Author's note:

Hello readers!

I just wanted to make sure no one hates Shiki for the wrong reasons, bcos I lurve him and he doesn't deserve booing etc.

In the last chapter, I wanted to convey Shiki's struggle to maintain his own identity from Rido. In my opinion, he's already been under Rido's control before so he's much more vulnerable to it – he's almost merged with Rido a bit. Basically it's messing with his mind a lot.

That's why he doesn't know if it was Rido stopping him from stopping the kidnapper, or if it was his own natural lock-down reaction to fear which paralyzed him. It's totally up to you to decide which one it was, bcos IMO it could be either. Either way = poor Shiki. Poor Shiki. He's not the one at fault…

K, now that's sorted:

Takuma rocked Shiki in his arms, gently rubbing his shoulder as the still shell-shocked boy quivered violently. The servants were packing in the west wing of the castle, each hurrying in or out of Yuuki's room, either furious or with horrified tears streaming down their face. He had been called the moment the news erupted that she had been taken and had raced to Shiki immediately. The instant horrid assumption his mind had jumped to was that: It could be Shiki – oh god, please let it not be Shiki. What if Rido had got Shiki to kidnap her? He really didn't want to believe it.

Luckily, he found Shiki in the room, which meant he was innocent. However, the boy refused to move from his spot and was trembling and distressingly staring at blank space with a vacancy in his eyes that worried Takuma greatly.

"Shh, shh," Takuma hushed, holding him tighter to settle his shivering. He supposed he must be in awful shock, but wondered what Shiki had seen. He wasn't responding at all, but he minded himself not to push Shiki to speak since he was obviously already under a great deal of stress. Earlier on, Seiren had run into the room, looking for the first time dishevelled. Her eyes raked the room, the distraught servants, and then she had run out and disappeared again.

Shiki couldn't bear to look at Takuma, he couldn't face him, even as he was being comforted by him so tenderly. He had betrayed Kaname, and Takuma, and everyone. It didn't matter anymore if Rido had stopped him from moving or not, he had stood by and let her go – he had done nothing to stop it.

"I…I…"

"Hmm?" Takuma stopped rocking him, and instead tilted his face up to see Shiki's pale face.

Shiki found tears sliding down his face as he spoke.

"I let her go," he whispered, shutting his eyes in pure indignity, "I watched her being taken,"

Takuma blinked. So Shiki had seen the face of the kidnapper? Was that what he was saying? He made to pull Shiki to him in a fortifying hug again, but the redhead held him firmly at arms' length.

"I stood there," he hissed, and pointed through the doorway to the corridor, "I stood there and let her be taken,"

"What are you saying?" Takuma tugged him close, crushing his protesting arms against his chest. He began rubbing his shoulders again, desperately hoping Shiki was not saying what he thought he was saying. He peered around the room at the servants, hoping they had not overheard what Shiki had said, but he caught the eye of one servant who was gaping at Shiki, murder in his eyes.

Shiki sobbed, clinging to Takuma. What's happening to me? he wanted to cry out. He just wanted to be safe in his own mind, to be in control of what he was doing, to not be afraid of himself.

It terrified him when he thought about how much his life was spiralling out of control, and how little he could do to stop it.

As he held onto Takuma, he began to panic. It was Yuuki, this time, who he had failed, but who would it be next? The only other in the castle with him now was Takuma.

He pressed shaky hands against Takuma, pushing him with all his might, and Takuma staggered backwards, staring in bewilderment at Shiki.

"Get away from me,"

Takuma reached for him again, but was rebuffed by Shiki's teary eyes.

"Lock me in the basement, chain me up or something. I can't stand anymore! I c-can't….I can't trust myself around you anymore! Please!"

Zero swung the pistol around, twisting it around his fingertips and measuring its weight. Compared to the Bloody Rose, it was anorexic. Far too light of hand to be of any comfort to him in a near-death situation. He liked to be able to roll his weapon around like it was an extension of his wrist, but this one just didn't pull it off as neatly as his Bloody Rose.

But... it would have to do.

Kaname had placed him down near the entrance of the castle, asking Rima to stay with him as he went to check something out. He didn't need to be fucking babysat, he had told him, but Kaname ignored him, striding off into the castle. He had bristled, and wanted to snap at Kaname that this was not the plan, asshole… but by then the Pureblood was already gone.

Rima had been good help with the recruits. The vampires had stared at Zero like he was…a freak, or the dirt on their shoes. Zero took this all with his usual cold indifference. He didn't give a rat's ass about what a bunch of strangers thought about him. Rima had managed to extract a pistol from the deathly tight grip of the same woman who had given Kaname the water.

"The guard is nowhere to be found," Rima mused.

Zero grunted, "They all seem to be hiding away like bloody cowards,"

He played with the safety on the pistol, making sure to aim it away from her first. She had the same easygoing temperament as Shiki, which Zero highly appreciated after hanging around Ruka.

Suddenly Kaname emerged from the castle and beckoned them over.

He looked calm, but Zero strangely enough could hear his heart pumping madly. It was probably the sway of his bloodstream that Zero could sense, because it extended to his own blood now too.

