more fitting, considering her current situation.
"Have you ever turned someone?" Shizuru asked.
Natsuki shook her head, anticipation and curiosity in her eyes. "Never. And my dad doesn't really fancy the idea either… Well… What's it like?"
Shizuru closed her eyes for a moment, biting her lips as she recalled the sensation she used to feel long ago. "It's an intense—crazy intense feeling when you connect with someone, when you take and then give life to them. Your blood boils. Your body aches with ecstasy. The sky is blue, and you walk on golden clouds. But it's fleeting… When the illusion is gone, your friends are no longer who you think they are. You are not who you think you are." Shizuru put up a smile, but she doubted that it looked convincing. "Time is cruel, Natsuki. Time has left me with nothing—no one."
"But Ahn loved you. She would never betray you," Natsuki said almost in frustration.
Ahn was a feisty, aggressive combatant. She was a competent Searrs agent, but she was too kind that living a life as a vampire might break her. Such cases were not at all uncommon; Shizuru didn't want to be held responsible, facing hatred from her companion. To complicate the matter, Shizuru doubted if she'd be able to protect Ahn from the danger that was herself.
"We cannot know what the future holds. She shouldn't have been there from the start."
"And my mother?"
At the mention of Saeko, Shizuru just raised her brows in response, uncertain of where the conversation was heading.
Natsuki narrowed her eyes. "Why did you befriend her when you didn't have to? Were you lonely?"
Shizuru laughed aloud. "Natsuki, you're as inquisitive as your mother was. You asked many questions this evening."
"Why is it so unbecoming for you to just admit that you were lonely?" Natsuki gestured at the glowing bars. "I'm in the position to inquire, and you must comply—"
"I was." Shizuru's extremely soft, mumbled admission went by like a flash of lightning, and she sealed it with a smile.
"What? Oh, come on," Natsuki griped. She then edged closer to the bars and gave the vampire an evil smirk. "I know you're hungry. I can get you something."
"In fact, I'm rather thirsty. Might I have a sip of your blood?"
Natsuki paused for a moment, clearly displeased. "You know what? I think you're gonna like it here. We're like a big, big family, Shizuru. You won't have to be lonely anymore."
"Brothers and sisters who want to fork my eyeballs out. I like your humor," Shizuru deadpanned.
"I see that you two are getting along well," a calm voice interrupted.
Natsuki spun around and stopped at the sight of her father by the doorway. "Dad."
Hideaki was properly dressed in a black polo shirt and a pair of light gray pants. He had entered with a glass of blood, which could easily pass as wine. Shizuru's eyes widened as her senses heightened.
"It's still warm." He approached the cell and stuck his hand through the hot bars.
Shizuru got on her knees and moved towards his offering hand. Her skin sizzled as she neared the bars, but she was willing to endure it as long as she had the blood. He tilted the glass a little, enabling her to drink from the glass. In one big gulp, she dried the glass and felt the skin on her back growing to replace the dead, scale-like skin around her wounds. She had to close her eyes for a moment to capture all the flourishing feelings roaming inside of her. She needed it. Badly. She needed it more than she would ever admit.
Shizuru opened her eyes again and stared up at Hideaki. "You wanted me to see him…"
Natsuki looked perplexed for a second before rushing to her father's side. "What is it, dad? Was it your blood? You—you gave her your blood?" she asked, frowning.
Hideaki had given Shizuru some specific information, and it'd take a powerful being to be able to bleed selected memories onto the drops. She didn't think any werewolf was able to manage the trick, and Hideaki was certainly hiding something.
Glowering down at the vampire, Hideaki tightened his grip on the fragile glass. "Do you know him?"
With the placid smile on her face, Shizuru sat on her heels, but did not move away from the hot bars. She was letting her captor know that she wasn't afraid of his threats—that she wasn't going to give it to him so easily.
Hideaki watched her with deep interest. He had noted her hint and clapped his hands. Two guards came rushing into the room.
"Open the cell," Hideaki ordered.
Natsuki's face beamed for a brief moment before she looked worried again. "Dad, what's going on here? What are you gonna do to her?"
"It's all right, Natsuki. I just thought that we'd go for a walk." Hideaki reassured at his daughter.
Shizuru shook her wrists when they were released from the handcuff, satisfaction written on her face. She walked out of the cell and came to stand in front of Hideaki. She smiled. "You shouldn't trust me."
