Chapter 22: Part 2

Azami frowned. "That's not possible, I saw you and—" Yukino shook hear head in silence. "Maybe it was someone who looked like me." Yukino thought out loud.

"This could prove troublesome." Azami suddenly stood up and picked up her katana. "I think he went off to the park." Yukino got up too and noticed something on Azami's face, tears? She dismissed the idea, this was Azami after all. "Hey are you alright?" she asked timidly, Azami avoided her gaze. "Yeah, I've just got dust in my eye." The kendo-girl replied in an undertone, she rubbed her eyes.

"Yukino, We have to hurry, I feel that he's in trouble."

Lei struggled to break free of the woman's grip, she tried to force herself on him but he slapped her face hard. He refused to believe that she was the same girl he'd been with for the last several months.

Yukino rubbed her now stinging cheeks and licked her lips. "Honestly, I'm impressed." She calmly said, she took hold of Lei's robes and lifted him into the air. Lei chocked on his collar, he vainly tried to shake off her firm grip but to no avail. He couldn't get enough momentum going without getting his foot on the ground. "Tell me, why do you resist?" she asked, her eyes piercing his. "You're a bad actor." was his answer.

The girl laughed with Yukino's voice. "Really?"

Lei's eyes darted from the girl to the immediate surroundings. He needed to find something he could use. The girl caressed his cheeks, her nails biting into his skin. "Tell me… Has my sister really changed that much." She licked the blood off her fingers. Lie's eyes snapped open. 'Fangs? Impossible, there are no more vampires in this day and age! Unless...'

"Changed? What do you mean?" Lei asked with a strained voice.

Nothing he could use to his advantage here he thought. The next logical option would be to find an escape route, he needed to buy time. "She wasn't that saintly timid girl before, if you know." Natalia said. She bit a finger drawing blood, Natalia traced a pentagram on his forehead with the blood flowing freely from her wound.

'Amazing, I didn't know you were already planning an escape route as we were talking.' Lei heard a female voice say in his thoughts. What was she trying to do? Invade his thoughts? He tried pushing her away but it seemed like most of his body had gone limp. Lei grinned, this mind delving technique had a loophole, it could work both ways…

"It seems your not as bad as you may think you are." Lei spat.

"Eh?" she looked straight into his eyes.

"How very noble, you want her to be strong so your parents couldn't push her around, as they have you…" Lei continued, he focused all his will into reading her mind, it was possible that he'd find something to unnerve her.

She suddenly wrapped her fingers around his neck cutting off his air supply. "Shut-up! What would you know!"

Lei began to choke. "But you see, she's strong already." A wry smile formed on Lei's lips. "Stronger than you it seems. She broke free from your family without using her… gifts."

Lei felt consciousness slowly slip. He blinked once, twice and Natalia's angry face was starting at him. Natalia pulled his face closer to hers. "At least I'm doing something for the person I love, I can't say for other people here." She whispered into her ears.

Lei's eyes snapped open. Her tongue gently probed his earlobe and slithered down his neck. "You couldn't do anything for Aya until it was too late... How pathetic." She muttered. Lei struggled violently, images of his past replaying itself repeatedly in his head. There was his father shouting, Aya was captured… then another image, of her limp body in his arms. Lei shut his eyes and felt a tear trickle down his face, his fists trembled with rage.

When he opened them, he was horrified to see the face of his long dead lover.

"Aya!" he said in a voice filled with wonder.

The girl wrapped her arms around him tenderly. "Yes it's me." She said with the same angelic voice he'd never fail to recognize. This was the same long ebony hair, the same silk like skin, the same scent. He hugged her back, something was wrong but… Why is this any different from before? 'If it feels right? Why not follow what you feel?' said the voice in his head. It was right, there's no more reason to think anymore. Everything would be alright.

"Leikins, everything is going to be fine. You just have to follow your heart, this time around." She whispered into his ears. 'Remember what happened the last time, you didn't listen to your heart.' a feminine voice told him. Lei nodded unconsciously and smiled. Only one person could have called him by that pet name… Right?

Azami and Yukino finally found him. "Hey what are you doing here? The sun is setting already, hey!" Azami she hollered. No response. She approached Lei but Yukino's hand pulled her back. "No… That's not him." She muttered in a serious tone.

Lei stood up, put both of his hands into his pocket and grinned. "Hey, sorry I was lost and—" he paused, his voice sounded strained. "Is something wrong Yukino-chan?" he asked sarcastically.

Yukino inched backwards. "Can you feel it Azami?" she asked, her voice urgent. Azami nodded slowly. Azami unsheathed her katana and pointed it towards Lei's throat, the boy chuckled and took another step closer. "Is this how you welcome your friends?" Lei stated with a shrug.

"Who are you?" Azami asked coldly.

Lei seemed indifferent to the stance Azami took, he took another step closer, then another until the tip of her blade nearly touched his throat.

"I want to se your hands in the air, now!" Azami demanded. Lei did as he was told. She gripped her katana firmly, her hands and legs were shaking nervously.

Yukino felt a sudden chill. "Wait, that's really him." she said with a slow solemn tone. Azami felt a bead of sweat trickle down her neck, her eyes darted from Yukino to Lei's face.

"This is my sister's handiwork." She muttered under her breath, she kept her eyes glued on Lei's. Those eyes were glazed over, he wasn't really looking at anything, it just seemed like they were only for decoration.

Lei suddenly spoke in a booming voice. "Azami, if you want to do it, then do it!" he held unto the blade with his bare hands. The metal cut his flesh but he seemed to neither care nor feel the pain. He pulled the blade closer to his throat.

"Why don't you do it?" he said in slow mocking tones. Azami's hands trembled, her legs felt like they would fail her. Before she knew it tears were running down her cheeks. "If you don't, ill do you in." he said harshly.

Azami shook her head and broke into sobs. "No, no way." she whimpered.

"Do it!" he screamed.