"The place looks empty, but that only means we'll have to be even more alert. Never let your guard down,"

"Yes sir," Zero muttered, moving towards the doors.

The three of them walked at a steady pace into the dimly lit entrance hall. The interior of the castle was much the same as in Kuran Castle, but plainer and with a lower ceiling, and almost none of the lights were on at all, so the place seemed smaller. He barely took in the details, more focused on the layout of the castle, for use in case they needed a quick exit. Luckily, the layout was also similar to Kuran Castle, as far as Zero could tell (since he still found the castle pathways muddling). Had it been any other situation, he would have remarked on the Purebloods' collective lack of imagination.

Kaname led them through the entrance hall, up the stairs and into the first gallery it led to. There, he surprised Zero by grabbing his hand (like he was a child that needed to be held onto!) and nodded at Rima.

"Go find them then," he whispered. She bowed and silently ran off back down the stairs, probably towards the basement. Zero grudgingly allowed himself to be led by the hand towards the next corridor.

With Kaname, he would deny that he felt more secure, but in all honesty he did. There was the insufficient weight of his temporary adopted weapon hanging on his left fingers, resting against his hip. And then there was the solid reassurance of a Pureblood's hand in his other hand, and it surprisingly managed to dampen his uncertainty, he realised, as they continued into the darkness of the castle. How strange.

"…Kat…"

The chain jingled as he groaned against them, opening one eye, he looked up his arm to see the ice blocks on his hands had melted. He could nearly pretend they were only very thick, very cold gloves. If he ignored the burning agony of direct contact with ice for a prolonged time frosting his fingers past numbness and generally giving a whole new meaning to the term "pins and needles".

"Akatsuki, wake the hell up!"

His attention fell on Aidou who was still crouching near the bottom of his cage. He blinked. Aidou had fashioned a sort of dagger out of ice and appeared to be alternating between hacking and sawing at the cage bars. There were splinters and pieces of broken ice surrounding him. The strength of the ice was no match to the bars.

"How long have you been at that?" he murmured, stifling a yawn.

"Since I woke up, but it isn't working," Aidou hissed, giving a particularly thrust at the bars. The ice snapped and his fist fell through the bars, empty-handed. He growled and chucked the ice chunk far away, glaring up at Kain.

"What's up?" the redhead asked calmly, snapping his jaws after a satisfying crack of his neck (which Aidou whined at).

"I heard noises. Footsteps,"

This made Kain instantly wake up. He scanned the room for intruders, his gaze falling on the smouldering candle which had burnt out. What was providing the light then? He searched for the source and spotted what looked like a mass of cloth burning from Aidou's old cell.

Aidou followed his eyes and nodded smugly.

"I saw the candle giving out, so I made a plan," he stood up. Kain noticed then that the cloth had been Aidou's shirt. He didn't worry that the blonde was cold, he was never cold, "I put my clothes on the shackles my feet had been in, guessing that they might still work. Then I threw some snow at your feet," he giggled, "I know where you're ticklish, Kat, but I'm surprised you didn't wake up from that. You were still sleeping when you sent your flames to your feet and voila- we have light!"

Kain smiled wisely, "You know that you could've just lit your clothes with the candle, right?"

Aidou blinked widely, and then blushed, making Kain guffaw raucously. Aidou quickly shushed him though, holding one hand to his lips and the other out, as if he was waiting for something. Kain remembered what he had said before. I heard noises. Footsteps. He inwardly shuddered. Was Rido back? Or… a dim flicker of hope lit in Kain's belly, could it be help? Could it be someone sent by Kaname to save them?

"Hana," he hissed, ignoring Aidou's hushing glare, "It could be help! It could be Kaname to save us, we should-"

"Be quiet, you idiot, it could be Rido!"

But Kain wriggled insistently, clanging the chains. He might be losing his mind, but if it was help, they should make sure help knew where they were by making some noise. What if help passed them by because they were being quiet? They would never know they were there! He prepared to yell when Aidou threw a piece of ice at him.

"Kat, are you mad?" Aidou ridiculed, staring at Kain seriously, "It could be Rido out there. Don't you- don't you dare screa-"

Kain opened his mouth.

But the door opened first.

The ground was cold where he dropped her, but she only hummed in protest. She had discovered that with every whimper or whine she emitted, he would tighten his vice-grip on her thigh, which had already formed a rather painful bruise. She was scared he would snap her femur, like a twig. It wasn't hard to imagine he could, from the size of his hands.

Yuuki knew that she was a Pureblood, she was gifted with powers beyond many peoples' imaginations, but what good was that to her if she didn't know how to use them yet? Kaname had been insistent on training her, which she had eagerly complied with, but their training had been cut short with the Coronation, and all the mess and disaster that had followed after it. Her powers buzzed like a live wire in her core – if only she knew how to summon it.

She wished she had Artemis with her. Then she could've at least whacked this thug around the head and run for help. But she hadn't even been awake when he had sneaked into her room and bundled her up in her duvet, jamming a bit in her mouth. She had no chance of bringing her weapon, or any impromptu equipment along with her. The only thing she brought along was her quilt covers, which were ironically the thing bundling her up in an inescapable cocoon.

