Reiji stood before Yui's door, his knuckles poised over it, as though he were waiting for something. Yui thought it to be very strange. She held her hands at her back, as she called out to him. "Reiji san?"

Reiji turned around, surprised, to find Yui right behind him. He found his composure back as he muttered, "What were you doing here?"

Yui felt a bit attacked. "This is my room?"

"Yeah, right. Of course," Reiji said. Pushing his bangs back, he said, his tone crisp and straightforward. "Mind you discuss some important issues with me?"

Yui hesitated for a moment. She knew she had been warned not to talk to the others for the moment, and it was Sunday, so there was no reason Reiji was going to push her around for not going to school. She looked up at him, and realised that by every passing moment, he was becoming a bit more agitated.

"We can discuss this in my room?" She suggested.

"What a brilliant idea," Reiji said sarcastically. "I hadn't even thought of that."

She felt embarrassed at him chiding her yet again for her mistakes, and thought of apologising, but retracted. Pushing the door open, she invited him in.

Reiji looked around in the room, a bit confused but quickly squared his shoulders. "Let me start by saying this: I am utterly sorry for what me and my brothers have made you go through."

Yui blinked, not believing her ears. "I… You… What?"

"You heard me right, Miss Komori." Reiji almost never addressed her by her name. If he was feeling sorry, he must have been self aware enough to grant her person status. "In the eight month period you have stayed with us, you have rarely gotten a free moment for yourself. Not to mention the hell my brothers have put you through." Reiji paused, turning up his nose at the thought of his brothers. "Those manner less nincompoops."

Well, you were the one who inflicted the most pain on me till date, and you haven't apologised yet, Yui thought to herself.

"Are you listening to me, Miss Komori?" Reiji asked, his gloved hand pushing back the glasses. Yui shook her head. Her hands were shaking with nervousness, but she insisted, "I am."

"You better be. I am not here to waste my time on an ungracious person as you." The nerve! Yui wanted to punch his pretty face right then and there, but held back her anger, knowing she will never in a thousand years match up to an immortal like him. She proceeded to hang her head and hold her hands in front of her. "I understand."

Reiji raised an eyebrow. "Okay." He continued in his sterile voice. "And, as you have been unwell from the past punishment for the last four days, I will offer a change of air in order for you to continue on your steady recovery."

Yui nodded her head silently. She was too shocked from her sudden ascension from blood bag to human that the rest of the information was going past her head. Reiji tapped his foot in impatience, mimicking Ayato's tantrum perfectly. She was reminded of how similar they were as brothers, and she couldn't help but smile.

"Am I cracking a joke hear? Do you find this funny?" Reiji reprimanded her, and she pulled back her poker face. "I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter." He continued. "I have talked to my brothers about this issue while you were sleeping, but since today is a full moon, you might do well to stay away from the mansion for a while. We have arranged for our blood supply, so you need not worry about us."

So they were sending her off. Yui heaved a sigh of relief, but stayed silent until Reiji had finished speaking. "I have arranged for a familiar to arrange for a church visit for you."

Those were the words that brought her back to reality. Her eyes sparkled with joy, as she asked him, her voice cracking. Eyes wet already. "Is this true?"

"I would not lie about trivial matters, Miss Komori." Reiji assured. "Although I have to insist that you refrain from bringing anything holy into this mansion. None of your bread or holy water will sit well with my brothers. I hope you understand that we do not like your god or things related to him in this household."

Yui's heart was palpitating fast. She was being allowed to roam free for the first time since she had come to this mansion. She kept her calm nonetheless. She knew what might be in store for her if she did something that was out of line according to Reiji's tastes. She had been already swarmed with a range of emotions ever since she had woken up, and with Ayato and Ruki stirring up her heart with their sweet words and caring actions, that she really wanted to stay safe from Reiji's wrath as much as possible.

"In line of the proceedings, I have talked to the church that has been kind enough to grant us a fine specimen as yourself, and decided to talk to your father about a settlement about your stay in the mansion, if only you agree to the terms."

Yui was shocked out of her wits. "My… father?"

