I'm back. Two great weeks of rest and relaxation have really done wonders for my system. I no longer wake at night in a cold sweat with the thought that I've claimed ceterus paribus is a type of fruit in my exams, or that the main protagonist of 'The Mill on the Floss' should have killed herself earlier on in the book and saved us all a lot of bother. Thank the lord! Anyway, I've been raring to get back to this story. (I spent the majority of my waiting time at the airport writing out a rough sketch of the next chapter.) mitsui_jr, I'm really sorry, but this story is going nowhere near a relationship between Raiha and Kurenai. If you want a story like that, I'd suggest checking out a story by Vanilla Fox instead – she's got the angle you seem to be looking for.  Vanilla Fox, I'm so glad that you found the story. This was the story I was talking about in my earlier review and I'm really hoping that no one else has done anything like it before. I think I've reached a conclusion about her name, and I've justified it at the end. Thanks so much for your support. I'll run along now…

   Chapter 3

Kurei held the girl roughly by the back of her neck and peered at her face, studying the features closely, examining them for any sign of dissimilarity. Her hair was flowing across his wrist and seemed to be taunting him with its dark silk softness. Her features were pale and twisted with fright but she emitted no sound further than her original startled squeak. He brought his flame closer to better study her features and noted with grim satisfaction the deepening panic in her eyes. Her mouth opened slightly in a soundless scream and Kurei revelled in the sensation of power that was flowing through his veins. Whoever she was, she would soon learn not to toy with his emotions. He was almost certain that she was not Kurenai now. She might have exactly the same features, but Kurenai would have said his name by now, Kurenai would have reached out with her hand… touched his face… touched him again…

Yes, burn my face. I deserve it. Burn me so I can never forget…

Dragging his mind from the past, he grimly tightened his grip and repeated his question.

 "Who are you?" he ground out harshly. She began to shake in fear, and he noted the trembling with grim satisfaction. She had already learned to fear him – that boded well for her. Her mouth opened slightly but nothing emerged from her throat but a guttural sound of fear. Then her eyes rolled back in her head, leaving the whites of her eyes visible for a moment before she began to drop towards the ground. Kurei carefully loosened his grip and watched her hit the floor with a muffled thud. Her fear had obviously overwhelmed her for the moment, he noted with a growing sense of impatience. He yearned to slap her awake in order to continue his interrogation, but held himself in check. He would take this time to note other matters first.

He walked back to his desk and sank gratefully into the chair that stood behind it, resting one arm on the padded arm of the chair and bringing the other to rest beneath his chin. Based on what he had seen, the girl was an exact replica of Kurenai in every way except one… she wasn't the same age. She was at least three years younger than the original Kurenai would have been if she had remained… alive…

He reined his thoughts in before they approached that dark abyss. The girl was a clone then, or else a person of great similarity in appearance. He was leaning towards the former rather than the latter – the possibility that the girl was an exact look-alike of his lost love who had turned up where she was sure to have been seen by him was too far out of the realms of probability. Therefore, she was more than likely to be a clone, commissioned by his father to test him again, no doubt there. Mori Koran had enjoyed the power given to him over Kurei on that day. It was more than likely that he would chose a twisted version of the same night to re-test Kurei's loyalty to himself. His father would soon learn not to test him that way. Soon… as soon as the cards changed hands… he would learn that to threaten Kurei was to play with death.

Picking up the phone he cast a cursory glance at the girl again. She was lying where he had left her. Only the gentle rise and fall of her chest spoke of life; her limbs splayed out in unconscious portrayal of a corpse. He absently pushed the buttons for the extension, his eyes unwilling to leave the sight that lay before him. There was no blood this time, nor were there the harsh gurgling sounds that came with a fight to breathe. Instead there was silence pressing in on him… and the dark. A sharp click sounded on the other end of the line and brought him back from his comparisons. Raiha's voice sounded out a quick greeting, the faint tenseness in his voice indiscernible to all but the few who knew him well. It was obvious to Kurei that this call had been anticipated and dreaded…

"Where did you find her?" The question was curt and to the point, cutting through any useless conversation that might have bridged the awkward pause before Raiha's answer. The pause on the other end of the line was significant before the quiet answer.

