There are a couple of things I want to say before I answer reviews:

First, I want to put a warning here before I forget. Please be aware that this chapter is dark (much darker than I originally thought it'd be) There is a little gore, violence, murder, thoughts of suicide, etc. So be careful!

Second, T.T I am so sorry that it's been so long! That was not my intention, but I hit a writers block with this chapter for some reason! It's sat half written on my computer for months and I just got back around to finish writing and proofreading it this week. Sorry ahead of time for any mistakes! If this chapter is confusing at points, just know I'll have it explained in a couple of chapters. Still, feel free to tell me what you think though! Also, sorry to all the Laito lovers! T.T He's not in this chapter much. I didn't realize that fact until after I went over the chapter one more time. Regardless, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Thank you so much for your patience!


Sarahnoel03: Thank you! I'm so glad you find the plot so good! I try my utmost to keep the brothers in character, though they can be difficult sometimes! XD I don't actually hate Yui, even if her choices make me question her sometimes. I think she's stronger than she appears, and that's what I'm really aiming for in my story. (: Sorry it's taken me so long to update! I hope this chapter is worth the wait!

freeminds4all: I'm so happy you reread the story! That totally makes writing so much more enjoyable! :D I hope this chapter is worth the wait!

Misia0123: Thank you so much! I read your review a few months ago, and it made my day! It still makes my day when I've reread it! :D I'm glad that you love this story so much! I tried to add a little more Subaru in this chapter for you, and I'll try to add him more in the future! :D I'm glad I'm doing so well with his personality. Him and Shuu are the ones I worry about the most when it comes to writing them. I always go over their parts multiple times to make sure that everything flows good. Anyway, I hope that you enjoy this chapter! :D Feel free to reach out to me at any time!

Guest: Thank you! Sorry about the cliff hanger, then making you wait so long! Hope this chapter is worth it!

SmallLittleCagedBird: :D I'm so glad you are obsessed with my story! :D Your comment on Mai made me laugh. There are times that I'm about to just have her give in, but I feel it won't fit her stubborn personality. I hope this chapter was worth the wait! Sorry for taking so long! T.T

Guest: Sorry! T.T Finally got the update out now though!

Guest: Sorry I left you hanging! I finally got this update done! I hope it was worth the wait!

Guest: I finally got the update. ): Sorry!

Guest: Thank you for checking it so much! I hope the update is worth it!

Guest: (: You'll just have to read to see. I'm sorry it took so long!

Melissa1989: Finally got it done! Sorry it's so late! T.T

Guest: I did actually forget about the dance. . Thank you for bringing that to my attention! :D Thank you so much for the kind review! I hope this chapter was worth the wait, and I have a small surprise toward the end of the chapter. :D

lisa99: Sorry! I finally got it updated! T.T

Tkdgirl.120: Thank you so much! It makes me so excited to know you've read my other stories (though a couple are so very old .) I'm glad you like my writing style. I try to set things up the way I can see them in my mind, so it's great to know that it's keeping so many people hooked! :D I'm sorry that I didn't reach out to you soon and give you an estimate! T.T I had a writers block! ): Thankfully, it's over now, so I hope to update a little faster than before!

guest: Thank you! I haven't given up on this story! I don't plan to either! I'm just really slow on updates sometimes. ):

pbandjelli92: Thank you! :D I'm glad that you love it! I hope this chapter was worth the wait!

guest: I promise I haven't given up! If I ever do (I have no intention on doing so) I'll make sure to let everyone know! Sorry for the long wait!

Guest: Sorry you had to wait so long! T.T I finally managed to finish this update! I've been doing well, I hope you are doing well too! I just had a writer's block for a bit. I hope this chapter is worth the wait!

Once again, thank all of you for reading, reviewing, favorite/following, and checking back on this story. It truly means so much to me! I hope to get the next one out much, much sooner! I promise I have no intentions on ever abandoning this story; I might just be slow on the updates. T.T


Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Like some kind of mantra, Mai continues to silently repeat those words to herself, though it does little to help her rising emotions. Much to her frustration, she can't tell if it's fear, frustration, or some emotion she'd rather not think about. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see her hands are violently shaking. She tries to hide this by using one of them to awkwardly press against his chest, while resting the other one lightly on his shoulder.

She wants to look up at him, but she's afraid to see the lust filled amusement in his green eyes. How is she supposed to start this? What does she have to do? Her own inexperience threatens to overwhelm her, and she finds herself starting to draw away from him. A chuckle reaches her ears, effectively halting her and causing every muscle to tense. Finally, she works the courage to look up into his green eyes. To her utter shock, she doesn't find a shred of mockery in his eyes.

Once her heart is lodged firmly in her throat, it stops beating. The more she searches his eyes, the more she discovers the green orbs aren't full of amusement or lust. They don't even hold any of their usual sadistic cockiness. To put it simply, they don't seem to hold anything.

He's staring at her with eyes devoid of any sort of emotion.

What scares her the most is the fact that he seems to be looking through her.

She immediately draws back, and her heart sinks to the furthest pit of her stomach. Any half hatched plans her brain had came up with on the fly instantly disappear from her mind. She feels any fire she had felt before smolder away into coldness. Unfortunately, she doesn't get far before his cold hand wraps around her arm, just above her elbow. She releases a hiss of pain when his grip quickly becomes bone crushing, but she doesn't get a chance to struggle or even tell him that he's hurting her before he's making his next move.

His free arm snakes around her waist, drawing her closer to him, until her body is painfully pressed tightly against his. His face buries itself in her neck, causing goosebumps to spread over her skin. Her flight instinct kicks into overdrive. She needs to get away from him if she wants to survive. She presses her free arm against his shoulder and shoves with all her might, but it's futile. He jerks the arm he is holding upwards until it's at an awkward angle, causing a gasp to leave her lips when her muscles protest. She leans up on her tippy toes to try to ease some tension, though it does little to help. A deep blush flushes her cheeks when she hears his groan of apparent pleasure rumble in her ear. His cold lips start to leave a trail of butterfly kisses along her jugular vein.

An uncomfortably strange fear starts to course through her veins. Something about the seemingly romantic gesture feels dangerous to her. It feels like he's silently threatening her, but she can't pinpoint why she has that feeling. His lips meet and trace along her jawbone in those same, ticklish butterfly kisses. She tries to turn her head away from him, but he simply follows her. Without warning, his fangs lightly brush the area just below her ear, causing a small gasp to leave her lips. He releases a deep chuckle before gently rubbing his nose along the now sensitive skin instead of his lips. To her surprise, he pulls back in order to look down at her. His eyes no longer hold that dead look. Instead, they appear to be full of lust. A strange sense of relief flows through Mai, and she finds herself relaxing. Laito releases a soft chuckle and swoops back down to leave a light trail of kisses along her neck once more.

With a jolt, she realizes it's the area where he had wrapped his hands around her neck not long ago. Her entire body tenses, and an unlikely thought passes through her mind. Is he trying to kiss the wounds he gave her better?

White, hot pleasure smothers any other thought. Her head falls back, and she's faintly aware that she's barely standing. Laito's arm wraps tighter around her waist, and his other hand finally releases her elbow to delve in her hair. His fingertips begin to lightly massage her scalp, and she can feel her eyes rolling into the back of her head. All rational thought leaves her brain in that exact moment. Unfortunately, she's jolted out of her pleasure filled haze by the sound of ripping fabric and a sharp pain.

"Oops," Laito's nonchalantly responses, though it doesn't stop him from dragging his tongue along his fresh bite mark. A shudder of pleasure runs through Mai's body, but she finds herself blinking rapidly, while her mind tries to catch up with what happened.

She's not sure when it happened, but Laito seems to have created some distance while she was distracted. Her eyes numbly watch Laito lean toward her. Just when she thinks he's going to kiss her, his head dips toward her chest. Pain steals her breath, and she glances down. To her horror, she can only see the top of Laito's head, but something more sinister catches her attention.

Out of the corner of her eye, the tip of a kitchen knife is barely visible. While that's frightening by itself, she can see the tip is clearly coated in a thin line of bright, red blood. She feels his cold tongue brush over the side of her breast before he lowers himself down to place light kisses just above her now bare belly button. Her mind races frantically, and she finds herself only able to stare.

Blood is beading out of a shallow cut that runs from her collarbone all the way down to disappear behind Laito's head. The stinging sensation let her know that it went all the way to the hem of her pants. Her eyes shift to the now clearly visible knife in the hand that had previously been in her hair before turning to look down at the back to Laito's head. Her breathing starts to come out in rapid pants when her brain is finally able to catch up with what happened.

He'd used the knife to cut her shirt and bra away, but he'd carelessly cut her as well. While it didn't look deep, it still stung. Laito's tongue is doing nothing to help. To be honest, it felt almost like he was making it worse.

She's now vividly aware that she can feel the warm blood slowly running down her body. Cold fingertips brush her ruined clothes off her shoulders before she can get her numb body to even react, leaving her almost bare under Laito's gaze. He pulls back before he finishes licking the shallow cut he made. Mai's eyes widen when she sees the devoid look has reappeared on his face. Once again, it appears that he's not looking at her. It seems like he's looking at someone else, but her hazy mind can't think of who it'd be. The very thought that he's right here with her, but thinking of someone else, sends a strange, horrible pain straight through her heart, and the feeling of bile starts to rise up her throat. Her eyes narrow while she tries to find some shred of the normal Laito. Sadly, she isn't able to find him, no matter how hard she looks.

Finally, a combination of the inability to handle the pain any longer and some regained sense causes her to spin on her heel. Without a second thought, she begins to run from him. Unfortunately, she doesn't get more than a few steps before a cold hand catches hers in a bone crushing grip. She lets out a cry of anger, humiliation, and pain, so she isn't thinking clearly before she reacts. She just uses his yanking motion to add momentum to her spin. Her free hand is already a formed fist by the time she's fully facing him.

It doesn't surprise her when he catches her fist with his free hand before it can reach his cheek. That isn't what she's truly aiming for. After all, it was only meant as a distraction. Thankfully, it seems to work since she is freely able to take a step forward and drive her knee upwards as hard as she can. Time seems to stop. His eyes widen for a moment before he releases a strangled sound. His grip loosens, and she rips away before turning and aimlessly running from him.

Her breath comes out in ragged pants, while her arms wrap firmly around her chest. Tears blur her vision, and she lets out a sob. It feels like her heart had been violently ripped out and stomped on. Her chest and stomach stung, as did her wrist and just above her elbow. Why did she think this time would be any different?

She blindly turns down a hallway and runs full tilt down it.

Why didn't she run out the front door while she had a chance?

Oh that's right. Last time, that didn't work out so well for her.

She stumbles on something unseen, but manages to somehow keep her balance. Her sobs echo in time with her racing footsteps. Without any sort of warning, a door she passes is ripped open, almost tearing it off its' hinges. A hand lashes out to wrap tightly around her arm, and her body is savagely yanked through the doorway. The moment her body clears it, the door is slammed shut with a resounding crack. Despite the rough handling, Mai somehow manages to keep her arms firmly wrapped around her chest; however, it causes her to trip over her own feet and land in an awkward heap in the middle of a dark room. She scrambles to roll over and sit up in one motion. Unfortunately, she doesn't get a chance to look up to see who grabbed her before a shirt is painfully thrown in her face.

A familiar scent fills her nose, but it's not Laito's. In her still panicked state, she's not able to immediately place it. She cautiously releases an arm from around her chest, reaches up to pull the shirt down, and uses it to cover herself. Her eyes lift to find herself staring at the door instead of her 'savior'. A quick glance around shows an unfamiliar room. Dark shapes threateningly loom over her. Only a sliver of moonlight actually produces any sort of light in the room, but it isn't strong enough to actually see by. Instead of wasting her energy trying to pick out what appears to be a human shape, she presses the shirt closer to her chest. Finally, a snarl from the corner of the room draws her attention.

"Dumb bitch. Put the fucking shirt on. It's not a blanket."

Her body stiffens at the sound of a very familiar voice. Without a second thought, she quietly asks, "Subaru?"

He grunts as an answer. An awkward silence fills the room, and her silent hopes that he'll give her space to get dressed quickly dwindle away. Her skin prickles, leading her to believe he's staring at her from his hiding place. After a deep calming breath, she awkwardly pulls the shirt on, trying to not show him anything more than she already has. Once the shirt is on, she unconsciously clears her throat, though she's not sure why. She knew she should say thank you, or anything really, but she finds herself unable to form any words right away. The silence starts to wear on her already frayed nerves. Finally, she blurts out. "I thought you didn't like me anymore."

"I never liked you, human," is the blunt, harsh response she receives, but she doesn't let it bother her. Instead, she wraps her arms around her knees and pulls them up to her throbbing chest, silently thankful that he pulled her out of her frantic headlong rush and loaned her a shirt. Much to her relief, she doesn't have think of a new topic when he snarls at her. "If you dirty that shirt, you'll pay with your life."

Mai glances down, but she can't actually see what it looks like. Curiosity gets the better of her, and her fingers find the hem of the shirt. To her surprise, she finds it's tattered. A small, exhausted smile reaches her mouth, and her gaze lifts to look in the direction Subaru's voice is coming from. Maybe they are still friends? She could only hope. Her mouth moves without a second thought. "Thank you."

He scoffs harshly before snapping. "The sound of your obnoxious crying is like fingernails on a chalkboard. I can't stand listening to it anymore than I have to."

Mai releases a watery chuckle before returning to hug her knees in silence. After a few minutes pass, Mai softly says, "I think you'll have to kill me. I'm sure my blood has soaked into your shirt."

The sound of something breaking across the room sends her heart into her throat, effectively cutting off her air supply for a few seconds. Pure fear courses through her, and she scrambles to her feet as fast as humanly possible. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't hav-"

"Shut up!" Subaru's voice is much, much closer than she expected it to be. His hand captures the middle of her upper arm in his normal, tight grip. With a sharp tug, she finds herself scrambling to keep up with him while he quickly crosses the room. Her foot catches a piece of unseen wood, causing her to stumble. Unfortunately, Subaru doesn't take that into consideration, so he just keeps dragging her along behind him without slowing. Subaru only pauses for a moment before she hears him ripping open another door. She flinches at the sound of the doorknob sinking into the wall, but she doesn't dwell on it long. The hall light floods into Subaru's room, finally revealing his furious features. Much to Mai's displeasure, she doesn't get a chance to ask him anything before finding herself being drug down the hallway at the same quick pace he'd set in his room.

After several breathless questions, and cold replies of 'shut the hell up', Mai finds herself standing on a balcony. Subaru's tight grip falls away, but Mai barely notices. Her eyes are firmly locked on the moon in the sky. It looks huge, and much more beautiful than she's ever seen before.

That leads to another line of silent contemplation. Had she ever truly paid attention before? Or had she taken it for granted, like so many other things?

She takes slow, steady steps toward the railing. Despite her eyes never leaving the sky, she's faintly aware of Subaru moving alongside her. Her hands slowly lift to grip the cold metal railing, and she finds herself leaning dangerously over it.

"I won't catch you if you're stupid enough to fall," Subaru snaps at her. She turns her head just enough to look in his direction, completely unaware of the smile spreading over her face in response to his cold words.

"I wouldn't expect you to," she says softly before returning her gaze to the full moon. Her thoughts keep turning over the fact that she never realized just how beautiful it is. Why didn't she paid attention? Why does it seem so mesmerizing now?

"You're going to fall, dumbass," Subaru grunts at her. She spares him a glance before turning her attention to the situation at hand. At some point, she seems to have unconsciously climbed onto the railing. Her hands loosely grip the metal running between her legs. The tip of her toes barely touch the balcony, while the other leg dangles uselessly in the air. When the full gravity of her predicament hits home, her heart leaps into her throat. Her hands, and legs, tighten around the railing. Despite telling herself to look away, she can't pull her eyes away from the ground below her.

She truly believed the earth swimming is something that only happens in cartoons, but she finds it to be completely true. The harder she stares, the more the ground directly below her seems to rise and fall like waves in the ocean. She unconsciously lets out a loud whimper. The sound of a scoff draws her reluctant gaze upward, though it takes her a few fear filled seconds to do so. Her wide, teary eyes lock with amused, red ones. Subaru is standing at the other end of the balcony. He's leaning against the wall with one foot lifted to rest against the wall, while his arms are crossed over his chest. A sadistic smirk has overtaken his face.

