Yuuki rarely felt lonely unless all was still – usually during a silent hour when she stirred from her slumber to muse, yet again, that her bed was disproportionately large in comparison to the solitary girl it housed. She never expected to miss Ayato's perverted habit of slipping underneath the covers in order to imprison her small body within his hold. Even if she asked for Karlheinz's permission to converse with Ayato, a reflection on the mirror could never replace his physical presence.

These moments of deep sorrow never lasted long. Luckily, most of her hours were spent in happy learning. The buzzing of activity within and outside of the mansion kept her mind off of the pitiful aspects of her life, allowing her to revel in her natural personality... Yes, sulking didn't suit the bold and passionate girl.

However, worshiping God in quiet reflection did.

Yuuki began to visit the quaint chapel a mile away from the isolated estate. It helped her reconnect with a spiritual side that she had long neglected. There was never any service as it was quite hidden from society, but was always open for any strangers who happened to come by. The empty hall became a retreat that reminded her of her roots and of her absent father. The prayers that her lips mumbled in hushed tones evoked a sense of humbleness in her. There was an odd juxtaposition between the fact that Yuuki could be considered something of a demon-child although she continued to love her Creator.

Christmastime passed by but she was the only one who rejoiced within the household. It pained her to see that the holy day had become a mere commercial event. She turned down the chance to go see the lights put up for the occasion. Instead, Yuuki spent a few hours alone in the cold, vacant chapel and only left when she realized that it had begun to snow again.

Oddly enough, the mansion felt warm with Reiji's soup waiting to welcome her. Something had changed in the dynamics of the household since she had first run up these very steps. Now, it was a "home" to return to.

The vampirette felt no rush to justify why these trips were important to her nor explain how they gave her a mental peace. The others came to learn not to question it either. They reasoned that "everyone needs a break now and then" and left the petite blonde to meditate as she wished.


Most vampires tended to lose count once they reached three digits. Even though the princes were still considerably young, the Sakamaki family rarely participated in the festivities associated with birthdays – they never got along well enough to celebrate. However, the boys decided to do something special for Yuuki, who had stayed with them long enough for them to assume that she had turned eighteen. (Tthe vampirette's adoptive father always put the turn of the New Year as her alleged birthday in any official papers. Nobody was a hundred percent sure of her true birthday since she was an orphan since infancy and had no relatives nor documents to vouch for her.)

Reiji brought out a gorgeous cake and divided it into seven portions. Although Yuuki accepted this generosity with pleasure, she felt a profound longing... It was a strawberry shortcake. The same kind that she had made for Ayato all those months ago.

Ignoring a pang of sadness, Yuuki looked around the room. She noticed Subaru, who was munching on his slice in silence, and smiled to herself. Sure enough, a pure silver rosary now hung around his neck where a golden-bronze key used to reside. Since he was not at all religious, the pendent seemed to hold only a decorative purpose. Only she knew the secret behind it.

The rosary was made out Subaru's most precious memento from his late mother. He was everything to Christa. She pushed him away because he was a reminder of her misery yet pulled him close because she had indeed loved him. Yuuki taught him this truth that his young, undeveloped mind had previously failed to recognize. Therefore, Subaru rarely complained about lending his time and energy to the blonde. For his company and tutelage, she was eternally grateful.


Yuuki's weekly routine included drinking some of Hitomi's blood to sate her ever-growing thirst. The former found it hard to interact with anyone at school if she was parched. Of course, the unwilling vampirette and the unwilling human only agreed to do this because they understood it was a necessity.

Apparently, Karlheinz and his sons found controlling themselves a much easier task. Yuuki was purposefully left unaware of the other blood sacrifice who resided with the servants of the mansion. The men of the household kept their source a secret from her because, unlike the prized sacrificial brides, this young creature was obtained from the dark trade of human trafficking. It was born and would die within the frame of 21st century slavery – a concept that the gentle-hearted Yuuki would never be able to accept.

