Berawecka gently plucked a rose from a myriad of bushes one by one, slowly gathering each little white petal in her frock. Her hands were covered in cuts and bruises, but she was focused on pulling out the flowers. The pain barely bothered her. Her vision was filled with a hazy pale light, illuminating her path among the dark night.

Kino was already there, already with a basket full of white roses, as he gently placed the bunch beside her. His stark black dress contrasting Berawecka's white one. He seemed to reflect upon that fact, as he whispered into the air as an afterthought, "You literally dress like a bride every day."

Berawecka smiled weakly at him, looking up from her chore at his blazing copper rose eyes. "I have to be ready when my prince charming comes to get me."

Kino laughed mercilessly. "You're pathetic. Even more than what I assume my brothers are at this point." He spat on the ground, expressing his disgust. "Losers, all of them. Pining over a stupid mortal that's not even going to live out her ripe old life."

Berawecka plucked out another rose from the bush, turning it around to inspect the ivory white petals. "Sacrificial brides don't last more than two months here. She's the toughest one of all the previous girls."

"She might be otherworldly, sure," Kino sat down on his knees, the concrete ground pinching through his jeans, "But she's still a mortal regardless. And we're not even sure of whether she's from the mystical lands or straight up a demon."

Berawecka hesitated. "She's not a demon."

"Ah, so you don't want her to be like us?"

Berawecka turned away from him. "I don't want her to be hurt."

"Too late already," Kino said, with an air of arrogance. "She's way too attached to Ayato anyway. Even if he does what you have intended to do and sends her off, she'd eventually end up in his arms."

Berawecka smiled sadly, her fingers coated with congealed blood. "It's not Ayato I'm concerned about hurting Yui."

Kino looked pleasantly surprised. "Then who is it?"

Yui jolted awake from the sudden absence of weight on her shoulder. She was in her bedroom, the sunlight from the window filtering onto the bed, illuminating her chamber with a soft glow. She groggily lifted herself off from her pillow, the sleeve of her dress off-kilter, her shoulder echoing with a dull, sweet pain.

She let out a shaking breath, her hands clutching the bedsheet as the pain redistributed throughout the body. It felt like a million papercuts on her skin. She settled back into the bed, covering herself with her blanket, praying for the pain to stop, but it kept stinging until she shivered and clutched the sides of her elbows. She looked at the dresser, the bottle of Methadone inviting her. She felt a bit hesitant, as the foggy memory of last night came flooding her consciousness: Ayato's teeth piercing her shoulder, his unruly bangs against her sweaty skin, the way his hands desperately held on to her frail body, as though he was afraid to let go.

She managed to get up away from her bed, hopping towards the dresser, her hands just inches away from the bottles of oxycodone and methadone. Maybe if she downed a few at once she'd pass out right away. Her reflection raised its head from the mirror, her eyes lifeless and dull, glassy in appearance. A dull purple bruise was superimposed on top of the bite marks on her right shoulder. By this time, she had committed the mark of Ayato's fangs to her memory. She gingerly touched the swollen wound with her fingers, and immediately recoiled. The wound throbbed with a sharp, unbearable pain as soon as she laid her fingers on it.

She stumbled so suddenly, she didn't even realise when she fell down on the ground, her head colliding with the floor.

"Oi!" she heard a frustrated voice echo in the room, as her sense of reality dulled away. The throbbing of her shoulder was just a ghost now, barely there. She felt her body lift off from the floor, and ghostly pale hands shaking her.

"Hey, you…" Subaru's gravelly voice rattled against her chest. "You alright?"

Yui blinked a few times, adjusting her vision. "Subaru kun."

"You idiot," Subaru lifted her in his arms, laying her down on her plush bed. "Why were you roaming around?"

Yui bit her lower lip. "Pain hurts."

Subaru raised a perfectly arched brow. "Where?"

"Everywhere."

Subaru looked over her dresser, her bottles of oxycodone untouched. "The doctor said you don't need them anymore."

"Pain hurts." Her grip over his hand became tighter. "Make it stop."

He inhaled a shaky breath. "Hang in there."

"Just one pill and I'll be fine."

Subaru shook his head. "Not in this state."

"Drain me out," Yui sounded desperate. "Suck me till the bone so I at least pass out."

Subaru looked out towards the door, and then back at the girl. His necklace glinted in the pale sunlight as he leaned slightly towards her neck, his fangs bared out.

Ayato rushed towards Yui's room, only to find Subaru exiting out from there.

"How is she?"

Subaru merely looked at his brother. "Not good."

Ayato smelled the faintest smell of Yui's blood. "Did she hurt herself?"

Subaru's eyes suddenly went blank. "See for yourself."

He walked past Ayato, his gait unsettling and weird at once. Ayato felt a strange sense of concern as he put his hand on the door handle, his heart skipping a beat as he pushed open the door.

Yui was still sleeping. Her hair was a bit messed up, and her forehead was beaded with sweat. He flashed across the room and slid beside her.

The sudden rustling woke her up. "Ayato… kun?"

He slowly grabbed her hand, avoiding the possibility of scaring her. Her fingernails were coated with her blood.