It strikes her as odd that she can clearly see that he is smiling. In fact, it's almost like she can see every detail of his face and clothes. The more she thinks about it; the more it seems as if it were the middle of the day, not the middle of the night. She can feel her body shaking even more violently than before, so she grips the railing till her knuckles turn white and begin to ache. Despite the rising nauseous feeling in the pit of her stomach, she forces herself to turn her attention up to the moon once more. It's huge and white, shedding lots of light on the earth below it. Silently, she tells herself she can see so well due to how unobscured it currently is. After all, it's not unheard of for humans to be able to see at night thanks to a full moon. While she watches, clouds start to drift in front of it.

"You're a moron. Are you planning on getting down anytime soon, or are you hoping you fall?" Subaru suddenly scoffs again, though he doesn't sound as irritated as before. Mai once again drags her attention from the moon to stare back at Subaru with a questioning stare. Had she been mesmerized by the moon again?

While staring at the silver haired vampire, a very familiar sensation slowly creeps over her. In fact, it's so familiar that it only takes a moment for her to realize where she's felt it before. It happens when she wanders the halls of this mansion by herself. That creepy sensation one gets when they can subconsciously sense someone is watching every single move they are making. Every fine hair on her body starts to stand on end, and she glances around before realizing where it's coming from. Her gaze snaps back to the only other person with her at that exact moment. The words leave her mouth before she even thinks about it. "Was… Was it you all this time?!"

He gives her a confused look before snapping. "What the fuck are you blabbering about now, moron?"

Mai observes him for a moment before deciding to try to get on stable ground before continuing this conversation. Given this is Subaru she is talking to, it seems like a safer option; less tempting to just shove her over for an imagined accusation. She takes a deep breath to steady her nerves and tries to get the courage to lift her leg back over the railing. She manages to only lift it a little before swaying a little due to being off balance. Still, it's enough to send fear coursing through her fiber of her being. Her leg drops back down to rewrap around the cold metal. Her heart leaps into her throat, and she has to take a deep breath to keep from letting out a strangled sob. Her body is violently shaking again, though she isn't sure it ever stopped shaking, and it's only made worse when she risks a quick look down. Thankfully, she's able to pull her gaze away to look around for some way to save herself. Some shred of relief comes when she finds that the balcony is encased in walls. If she could just get close to one, she could lean on it and slowly work the leg over without the risk of falling.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?! Didn't you hear me?! I asked you a question!" Subaru snaps. He straightens up, but he doesn't drop his arms. Anger and impatience fill his red eyes, and he seems to be threateningly towering over her. An overwhelming sense of danger threatens to drown any rational thought. She takes a deep breath, scoots back as fast as she dares, and presses herself tightly against the wall. Despite the fact that the corner digs into the flesh beside her spine, a sense of comfort overtakes her fear, allowing her to release a sigh of contentment. At least, she doesn't feel like she's about to fall to her death anymore. She finally returns her attention to Subaru to find him clearing seething almost murderously at her. She silently stares at him for a few minutes, while she tries to think of an appropriate response to his question. How can she explain that she thought he's been, for lack of a better word at the moment, stalking her? Before she realizes it, he's standing directly in front of her. She doesn't get a chance to really react before his hand connects with the wall beside her head. She feels every muscle in her body tense, and it's all she can do to not flinch and lean away. After all, there is nothing but air on that side. Subaru slowly and threateningly leans closer to her face. He bares his fangs at her before snarling. "What, exactly, are you accusing me of, dumb bitch?"

"I'm not accusing you of anything," she mutters. He bares his fangs at her threateningly once more, clearly not believing her. She feels her breath suck in, and her body feels so taunt her muscles might snap. The wall isn't helping like she hoped it would. To be honest, it was a silly idea to begin with. What can a wall do to save her if he chooses to just shove her? It won't take much effort on his part. With a sick feeling, she wonders if he'd even feel bad. She carefully turns her head to glance at his fist out of the corner of her eye, only to find it's still connected to the now damaged wall. She shifts slowly and pulls her gaze away from the angry vampire before her. She's not sure why, but her gaze finds its' way to the ground below her. Oddly enough, she doesn't feel the fear she felt before, nor is it moving. Still, she needs to say something to try to cool his temper, but it's always so hard to figure out what to say on the spot. Unfortunately, she doesn't get long since a snarl from him prompts her to quickly say, "I was just asking if you were the one who has been hanging around watching me from the shadows in the hallways. That's creepy you know. Very stalkerish."

"Huh?!" His fist slams in the same spot. She barely has time to shut her eyes tightly before chunks of wall pelt her shoulder, face and scalp. "What the hell are you talking about?!"

It feels like something comes loose deep inside her, and she finds it impossible to contain the laughter bubbling up. She lifts a hand to press against her mouth in a vain attempt to stifle her it. Unfortunately, it doesn't work, and just seems to anger the vampire towering over her.

"I'm going to push you over if you don't stop that irritating noise." Despite the very real sounding threat, it just makes her laugh harder. No matter what she does, she can't stop herself. Her stomach starts to hurt, and tears form in her eyes, but she doesn't dare release the railing to hold it. To make matters worse, she can't even hunch over to ease the tension that way since Subaru's in the way. His voice is low and dangerous when he growls, "get a hold of yourself!"

The second she feels his hand touch her shoulder, panic sets in. She's positive that he's about to throw her to her death. Still, it doesn't stem her laughter. In panic filled haze, she releases the metal, throws her arms around his neck, and pulls herself upward until she's pressed against him. Her face buries itself into his shoulder. Unwillingly, he helps stifle her giggles, and his shirt starts to soak up her tears. There's no way he'd throw her now, not if it drug him down with her. To her utter, twisted amusement, she feels his body tense up against hers. Unable to stop herself, she gives him a tight squeeze. All this happens in the span of a couple seconds, and she doesn't give him a chance to even recover before turning her face just enough that she can be heard, "Subaru, you're such a kind person, despite your many, many faults!"

"Hey! Are you insulting me?" He snarls coldly. She feels his fist slam into her ribs, winding her, but she refuses to release him from her hug. Instead, she just holds him tighter.

"You brought me out here to make me feel better, didn't you?"

"Fuck off! Why would I do such an idiotic thing?!" His fingers tangle in her hair, and he gives a violent tug. Tears spring into her eyes once more, but she still resists. Much to her relief, he doesn't try to pull out her hair and quickly releases it.

"You're allowing me to borrow your shirt, even though I'm getting blood on it," she argues.

"Only because you're fucking ugly without one!" He snaps. His fist hits her ribs before she can retort that most boys like girls without clothes on. Unfortunately, she's left gasping and praying he didn't break any bones this time.

With a serious note in her voice, she says softly. "I'm so glad that we're friends."

"We are not friends," Subaru snarls before jabbing her once more. This time, she releases him due to the fact that she's positive one more hit will crack a rib. He quickly retreats from her and returns to his original position, while she does the same. His furious gaze lifts to watch the moon, and a couple of awkward seconds drift by. "You reek like that pervert."

She's just about to try to properly thank him for his weird way of helping her when he mentions Laito. Every muscle in her body becomes tense all over again, and she finds herself staring at the railing between her legs. Goosebumps slowly spread over her body, and she feels like she can't breathe.

After what feels like an uncomfortable eternity passes by, she softly asks a question that has been floating around the back of her mind for a while now. "Subaru, do you think I'm a terrible person?"

He makes a sound of annoyance in the back of his throat and doesn't bother to reply. Finally, Mai lifts her gaze to meet his, only to see a startled look pass over his swimming face before it becomes stony once more. "I think you're a pathetic, insignificant human, who needs to remember your place in the food chain."

At the harshness of his words, Mai's gaze drops to her white knuckled hands, but she can't bring herself to disagree with him. Silence takes over, and she finds herself unable to say anything at all. If she were to be honest with herself, she didn't feel very talkative anymore. Why did reality have to hurt so bad? Why did life have to be so hard? Her gaze slowly moves from the railing to the ground so far below. For a dizzying moment, she clings even tighter to the railing between her legs. It's funny, but the longer she stares at the ground; the more relaxed her grip becomes. Dark thoughts begin to weave their way through her mind. Her plans to get close to Cordelia in order to save Yui seem so childish and naive now that she put some deeper thought into it. Her involvement with Laito, Shuu, or any of the brothers is another cause for concern. Why is she trying so hard? Who has been there for her? Why is she still here?

Before long, she finds the fear of falling has completely disappeared, but that doesn't put her mind at ease. The tension just changes into something that is much, much more frightening.

It would be so easy to just lean her weight one way. She could do it quickly. The hardest part would be letting go of the railing. She drags her gaze to her white knuckled grip once more. Her hands and thighs are starting to ache, so she doesn't think they'll really support her weight. Her blank gaze shifts back to the ground. One pro is she'd feel the wonderful weightlessness that skydivers always raved about before her body painfully connected with the ground. Her eyes lift to glance in Subaru's direction, but she doesn't really see him before her gaze drops to the ground once more. What did it matter what he thought? They'd just find a new soul to torture anyway. Haven't they done that countless times before? She isn't anything special to them. She didn't have super delicious blood like Yui. This way, she can be free of the heartache and torment.

Her nose scrunches up when she truly considers it. Will it really hurt that bad? Or will it hurt less than the pain she's already been through? How long will it take before the pain disappears? Will it overload her brain?

Would she be able to truly escape Laito, or will she become trapped like all those other women?

At the thought of being stuck in some sort of hellish limbo, it feels like she's been punched in the chest. Thankfully, the pain seems to be just what she needs in order to snap her out of her current thought process. With a deep breath, she is able to shove those dark thought back where they came from. How will doing something so terribly permanent help her at all? A sick feeling starts to build in the pit of her stomach, and her heart gives another painful throb. What is wrong with her? How can she think of abandoning everything she's worked for?

"You truly are pathetic, aren't you?"

The sound of his voice snaps her out of her thoughts. To her absolute horror, she finds herself still leaning dangerously over the railing. She tries to correct her posture, but her sudden jerking movement has the opposite effect. Her body pitches the wrong way, and she scrambles to grab the railing. She frantically curses herself for even letting go. When did that happen?! Her sweaty hands slips the first time. Her body seems to be moving in slow motion, and her heart stops completely. She's running out of time! Her foot is no longer touching the balcony. In fact, she can feel the metal railing touching the back of her knee at this point. Her mouth goes dry, and she lashes out a second time. She has to get it this time! Thankfully, her second scrambling grab is successful, and she keeps her body from slipping any further over into the abyss. She just sits there in that awkward position for a heart wrenching moment before she begins her mad scramble back over. She didn't have long, since every muscle in her body is violently shaking, making it hard to keep her grip. Her sweaty palms certainly weren't helping matters either. Somehow, she manages to make it to safety, but she doesn't just stop there. She crawls over to the door on shaking limbs. Just as she reaches it, laughter draws her attention back to the silver haired vampire. Her mouth opens and closes a couple of times while her scattered, frantic thoughts scramble into a coherent sentence.

"You… you were going to… let me fall…" She whispers in a hoarse, but somehow high pitched, voice. She thought she'd be able to yell at him, but she isn't even able to muster up the strength to make her voice anything other than audible.

Subaru releases an amused snort, seemingly oblivious to Mai's mixture of anger and terror. "Who am I to stop you if you want to do something so dangerous? Besides you don't have anything to worry about."

"You… were going to… let me… fall.." Mai states once more, still in an unbelieving stupor. She wants to slap her forehead. She wants to punch Subaru. She wants to cry.

She wants a lot of things, but she can't muster enough energy to try a single one of them.

All she can do is stare at Subaru's laughing face. A sense of numbness threatens to take over her body. Why is she so surprised? This is an everyday occurance to them. Life and death hold absolutely no meaning to any of them. Her body begins to shake, but she's not sure if it's pain, fear, or anger. Time seems to slow to a stop while she watches the vampire in front of her. He's so beautiful when he laughs. To be honest, he's even attractive when he's frowning or being cruel. Something she never noticed before. In fact, he's dangerously beautiful. But something feels...different. He isn't oddly attractive, like she used to think they all were. There isn't a strange allure she felt before.

She feels her breath suck in, and she pushes the thoughts from her mind. That trail of thought is quickly beginning to frighten her. Cold sweat starts runs over her skin all over again, and she finally drags her attention away from Subaru to stare out at what she can see of the garden. Upon seeing the ground, all her previous thoughts come crashing down on her once more, effectively crushing her.

For no apparent reason, Subaru's strange comment suddenly leaps forth. She had been so angry at the the time that she didn't think twice about the wording. Her eyes slowly drift back to him to find him looking up at the moon with his usual unreadable expression back on his face. Did he mean he would've caught her if she fell? Or did he mean that she wouldn't have died?

With a sinking feeling, she finds herself feeling sick that she even has to question it. People die from falling off a step stool, so why wouldn't it be fatal if she fell from a couple of stories? She knows people have survived the impossible before, but she hasn't had that kind of luck lately.

"You wouldn't have fallen." Those words are spoken with certainty, but they don't make her feel any better. She doesn't bother responding to him. Instead, she turns her gaze back to the gardens and allows her thoughts to slowly fade out into sweet emptiness. Every muscle in her body slowly begins to relax, and she finds herself easily losing track of time. When her gaze finally seeks Subaru again, she finds he has silently departed at some point.

It doesn't bother her though. In fact, it's perfect since she needs some alone time to gather her thoughts and feelings. She settles back beside the door to take her time. It's not until the first rays of dawn warming her face that she finally seems to waken from her stupor. After soaking a few more minutes of warmth, she stiffly stands and turns to step back into the manor. The air feels cold and empty inside the building, despite knowing there are seven people inside.

Mai runs her tongue over her lips and glances around before aimlessly making her way down the hallway. Since the sun is rising, it seems likely that everyone is asleep by now. Oddly, she doesn't feel the pull of sleep. Her feet slow to a stop, and she reaches up to place a shaking hand on her forehead. Even if she doesn't feel physically tired, it doesn't mean she isn't mentally exhausted. With a deep sigh, she forces herself to take a couple of steps halting in her tracks. Does she really want to go to her room right now?

The answer is simple.

No.

To her surprise, she finds that she doesn't really want to be alone right now, not with how close she had been to throwing herself off a balcony earlier. She isn't sure it'd be a good idea to bother Subaru after she just spent a good deal of time with him. Her eyes drift down when her fingers tug at his shirt. She'll have to talk to him eventually to return his clothes, but she believes she can safely skip over him right now. Who did that leave? Laito? The very thought is even more unpleasant than being alone right now, especially with the look he had in his eyes earlier. Her scratch seems to throb as a reminder that there is something very, very wrong with Laito right now. The more she thinks about it, the more she realizes there has been something wrong with him since Cordellia took over Yui's body. A pang of sadness settles in the pit of her stomach, but she quickly shoves it away. She's not about to put herself in harm's way out of pity.

Deciding to quickly move on, she considers going to Shuu's room; however, the thought strikes her as unpleasant, but she can't figure out why. She doesn't relish the thought of spending alone time with either Reiji or Kanato. Ayato's still moody and almost nonexistent lately.

She takes another reluctant step toward her room, but she stops after just one step. The feeling of being watched causes every hair to stand on end. A puff of cold air brushes her cheek and causes her hair to move. Her heart starts to violently race, and her breath catches in her throat. This doesn't feel like every other time. For some reason, she can feel a sinister intent to it, almost like something is angry with her specifically.

After much argument with herself, she cautiously turns her head to look over her shoulder. The more she sees; the less tense she becomes. Finally, her eyes scour every inch of the hallway, but she can't find anything out of the ordinary. Much to her relief, the chilling sensation of being watched has disappeared. After one more hard look over every inch of the hallway, including the ceiling, she turns to quickly walk to her room. Unfortunately, she comes face to face with a very decomposed face. One she doesn't immediately recognize.

Sadly, she doesn't get a chance to even try.

The woman in white lifts her hand and thrust it into Mai's chest, just over her heart.

