About a week passed.
While Rikkai's Magicians struggled night and day to find a way to weaken or destroy the barrier that was surrounding Hyoutei's mansion, Atobe was having his own troubles.
No matter how much he'd threaten or punish his little Scanner, she'd always struggle. Usually, he enjoyed when his preys fought back, finding amusing how they clung to a hopeless belief; he loved to break them. Yet right now, more than entertainment he needed his clan's ranks to increase greatly, and with the girl's stubbornness it was proving difficult. She did work, Oshitari was making sure of that, but all her fighting caused the progress to be slow, far slower than he had originally planned.
And this caused the King to be displeased.
His mood affected his men as well, causing them to be wary and tense, especially around him. And so, Atobe decided that the situation called for drastic measures.
He smirked to himself; he couldn't wait to see the girl's reaction as soon as they did that.
"Oshitari!" He called, comfortably sitting on his throne with his eyes glinting in excitement.
The megane Vampire appeared at once. "What is it, Atobe?"
His leader smirked. "Ore-sama needs your power. It is time to use Plan B."
Oshitari chuckled. "Tired of your little pet? What should we do after I use that? Do you want me to prepare the dungeons?"
Atobe shook his head. "She is my slave; she'll stay with ore-sama." He chuckled darkly.
The tensai tilted his head, slightly narrowing his eyes. "What are you planning…?"
The Vampire King smirked and flipped his hair. "The girl is going to become ore-sama's Possession." He purred.
Oshitari's eyes widened in surprise. Possession…? Had Atobe become so powerful that he would be able to create one?
"She shares a strong blood bond with Yukimura, though." He informed him.
Atobe cocked an eyebrow. "Nani?"
The tensai sighed lightly. He wasn't going to like what he was about to reveal.
"Our little… informant", he chuckled lightly at the word, "has told me that the Scanner often allows Yukimura to feed on her; this situation seems to go on since years."
Atobe frowned deeply. If this was true, he'd need a lot more time that he initially thought.
"That is of little relevance." He decided after a long pause. "The more she stays away from him, the more the blood bond is going to weaken; at the same time, the process of making her ore-sama's Possession is going to run smoothly." He said arrogantly.
Oshitari sighed lightly, shaking his head. Their leader would never change.
"I'm going to prepare for the ritual." He informed him before disappearing.
Atobe chuckled darkly. He was looking forward to it.
When she woke up, the first thing that Hirari noticed was that she was laying on a hard surface. She frowned lightly. Where was she now?
She slowly opened her eyes and gasped lightly. She knew what place that was, even if she had never been there. And she didn't like it one bit. She instinctively tried to sit up – except that she was restrained down. She cursed lightly and struggled at once. Strong leather straps were holding down her wrists, ankles, waist and neck; they looked old at the light of the torches, yet they were sturdy and wouldn't budge at all.
She cursed again.
Suddenly, she felt a presence, a Vampire; she tensed greatly and looked in its direction, her heart thumping wildly.
Relief washed over her when she saw who was approaching her: not Atobe, like she had feared, but Oshitari.
It's alright, Kikuta; Niou-senpai won't ever let harm get to me; his can use his Illusions, after all, she thought to herself, the certainty tranquillising her.
Just then, a second Vampire appeared, and Hirari couldn't suppress a shiver down her spine when Atobe smirked down at her.
"Do you like your new 'bed', Scanner?" He chuckled.
Hirari glared at him. "Anywhere is better as long as it's away from you." She hissed.
"Ouch." Oshitari chuckled.
The leader of Hyoutei sighed dramatically. "You're breaking ore-sama's heart."
He looked at the tensai with a dark glint in his eyes. "Proceed."
Oshitari neared her and the altar that she was laying on. Hirari looked at him, oddly not scared. She knew who he was in reality; whatever he was to do he wouldn't have harmed her. She trusted him, after all, just like everybody else in Rikkai. She suddenly remembered that day, when he had impersonated Sanada, and she had been the only one to recognise him, all thanks to her power. Everyone had been scared and confused, yet she-
All colour drained from her face. Her heart skipped a beat – no, several beats, before starting to race. She looked at Oshitari, shocked and horrified.
"Oops. Seems like she realised." said Vampire chuckled.
Atobe laughed. "It was about time!"
"W-where is he? What did you do to him?" Now Hirari was panicking. That man was not Niou, or she would have seen the real him! All those days spent working with Oshitari, and she never noticed that it wasn't him. How could she be so stupid?
"He's on our side now." Oshitari smirked.
Hirari's eyes widened in disbelief. "Uso! He'd never!"
Atobe stroked her hair, greatly amused. "Don't worry, my dear Scanner. You're going to follow him soon."
"Never!" Hirari yelled, her eyes teary. How could he betray them…? Betray her.
"Oshitari, proceed. Ore-sama has no time to waste." Atobe ordered coldly, yet he was greatly amused. If only she knew how things were really… But this way it was funnier.
The megane nodded and stood behind her, by her head. He placed his hand over it, and he held her temples firmly with his fingers.
"This is going to hurt." He warned her nonchalantly; he closed his eyes and started to focus.
Hirari struggled at once, trying to move her head away from his iron grip, in vain. Suddenly, she felt a light headache, which gradually grew stronger as the seconds passed until it became unbearable. She started to scream in agony, feeling as if thousands of needles were piercing her brain. At the same time, something seemed to try and leave her, something that if asked, she could have never been able to describe. She just instinctively knew that it was not supposed to leave her, so she fought to get it back. It was almost like an intangible, invisible rope game.
A few minutes later, Oshitari was panting while pearls of sweat ran down his face.
"So… Stubborn." He grunted, and increased the intensity of his power.
"No!" Hirari screamed and arched a bit, as much as the restraints allowed her.
Then, she fell limp, but not because she had fainted: her eyes were wide open, yet somehow empty, any spark of fierceness disappeared.
Atobe looked at Oshitari expectantly, and grinned widely when the other Vampire confirmed that it was done.
He swiftly opened the leather straps and watched, a bit warily, as she sat up.
"Stand up and go to ore-sama's room." Atobe ordered her, slightly tense.
"Hai, Atobe-sama." Hirari answered emotionlessly, standing up and heading out of the dungeons.
Atobe laughed loudly in triumph before dismissing Oshitari and following her.