"Ayato, I'm coming in~" Yuuki announced before entering the bathroom with a fresh set of clothes.

She shyly handed the articles and looked away, feeling like she was intruding on his privacy even though he was wearing a bathrobe. His half-exposed chest? Ayato never buttoned up his uniform properly anyway. Besides, it's not like seeing the other leg was scandalous simply because he only rolled up one end of his pants.

Maybe it was the fact that the grime of the night before had been replaced with soft, clean terry cloth. The whiteness made him look almost angelic. Maybe she felt embarrassed because she was in the presence of a freshly bathed male... Which was definitely not a thought that she was going to explore any further.

Yuuki blushed when he caught her spying out of the corner of her eye.

"Erm, do you need anything else?" The vampirette asked hastily.

Ayato smirked and flicked his wet hair out of his eyes. "Nah, I'm good for now."

"Alright then... Imma go now."

Yuuki all but ran out, feeling incredibly foolish.

Ugh, what's wrong with me? He's going to think I'm some sort of pervert. Well, in terms of nakedness, he's seen far more of my skin than I have of his... so HE'S the pervert!

The incident reminded her of the time where she found the eldest brother in the bathtub.

Oh, yeah... Was Shu in with the others this morning? I don't remember seeing him. Hmm, well I guess we have some serious explaining to do. Or at least, I want to hear the full story first. Being ignorant of the situation is frustrating.

"Koinu-cchi!"

"Huh? Oh, Laito. Sorry for the fuss earlier today."

"About that... tell Ayato to hurry up. We're holding a meeting – like, right now."

"Eh?" Yuuki blinked rapidly in confusion. "During the daytime?"

Laito yawned on cue. "Yes. We're all tired but it's not like this is something we can delay."

"Agreed," the girl sighed. Yuuki turned around to knock at the door once again but Ayato opened it at the same instance. He could tell what she meant to say just by her expression.

"Yeah, yeah..." Ayato grumbled. "I'm coming down." He reached down to grab Yuuki's wrist and tug it along. "You're coming too."

"Um, are you sure I'm allowed to attend?"

"You're part of the family, now. Plus this concerns you too."

Laito raised an eyebrow, but decided to keep his thoughts to himself for the sake of diplomacy. Yuuki remembered that she had intended to thank him, except she'd have to word it in a way so Ayato wouldn't become jealous. She didn't want to be Miss Center-of-another-quarrel.

"By the way - thanks for the help, Laito. I couldn't have found Ayato's room without you."

Good. Now it sounds like he showed me where to find the clothes. I'm so smart.

"-Hurry up, pancake. Reiji will be mad if we're late."

I'm sure that's not what he's actually mad about.

"Alright, alright. We can walk you know! You don't have to drag me along."


"... Where are we going?" Yuuki asked after they passed the sitting room. Ayato only squeezed her hand as they followed Laito down to a far corner of the house. They entered a room in the basement that resembled some sort of garage, with a chandelier of Edison light bulbs illuminating a single table. It was strangely industrial chic compared to the victorian-ness of the rest of the mansion. It felt somewhat out of place and cold.

Strange, yet intentional. Yuuki thought morbidly.

The rest of the family was already there... As well as something – or someone – else.

"Oh my gosh!" Yuuki gasped when they came close enough to see a girl tied up to a chair. The vampirette recognized her as the one who had called her a cockroach. Ayato's bag of weapons was discarded next to the chair.

"Ah, Yuu-chan came along?" Kanato asked when they noticed their arrival.

"What's going on here!?" Yuuki demanded, noticing some obscure sharp item in Kanato's hands. "Why is this girl gagged?"

The purple-haired boy shrugged. "I'm only gentle if I'm planning on preserving them," he mumbled unapologetically.

Ayato pulled her closer, almost like he was protecting her, and whispered, "What are you getting angry about, pancake?"

"You thought they were all dead?" Laito asked.

"Yes."

"This is the only survivor among the four that attacked you." Reiji explained. "A nephilim."

"Reiji! How could you allow this?" Yuuki accused. She did not expect to see him letting someone be tortured right in front of his eyes. Wasn't he supposed to intervene? Where was the paradigm of justice and proper behavior now?

Subaru banged the table. "Forget about that for the moment! We have some other things to discuss first."

Yuuki suppressed her outrage momentarily and turned towards the circle. Shu was at the head of the table.

"Yuuki, sit down." Subaru ordered. "You look like you want someone to explain."

"Damn right I do." Yuuki said as she crossed her arms.

"The nephilim has already told us what they have done to you..."


The vampirette was seething at the end of the discussion. Re-living last night seemed to carry a lifetime of hurt.

"So let me get this straight..." Yuuki started with her voice shaking. She paused to remind herself to remain calm. "After I was sent off to bed, Ayato returned to school. He attacked the spider chick, where you two," she gestured at Reiji and Kanato, "intervened. You let him get away with it and he goes off to kill the two others right in front of this poor girl?!"

The brothers nodded.

