Meanwhile, back in the village, Tatsuha had assembled his whole family, with the exception of his brother Eiri and his sister Mika, and her husband Tohma. No one knew what the heck had happened to them. They never came to visit anymore. Besides his family, Tatsuha had called in the whole town to a wedding-typed reception area right outside of Shuichi and K's cottage.

"I want to thank you all for coming to my wedding. But first, I have to go propose to the lucky…er…person." Smirked Tatsuha as he headed off toward his faithful minion.

"Now, Ryuichi, you remember what you're supposed to do when we come out, right?" questioned Tatsuha.

"Of course! I strike up the band!" Ryuichi cried happily as he signaled the reception's band to start playing "Here Comes the Bride".

"You baka! Knock it off!" Tatsuha snarled at Ryuichi and the band. "If he hears something, he'll run for it."

Singing loudly and eating candy were Shuichi's favorite things to do, and he wasn't going to miss the golden opportunity of having his father out of the house. But as he tuned his voice for the task, he noticed that some happy couple must have decided to tie the knot. Great.

"I HATE weddings…" he muttered to himself as he went to close all of the windows to block out the horrid music. "If they're going to get married, they could at least get a decent band…People are so CHEAP these days!"

Ignoring the wedding music proved to be an easy chore, as it stopped almost as soon as it had started, and was followed by a screaming man. Heh, guess that dude had some resentment toward the whole thing.

"I'm just glad I don't get tangled up in that love crap. I'm an independent man, and I'm gonna stay that way." was the only reply heard between Shuichi's angry mutterings.

"Wait for the damn signal, Ryuichi!" shouted Tatsuha as he stormed toward the small cottage owned by Shuichi and K. "You're so stupid sometimes!"

"Tooku de me o hikarasete, mezameru monotachi matte iru

yoru no jouheki, sasowarete utsurisumu mure no nukegara ni…" sang the nineteen year old with conviction. He was caught completely un-aware when the doorbell rang a couple of times.

Deciding to further inspect this rare marvel, he looked through one of his father's screwball inventions. He was utterly disgusted by what he saw. There was Tatsuha, standing in front of his door in a fancy-smancy suit. Oh joy. Not.

"What the heck are you doing here, Tatsuha?" were the words that Shuichi answered the door with.

"Well, hello, my dear, darling Shuichi. How are you today?" You've got a big surprise coming, boy.

"I'm fine, now if you'll kindly leave, I can continue my day." You prick. Get off my lawn.

"Now, now. Calm down. I just want to talk." Smirked Tatsuha as he pushed himself into the small residence.

"Whatever. Make it quick." I'd rather jump off a cliff than listen to you babble at me.

"Today, my boy, I'm gonna make your dreams come true."

"What the hell do you know about my dreams?" Really? You mean you're finally going to drown yourself and leave me alone for eternity! Yay!

"I know plenty. Picture this. A rustic hunting lodge, dames all around, big strapping boys like me running wild, and plenty of hunting dogs. A whole pack!" Tatsuha blurted triumphantly, waiting for Shuichi's thrilled reply.

"You're a flippin' looney. Get lost." Darn it. I had the bucket with water ready and everything. That's going to put a damper on my mood.

"Just say yes, and get it over with brat." You know you want me.

"Screw you, and get out." I hate your guts, and I'd love to see them spilled out on my floor.

"Fine. You'll regret the day you refused me, boy." I'll get him. He'll see the light.

"Yeah right." Thought he'd never leave.

Storming out of the small cottage, Tatsuha completely forgot about Ryuichi and his half-wit band. As soon as he came out of the house, he tripped over a well-placed booby trap invention and went flying through the air, only to land face first in a puddle of mud. On his hazardous flight, his stupid minion had struck up the band, serenading the mud-covered would-be groom.

"RYUICHI! STOP THE STUPID BAND ALREADY!"

"Yes sir!" saluted Ryuichi as he signaled for the band to stop.

"Tee hee. He only wishes he could have me. Yeah right. That stupid jerk. How dare he look at me as if I was some kind of trophy prize!" Shuichi muttered as he went outback to do some productive chores instead of spending the rest of his day as a bum.

