Tsukiyomi-Hio: I'm so sorry! T.T I hope this chapter makes up for the cliffhanger! (:
FMAVampireLover: Thank you for reviewing again! It's great to hear from you! I hope you are doing good. :D That makes me happy to know you've been faithfully following! :D I hope you enjoy this chapter! ;) I kept your review in mind when I wrote it! :D
Guest: I hope you enjoy! :D
Guest: Haha, yes it did! :D
mspyrrha: Haha, poor heart! I'm trying to show all the brothers as much as possible, but some of them seem harder to write than others. :/ I'm glad you are enjoying seeing the ones that do show! :D No need to apologize about not reviewing! :D I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Thanks for reading! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! :D Be warned that there is some smut! (:
Edit: it has been brought to my attention that I didn't put the trigger warning at the beginning of the chapter. I am truly sorry! I wasn't trying to be insensitive on a serious issue. :( I was simply tired when I put it up. So, I will put what I intended to write: Similar to the games, it is not consensual.
To her mounting horror, he is slowly stalking closer to her. There's a sadistic smile on his face that just seems to grow the closer he gets. Each step sends her heart into a new frenzy. Every muscle is tense to the point of pain. She has to get away from him. He's giving her that hungry look again, and it's frightening her. Her eyes flick around her immediate area before passing over the lamp base. An idea occurs to her, and she's careful not to linger on it, since she doesn't want to give away her plan. A sense of relief washes over her. She clenches her hands together and focuses on her breathing instead of her fear. The second Laito is in range, she leaps up and swings her bound hands at his head. Just like she hoped, the base of the lamp swings along behind. Unfortunately, Laito seems to see the attack coming. Her heart stops when his hand easily catches her makeshift weapon, and she is painfully drug forward by her hands. Her body collides with his, and she only has enough time to let out a snarl before the world spins around her. Darkness invades her vision. Seconds later, she feels like she is dropped about a foot. She somehow manages to land on her feet, but she hits hard enough to ends up stumbling. Her foot catches something on the ground, and her body pitches forward. Her shoulder collides with an unseen tree, and she twists to land on her side. Pain races down her entire side and she ends up letting out a whimpering sound. She reaches up to gently prod at her shoulder while listening for any sound. Despite it being sore, she's thankful that it didn't actually break or dislocate. At least, she didn't think it did.
She's completely terrified to hear nothing but the nocturnal animals. She closes her eyes and offers a silent prayer that she will somehow make it through this without getting any more injuries, but she has a feeling this is just the opening act. She opens her eyes to only be met with the same pitch blackness. She rolls onto her back and squints her eyes. She can vaguely see small pin points of the moon shining through leaves high above her head. She flinches and wonders where she is. With a sigh, she awkwardly climbs to her feet. She can't just lay there, or some sort of dangerous wild animal might stumble upon and decide to eat her. Picking a random direction, she begins to walk.
A figurative eternity seems to crawl by. The air isn't freezing, but it isn't comfortably warm either. To make matters worse, she trips and gets caught on so many unseen things that she is bleeding from numerous small cuts. Her clothes have been torn from caught on branches. The most embarrassing fact is that she has literally walked into more trees than she cares to admit. Her lip's bleeding, and she's sure that her nose isn't much better. She also carefully avoids walking toward any sounds. The last thing she wants to do is stumble upon something that could see her, but she couldn't see it. It seems to be paying off, since she the trees were beginning to thin. She is having an easier time avoiding obstacles with the help of increased moonlight.
Finally, she steps out into what appears to be a wide meadow, only the moon is sitting on the ground. With a sinking feeling, she realizes it's not a meadow but a large pond. She carefully works her way toward the water, but the mud stops her from getting too close. Her eyes lock onto the completely still water, and she can't stop the smile from spreading over her face. Despite her circumstances, the sight of the moon reflected on the surface of the pond is simply beautiful. She wiggles her fingers in an effort to get some feeling back in them, but she knows it's futile. Her gaze moves downward to find they appear to be changing color. Full panic sets in, and she once again tries to tug her hands through the cord. Unfortunately, she has tried so many times that the skin underneath is raw. She lets out a soft whimpering noise and lifts her gaze to glance around the area. There are no signs on which way to go, and there was nothing she could use to try to cut the cord either. At this rate, she's beginning to think that she could possibly lose the ability to use her hands. A sadistically playful chuckle from behind has her spinning around to face her worst nightmare. Laito is standing just out of arm's reach, but she didn't feel any safer. He gives her what appears to be a look of mock concern, but it's hard to be certain. The moonlight provides enough light to see by, but it doesn't help her with all the incredibly small details.
"Sweetheart, are you OK?" he asks. His voice is laced with 'concern'. She gives him a cold look, but she chooses to keep her mouth firmly closed. He waits for a few minutes before releasing a disappointed sounding sigh. He carefully skirts around her and moves closer to the water's edge. Her eyes never leave his face, though she's a little curious about how he navigates the mud. Still, she isn't about to miss an opportunity to swing the lamp base at him so she could run again. An uncomfortable, tense silence settles between them. He finally turns his head just a little. Her heart leaps into her throat when she sees that his eyes stand out against everything else since they were glowing once more. She's tries to tell herself that it's nothing but a trick her mind is playing since it's so dark outside, but she couldn't shake the feeling. She's positive that the eerie pond and the moonlight doesn't help her imagination. Her flight instinct kick in, and she spins around to run. She knew better than to turn her back on him. He is like a wolf, and she is the rabbit. Just like a wolf, he pounces on her after only a couple of steps. His weight bears her to the ground. Somehow, her bound arms end up stretched above her head. Something digs into her side painfully. It easily rips through both cloth and skin alike. Her cry of pain is muffled by a mouthful of dirt and grime. Tears of anger and pain well up in her eyes, and she attempts to thrash her way free. Unfortunately, all she manages to do is turn her head enough to gasp loudly. Laito easily flips her over onto her back. This action renews her efforts to get free, since she could now try to use her hands as a club. Unfortunately, she only manages to lift them an inch or so when his hand lands right on the cord, effectively securing her to the ground. He tilts his head, and a sadistic look of pleasure causes his eyes glow even brighter. She lets out a wild scream and bucks her hips in an effort to throw him off of her body. Tears of pure hopelessness begin to fall, but it only serves to make her feel even more humiliated than ever before.
"Tell me, Sweetheart. Do you understand now? You never stood a chance." Despite his cold words, his tone sounds loving, almost caring. He seems to wait for the realization to completely sink in. She's been completely helpless this entire time. He had done small things to make her believe she had a chance. All the kindness he has been showing must have been to build up this moment. He wanted her to fall as far and hard as possible. She glares hatefully at him through her tears, but she stops her struggling. Was there a point anymore? He was clearly winning. He promised that he was going to break her, and it certainly felt like he's achieving his goal. His cold, mocking laughter only serves to rub salt into the wounds. Finally, she falls silent and closes her eyes. She doesn't want to give in, but a wave of helplessness washes over her, effectively killing any of her remaining determination. She hears him make a noise of satisfaction in the back of his throat, but she doesn't open her eyes. He suddenly leans down until his face is near her neck, and all she does is tense. She fully expects him to bite, lick, or kiss her, so it comes as a shock when he whispers. "Beg me."
Her eyes open a little, and everything in her body goes oddly numb, even her emotions. She finds herself staring at the stars above. He pulls his head back until his face is directly in her path of sight. His hair hangs around his face, giving him an eerie look since the moon was at his back. All she can truly see are his eyes. Time seems to tick by, and it becomes apparent that he seems to be waiting patiently for her to say something. Mai stubbornly doesn't say a word. Finally, Laito releases a chuckle and says in a deeper voice. "Mai, I'll release your hands if you beg me to."
The sound of her name sends a thrill down her spine. She peels her eyes away from his face and focuses on the arm that he is using to balance himself up. Once again, a tense silence settles between them. Despite the overwhelming sense of helplessness, she isn't about to beg him to do anything. She shudders when he mutters her name into her ear. She jerks away, but her face still flushes. This is the most she has ever heard him say her name. Thankfully, he sits back with a laugh. "Are you planning to stubbornly cling to your pride?"
Despite him no longer holding her hands above her head, she continues to leave them there. After a few seconds, he places his hands on either side of her head and leans down once more. His cold breath brushes the skin of her cheek when he softly mutters, "Pride will not help you here. Nothing can help you but me."
She turns her head to look at him once more. Unfortunately, he has moved again, so her nose brushes his. She forces herself to not flinch or look away. She's proud of the fact that her voice is steady and emotionless. "Fuck you."
He leans back to give her a thoughtful, yet cold, look. A shudder runs down her spine, and she turns her head away. She tries to tune out his chuckle, but it still sends bouts of anger into the pit of her stomach. He moves one hand to reach out and grab the elbow of her arms. He tugs her into a sitting position, which she silently complies to. With another tug, he pulls her arms over his head and settles her in his lap. With a jolt, she realizes that something hard is pressing against her clothed womanhood from below. She squirms uncomfortably and feels her face flush. This brought back some very vivid memories of her dream, only he was so much more gentle there. She catches herself wishing that he was gentle and closes her eyes. She tries to keep her body from shuddering, but it turns out to be an impossible task. Unfortunately, this seems to be the inspiration he needs to keep going. His hands settle on her hips, and he lets himself fall back. She's dragged down with him,. She tries to tell herself that she doesn't care, but she knows that deep down inside that she does. She uses her elbows to keep from completely landing on him, but she's still uncomfortably close to him. She knew the awkward angle should make her hands hurt, but she finds that she doesn't even feel the ground. Panic coats her mouth, throat, and tongue in a sour taste. This panic only grows when she feels his cold thumbs slip under her shirt to rub lazy circles against the skin of her waist. Every so often his thumb brushes one of her many scratches, causing her to flinch. He lets out a chuckle each time. Finally, she starts to shift in an effort to get him to stop touching her. Unfortunately, it has a negative effect on him. He simply moves his hands higher. After a few attempts, she snaps. "Let me go, you freak!"
"You smell disgusting," he cooes. It sounded so weird to hear insulting words spoken in such a voice. He turns so his face becomes buried in her arm. "Beg me to release you, and I'll untie you. You can clean yourself, then. Unless you are hoping that I'll do the honors of washing your body."