Reiji nodded, albeit sounding a bit hesitant. "It's been long enough for you to start bothering about the priest. I assure you to stay calm as we reach a conclusion on how many days you would be required to stay in our mansion. Currently, with the guidance of my own father, we have decided a tentative period of two months every year starting from this year where you get to stay with your father. We might allow moderated phone calls the rest of the year, but my father has disallowed any visitations."

Yui felt her skin prickle up with goosebumps. She never knew a day would come when she would be able to stay back with her father, away from the eyes of these possessive vampires. She had almost accepted the fact that she was never going to get rid of them, be it the Sakamakis or the Mukamis. Her fate had to be chosen by these people, but for the first time in more than eight months, she felt at ease. She felt like she had her life back in her hands. Her world had spun back into harmony now, perhaps. Perhaps this was the moment when she was going to be her own authority. She curbed her excitement behind a cold reaction, nodding silently as Reiji waited for her to respond.

"Yui? I just told you that you can visit your father for two months."

She gulped as she heard her name on Reiji's lips. "I understand, and I would be ever grateful to you for being so kind to me."

Reiji crossed his arms across his chest, his eyebrow raised in question. "You are allowed to celebrate. I am only doing it out of the purity of my own heart." The more Reiji spoke, the more impatient Yui became. Her anxiety shot through the roof as she thought of the consequences of her staying back with her father. She knew little about her father's beliefs about vampires and otherworldly beings, but she knew if he got any hint of the actions of these people, he would simply call the authorities. She didn't know whether it was morally acceptable if she went back into her human world and did not report her kidnapping and torture to the police. The Sakamakis were powerful enough to avoid repercussions. Tougo Sakamaki, or Karlheinz, was a well-known and respected politician in Japan, and standing up against the Sakamakis was pretty much standing up against him. Even if she fought her way out of the household, she would be replaced by another clueless girl, and as far as she knew, she was the only girl that had lasted them this long.

"Would somebody else take my place during the two month period I went back to home for?" Yui asked, and immediately found her questioning unwelcome. Reiji glared down at her.

"I'm sorry." She mentally scolded herself for being so clueless at times.

"Anyway," Reiji said, his shoulders straightened, "I would send for a maid to provide you with the dress you would be wearing. Be prepared, I will not tolerate any tardiness from your side."

Yui nodded, and Reiji bowed at her, making her jump in surprise. She must have been dreaming. There was no other way Reiji would act humble in front of her.

As Reiji walked away from her room, as she quickly closed her door behind her, her chest heaving. Her eyes shut in an effort to distance herself from the world, while she wondered how well Ayato was going to react to this.

Ayato wondered how she would react to this. Ruki sat in front of him, leaning against the wall, looking at him accusingly.

"You should have told her before you proceeded to sway her off her feet."

"Shut up," Ayato said, putting his hands into his pocket. The dawn was coming soon, but Ruki had issues to discuss with him. Ayato slumped down on the bench beside Ruki, the backwall of the mansion scratching against his shoulders. A couple of crows sat perched on the fence dividing the backyard from the meadow that stretched against the right side of the mansion.

"It's time you simply accepted your responsibility." Ruki stretched against the wall, as a crow cawed at him relentlessly. He stared at it for a few moments, until it flew away, sending a wave of fluttering wings in its wake.

"I didn't know she would grow onto me so easily…" Ayato reflected, as the first rays of the sun hit his face, filtered through an array of leaves in the willow in front of them. His hands, resting on his knees, curled up into tight fists. Ruki rested his elbows upon his knees, contemplating something, before Ayato interrupted his thoughts. "I think I will come clean to her today."

Ruki turned towards him, surprised. "Today?"

Ayato's eyebrows knotted up. "Well, on the condition that she survives today."

"We won't let her fall prey to them," Ruki insisted.

Ayato looked at him dismissively. "Don't hold high hopes her. This is Reiji we're talking about."

Ruki rolled his eyes. "But you're Sakamaki Ayato. You're as equipped as him."

"I'm not the best yet." Ayato said, "She's going to need more than Oresama and you to go up against Reiji and Shu."

Ruki slit his eyes, staring hard at him. "But she needs nothing more than you. If you reveal your real intentions on why she was brought back to you…"

Ayato shrugged. "I don't care much." The fact was, he did, but he didn't know what to do with his confusing feelings. On one hand, he felt the desperate need to protect the blood that he had been wanting to lay his claim on. On the other, he knew that Cordelia's heart still beat inside her chest. The implications of that fact were drastic, for he knew that was one of the reasons he had brought her back from the Mukamis.