So many things happen at once. The air rushes out of her lungs in a violent, raspy, cough. Something wet brushes her lips and dribbles down her chin. A sensation that is so cold it burns spreads from her chest outward, all the way to the tips of her fingers and toes. The sensation leaves behind a rippling effect of tingling pain.

Without warning, a pain explodes just behind her eyes that is so intense it causes her vision to go white.

The last thing she hears is a strange gargled scream that almost sounds like an animal in pain.

Her eyes flutter open, and confusion immediately sets in. She's laying face down in her pillow, with her arms wrapped loosely around it. Her skin feels taut, and it aches to breathe. She slowly rolls onto her side with a groan only to come face to face with a sight she never expected to see.

Her heart leaps into her throat. Fear blossoms like some kind of strange flower, but it's quickly overwhelmed by an indescribable sensation. It feels almost like she's losing control over the most basic functions of her own body.

The last bit of control slips through her fingers, leaving her trapped within her own mind. It feels so unreal to watch an unfamiliar, slender hand slowly reach out. The back of fingers tenderly brush purple hair out of the peacefully sleeping face. Fear wells up, but Mai finds herself unable to do anything but watch.

To her absolute horror, purple eyes snap open, and a pout settles on his face. Kanato's hand smacks away the slender one touching his face. His voice comes out laden with sleep and anger. "I told you to sleep, princess. Are you really disobeying me again? Are you looking for punishment?"

"N...no!" Mai feels her mouth moving, but she isn't the one doing it, nor does she recognize the fear filled voice. A strange, seemingly bottomless pit opens in her stomach, and it takes her a second to recognize the raw feeling of fear. It's eerie to not recognize her own emotions, but this has a different feel to it. She tries to find an explanation for why it's not the same as before, but she is unable to do so. It's just like the fact that she can't explain why, but she knows something bad is about to happen. Her attention is drawn back to Kanato when she feels every muscle in her body beginning to tense, leaving her baffled once more.

Kanato's face slowly lights up with a sinister smile, apparently pleased by the look of terror she can feel spreading. He leans up onto an elbow before slowly pressing forward until his face is only inches from hers, and a sick feeling takes over. A look of twisted excitement causes his eyes to get that telltale glow of hunger. His smile reveals sharp teeth. Mai releases a soft groan of fear, only it seems to be just her that hears it. His voice is low and playful, not unlike Laito's right before he does something twisted. "Teddy just told me something interesting. Something we can do together? Can you guess what it is?"

She feels her muscles working when she swallows hard. The very sensation causes her skin to crawl. She doesn't remember doing it, and she doesn't like the loss of control one bit. It's made even more frustrating when that strange voice leaves her mouth once again. "P ...please."

Kanato's head tilts to the side, giving her an almost thoughtful look before a excitement floods his features again. Without warning, everything goes black, and it feels like she's being suffocated with something soft. The scent of coconut and something unidentifiable floods her lungs, causing her to cough. Thankfully, her muscles respond the way she wants them too, and she's able to tear the offending object away from her face.

To her absolute horror, she finds herself face to face with Teddy. Her gaze flicks over to Kanato's face to find a mischievous look in his purple eyes. Cold fingers run along her side, from the bottom of her rips to the top of her thigh before retracing their path back up her side. She wants to flinch away, but it doesn't happen.

His continued touch brings about a terrible realization. She's not wearing any clothes beneath the layers of blankets. She wants to flush and pull away; she wants to scream and cry all at once.

Once again, she wants a lot of things, but she can't get her body to respond at all. Without warning, Kanato's face is once again only inches from hers. Terror fills her body, and she begs him not to do what she knows he's about to do. Unfortunately, it seems like she's the only one who can hear her voice. Cold lips press against her own in a kiss that seems almost gentle, not at all like she assumed it'd be. Still, shock fills every inch of her brain. She's never been this close to Kanato, and she never wanted to be. She feels so lost on what she can do other than just observe helplessly. She watches Kanato pull away, and disappointment flickers over his face for a moment before excitement takes over once more. His playful voice is laced in clear sarcasm. "Women derive pleasure from a kiss, do they not? Such simple creatures."

His fingers begin to trace the bones of her face. His head tilts just enough to give him an innocent appearance, furthering her mounting discomfort. "I've given you your pleasure. Isn't it only right you return the favor?"

Mai can feel her heart starting to race. Disgust fills her, but that's not what her body is feeling. A thrilling sense of excitement starts to course through her veins, and she finds herself nodding. Her mouth moves of its' own accord. "Yes. It's only fair, right?"

She's sickened over how eager her body at the thought of pleasing the purple haired vampire. She feels sensations in parts of her body that has her cringing. It's furthered by the fact that his fingers return to her side instead of her face. She wants to recoil so badly, or even throw Teddy, but she's like some sort of doll. She's stuck watching helplessly inside a shell that's clearly not her own.

"Teddy says you want to play hide and seek again today." The second those words leave his mouth, Mai hears an unfamiliar voice echo so loudly in her head that she cringes inwardly in an attempt to hide from it.

'No! Not again! Please! I won't survive this time! Someone! Anyone! Father! Mother! Brother! Save me!'

Cold fingers suddenly trace lightly over her stomach causing the taunt skin to tense. Pain shoots through her body, though she's not sure why. A gasp escapes her mouth. The pain quickly becomes so excruciating that she finds her consciousness swimming. His lips brush her ear when he says, "I'll hide first. Remember, you have ten minutes to find me, or I'll punish you!"

Everything becomes a haze of colors that causes her head to ache terribly. It reminds her of being on a merry-go-round that is spinning so fast she can't find a stable spot to look at. Finally, everything comes to an abrupt halt, and she's able to get off the wild ride. She immediately regrets it. All she can taste is dry, almost ashy, dirt, and the metallic taste of blood. A hand is painfully tangled in her hair, effectively holding her face down, preventing her from finding out where she is. Every part of her body hurts. It hurt to breathe, and each breath seems to call forth warm blood from her nose and from between her lips, slowly turning the dirt to mud. Without warning, a pleasant feeling begins to warm her body, but it doesn't stop the pain that appears alongside it. Tears form in her eyes, and she does nothing to stop them. There isn't a point. It's not like he can see her face anyway. She releases a silent gasp when fangs become buried deep in the muscle of her shoulder. Her fingers begin to tingle, and her head becomes hazy.

She releases a silent sob. She knows what's happening, but it seems like time is being cruel. She just wants it to hurry up and free her from this prison, but she remains trapped. Everything feels like it's slowing down to an unbearable pace.

Without warning, her body is roll from her stomach to her back. Her hazy eyes catch sight of three Kanatos that slowly merge into one, much like an old time cartoon. He's leaning over her on all fours. His hands dig into her wrists, but all she feels is pressure and tingling. Her head lulls to the side allowing her to see her surroundings for the first time, and her heart starts to race.

Dead grass and numerous, crumbling headstones surround her. It helps to finish driving the fact that she is dying home even harder. The tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes quickly becomes a flood. Through her haze of tears, she can see Teddy is sitting on a low, crumbling bench not far away. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see tattered clothing that is so caked in grime that she can't tell what color they originally were. She tries to will her body to move, but it refuses to do anything other than steadily breathe.

"I warned you," Kanato hisses in her ear, anger evident in his voice. "I told you to stay away from Laito! You should have just listened!"

His voice raises a few octaves. "You betrayed me!"

His hands ball up in the front of her clothes, and he lifts her upper body a little, though she doesn't remember him releasing her wrists. She knows what's coming, but her body hurts so bad that she can't bring herself to care. There isn't anything that she can do to stop him anyway. There's absolutely no strength left in her body. Regardless, pain and primal fear mix in the pit of her stomach when he slams her upper body into the dirt so hard she hears, rather than feels, the crack in the back of her head. Bile and blood rise in her throat, making a disgusting combination that she's oddly familiar with. Unfortunately, she doesn't have the energy to expel it. Instead, it runs back down her throat and into her lungs when she subconsciously takes a shaky breath, causing her to feel like she's drowning. A warm, sticky liquid begins to pool around her head, causing her hair to mat. Once again, she feels her upper body being lifted and slammed into the dirt. She can hear Kanato screaming, but his words don't make sense. In the back of her mind, she hears a small voice pleading for it to stop. She loses count of how many times her head meets the ground, but it's no longer making the cracking sound.

Her eyes slide open to find hazy, disappointed purple ones only inches from hers. His breath brushes her face, but it doesn't hold it's usual chill. He leans back, but his face becomes increasingly fuzzy the further away he gets. It's strange, but she doesn't feel her chest moving. In fact, she doesn't feel anything. She's barely able to see his lips moving, but no sound comes out. A loving smile adorns his face. Everything starts to grow darker, a lot faster than before. The last thing she sees is his face approaching hers.

Without warning, it feels like a fist is driven into her sternum, driving the air from her lungs and leaving that same burning sensation behind. In fact, it feels like she's on fire.

Her eyes snap open, and panic fills her mind. She's laying on her side instead of her back. The panic continues to grow when she finds only darkness surrounding her.

Did she really die?

Despite wanting to whimper, her body doesn't cooperate. All that comes out is short, panicked breaths. She can feel her hands lifting only to crash painfully into something solid only three or four inches in front of her face. Her breathing becomes panicked, and she uses both hands, and even her knees, to feel around. Unfortunately, all she feels is something solid encasing her. A cold sweat forms on her skin.

She releases a startled gasp when something heavy falls around her waist, drawing her against something hard and cold. Despite the fear still present, her body immediately relaxes. A puff of cold air brushes her ear in the form of a huff. That's when cold realization hits.

She isn't dead, like she thought.

What the hell is going on?

"Stop fucking wiggling," a gruff voice growls against the back of her head. Once again, she finds herself wanting to do a variety of things, but her body doesn't cooperate. Instead, it starts to shake. A cold snarl causes her to flinch. She feels jerky movement before there is a light creaking sound, and a dim light floods her vision, granting her view of where she is. She doesn't hesitate to look around her the best she can. It does little to calm her nerves to find herself inside a coffin. In fact, panic fills her mind, which causes an odd sensation since her body isn't in panic mode. Unfortunately, she only gets a second to get her bearings before she is violently shoved out of the it. Her hands automatically move to break her fall.

'No!' Mai finds herself shouting, but it has no effect. She lands heavily, and one of her wrists gives with a resounding popping sound. Pain shoots all the way to her elbow, and she releases a strangled whimper. She barely has time to rock back onto her knees before a pale hand roughly grasps the elbow of her injured hand. Her eyes shift to find her next surprise.

Subaru is standing beside her. Against her will, she doesn't protest when he pulls her roughly to her feet. A multitude of unfamiliar, incoherent thoughts race through her mind, causing Mai to feel even more confused.

"Moron, you've dislocated it," Subaru's low rumble draws her full attention back to the present, or what she assumes is the present. She's faintly aware of the whimpering that's coming from her. While she studies his face, his eyes move from her wrist to meet her gaze. Despite not feeling surprised, a startled feeling jerks through the center of her being. Her mind gives a painful throb at the conflicting feelings.

What is going on? Why is she seeing this? Is this even real?

His cold fingers intertwine with her throbbing ones. That should've been her warning. Much to her displeasure, her body doesn't react to it. Instead, she seems to glean some sort of strange comfort from the simple touch.

That's until he gives her hand and elbow a sharp tug in opposite directions. Tears well up in her eyes, and a scream leaves her mouth this time. The resounding pop seems to echo off walls of the messy room around her. To her surprise, Subaru allows her to rip herself away from him. While cradling her aching limb to her chest, she scrambles backwards, over pieces of broken furniture and other debris until her back finds a wall. She hates herself for it, but she can feel herself curling up in a ball like some kind of wounded animal.

An amused scoff draws her frustrated attention in Subaru's direction. Cautiously, she peeks out from beneath an arm. He's giving her an amused smirk from across the room. His fangs peek out from beneath his lip. She feels herself wondering if he was revealing it on purpose. His voice is full of mockry when he asks. "You're pathetic, you know that? Why did he see fit to send you here this time? You aren't going to last a week."

"I….I don't…." Mai hears the soft, watery voice coming from her. Like before, the voice isn't hers, and she isn't in control of her own mouth despite everything she tries. She feels a sense of frustration building up, but it does her no good. This time, she gives up much sooner and settles back to unwillingly watch the show. Just like before, there's a haze of color, though she picks out more this time. She watches Subaru's face run through a range of emotions. His mouth moves, but she's unable to hear what he's saying. Like a scratched dvd, it freezes before skipping forward. Her heart skips a beat when she sees him lifting a chair and throw it across the room. It viciously explodes against one wall, scattering chunks of wall and chair all over the room. She quickly cowers behind his overturned coffin to get out of range of his fury. Like before, it skips, and she finds herself waking up in the coffin more than she cares to. His arm is always wrapped around her waist, and she can't decide if it's a protective measure or just to keep her there.

She has a sinking feeling it's the latter.

Like the previous one, she finds herself laying on her side in a puddle of blood, though she doesn't know what happened. This time, her body isn't numb. Her hands seek out her stomach, where the pain is. Warm, sticky blood pours out between her fingers when she finds a gaping hole, though she can't even begin to guess what had caused it. Her mouth opens and closes, but all she can taste is blood, which makes her nauseous. Thankfully, she's not drowning on the mixture this time. Just the thought is enough to disgust her even further. Another sharp pain draws her attention out of her own thoughts. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Subaru standing over her. One of his hands is covered in blood, contrasting in an eerily beautiful way with his pale skin, and there is an indescribable look on his face. Unfortunately, she doesn't get long to look at him before he begins to fade to black, and a pleasant feeling of warmth spreads over her face, almost like the sun is shining down on her.

Around and around she spins. Colors flash before her in a sickening swirl causing her eyes and head to hurt. Every so often she captures glimpses of the brothers, but it's like watching a skipping dvd with no sound. She tries to focus on the images as they come, but they seem to float away the second she takes a moment to concentrate. This problem makes it so she can't figure out what it is she's seeing.

In fact, she's finding it harder to remember what her own name is, though she can't figure out why that is. Her head throbs painfully, and she wants to reach up to touch it, but she can't seem to find her hands. So many emotions that feel foreign swirl inside her, so she's not even sure what she's feeling.

"Mai." That simple word sends a jolt through her body. She has a feeling deep inside her very being that she should know the name, but where did she hear it before? It doesn't seem to matter how much she scrapes at faint, but very familiar, memories, they refuse to be more than just a mass of fuzziness in the back of her mind. Once more, she hears a soft, clearly male, voice call the name. It takes some effort, but she manages to make her eyes flutter open. She's faintly aware of the fact that her head is laying on her arms in a hunched, uncomfortable position. From the corner of her eye, she can see desks lined in perfectly neat rows. Faces she doesn't recognize appear to be looking at her. Some look amused; others look indifferent or appear to hold sympathy. She slowly lifts her head, which feels heavier than it should. Now that her head is upright, she can feel a wet substance on her arms and around one corner of her mouth. She slowly lifts a hand to wipe away the drool on her face, only to find that she had some on her cheek as well. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see a large window rests in one wall. Despite trying her best, she can't figure out where she is.

"Are you still not feeling well, Mai?" She turns her attention to the stomach beside her before slowly looking upwards. Her eyes meet the face of an older man, who is giving her a concerned look. He turns to the other people in the room. "Go to lunch early."

Like before, some seem excited; others don't seem to care, but they all leave quickly. She tries to stand, but her legs feel shaky. A hand lands on her shoulder, and she slips back into her seat without a fight. Her attention returns to the teacher. That's right. That's what he is. She's at school. Her thoughts are returned to him when he says in a low, concerned voice, "Stay here. I'm going to get someone to get you some lunch, while I go find the nurse and see what she thinks we should do with you. If I'm not back by the time you finish your lunch, I want to you go rest in the nurse's office."

She just nods, though she doesn't know what he's talking about. Her arms return to her desk, and her head falls forward. She's not sure how much time passes, but she tries to allow herself to drift off. Unfortunately, she's not able to do so. Her head keeps pounding in time with her heartbeat.

