Yuuki continued pondering over Reiji's words of caution, tuning out the looks she received from various students that she encountered. Besides, what "status" did she, an orphan, have in the first place? She was the prospective bride, sure, but what else was there? Nope. There was nothing. Nothing she could say for herself and bring forward. No wonder it was so easy to bully her…

And why would MY clumsiness make Reiji embarassed? Wait... he said "our name," didn't he? Why was he including me? Oh, I'm so dumb – of course he just means the boys. That's all. It's not like he meant that -

Yuuki stopped in her tracks.

He couldn't have possibly… Was Reiji saying that I'm under trial and need to prove myself... in order to be with Ayato? Uh, nu-uh. There's no way that Reiji would accept me as a family member. Haha, yea. I'm not up to his level or something. She shook the disconcerting thought off her head and shrugged. Yuuki continued walking and inhaled deeply to calm her wild thoughts. Oh well, whatever. Who needs Reiji's approval anyway?

She took a detour to the washroom on the way, firmly deciding not to look for Ayato since it would only fuel the flames.

Ugh. Yuuki looked up at the mirror and examined herself carefully. Her reflection seemed somewhat haggard. I guess I need some fresh blood. I've been avoiding it for too long.

A collective laughter and a series of high-heeled clicks interrupted her thoughts, as a group of girls entered the restroom.

"I know~" one was saying in a shrill, plastic voice. "She's so-"

They stopped in their tracks once they noticed her standing in front of one of the sinks. The petite blonde immediately sensed that at least two of them were non-human.

"Eww, it's just you," the girl continued, giving her a once-over before flicking her bright red hair over her shoulder. Yuuki immediately disliked her, her stupid blonde-tipped locks, the fact that she had an amazing body, and the way she chewed her gum obnoxiously.

"Excuse me," Yuuki mumbled, before attempting to exit the room. The other three blocked her path.

"Whoa, whoa, shorty..." Obnoxious chewing. "Where the hell are you going?"

Looks like this one's the gang leader.

Yuuki summed them up. There were two henchmen – pretty, but nothing special. The other two, however, immediately stood out to her. One was the what-fashionistas-would-call-edgy chick, the other was everything she expected a vampire to look like – gothic, gorgeous, and sinister.

The four girls surrounded Yuuki and pinned her against the wall. This was not going to end well.

"What did'ja say? I couldn't hear you," she breathed into Yuuki's face, who turned away and gagged.

"Oh gross. No wonder you need that gum – your breath stinks." She'd figured that there was no need to be polite to someone who's obviously trying to pick a fight.

Stupid, Yuuki, stupid. Her logical side scolded. Dissing the chick was a sure-fire way to NOT avoid confrontation.

Red-headed-jumbo-tits smirked. "This one's got nerve, don't you think?" RHJT asked her girls. "I sort of like it – makes it more fun." She reached out and stroked the side of Yuuki's face. Her fingers were sickeningly cold. "Haha, look! She's chilled to the bone. You frightened? Are you about to pee your pants? Come on, tell me..." RHJT's fingers wrapped around her neck. "Don't worry. I won't bite," she cooed.

"Ayato-sama?"

"What?" Ayato snapped at the poor classmate. Yuuki had run away from him (with the excuse of needing some alone time to study) and he would always be in a bad mood whenever she was out of his sight.

"Reiji-sama said that Komori-san's not feeling well. He wants you to check up on her."

Ayato stood up with a groan and pocketed his hands casually.

"Ugh, pancake. Making me do so much work," he mumbled aloud in order to conceal his concern.

There was no need to ask where to find her – he was a predator, Yuuki was his target.

A/N: I'm going to make it so y'all hate these new characters as much as I do. These last few chapters were the calm before the storm.

Girls can be downright brutal if you make them your enemy. I apologize if I destroyed your hopes of seeing the Mukami family or something. I don't know what they're like because I didn't play the games so I probably won't do them any justice. Therefore, I don't know if they'll ever appear in this story. Probably not.