"I'm ashamed of all of you." Yuuki spat. "This dumb idiot would have kept up his rampage had Shu and Subaru not have burst into the classroom. You're lucky nobody from school witnessed it."

"Not exactly," Kanato corrected. "The school doctor was the one who gave me and Reiji and Ayato our suspensions for now."

"You're lucky you got off with suspensions! Do you realize what you've done?!" Yuuki exclaimed, horrified at their indifference.

"We realize it better than you do," Subaru growled, hushing the girl properly.

"And now I've got my record soiled..." Reiji scowled under his breath.

"I think we can trust the doctor to clean up." Laito interjected quickly. He didn't want a replay of their earlier scuffle.

The vampirette regarded the eldest triplet with bewilderment. "How come?"

"He knows the true identities and races of all the students... Since he has to take care of any sort of – how should I put it? – emergency."

"We still have to worry about damage control." Reiji said, pinching the bridge between his nose before adjusting his glasses. "Hushing up the media will be troublesome. Lilith was a pretty well known idol. And murdering the Black Widow of the East will not settle well with her family."

"That's not a problem. We can give them enough blood money to live happily for the next one hundred years." Laito pointed out.

"It's their fault for picking a fight with us in the first place." Ayato added. "They'll accept their daughter's dishonor in targeting us through our allies."

In the silence that followed, Yuuki's temper cooled down a little. She realized that in the supernatural world, this kind of conflict may occur often and there were probably established ways to deal with the consequences. The fact that the brothers were sitting down and discussing this very serious matter was progress in itself. Letting her be a part of this was a rare privilege in any case. She had been excessively judgmental in a situation where she understood very little.

Finally, Shu spoke. "This is not something that we can judge for ourselves. I've contacted our father this morning. He's already on his way."

A collective unease penetrated the group. The brothers grimaced at the thought of Karlheinz visiting.

"You're screwed, Ayato." Kanato mocked.

Yuuki turned to look at the boy sitting next to her. Ayato covered his face with the crook of his elbow, red with despair.

"I know that," he groaned in reply.

"What's wrong?" Yuuki asked, genuinely concerned. She had never seen Ayato look so distressed. Especially since he always referred to his parents in scornful contempt whenever they popped into a conversation.

"You don't know this Yuu-chan, but when Shu was held back for failing his exam, our father sent him to train in the North Pole."

"It was a real survival trip," Ayato commented once he regained his composure. "He had to fight polar bears and came back all scratched up and on the brink of collapse."

Yuuki glanced at the eldest in disbelief, but Shu didn't deny it. She had a hard time believing that the lazy young man would ever put in enough effort to make a PB&J for himself, let alone fight for sheer survival.

"Well, I guess that takes care of the question of what to do with the guilty parties." Reiji stated.

"For now." Kanato said doubtfully. "But what if something like this happens again?"

Yuuki perked up at the new subject. "Just teach me how to defend myself," she voiced.

"What are you saying, pancake?" Ayato picked up one of her skinny arms and waved it around comically. "See how fragile you are?"

Annoyed, Yuuki pulled her arm back and swatted him. "You forget that I've gotten stronger. I told you right? I'm tired of being the damsel in distress."

Laito nodded. "What's there to lose? A few self-defense lessons won't hurt."

They turned towards Reiji, who was their de facto head, for his approval.

"Don't look at me. I don't have time to be instructing her. I need to prepare for Karlheinz."

Nobody bothered asking Shu, who would obviously prefer a nap. Kanato was too much of a crybaby to be trusted with such a task.

Laito also refused. "I don't fight girls," he said, adjusting his fedora with a smile. "I only eat them up."

At this point, Yuuki suggested, "Why not just have Subaru teach me?"

"Eh?" The youngest uncrossed his arms, surprised at the sudden attention. "Why me?"

"Yeah, why him?" Ayato echoed.

"Because I know that Subaru's strong," Yuuki said. "And he's not suspended."

Nobody could argue with her logic, even if a certain red-head wanted to challenge the new development. Alongside teaching self-defense, Subaru was in a position where he could act as her bodyguard.

Subaru sent Yuuki a look of gratefulness. It was not long ago that he confessed that he was a weakling unable to protect those he cared for. The fact that the vampirette could so confidently state that she trusted his ability was encouraging. It made him feel worthy. Not useless.

"How come you won't consider me?" Ayato asked, his ego evidently bruised.

"Because, I don't want to fight with you." Yuuki whispered back, which seemed acceptable enough to appease his concern. The vampirette leaned back on her chair and exhaled deeply.

Anyone, but you...


A/N: This crisis forced them to undergo a huge shift in their character development, wouldn't you think? You would never expect the Canon!Sakamaki family to sit down and actually discuss an issue openly and come to a rational conclusion - which is leaving the decision up to KARLHEINZ of all people! Plus, I love the fact that Yuuki's standing up for herself and trying to become stronger. Stuck a ton of AyatoxYuuki tidbits to make up for the last chapter because I owe it to you guys ^_^