It had been 3 days since his father had been missing. He usually would have come back by now. At this point, Shuichi was getting worried, but decided to hide it and continue on with his daily routines.

"Nee, oikakete, oikakete, shiroi kaze, nee, koi ni natte, ai ni natte, hane hirogetai, nee ii koto mo, warui koto mo, subete tashite, ni de watte, umaku iite, toki wo koetai…." Sang Shuichi as he skipped over to a vacant field that was on their property, "I'll never be with Tatsuha. Heck, I'll never be with anyone. I'm too independent for that lovey-dovey crap. And where in all of Hell is my father!" spouted the moody kid.

A couple minutes had passed when Shuichi heard hooves in the distance. He instantly looked around to see if it was the sheriff coming to arrest him, Tatsuha coming to claim him, or his father returning home. None of the above.

"Nanashi! Where's K! What did you do to him?" Shuichi shouted as the horse came to a halt in front of him.

In response the horse just stared at the boy, which just worried him more.

"NANASHI! TAKE ME TO HIM! NOW! SHOW THE FRICKIN MEANING OF FRICKIN HASTE, AND IF I DON'T FIND HIM ALIVE IT'S COMIN' OUT OF YOUR HIDE! UNDERSTAND ME!"

At this moment, Shuichi spurred the horse off into the distance following the same path that his father had treaded upon earlier.

Pacing the narrow hallway in the west wing had become a habit for Yuki Eiri. The west wing was a place of sanctity and peace. His servants avoided it with the utmost respect, and he NEVER had guests, prisoners NEVER escaped, so he had it to himself in its entirety.

He had always sought refuge here, ever since his sixteenth birthday when that old hag had shown up on his doorstep. The daisy she had placed the curse on was stored here as well, along with his special mirror. It was his only connection to the outside world.

"I'm gonna kill that candlestick. But first I'm gonna burn that stupid boa just to make him squeal. Or maybe I'll get rid of his little girlfriend first…yeah…that would work…Crap…no it wouldn't…she's my sister. Dang it. I had it all figured out too." He muttered to the silence of his dark castle.

In other parts of the castle, happy things were scurrying about, thinking about dinner, and not how to go about murdering their family members.

"What are we going to do for dinner!" Judy screamed as she rushed through the kitchen area, trying to break the silence of the other servants. Today's horrid event had surely shaken them up, but it wasn't bad enough to get so down about. It had happened many times in the past six years. Prisoners had come and gone, and their length of stay depended on when the master decided to throw them out the tower window. All of the staff drew straws to see who should handle the clean up.

"Is anyone listening to me! WHAT IS FOR DINNER? ANSWER ME NOW!" screeched the teapot.

"SHUT UP NOW!" came the loud reply from Yuki as he stepped in the doorway of the kitchen, causing everyone but Judy to run away in terror. "If I have to remind you one more time that you are NOT the head of staff, I'll throw you out of the tower and give the new prisoner your job, understood!"

"Yes, sir. Of course. I'll quietly file my complaints with Tohma, for I believe he is still the head, correct?" Asked the quivering teapot quietly.

"Yes. Tohma is the head of staff and don't you dare forget it." Snarled Yuki, as he walked back up the stairs to continue his pacing. Seconds later, Tohma walked in and informed the kitchen that they would be having meat for dinner. Lots and lots of meat.

"Why are you guys always making meat for the master? Doesn't he eat those nasty green things like I used to?" inquired Michael.

"No, dear…the master is a carnivore…a predator. He only likes to eat meat usually. You should know that by now. Oh, while you're here, be a dear and go wake the silverware for me." His mother answered kindly.

"Alright, Mom."

"NANASHI! RUN FASTER! I HATE DOGS!" screamed Shuichi as he and his horse carved out a kamikaze path through the gloomy forest, just out of reach of the wolves. "GET AWAY FROM ME! IF YOU HAVE TEETH, JUST BACK AWAY! AHHHH! NANASHI! FLY LIKE THE WIND YOU STUPID UN-TOOTHED ANIMAL! GOOOO! FASTER! NOW!"

As the horse picked up his pace at an alarming rate, the boy was all too aware of a large, iron gate about twenty feet away.

