FMVampire Lover: I'm glad that you are enjoying this story as well! :D Haha, Laito is one of my favorites, too! :D I also really like Shuu and Kanato. (: Haha, I'll keep your suggestion in mind! ;) I'm not sure if I'll include season two yet or not. Haha I've only watched pieces of it, so I'm not as familiar with the characters. I'll consider it though!

hellokitty70705: Thank you! :D I'm glad that you like my OC! I'm trying to make sure that she seems levelheaded and more believable. (: To me, it's always better to be able to relate to a character than to not. (: I'm glad that I'm pulling it off! :D It's great to know that you are enjoying the story as well! You are right, she's going to go through some pain and humiliation. That seems to fit best into the universe considering how cruel the brothers are. As for your question, yes I'd like to include some romance into the story. I just haven't decided who Mai is going to end up with, so it might take a bit. (: I'm open to suggestions on who you like to see her with! :D

Thank you for reading, favoriting, and following! I'm likely going to change the rating just to be safe. (: I hope you guys continue to enjoy though! :D


It had been a month and a half since the tack on her chair, and the childish pranks never stopped. They happened every single day; sometimes multiple times. It was starting to feel like a never ending story. They ranged from a variety of painful or sticky things on her chair to stuff being put in her food at some point. It was starting to truly wear on her nerves. It felt like every time she turned around there was some sort of disaster happening to her. Most of the students were snickering about her misfortune behind her back, but they also gave her a wide berth. The last thing they wanted was to get caught up in whatever mess Mai had brought down on herself. Every day, Yui would apologize to her over and over.

Today had to be the worst day yet. She had thrown up every ounce of her lunch, and she still felt a little sick to her stomach. She might just bring food from home and keep it under a carefully watchful eye. She didn't feel like risking getting sick every single day. She had a feeling that Laito was behind her torment, but she had no way of proving it. She hadn't caught him in the act. In fact, it had been a while since she had even seen him.

Currently, she was just finishing up her p.e. class. She felt oddly sore and just wanted to head home. She would shower once she arrived in the safety of her house. She arrives at her locker to find that it had been raided. Her book bag, clothes, and other belongings were missing. In their place was a sloppily written note. It told her exactly where to find her items. To her displeasure, they seemed to be spread over all over the school.

Suspicion fills her chest. This wasn't going to end well for her at all, and it looked like she was going to spend the rest of the night looking for her things while the other students left. She slams her p.e. locker shut with more force than she meant to. She ignores the whispers and stares of the other girls. It was a scary thought to spend the night alone in such a large school, even if it was for only a few hours before sunrise.

"I will kill him. I swear I will. I'm going to strangle his pretty boy ass!" She growls. She unconsciously wrinkles the paper up in her hand when she creates a fist. She takes a few deep breaths to calm herself down. Finally, she makes her move. The whispers grew louder while she was leaving. It would probably spread around the school that she was crazy on top of being cursed. Embarrassment fills her chest, but she pushes it away. She wouldn't be here forever. She only had to suffer for little more than a year. She kept reminding herself of that as she began her search.


She was positively livid. Whoever stole her stuff had gone through her bag, causing her to have to search for all of her things individually. All of the students had left long ago. In fact, it would be dawn in close to an hour. Mai rounds the hallway on her way to the last place on the list for her school jacket. She had managed to change out of her gym clothes when she had found her skirt and button up shirt. Her stomping footsteps slows to a halt when she hears hauntingly beautiful piano music. Her heart and mind both start to race. In the movies, this is where the girl follows the sound and ends up dead. This was clearly some type of trap, and Mai was positive that she wasn't about to fall for it. Without second guessing her choice, Mai spin on her heel and retreats back the way she had came from.

"Screw the jacket. I might get written up for not wearing it. I might get grounded for getting in trouble or whatever, but I am not stupid. I'm not going any closer to that music," she mutters to herself. She starts down a set of stairs ready to just throw in the towel She had found almost all of her belongings, and that was good enough for her. She readjusts the book bag on her shoulder since it was sliding off. She quickly rounds the corner and collides with a solid body. Hers bounces back, and she scrambles to keep her balance. Thankfully, it's not as hard to keep it as she thought it would be. She glances up to apologize, but she loses her voice.