"Did that Subaru suck your blood?"

Yui squinted at him. "No! What makes you think I'd let someone else drink from me?"

Ayato was dumbfounded. "But… you were in pain…"

"How did you know that?"

Ayato felt something stir inside him.

"Ayato kun?" Yui took his face gently in her hands, forcing him to look at her. "How did you know?"

He stared down at the ground and shook his head. "Nothing. Just pack whatever you can. We leave for the port at the daybreak."

Yui appeared startled and withdrew from him. "But why?"

"Chichinashi, you ask a lot of questions." Ayato quickly adjusted his hat and got up. "You have a long journey ahead of you. Just get to packing and be ready before dawn."

Yui watched him disappear in the dark as something beside her dresser caught her eye. She gingerly got up, her fingers carefully picking up the scrap of old paper.

Scrawled in black ink were only two words on the yellowing paper. Memento mori.

Komori looked outside, the rain hammering on the pavement in a slow, steady rhythm. Little, tiny hints of him reminding Yui of her heritage, while not very helpful, made it easier for him to forget his own duty towards his daughter.

I'm going to give her a better-secured future this time, he vowed to himself. Even though it was possibly late and irresponsible on his part, Komori was not ready to question the church's decisions. His hands were visibly shaking as he pondered over the impending fate of the Sakamakis. Particularly Ayato. He'd be staked. Or at least banished from Makai. Even if he wouldn't be profiting from the proposition he had placed in front of Komori, he'd be in direct succession of the throne if Yui fully awakened in the near future. The signs of the awakening were already there, but Komori was a mere mortal. He didn't know much about the intricacies of vampiric rituals. But above all the confusion, why was Ayato purposefully trying to get rid of Yui so suddenly? What had happened in the short span of time that he had left his daughter with him, that the vampire was willing to give up his sacrificial bride?

"Seiji," a dark voice welcomed him from the darkness. Komori's hair stood up at its ends.

"It's been a while," the figure stepped into the dim light of the bed lamp that hung from the ceiling of Komori's chambers. Striking red eyes and dark green hair were bathed in a warm light from the incandescent lamp.

"Richter."

Komori clutched his rosary close to his heart. Unknown to Richter, the cross at the end of the rosary was pure silver. Laced with a layer of vervain, known to subdue vampiric abilities. Even if it won't kill the vampire, it would sure hurt him a lot.

"Not all the dead you see rising from the grave have returned, rest assured," Richter tiptoed towards him ever so slightly. Komori was well aware of the stance with which Richter was approaching him. It was as if… Komori was the prey. Richter was probably hungry or frustrated. Or he was frightening the pastor for shits and giggles.

"I disposed off of the second wife, as you had commanded." Komori kept his calm. He knew giving in to the terror would only mean that he'd give the vampire an advantage over him.

"That was years ago, Komori." The tension in the air was suddenly lifted, as the vampire sat down at the edge of Komori's bed. "I am forever indebted to you for the favour."

"If only Beatrix's sons were as capable as Cordelia's," Richter threw his head back, watching with his blank eyes as the flame above him flickered in the torrent of wind flowing from the window. Komori rushed to close the window.

"It's been decades since that incident." Komori stood beside the window, listening to the howling wind. "I fulfilled my duties as a priest. And yet, it was only my daughter that fit the criteria of acting as the vessel."

"Forget not, that she had been granted the heart of Cordelia."

Komori whipped around, startled. "Granted?" He laughed. "You destroyed her childhood. Kept her in the company of horrible heathens. Used her at will."

"You are as much responsible for her condition as we are."

"I had no choice!" Komori threw his hands in the air. "I was but at the mercy of the Hunters. If that means that I've been a sinner, then sure, I have been. But I never wished for anything of this scale to happen to my little daughter."

Richter let out a guttural sound, his tegument shining in the dark. "She's not even your blood. Why do you even care?"

That was the last straw. Even before Komori knew it, he had jammed the pointed end of the cross into the center of the vampire's chest.

Richter let out a howl and flung the hunter across the room. Komori collided with the heavy wardrobe, which collapsed on top of him.

Richter managed to get up, despite the obvious pain he was in. "I've heard hunters take six lives to be let out of their misery." He groaned, clutching his chest. "How many attempts have you exhausted?"

Komori pulled himself away from the broken wardrobe, coughing as something lodged up in his throat. "You son of a bitch. All of you bastards are the same, selfish heathens." Komori tossed him the rosary, doubling upon himself. "Go ahead, end your miserable life."

"If only it were that simple." A satisfied smile spread upon his face as Richter saw Komori heave and hurl up. "I'm expecting to have the Eve unharmed. That heart is still valuable, even though the soul is no longer in there."

"Go to hell."

"Also," Richter opened the door ever so slightly. "Watch out for that abomination. Kino is out of the dark place. You ought to be careful."

Komori spat out something as he saw Richter exit his chambers. A faint trickle of blood stained the center of his shirt, right where Komori had stabbed Richter.

A/N: Sorry for the sporadic updates. I will get back on the semi-regular updates very soon.