She grits her teeth so hard that pain races through her jaw. She finally manages to snarl out. "Please untie me."
He chuckles deep in the back of his throat. Her entire body tenses at the sound. It sounds as if her words had turned him on. His cold fingers lightly run from her elbow to her shoulder and back down a couple of times. She wants to flinch away, but she already knows that she won't get free. Instead, she forces herself to hold still. After a few seconds, he releases a yet another sigh. His fingers leave her arms, and he turns to look at her. His arm suddenly snakes under her own where he begins to trace one side of her collarbone. Without any sort of warning, his other hand painfully grabs the hair at the back of her skull, and he pulls her head closer to his. His lips painfully collide with hers. She tries to flinch back, but he easily holds her still.
Her eyes widen when she feels his tongue thrust into her mouth. Without any more hesitation, she bites down as hard as she can. Blood fills her mouth. Panic sets in as she tries to keep herself from swallowing it. She doesn't know if she thought vampire blood would taste different than human blood, but it doesn't. Thankfully, he chooses that moment to jerk back, so she simply opens her mouth and lets the blood rush out. She doesn't care that it lands directly on his face. Her eyes squeeze shut, and she turns her head to spit the remaining traces out. Unfortunately, Laito lets out a loud moaning noise, effectively distracting her. Her eyes snap back to meet his just as the world tilts when he rolls the two of them over. His body effectively pins hers to the ground. Unfortunately, her luck continues to not hold out. The base of the lamp swings around and collides hard with her cheek. She lets out an unintentional cry of surprise and pain. Her head turns to the side when she sees the lamp base was swinging back at a slower to strike her again. To complete the nightmare, Laito rolls his hips into hers. Her body stiffens when a jolt runs through her body. She turns her eyes just enough to look up into his glowing eyes. His eyes are clearly full of lust and excitement. She clenches her eyes shut when he leans closer down to her.
"Did you know…." His tongue comes out to touch her collarbone. He slowly licks all the way up to her jaw, leaving a cold trail of saliva behind. "...I can tell you are a virgin simply by the scent of your blood. In fact, the scent changes when a woman gives her body over to pleasure. Aren't you curious to what you will smell like?"
She jerks backward in an attempt to get away from him. Unfortunately, her bound hands keep her from going too far. She desperately gasps out, "Let go!"
His cold, lustful chuckle sends chills down her spine. One of his fingers reaches through the hole in her shirt that she received when he pushed her down and lightly traces the cut within. His voice once again takes on a mocking edge. "Virgin blood smells so…."
He pauses to inhale sharply through his nose and slowly releases the cool air in her face. "...pure. It's just so hard to not sully it."
Without warning, he's gone. Her hands fall heavily to her stomach. She glances around to see if she can find him, but he's nowhere to be seen. Now that she has a moment to think, she finds that she's shaking. She swallows hard and awkwardly sits up. Once she is upright, two arms wrap around her from behind. She stiffens when she's pulled back into a chest. To her dismay, she finds that she's sitting directly between Laito's legs. A hard lump presses into her back, and she closes her eyes tightly. His hands suddenly grab her elbows and slowly run their way down to her bound wrists. He mutters in a deep, sadistic sounding voice. "Do you realize just how helpless you foolish humans are against my kind?"
She swallows hard, but she can't get rid of the lump forming in her throat. She slowly nods her head, since she didn't trust her voice. His nose brushes the skin of her neck. She flinches slightly, but she doesn't dare move more than that. He chuckles against her skin, but it sounds hollow to her. She feels a tug on her wrists and opens her eyes. Relief floods through her when she sees he is slowly unwinding her hands. When his lips brush over the skin of her neck, she closes her eyes tightly again. She cringes with each kiss he gives her. Restlessness sets in when feeling begins to rush back into her hands and fingers. She instinctively flexes her fingers a couple of times in hopes that it will stop them from tingling as much.
His fangs suddenly brush over her skin, which causes a shudder to run down her spine. She must have moved just right, since she is rewarded with a deep moan in her ear. She clenches her eyes shut and immediately stops moving. Unfortunately, that's when her hands decide to begin to painfully tingle. The last of the cord slides off and lands in her lap. She slowly flexes and relaxes her fingers a few more times, but something stops her from doing so. Her eyes slowly open to find that he's rubbing her hands. Her heart skips a beat and anger rises in the pit of her stomach. Was he trying to 'help' her get feeling back in her hands? Did he think this would fix what he's done so far? She closes her eyes and clenches her teeth. She feels a puff of air against her jaw, but she is careful to not react.
A few seconds tick by before she hears a frustrated 'hm' sound coming from him, but she chooses to ignore it. Without warning, pain explodes through her neck. Her eyes snap open, and she unconsciously thrusts her head back. The back of her skull collides with his shoulder, but it doesn't seem to affect him. Her mouth opens in a silent scream. A rush of air escapes her when she feels him biting down even harder. This time, she lets out a loud whimper. It feels like every nerve in her body is on fire. She feels terrified and helpless. What should she do? She can't hear him actually drinking her blood, so it seems like he is punishing her. The part she doesn't understand is why he is punishing her. She isn't sure when or why, but she finds her hand in his hair. She considers tugging on it in a vain effort to get him to let go, but, to her surprise, Laito has already pulled his fangs out of her neck. She unconsciously leans back into him, but her body still throbs as if he were still biting her. She feels him move and forces herself to turn to her head to look at him. Her hand slips from his hair when she does. She catches the tail end of shock on his face, but it melts away into an emotionless look that makes her heart sink. Without meaning to, she mutters, "What is wrong with you?"
She flinches when she finds herself scooped up by him. He holds her bridal style with a playful smirk on his face. She can't help but feel like something bad is about to happen. Out of the corner of her eye, she notices the ground further away than it should be. She makes the mistake of turning to find that they were at least four feet off the ground. Her heart skips a couple beats before it starts to wildly race again. Her hands find the front of his clothes, and she grips tightly. Still, she can't manage to tear her eyes away from the ground. She hadn't actually believed Yui's ramblings about flying, but it was proving to be her downfall again. She feels his chuckle brush against her skin. The cold sound is enough motivation to tear her gaze away from the ground. Her eyes meet cold, glowing, green ones inches from her own, but she doesn't dare jerk away from him. His voice is just as cold and sadistic as his gaze. "Isn't this fun?"
She can't muster up the strength to try to force words past the lump in her throat, so she starts to shake her head violently. She just wants her feet to touch the ground again. A look of mock disappointment passes over his face, but she found that she didn't care anymore. He suddenly releases her legs, and she lets out a cry of surprise. Her arms wrap around his neck instead of just gripping his clothes. She buries her face in his shoulder and silently pleads that he doesn't drop her. It feels like her heart is hammering hard enough to break her ribs. Her body presses tightly against his. Thankfully, one of his arms is still wrapped around her upper back, but the other one is painfully running through her hair. He doesn't bother to slow down when his fingers catch knots, twigs, or other debris, but she doesn't dare say anything. She's terrified that he'd let her fall if she pushes him too far. She fights the tears from falling, but she fails horribly. His shirt absorbs most of them. To her surprise, he makes a shushing noise and moves the arm that is running through her hair to wrap around her waist, pulling her lower body completely flush against him. Once again, she is uncomfortably aware of the fact that something hard was pressing against her. He mutters softly. "I just want to do something nice for you, since you didn't seem to be enjoying yourself earlier. I thought that a look at the scenery from higher up would be to your liking. Why don't you take a look?"
She simply shakes her head. She wants to feel shocked, irritated, or even appalled by his words, but she finds that all she feels is cold, raw fear. There's no way to tell how high she is now, and she doesn't want to get a sense of vertigo from looking straight down. She tenses when he shifts her body.
"Do you want to dance?" His voice is the usual playfulness that she has become accustomed to. Despite her better judgement, she feels her body relaxing a little. She slowly lifts her head to look up at him. She can clearly see the blood on his face, which surprises her. She thought he would have cleaned himself off by now. He gives her a pleasant smile that causes her body to tense all over again. She starts to shake her head before he can misunderstand her silence, but it's already too late. He playfully mutters. "You smell so disguising, Sweetheart. Let's give you a bath."
Her eyes widen, and she clings even tighter to him. Unfortunately, he seems to have a different plan in mind. His hands grip her waist, and he gives a sharp tug. Unfortunately, her hands still haven't fully returned to normal, so they easily slip away from him. The second she loses her grip on his neck, she scrambles to try to grab some of his clothing. He clicks his tongue playfully. "Naughty girl, do you want me to bathe with you?"
"This…! This….!" Inside her mind, she manages to cry out that this isn't a bath! Any clothing she manages to grab still slides through her fingers. His hands suddenly let go of her. She feels numb as she falls. She can only hope that she wouldn't be falling far. She was so stupid. She had hid her face in his shoulder, so she didn't see him moving over the still pond. She didn't know how high he was when he dropped her.
Her butt hits first, parting the water. Seconds later, she lets out a cry of shock. The water is so cold that it feels like she is on fire. The water closes over her body, but she didn't have time to close her mouth at that point. The cold water rushes into her mouth and down her throat. The sense of drowning washes over her. She thrashes her way back up to the surface in a panic. Once her head breaks the surface, she gasps greedily. Unfortunately, she sinks back under for a moment due to her own panicked thrashing. She breaks the surface and begins to cough hard to try to clear her lungs. She's already shivering hard, which makes it hard to tread water. She glares up at him coldly. It was still shocking to see him floating a couple of feet above the water. He gives her a playful wave, which she responses by flipping him off . She turns her attention to getting out of the water. Of course, he has dropped her in the center of the large pond. With chattering teeth, she makes her way toward what appears to be the closest edge.
"I love that defiant look!" Laito playfully calls. "It really gets me going!"