A set of cold purple eyes were glaring at her almost hatefully. His grip on his teddy bear was tighter than normal. She found that couldn't remember his name at all, even though they shared a homeroom.

"Well?" He demands coldly. Confusion fills her body. Was he trying to ask her something?

"What?" She realizes just how much of a mistake that simple question was when his eyes flash angrily. Fear races through her body; he looked almost evil when a crazy smile starts to spread over his face. How did his emotions change so quickly? Before she can even react, he doubles his free fist and swings it at her. His fist collides hard with the side of her head. She stumbles back and trips over her own feet landing painfully on her butt. She felt completely stunned by the sudden hit. Her mind was still trying to catch up to what exactly had happened. Her mind barely registers the fact that the strap of her book bag had slipped off of her shoulder and pooled around the hand she had set back to keep herself from falling onto her back. He was going to strike so randomly, the last thing she wanted to be was defenseless on her back.

"Where are your manners, you stupid woman?! You ran into Teddy and me! Yet, you can't even say you're sorry?!" Mai feels anger fill her chest, but she doesn't get a chance to even move before the next few blows rain down on her. Luckily, she manages to lift her arms in time to protect her head. Pain laces her arms each time his fist connects, but she found that to be much better than having him hitting her in the face and head.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! I was going to apologize and see if you were alright!" Mai practically snarls at him. Thankfully, that seems to get him to stop punching her. She looks up at him from between her forearms. She didn't dare drop her protective gesture. Curiosity colors his face. He tilts his head a little, and he leans forward just a little. Mai's heart starts to quickly pick up the pace. Was he about to hit her again? She had to do something before he did. There was no way that she was going to let him lash out at her again without at least trying to fight back.

She doesn't even bother to glance around for a weapon. She didn't want to alert him to her intentions. She'd just blind side him like he had done to her. She decides to just uses the first thing to come to mind. Her school bag, full of heavy textbooks, is her spontaneous weapon of choice. Her hands drop to the strap at her side. Her hands scoop it up quickly and swings it as hard as she can. She lets it go before she feels it connect with him. Thankfully, she hears it connect, but she doesn't wait to find out where it connected. Instead, she had already twisted and started a scrambling crawl to her feet. Once on her feet, she quickly finishes rushing up the stairs. She silently curses herself for leaving her phone behind, but she figured it would be a worthy sacrifice. There was no way that she was going to turn around and retrieve it. Her head was hurting where she had been struck and so were her arms. That was more than enough reminder that she just needed to get away. She glances over her shoulder at the slew of shocking insults directed at her from the boy. It sounded almost like he was having a tantrum.

With her heart beat now wildly racing, she tries to pick a room that she knew had plenty of hiding places. She didn't see the angry boy giving up chasing her, especially since she hadn't actually apologized him. She didn't see hitting him with her book bag making him very happy either. Her footsteps slow once she realizes the haunting piano music was gone. She hated to admit it, but the music room would likely have the best hiding places. There were plenty of instruments to hide behind. The drama room would be better, but it was down one level on the opposite side of the school. She didn't think it'd be a good idea to make a break for that particular room. The chances of getting caught increased the longer that she stayed out in the open. She glances over her shoulder once more. It seemed like his voice was getting closer.

She mentally curses her luck and quickly locates the music room. If the piano had stopped, it meant whoever was practicing was gone, at least she hoped they were. The last thing she needed was someone like Laito showing up. She's spurred to open the door before her when she hears the purple haired boy yelling about how he was going to 'punish' her by slowly stabbing, and twisting, a dull knife in her body until she was inches from death. The threat sent a chill down her spine. What was wrong with that boy?! She quickly enters and is careful to close the door quietly behind her. She closes her eyes tightly for a moment and takes a deep breath. She turns to face the room around her to make sure that it really is empty. To her relief, she doesn't see anyone. Where should she hide? There were several large closets lining the opposite wall. A variety of cases that held larger instruments lined the left wall, while the piano sat against the right wall. There were long curtains partially covering the windows. Mai's eyes flick back and forth. Panic was making it hard for her to focus. The closets were out of the question. There was no escape route if he wandered into the room and looked in there. She would be a sitting duck. That was always the first place people looked anyway. She was also worried that if she tipped one of the instruments over climbing behind them, that would give her position away. She wasn't sure that she would be able to set it back up without knocking something else over. Her eyes settle on the piano. It wouldn't hide her at all. Maybe the music room wasn't the best idea. There wasn't any backing out now, but she was starting to regret her choice.