"You don't, yet you go to absolute lengths to protect her honour and can't stand a word spoken against her. Would you like it if I went up to her and confessed my feelings to her?" Ruki touched a weak spot with his bold statements. Ayato felt his hands shake at the thought of losing Yui for even a day. It didn't matter whether she was awake or asleep, whether she felt happy or dejected, the only thing that mattered was the warm breath in her lungs and the rhythmic beating of her heart.

Then why did he feel triggered at the thought of somebody else getting a claim at her love?

"Tch." Ayato managed to spit out. "As though some Mukami scum will match up to Oresama." Ayato turned towards him, as Ruki sported an annoyed expression, fuelling his ego further. "Even if you goad her into having some cheap feelings for you, even if you plead at her feet, she'd always come running to me," Ayato pointed his thumb at his own chest. "Whether I treat her right or wrong, she will come running for me. The only thing she likes other than me, of course, is the feeling of my fangs against her neck."

Ruki opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, they both became aware of it. The silent footsteps approaching them. Ruki got up from the bench, his coat catching up inside the hook of a nail, as the fabric ripped, and whoever it was that spied on them, stopped in their tracks. Ayato felt a strange feeling of ease as an intense scent of incense and honeysuckle hit him like a train.

"Pancake?" Ayato called out to her softly, as she peeked through the wall where they rested, her hair clip almost falling from her golden strands. She appeared different today, even her smell hit his senses in an intoxicating way, seducing him into her arms and triggering his urge to puncture her delicate skin with his fangs. Her hands intertwined themselves, and she brought them close to her chest. Ayato's eyes followed her movements like a predator, but he couldn't help but feel the lightness of his chest and the fluttering in his stomach.

"Ayato kun, Ruki kun," Yui said, coming forward. Ruki stood up to greet her. "Good morning Eve."

"Good morning," Yui said, her eyes locked onto Ayato. He sneered at her, and she took a few steps back from him, her legs shaking in fear.

"Ayato!" Ruki scolded him. "Can't you be a bit more considerate?"

"Can you go fuck yourself?"

"Ayato kun," Yui pleaded. "Be nice."

"Tch." This was a bore. All he wanted to do was to take a teeny tiny bite on her. It was her choice to smell like that in his logic, and it would be her fault yet again if she failed to protect herself from him.

"Ruki kun, it's getting late. You must take some rest before the morning comes." Yui brought her hands to her back, smiling at Ruki.

He smiled back. "All right." With that he disappeared from their sight, leaving both of them alone in the backyard of the mansion. The murder of crows was still there, occasionally cawing at Ayato as he growled, the sound rumbling in his chest. She looked at him in question, as though wondering what he was doing intimidating a crow.

It made him feel a bit pathetic.

"Ayato kun…" Yui started, but hesitated. He looked at her, bored and uninterested. Yui fiddled with her hands, finding herself at a loss of words.

"Come on, pancake, haven't got all day." Ayato yawned as she opened her mouth to speak. She immediately shut up afterwards, settling down beside him on the bench, her palms on the stone seat beneath her. "Ayato kun, Reiji san visited my room this midnight."

Ayato turned towards her, intrigued. If Reiji had come up to her room, he must have had attacked her and sucked her blood. Ayato got a firm hold on her hand, pulling her towards him. She collided against his hard chest, as he pulled her hair to her side, inspecting her neck. Her hands pushed hard against his chest, creating distance between them.

"Come on, Pancake," he pouted, his fingers wrapping around her nimble wrists. "I need to see if that megane soiled you with his mark."

"He didn't!" Yui defended, standing up. "And why do you always act so possessive about my body? It's not like you are the only one entitled to my blood."

Ayato was taken aback by the nerve of this girl. She dared to stand up against him? Of all people? Granted he was a bit pushier than others. That didn't mean he was about to be walked all over by this no tits girl. But he reserved his anger for a better time, when they weren't out in the sun, where they were free from the prying eyes of Subaru, who was watching from the tower, with his insane mother by his side. Yui didn't wait back for him and trotted back into the mansion. Ayato sighed, following after her, yelling, "Pancake!"