"Just outside the laboratory. She was trying to get in. Kurei-sama, from what I've notice…"

Kurei hung up the phone impatiently, barely managing to restrain himself from flinging it against a wall. She was a clone then! Damn his father! He though that he could inflict as much pain… as much suffering as he wished… but he would soon receive just retribution… He, Kurei, would no longer be Mori Koran's little puppet. But first, he needed to deal with the problem that was currently sprawled out over his carpet.

Pushing himself to his feet, he moved quickly to the corner of the room where a small mini-bar was maintained. Extracting a single bottle of water from the many that filled its confines, he slowly strolled over to where the girl lay.  He yanked the cap off and somewhat harshly flung the contents of the bottle upon her face. The resultant sputtering noises did much to improve his mood. Kurei watched the clone cough and stutter curses while trying to push her wet hair out of her eyes. The sight brought a cold, chilling smile to his features.

"What in God's name -?" she muttered, yanking at her hair. She had obviously no memory of his presence at this point. Kurei chose to remind her. Shoving his hand into her hair, he yanked almost hard enough to snap her neck. Her involuntary cry of pain brought a tinge of satisfaction with it. If she would scream with just this little ache, she would make a lot of noise while dying. Good. He would make her suffer for raking up those old memories and for daring to pretend to be her.

Her terror-filled eyes were staring into his again. The scent of roses wafted to him, and his eyes narrowed at this further intrusion upon his memories of Kurenai. Her face was paling even further under his regard. The girl had begun to tremble. Kurei sighed in irritation as he recognised the signs – she was going to faint again. This time though, he drew back his free had and backhanded her across her face. Her head snapped to the side before falling forward slightly. Her moan of pain mixed with her cry of fear as he yanked her head back once more.

 Her cheek was red and a small trickle of blood from the side of her mouth showed signs of a split lip. Unwillingly he was dragged back into the memory of Kurenai's features after his father had slapped her. She had been so afraid, but she had thought that the danger was to him. She hadn't realised yet that she had signed her very own death warrant the day he had confessed his love. But then, she hadn't wavered for an instant even after she found out that it was she who was to die. Even knowing that, she had admitted to her love… had admitted to caring for a boy who was too weak to save her…

The feeling of wetness on his palm brought him back from the past. The girl was crying. For some reason, the previous memory and her tears served to weaken him slightly. "Who are you?" he repeated, softer than before, "and don't bother trying to faint again. It irritates me." Her mouth opened and closed a few times. It was obvious that her voice was failing her. His anger was just beginning to return when she whispered.

"I'm… I'm… my name is…is… Kurenai."

Author's note: - I'm sorry this chapter is so small but I couldn't help it. It's writing itself and I don't have much say in the matter. I'm getting into the habit of writing drama. I can't help myself any more. I've kept her name the same as the original Kurenai because of two main reasons –

1. In the 'Flame of Recca' episode where Yanagi and Recca explored the mansion and the laboratory, I remembered that the names given for the clone tanks made for the Uruha were the same as their own names (eg. Genjuroh, if I'm not mistaken). Therefore, it stands to reason that it would be simple enough to call her Kurenai. Also, she would be expected to play the part of Kurenai later while Mori Koran tests Kurei's emotions.

2. It gives me licence to play with Kurei's emotions. (heh heh heh.)

Anyway, I hope the chapter was okay. I'm not really satisfied with it yet, but I can't figure out what it's missing right now. When I do, I'll come back to it. Any reviews, comments, constructive criticism or ideas are more than welcome, but no flames please. I'm still new and learning.

As always I remain,

Diabolique.