That's when she notices her jacket neatly folded on the bench sitting before the piano. Chills race up and down her spine. She had actually forgotten about it. Cautiously, she makes her way toward the bench to retrieve her jacket. She jumps when she hears a banging noise behind her. It felt like her heart was going to explode. The boy must be throwing open doors and looking inside the rooms around her. She turns and quickly returns to the door to lock it. It might not stop him completely, but it would likely slow him enough that she could possibly hide better. She would take her chances with the large instrument cases. She retrieves her jacket and rushes over. To her relief, they didn't sit against the wall like she had thought they did. She also found a drum set that she hadn't noticed before, as well as a covered harp. Both were tucked into the corner, so, in her haste, she had simply overlooked them. She hoped that her pursuer would do the samething too. She chooses the harp to hide behind just as the door handle starts to rattle violently. She tightly closes her eyes trying to keep her breathing as low and slow as possible. She refrains from covering her ears, though she really wanted to block out the horribly rattling sound. She wanted to be able to hear if he made it inside the room. She had to figure out a better way to protect herself than just her book bag. This was getting out of hand.

She finds herself silently praying that she got out of this without any more injuries. To her surprise, the rattling stops. Still, she didn't move. There was no way that she was going leave the safety of her hiding place to see if he had actually disappeared. She would just wait for a while and hope for the best. She didn't want to increase her chances of running into the enraged teenage boy by wandering around while he was still at school.


Her muscles were in pain from crouching behind the harp for an extended period of time. The morning sun was pouring in through the window. Mai could tell she was dozing, because she kept almost losing her balance. It's not until she leans against the harp, almost knocking it over, that she finally makes up her mind that it's truly safe to move. Her body protests to her movement when she starts to stand. She lets out a groan of pain and moves slowly toward the door. Surely the boy wouldn't hold a grudge against her and wait around this long, would he?

It came as a relief to find the hallway empty. She quickly makes her way down the stairs, desperately looking for her book bag. This bullying was getting out of hand. She needed something to protect herself with. She just didn't know how she was going to convince her parents to let her get a weapon. She was sure that her parents wouldn't agree to her getting pepper spray or possibly some sort of pocket knife under the pretext that she was getting bullied.

She releases a sigh when she can't find any sign of her bag on the stair well. She reluctantly creeps her way out of the school, still on high alert for the purple haired boy. She casts a glance around the front of the school before she walks as fast as possible out the gate and down the street. Thankfully, she makes it home without another incident.

Her father was anxiously pacing the living room, and her mother was sitting on the couch with a pale face. She was gripping her clothes and staring worriedly at the door. Both lunge at her the second she enters the house. They talk over each other, telling her how worried they were and asking where she had been. She tries to answer, but she's unable to once her mother wraps her in a strong hug. Her father wraps his arms around the two of them, and everything falls silent. Mai felt so tired. All she wanted to do was go up to bed. She'd have to get up later tonight to go to school. A thought crosses her tired mind. Maybe this was her chance to get something to defend herself with. She wiggles around until her parents release her.

Her father is the first to say something. Anger was lacing his voice. "Where were you?!"

Her mind races for an excuse, and she says the first thing that comes to mind. "I was with my friend. Remember me telling you about her? Yui? Well, we were going to run to a late night fast food place just to go over our homework for homeroom."

Her mother gives her a concerned look. "Why didn't you call and tell us?"

Mai tries to give a casual shrug. "Well, I left my phone in my p.e. locker at school, so we went back for it. On the way, we ran into some drunks."

Mai flinches. She hated lying to her parents, and the lie she was crafting just felt so false. Her parents share a look with each other. Worry bubbles up in Mai's chest. It didn't look like they were going to believe her. She didn't honestly know if she could buy a pocket knife without consent. Using an unsure tone, her mother says. "She goes to school so late at night, and she usually walks to and from school alone. Maybe we should get her something to protect herself with."

Upon hearing that, relief floods through Mai's body. Her father was still staring at her intently, which caused nervousness to bubble up once more. The silence becomes tense as they all wait to see what her father would say. He releases an almost defeated sounding sigh and nods. "Fine. We'll get her some pepper spray."