"Mai," a voice whispers close to her ear. She doesn't jump or even feel a jolt of surprise. In fact, all she feels is this overwhelming sense of numbness, almost like nothing matters anymore. She gathers enough energy to slowly lift her head to find the owner of the new voice. A boy is sitting backwards at the desk in front of her. There is a tray of unappetizing food in his hands. Her eyes rove over his vaguely familiar face, but his name doesn't immediately come to her mind. His shaggy, black hair falls in front of his curious, grey eyes. A scar adorns the bridge of his nose and along his left cheek. He tilts his head a little, causing his unruly hair to shift, and allowing her eyes to be drawn to the bandages around his neck. She finds herself fascinated with the sight, though she doesn't know why.

A gentle nudge from the cold tray has her dragging her arms off the desk, where the boy puts it down. Once again, she turns her gaze to the food. Despite not feeling like she's eaten in a while, the food doesn't look worth eating. Rough fingers very lightly brush the skin beneath her right eye, drawing her attention upward once more. In the back of her mind, she's faintly aware that she should've jerked away, but she feels so tired and doesn't honestly care about physical contact right now. She just wants to close her eyes forever. "You….. need…..food."

Her tongue feels dry and larger than normal. Now that her mind is a little more awake, she's aware of a horrible pain filling her throat with every breath. She closes her eyes and lets her body slump down in the chair. Her knees hit the legs of the desk, stopping her from sliding all the way off the chair. She tries to tell him to just leave her alone; that she's in pain and just wants to sleep. A wave of tiredness starts to overwhelm her, causing a strange croak to leave her throat in place of words.

"Mai…" The dark haired boy says once more, but it's hard for her to hear his soft voice now. She's aware that he's saying something, but she can't make out what it is. It feels like she's standing at the end of a long tunnel, and his soft voice doesn't travel well.

She easily gives up trying. She isn't really interested in what he has to say. It can't be that important anyway.

A sharp smell burns her nose, almost like chemicals. She finds herself staring dismally down into a cup of dark red tea. There is something definitely wrong with it, and she doesn't want to try it. Her eyes slowly lift to look at the back of the man who seems to have staken claim on her. Her heart skips a beat, and a cold sweat breaks out over her skin. She's been here for what feels like ages. The truth is that she lost count of the days.

The soft clinking of the shaking teacup and saucer in her hand draws unwanted attention. The male before her turns to look at her. Mai's breath sucks in, though she's not sure that is what she meant to do. It's getting harder to tell where she ended and these strange dreams began.

Cold red eyes observer her, but he seems younger.

Wait.

That isn't right, is it?

Reiji looked just like this when she arrived at the castle. Her drunk father had fallen on hard times and sold her to that strange man. Once away from her father, she was promised glory and riches, which she finds somewhat believable give that he certainly made her father wealthy. The thought leaves a bitter taste in her mouth. Thankfully, she doesn't have time to dwell on her lost family. Instead, Reiji is speaking to her.

"The tea is cold." She feels every muscle in her body tense involuntarily, yet another strange sensation. She's sure that she wasn't the one to do it this time. Her attention is drawn back to Reiji when he turns to fully face her with a stern frown on his face. "That was brewed special for you. Is it not to your liking?"

She swallows a hard ball of fear that had become lodged in her throat. She hated tea, and he knew this. She had made the mistake of telling him so that very first day. Instead of trying to remind him, she forces up a smile and lifts the cups to her lips. It tastes just as bad as it smells, and it seems to cover every inch of her mouth. It's all she can do not to gag. Somehow she manages to suffer through the cup of tea in a matter of minutes. After she finishes, she's careful to return the cup to the table beside her and offers him a smile. "It was delicious. Thank you."

Manners mattered more than just about anything here. That was the first thing she learned when she came here. Always say please and thank you. Never ask for anything, since you are a guest. You take what is offered with a smile. Finish all the food given to you. Drink your tea, and don't break anything. Pick up after yourself.

Those were the simple rules. The back of her hands still bear the deep, black bruises from the ruler he frequently uses to punish her for her penmanship, though she isn't sure why it matters so much. Nothing the dark haired vampire does makes any sense to her.

Maybe she really is as stupid as he says.

She stares at her hands, which are folded neatly on her lap. This is the worst part of her day. She'd sit for hours just waiting for something to happen. Like so many times before, the seconds tick by, but nothing happens. She finally works up the courage to slowly lift her gaze from her hands to find that he is still watching her. An almost amused smile has settled on his face, which frightens her more than his stern looks. He slowly approaches and reaches out to gently pick up the teacup and saucer. She frowns up at him until it strikes her. Every muscle in her body becomes painfully stiff, and she's unable to keep herself from falling forward. It's not a surprise to find he doesn't lift a hand to help her. Instead, he steps to the side, allowing her to fall face first on the floor.

The world pitches horribly, flooding her vision with an assortment of colors. She doesn't see any other images this time. She comes to an abrupt halt and finds herself leaning over a toilet. Blood pours from her mouth in place of vomit. Every muscle in her body aches horribly. The tell tale sign that she's going to vomit again hits hard, and she wraps her arms around the toilet in order to lean forward to throw up even more blood before weakly slipping backwards. Deep puncture marks cover her neck and shoulders, though she's not sure how she knows that since she can't see her own neck. Her body gives a violent shudder when she hits the hard, tile floor.

"Pathetic," a cold voice says from the other side of the room. She's not sure how, but she manages to roll onto her side to look at him.

The feeling of betrayal hurts worse than the pain ripping at her insides. She loves him, but he just cast her aside. She has bore so much of his abuse and experiments. She did everything he asked of her without question, but it wasn't enough. Apparently, she wasn't the 'one', whatever that meant. His arms are crossed over his chest, and he seems to be regarding her much like one would regard a broken toy.

She lets out a soft groan; the second her mouth opens, blood pours forth. She hears him sigh, followed by his footsteps. His voice echoes through the bathroom. "You won't last much longer. Since you entertained me for a bit, I suppose I could show you a bit of mercy."

Her vision has grown dark by this point, so she's not sure how it happens. At first, there is a blinding pain that makes her choke on the blood in her throat, but it's quickly followed by a blissful sense of nothingness. How long has it been since she didn't feel pain?

She's faintly aware that she's laying in bed, but she doesn't know who it belongs to. She can feel a cold hand brushing her forehead, but she doesn't know who it is either. Her eyes slowly open to look up into the eyes of a young blonde girl with green eyes. An amused look adorns her face. Just over the girl's shoulder, there is a green haired male with a cold expression.

"Sleep, my dear," the girl says. "How cruel of them to show you such horrible images. You don't have long."

Her cold hands feel pleasant against Mai's burning forehead. She leans into the touch and lets herself return to the land of dreams.

"Hey! Hey!" An obnoxious voice yells in her ear. She snarls loudly and spins to glare at the red haired boy with green eyes. He towers over her much smaller frame, but that hasn't stopped her from standing up for herself yet.

"What now, Ayato?" Hatred boils to the surface at the cheeky grin he gives her.

"Make Yours Truly some food, shorty," he says. He lifts his chin a little, giving her an arrogant look. She narrows her eyes at him, but she didn't feel like doing their usual run around today. She had loads of things to do, and Ayato always got his way one way or another. A lesson she has been learning the hard way. He leans closer to her face, so she turns away. The sooner she fed him, the sooner she could get back to her studying.

"Fine, just give me a minute," she mutters under her breath. She makes the mistake of turning her gaze back to her textbook. It disappears before her eyes, and she has to spin to catch a glimpse of Ayato disappearing out the door with a snicker. This has become an every night occurrence, and her grades were showing it. In fact, she's failing more classes than she's passing.

Unfortunately, she doesn't get to see the rest of that dream. It just ends in a splash of red and pain. A cold hand is shaking her awake. She releases a soft groan and rolls away. To her surprise, she's able to easily brush the cold hand away.

"This is all she does," a strange, almost lusty sounding voice says.

"I see," yet another familiar voice says in a bored tone. Her eyes open to stare through a door into a bathroom that is hauntingly familiar.

I died on that floor. The thought crosses her mind, and she feels her body shift once more. Wait, who died? She can feel herself breathing, so she can't be dead. A cold hand runs fingers through her hair, causing a sense of calm to flow through her. She shifts a little to look over her shoulder. Shaggy red hair and green eyes fill her vision. A playful smile spreads over her face. Her eyes flick over the room, but she doesn't see who he was talking to. Her eyes turn back to the boy. She has a feeling that she should know him, but his name seems to escape her. He eases himself down until he's laying behind her. His voice has an alluring lull to it. "Are they bothering you?"

His words don't make sense, so she simply lays there. He releases a soft, cold chuckle against the skin of her shoulder. His arm falls heavily around her waist and draws her up to his body. She can feel his face becoming buried in her hair, near her neck. The thought sends a cold jolt down her spine, but she can't quite figure out why that is.

A pleasant thrill runs through her body the second his cold lips close over her throat. Darkness creeps around the edges of her vision.

Soft breaths puff against the back of her head. A sense of comfort slowly wakes her. She's faintly aware of the knocking on the door. A groan behind her finishes waking her. She shifts enough to stretch while listening to Reiji telling them to get dressed. Impatience is clear in his voice, leading her to believe this isn't the first time he's knocked. She's vaguely aware of Reiji saying something along the lines of 'Their father would be in today, and Shuu is required to attend'. A groan against her ear is the only answer Reiji is graced with. An arm falls over her waist drawing her closer.

"So warm," he mutters against her ear. She flinches at how close he is and shifts uncomfortably. He hasn't done anything to her, but it still doesn't feel right to sleep next to a guy she barely knows. She's only been living in this haunted house for a couple of months, and she has yet to see why everyone in town calls it that.

She reaches down to grab the unnaturally cold hand and proceeds to try to pull it off. She's not sure if he's resisting, or if his arm is just really heavy, but she can't seem to get free. Making sure to keep her voice barely audible, she whispers, "Shuu, he sounds really mad."

She gets as much of a response as Reiji did. As frustrating as it is, it's the only answer she ever gets from him. She still isn't sure how she ended up in this predicament, but it shows no signs of ever letting up.

After all, she didn't have a family anymore.

The thought sends a wave of sadness over her, but she doesn't let it hold her down long. There isn't much of a point. Feeling sad or crying won't bring back what she's lost. A shudder still runs through her, and tears well up.

She 'll never admit it, but she 's absolutely terrified of her current situation. Running away seemed like a good option at first, but she hasn't found time to try. It seems like the second she wanders toward the door, someone appears. Besides, she has a feeling she was kidnapped, since the man who found her after the funeral brought her home as a 'present' to his oldest son. She isn't naive. She knows what that is supposed to mean. The only sense of relief she finds is in the fact that the blonde boy doesn't seem the least bit interested in using her any way other than a teddy bear or a heater.

Like so many times before, she wonders why he feels so unnaturally cold. After a bit of wiggling, she manages to end up on her back so she can look at the boy. Mai feels the heart in her body skip a beat at the sight beside her. Shuu's face is a relaxed mask of innocence that causes Mai's guard to lower against her will.

How can anything go wrong? She's much better fed than she ever was with her family. Sure the others aren't exactly gentle, but they seem to keep their distance most of the time.

Her eyes flutter open for a moment. She finds herself laying on her back, causing a sense of deja vu to wash over her. The sun is warming her face, but it doesn't cause the chill to leave her body. She can't tell if she's dreaming still or if she's awake. What's happening to her? She swallows hard. Pain races up and down her throat, leaving it feeling dry. She forces herself to roll onto her side.

Warmth slowly spreads through her body, and she's faintly aware of the sound of someone humming a vaguely familiar song nearby; however, she can't find energy to try to listen. Her body gets that heavy feeling which sometimes happens right before sleep, and she finds herself sinking right back into the dream.

Or is it reality?

The pillowcase placed over her head feels gentle everytime it brushes her cheeks or neck, but it does little to help quell the fear gnawing a hole in her stomach. Unbidden, a whimper leaves her half open mouth. All she can taste is the iron taste of blood in her mouth. Her loud, gasping breathes keep her from hearing anything else aside from her stomach growling. How long has it been since she last ate? Every so often, the pillow case is lifted enough to allow her a drink of water. The muscles in her arms have stopped aching, but she isn't sure when that happened. The days have merged together into one pain filled haze.

She shifts to try to find a more comfortable position, but it turns out to be a waste of energy. Her hands are tied above her head, keeping her in an upright position, though she has sagged for so long she's afraid that she may have hurt her muscles. Dried blood cakes her wrists and forearms from her original thrashing.

She has dried blood along her thighs, back, and stomach where the whip had cruelly cut into her skin. She has no idea who was hurting her, and she doesn't know why either. That makes it so much worse. One moment she 's sleeping beside Shuu, the next she's in tattered clothing in a foul smelling place and is being tortured.

She isn't sure how much time has passed, and she isn't sure how much longer she can hold on. Between the smell of blood and human waste, she feels both thrilled and scared at the numbness that is eating away at her consciousness. Where is Shuu?

She has asked herself that so many times she lost count. Despite her refusal to believe it, it has become painfully clear. She means nothing to him. They haven't shared much, since she hasn't gone out of her way to make friends with him, but she didn't think he'd be cruel enough to let her die.

A shudder runs through her, and a morbid thought crosses her mind.

She's about to die. She knows it should bother her, but she finds she has accepted it. Maybe she accepted it the moment her passed away, and she was taken away. She shifts once more, or at least she thinks she does. She's not sure of anything anymore.

"What a waste of time," a familiar voice sighs. She weakly lifts her head in the direction of the noise out of habit. She can't see him through the pillowcase. "I should've known that good-for-nothing wouldn't care for such a pathetic toy."

She swallows weakly but doesn't respond. She doesn't have the strength, nor can she think of anything to say. Her mind is finally ebbing away into a sweet, but bitter, darkness. She lets out a weak shudder. She faintly aware of the fact that the man's voice is drifting away. "I wonder how he'll react when I lay his broken toy outside his door."

Without warning, the pillow case is ripped off her head just in time for the last thing she sees to be Reiji's frown.

Her eyes slowly open to find an eerie silence surrounding her. She jerks upright just in time for laughter to explode around her. She looks around in a panic. Where is she? Who is she? All the faces she sees are unfamiliar, so is her surrounds. She feels sick, sore, and completely confused. Finally, her eyes turn to find an adult body blocking part of her view, sending a wave of deja vu through her chest. Slowly, she lifts her gaze up to find a frowning adult man.

"Did you have a good nap?" The impatience is almost palpable in his voice, though she can see hints of concern on his face. Laughter erupts at his question once more, but a sharp look from the teacher silences them all. Her mouth opens and closes a few times. "If you are still not feeling well, you shouldn't have came to school. You are being a disruption to class."

She doesn't pay the teacher much mind. She's busy trying to figure out what is going on. Slowly, everything comes back to her, though there are fresh memories she doesn't remember having before. Suddenly, she feels sick. A hand flies to her mouth, but all she does is dry heave. Exclamations of disgust replace the previous amusement. It takes a moment, but the teacher manages to regain the class' attention. His eyes turn to look down at Mai once more. It seems as if he's determining what to do with her. "Do you think you can make it to the nurses office? Or do you need help?"

"I'll take her," a hauntingly familiar voice calls from the back of the room. Mai's eyes slowly turn to find Shiro giving her an almost determined stare.

Without meaning to, she lets out a gasp of "No!".

An eerie silence settles over the room, and a quick glance around shows that everyone is giving her an awkward stare. Her gaze flicks around before landing on a familiar face, but her heart sinks at the beautiful smile on his face. Kou gives her a wink, as if daring her to ask for his help. Just the thought of having to deal with his fan club later sends a shudder down her spine. Her gaze leaps away once again before settling on another familiar boy. He's glowering at her, somehow reminding her of Subaru.

An array of foreign memories begins to flood her mind, making it hard to concentrate. She feels a hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her, but she can't make sense of the words the person is saying. Fear coats her mouth in a foul tasting substance. She shudders hard and tries to shove the memories from her mind.