She rolls her eyes, but she doesn't comment. She doesn't need to. He proceeds to tell her about how boring it is to play with her when she just gives in. She's not sure how, but she manages to make it to the edge of the pond. Her limbs were starting to feel numb though, and she could tell that she was getting clumsy. To finish everything off, she sinks into the mud in ankle deep water. To her humiliation, she ends up tipping over and getting caked in mud when she finally manages to rip one foot out of the mud. Laito's laughter only makes it worse. She feels like punching him in the face. She barely manages to drag herself to her hands and knees. She takes a moment to catch her breath. A nasty taste had evaded her mouth, so she spits out as much mud as she can. Just when she gets ready to pull herself up to a standing position and try again, two arms wrap around her from behind. She only has enough time to gasp before the world spins.
Just when everything stops spinning, she feels herself dropping again. Her heart leaps into her throat, and she reaches out to brace herself. Pain races up both wrists when her hands collide with hard tile. The room is so bright that she's forced to close her eyes. Laito's laughter echoes around the room. After a few minutes, she is able to slowly open her eyes. It's still bright, but she manages to blink rapidly until her eyes adjust enough to see. She's still on her hands and knees, but she is leaning back to rest on her knees more. Her hair hangs limply around her face. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see leaves, twigs, mud, and other things caked in her hair. Her stomach twists in disgust, and she eases back until she is fully sitting on her knees. It doesn't come as a surprise to see Laito crouched in front of her. His elbow is on one knee, and his chin rests in his hand. He's giving her a cold smile, and his eyes are still glowing. Mai's heart sinks to the bottom of her stomach. He still hasn't even attempted to clean the partially dried blood that is smeared over one side of his face. A shudder runs down Mai's spine, and she reluctantly tears her eyes away from him.
A mixture of horror and relief flood her being. She is in the bathroom of the Sakamaki manor. It's one that she's used once before. She spares a glance down to see that her outfit is ruined. She's sure that there is blood coating some of the larger holes, but it's all hidden by the thick layer of mud that coats her from head to toe. Her arms are covered in the dark brown substance. She's still shivering, but the bathroom feels surprisingly warm, so she doesn't think it would take long to warm up. She flinches and glances back at Laito, who gives her a smug smile. She grits her teeth and tries to catch him off guard by saying, "Thank you for allowing me to use your bathroom. If you don't mind, I would appreciate you showing yourself out, so that I may clean myself properly. I promise to make the shower quick so you can shower as well."
A frown overtakes his face, but he doesn't actually look upset. This is further cemented by the fact that he tilts his head and says in a voice full of mock disappointment. "I can't leave. Reiji would kill me for tracking mud into the rest of the house."
She clenches the muddy material of her pants. This isn't going like she hoped it would. With a sigh, she gives him her best stern look. "Then take me home. I'll shower there, and you can shower here."
"Hmmmm," he hums out. She grits her teeth tightly and stands up. That's when she realizes that she's missing a shoe. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. It must have happened when she finally freed that foot from the mud. She opens her eyes and prepares to inform him that she will talk to Reiji about the mud if he would just leave. Unfortunately, she doesn't get a chance. His hand lashes out, and she hears a tearing sound. Surprise prevents her from wrapping her arms around her now exposed stomach. She can only stare at him in astonishment. He has a thoughtful look on his face, while he stares at a scrap of her shirt that is dangling from his fingers. He tilts his head a little. His eyes suddenly shift over to her, and she takes a step back. He gives her a playful pout. "Your clothes are ruined. How long do you plan on wearing them?"
She finds herself only able to stare at him once again. Finally, she manages to ask. "What?"
He chuckles and reaches toward her. She flinches back, but his fingers still gently brush her jaw. Bewildered, she quickly attempts to back even further away. To her surprise, he allows her to retreat all the way across the room. That simple action of 'kindness' only causes her to feel even more alarmed. She finally wraps an arm around the torn part of her shirt and pulls her eyes away from him in order to see how far away from the exit she is . She finds that she's only a short distance, so she glances back at Laito. She fully expects to see him only inches away from her, so it comes as a surprise to find his upper half hidden by the shower. She isn't sure how she missed hearing the water turn on, but she assumes the sound of her heart pounding in her ears is part of the reason.
She doesn't wait for him to notice her plan. She simply bolts to the door. To her horror, her worst fears finally come to life. An arm wraps around her waist, and she is lifted her off the ground. She decides to release a scream in hopes that his sensitive hearing wouldn't be able to take the echo. To her absolute delight, he does cringe; however, the plan doesn't go like she wanted. Instead of simply dropping her, Laito twists and throws her body. She hits the floor painfully, but she rolls with it to avoid unnecessary damage. Just as she scrambles to her feet, he appears before her with a look of pure excitement and lust. A glint catches her eye, and her heart stops. Her eyes drop to find a small knife held in his right hand. She takes a step back and snaps her gaze back up to him when he releases a chuckle. She opens her mouth, but she's speechless, so she ends up just shutting her mouth once more. She takes another step back only to bump into the shower. She doesn't dare look over her shoulder though. Thankfully, he doesn't move to follow after her, but his glowing eyes show a frighteningly sadistic look.
"Oh, my sweet Mai, if you won't strip and get clean, then I'll just have to help you," he coos at her. He takes a small, threatening step toward her. She lets out a strange squealling sound and violently shakes her head.
"No! Ah, I don't need help! I understand. I will… I'll…. I can…." she mutters. She forces a smile onto her face. Thankfully, this seems to stump him for a moment, since a curious look over takes the sadistic one. Not wanting to risk losing the moment, she carefully reaches out to put a hand on his chest and give him a light shove. The last thing she needs to do is set him off again. "I can undress myself. Thank you so much for bringing me here, Laito. I… Um. Well, I'll take my shower now, and, um, I'll….. I'll be quick. You can shower afterwards, right?"
A light flush appears on his cheeks, and a look of pleasure flashes over his face. He chuckles and takes a step back. Uncertainty fills her chest and stomach when she notices the knife is now missing. She wants to feel better about it not being there, but it's worse when she has no idea where it's at. After a few seconds, it becomes painfully obvious that he didn't have any plans on leaving. It takes all of her willpower to turn her back on him and reach for the shower door. Unfortunately, Laito's arm appears over her shoulder, effectively keeping her from opening the shower door. Her mind goes blank, and she stares numbly at it. He whispers softly in her ear. "I don't think it's normal to get into the shower fully clothed. How can you get clean that way?"
She tries to answer a few times, but she ends up having to clear her throat. Finally, she manages to force out in a small voice. "I… I didn't think you were going to leave."
His finger begins to lightly tap on the shower door, but he doesn't say anything. Her heart sinks, and she spares a glance back at him. He gives her a playful smile. A feeling of unease and disgust begins to rise in her stomach. She doesn't plan to strip in front of him, but he clearly doesn't plan to leaving. His right hand lifts to show her the knife again. With an overwhelming sense of dread, she closes her eyes and turns to face the shower. She takes a deep breath to calm her nerves and tells herself repeatedly that she is alone. She just has to be quick about stripping. Hopefully, he will let her into the shower afterwards. She grabs one sleeve of her shirt and tugs on it. Her breath catches and humiliation colors her face a deep red. She only pauses for a moment before she strips as fast as she can. Once her last article of clothing hits the floor, she opens her eyes to find that his hand has disappeared. She doesn't hesitate to rip the door open, leap in, and slam it shut behind her.
Unfortunately, pain races through her body the second the water hits her skin. She's not sure if it's because she is still chilly, but the water is overwhelmingly hot. She lets out a loud whimper, which earns a laugh from Laito. She quickly reaches out to cool the water down. The steam and heat is already doing wonders for her cold limbs, and she desperately wants to enjoy it, but she doesn't dare. She reaches out to grab the shampoo and immediately starts her shower.
It takes her much longer than she would have liked to scrub away the grime. Deep bruises adorn her wrists, lower forearms, and the shoulder that had collided with the tree. She has a large gash where the mystery item had cut her when she was shoved down. She flinches every time she touches a different cut, and she has so many small cuts on her body. The only other concern is the two puncture wounds on her neck. They hurt to try to clean, so she ends up skirting them. Finally, she's feeling refreshed. She reaches out to turn off the shower, only to have something cold press into her back. She lets out a squeal and spins to find amused green eyes. Without actually meaning to, she takes a step back and allows hers eyes to drop down his body. Her eyes lock with his member for only a moment before she snaps her gaze back up to his face. To her utter embarrassment, his eyes were already drifting down her body. She spins around and tries to cover her butt with her hands. She flinches when she realizes that she still needs to reach out and grab the door to open it. After a moment of hesitation, she reluctantly pulls her hand away and reaches out to grab the door.
To her surprise, she is able to open it and slip out. She slams it shut and stands there awkwardly. After a few seconds, she manages to locate a towel and wraps it around herself before looking around. The room is completely clean of the mud, though she has a feeling that Laito isn't the one who cleaned. The mirrors are covered in steam, so she can't see anything through them. The tiles are a slick from the steam, but it isn't anything she can't handle. She jumps and almost loses her footing when Laito says, "You have more scratches than I thought you did."
It feels like something inside of her snaps. She spins to glare at the shower. She makes a couple of rude gestures, but she manages to return her attention to finding clothes. She searches everywhere, but she can't find anything other than towels. She glances at the door, wondering if she should just take her chances at running through the hallway to Yui's room. A horrible thought occurs to her. Ayato's probably in Yui's room. The thought of facing yet another redhead while naked is overwhelming. She glances at the shower, silently wondering how much hot water he still had. With a shake of her head, she turns her attention to the door and quickly makes her way over. She casts one more glance in Laito's direction just to be sure that he was still showering. She turns back to the door and opens it just enough to poke her head out into the hallway. The chilly air almost makes her duck back inside the bathroom, but she decides it's now or never. Her eyes inspect every part of the hallway, but she doesn't find anyone there. Still, she has a feeling that she is being watched. She jumps when the shower shuts off and decides to just bolt. She steps out of the bathroom and turns to shut the door. It wouldn't slow him down, but she couldn't help but try. She twists to run down the hall when she slams into someone. She bounces back and lifts her gaze to meet the dreaded crimson one.