"I don't trust you. I'm using you." He smiled back.
"Saeko would be pleased if she knew that you've learned from her."
"Hey, don't you dare mentioning my mother that way!" Natsuki walked up to face the vampire.
Shizuru didn't take it as an offense. In truth, she found it sweet that Natsuki had quickly acted defensive of her late mother. "Let's try to stay friendly, shall we? I had nothing against your mother. She did what she had to do, and I understood her more than you'd know."
Taking a step back, Natsuki only stared back at the vampire.
"Follow me." Hideaki turned to leave the room. Shizuru and Natsuki quietly followed him, but he turned around and said, "Go back to your room, Natsuki. Your presence wouldn't be required."
"Just you and her? No way! It's way too dangerous for you to—"
"I thought that she's a friend of yours?" Hideaki smiled knowingly.
"Uh—well—she's still a… a vampire. A—and you hardly know her, dad."
Chuckling, Shizuru stepped up and nudged the younger woman. "Oh, Natsuki, I'll make sure that your father comes back in one piece." It amused her that Natsuki's only response was a deep blush.
As soon as Shizuru walked out of the unit, she met with vindictive glares from the guards, but she tried not to let the sentiment affect her. To her growing paranoia, Hideaki ordered the guards to leave them for a private business, in which the men looked anxious but obeyed nonetheless.
As they trekked along the extensive, narrow corridor that was lit by torches on the stony wall, her vision improved in the dark, catching the fumes and trails of dust Hideaki's leather shoes kicked off the ground. Over his shoulder, she could see a flight of stairs at the end of the passageway, and she had to wonder how deep she had been detained underground.
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Natsuki rushed out into the corridor and saw her father and Shizuru taking the staircase to the upper level. Something really odd struck her as they would need to take a different direction to get to the central hall.
Wasting no time, she hurried towards the opposite end of the corridor. She entered the rusty elevator and pulled the doors closed. The elevator brought her three levels up to the residential floor, and there she met with several pack members who had gathered around in the hallway. They stopped all their activities at once. They were as stunned to see her as she was inwardly intimidated by their blatant stares. Many had not heard of her return. She practically sprinted towards her bedroom, which had been kept tidy and clean even after years of her absence. Her father was too joyous to utter a single word when she told him that she was moving back in today.
The moment she entered her room, she promptly kicked the door shut and locked it. Right by the door stood a two-foot-tall, wooden cupboard, a set of teacups and a teapot on a tray on top of it. The low-ceiling, sandstone-wall room accommodated a worn, leather couch, a flat-screen TV, bookshelves that were filled with books, computer peripherals, DVDs, an old pair of headphones, and some yellowing scribbled notes she left there to rot a few years ago. The creamy curtains in the middle of the room separated the other side of the room for a more relaxing space. The area offered a wardrobe, a writing desk and a chair next to her bed.
Natsuki took a quick look around her room and she only realized now how she had missed it—how she often thought of those nights she spent reading or watching movies with her father and Yuuichi by the couch. Indeed, it was her home.
But she quickly brushed the thought away and resumed the task at hand. Her gaze scanned for the three bags the bodyguards had brought in. They were put on the floor near the footboard. She took her laptop out of one of the bags and turned it on. Yamada, one of her connections for underground information and alternative technologies, had provided her with a valuable device that enabled her to transmit nearby signals into her own computer. Simply plugging in the device, she could watch the surveillance channels from her father's office.
Sitting on the couch, Natsuki had her laptop comfortably on her lap. All cameras were ready at her disposal. She switched the channels until she found Shizuru and her father walking along the corridor.
Oii, Yamada, you're the best!
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Hideaki led the way to the upper level, and Shizuru followed, though not too closely. His footsteps were heavy and almost reluctant, unlike his projected calm manners and cool voice. He must be having second thought on whatever he was going to let her on. Briefly, Shizuru turned to look over her shoulder to the narrow path she had just come from, and wondered what on earth had made Hideaki to hide so deep underground as if he were a vampire himself. The place looked cold and lifeless. The air was heavy and humid, and the atmosphere bore the weight of solitude. No wonder Natsuki disliked living in her father's spooky crypt.
Eventually, they reached the upper level that led to another long corridor lit by red fluorescent floor lamps. Shizuru sniffed a little and glanced around for any sign of threats. He showed her a steel door at the end of the walkway, and somehow she didn't particularly like to guess what lied behind it.