One time, Hitomi went to feed the dog and found it nuzzling a crop of fair hair that popped out of a mound of bedding, where Yuuki lay wrapped up like a pink cocoon. The blanket was heaving and soft sobs could be heard. Out of the tiniest ounce of pity within her heart, the brunette ventured to comfort her.

"Yuuki-sama, what's the matter?" Hitomi asked as she pulled the blanket out from underneath the smaller female. "Are you feeling cranky because you're hungry or something?"

The question came out more accusatory than she had intended it to be. It couldn't be helped that she detested vampires.

"Not especially," the blonde mumbled as she instinctively cradled herself into Hitomi. The former now understood Ayato's pleasure at the warmth of a human. The latter tolerated the vampirette's ticklish nibbles on her neck where neat, little bite marks were rapidly healing. She accepted her status as a lesser being because Yuuki at least decided to treat her like a person unlike Lilith's possy or the Sakamaki brothers.

Being unable to leave the great estate wasn't as bad as Hitomi expected it to be. She was usually left free to explore the mansion at her leisure and there was much to discover at length. Hitomi carefully observed the family in silence in order to live in relative peace alongside them.

There was one thing that she had learned so far: their world had come to revolve around Yuuki for one reason or another.

Hitomi also realized, to her own dismay, that she would be willing to die for her new mistress. This feeling she kept to herself. If anyone ever chanced upon her secret affinity, Hitomi would firmly deny it with a snarky, biting comment.


Yuuki took a deep breath and released the arrow. For a second, she thought the projectile would meet its target before it veered way off course.

"That's the fourth one you missed, Yuuki." Subaru called out in exasperation. "You're making rookie mistakes."

The vampirette frowned as she pushed away a strand of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail. "Then show me what I'm doing wrong! Not to mention I am a rookie."

"Ugh, you were supposed to be copying me. Weren't you watching?"

"What are you? Japanese?" Yuuki sighed as she lowered her weapon.

"Duh." Subaru muttered as he approached her. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Never mind. I was referring to an essay I read a few days ago." She nocked another arrow.

"Go on..."

"It compared education in America with what you were just doing, which is trying to make me figure this out by myself after observing you."

The vampirette paused realizing that he still didn't comprehend her meaning.

"Y'know. A quintessentially Japanese method," the girl elaborated, waving her free hand expressively. This explanation was enough - Subaru, of course, was culturally aware of his own country's Zen values and philosophy. "Anyway, I came to prefer the Westerner's overall mentality." Yuuki concluded once his eyebrow sufficiently unwrinkled.

"Pfft, you do realize that you're Japanese, right?"

She blinked slowly. "I'm an exception to the system in every sense," the female responded nonchalantly before taking her stance. "Might as well be considered a foreigner."

"There you go again," the boy cried suddenly. "Your stance is terrible. Here-" Subaru moved closer to fix her posture, gently pushing her limbs to the proper positions. He verbally gave directions so that she would know how to do so herself. "Straighten your arm like this. I showed how to hold the arrow... There you go. Now draw... What are you giggling for? Concentrate!"

"I'm trying, but your breath's tickling my ear!" Yuuki protested.

"Try harder." Subaru sneered playfully with his nose hovering just above her temporal lobe.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say." The vampirette drew her bow. "Like this?"

Subaru nodded.

This time, the arrow hit bulls-eye when she released it. Yuuki smiled triumphantly and turned toward her mentor. "Uwaah, I did it! Thanks, Suba-"

Close. Too close.

"-ru?"

"NOW KISS."

The petite blonde turned towards Hitomi's direction from where the demand came from. The part-nephilim was crouching on the ground, lazily flaking off a thin layer of frost that had accumulated on top of the wooden planks as she watched her mistress.

"Why the hell would I do that?" Yuuki bristled. Subaru coughed awkwardly and stepped away.

"Aww, come on. You missed your chance." Hitomi teased. "That was the perfect opportunity, you know."

Yuuki pulled out a new arrow from her quiver. "Perfect opportunity to cheat on my boyfriend? No thanks."