Her heart stops completely, and she finds herself feeling even more naked than before, despite wearing a towel. She wraps her arms around herself and tries to make herself as small as possible. A look of disgust spreads over Reiji's face. She fully expects him to begin a lecture about running around in a towel in a house full of teenage boys, but, to her utter surprise, he side steps her and looks over her shoulder. He's gone without a word only seconds later, and she turns to find Laito standing there with nothing but a smirk on his face. In fact, it looks like he hasn't even dried off. Mai's face instantly turns a bright red color, and she finds herself frozen to the spot. She tries to keep her eyes off of his now partially erect member. She's so distracted by what is standing in front of her that she doesn't see him reach out until it's too late. His hand wraps around her upper arm, and the world spins. She finds her in the room that she might occupy if she decides to stay. The lights are off, so she can barely see. The only light is the moon pouring in through the window, and even that is weak since the moon had moved past that part of the house.
With her heart in her mouth, she turns to glare at Laito. She can barely see the lustful smile on his face. She takes a step back, which seems to be what he wants. His hand reaches up and pushes her shoulder with unnecessary strength. She stumbles back until her legs collide with the bed. Another shove sends her sprawling backwards. He appears over the top of her, causing her body to tense. She attempts to knee him between the legs, but he simply shifts his body so he's sitting on her hips. She reaches up to put her hands on his chest in an attempt to shove him off of her, but she flinches away when she touches bare skin. She decides to double her fist and take a shot at swinging at his jaw. She loses her will to hit him when his hand hooks the towel and flicks it open. Stunned, she just sits there for a moment before scrambling to grab the edges of the towel. By that time, he has already moved in order to lean his face toward her abdomen. She flinches when his tongue runs over her stomach. It leaves a tingling sensation behind, and he moves over just a little. While she is trying to cover herself up as much as possible, she wonders what he is doing. It finally occurs to her when he pulls away just enough to scoot over to the gash on her side. The tingle reminds her of the feeling she got when their father had healed her ankle. She finds herself unable to stop watching him when he moves up to the puncture wound on her neck. His tongue runs slowly over the area, and she has to close her eyes tightly to keep from making an sounds. Finally, he pulls back, and she slowly opens her eyes to look up at him. His arms were on either side of her head, and his hair once again falls around his face. Her voice comes out as a squeak. "Were….were you healing my cuts?"
Unfortunately, he doesn't answer. His lips suddenly seal over hers. She tries to reach up and shove him away, but he doesn't allow her to. The kiss feels like it's stealing her breath away, making her squeal softly. To her relief, he finally releases her. She gasps in a breath, but that's all she manages. His cold fingers suddenly touch a very sensitive button beneath her towel. It feels like a jolt of electricity runs through her body, and she involuntarily jerks. He chuckles against the skin of her neck before leaving butterfly kisses there. Her hands move downward in an attempt to shove his hand away from her womanhood. She can feel him smirking against her skin. With a sinking feeling, she realizes that he's playing with her again and enjoying the struggling against him. She doesn't get another second to dwell on those thoughts, since he lightly, but playfully, flicks her button. This just sends another jolt through her body, and she attempts to shove his hands away with renewed vigor. His mouth latches onto her neck, and she fully expects to feel the pain of his fangs sinking in. To her surprise, he appears to only be lightly sucking. She jumps again when he pokes her button once more.
Full panic sets in when his other hand rips the towel away from her body. Her last hopes disappears along with it. Her surprised lapse in attention is fully taken advantage of by Laito. He manages to lift himself up, spread her legs, and settle between them, all in the span of a few seconds. The second his skin touches the sensitive skin between her legs, she starts to struggle even harder. Her voice comes out as a breathless whisper. "Please don't, Laito. Please don't!"
He pulls his mouth away from her neck. His face is lit by the moon just enough that she can see a caring look on his face, but she has a terrible feeling that he's faking it. He reaches out to lightly brush his fingers along her jaw. His voice clearly means to sound full of emotion, but it comes out sounding hollow to her. "Don't worry, my love. There is nothing wrong with expressing our feelings. You love me, don't you?"
She finds herself unable to talk. Her body goes limp, and she squeezes her eyes shut tightly. Tears well up in her eyes, and she silently hopes someone will help her. A few seconds drift by before she feels him gently kiss her jaw. He mutters directly into her ear, "I'll make you a deal. If you play this game with me, I'll make sure you enjoy it, too. If you don't play along…"
His voice trails off in a clear threat. She swallows hard. This isn't how her life is suppose to go. This isn't how she wants to do this. She feels an overwhelming sense of fear and shame. She has to force herself to slowly nod. Perhaps it'll hurt less if she just agrees to do what he asks. To her utter surprise, Laito's fingers gently delve into her hair. Time slowly ticks by while he uses his fingers to gently work out the knots before settling for massaging her scalp. His cold tongue appears to lick up the tears that escape from her eyes. Time seems to crawl by, but she doesn't feel any more relaxed than before. Finally, she hears him chuckle from above her. Her eyes slowly open to see what he was up to. His glowing green eyes send chills down her spine. Was he really going to be gentle? He mutters softly. "I love you. Do you love me?"
She clenches her jaw shut. Was she suppose to tell him that she loved him? His sense of love is completely different from hers, and she doesn't even know how she even felt about him. His eyes seem to glow in amusement, letting her know that she must have made the right choice by keeping silent. He leans down to lightly press his lips to hers. His lips move to mutter against her mouth. "That's ok. You don't have to tell me now."
She doesn't get a chance to respond, since he presses his lips against hers for a chaste kiss. Seconds later, his mouth is on her collarbone. He kisses the entire bone slowly before moving to slowly kiss the top of her breasts. She closes her eyes tightly and hopes it's over sooner than it appears it will be. She's unpleasantly aware of every spot his hands, mouth, or even skin touches. Everything feels like it's tingling. The feeling only gets worse when his cold mouth suddenly closes over a nipple, causing her breast to easily become erect. Despite herself, she can't help the thrill of pleasure running through her body when he slowly sucks on it. His tongue makes lazy around the erect bud in his mouth in between each suck. She's vividly aware that her other breast is receiving zero attention. This is due to the fact that one of his hands has moved to interlock his fingers with hers, while the other is rubbing lazy circles just out of reach of her womanhood. She squeezes her eyes shut and tries to ignore the unwilling pleasure he's bestowing. She keeps telling herself that he's going to snap at some point and do something cruel, but all he does is move his mouth to her other breast after a few minutes and repeat his earlier treatment.
A moan finally bubbles past her lips before she can help herself. She cringes at the sound and tightly bites her lip to keep anything else from spilling out of her mouth. She squeezes the bedding and his hand tightly, which just elects a muffled moan from him. His mouth suddenly leaves her breast, causing her to open her eyes to find that he's staring at her. His eyes narrow slightly, and the index finger suddenly makes an unexpected turn. The cold digit brushes over her button and slides down her opening. A shock runs through her. Her body jerks violently, and she opens her mouth but no sound comes out. Unsure of what she is doing, she slams her mouth shut and tenses. Her heart's hammering so hard that she feels like it's about to give out. He gives her a sadistically playful smile. Before she can protest, he sinks even lower. His face settles between her legs, causing her to flush.
"Don't, Lai-" is all she manages to plead before his tongue flicks out to touch her opening. Her body arches uncomfortably, and she lets out a strangled sound. She attempts to roll away, but his hands secure her hips. She doesn't give much thought to when he let go of her hand, since he closes his eyes and proceeds to lick her opening in a slow, teasing manner. She lets out an unwilling groan before she reaches down to try to shove his head way. He stubbornly doesn't allow her to. She opts for grabbing a fistful of his hair and tugs violently. She instantly regrets her choice since his mouth latches onto her womanhood, and he gives it a suck. Pleasure courses through every part of her body, and she arches once more. She releases a loud strangled moan. She once again attempts to roll away, but he keeps her hips still. He gives another gentle suck before he pulls his mouth away. She bites back a whimper when his tongue begins to make slow, lazy flicks over her clit. Each one sends an indescribable shock throughout her body. She finds herself clinging to his hair with both hands rather than pulling on it. She could feel a pleasant feeling building up in the pit of her stomach. Despite herself, she prays that it comes undone soon.
It seems like her prayers are answered when she feels one of his hands leave her hip. A finger appears near her opening. He slowly pushes in the tip of his finger, causing her back to arch all over again. She releases a sharp breath in response, but she manages to bite back the moan. He releases a chuckle and retracts his finger, much to her disappointment. His finger slowly trace her opening before dipping just the tip back inside. Just when she prepares herself for the hard, but pleasant knot, to come undone, a pain races up her spine. That's when she realized that he had pulled his face away from womanhood and was now latched onto her inner thigh. Shame rushes through her body when she realizes she doesn't have it in her to push him away. The sound of his moans only serve to send pleasant shivers down her spine. Her breaths come out in short gasps, and she simply lies there for a few seconds before forcing herself to look down at him.
He seems to sense her gaze, since he pulls his face back and gives her a charming smile. Red colors his lips, giving him a sinister look. His voice is deep and cold. "You seem to be enjoying it, so I thought we can take it a step further."
Without warning, she feels his cold hands flip her onto her stomach. She finds herself thrust up to the top of the bed, where something cold wraps around her wrists. To her absolute horror, she finds herself handcuffed. The chain portion is wrapped around the post of her bed with each of her hands cuffed on different sides, leaving her completely vulnerable. Tears well up in her eyes, and she starts to thrash again, but the handcuffs dig into her bruises, effectively preventing her from moving. She lets her head drop onto the bed and releases her tears. She hears a scoff from behind her, but she doesn't bother to lift her head to look at him. She just closes her eyes tightly and tries to pretend that she is somewhere else. His cold chest touches her back, and she tries to make herself into a ball. His mocking voice mutters softly, "I promise you, my sweet Mai. You will enjoy this more than you think you will."
His chest disappears, and a cold finger takes it's place. He slowly moves it down, as if he were tracing her spine. Once he reaches the beginning of her butt, he pushes it back up. She keeps waiting for more, but it never comes. He just continues to push until she is forced to arch her spine and lift her hips to keep from having the pressure hurt. When his fingers brush her button, she jumps and tries to curl back up, but his other arm has already wrapped around her waist in order to prevent her from doing just that. She forces herself to look back to find that he has finally settled behind her. Nervousness causes her breath to catch in her throat. She grips the the pillow between her hands and lock gazes with Laito. She had so much that she wants to ask him. Unfortunately, pain explodes through her body the second their eyes meet. Her breath rushes out of her body in the form of a scream of pain. Her head snaps back around, and she begins to thrash; however, that only makes the pain worse. She forces herself to become still and closes her eyes tightly. All she can think about is the pain running through her core, but she thinks she feels something running through her hair. It feels like she is being ripped in half, and all she could do was cry.