"I'll be fine. I can make it there on my own," she hoarsely mutters. She places her hands flat on her desk and pushes herself upright. The world spins, and she feels bile rising this time. She must have swayed because a hand grabs her shoulder in order to steady her. She reluctantly turns her gaze back up to the teacher. His frustration has been completely replaced by concern. His lips move, but she can't seem to understand what he's saying. She slowly shakes her head. It takes more effort than she cares to admit, but it takes even more just to say. "Not Shiro. Not now."

Slowly, everything comes back into focus. The teacher's voice is the first thing she hears "...ke her to the nurse. The rest of you just read the next section in the textbook. I'll b-"

"I'll be fine," Mai mutters. She doesn't give the teacher a chance to argue. She quickly collects her abnormally heavy books, backpack and wobbles to the door. Before she has a chance to juggle her books around to open the door, an arm reaches over her shoulder to open it for her. She inwardly cringes when she sees the sleeves are rolled up. She doesn't bother saying thank you; she just slips out the door and makes her way toward the nurses office as fast as she dares. She hears the teacher saying something, but she doesn't listen. His words weren't making much sense anyway. She just focuses on lifting one foot and putting it in front of the other.

She sees movement out of the corner of her eye. Before she has a chance to glance in that direction, the weight of her books disappear. She wobbles awkwardly at the new found freedom. Unfortunately, she's unable to catch herself and ends up sprawling on the hard floor of the school hallway. Yuma's laughter echoes off the walls, and she can feel a blush of embarrassment rising to her cheeks. Still, she's afraid to move right away, since she feels like throwing up due to the fresh wave of dizziness. Sadly, she doesn't seem to get much say in the matter when a large hand tightly wraps around her upper arm. Pain laces up her shoulder when she is jerked upright by one arm. She releases a hiss, but he doesn't seem to care. He releases her before she has her balance, causing her to stumble once again.

"For fuck's sake, are you stupid?" Yuma's large hand presses against her stomach when she stumbles forward. To her surprise, the pressure doesn't make her want to hurl, so she unwillingly allows him to support her weight for a moment while she gets her balance back under control. Once she is confident she won't fall again, she puts one hand on his forearm, near his elbow, and the other finds his wrist. She pushes herself away from his cold hand and carefully turns to give him her best forced smile.

"Thank you," she manages to coldly say between gritted teeth. For an instant, she feels almost bad for being so rude to him. He hadn't done anything other than try to help her. She doesn't get a chance to dwell on it, or even think about whether she should apologize or not. A splitting pain runs through her head, making it feel like her skull is being split in half with a dull axe. She lets out a whimper of pain and quickly turns her gaze away. Bile rises once again, and she reluctantly decides she might need help. "I'm…sorry, Yuma. I'm not…. I think I need…."

She can't bring herself to finish her sentence, but she isn't sure why. Is it silly pride getting in the way? The seconds slip away in a tense silence before he lets out a almost amused sounding grunt. She slowly lifts her gaze up to look at him. She has to crane her head back quite a bit, since he easily towers over her. She swallows hard at the sight. If she were to be honest, he never looked more intimidating than he did now. He takes a step closer to her. Thankfully, he seems grasp the concept of a personal bubble better than Ayato, Laito, or Kanato seem to. His body doesn't touch hers, and he doesn't seem to be openly threatening her. Still, she can't help shrinking away like she does with all the others. Her silent praise that he knows what a personal bubble is goes out the window when he leans his face so close to hers that she feels her breath hitch in her throat. She gives him her best glare, but it seems to be wasted on him. Much to her displeasure, it appears he's inspecting her face for something.

"What happened to you? Ruki was positive you were going through the change." His eyes narrow a little, and a frown begins to form over his face.

"I…. I don't…. What?" She isn't sure what she's supposed to say here. He grunts in apparent disappointment and straightens up. She watches him visibly tense before glancing over his shoulder. What he sees causes him to curse harshly. She leans a little to look around the large vampire. Her heart stops when she finds Shiro standing outside the closed classroom door. She only gets to register the fact that he looks furious before she feels something wrap around her waist. Much to her frustration, she's not given time to look down before she's swept upward. Her stomach hits Yuuma's shoulder so hard it drives the air from her lungs in a startled whoosh. She's so stunned she can't even muster up the strength to begin struggling.

"Mai!" Shiro's voice echos off the walls.

The world spins for a second, but it doesn't make her any sicker than she already feels. For a warning, she only gets a shift in position before she is unceremoniously dumped onto the uncomfortable bed in the nurse's office. She lets out a cry of pain followed by a soft groaning sound. She rolls onto her side in order to turn her back to him just in time to hear the chair scraping the floor. She glances over her shoulder to see him sitting in the chair the wrong way, with the back between his legs. His elbow rests on the top, with his cheek resting against his knuckles. His eyes are narrowed at her, but it's not like he's glaring, more like he's trying to figure something out. Before she can fully think through the consequences, she snaps. "I don't need a babysitter."

He gives her a grin that reveals sharp fangs, causing her to shudder and turn away once again. It's clear he's silently threatening her, and she doesn't plan on provoking him. After all, he just carried her books in one hand and easily threw her over his shoulder with the other. The thought sends another shudder down her spine. She wiggles an arm under her pillow in order to rest her head on it, while the other lightly rests in front her face. A couple of louding thudding sounds causes her to jump, but she doesn't look back. She has a sneaking suspicion Yuma just dropped her books on the floor without a single care. The hair on the back of her neck starts to stand in such a way that lets you know someone is watching you. She shifts uncomfortably and says in a voice which is clearly strained. "Yuma, I can't rest with you staring at me like that. Is there something you need?"

"Get over it," is the gruff reply she gets. She rolls her eyes, sucks in a breath to retort, but decides she's too tired to bother fighting him. At the same time, she's afraid to fall asleep. What if those dreams come back, and she really loses herself this time? What would she do?

She feels tears begin to well up in her eyes. Her teeth find her lip, and she bites hard, determined not to make a sound. Thankfully, the two of them are able to sit there in silence. It starts out incredibly awkward, due to Mai fighting tears, but it slowly settles into a bearble one. It gives her time to fully process what happened inside her dreams.

After a while of deep thought, a wave of tiredness threatens to overwhelm her. It's not just physical exhaustion either. She releases a slow breath, but it doesn't help anything. Slowly, she rolls onto her back and stares at the ceiling. Finally, she decides to not ignore Yuuma any longer and carefully turns her head to look in his direction. To her surprise, he's not looking at her anymore. His bored gaze is now focused on the wall on the other side of her bed. She silently wonders if she should disturb him. Finally, she decides to her curiosity is too much and asks. "Why are you still here?"

He turns his gaze on her, and he gives her a threatening grin once more. He straighten in his chair and says "Well, it's expected of us. Your guard took off on you, after all."

Mai finds herself staring blankly at him. She has to physically bite her tongue to keep from asking "huh?" in her usual manner. Her clear struggle just seems to amuse the vampire. The smile grows, making her heart to race. A cold sweat begins to cover her body, and she can practically taste her own fear. She forces her eyes away from him. As soon as she looks at her blanket clad legs, a pain races through her head, and she feels sick to her stomach. She closes her eyes to fight the naeusa. Her hands find the sides of her head, and her nails begin to bite into her scalp. Overlapping images begin to pile over one another behind her eyelids. She feels her body violently dry heave, but she finds herself powerless to stop herself. She hears a distant voice, but she's not sure who it is, nor can she understand them.

Her eyes snap open, and she finds herself looking at a bright, unfamiliar ceiling. She rolls onto her side to find an empty chair sitting beside her bed. She frowns at it for a moment before memories slowly surface. Yuuma's smirk floats to the surface, and frustration fills her body.

She lifts a hand to shield her eyes, and her thoughts begin to race. She can feel every muscle in her body. She must have slept tensed up. Her thoughts quickly drift from her aching muscles to more pressing matters. What is she going to do? What can she do? What is happening to her?

She cautiously sits up, hissing under her breath. Thankfully, the pain starts to ebb away the more she uses her muscle, so she takes a moment to stretch each and every one. While doing so, she casts a quick glance around her while listening hard. She can't hear or see any signs that anyone is around. Her next step is to slowly climb out of bed. To her surprise, she doesn't feel any pain at this point. She finds her bag sitting on the chair Yuuma had previously preoccupied. Her books are stacked inside, so she figures the nurse is likely around somewhere. After all, she can't see Yuuma cleaning up after her, even if he's the one who threw her textbooks on the floor. She decides she's lingered long enough, scoops it up and hurries out into the brightly lit school hallway. She pauses for a moment look around. Somehow, it seems eerie to see it during the day. Her eyes find a nearby window, and she frowns. She must have slept for quite a while if it's so bright out. With hurried footsteps, she makes her way toward the exit.

The sounds and smells of the city hit her full in the face the second she's outside. She has to stifle a gag. Her hand flies to her mouth, and her eyes screw shut tightly. She feels a shudder run down her spine. This isn't how she remembers the daylight being. Maybe her head is still tender? That would explain why the sounds were hurting.

Before she gets a chance to convince herself it's just a bad headache, a large, hot hand wraps around the wrist of the hand covering her mouth. She jumps and releases a startled scream. Her eyes snap open, and she's met with an unpleasant sight. Shiro's face is inches from her own. A cold, yet somehow concerned, look covers his face. His breath feels warm against her face. "Mai."

She jerks backwards, but his hand stays wrapped around her wrist, effectively halting her retreat. She feels her heart leap into her throat, and her breath hitches. His grip feels tight, but she doesn't feel any pain from it. Her eyes lock with his, and his cold expression melts away. He gives her a desperate look. His voice is barely audible. In fact, she has to strain to hear it. "Please, Mai. It's not too late. Please come with me."

She stubbornly shakes her head. A car horn sounds close by, momentarily distracting her. Her gaze flicks in that direction. Her body flinches when the sun bounces off the metal frames of several cars. Pain sears behind her eyes at the blinding sight. She feels a tug and returns her attention to Shiro. At the sight of her friend, a strange, indescribable feeling starts in the pit of her stomach and quickly bubbles upward. His image blurs, and she's startled to find she's tearing up.

Suddenly, she feels so overwhelmed by everyone and everything around her. She has so many hazy memories floating under the surface that she can't effectively focus on anything. The sounds of people yelling, and the smell of cars is making her feel sick. She lifts her free hand to wipe at the tears that manage to escape. "Shiro…."

She startled by how hoarse her voice sounds. Apparently he's just as surprised, since he loosens his grip on her wrist. She doesn't waste any time in ripping her wrist out of his hand and retreating a couple of steps. To her surprise, he doesn't even fight. He just stares at her with an indescribable emotion written on his face and in his eyes. She fixes a teary glare on his face and tries to focus her thoughts. She clears her throat and shoulders her bag. "Shiro, that's enough."

His face shifts into one of pure sadness. "Listen. I can help you. I know I can. Come with me."

He stretches out a hand. She doesn't even bother glancing at it. Her eyes remain focused on his face. Despite what he's done, he's still her friend. He's trying to help her just because he cared.

Sadly, he can't, not now. This has nothing to do with her wanting to save Yui anymore. She has dug herself a deep, dark hole, and now she can't see the light. She watches his concerned face blur again. It's a bitter pill to swallow, but she knows she's slowly losing her place in the human world.

Or maybe she has already lost it. Look at how she's reacting to the human world happening around her right now. It's suffocating her. She swallows the lump in her throat and fights her tears with all her might. A confusing sense of relief starts to spread from her fingertips, slowly overwhelming her pain and fear. She knew where she belonged now.

Her voice cracks when she says. "You're wrong, Shiro. It's too late."

He sucks in a sharp breath and takes a step toward her. "Mai…."

She cuts him off with a shake of her head. "No. Don't. Just don't. Thank you for trying, but it's too late. I don't want to leave."

"That's not true!" Shiro's voice is louder than she's ever heard it. There is a desperate note to it, as well. His warm hands wrap around her upper arms, near her shoulders, and he gives her a firm shake. "This is an illness! It's stockholm syndrome! You're sympathizing with them! That's all! It's happened to plenty of people before! You don't have to be afraid! You can leave! They can't hurt you if you leave! We will protect you!"

She lets him shake her without resisting. A weird tickle starts in the pit of her stomach before slowly bubbling upwards. Without realizing it, she finds herself laughing. It sounds insane, even to her own ears. She feels him let go, so she hunches over to hold her stomach. She hears him take a couple of steps back, but it does nothing to stop her laughter. She's not even sure why she's laughing, but it just feels so good to just give in, to just give up completely.

Tears stream down her face, but she's not sure if they are from the laughter or the amount of relief she's feeling. She's not sure how long this goes on, but she's finally able to reign herself in. She straightens and wipes the tears from her face, but they continue to slowly work their way down her face. Choosing to ignore the fresh ones, she refocuses on Shiro to find a guarded look on his face now. She offers him her best forced smile and says softly. "Don't worry about me, Shiro. I'll be fine."

"They are going to kill you," he states bluntly. She almost scoffs, but she manages to bite it back. She releases a sigh and forces her feet to start moving. Despite her new discovery, there's still so much to think about, and so much to do. One thing is for sure thought, she has to deal with Cordelia, first and foremost.

Laito's face devoid of emotion floats to the front of her mind, solidifying the resolve. She'd do it for Yui, Ayato, Kanato, and Laito.

"It won't matter in the end," she mutters. She hears Shiro say something else, but the sun is starting to make her head hurt again. She increases her pace without looking back.

Looks like it's time to go home.

She slowly drags herself up to the door of the mansion. Her breaths come out in ragged pants, and her hair is annoyingly sticking to the sides of her face, as well as her forehead. In fact, even her clothes are sticking to places she never thought about before. She feels overheated, disgusting, and irritable. Her headache has gotten so much worse on the walk home. She bites back a groan when her stomach releases a loud rumble. At least, she has an appetite now.

Her eyes stare at the door for the longest time, while she catches her breath. Finally, she reaches out and touches the door. It swings open without much pressure. It always makes her uneasy, but the rush of cool air quickly eases those feelings. She steps through the doorway into the dark mansion. A relieved smile spreads over her face, and she lets her backpack slide off her shoulder. It lands with an echoing thud that's quickly drowned out by the door shutting. She closes her eyes and lets her head fall back. She inhales the cool air. Every muscle in her body begins to relax.

Unfortunately, her relief is short lived. As her body cools, she can feel the sweat beginning to dry, causing a disgusting almost sticky sensation. Without a second thought about her backpack, she wanders deeper into the mansion. Her feet lead her straight to the room was loaned to her before.

She's sure to scrub every in of skin, along with her hair. Once she is satisfied she is clean, she stands underneath the stream and lifts her face upward. The warm water feels so amazing she almost doesn't want get out. Thankfully, she's able to pry herself from it. It doesn't take her long to find a set of her own clothes. A pair of baggy sweats and an oversized t-shirt is her chosen attire. Right in the middle of dressing she freezes.

Wasn't she wearing one of Subaru's shirts at some point?

What happened to it?

Panic sets in, which is followed by frustration. She yanks the last bit of her clothing on with a huff. She can't remember if she was wearing it for real or in the dream. Either way, it won't help to dwell on it. Even if she were really wearing it, it's gone now. Once dressed, she drifts back into the bathroom to run brush through her hair, not bothering to dry it. The second she's done, she finds herself staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes narrow, and she leans closer. She can't describe it, but she feels different. Yet, she can't actually find any actual differences. Her eyes scan every inch of her face, neck, and shoulders.

She still can't seem to find the source of the feeling.

She rolls her eyes when her stomach releases a loud growl and pulls away from the mirror. If she hasn't found out what makes her different yet, she likely won't. With one last frown at herself, she turns away to begin her trek to the kitchen, where she stumbles upon an unexpected surprise.

A blonde girl has her back to Mai, clearly cooking. She must have made some kind of noise, since the girl visibly jumps. She feels every muscle in her body tense, and time seems to slow as the girl turns to face Mai.

Much to Mai's relief, a red gaze meets Mai's. An array of emotions flood her body in the matter of seconds. There's excitement, confusion, and feelings of caution. She finds herself unable to even try to say anything, though her mouth does opens and closes a couple of times. Everything seems to sink in quicker for Yui, since she seems to materialize inches from Mai before wrapping her in a tight hug. Unfortunately, Mai is too stunned to do anything other than stiffly stand there.