"Well," the brunette continued with a laugh, "I think Subaru-sama is a great replacement for Ayato-sama. They're both equally good-looking, you know."

"Subaru-sensei, will you please silence this distraction?" Yuuki implored sarcastically with the same level of good-humor. "Oh, but don't hurt her," she added absently.

"Eep!" The girl stood up clumsily to flee before Subaru appeared in front of her, blocking any escape. Locked in his grip, Hitomi made a final plea for mercy. "Subaru-sama, I was just joking. I won't talk during your lessons anymore so-"

Yuuki ignored the two and focused on the target that seemed to be taunting her once more. She tuned out everything except for the awareness of her body and the bow in her hand.

The arrow flew through the air with an ear-splitting "fwhip" and it landed on the outer most ring of the target.

Close enough. Yuuki shrugged and turned back to find Hitomi hanging limply from the boy's arms, which held her in a steadying embrace.

"Yuuki, I think she fainted." Subaru stated coolly, referring to the girl who would've fallen to the ground if he had not bothered to catch her.

The vampirette gawked. "What did you do?"

"I kissed her."

For some reason the blunt and unexpected response made her snort with laughter.

"Wha~t?" Yuuki asked with a grin. "Why did you do that?"

"It shut her up, didn't it?" Subaru grumbled as he slowly laid the passed out part-nephilim on the cold floor.

Bwahaha, you're just going to leave her lying there? I swear, Ayato would have done and said the same exact thing. She shook her head in disbelief. I guess picking on us maidens is a family specialty. Maybe it just runs in their blood.

The petite blonde held out her bow as if expecting him to take it.

"Do you like Hitomi?" Yuuki inquired as he walked over.

"Hell no."

Oh, what a shame.

He reached out for the weapon. "You don't want to continue?"

"Nah, I'm good. Archery seems pretty useless. Don't get me wrong – I'm not saying I'll never bother to pick up the sport. I just don't think I want to waste my time since I have more important things to learn at the moment."

"Such as...?"

"I mean, if Karlheinz wants me to learn how to use a weapon – shouldn't it be something like a gun? Besides, you're no expert, Subaru. I don't think you've mastered archery yourself."

"No, I haven't." Subaru admitted. "But I've been undergoing some decent training of my own while you're busy with other things."

"Oh, really?"

"Yep. That man's hired professionals from various athletic fields to help me hone my skills."

"Hey, shouldn't I be learning from a professional myself?"

The boy shook his head. "Nope, you're stuck with me for a while longer."

Yuuki removed her shooting glove. "How come?"

"Because, Yuuki, imagine what would happen if one of those guys accidentally discovered that you were a vampire. One touch is all it takes for a human to realize something's wrong, you know."

His logic appeared sound. Physical training meant that she was more prone to being revealed – stretching, examinations, etc. all required a certain level of contact.

"Why do they have to be human? Just hire supernatural tutors."

"That's fine for me since everyone already knows the identities of the six princes. But we can't have you interacting with them at this stage. You're not out into vampire society yet and my father wants to keep it that way until you're ready to be formally introduced."

"You mean a debut?"

"Exactly."

"I'm afraid I've already botched the King's plans. I'm pretty sure all the non-humans at school know about me by now."

The male looked up sharply. "Say that again?"

Yuuki shrinked away from Subaru's gaze, expecting him to blow up at her. "I told a few of them that I was a vampire... Should I not have done so?"

The youngest son nodded thoughtfully. "No, it couldn't be helped. We knew there was a good chance of this happening but don't go around advertising it, okay?"

"Okay."

Subaru exhaled deeply and examined the equipment in his hands. "So should I tell Father that you want to learn how to use fire arms instead?"

"No, Subaru, there's no need. It's not within my capability to hurt somebody unless its for the sake of defense... My ability is to heal. I'm not supposed to destroy lives – I'm supposed to save them." She paused. "I don't care what supporters of national security may argue, but guns are lethal objects that can only harm others."