They entered. What Shizuru found was a large, circular space which fitted to be a command center for an underground organization. Stacks of documents and boxes filled the office cubicles to her left. The busy desks and a dozen computers were left void of any occupants.
Shizuru glanced up and around, noting surveillance cameras affixed to the ceiling. She had noticed the cameras in her jail room and along the passageways as well. It seemed that Hideaki had created his army slowly and cautiously to match Searrs.
They walked further into the room. Hideaki unlocked another door with his pin code and led her through. The adjacent room was equal in size, if not bigger, but it was definitely much colder. The ceiling was approximately 30 meters higher than the control center. Scientific supplies and equipment filled the long shelves and carts in the left corner of the room. Four, large refrigerators stood to her right. Several steel tables, which looked similar to dissection tables, stood in the middle of the room. Each table offered a headrest, a set for arm and leg locks. They were empty and clean, but Shizuru could sense the spirit of anger and pain lingering in the air by just looking at them.
"Brave men and women had perished on these tables, but they never lost their courage," Hideaki said as he walked past the row of tables.
Instinctively, Shizuru turned around and looked up to see a group of seven men and women in white lab coats behind the glass window of what seemed to be a small waiting room upstairs. They all were staring down at her, stoic in their post. Fear hid deep in their eyes, but she could feel it. They probably had been notified earlier of her visit, and had then left their workstations and locked themselves up in the room.
"You were a brilliant scientist. It's funny that you're now trying to build an army. You do better with dead people on the tables," Shizuru commented in her casual, melodic voice, winking up at the group of ashen-faced scientists above.
Hideaki only smiled at her attempt to demean his achievement. He walked further in, and she quietly followed. They came to stop at three water tanks, each containing a human, waiting for them to resuscitate as immortals.
Shizuru watched them with great interest. The humans seemed to be in a blissful sleep even though their bodies were pierced and connected with several tubes that would almost certainly choke them when they wakened. She had a mischievous smile on her face.
"What's so amusing?" Hideaki asked, sincerely curious as he studied her.
"It's quite sad. They have no idea what's waiting for them."
Hideaki raised his brows. "You don't hold a very high opinion of the immortals, do you? I can see that the sentiment is quite common among older vampires."
Shizuru took note of the hint in his remark, but continued to inspect the pale bodies inside the tanks. A rather low percentage of humans had successful operations. Many of them must have died during the process. In the modern era, Werewolves were a product of science. Like factory goods, some were bound to be defected. "Why are you showing me this?" she finally asked.
The hum of water pumping into the tanks was loud enough to keep their conversation private. Hideaki walked around the tank and stared at her through the glass.
"You're strong, Fujino."
At the use of her last name, Shizuru looked up at him, and their gazes locked in a cold, silent duel.
"Natsuki and I had a long talk over lunch today. She told me a lot of things, and she also mentioned stories Ahn told her. She seemed to be fascinated by you… as I am…" Hideaki had a smile on his face, but she somehow sensed the brutality behind it.
His doubt over Ahn's intention and sincerity was enough of a reason to make Shizuru want to attack him. But she suppressed all her anger like a weight of stone over a feather. Her eyes watched his every movement. If she were to strike a prey in her disadvantage, she knew not to rush. She'd wait for a perfect moment for a perfect kill.
"Natsuki believes that Fujino Satoshi, the leader of the Kyoto coven was your maker. She also said that, for some unknown reasons, you sold them out to Uriah, leading them to a tragic massacre. I'd say that was cold-blooded. Why would you destroy your own nest when you clearly didn't benefit from it? You didn't go back to Uriah. You have no home of your own, and you certainly have no allies. This cannot be a way of an immortal. This cannot be what you had in mind unless…"
Shizuru stood still, glowering at him. She never treated kindly to the threats to expose her past, and it took every ounce of her conscience now not to act precipitately.
A triumphant smile on his face, Hideaki continued, "You're exceptionally strong, Fujino. I've realized that since we last met almost fifty years ago. Not many immortals would realize the full extent of your strength because they've never encountered the elders themselves… I'd like to think that Satoshi wasn't your maker. In fact, I'm willing to believe that you're much older than he was. Did you kill him to bury the truth? Now that the whole coven is dead, no one would ever suspect—"
Suddenly, Hideaki found himself cut off by the cold hands around his neck, the force thrusting him against the glass of the tank. Shizuru had moved against him faster than his eyes could catch.