Finally, she manages to softly ask, "Is…. is this real?"

Yui pulls back, allowing Mai to get a quick look at the girl. She seems to be doing fine, much to Mai's relief. That's when she realizes something smells absolutely mouthwatering. She peeks around Yui to see a pot sitting on the stove.

"Oh," Yui says softly, drawing Mai's attention back to her friend. A smile has already spread over Yui's face, and she turns back to attend whatever she is cooking. "Are you hungry?"

Mai's eyes drift back to Yui before nodding softly. She finds a spot at the small table in the kitchen to sit down. Despite herself, she finds herself watching Yui's back, fully expecting the girl to suddenly change. The silence slowly becomes suffocating, but Mai can't bring herself to break it. Thankfully, Yui doesn't seem to have that problem, since she begins to sing softly under her breath. Mai strains to hear what it is. At first, it doesn't make any sense, then she realizes what it is. She turns her gaze down to the table and just listens to the hymns the blonde sings for a couple of minutes. Finally, she's able to organize her thoughts into a coherent question, so she lifts her gaze and asks it. "Yui, is that really you?"

Yui turns to look over her shoulder with curiosity filling red eyes. After a couple of seconds of tense silence, her eyes seem to melt away into sadness. She turns her gaze turns back to her task at hand. Mai's fists ball up in her sweats, but she can't find anything to say. The seconds tick into minutes. Finally, a breathy sigh from her side causes Mai to jump. She turns just in time to get a face full of soft, blonde hair. His head comes to rest against her shoulder, and his side presses against hers. Every muscle in her body tenses, and she lifts an arm to press her elbow into his side. She doesn't dig it in, but she hopes it's enough pressure to annoy him enough to move. He releases a soft moan, but he otherwise doesn't move an inch, causing her to grit her teeth.

"Shuu, please get up," she states as sternly as she can.

"Troublesome," he breathes out. She can practically feel her lip curl back in a silent snarl. Unfortunately, she doesn't get a chance to retort to him, since a chuckle draws her attention back to her friend. Yui's actually facing her this time, and she's holding two plates of steaming delicious smelling food. Mai's heart starts to sink. Relaxing times like these are so dangerous. It's easy to lose sight of the nightmare going on around her. The plate being gently placed the plate in front of her draws her from her thoughts. The aroma causes Mai's stomach to release a loud growl, and her mouth starts to water.

"So noisy," Shuu states. Mai rolls her eyes and Yui giggles. This time, Mai digs her elbow into his ribs.

"Get off me, Shuu. I'm trying to eat," Mai states sternly once more. Just as she starts to move him off her, he suddenly becomes heavier. "Hey! Didn't you hear me? Don't lean on me!"

She finds herself struggling to keep herself upright under the weight of the blonde vampire. She even has to resort to grabbing the table in front of her and wrapping her legs around the chair legs. "Shuu! What the hell?!"

"So noisy," he complains softly. Mai releases a loud frustrated growl that's quickly drowned out by Yui's laughter. Mai's not sure how long she struggles under Shuu's weight while Yui laughs, but her friend finally deems it fit to come to her rescue.

"Shuu, are you hungry?" Mai gives the blonde girl a cold stare, since she can still hear the laughter in her friend's voice.

"Don't reward bad behavior, Yui," Mai states without any emotion in her tone. The blonde erupts into giggles, once more. Sadly, Shuu doesn't rise to her bait.

"No," he simply states. Mai turns her attention back to the top of his blonde head, giving it her harshest glare, but, like her comment, it's sadly lost on him.

"Why don't you go lay down on your bed? You'll be more comfortable," Yui says. Mai reluctantly turns her attention back to her friend only to find she's already eating her own food. Yui gives Mai a smile that's clearly suppose to come off as sympathetic, but it comes off as full of laughter. Mai's eyes narrow, but she decides not to say anything. Yui's actually trying to help, and Mai doesn't want to scare her off.

"Troublesome," Shuu mutters in a barely audible voice, and Mai turns her frustrated glare back on him.

"Don't you dare go to sleep," she growls. Her gaze snaps back to Yui when she hears laughter. Yui quickly cuts it off, but she doesn't look apologetic at all. In fact, she appears to be enjoying herself.

"Shuu? Why don't you go lay on the couch, then? It's pretty close," Yui suggests before sticking some stir fry in her mouth.

"Troublesome," Shuu groans once again. Mai feels every vein in her body come alive with the amount of irritation coursing through her. "I'm comfy here."

"I'm not," Mai states bluntly. "And I'd like to eat."

Her answer his him shifting a little, but he still doesn't ease up any of the weight he's put on her. Yui seems to regard them thoughtfully before turning her attention on Mai. "Is it so bad that he's leaning on you?"

"I'm. Not. A. Pillow." Mai states between clenched teeth. Unfortunately, her anger is lost on her friend, since red eyes shift to regard the lazy vampire once more.

"Shuu, can you at least not put as much weight on her? She's trying to eat after all. She might be less cranky if she has a free hand."

Unable to not snap at her friend, Mai decides to bite back her response. Silence fills the room for what feels like hours before Shuu finally moves enough weight off that Mai feels safe to release the table and chair. She's just about to give him a violent shove when Yui stops her with a sharp kick to the shin. Mai releases a loud hiss of pain before glaring at her friend. She's reconsidering snapping when Yui gives her a pleasant smile. "Just let him lean on you. He's not going to move. You know how stubborn he can get. Just let him do what he wants, and he won't bother you."

Mai grits her teeth, but she figures her friend is probably right, and her food is getting cold. She turns her attention to her plate and tries to ignore Shuu the best she can. Instead, she focuses solely on taking her food one bite at a time and savoring it.

She's not sure why, but halfway through her meal, she happens to look up at her friend. What she sees destroys what little appetite she has left. Why didn't she notice the deep purple circles around the blonde's eyes before. Or the fact that she's paler than normal? Even her hands are shaking. She looks exhausted. Mai finds herself watching her friend sadly before finally managing to softly ask, "Yui?"

"I'm so scared," Yui says in a watery voice. She drops her silverware and covers her face. She releases a soft sob. Mai feels Shuu stir beside her, but he returns to breathing softly, so she's not sure if he's awake or not. She sets down her own utensils and reaches across the table to awkwardly pat Yui's forearm.

"It's… I…." The words die before they even come out. What can she do? What can she say that isn't just empty words? To be honest, there is only one thing. "I'm here."

"It's so dark. I feel like I'm suffocating. The darkness runs up my nose and down my throat! There's just… just this fog," she mutters through her hands. "It's terrible. It presses on me, and I can't breath. Just when I'm about to give up, I hear you or Ayato calling out to me. I try so hard to fight with all my might, but I don't know which way is up or down. I don't know how to get free. I'm drowning, but I don't know on what. This is the first time I've been able to reassume control! I just want to… I don't know! I want to see Ayato! He isn't in his room. I haven't found him, and I don't even know where to look. I hear him less and less. Please, Mai. I can't keep going on like this!"

Mai feels mounting horror the longer she listens to Yui's heartbroken voice. She subconsciously curls her hands into fists, going so far as to dig her nails into her palms. There's no way she can help Reiji kill her friend. Not now that she knew Yui has been conscious this whole time. There has to be a way to save her.

"Mai!" Yui's hands drop away from her face. The amount of horror on the blonde's face is enough to send Mai's heart racing so fast that her chest starts to hurt. "She's…. She's coming!"

Just like that, her heart completely stops. Mai flinches when the red flashes to green only to fade back to red. A look of pure pain floods, Yui's face, and her hands lift to delve into her hair. "No, no, no, no! Please! This is my body!"

Yui's voice echos off of the walls in a haunting manner. Her words begin to overlap with her screaming, causing it to become a jumbled mess. Just beneath the scent of delicious food, Mai can smell the scent of rotting flesh and blood. Her entire body tenses to the point of pain. She tries to shove her own fear aside and starts to stand in order to help her friend. Without warning, a hand lightly wraps around her wrist.

"Troublesome. You're all so noisy," Shuu states softly. Mai's eyes snap to him. He sits upright and opens his blue eyes to gaze at Yui, who has begun to thrash.

"Shut up!" The voice that leaves Yui isn't her own, but it's not quite Cordelia's either. It's a strange mixture of both, causing chills to rise along Mai's arms.

Mai's mouth open and close a couple of times. She wants to reach out to her friend, but she doesn't think she can move an inch. All she could do is start to shake. Yui's eyes snap open, and they are green, cold, and furious. Mai sucks in a deep breath and recoils backwards.

Without warning, everything goes black, then she's falling forward. Confused, she starts to thrash, but her arms are suddenly pinned to her sides. She lets out a cry of surprise when her body hits something soft. Only moments later, something heavy lands on top of her, driving the air from her lungs in one painful swish. She gasps painfully, but the weight on her back prevents her from fully filling her lungs with precious oxygen. She struggles with all her might, but she can't seem to get her arms free.

"Stop," a voice mutters into her ear. Cool breath brushes the back of her neck. "So troublesome."

Surprised, she stops a moment before she thrashes harder than before. "If you don't let me up right now, Shuu, I swear to god…"

"He's not real," Shuu mutters before adjusting himself. Thankfully, she's able to get a breath of sweet air before his weight drives it out again. Does he have to lay directly on top of her? Doesn't he know he's crushing her? She grits her teeth so hard they grind.

"I wasn't asking about your belief system, you ass. You're crushing me!" She snaps back at him feeling breathless.

"Hmph," is the only response she gets from him. She struggles even harder, but it appears it doesn't bother him. He's taller and heavier than her, so all it does is waste what little breath and energy. She feels his head pressed against the back of one of her shoulders. His hands digs painfully into her stomach, making her food settle in a very uncomfortable way. One of his legs wraps around her leg, leaving both of hers spread awkwardly. In fact, her hip starts to ache, and she feels like throwing up. She's forced to take shallow breaths, which is starting to make her to feel light headed. Shuu's scent fills her nose due to being face down on his bed. She can feel his chest rise and fall in a clear rhythm against her back. She struggles for a moment, but she finally gives up and just lies beneath the frustratingly lazy vampire. Her eyes fill up with tears, and she lets out a shuddering breath. Yui's in so much pain, that much is clear. What can she possibly do? How can she possibly help? What should she do?

Shuu's blanket soaks up the tears that leak from her eyes. The blanket also drowns her sobbing, which uses the rest of her oxygen.

Her eyes open slowly, though they don't want to. There's an annoying sound coming from somewhere across the room. It must've been her alarm, but she has no desire to get up to turn it off. She's proven wrong when the pounding begins again. Her stomach lurches painfully, and she has to bite her lip in order to keep the groan from leaving her mouth. She decides to focus on her surrounds rather than the pounding on the door and in her brain.

Her heart leap into her throat when she recognizes where she is. How did she get into Shuu's room? She tries to quickly trace back what she can remember.

It crashes down on her suddenly, everything from her chat with Yui to what happened afterwards. She squeezes her eyes shut tightly and tries to shove her unease aside. First, she needs to get out of this room and away from whoever is pounding on the door. A soft, unfamiliar voice cuts through her thoughts. "Master Shuu, your presence is requested."

A groan is the only reply the unfamiliar man gets. Unfortunately, it's right against Mai's shoulder blade, causing her to tense up.

"So noisy," Shuu mutters. She flinches and tries to quickly wiggle away. To her surprise, she's able to easily escape. That's when she remembers he'd been crushing the life out of her. In fact, she's positive she'd lost consciousness, not fallen asleep, thanks to him. She sits up and twists in order to face him, fighting bile and anger.

"Please, Master Shuu! Master Reiji said to fetch you!" the voice calls through the door. His voice shudders, making it painfully obvious that whoever the person is, he's afraid.

Not that she blames him.

She's frightened of Reiji, too.

Her gaze locks onto the door when the pounding gets even more insistent. "Master Shuu! Please wake up! You must get dressed!"

She turns her attention back to the vampire on the bed with her, who is clearly ignoring the distressed man. Unable to help herself, she says as sternly as she dares. "Shuu."

He releases a soft sound and rolls to face away from her. She feels like something snaps deep inside of her. She's now so completely powerless over every aspect of her life, and she's not about to be ignored again. Without a second thought, she launches herself at him. Despite the fact the impact is painful, she's satisfied to hear the air rush from his lungs. A smile spreads over her face. "Get up!"

"Annoying," Shuu states in a tone she's never heard him use before. It sounds almost like he's annoyed. Fear courses through her veins for a moment. She didn't think he had any modes other than tired and exhausted. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees movement. Out of pure instinct, she ducks, pressing her body flat against his side just as his arm passes over her head. "Troublesome woman."

She doesn't waste any time popping back up and digging the heel of one hand just under his ribs; the other finds purchase in his hip. She braces herself quickly and gives a violent shove. He releases a soft noise that sounds like a groan, but she doesn't care. It feels almost good to be physically getting her frustration out. She gives him another shove just as the man calls through the door once more. Unfortunately, she doesn't account for Shuu rolling on his own. She's pitched forward over the top of him awkwardly. She feels him shift again, and her heart leaps into her throat before racing painfully fast. The word danger keeps playing over and over in her brain. She has to get upright as soon as possible, but she's not able to move fast enough.

Or to be more accurate, she didn't know Shuu could move that fast. Her world shifts so suddenly she's finds herself frustratingly dizzy again, and it takes her a moment to realize where she's at. Once she does, her heart sinks to the very bottom of her stomach. In fact, it feels like it just falls out of her body completely.

Her hands are pinned beside her head, and Shuu is leaning over her. His hair falls around his face, casting it into shadow. He promptly sits on her hips, effectively eliminating her ability to knee him in the back or buck her body to try to throw him off balance. Instead, she settles for glaring up at him. That's when she notices something truly terrifying. She can see his blue eyes despite the shadows, and it's not just because they're blue.

They're glowing with that eerie light she's come to associate with being bitten. Her breath sucks in and freezes in her body. He slowly draws closer to her. A small smirk spreads over his face. It's not a psychotic one like Kanato, Laito, or even Ayato. It's not the twisted, scary one from Reiji, and she's not sure Subaru can be compared to anyone else.

It sends a terrified shudder down her spine. She'd gotten ahead of herself by attacking him. Shuu's so lazy it's easy to forget he's a guy, and he's a vampire. He's much, much, much stronger than she is.

She forces a brave face and says. "It's not fair to torment the poor guy."

Tilting his head a little, he seems to allow his face to fall back into his mask of tired indifference. Unfortunately, she doesn't get to relax, since his eyes are still glowing. She shifts, but he doesn't allow her much room to wiggle. She barely bites back a snarl. It wouldn't be smart to irritate him further. A lazy, yet amused look takes over his face, causing her eyes to narrow in suspicion. She's seen that look before, and it never bodes well for her. Without warning, she thrusts her hips violently upward. Sadly, it doesn't throw him off balance like she hoped it would.

"Master Shuu! Please!" The man calls through the door. Mai's eyes flick in that direction, but she doesn't dare turn her head. The last thing she wants is to have him assume she's offering her blood up to him.

"He's calling for you," she gently says. Her eyes shift to meet his glowing blue ones.

"You ate in front of your host without offering to give him any. Do you know how rude that is?"

Unable to come up with an appropriate response, her mouth opens and closes a couple of times before it snaps shut with an audible sound. She gives him her best cold look, but it doesn't work like intended. Instead, his face draws even closer, causing her mind to begin to race. She has to get out of this situation as soon as possible. She has to.

"I'm your guest, and I didn't even cook the food. Wouldn't it've been more rude to offer someone else's food out? Besides, Yui asked if you were hungry," Mai says. Her mind continues to turn, and she can't seem to turn her mouth off. "You said you weren't."

"I never said that," he lazily says. His face lowers even more, though it's starting to look less threatening and more like he's tired of sitting up. The man begins to desperately pounding on the door, but Mai no longer cares.

"You just slept. Which reminds me, you're being unusually active right now, aren't you?"

He lets out a soft chuckle, but it does nothing to ease her tension. His eyes narrow in a clearly playful manner. "I'm hungry."