Yuuki's eyes hadn't been covered though, and she had seen Shiki at the window, staring at his form getting smaller and smaller as she was carried further and further away. She only hoped he had told somebody she was gone.

She wished this was all a big nightmare.

The room was so dimly lit that she could barely see a thing other than the small lit fireplace which cast ironically warm colours in such a freezing cold room. Yuuki wanted to squeeze her eyes shut and fall back asleep. She knew exactly who was in the room with her. She could sense him, like one would be able to sense the danger of being trapped with a tiger in a room instantly. She knew he was watching her like a squirming bug under a microscope.

"Yuuki-chan,"

His voice was smooth and welcoming, but its incongruence with the setting made her shudder at the eeriness of it all. But she knew that she could not let him think her weak or frightened. She lifted her head to meet his gaze, biting back a whimper as she saw his chilling smile, his perfect face.

"Yuuki-chan, you're looking rather cold in your nightwear. Come. Sit by me here, next to the fire," Rido patted the sofa seat beside him with a wide smile.

Yuuki numbly lifted herself to standing, and she stumbled over her numb icy feet towards him, favouring her left leg. Her right leg was an assortment of painful contrasts- frozen feet, burning hot bruise on her thigh, trembling knees. She took the seat beside him, not even trying to edge away, for she knew that would give him incentive to draw her in closer.

Rido smiled charmingly at her, stroking her cheek and hooking his fingers around the bit and pulling it free. She shuddered as her own saliva dripped down her chin messily, with Rido wiping it away so tenderly with his clawed thumb.

And then she finally spotted the other person in the room. A small child. A little girl who was sat on the other side of Rido.

The poor thing looked just as terrified as Yuuki probably did (even though she was trying her hardest not to show it). She had to be only six or seven, and was again like Yuuki, dressed in her nightclothes. Her eyes were red-rimmed, swollen. Everything about her screamed save me.

Unfortunately, Yuuki was unable to do so.

"Ah, Yuuki-chan, meet Kasumi-chan. Say hello to Yuuki, Kasumi-chan," Rido lifted Kasumi's hand and waved it for her, like she was a novelty puppet.

"H-Hello Yuuki-ch-"

"Say hello, Yuuki-chan," he said, eyes returning to Yuuki's demandingly.

"Hello Kasumi-chan," she gasped, realising that she wasn't breathing properly due to her fear. She sucked in a lungful of air, and with it she filled herself with a sudden determination, "Don't worry, someone is coming-"

"Ah-ah," Rido tutted, a mock-pout on his lips, "You must shake hands, like proper young ladies,"

Yuuki inwardly frowned. There was something odd about Rido. Last year he had been unstable, yes – obsessing over her and her mother incessantly. But now, he appeared strangely more in control of his mind… even though his mind and thoughts and ideas were pure insanity, he was able to make sense of them and focus on meeting his goals, whatever they might be. It was a much more frightening prospect, seeing him this way.

She gently took Kasumi's tiny hand in hers, shaking it solemnly and meeting the girl's eyes steadily. Yuuki had heard that Purebloods were able to perform telepathy, they could send messages with their minds. She tried her hardest to reassure the girl with hers, squeezing her hand tightly.

We're in this together, Kasumi-chan. Don't worry. Help will come for us. We are not alone.

Rido sighed contentedly when they had finished shaking hands, and tugged Yuuki close to his side, ignoring her frightened whine. He dragged her up so her head was rested on his shoulder, and curled his other arm around Kasumi, securing her on his chest.

"You two must be the prettiest girls in the world," he laughed, nuzzling against their paralyzed bodies.

"What do you want from us, Rido?" Yuuki whispered. She winced at how weak her voice was, but was glad it was loud enough to carry to Rido. She would not be afraid. She couldn't be. Kasumi needed her to be strong now. They had to be strong.

Rido continued laughing, and suddenly planted a kiss on both of their heads.

Yuuki wondered if he was trying to be her father, or her lover. She couldn't tell where she stood with Rido anymore. Yuuki let her arm swing forwards, naturally, to rest against Rido's chest. Part of her felt sick for leaning closer to him, but at least this way she could reach Kasumi and touch her hand.

We're together in this, Kasumi-chan. I'm here. I won't leave you.

When Rido had stopped laughing, Yuuki nervously darted a look at his face. He looked like he was thinking. Her heart began to thud rapidly in unease and she tightened her fingers around Kasumi's more firmly, partly for her own comfort.

"I…Well," Rido stammered, almost as if he was bashful. Yuuki looked up at him in confusion. He smiled widely then, staring unseeingly at something above Yuuki's head.

"Hmm. It seems that we've got to wait a bit for the others to arrive. Meanwhile…"

"Others? What others?" Yuuki cut in, but piped down at Rido's manic grin.

"Girls, I don't want to get bored waiting, do you? We have plenty of time before they get here, so… I think I would like it if we played a little game together,"