Relief settles over her. At least she would have something to protect herself with now. She didn't want to sound greedy, but there was something else she wanted to ask her father for.

"Hey, dad?" Mai asks cautiously. She hesitates once she is given his full attention. How was she going to ask him for a pocket knife, too? A good excuse doesn't come to mind right away, so she decides to just ask straight out and see what happened. "I was wondering if I could get both pepper spray and maybe a pocket knife. Just for extra insurance?"

Her father stares at her silently for few moments. It seemed like he was considering it, which gave Mai a small tendril of hope. His tone is serious when he finally asks, "Mai, is something going on at school?"

Mai flinches under the intense gaze of both of her parents. She was sure that they couldn't see the bruise on her head, and her jacket hid the ones on her arms. She quickly shakes her head 'no'. She wanted to tell them about the bullying, but she didn't have proof that it was happening. No one had changed how they behaved toward her. In fact, she hadn't seen Laito at all in weeks, and she was now starting to believe that maybe she had been wrong in accusing him. The only proof she had was a still missing alarm clock and the cruel pranks at school. She was also afraid that it might hurt her chances on getting the pocket knife. Her father might say that she might get too emotional and end up hurting someone accidentally. He could still say that, but she felt like she had better hope this way. She would actually collect evidence and show it to her parents to support her claim that someone was out to harm her. For now, she had some unseen bully and her own word. That didn't seem like much, and the last thing she needed was it getting any worse. Still, she had no doubt that her parents would believe her, but she didn't think the school system or law enforcement would believe her.

"Where is your book bag?" Her father sternly asks. Mai's heart skips a beat. She had missed that detail. She turns her gaze away and lightly licks her lips. The silence continues to stretch, but Mai couldn't figure out what to say. Whatever she said now wouldn't even be believable since she had paused for so long.

"Let her be, dear. I'm sure she is tired. It's almost noon. We'll talk about it more after she gets back from school tonight." Her mother gently says. Her mother proceeds to lightly prod her father out of Mai's way. Mai had never felt more grateful for her mother as she did then. Before her father can change his mind, she rushes up the stairs to her room. She barely manages to change out of her school uniform before she collapses onto her bed. She felt gross, but she was too tired to try to get out of bed and wash off the day's grime. She told herself that she would have to wake up sooner than normal to go with her dad to get the self defense items. She drifts off to sleep without another thought.


She feels a hand shaking her and lets out a groan of protest. It felt like she had just closed her eyes. It couldn't be time for school already, and she didn't want to get up. She bats the hand away and rolls onto her stomach. Her arms around her pillow and buries her face into it. Her voice is muffled, but still intelligible, at least to herself. "Leave me alone. Five more minutes, mom."

She hears a deep chuckle, which should have alerted her to the fact that something was wrong. The clinging dregs of sleep was slowing down her thought process. The bed shifts, which should have been another warning sign. Her mother never sat on her bed; she'd just shake Mai until she finally woke up. The movement did bring her out of her sleep a little more. She frowns into her pillow. She couldn't hear her mother breathing at all. Her eyes open a little, and her heart starts to race. She had her face buried, so she couldn't see anything but her pillow. No one could have slipped into their house unnoticed during the day, could they have? Nothing happens for a few seconds, and Mai considers spinning to see who is in her room. Maybe her mind had just tricked her.

She finally works up the courage to roll quickly and see who is sitting on her bed. Her eyes find nothing out of the ordinary. Her heart was still racing in her chest. She wanted to say that she must have just been half asleep and therefore dreaming, but it felt like she was being watched. Chills race up and down her spine. She glances at where her alarm clock should be out of habit. Her breath catches in her throat. A blood red was sitting on the stand beside her bed. She quickly scrambles out of bed scooping up the rose. She quickly rushes to the window and opens it. It was close to dusk, so she would have to hurry to get to school on time. She considers throwing the rose out the window, but a thought occurs to her. Maybe she tell her parents. This was evidence that something was going on. She decides that it's best to resist the urge to throw the rose away. She was sure that it'd become valuable evidence. She closes the window, spins on her heel and retreats down the stairs. She desperately hoped that her parents were home.

Thankfully, her hopes are answered. A mouthwatering smell hits her nose the second that she makes it to the bottom of the stairs. She follows the smell to the kitchen where her mother is scurrying around with practiced ease. She casts a smile at Mai. Mai returns it then lifts the rose. "Did you or dad bring this rose to me?"