"SLOW DOWN! WOAH, NELLIE! SLOW! DOWN! AHHH! WE'RE GONNA CRASH!"

BOOM!

"Ouch, my head…ooo! Shiny stars…" were the last words heard as the boy passed out on the ground.

"First of all, what the hell was all that screaming?" Yuki asked the shaking group of servants he had gathered before him and was now pacing in front of. "And what was that crash? Judy, I told you NOT to let your stupid kid play in the suits of armor, didn't I!"

"I didn't do it this time, sir…" said the small teacup.

"Hold your tongue and do not talk to me unless I ask you to, got it!" replied Yuki as he was cut off by loud banging sounds coming from the front of the castle. "Tohma, go do your job, no more prisoners, and if you make me mad, I'm takin' the boa."

"Yes, sir!" If you lay a hand on my boa, I'll kill you. And your little daisy, too! Muhahaha! Cough…cough…

When he arrived at the scene of the noise, Tohma opened the door to find a rider-less horse standing there looking panicked. Looking behind the horse, he saw a cute little pink-haired girl passed out on the bridge to the castle. The master just might be interested in this…maybe not.

"TOHMA! GET BACK IN HERE AND GET THAT ANIMAL OFF MY PROPERTY!" screamed the demon after Tohma had been gone approximately 2 minutes.

"Coming sir!" called Tohma as he ran back to the hall area.

"Well?" inquired Yuki.

"One question if I may, Eiri-san…how did you know it was a horse?"

"I have an extremely good sense of smell, and I've changed my mind. I like horsemeat. Take him to the stables now, Sakano."

Sakano, who had been hiding again, crept out from under the rug, bowed, and then ran to retrieve the horse.

"Did you see anything else, Tohma?"

"No, sir…I didn't." The candlestick replied quickly, deciding not to say anything about the girl until when his master was in a better mood. (A/N: In case you were wondering, Tohma thinks that Shuichi is a girl.)

"Fine, whatever. I'm going to go back to whatever it was that I was doing. I'll leave your stupid boa alone for now. I'll reconsider destroying it later, so be on your guard. Come find me when dinner's ready."

"Of course, my Liege," Replied the candlestick, who was now holding on to his black feather boa for dear life. Even though he completely forgot about the boa when his wife, Mika the feather duster, shuffled by…

"Oh man. Where the heck am I?" The teen quietly asked himself as he got up off of the ground. "I wonder if this is where dad is…" Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a small clock leading his horse away. "I must be delirious..."

Walking toward the freaky looking castle, Shuichi noticed that there was a grenade pin at his feet and a huge crater behind the gates. The crater was certainly a sign of his father. Shuichi jumped for joy. Now, if he can only find him inside this big, scary castle… "This is gonna be one wild ride..." mused the teen as he cautiously opened the doors. What an understatement.

"Heeeellllooo?" called Shuichi as soon as he was inside. "I'm looking for a tall, blonde man with a gun…Is he in here? If not, I'll just leave…"

"Tohma!" hissed Sakano when he came back inside. "There's a girl in the castle!"

"I know you dumb arse, now go tell the others NOT to tell the master…go!"

"Not to tell me WHAT, feather boy?"

"Ummm…not to tell you that dinner will be delayed by 15 minutes…um, Sir?" Squeaked the candlestick.

"Hmph, whatever. Come get me when it's ready. And tell Judy I'm starved," said the demon as he flew back up into the west wing to await his dinner.

"Phew. That was a close one. Now I had better get her out of here…and quickly." Tohma whispered to himself, as he scurried off in search of Shuichi.

"HEY! Hello? DAD!" screamed Shuichi as he walked through the castle.

"Shhh, you baka!" said Tohma as he jumped on the said girl and covered his mouth with the boa.

"What the…mmmph…mph!" came the muffled reply from Shuichi as his eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.

"Don't ask any questions or make any noise, and I'll take you to your father, capiche?"

Shuichi's only response was a nod of the head, and they were off to the dungeon.

Climbing the long stairs to the dungeon really took it out of Shuichi, who hadn't exercised for months. He was naturally skinny, and didn't have to work to keep the sugar weight off. He tried to ask his companion if they were there yet, but the feather boa was constricting all attempts to speak.