Pain erupts in her unbruised shoulder only seconds later; however, it almost instantly changes from pain to pleasure. To her surprise, she finds that it even dulls the pain of losing her virginity. Despite herself, she feels her body relax. After only a couple of moments, her body is uncomfortably pitched forward a little bit. She releases a strangled sound of pain, but it soon returns to being smothered by the pleasant feeling of having Laito lazily suck her blood. This awkward feeling passes by for a few minute before he pulls his mouth away from shoulder. His hips pull back, and she shudders at the feeling of him almost leaving her body. Was that it? Seconds later, he thrusts forward, filling her once more. It isn't as painful as she thought it would be, but it isn't pleasant either. She finds that she can at least bare with it by having her face buried in the pillow and gripping it tightly. She flinches every so often, but she doesn't make a sound. In fact, the only sound is his pleased moans filling the room.
Unfortunately, this goes on for a few minutes before he completely stops moving. A chuckle erupts from him, and he leans forward. Her body stiffens while she tries to keep herself from imagining the worst case scenario. Both of his hands move from her hips to lightly trace up her sides. She completely stops breathing when he coos in her ear.
"I love you. I want to hear your voice. It seems like I'm the only one enjoying this." His hand suddenly leaves her body. Seconds later, it appears in her hair. He pulls hard, forcing her head up. Her back arches once again to keep from craning her neck too much. His tongue appears on her neck. It traces up the side slowly before he gives the area just below her ear a painful nip. "Don't hold back."
He straightens in order to roll his hips, and an unintentional moan leaves her mouth. Everything feels different from this angle, and she finds herself hating that it's even enjoyable in the slightest. He mutters softly. "Show me how much you love me."
His hips slowly pick up rhythm. She still tries to bite back the moans, but she fails a couple of times. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be enough for him. His free hand moves from her side to rub her clit in time with his thrusts. A pleasant shock rushes through her veins, and she releases a loud moan. His chuckle makes her feel ashamed of herself, but she's not able to even dwell on it.
This continues until she is close to reaching that pleasant peak. He suddenly stops moving completely. A chuckle leaves him at the whine she makes. His lips begin to ghost over the skin of her back. A feeling of dread starts to kill her mood. She opens her mouth to ask him to not bite her, but she's too late. His teeth sink into a spot near her spine, and pain erupts through the surrounding area. She releases a loud gasp, but she doesn't dare move. As if to rub salt in wounds, he doesn't even bother drinking from it, so she's not sure why he even bothered to bite her at all.
Once his fangs are clear, he starts to thrust again. Like before, his fingers expertly tease her clit until she's on the verge of reaching her peak. All she needs is one last thrust, and she has a feeling she will be there. Like before, he completely halts and bites her again.
This goes on several more times. In fact, she's starting to lose hope that she will ever finish. This time doesn't seem any different. All she can think about is the elusive feeling building her stomach once more. Just when she's positive that she can't take anymore, and he will stop, everything explodes. Waves of pleasure races from her core. It warms her all the way from her toes to her scalp. He continues to rub her clit, sending lesser waves out. Her body gives out, and she just lets herself relish the pleasant feeling that is still tingling her body. She's faintly aware of Laito saying something to her, but she doesn't care. His hand releases her hair, allowing her head to drop back onto the pillow. She's vaguely aware that he has stopped touching her clit and is now biting her shoulder, but she finds that she didn't care. She feels his body give a shuddering jerk, which is followed by a muffled groan. The room falls oddly silent.
He suddenly pulls away from her. In fact, she's sure that he completely disappeared, but she doesn't care about that either. Her body's so tired at that point that all she wants to do is sleep. She allows her eyes to drift closed. Just as she starts to drift off, cold hands touch her causing her to jerk. Her eyes snap open. She twists onto her back only to meet smug green eyes. She tenses and fully expects him to do something cruel to her, but the feeling melts away when she realizes that all he's simply wrapping the blanket around her. She silently looks up at her hands to find that the cuffs are indeed gone. She frowns and looks back at him. It comes as a small surprise to see him crawling in bed beside her. She fully expected him to leave. The tiredness was beginning to set in again. She decides to worry about it when she wakes up, so she rolls onto her side and attempts to let her mind drift off to sleep. She tiredly opens her eyes when she feels his cold body pressing against her from behind. His arm wraps around her waist, pulling her to him. She lets her eyes close again deciding that she will worry about his cuddling when she wakes up. The last thing she remembers is his voice in her ear, but she isn't sure what he says.
She doesn't dare open her eyes. Her lower abdomen aches, almost as if she were on her period. Her womanhood throbs if she even tries to move her legs, and she's laying on an arm with another slung around her waist. Last night's events rush through her mind, and she bolts upright and opens her eyes. To her horror, her back pulls painfully, and she's still completely naked. Movement draws her gaze backward, where she finds that Laito has rolled onto his other side, but he appears to still be sleeping. She glances around the room to find that there is only one towel. She glances at Laito and a wave of emotions roll over her. The first is shame. She couldn't believe that she has lost her virginity to such a person. Next is regret, but she silently tells herself that she couldn't have done anything to stop him. The last emotion is the overwhelming need to run from him. She slides out of bed, ready to check the drawers. This turns out to be a bad move since her legs feel wobbly, and she feels lightheaded. She reaches out to steady herself on the bed for a moment. She's sure that it isn't normal to feel this way after having sex for the first time. A sting in her back makes her wonder if it isn't due to him biting her so many times. Finally, she is able to make her way over to the dressers only to find all the drawers empty.
Without warning, the world spins, and she finds herself standing in her bedroom. A cold body supports her until her head stops spinning. She considers glancing over her shoulder, but she is stopped when his lips brush the skin just behind her ear. Laito's sleep laced voice mutters. "I figured you needed some clothes."
She spins to face him, only to almost topple over when the room spins again. After everything settles, she finds that she is alone. She stands there for a moment feeling a strange set of emotions that she can't make heads or tails of. She thought she would be crying, but she finds that she just feels numb. She finally settles for getting clothes. To her horror, she finds small traces of blood all over her legs. She grabs loose clothes, gets dressed, and hurries to the bathroom. She pauses to see if there are any visible marks on her before she gets in the shower. Thankfully, his light sucking hadn't produced any hickeys. She's surprised to see that her face isn't bruised, and her lip is healed. She doesn't remember him healing it, but she decides to shove the thoughts out of her head. Once she is clean, she returns to change her clothes once more then heads toward the kitchen where she can hear her parents talking. The second she steps into the kitchen, she is greeted warmly by both of her parents. A shudder runs down her spine, and she finds that she is too embarrassed to tell them what had happened.
Her day crawls by, but she doesn't mind. Her family finally gets to spent some time together goofing off and just enjoying each other's company. The night passes by without much events either. In fact, everything seems so ordinary that she can almost convince herself that she just dreamt about sleeping with Laito. Unfortunately, the ache in her lower region is a painful reminder that it isn't a dream. She settles for doing her homework and going to bed early, so she can go to school. Time still seems to drag by when she wakes up. She gets ready and finds herself sitting in the backseat of the black car on the way to the Sakamaki manor. She had almost forgotten to grab Kanato's treat on the way out, but she managed to remember in time. It was a fresh cheesecake that her mother had made the day before. She lifts a hand to stifle a yawn just as the car pulls into the driveway. She is careful to not look at the familiar while she gets out of the car and hurries into the house. The door opens before she makes it all the way there, and she finds herself face to face with an excited looking Yui. She leaps out to hug Mai, who side steps her friend in order to save Kanato's dessert. Yui gives her a hurt look until she sees why Mai had moved. Yui lets out a chuckle and waves Mai inside. They quickly make their way toward the kitchen. On the way, Mai informs Yui of why she was there so early in the day. To her absolute relief, Yui excitedly asks to help.
That's how they find themselves standing just inside of Shuu's room. Yui softly asks, "So, how are we going to do this?"
Mai flinches and shakes her head. She has already told Yui about her previous attempts to wake him. She glances at her friend, and a sudden need to tell someone about Laito overwhelms her. Frustrated at herself, she mentally lectures herself that this is not the time or place to do it. She turns her attention back toward Shuu and says, "Well, Reiji said I'm not allowed to baby him, so I guess we take his blankets. If that doesn't work, we can always roll him out of bed."
She turns her gaze back to find that Yui is giving her a playful smile that helps Mai more than she will ever admit. Both make their way down the stairs and over to Shuu's bed. Without hesitation, they begin their wake up call by ripping the blankets off the bed. Shuu releases a groan before opening one eye to look over both of them. He releases a scoff and settles back to sleep. The girls glance at each other. Matching grins spread over their faces, and they take a couple of steps back before running and flinging their bodies onto the bed. Mai aims correctly and ends up beside Shuu without actually touching the vampire. Unfortunately, Yui isn't as lucky. Her body lands directly on top of the blonde vampire with a solid, painful sounding thump. Shuu lets out a groan and mutters about how they are impossibly annoying. Yui response by scrambling off of Shuu. Unfortunately, the blonde girl chooses the side that Mai landed on, so she ends up getting ran over by her frantic friend. Mai flinches, but she doesn't let it bother her. She's having more fun than she thought she would. Seconds later, Yui rejoins her in order to roll a prone Shuu out of bed. Mai notices his eyes open, so she is quick to move away. Unfortunately, Yui doesn't move fast enough to escape his retaliation, so she is pulled over the edge of the bed along with Shuu. Mai can't help but fall backwards onto Shuu's comfortable bed and howl with laughter.
Somehow, they manage to make it out to the car on time. Unfortunately, they are the last ones, so seating is limited. Mai climbs in after Yui, who is immediately pulled aside and crammed between Ayato and the opposite door. Mai hesitates for a moment before leaping at the seat between Kanato and Subaru. Shuu flops into the remaining seat between the window separating the driver and Laito. Mai is careful to not look in Laito's direction, though she's not sure why. If what Laito said is true, then she's positive everyone in the car knows what she did. She covers her face as if it would hide her embarrassment. The car shifts into motion, and she lets her hands drop. Still feeling uneasy, she finds herself fiddling with the strap of her bag.