Her mother had turned her back on Mai, but she shakes her head. She moves over to the stove to stir something. Her body was in the way, so Mai couldn't tell what it was. It smelled like pasta though. Her mother's excited voice makes Mai hesitant to talk about the bullying. "No, I haven't, and I don't believe your dad did. Your dad has already gone to work, and I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to wake up. Oh! He dropped by the store and got you some pepper spray and a small pocket knife for you. It's on the table."

Mai's eyes snap to the table. Relief floods her body, and she finds herself rushing over to the bag. She opens it to peek in. The pocket knife didn't look like it was going to be very sturdy, but it didn't matter though. All it had to do was deter anyone who wanted to harm her. She could now protect herself, which came as a huge relief. She sets the rose on the table in favor of picking the bag up. Her mother's humming voice starts to soothe her frazzled nerves. She hated to tell her mom about the bullying when she was clearly in such a good mood, but Mai wasn't sure that she should keep it a secret anymore. She turns to tell her mother only to find a large, dirty spoon inches from her nose. She jumps back into the table causing her mother to laugh. It looked like they were indeed having pasta if the red sauce clinging to the spoon was any indication. Her mother drops the spoon and gives Mai a playful smile.

"Those are not toys. Don't be using them willy nilly. We are showing a great deal of trust in you, got it? You've always been so level headed. Now, you better hurry and get dressed. School will be starting soon, and you didn't bring your books home, so I don't think you did your homework. You'll have to cram as much as you can before school starts." Her mother turns back to the stove.

"Mom, I have something to tell you."

Mai's mother casually flicks her hand over her shoulder in a shooing gestures. "I'll be here when you get home. I have the next few days off. We'll talk then. For now, you need to get to school, and I need to keep from burning this food. It'll be here and ready to warm up when you get off school. I'll be making some cookies, too!"

Mai frowns as her mother makes another shooing gesture. Her mother was stubborn, and it looked like she didn't plan to talk to Mai. Mai pulls the bag close to her chest and hurries up to get ready for school. She would just have to wait to tell her mom about what was going on. She finds a nasty looking bruise on her both of her arms from where the purple haired boy had hit her. She flinches. She wasn't sure how her mother had missed the bruises, but it looked like she did. She needed to pay attention in class to figure out his name so she could report him if he ever attacked her again. She lightly probes around in her hair where she had been struck. She flinches at the sting. She probably had another bruise there. She was happy it was easily hidden.

She gets in the shower and proceeds to get ready for school. Her mother was right. She was running late again. She calls out a 'goodbye' to her mother on her way out and hurries to school. She would have to report that her book bag had been stolen, so she wouldn't have any textbooks or homework. She had shoved the pepper spray in one pocket of her jacket, and her pocket knife in the other. She would be prepared if they confronted her again.

Luckily, she makes it to school before the warning bell, though she wasn't sure how. Her first stop was her classroom. She had to see if her teacher was there before she set off looking for him. She pulls the door open and peeks inside. It's surprisingly empty, but something still catches her eye. Her bag was sitting on her desk. Her heart starts to race. Did the purple haired boy do something to her books? She cautiously creeps into the classroom. Her eyes sweep over the room once more to make sure that she was truly alone. Her breath escapes her lungs, though she isn't sure how long she had been holding it. She quickly bolts over to her desk and reaches out grabbing her bag. It makes a strange noise after only a little movement, prompting Mai to release the bag. It falls back onto the top of her desk. She stares at it, completely unsure if she wanted to investigate what had made the squeaking noise.

Her bag moves a little once more. She jerks away from it. The sound is muffled, so she can't quite identify what it is. Her heart starts to pound. It looked like he had done something to her bag after all. She could only pray that it wasn't a rat or something. She takes a deep breath and forces herself to step close to her bag once more. She swallows hard and reaches out grabbing the side of her bag. Whatever it was, she had to get it out of her book bag. Her hands were shaking, and she felt like she was sweating. There was a small lump moving around in her bag with what appeared to be jerky movements. She wanted to close her eyes and pretend that this was nothing more than a silly nightmare, but she didn't dare. The last thing she needed was a rat popping out and biting her hand.