"Get up, and we can get some food for you," Mai says, emphasizing her point by jerking on her wrists. To her absolute horror, he leans down until his head is buried in the blankets beside her head, and his chest is pressed against hers. She wiggles, but he just leans more weight onto her. Panic sets in when it gets harder to breathe. Her voice is clearly breathless when she gasps out. "Shuu! Please!"

"You're going to be late, Master Shuu! Master Reiji is going to be furious!" The man calls desperately through the door. Mai wiggles a little, but it doesn't do any good. She's rewarded with more weight.

"Good god, are you a snake?" She gasps. She both hears and feels his chuckle. "You're crushing me!"

"So tired," is his muttered response. Fear coats her mouth, and she has to force herself to not start thrashing again. It won't help her anyway. It'll only fuel his twisted sense of humor. Instead, she takes a slow deep breath to calm herself in order to think clearly. The sound of a violin drifts from his headphones, and she closes her eyes, allowing the sound to wash over her.

"Hey, Shuu. You're hungry, right?" She asks, hoping he'll respond. Sadly, she gets nothing from him. After a few minutes of silence, she rolls her eyes upwards and mouths some choice words at the ceiling. Her anger helps to eradicate her fear. She feels his hair begin to tickle her cheek, causing an itching sensation. Unfortunately, his hands are still holding her wrists hostage, so she's not even able to scratch at her face. She clears her throat and tries to sound gentle. "Why don't we get up and stop that annoying pounding? It can't be easy to listen to music with him yelling through the door."

Not even that gets a response from him. She closes her eyes and tries to take a deep breath. Much to her frustration, she can't fill her lungs all the way. This whole situation is uncomfortable and irritating. Each time the man hits the door, she feels like he's beating on her skull. Thankfully, the pain is starting to dull. "Ok, let's get up."

She tries to keep her voice positive. That positive note quickly slips away when he doesn't move. It's all she can to bite back a growl while she silently seethes at the ceiling.

Finally, he shifts, drawing her attention back to him. She awkwardly wiggles so she can look in his direction. A bright blue eye peeks between golden strands. Hope shrivels and dies just as quickly as it blossomed. She has a nasty feeling she knows exactly what he's about to say. His voice is barely audible. "I don't have the energy to move to the kitchen to get food."

"Oh….my….god….. How are you still alive? A person cannot be this fucking lazy and still be alive!" Mai practically screams. She starts to thrash. That's short lived with his next words.

"Feed me."

All movement stops. She finds herself panting and glaring at the ceiling. "Move, and I'll go get you something from the kitchen."

"Can't," he breathes. "No energy. Feed me here."

She can't even form a thought for a couple of seconds while her brain processes his request. She frowns and hopes she is jumping to conclusions. "What?"

He doesn't answer. Instead, he shifts his face back into the blanket. Silence is broken by the man once again, but Mai finds him remarkably easy to ignore now. Her eyes narrow at the side of his head. When it becomes painfully clear he has no intention on answering or moving, she growls. "What do you mean, Shuu?"

He turns his face again, causing his nose to brush her hair. She flinches and leans her head as far away from him as she can. Unfortunately, the movement bares part of her neck to him. Thankfully, he's not like Laito, so they end up in a strange staring contest. The pounding begins again, only it's not the man's voice this time.

"Good-for-nothing, I know you're awake. Get out of bed. You have five minutes. Father is waiting for you downstairs. He wants to see all of us," Reiji says coldly through the door. Mai feels every muscle in her body begin to tense. Tougo's here? What's he doing here? She feels a cold sweat breaking out, though she isn't sure why. Tougo's never hurt her. In fact, he's extended a hand in what appears to be friendship.

Her eyes watch Shuu's, though he seems to have not heard a single thing Reiji said. She shifts, and he adds the rest of his. Panic sinks its' claws deep into her chest. They can't keep his father waiting for long. The man is important and likely use to people throwing themselves at him. She swallows hard, but her fear forms a lump in her throat. She breathlessly says, "Fine. Make it quick."

"Hm?" Irritation spikes for a moment, but she's able to quickly shove it to the back of her mind.

"Drink a little. Not much. I don't want to be pale or passing out or anything." She's breathless by the end of her speech, causing her to get frustrated. Thankfully, she's able to bite back any retort. She feels and hears him chuckle again. Her teeth find her lip, and she closes her eyes to wait for the pain.

It never comes. Instead, he releases one of her hands. Her eyes snap open, and she feels him lifts himself off of her. She doesn't dare hope it'll be over that easy, so she cautiously opens one eye to look up at him. At this point, he's sitting back on her hips like before. His eyes are still glowing, causing a cold feeling to settle in the pit of her stomach. A few seconds of tense, awkward silence pass between them before she forces herself to ask the question floating around her mind. "Well?"

He doesn't move. The seconds turn into a minute. She needs to get this over with, but Shuu seems to have only one gear, his own. In utter frustration, she takes her free hand to pull her hair out of the way and drag her shirt to the side, exposing part of her shoulder. He release a soft chuckle and leans down.

"Since you're so eager to expose yourself to me, I'll take you up on the offer," he mutters softly. Anger flashes through her, and she opens her mouth to deny it. This whole situation is all his fault. Sadly, she doesn't get a chance to say anything, since his fangs puncture her skin. Her breath sucks in sharply, and she closes her eyes. To her surprise, it doesn't hurt any more than getting a shot, nor does it feel like he's digging his fangs as deep as they will go. Her eyes remain closed, but she feels her heart skip a beat.

It's over before she knows it. She feels the bed shift, and his weight is completely gone. She slowly opens her eyes, though she's barely able to bite back a startled cry threatening to rip itself from her throat upon finding herself looking up into Reiji's clearly disapproving, red eyes. A quick glance around the room reveals Shuu's nowhere to be found.

"Get up," Reiji coldly states. She doesn't wait to be told twice. She scrambles up and off the bed. Much to her mounting panic, he doesn't wait for her. He stiffly turns toward the door, so she hurries after him. Due to his height, his legs are longer and easily carry him down the hallway at a brisk pace. She straightens her shirt while rushing after him. Once she catches up with him, she chances a glance at the side of his face, but she can't read anything past his carefully placed mask.

After a short time, she finds herself standing in a room with several maids, whose heads are bowed. On a headless mannequin, there's a dark blue dress. The material ripples around where the breasts go, before running to the opposite hip. There's a see through, loose, almost lace, cover over the rest of the form fitting dress. It reaches all the way to the floor, where it'll hide the shoes. Functionless sleeves cling to the middle of the upper arm. Mai's eyes slowly shift to look at Reiji, but he's only focused giving orders to the silent maids.

"You have twenty minutes," he states before turning to sweep out of the room without glancing back at Mai.

"W….wait. What?" Mai stutters before hands seem to seize her from all directions. She struggles, but they don't even seem to notice. It's not long before she finds herself in the bathroom. Upon seeing steam rolling off the still water in the tub, she digs her heels in and leans as far back as she possibly can. "I showered not long ago! I'm clean!"

It does nothing to stop them from tearing at her clothing. Fear coats her tongue in a disgusting, coppery flavor. Or maybe in her panic, she bit her tongue. She's not entirely sure. Either way, she fights as hard as she can. She doesn't want to be undressed by these strange women, and she doesn't want to be forced into the tub either.

"Oh my," one of them say. Warm fingers trace over Mai's shoulder, causing her to flinch at the slight sting. She hears them starting to mutter to one another.

"Master Reiji is not going to like that."

"How do we cover that?"

"Concealer?"

"It's clear he's not the one who put it there."

"He said she stinks, so I believe it's safe to assume the one who left that mark is the one who stinks."

"Wait," Mai tries again. She's interrupted by a rough shove, which sends her sprawling into the steaming tub. Thankfully, it's large, keeping her from banging her head or limbs on the sides. She makes the mistake of not closing her eyes and opening her mouth, causing burning water to run into her mouth, nose, and eyes. Pain rushes through her. She thrashes and rips her body out of the scalding water. She spits what she can out and hacks up the rest. Unfortunately, she doesn't get long to recover. At some point during her coughing fit, a maid had dumped some shampoo in her hair and lathered it up. Two sets of hands find their way onto her shoulders and her ankles. She only gets a second to get a lung full of air and close her eyes before she's plunged back under the water. It feels like her skin is peeling off due to the heat, and she struggles with all her might. To her absolute horror, she finds multiple hands holding her under the water, while fingers roughly wash the soap from her hair. It feels like chunks of hair is being ripped out, but she's sure it just feels that way because she's in panic mode. Her lungs begin to burn with the need to breathe, so she clenches her eyes shut and tries to arch her body. It doesn't work, so she switches to clawing at the hands holding her down. Unfortunately, she earns a vicious tug on her hair as a reward. Due to the pain, she makes the mistake of opening her mouth to release a gargled scream.

Thankfully, not much water goes down her throat by the time she is ripped out of the water. She lets out a sputtering cough to help clear her airways again. It takes a few minutes to regain her breath, during which the maids begin to scrub her with rough feeling soap. She lets out a couple of whimpers before pleadingly saying. "Please stop! This isn't how you bathe someone! Please, I can bath myself. Please stop!"

"I'm sorry, miss," one of the maids says softly. "Reiji requires a certain level of cleanliness when it comes to his father. He asked us to specifically shower each of you in the household."

Mai cringes at the the thought, but she continues to beg. Thankfully, the bath ends quickly after that. Much to her embarrassment, they don't miss an inch of her body, nor do they let her dry herself.

"What is happening?" Mai asks, biting back tears of frustration and embarrassment. Her skin's a very vivid, red color, and she's surprised to not find any scratches from the soap. She's guided back to the previous room where the women begin to dress her. "Can't you tell me?"

None of them even bother to look up. Thankfully, the dress isn't as tight as it appears to be. In fact, the material has a small amount of stretch to it, so it's painless to put on and move in. After she's dressed, she's guided to a chair, where they proceed to brush, then twist her hair into an intricate bun while putting makeup on her. None of them say a word, so Mai finally gives up talking.

The last pieces are a dark blue beaded necklace, with a matching bracelet for her right hand, and a pair of black toeless heels consisting of mostly thin straps. They mutter together about putting earrings in, but they decide against it, much to Mai's relief. They drag her to her feet and start to shove her out the door. She stumbles, only to be drug up painfully once again.

"Ballroom, hurry. They're waiting. Hurry!"

That's how she finds herself tottering awkwardly down the hallway. She's worn heels before, but these ones are higher than she's used to. She finds her way to some stairs and stops to stare down them.

"Oh god, I'm going to break an ankle," she softly whines to herself. She considers sitting down, taking the heels off, and proceeding without them. They're already hurting her feet, and the straps are digging painfully into her skin. She isn't sure how else she can do this. She lets out a cry of surprise when and arm threads through hers. Her eyes turn to find very familiar eyes smiling back at her. Tougo uses his other hand to pat her forearm.

"Hello, dear. Shall I escort you to the dance?" He kindly asks. She opens her mouth to refuse, but he's already walking down the stairs, causing her to have to follow him to avoid losing her balance.

"Dance?" Her voice peaks awkwardly, causing her to flinch. Still, she doesn't know anything about a dance. If she were to be honest, she didn't know how to dance. No one mentioned anything. Tougo releases a pleasant laugh.

"Of course! It's been so long since we had more than one guest in this house. I thought this would be the perfect time to celebrate." His eyes flash mischievously, causing Mai's skin to crawl. Why is this happening now? She quickly looks down to avoid looking into his eyes, since she always seems to lose herself when she does. She tries to focus solely on putting her feet carefully on each stair. His voice drops a couple of octaves, much like Laito's, when he says. "You look very beautiful tonight."

"Thank you," she robotically states. Everything feels so awkward. Not the undressing you with his eyes awkward, but it isn't much better. It feels like she's being laughed at, but she doesn't see a joke anywhere. She swallows hard and tries to shove the thoughts of all the movies where dances involved some form of humiliation. It won't help to freak herself out more than she already is. She'll roll an ankle and fall down the stairs or something.

"There are so many important people at this dance," Tougo says when they reach the bottom of the stairs. Much to Mai's displeasure, he doesn't release her arm. "I'm very happy to introduce you to them. There are actors, musicians, and artists. Ah, I have a surprise for you as well."

She sees him move out of the corner of her eye, but she doesn't look up at him. Instead, she keeps her gaze focused solely on the ground below her. "I see. Thank you for the opportunity to meet so many important people."

She isn't sure if it's the appropriate response. Thankfully, he doesn't reprimand her, so she assumes it's alright. He goes to explain the variety of food, entertainment, drinks, and much more that she tunes out. In fact, she barely pays attention to the direction they're walking. Her thoughts are full of the various ways she can escape once she gets there.

Without much warning, they pause before a set of double doors she's positive she's never seen before, though she assumed she's been all over the mansion by now. With a jolt, she realizes that she never saw a ballroom, or even anything that resembled one. She doesn't get a chance to dwell on it, since the doors swing open and she's assaulted with a variety of smells.

The sweet smell of baked goods.

The smokey smell of roasted meat.

The choking scent of so many different perfumes and colognes crammed in one space.

Her heart skips a beat when every head turns to look in her direction. A soft tug has her stumbling after Tougo. She wants to say she's easily eclipsed by him, but it's clear there are several people eyeing her, shaping her up almost. All she can do is stare at her feet while she's drug alongside the vampire. She chances a glance up when not a sound comes from the room. She sucks in a breath finding the whole scene unnerving. There are so many people in every direction, yet not a single one seems keen on breaking the silence. They just silently part for Tougo and her. Finally, they seem to reach the center of the room, and Tougo pulls his arm from hers. She jumps when he brings his hands together in a loud clap.

"Don't let my tardiness stop your fun!" He says with a chuckle. "Let go of the world's struggles today! This day is about having fun! Remember to eat and drink your fill! The announcement will come at the end of the night! Please look forward to it!"

It seems like a switch is flipped. All around her, people seem to come alive. The low tones of men talking amongst themselves or complimenting women. The higher voices of women while they gossip and laugh. A hand finds her upper back, and she finds herself being guided through the crowd, who parts easily for Tougo. His voice is low in her ear when he mutters softly. "There's someone who is dying to meet you, my dear."

She chances a glance up at him, but he's not looking at her. His gaze is focused elsewhere. She turns her own eyes in that direction. Something catches her eye, causing her to suck in her breath. Standing by herself with slender arms pressed tightly against her chest is a beautiful woman with white hair that's tied in a bun on the left side of her head. A loose strand hangs all the way to her waist. Her black and white diamond endowed dress seems to float around her. Despite her beauty, she's blankly watching the people around her, almost like no one is home. She looks so familiar it takes Mai a moment to really figure out.

She looks like Subaru. Mai's mouth suddenly becomes dry, and nervousness sets in. Tougo isn't seriously going to introduce her to Subaru's mother, is he? The woman's gaze turns to stare at Mai for only a moment before turning to Tougo. Her eyes seem to light up for just a moment. Her voice is gentle, barely audible beneath the drone of conversation. "Karlheinz."

Confusion fills Mai for a moment, but she doesn't get long to dwell on it. Tougo pulls himself from Mai, not that she fought to keep a hold of him. He approaches the woman, takes her shoulders in his hands, and kisses each of her cheeks. Much to Mai's surprise, she does nothing to return the affection. Instead, her eyes drift toward Mai, causing Mai's breath to hitch in her throat. Tougo wraps his arm loosely around beautiful woman's waist before turning to fully face Mai. "Mai, my dear, this is my third wife, Christa. Christa, my love, this is the girl I mentioned before. The one who's friends with Subaru."

At the mention of Subaru, it seems like a change overcomes her. Her red eyes grow frighteningly cold, and she gives Mai an almost disgusted look, causing Mai's skin to begin to crawl. Her voice is once again barely audible, "I see."

Tougo presses a kiss to her temple. Mai turns her gaze away when Tougo leans down to mutter something into Christa's ear. After a moment, she chances a glance back at the couple only to get swept away by Tougo once more. She risks a glance back, but she finds Christa staring off into the distance. Unfortunately, she doesn't get much time to dwell on it. Tougo wastes no time in beginning to introduce her to so many different people that she loses track of names, faces, and even what Tougo is introducing her as. She simply grins and nods when she sees them looking at her. The rest of the time, her thoughts are preoccupied with the fact that her feet, ankles, and calves are beginning to burn fiercely. Maybe she can use this as an excuse to escape.