A hand suddenly appears and latches onto her fiddling hands, effectively halting them. Her gaze snaps up to meet furious red eyes. Subaru snarls, "Quit your fucking fidgeting. It's irritating."
She mutters an apology, which earns her a cold scoff. Thankfully, he releases her. Kanato's soft voice sounds loud in her ear, when he says softly. "You smells different now."
She practically leaps into Subaru's lap at the sound of him sniffing her. Unfortunately, she doesn't get a chance to look back at Kanato, since Subaru shoves her backwards with a snarl. That causes her to slam into Teddy and Kanato. Her horror mounts when she feels his body shift.
"Teddy!" He screeches, causing several groans of irritation throughout the car. A hand wraps around her upper arm, and she is tugged hard enough that she finds herself awkwardly sprawled over Laito and Shuu's laps. Shuu gives her a cold look, but he doesn't say anything; however, Laito seems to find it funny. Kanato leaps to his feet the best he can with tears in his eyes. Once Mai notices, she scrambles to shove herself between Shuu and Laito. When she is settled, Laito leans even closer to her, forcing her tightly against Shuu. For a panic filled moment, she wonders if Laito is trying to make her an easier target. Thankfully, she's distracted by Kanato scooping up Teddy. The purple haired vampire coos at it before turning a rage filled gaze onto Mai. Her heart sinks until she hears Reiji's stern voice.
"Kanato, this is a moving car. Sit down. Mai, do not needlessly antagonize him."
Mai and Kanato's voices overlap as they argue.
"She intentionally mistreated Teddy! I demand that she receive the highest form of punishment!"
"He started it! I was just talking to Subaru, and he invaded my personal space! Besides, it was Subaru who shoved me!"
At the mention of his name, Subaru's furious red eyes turn on her once more, but she decides to keep her gaze locked on Reiji. Still, Subaru easily cuts through whatever retort Kanato is yelling. "Shut up, bitch! It's your fault!"
"Enough!" Reiji states coldly. Almost everything falls silent, but the two vampires are still glaring at her. Kanato finally flops down after a few seconds. The rest of the car ride is spent in silence, which doesn't bother Mai at all. Laito's hand suddenly makes its' way onto her lower thigh, causing her to flinch and look up at him. He gives her a playful grin, which just seems to grow when she shoves the offending appendage off of herself. She gives him a cold look before she leans more into Shuu and turns her attention toward the window across from her. She could only hope that this would be a one time occurrence.
The next two weeks seem to fly by. She attempts to dodge Laito, but he ends up appearing in her room, so she gives in and returns to talking to him. To her absolute surprise and relief, he doesn't try to have sex with her again, but it doesn't stop him from groping her. He spends much of his times touching her butt, boobs, or dangerously close to her womanhood. The relief quickly wears off, and she starts to believe that he's only doing it, so she will get use to his touch. A feeling of dread makes her think he's doing it this way so she will let her guard down and make her an easier target next time.
The car rides finally become a normal routine. She ends up almost always sitting between Shuu and Laito. As a result, she typically finds herself being used as a pillow for Shuu. It bothers her at first, but she quickly finds that she can hear his music pouring from his headphones. Now, it doesn't bother her as much. Still, she caught herself always sparing a glance at Laito, though she isn't sure why. He seems to be enjoying himself while watching the two of them. Subaru seems to sit directly across from her most of the time, so she spends most of the ride trying to make small talk with him. All she ever earns are grunts and cold stares. Still, she can't help but feel like she is slowly building a friendship with the silver haired vampire. The most surprising fact is that all of the creepy activity has stopped. In fact, she hasn't seen, heard, or felt anything since she slept with Laito.
She slowly wakes up in her own bed, feeling groggy. It doesn't come as a surprise to feel a weight over her waist. She knew it should bother her that he's in her bed yet again, but she finds it's easier to not even worry about it anymore. He seems to sleep with her almost every night anyway. She carefully shoves his hand away and reaches for her phone to check the time. To her surprise, it's still really early to be getting up, so she isn't sure why she woke up. She hears a soft moan from behind her and turns her attention toward Laito. His face has shifted into a look of pain. Concern bubbles in the pit of her stomach, and it grows when he rolls away from her. A strangled sound comes from him, and her heart skips a beat. Was he crying? She slowly reaches out toward him, but her hand freezes inches away from his shoulder when he mutters. "Cordelia."
Confusion fills her entire body at that point. Isn't that the name of his mother? He makes a strange noise in the back of his throat that sounded almost like a groan of pleasure. Her eyes widen, and she finds herself completely speechless. With a shake of her head, she tells herself that she must have just heard him wrong the first time. She twists to get out of bed, since she's feeling unnerved by the incident. She tenses when he mutters something else under his breath. When she glances at him, he releases an actual moan. She leans forward a little in an effort to see if he was possibly awake and teasing her, though the thought of him teasing her in such a way sends an unpleasant chill down her spine. It becomes even more bizarre by the fact that he still seems to be asleep. She steps to the side to see that his face is now flushed, and it appears like he is panting. His hands grip the pillow he has stolen from her in what appears to be pleasure. Her eyes widen, and revulsion settles in the pit of her stomach. She takes a step back and shakes her head. There's something strange going on, but she doesn't know if she wants to really know exactly what it is.
She frowns at Laito for a couple of seconds before turning to hurry out of her room. Today is one of the days that she needs to bring something sweet for Kanato, since her last treat has run out. Preparing it will serve as the best distraction. Since her mother has been working so much lately, it's left to her to hold up her end of the deal. She flinches at the tantrum Kanato had thrown the one and only time she had forgotten to bring something. Thankfully, she managed to lose him in the crowds at school, so it wasn't a complete disaster.
With a shake of her head, she clears her thoughts. She decides on making pudding, since it's quick and easy. Somehow, time gets away from her, and she has to scramble to get some forgotten homework done and get ready for school. For some reason, her tutor had stopped showing up. She's almost forgets to grab the pudding on her way out. Thankfully, she manages to run back in and get it. The car ride to the manor is especially hard, since she keeps trying to doze off. Like usual, Yui meets her at the front door, and they drop the pudding off in the fridge and proceed toward Shuu's room. Mai spares a glance at her friend while her friend talks about one of the homework assignments. She hasn't had a chance to even tell Yui about what happened with Laito, and she was now too embarrassed to do so. On a brighter note, the blonde seems to have returned to normal.
Still, today feels off for some reason. Everything around her feels as if it's the calm before the storm. She jumps when something brushes her opposite side and turns to find purple eyes staring at her. She pauses in favor of turning and smiling at Kanato. She explains where it's at then hurries away before he has a chance to say anything. Neither bother to knock, so it's a shock for them when they step into Shuu's room only to find him completely naked. The worst part is that he doesn't even look fazed by the fact they saw him in all his glory. They trip over each other trying to get out of the room and end up in a heap just outside the door.
Mai and Yui end up laughing it off before hurrying to the car, since they wanted to pick the best seats. Mai pauses just as they are reaching the car to look over her shoulder at the manor. Something is very off about the day, but she still couldn't place it. She tries to shrug it off and turns to get in the car. Unfortunately, they aren't the first ones there. Subaru scoffs at their greetings and leans back with his arms folded. Yui and Mai settles on the bench across from him and begin talking about whatever pops into the minds. After a few minutes, Kanato appears and sits as far away from them as possible. Ayato's next to appear. He reaches out to push on Yui's shoulder, causing Mai to switch sides. Subaru gives her a cold look, but he doesn't say anything. Poor Yui ends up crammed between Ayato and the wall once again. Mai closes her eyes and leans back with a yawn. She isn't sure why, but she feels so tired. Finally, something brushes her shoulder, but she doesn't bother opening her eyes. She just assumes it's Laito. Despite her best efforts, she could feel herself drifting off to sleep.
Something bumps her leg, and she finds herself jolting awake. She feels another jolt and realizes two things. The first thing is it's Subaru's leg that has hit hers twice. The second is that she is leaning against someone. A weight on the top of her head lets her know that whoever she is leaning on is returning the favor. She decides that she just doesn't care, since Laito was oddly comfortable, so she shifts a little in order to get back to sleep. The sound of piano music filters through the air causing her to abruptly jerk away, though she's careful to not bump Subaru more than necessary. Her eyes lock with tired blue ones, which quickly disappear when Shuu simply readjusts. She turns a cold glare on Ayato, who was currently snickering behind his hand. In fact, she could hear Kanato giggling from somewhere. Her gaze drifts around only to find that Laito is missing. Seeing an open seat beside Ayato, Mai jumps at it. She ignores the jab about not wanting to sit by her since she smells like 'the lazy bastard' and scoots to the end of the seat, closer to Reiji and the door. She's shocked to see that even Subaru has a tiny smile on his face. Mai's hands rise to cover her face and spends the rest of the trip silently wondering where Laito was. Thankfully, she has slept most of the trip, so she doesn't have to think about it for long. The second the car stops, she bolts out, completely disregarding Reiji's cold statement about waiting her turn. She steps to the side and waits for Yui to exit. The second the blonde girl appears, she grabs her wrist and tugs on her.
"Yui! I have to pee! Come with me!" Mai says. She sticks her tongue out at Ayato and proceeds to quickly drag Yui away from the car. Ayato calls out something rude but she doesn't quite hear what it is, so she responds by flipping him off. Thankfully, they make it to the bathroom without further problem. The second they step foot into the 'safe zone', Mai spins on Yui, who gives her a startled look. Without hesitation, Mai asks, "How are you feeling?"
"Um, I suppose I feel fine?" Yui says, though sounds unsure of her answer. Mai flinches and immediately jumps into what happened with Laito before school. When she finishes, Yui is staring at her wide eyed. Mai wraps her arms around her stomach, suddenly feeling sick. "You sleep in the same bed as Laito?"