"Stop mumbling and keep quiet, you stupid girl!" said the candlestick quite suddenly. As if reading Shuichi's mind, "And yes, we're almost there."

Upon entering the stony dungeon, Shuichi was instantly frozen to the bone. Although his soul warmed up greatly when the feather boa was untied and he saw his father lying in a cell toward the back end.

"DAD! You're alive! Do you still have your GUN? You can break the lock and escape…Dad? K? You're hands…they're freezing!"

"Get…out…while…you still can, Shu…You have to go…now. Before HE comes..."

"Before who comes? I don't care! I have to get you out of here! Now where did that candle dude go….?"

"In answer to both of you inquiries, the candle 'dude' is right here…" answered Yuki mockingly as he choked Tohma with the boa. "And I'm the one you're supposed to be looking out for. And your dear old dad is right, milady. Now leave before I get violent."

"I AM NOT LEAVING HERE WITHOUT HIM, GOT IT!"

"Yes…I'm afraid you will be." Replied the cold demon as he grabbed Shuichi's shoulder and threw him like a rag doll into the nearest stone wall.

"Ooo…What year is it…?" muttered Shuichi quietly as he picked himself up, ready for a fight. "I told you I'm not leaving here without him! He might die!"

"And I should care, because…?" taunted Yuki softly.

"Fine! I propose a trade!" said Shuichi haughtily, having no clue what he was getting himself into. "Take me instead."

"SHU! NO! I won't let you! You have to go back to the village, and forget about me! You have your whole life ahead of you! Now, go back home and maybe settle down with someone…other then Tatsuha!" protested K, but he was rapidly cut off by Yuki.

"Did you just say, Tatsuha? As in Uesugi Tatsuha?" he asked coldly.

"I could care less about that pervert's last name!" Squalled Shuichi.

"Whatever." In his head, Yuki knew that this was 'girl' was talking about his younger brother. He just didn't want to waste the energy of saying it. "Now about this trade…."

"I won't stand for this!"

"Tohma, go fetch the prisoner a chair." Yuki answered with a small smile.

"This is my only child we're talking about!"

"Dad! Dang it! I'm over 18, in fact I'm 19 if you'd care to remember! I can do whatever I please, and I'm doing this for you, so be grateful for once!"

"Shut up and stop bickering. You, kid. I'm going to list out the details of this trade in laymen terms. First, you'll be quiet. Second, you'll do exactly as I tell you. And third…You'll be my mistress."

"Fine." Shuichi agreed quickly. He really had no idea what the dude meant by 'mistress', but oh well. "But first…come into the light…please?"

"You sure about that, kid? I don't wanna give you nightmares or anything."

"I'm sure."

Yuki then pulled himself into the light, and smiled, showing his lovely fangs and sharpened claws. Not to mention his spiny and spiky wings. As expected, Shuichi screamed, and fell backwards to K, who was desperately trying to make sense of the situation.

"You still agree?"

"Yes. I still agree." Sighed Shuichi as he watched Yuki drag his father down the stairs to a vine covered box thing, throwing him inside. Shuichi had never been more depressed in his entire life.

"Oh, crud…what've I done now…?" he moaned as he leaned against the cell, pondering on how he was going to make this more like home.

A couple of minutes later, Yuki came back, much to the boy's dismay.

"Come with me. I'll show you to your room."

"Room? I thought I was a prisoner." For looking so tough, you're brain sure seems weak.

"You are, but, seeing as you're a 'special' prisoner, you get a room. Unless you want to stay here?" Like you even have a choice.

"I'd prefer to stay here, thank you very much." Loser.

"It wasn't a question, baka." You seem quite inadequately equipped with brain cells that work.

"I'm not moving." Just see if you can make me.

"Fine, but I warn you, that response WILL be remedied." No one disobeys me.

"Jerk." Go away. It's bad enough without you here.

"You really are an idiot." Suspicions confirmed.

"You really are mean." Grrr….

Without bothering to reply, Yuki just pick up a slat of wood from the prison, and whacked Shuichi over the head with it. Hard.