A hand lands on her waist so abruptly, that she sucks in a sharp breath and looks up to find Tougo's amused look. "Shall we dance?"

She doesn't get a chance to answer before she is swept up in a dance she has no idea how to do. She stumbles along with his confident steps. Her feet step on his every other step, but he shows no signs of discomfort. In fact, he seems to be enjoying himself. Mai, on the other hand, is a burning ball of embarrassment. She can't seem to find the right timing, and she can hear the spectators muttering to each other. Tears form in her eyes, and she finds herself whispering pleadingly. "Can I sit down?"

She can feel warm blood working its' way down one of her ankles, and she's positive she can feel blisters forming on the bottoms of her feet. Every step is slowly becoming nothing short of agony. She can barely bite back the whimpers anymore. Tougo gives her yet another smile. "No, my dear. After all, we're throwing this for you and Yui."

Confusion fills her body, but she doesn't get a chance to ask since he twists her into a agony filled spin. Her body collides with a solid one. Tougo's hand releases hers, while an arm wraps around Mai's waist, pulling her tight against the body she ran into. To her absolute relief, the person helping to support most of her weight, causing her feet to throb in time with her heartbeat, but it isn't as agony filled as before.

"Ah, you came sooner than I thought you would. Do you have business with her?"

Mai lifts her head just enough to see who rescued her. Her breath leaves her body in a single rush of surprise when she finds who it is.

Reiji gives a curt nod before politely saying. "I need to borrow her for a moment, father. I hope you don't mind. We had a previous engagement to talk about."

Tougo releases a soft laugh before waving Reiji away and disappearing into the crowd. Much to Mai's displeasure, she finds herself leaning into the dark haired vampire. Thankfully, he doesn't say a word about it. Instead, he shifts her weight to his side. With an arm around her waist, he helps her limp out of the ball room. She finds herself in a room that is clearly meant for the party guests to rest. There are soft couches lining the walls but not much else. Reiji helps her to the nearest couch, which she flops down on with a grateful huff. She leans herself back and closes her eyes. She mutters soft thank you to the vampire, feeling truly grateful to be sitting down. He releases a nonchalant grunt before kneeling before her. Upon hearing the movement, she opens her eyes to watch him uneasily, but he gives her a cold look in response. His voice is barely above a whisper when he commands, "lift your dress."

Mai feels a flush take over her face, but she does as he asks. After all, he doesn't seem to be the type to do anything inappropriate when others might walk in on them. She balls her dress around her knees, careful to keep everything hidden anyway. Despite not wanting to truly know what they look like, she finds herself leaning forward just enough to look at her feet.

Reiji's fingers expertly remove the straps while being surprisingly careful to not disturb the wounds more than they already are. Still, it causes her to bite her lip so hard she tastes blood. She makes a face and slowly opens her eyes, though she doesn't remember when she closed them. Relief floods her body when the shoes are carefully removed. Reiji seems to be studying her feet in an almost detached way.

"Looks…...painful," a voice states beside her. She flinches away before turning to meet Azusa's calm gaze. "Ah. I'm…..sorry… I did…..not…..mean…...to startle…..you."

She slowly shakes her head, but his gaze seems to lock onto her lips, causing unease to flood her body. Much to Mai's relief, Reiji clears his throat, drawing Azusa's attention to him. He gives Azusa an appraising look before saying with a detached tone. "If you're here to help, stay with her while I retrieve something to clean this mess up."

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Azusa slowly nod. Nervousness fills her, and she finds herself about to plead with Reiji not to leave her. Unfortunately, he's gone before the words even make their way out, leaving Mai with the dark haired Mukami that she barely knows. She stares at her feet miserably. The silence is finally broken when Azusa shuffles closer to her. His voice lowers a little, and he softly asks her, "Doesn't….it….feel...amazing?"

She lifts her gaze to give him a baffled look. That's her biggest mistake. His fingers move faster than she would've thought possible. A finger probes one of the cuts, causing her to flinch away. When she jerks away, he lifts his finger to look at the blood covering them. Thoroughly frightened, she scoots as far as the couch allows her while watching him warily. Thankfully, he seems satisfied with just observing the droplets of blood on his fingertip. A sigh snaps her attention back to find Reiji standing there. He kneels down in front of her once more. With quick precise movement, he starts to clean one of her feet. She releases a soft whimper of pain and closes her eyes. She's not sure what he's using, but it feels like it stings much more than it should. After a few seconds, she feels him pull away from that foot. She takes this chance to open one of her eyes to observe him. He seems to be allowing the skin to dry while he prepares a cream of some kind. Jumping on this chance, Mai quickly says, "Thank you, Reiji."

His red eyes lift to meet hers with a stern look before looking back down at the foot he's working on. "I do not require a thank you."

"But…" Mai starts, but she's quickly cut off.

"You were making an embarrassment of our family. I could no longer stand by and watch it," he states as if that's the most natural answer. Stunned for a moment at his harsh words, she's unable to say anything. Something presses against her side, causing her body to tense up. She glances over to find that Azusa has moved closer and is watching Reiji work. Silence settles over the three. After what feels like an eternity passes, both of her feet are bandaged, and her shoes are returned to her feet, much to her dismay. They weren't tight before, but they weren't loose either; however, they feel tight now. Reiji straightens and gazes down at Mai with complete indifference. His eyes flick over to Azusa, whose attention is still focused on Mai's feet. The sound of Reiji's voice draws her attention back to him. "This is the perfect opportunity. Guards are down, after all."

Every muscle in her body tenses, and she finds herself shaking her head. "I can't, Reiji."

A stern frown takes over his face, but she tries to ignore it. Instead, she gives him a pleadingly, yet determined, look of her own. His voice is barely audible. "This was discussed before."

"No, she's still there. I can't…" A sharp look from Reiji causes her gaze to flick over to Azusa before looking back at Reiji. He holds out a hand. She hesitates for a moment before reluctantly reaching out and taking it, allowing him to pull her up. She tries to keep her face neutral when she feels something brush her palm and quietly closes her hands over it. Still, she can feel her heart starting to race, and her body starts to shake. Despite Reiji's obvious distrust of Azusa, she can't help but try to plead once more. "It won't…."

She's unable to finish the question. Thankfully, Reiji seems to understand what she's trying to ask. "Not her. If it doesn't work, we shall leave it to those three once more."

He stiffly turns and leaves without much explanation on what he meant. Mai clenches the small, palm sized bottle of mysterious liquid with a foreboding feeling. She jumps when she feels fingers touching her back and spins to face Azusa. Despite the bandages, she still feels the straps rubbing the raw skin, and her muscles still ache. She desperately wants to take her shoes off, but she doesn't dare yet.

"I….can….hear...your…..stomach…" Azusa says. To her surprise, she sees an amused light in his eyes. He gestures to the door, but she hesitates for a moment. A frown spreads over his face after a couple of seconds of silence. It's quickly followed by an almost sad look. "Are you…..afraid…...of me?"

Despite herself, she finds herself shaking her head. He tilts his head a little, but she quickly turns away and makes her way toward the door. She doesn't bother looking back to see if he's following. The sound of music floods her ears the second she opens the door, causing her to realize she hadn't heard any sound while in the sitting room. She finally chances a glance over her shoulder to find Azusa is indeed following her. She takes a deep breath to steady herself and mentally prepares to make her way over to where the food is. She has to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from grimacing with every step. Somehow, she manages to make it to the table without any mishaps. Her stomach gives a growl at the mouth watering assortment of food laid out before her. Her eyes scan over everything from raw vegetables to steaming lobster. She settles for taking a plate and getting some shrimp, lobster, a few things that smelled good, but she didn't know the name of, and a couple different pieces of raw vegetables. Azusa follows along behind her, but he takes less than her. For a moment, she feels almost embarrassed.

"There you are," a vaguely familiar voice says sternly behind her. She releases an awkward sounding gasp and almost drops her plate. She spins as quickly as she dares to find a dark haired boy that she doesn't immediately recognize.

"Ruki…" Azusa says. Yuuma seems to materialize out of the crowd with a disgusted, yet frustrated look on his face. Mai's heart starts to race, and she clenches her plate tightly. The bottle presses awkwardly in her hand, and she finds herself wishing she had pockets or something.

"We were worried about you, Azusa. Don't just disappear without a word like that," Ruki reprimands, though he sounds far from concerned. Azusa mutters a soft apology, but he sounds as sincere as Ruki. To Mai's relief, he doesn't seem to have the slightest interest in her. Yuuma releases a growl, likewise, not interest in Mai's presence. His brown eyes move from Azusa to drift over the crowd. He draws back a lip.

"This place reeks," he grunts. "I never saw the point of these stupid aristocratic parties. All they're trying to prove is how rich they are."

"Yuuma," Ruki states. Yuuma's irritated gaze turns to Ruki before focusing on Mai just she lifts a shrimp to her mouth with her fingers. She freezes midchew when her eyes meet his. The terrifying grin he gives her sends a chill down her spine.

"Don't let Ruki see you do that," Yuuma teasingly states. Mai chews once while her eyes slide over to meet Ruki's impartial gaze. She quickly chews her food and swallows it before turning her attention back to Yuuma.

"I'm sorry?" He releases a laugh, making Mai feel awkward. They're all acting so familiar with her, but she doesn't recall ever having gotten close to them. It just gets even weirder when she feels Azusa press into her side again. His already soft voice is barely audible when he mutters.

"Ruki….doesn't….like us…..eating….with…..our hands." Mai turns her head just enough to look at Azusa. That turns out to be a mistake, since she hadn't seen Kou approaching. She feels her plate shift just in time to see Kou popping a couple of stolen shrimp in his mouth.

"H...Hey!" Mai stutter astonished that he had eaten right off her plate.

"Kou, that was rude," Ruki states, though it appears he's distracted.

"Ah, she doesn't mind, do you?" He gives her a pleasant smile, to which she replies with her best glare. Mai notices Kou moving and twists to hide her plate behind Azusa's back. He gives her an almost realistically hurt look, and she barely resists the urge to stick her tongue out at him. He seems to notice and sneers at her before stealing something off of Azusa's plate. To her surprise, Azusa doesn't even react; he just stares down at his plate.

"Kou!" Yuuma snaps. His palm meets the back of Kou's head, who releases a snarl in Yuuma's direction. "Knock it off! If you're hungry, get your own damn plate!"

Kou lifts his chin and glares up at Yuuma. "It's survival of the fittest here. If you can't defend your goods, you don't deserve them."

"Huh?!" Yuuma snarls. He takes a threatening step toward Kou.

"Enough," Ruki states sternly. "Karlheinz."

That seems to change the atmosphere of the entire group. They all seem to be looking in the same direction all at once. She turns her attention in that direction to find Tougo slowly making his way toward them. Once again, Mai's left scrambling for the memory of whether or not she's heard Tougo called Karlheinz before. Her musings are left short lived due to the fact that she decides to escape before he arrives at the group. The last thing she wants to do is make a bigger fool out of herself by being forced to dance again. Thankfully, she's fully away by the time he reaches them. She quickly eats the food she got and takes an offered napkin from a passing wait staff while passing off her plate. She also accepts a drink and drifts slowly toward the dessert table, trying her best to avoid eye contact.

Maybe if she doesn't look at anyone, she won't be asked to dance. Thankfully, she's able to successfully wiggle her way over to the dessert table. Like the previous one, it's got simple things such as cake, cookies all the way up to delicious gourmet treats that she doesn't know the name of. She settles for a piece of cheesecake before turning to observe the ballroom. The center is reserved for dancing, and there are quite a few couples gracefully floating along the floor. Along the edges of the round room, she finds groups of people huddled together in what appeared to be serious groups. She takes a sip of her drink before resting it on the end of the desert table, far from any food items and taking a couple of bites of her dessert. It appears business went on, even at a party. The band plays on a slightly raised stage, allowing the music to easily drift over the crowd.

That's when she spots someone who makes her heart stop. Cordelia is standing in her friend's body. It's clad in a tight, form fitting, sleeveless black dress with matching elbow high gloves. It's adorned with a silver chain around her waist. On the left side of her chest, a large red rose is pinned to it. In her hair is another one. Mai suddenly feels like the cheesecake turns to ash in her mouth, and her feet feel like lead. The bottle seems to burn her skin, and she finds herself doubting Reiji. What if this kills her friend?

Strange memories of throwing up blood float to the surface.

She lets out a yelp of startled pain when her head gives a painful throb, and the plate falls from her hand. Her mouth goes dry when she hears a voice cruelly whispering. "Kill her."

She spins around, expecting to find Reiji, but she finds no one. "Kill her!"

This time she's sure she heard someone whispering directly into her ear, but she can't figure out what they are saying. Her entire body tenses, and she concentrates as hard as she can. This time, she is able to clearly understand it. It's one of the white women. "Kill her. End this!"

"Run!"

"This is a trap!"

"You're in danger!"

"Kill her!"

Her vision swims when a splitting pain pierces her head, and she stumbles. There are so many conflicting words in her mind that she's finding it hard to focus on anything. Her hand lifts to touch her forehead. The music suddenly seems too loud. The smells seem so much sharper, and her throat starts to burn. It feels almost like she inhaled smoke. Her body starts to heat up, but she feels ice cold at the same time. She releases a soft whimper and presses both hands to her forehead, careful to keep the bottle in her hand. She doesn't want to trust Reiji, but all the overlapping voices are driving her crazy. She has to do something. Reiji's right. This can't go on. What would Yui want? Would it be better if she passed away?

Wouldn't that be terrible? Could Mai really live with that?

She gives her head a hard shake. That's when arms snake around her waist, pulling her back into a solid body. All at once, everything seems to just disappear. The room no longer spins, and she feels like she's not suffocating under the sounds and smells anymore. The pain in her head is also ebbing away. Laito's low, seductive voice rumbles through her ear. "Hello, sweetheart."

His lips brush her neck, bringing everything into sharp focus. She pulls away and turns to face him with a frown. The second her eyes meet his face, her stomach drops out. That same blank look is in his eyes. He's giving her his usual flirtatious smirk, but it seems almost lifeless to her. She frowns up at him, but he doesn't seem to notice, or perhaps he doesn't care. His voice isn't low and seductive like she thought. It holds that low, dangerous tone that sends chills up and down her spine. "You look delectable."

His finger brush over the hidden marks on her shoulder, causing her to flinch. A dark look passes over his face before a dangerously playful look appears over his face. His fingers move to trace the necklace. "Want to play a game?"

"No," she carefully and clearly states. Something's practically screaming at her not to let him start a game. It won't end well for her. She just knew it.

"Awww, it'll be fun, I promise," He coos at her. He takes a step forward, causing her to stumble back a couple of steps. He releases a dark chuckle and says, "You aren't as smart as you think you are."

His hand raises just enough to gesture at her hand. A dark look passes over his face again before it morphs into a playful grin once more. "Reiji made something for you, didn't he?"

"I…." She finds herself unable to form words. He tilts his head a little and glances around at the people surrounding them. His voice lower and takes on a dark tone that causes her blood to freeze.

"I'm tired of the games. I'll make you a deal. If you can keep away from me for the rest of the night, I won't take your poison away. I'll even help you take it. If I catch you, you give into me completely."

"Who'd agree to that?" She practically sneers back. To her utter disappointment, he doesn't respond in the way she wants him too.

"I'll give you a ten minute headstart, love." He gives her a cold smirk before sinking back into the crowd. Full blown panic settles in her body. She doesn't take his threat lightly. This means she doesn't have time to weigh the pros and cons of Reiji's trustworthiness. She doesn't want to be the one to drink the liquid, since she has no idea what it really is. She doesn't want to get caught either. She has to act right now. Her gaze snaps back to where she thought she'd seen Cordellia. Unfortunately, the imposter is gone. She takes a deep breath and plunges into the crowd to start her mission.

She only has a ten minute head start to begin with, and she didn't get a chance to ask about the rules of the game. She has no idea what he means by 'catching' her.

Frustration fills her body, but she pushes the disturbing thoughts away. She has to focus on the task at hand.