"Are you trying to provoke me?" She hissed in his face, tightening her grip.
"I… I was just trying to make a conversation…" Although his voice was even, his eyes flickered in uncertainty. He was taken off-guard by the frightening speed.
Shizuru eventually released him when six guards burst through the door and stormed into the experiment room. Hideaki adjusted his collar and then waved the guards away. He slightly turned and looked at her, careful to keep his distance from her.
"I see that you're much of a mystery. Let's talk about what you know instead of who you are then."
Breathing hard, Shizuru paced around the room, inwardly growling at the guards as they quietly left the room. Her heart was pounding fast. Her blood was boiling. Hideaki better left her past alone, or there would be no mercy. "What is it you want to know?"
"The symbol. Do you know anything of the symbol, or anyone concerning it?"
At the mention of the fragment of Hideaki's memory, Shizuru looked over her shoulders to make certain that they were alone. What she saw from his blood earlier was his memories of a young-looking, brown-haired vampire and the old pin. In another brief flashback, Hideaki looked terrified as he threw the same pin into the dark, Moskva River, alone on the bridge. From the look of the surroundings and the furniture inside the old motel Hideaki stayed at that night, she gathered that the event happened right around the time when he escaped Searrs.
"'Amber Moon' was an ancient, royal symbol. It stood for a vow a slave made to his master—their bond to serve and trust each other. That vampire made you take the vow, did he not?" Shizuru sneered, mocking his past as he did hers. "You haven't killed me yet because you think that I might be old enough to know him."
There was a long moment of silence. "We… We used to work together. He was my partner… No, actually, my boss… He's the founder of Searrs."
"Searrs… Ara, that's something new…" Shizuru muttered in surprise. A vampire created an army of mortals to hunt down the immortals. But there were a million reasons in the world to despise one's own kind.
"He harbored deep hatred towards Uriah, and for many years, I believed in his noble intention to rid the world of the vile vampires… When I finally turned, he made me drink his blood, binding me as his slave. Our bond enabled him to sense my feelings and gauge my power. He soon began to take full control of me. In the end, what was left of our friendship was the fact that I was only an instrument of war to him. That was when I decided to fake my death and escaped as far as I could."
Seeing the worried look in his eyes, it must have taken a lot from a leader to show his fear. Shizuru fully understood a life of a fugitive, but decided to remain silent. There were things Hideaki didn't have to know—no one had to know or understand.
Hideaki had his arms across his chest, whilst he stared at the bodies floating in the tanks as if seeing himself 150 years ago. "He's a three-millennia-old vampire, the oldest I've ever encountered. The only way for him to take another slave is to release me with consent, or by my death."
Shizuru let out a subtle sigh. "I'm afraid you already have the answer for that. But why are you telling me all of this? I'm not a vampedia. I cannot know every vampire there is in the world."
"Your knowledge is one thing, Fujino, but what I truly need is your strength. You can fight me. You even stupefied Natsuki," he said flatly.
At his last words, Shizuru froze. Was it guilt? Or was it the alarming fact that Hideaki was willing to test her power to the extent that he let her experiment on his daughter?
"You once took Saeko's blood, and you should know where Searrs is. You'll find it, and rescue my people."
Shizuru offered him a politically corrected smile. "With all due respect, Kuga-san, I doubt the rescue mission is your priority. You want me to kill your master. So give me one good reason why I should stick my neck out for someone who had captured and tortured me. You wouldn't be able to contain me as soon as I set foot out of this place."
"My wife treasured you as a friend. She saved you that night. She trusted you… and now my daughter…" At his last word, he looked down almost in guilt.
"Trust is a foolish sentiment. We both are a fine reminder of that." Shizuru lightly scoffed.
"You have no idea what I'm capable of." Hideaki leaned closer and whispered into Shizuru's ear. "I saw the wounds on your back—"
"You know how the Kyoto coven ended up," Shizuru interrupted, her voice deadly cold. Her gaze flashed its blood-red glow, fierce and enraged. "I won't hesitate to repeat history if you don't keep your mouth shut."
Hideaki paused for a moment, realizing that her threat was real. He then smiled and fished out an object from his pocket. For a moment, Shizuru expected him to pull out a gun, but what he tossed at her was a brass, heavy, two-inch-long key.
"Make yourself at home, Fujino… I'll be watching you."