At the boy's silence, Yuuki hobbled over to Hitomi and lightly pat the brunette's cheek with her knuckles. "Oi, Sleeping Beauty. Time to get up or you'll catch a cold."

When the part-nephilim came to, she couldn't seem to remember what had made her faint in the first place.

Hitomi put a hand to her forehead. "Ugh, for a second I thought I was drowning."

Yuuki helped the girl up and looked at her oddly. After a moment, the vampirette faced her mentor with a resolute expression.

"Subaru, teach me how to swim. If Ayato can get over his fear and do it, then so can I."

The vampire visibly stiffened, a change that the chocolate-skinned girl instantly picked out.

"... Don't tell me you don't know how to swim." Hitomi surmised with a theatrical manner. When Subaru made no response and instead looked away to conceal his shame, she grinned broadly. "Yuuki-sama, forget about him. I can teach you when it gets warmer."

Yuuki raised an eyebrow. "Why do we have to wait that long? They have an indoor pool, you know."

"They do?!" Hitomi gaped when the blonde nodded. Yuuki found the reaction fairly amusing since she could relate. "Phew. They weren't kidding when they said Sakamaki-sama was filthy rich. Don't get me wrong - Lilith-sama had a pool and all but definitely not an indoor one."

The vampirette turned towards her mentor. "Speaking of which, doesn't it hurt Tougo Sakamaki's reputation if he owns such a large estate? Wouldn't the general public suspect his character?"

"Our family's owned this property for ages so nobody's going to think he's involved in some shady business for "inheriting" it. We have the money to sustain a mansion and therefore we have every right to live here."

Yuuki sucked in. "As expected from a pampered rich kid. You're just entitled to royal treatment." She shrugged. "But I guess nobody would bother coming all the way out here just to complain that this country lacks space."

"You're here, aren't you?" Subaru smirked before disappearing.

"Oof, he just had to get the last word in, didn't he?" Yuuki said as she linked arms with the other girl. The blonde always walked on the side of the glass eye in order to avoid blocking the part-nephilim's limited vision. "Hitomi, don't fall for guys like that. They're dangerous."

The advice struck Hitomi as very odd. "Why would I fall for somebody like him? He's a vampire."

"Ara, what's this? You're the one who was calling him good-looking a few minutes ago if my short term memory doesn't fail me."

"So? Physical appearance don't change anything – Lilith-sama was smoking, but she was still a bitch."

"Hmm..." The two young ladies strolled to the mansion. "Then why were you pushing me to go for him?"

"No particular reason. You two seem relaxed around each other... I guess it's a matter of compatibility."

"Am I not compatible with Ayato?" Yuuki inquired.

"Maybe but I wouldn't know. Anything that happened involving you two always ended up leading to tears or drama or violence or something. Subaru-sama seemed like an alternative."

"I'm sure Subaru just thinks of me as a high-maintenance older sister."

"Oh Lord." Hitomi sighed.

"What?"

"Nothing," the girl said, waving the now-curious vampirette off. It wasn't like Hitomi could provide a definite answer. She herself wondered what the vampire brothers truly thought of Yuuki.

"Wha~t?"

Hitomi stopped in her tracks and pecked Yuuki on the cheek. The latter barely had any time to register what occurred.

Eh?

"Just getting rid of Subaru-sama's taste. Don't mind me."

"So you did remember!" Yuuki cried accusingly, fingertips brushing her offended feature.

And you're even using the same tactic to distract me, huh?

"You kept talking about him until I was forced to recall it. There's only one feasible reason why this conversation would even take place – if you were trying to get us together. And why is that? Well... you get the picture. Something must have happened for you to come up with such an outlandish idea."

The part-nephilim pocketed her hands although Yuuki was still clinging to her elbow.

"Forget winter, though. All of you vampires are so cold!" Hitomi declared with displeasure. "Do people really fantasize vampire romances? What kind of an idiot likes chilly bodies anyway?"

The blonde laughed as they marched towards the front door, a wet layer of snow crushing into a slush with every step. The darker of the two grumbled about "goddamned frozen skin" and other faults along the way.