Mai lets out a frustrated groan and glares at Yui. "I tell you that I heard him say his mother's name in his sleep then moan, and you are worried about me sharing a bed with him? Priorities, Yui!"
She flinches and flushes a light red color. "Ah, right. I don't know. Maybe he dated a girl that had the same name as his mom?"
Mai can't help but deadpan. "That doesn't make it sound any better."
Yui flinches. "You're right. Maybe he was having a dream about his mom, and it changed into something else?"
Mai simply stares at Yui, who flinches after holding the gaze for a few seconds. Her voice comes out as small squeak when she says, "Right. That's not any better either."
Mai moves to lean against the wall and asks, "Do you know much about their mother?"
Yui's body stiffens oddly for a moment, and it appears as if her eyes flash a different color. Mai straightens off the wall, and an eerie feeling washes over her. Yui gives her head a shake and turns to look at Mai. She gives her a happy, yet slightly confused, smile. "I need to grab some supplies tonight. Do you…. Are you OK?"
Mai's mouth has fallen open, and she doesn't have any way to shut it. Something had just happened right in front of her face, and she has idea how to begin to describe it. Yui gives her a look of concern and reaches a cool hand out to touch Mai's forehead. The second their skin meets, Mai rips herself away. Her friend doesn't seem to notice though, since she softly says, "You feel warm, Mai. Maybe you should go to the nurse's office and rest. Do you want me to walk you there?"
Concern fills Mai's chest, but she can only shake her head. Yui gives her another smile and proceeds into a stall. Mai takes this time to hurry out of the bathroom. Unfortunately, she slams into Ayato and has to take a step back. He gives her an aggravated look, but she doesn't care. She simply jumps into saying, "Something is wrong with Yui. I was having a conversation with her when…"
"I thought you said you had to piss," Ayato bluntly states. Mai glares at him but chooses to ignore him and continues talking.
"...she like...froze. Just stiffened up. Then I swear her eyes changed color, but it was so fast that I didn't get a chance to see what color they turned. She…. I don't know. Woke up, I guess? She just said that she needed to go to the store after school for some supplies and asked if I wanted to go with her. It was s-" Unfortunately, Ayato brushes past her and disappears right into the women's restroom. Mai stares after him silently for a moment before giving her head a violent shake. She feels a shudder run down her spine. Something was very, very wrong today. She spares one last glance at the bathroom door before she turns and hurries down the hallway. It's unnerving to think about how unnaturally cool Yui had felt. Her steps slow while she thinks over possibilities for such a temperature drop. She knows what it is, but she is too stubborn to admit it. Her feet finally lead her to a room that she never thought she would willingly go. She swallows hard, glances up and down the hallways before disappearing inside the music room.
Just like she hoped, he's already spread out on the floor beside the piano. She considers locking the door but decides against trapping herself in a room with the lazy vampire. She simply makes her way toward his sleeping form. "Hey, Shuu. I'm skipping the first couple of hours of class."
He doesn't respond, but she doesn't care. She just has to inform either Shuu or Reiji of her intentions, so she doesn't think she will get in trouble with Reiji now. She stops beside him and cautiously reaches out to nudge him with her foot. The second he makes a sound, she quickly pulls her foot back and retreats a couple of steps. She carefully kneels down when his blue eyes open to meet hers. She takes a small breath and says, "I have a couple of questions, and I don't plan to leave until you answer me."
Shuu simply stares at her before rolling so his back is facing her. She frowns, but she doesn't plan to move any closer to him than she already was. After a couple minutes of silence, she stands up and skirts her way around him until she stands before the piano. She has never played in her life, so she decides to just push random notes until Shuu decides to stop her.
It takes longer than she thought it would, but he finally releases a sigh. The last note seems to drag out. She turns her attention from the piano to the vampire and gives him a determined look. Without waiting for him to say anything, she asks, "Was Laito suspended again?"
Shuu simply nods. His eyes slowly close, but Mai doesn't let it bother her. That would explain why he was absent on the ride to school. She moves onto her next topic. "Yui is behaving weirdly today. Do you know why?"
"It's the awakening," he tiredly mutters. She frowns at him. "She appears normal to me. If anyone is being a freak, it would be you."
She clenches her fists, but she decides to let the insult go. A wave of icy cold air washes over her entire body, and she spins to see if someone has opened the door. To her surprise, there is no one there. After a few seconds, another chill runs down her spine. She turns only to come face to face with Shuu's chest. He slowly runs his hand through his hair and steps around her. She quickly moves back in his path and looks up at him. "I want to know more about the triplet's mother."
Shuu simply stares down at her with an unreadable expression, though she wants to say that he looks curious. He suddenly leans down till his cheek almost touches hers. His voice is low when he mutters. "Her name was Cordelia. She had purple hair, similar to Kanato. If you have more questions, why don't you ask one of them?"
Without waiting for her to respond, he simply disappears. She glances toward the door only to find it closed. With a sigh, she settles down into one of the chairs. Shuu had probably wandered off to a different hiding spot. It'd take her a good chunk of the day to find him again. She closes her eyes and decides to attempt to just find Ayato. She finally drags herself up and slips out of the room. First, she'd go to the nurse's office and take a nap.
It's now lunch, and she just finished her food alone. She has been trying to find Yui and Ayato for the last twenty minutes, but it looks like they have disappeared. Something shifts in the corner of her eye, making her look in that direction. She sees someone disappear around the corner, but she doesn't get a good look at them. She didn't have any desire to follow after them either. Unfortunately, this has been happening since her talk with Shuu. In fact, she spent most of the school day so far in the nurse's office with a blanket over her head. She jumps when she hears faint singing echoing eerily down the halls. She fights her urge to spin and walk away from it since it sounds like Kanato, and he is her last hope at finding out answers about Laito. With heavy footsteps, she makes her way toward the voice.
It comes as a surprise to find herself standing in front of a door that leads to the fire exit stairwell. She could hear Kanato singing a song on the opposite side of the door. Despite the fact that she's enjoying the sound of his voice, she wants to get the awkward conversation over with. She slowly pushes the door open and peeks inside. She sees a strange girl disappearing down the stairwell, but she couldn't see a face. Mai pushes the thoughts out of her mind and focuses on the purple haired vampire. He was sitting on the landing with his feet on the next stair down. She knew that Kanato must have heard her open the door, but he doesn't stops singing. Mai steps into the stairwell and slowly closes the door. When he finally stops, she says softly, "That was beautiful."
She moves to sit beside him and offers a smile. He gives her an unreadable look, but he doesn't say anything. He just hugs Teddy even tighter. With a jolt, Mai wonders if she's ever actually seeked Kanato out. She glances at the purple haired vampire, and guilt threatens to overwhelm her. Her eyes drop to stare at her hands, which were clenched over her legs. After a few minutes of awkward silence, she clears her throat. It becomes apparent that he doesn't plan to say anything, so she softly asks. "Where did you learn that song?"
"My mother," he mutters.
A sense of disbelief washes over her, and her gaze snaps up to look at him. This looks like it just fell into her lap. She wants to know more about their mother, and he just happens to be singing a song his mother taught him? She isn't sure she even believes in coincidence anymore. She jumps and looks over her shoulder when a cold breath brushes the back of her neck. Once again, she doesn't see anything at all. She flinches when a cold hand interlocks with her fingers, and her gaze snaps back to find concerned purple eyes staring at her. Her heart skips a beat, and she has to keep herself from pulling her hand back. Kanato suddenly leans over and places his head on her shoulder. She can't help the fact that she tenses, but she doesn't try to push him away. She closes her eyes and takes a steadying breath and tells herself that at least he isn't in a bad mood. She gives his hand a gentle squeeze and decides to take a chance and ask. "So, can you tell me about your mother?"
"I know what's different. I haven't had a chance to pinpoint it, since your scent is always covered by everyone else's," Kanato suddenly mutters. His body shifts closer to her, and she can hear him inhale deeply. "You actually smell sweeter."
Mai swallows hard and tries to come off as playful. "Did I smell bitter before?"
She forces a chuckle, but it echoes pathetically around the stairwell. Kanato shifts his head so that his soft hair tickles her jaw. His voice sounds strange, but she can't quite figure out why. "You smelled like a normal human, but you don't anymore."
She glances down at him curiously, but everything falls silent. In fact, it's silent for so long that she begins to zone out, so it comes as a slight surprise when Kanato starts talking. "She was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. She had the same color of hair as me."
A smug tone slowly takes over his voice, but it disappears only seconds later. In fact, he sounds cold. "She taught me that song. She use to have me sing it to her, while she was with Richter."
That statement causes her to glance at Kanato, but all she sees is his purple hair. Unable to find a respond to that, she simply remains silent. Kanato's thigh touches hers when he scoots as close as possible. Nervousness starts to eat at Mai. This is a bad idea. Being alone with him is a stupid idea. She shifts a little, but she freezes when he gives her hand a painful squeeze. In an effort to distract herself, she asks, "Did you love her?"
He lifts his head, but he doesn't look at her. Instead, he releases her hand and lifts Teddy up. A chill races down Mai's spine, and she glances over her shoulder. Like she thought, there's nothing there. Still, it doesn't do anything to calm her nerves. Something lands on her legs, causing her to quickly look back. To her absolute horror, she finds herself staring into Teddy's face. Her entire body stiffens and warning bells go off in her head. She slowly turns her gaze toward Kanato, who gives her a charming smile. His free hand suddenly reaches out to brush her cheek, and he says. "Do you want me to sing to you? You seem nervous."
"Ah…. I… Um, I appreciate it, but I was just curious about your…." She pauses. How can she word this without sounding weird? With a flinch, she realizes that she couldn't think of anything, so she slowly shakes her head and looks down at Teddy. She really, really doesn't want the stuffed animal sitting on her lap. It feels like she's being set up for disaster. Her eyes lift to find Kanato smiling at her, causing her unease to rise even more. Without thinking twice about it, she says, "So, I was looking for Ayato and Yui."
The smile disappears from his face, and her heart sinks. She watches the anger spread over his face. Her heart starts to race, and she scoots as close to the handrail as she possibly can. Her eyes never leave the vampire's face. He suddenly stands and turns to tower over her. To her absolute horror, tears were building up in his eyes. His voice takes on a louder pitch when he yells. "It's always Ayato or Laito! They get whatever they want! What is so great about them?!"