She decided that this was the final straw. She'd see what was put inside her bag, and then she would go to principal and her parents. It didn't matter to her if she had hard evidence or not. She didn't think she could handle this anymore. She holds her breath and jerks the zipper back. She doesn't get any sort of warning. Instead, a small, black, furry creature rushes at her face. She releases an unintentional scream and jumps away, violently swinging in front of her face. She fully expects to hit the wall, only she finds herself hitting something much different. Two arms loosely wrap around her ribcage from behind. She lets out yet another startled cry and pulls herself away. She scrambles away from the person and spins to face them once she is at the back of the room. Her hand was in her pocket gripping the pepper spray. Laito was standing there, only he had leaned back against the wall with his arms folded. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see something moving around near the window. Her stomach twists with disgust, and she moves her gaze from Laito to see what it was. There had been a bat in her bag. A shudder runs down her spine and she drops her gaze to lock with amused green ones. Laito carefully fixes his clothes with a 'tsk'ing sound. "That wasn't very nice. You stepped on me, so I was forced to grab you to stop you from tipping over."

Mai just narrows her eyes at him. She hadn't heard him even enter, and she knew he hadn't been in the room when she had entered. She grips the can tighter. She tries to make her voice sound as authoritative as possible. "You don't belong in this class. What are you even doing here?"

He looks up from straightening his clothes with a flirtatious smile. "I was just checking up on you."

She settles her best glare on him, though the bat flying around the room was making it hard not to duck away. She could feel herself shaking every time it came even remotely close to her. "What is wrong with you? I know that you're the one that has been tormenting me!"

He gives her a fake look of shock, followed by an almost convincing hurt look. He takes a step toward her, causing her body to tense. His voice sounded hurt as well. "Oh, you seem to have the wrong impression of me. I was only looking out for you. You are just so stupidly stubborn with Little Bitch. It seems like you are intent on having her as a friend, so I was worried about you. After all, I truly do love you."

Mai presses herself against the rear wall. Why had she retreated this way? The door was on the opposite side of the room. She might be able to bolt between the rows of desks, but she still stood a chance of getting caught. The last thing she wanted was him behind her again. She wouldn't be able to effectively use her newly found weapons. She keeps her eyes locked on him and tries to slowly inch her way toward the middle row of desks. "You don't even know me. How can you say you love me?"

He lets out a strange, lustful chuckle. The sound sets off every warning bell in her head. She had to get away from him as soon as possible. She didn't want to let him know that she had pepper spray,since she wasn't sure if he'd be able to defend himself. It'd be better to surprise him anyway. He lays his hand on a desk beside him and seems to stroke it gently. "I knew that you had done something to Kanato yesterday, since he came home in a such huff. He was carrying your bag, which I so kindly convinced him to hand over to me. You know it might not be best to play with him. He has quite the temper."

His green eyes move from the desk back up to Mai. She felt a creepy feeling wash over her. She had to get out of there as quickly as possible. He smiles once more, only this time it seemed colder than before. He takes a step toward her and holds out a hand. "Let's go find something much more fun to do. After all, you owe me now. I know the perfect place where you can repay your debt. We'd be alone, and we could get to know each other better."

"Go screw yourself!" Mai snaps. Instead of listening to her common sense, she bolts for the door, heading for the middle row. He seems to appear before her with a look of pure pleasure on his face. Her heart stops completely. She was forced to halt. Unfortunately, it was within his reach. His hand lifts to grab her, and she does the first thing that comes to mind. She jerks the pepper spray out of her pocket and immediately sprays it in his face. She doesn't miss a beat with aiming a kick between his legs to drop him while he's distracted by the burning of his eyes. Oddly, he doesn't make a sound as he goes down. She didn't plan to go over the top of him. That was like asking for him to reach out and drag her down with him. Instead, she climbs over the desk to the next row and bolts for the door once more. She manages to make it out into the hallway, but she could swear she heard him say. "Stupid cunt."

Her heart beat is ringing in her ears as she quickly makes her way to the principal's office. She kept glancing over her shoulder to see if the redhead was chasing her. From the look of things, he hadn't. By some stroke of luck, she makes it unharmed to the principal's office. She doesn't bother with waiting to be called in. Instead, she barrels into his office and immediately starts to talk. She found herself panting and running her words together. The principal simply stares at her in shock for a few moments, before he finally gets her to calm down. She tries to start at the beginning, but she finds herself skipping around. Finally, the principal lets out a sigh and rubs his forehead. He excuses her back to class. He makes sure to give her a note to excuse her from being tardy.