"Hitomi." Yuuki bid as the girl began to turn the knob.

"Hmm?"

"I might be an ice maiden, but you were very warm."

Hitomi searched the other's face in silence before emitting a neutral, "That so? It was less than platonic, you know."

The blonde smiled knowingly. "Yup."

It was an exchange that others wouldn't necessarily understand. Yuuki was thankful for Hitomi's non-verbal gesture of friendship. In return, Hitomi accepted Yuuki's gratitude. This was enough for both of them.

Pochi tackled the two girls as they entered the household.

"Waa~gh! Wait, girl, wait!" Yuuki yelped. "Let me take off my coat first."

The mutt wagged its tail furiously as it removed its large paws from their stomachs.

"You've gotten so heavy, Pochi. Dogs are so not supposed to grow this quickly." Hitomi whined as she untangled herself from the heap. She turned towards the vampirette, who had recovered faster. "Umm... Yuuki-sama, are you not wearing a bra today?"

"Uhh... My chest was hurting earlier so-" Yuuki looked down to see why it was a problem and gasped. She quickly pulled her coat back on with a flushed face. "Woops. Thanks for the warning, Hitomi. I should have known better than to go out with only a blouse on."

"Yeah, don't fret. Nip slips happen to every girl now and then." The part-nephilim pushed herself up. "But that's good news for you, right? The fact that it's aching means you're still developing."

"Is that it? Oh, thank god. I was worried if I had cancer or something." The vampirette pat the area underneath her collar. "I thought I stopped growing since I'm almost an adult... Ayato would be pleased to know otherwise."

"Do you do everything with him in mind?" Hitomi asked, rolling her eyes as she pet the energetic Pochi.

"Eh?" Yuuki chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. "Um, I guess I do. I feel like we've become a cohesive unit. Everything that happens to me affects him, vice versa."

"Dear Lord. I could never sacrifice my individuality like that."

Excuse me?

"Although I can't deny that being single is pretty awesome, I wouldn't necessarily say that our relationship restricts me more than it allows me to mature. I wouldn't call it a sacrifice, really."

"I've been in servitude for so long, I've developed an allergic reaction to anything that tries to hinder my freedom. Just saying."

"No, I get it. There's always been something of a power imbalance between us." Yuuki admitted sadly after a moment.

"Then why bother working so hard for him? He's not here to boss you around. It's the perfect time to move on."

The blonde shook her head. "I could never dump him in such a heartless way. It's too cruel to not do something like that in person."

"At least you're finally opening up to the possibility."

"Hold on. Hitomi, you've totally got the wrong idea here. Ayato's important to me and I'm not planning to end our relationship anytime soon. Frankly, I'm trying to do the exact opposite... Not to tempt Fate or anything, but I'd be willing to bear a bigger burden for his sake." The vampirette ran her hand threw her hair and decided to add another thought. "And I'd really appreciate it if you'd stop teasing me about his little brother. It makes things awkward between us."

"Hmm..." Hitomi exhaled through her nose. "If you really feel that way, I probably should apologize for my insensitivity earlier. "

"Apology accepted. Now, come on. Let's go find Reiji and demand a steaming hot pot for dinner. You too, Pochi."


A/N: More stories to come during the Absent Ayato Arc. I feel so bad for Laito, though – he's been effectively forgotten.

Mainly focused on Hitomi/Yuuki's growing comfort with each other with this installation. I'm going to be moving up the ladder (of the household) until the two brothers return. And yes, female friends talk about weirdly intimate topics and constantly cover for each other when it comes to things like wardrobe mishaps. And no, Hitomi is not a candidate in Yuuki's reverse harem here lol. However, as Yuuki once said, "if this provides fodder for your fantasies, by all means, right a book on it." This site in particular houses plenty of crazy fanfiction so feel free to go wild with your imagination.

Edit: Made some considerable changes to this chapter (aka making the conversations more believable) and realized I haven't updated in nearly a month. I'll be sure to get the next installment up as soon as possible so thanks for waiting =)