She shuffles further away when he literally stomps his foot. The sound reverberates loudly in her ears, but she's more concerned about the fact that he's crying. The tears actually start to fall down his face. Despite herself, she starts to feel guilty. He lets out a whimper and asks, "Why can't anyone just like me? What have I done wrong?"
Mai wraps an arm around Teddy and pulls him close, so she can stand. She knows that she has to do something before he continued on this path. After all, she will be the one to suffer the brunt of his anger should he decide to vent, and are plenty of ways to hurt her in a stairwell. Against her better judgement, she steps toward him and wraps her free arm around him in a loose hug. She opens her mouth to tell him that she likes him, but she closes her mouth without saying anything. She doesn't know if she even considered him a friend, and she doesn't want to risk escalating the situation even more by being caught in a lie. He makes a couple of hiccuping sounds and wraps his arms around her. It's all she can do to keep from stiffening. She jumps when his thumb rubs along her spine. She quickly pulls away and holds Teddy toward him. She tries to make her smile as genuine as possible. "I think he misses you!"
She watches Kanato stare at her with an unreadable look. His face is completely devoid of any tears, which struck her as odd. In fact, she can't find a single sign that he has been crying. That's when it occurs to her that he could have just been pretending to cry. With a shudder, she realizes that she's been played, but she shoves the thought out of her mind. After all, wasn't she doing a similar thing to him? Teddy's weight disappears, and she finds herself staring into Kanato's now innocent face. His head tilts to the right just a small amount furthering his child-like appearance. His voice is back to normal when he asks, "Was I the last one you came to?"
She opens her mouth to deny it, but she pauses and considers her answer carefully. After a few seconds, she says, "Well, I went to Shuu first, since he's the oldest you know. I just want to know more about….. Well… I want to know about your mother. Shuu told me to ask one of you guys. I thought about asking Ayato, but he is nowhere to be found."
"You didn't think about asking Laito?" Kanato asks softly. She simply answers with a shake of her head. He lets out a chuckle and tilts his head a little. She tenses when he gives her a sadistic look. "Did he do something cruel to you?"
She clears her throat and turns to flop back down onto the stair. There' no way that she's going to tell Kanato something so embarrassing. He would use it against her. She opts for wrapping her arms around her body and changing the subject, "I think Yui has been seeing your mother."
The air becomes tense, causing her to look up at Kanato, who once again has an unreadable expression on his face. She frowns as the silence drags on. Just when she considers asking him if he is ok, a ring rips through the air. She jumps and reaches into her pocket to pull out her phone. She could have sworn she turned the ringer off for school, and she doesn't remember turning it back up. She feels Kanato press lightly into her side. She turns her head enough see that he sitting beside her and is leaning close in order to read her phone. She turns her attention back to her phone. To her surprise, she finds that she has two text messages, though she only heard it ring once. With a shake of her head, she opens the first one to see that it's her mom telling her that her parents were working late once again. She bites back a groan. She flicks to the next one to find that it's a short list of things like pencils, notebooks, and a couple other female things. At the very bottom of the text, Yui asks her to buy them for her and promises to pay her back.
Mai stares at the text in disbelief before amusement bubbles up in the pit of her stomach. She can't help but laugh, though she isn't sure why. Movement at the landing below her catches her eye. She lifts her gaze expecting to see nothing there only to find a woman. She's absolutely beautiful and dressed in the beautiful white dress that Mai's slowly becoming accustomed to seeing. She's smiling up at Mai and Kanato, but the smile is the sad sort. Mai leaps up instantly and takes a shaking step back onto the landing. Her entire body stiffens when she watches blood starting to stain the white near the woman's chest. In fact, she could see a bulge forming right where the woman's heart is. She watches in horror as the skin starts to tear until it simply disappears, leaving a fist sized hole where the woman's heart should be. Mai's eyes flick up to see that the woman is still smiling like some sort of doll. Her face starts to melt away, as if she is rapidly decomposing. Mai lets out a scream when purple invades her vision, and she stumbles backward. She's not sure how it happens, but she feels herself tripping and falling backwards. Her upper back hits first, followed by her head. Thankfully, it isn't a far fall, so she doesn't think she's that hurt that much. Still, pain explodes through her brain, and she slumps to the floor. She is vaguely aware of Kanato leaning closer to her face, but sheis so focused on the fact that there are now three women standing directly behind him. Their voices start to overlap with Kanato's, and Mai can only curl up and cover her ears. Unfortunately, it only blocks out Kanato's voice. The women's voices sounded like they were directly inside her head. Her fingers dig painfully into her scalp, and she squeezes her eyes tightly closed. She can only pick out a few words here and there like.
"...doomed…."
"...stupid….."
"...learn….."
"Stop! Leave me alone!" Mai screams loudly. Thankfully, everything falls silent. She's faintly aware of something touching her arm, but she doesn't dare open her eyes to see who it is. She curls into a tighter ball and lets out a sob. Hands suddenly wrap around her wrists, and her hands are pulled away from her ears. She looks up to find that Kanato is grinning sadistically down at her.
Still, his voice comes out with a sense of mock concern when he asks, "Are you ok?"
Without an ounce of hesitation, she rips her hands away from him and reaches out to shove his chest hard, she scrambles to her feet and rushes out the door without looking back. The halls are full of students since the bell is about to ring. She quickly makes her way toward the front doors. She doesn't even stop to gather her things. She just hurries out the door and bolts across the parking lot. She doesn't care if Reiji finds out she is skipping school and punishes her for it. She couldn't stand to stay there any longer; however, the practically empty streets of the city isn't much better than the packed school. She keeps seeing someone disappear around corners or other objects at the edges of her vision. She just ducks her head and quickens her steps whenever one appears. Maybe if she got the stuff that Yui needs than she can distract herself. She finds a 24-hour store and heads inside. She gets strange looks as she passes people since she is still dressed in her uniform, but she chooses to ignore it. She grabs a couple of notebooks and some pencils before heading to the hygiene aisle.
"Do you know where Cordelia is?" A deep voice asks, causing her to jump. She spin around to find the green haired male she had only met once before. He is giving her a cold look. She opens and closes her mouth a couple of times, but she isn't able to say anything. The only thing she can think of is what Kanato told her. Richter takes a threatening step toward her, and she responds by taking a step back.
"I don't know," she finally says as clearly as she can. Anger twists his face, and she hugs the items closer to her chest. She notices something moving behind and turns her gaze in that direction. A woman disappears behind the end of the aisle, causing Mai to start to shake. Tears well up in her eyes, but she fights them as hard as she can. She forces her gaze back to Richter, only to find that he is giving her a look of disgust.
"Did you seriously give yourself over to one of those pathetic brats?"
Her face flushes a deep red, and she instantly feels completely humiliated. Could he possibly say it any louder? She doesn't bother trying to stop the snarl in her voice. "I don't think my body and what I do with it is any of your business. Now, go away, or I'll scream."
He takes another threatening step toward her. She retreats a step and takes a deep breath as a show that she is about to scream. Thankfully, it works, since he seems to think better of continuing to approach her. "She is mine!"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Mai mutters.
"Ma'am?"
She jumps at the sound of a new voice and turns to find a store employee standing there. He gives her a nervous once over. "Are… are you alright?"
"Ah…" she says, completely unsure why he would ask such a question. "What do you mean?"
"Well, you've been standing here talking to yourself for a few minutes," he says in a barely audible. Mai's mouth falls open, and she turns her gaze back to Richter, only to find that he isn't standing there anymore. Confusion followed by humiliation fills her entire body.
"I…. I…." She spins and shoves the items she has collected at the employee. "I'm so sorry!"
She bolts out of the store without making sure he had the stuff. Her quaking hands find her phone. She tries calling her parents, but it just goes straight to voicemail. The same happens with both Yui and Ayato's phones. She ducks her head and continues on her path home, but she doesn't relish the thought of being alone. Not with the women floating around the edges of her vision. Another person comes to mind, and she lifts her phone to start calling Laito when her phone rings. She lets out a surprised squeal and drops it. The phone makes a heart stopping cracking noise when it hits the cement of the sidewalk, but it continues to ring. Her heart races when she leans down to quickly scoop it up and inspect it for damage. With a sense of relief, she finds it's only the case that is cracked. She notices that Reiji is calling and flinches. She manages to answer it before the voicemail does. Unfortunately, she doesn't get a chance to even say 'hello'.
"You have skipped school. You are to report to our house tonight for your punishment."
That is all that is he says to her before he hangs up. Mai flinches and pulls the phone away to look at it. Her gaze is drawn to the sound of laughter. There is a small group of younger adults walking past her. Her eyes widen when she sees a woman in white walking in between two of the females. Mai's eyes widen, and she forces her attention back to her phone. She quickly locates Laito's name and hits the call button. Despite herself, she lifts her eyes to the group to find that the woman is still in the group. She's smiling and talking to one of the males beside her. Relief floods through Mai's body. She lets her eyes drift closed and silently tells herself that she's just making herself paranoid.
"Hello, Sweetheart," Laito's voice coos through the phone at her. She's not sure why, but her hands start to shake so bad that she can't keep the phone by her ear. She simply lets her hand fall to her side. Tears well up in her eyes, but she stubbornly them. What is she doing? Why did she think that things have gotten better? She jumps when she hears something behind her, but she doesn't dare turn to look. She jumps when an arm wraps around her shoulders, and a gentle shove forces her to start walking. She glances up at Laito. He seems to notice her looking at him, since he glances down at her with an arrogant smile. Still, she felt so grateful that he came to help her. She opens her mouth to thank him, when he says, "you just can't get enough of me, can you?"
Mai's mouth slams shut, and anger starts to burn in the pit of her stomach. She reaches up to shove his arm off of her shoulder and quickens her pace. She should have known better than to be grateful to someone like him. He lets out a laugh at the sour look on her face. She glances over her shoulder, though she's not sure what she's looking for. Thankfully, she can't see anything out of the ordinary aside from the vampire following her. Her eyes shift to his face, and she can't but wonder if she is any safer with Laito.
She hopes that she is, but she finds it hard to feel certain.