The hallways were completely empty on her way back. She found herself jumping at every sound before she convinces herself that she was being stupid and paranoid. Yui had scared her before, and she was over exaggerating things in her own mind. She quickly returns to her class, gives the teacher the note and hurries to her seat with her head down. She could feel someone glaring at her. Once she is settled in her seat, she glances around to see who it was. Her eyes stop on Yui, who gives her a reassuring smile. She tries to return it, but she finds it hard to do so. Instead, she turns her attention back to her book bag. The last thing she wanted to do was open it. She feels a little squeamish about doing it, but she finally works up the courage to open it. Everything looked like it was in place inside. She finally breathes a sigh of relief and pulls everything out. All of her books looked like they were ok. Her body tenses when she realizes that all of her homework was done. Her hands were starting to shake, and she tried to hide it by gripping the edge of the desk. Had Laito gone through her things? Had he done her homework? If so, he'd use this as an excuse to blackmail her.

She pushes the disturbing thought from her mind. There was no way that he was going to drag her down. She was determined to not let that ever happen. She settles in to pay attention to what the teacher was saying. She should have told the principal sooner. It wouldn't have escalated to this level. She shakes her head a little and forces herself to listen to the teacher drone on about the current subject he was teaching, which happened to be math.

The glaring feeling finally seems to disappear. Her eyes drift back to Kanato, who was clearly not paying attention to what the teacher was saying. His purple eyes were focused on the teddy bear that was sitting on his desk. She turns her attention to the front once more. The last thing she needed was detention for not paying attention to the teacher. She didn't want to be alone in the school with Laito and Kanato lurking around.


"Mai?" Yui asks after the class had ended. Mai glances up from shoving her books back in her bag. She was determined to make this day somewhat normal after the terrible morning. Yui gives her a sheepish look and says. "Do you still want to eat lunch with me?"

Mai freezes mid shoving a book into her bag. She gives Yui a strange look. "Why wouldn't I want to?"

Yui looks down as she nervously fiddles with her fingers. "Well, I know that they have been tormenting you. It's all my fault, so I was just wondering if you were ok still being around me."

Mai rolls her eyes, shoves the last book in and shoulders her bag. "It's not your fault that you apparently live with assholes. Come on. We better hurry before the rich kids eat all the good food."

Mai gives Yui a smile, who looked immensely relieved. Mai leads the way out the door. Unfortunately, they didn't make it very far down the hallway before a hand jerks Yui to a stop. Yui lets out a startled noise. Mai spins to see who was bothering the two of them now. Ayato was standing there with a grin on his face. He was clearly enjoying the look of terror on Yui's face. She had her eyes closed and was cowering down slightly. Mai opens her mouth to argue, but she finds Ayato's hand on her chest. He gives her a violent shove, causing her to reel backwards. She barely manages to maintain her balance. Her eyes had moved to watch her feet, so when she looks up, she's startled to see that Yui and Ayato are nowhere in sight. Mai's eyes frantically search the hallway for signs of her friend. Had they disappeared into one of the classrooms? She starts down the hallway intent on finding her friend, but she finds a rush of upperclassmen coming from their classes, which seemed to have let them out late. She finally gives up the search and walks toward the cafeteria alone. It bothered her that she hadn't seen Yui fighting against Ayato. Why wouldn't she fight? Another thing that bothered her was the fact that she could swear that she had only looked down for less than a minute. How had they disappeared in such a short amount of time?

She shudders at the thoughts running through her head she enters the cafeteria. She desperately hoped that Yui was going to be ok. Something weird was going on. Laito had moved so quickly. She knew he was two rows over, but he had seemed to appear before her. Now, Ayato and Yui had simply vanished into thin air. Mai shakes her head. Yui had been hysterical before. There was no such things as vampires. There had to be an actual explanation as to how everything had happened. She wasn't about to believe that vampires were real. She grabs what food she can, since she was jammed between two male upperclassmen. It seemed like they had been grabbing everything in sight. She makes her way over to her usual spot and sits down. It looked like she was just going to have to wait for Yui to show up.

Lunch had never felt so lonely before.