~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some days I felt too claustrophobic in my bedroom. Although I was scared to explore the house, I managed to find a room with a piano downstairs. A grand piano. And one wall had bookshelves full of compositions. I had never learned how to play an instrument. But I did know how to read sheet music and I needed something to focus on so that I wasn't in a constant state of fear and isolation.

I found a fairly simple piece to learn. The piano wasn't hard to self teach. The difficult part was moving each hand individually. After sneaking to this room a couple of times, I was convinced that nobody else in the house used it. I eventually felt confident enough to leave the music sheets at the piano when I left.

It was blindingly bright outside. I kept my roaming around to the day time if I could help it. That was when everyone else seemed to be asleep. I made my way to my safe haven. As I opened the door, I heard the shuffling of papers. And I saw, surprisingly, Laito sitting on the piano bench. Was he waiting for me? How did he know I'd be there? He was casually flipping through the music sheets that I had set down the day before.

"Kitten!" Laito gasped. "Were you looking for me, sneaky girl?" He smiled at me as he pulled his hands away from the papers.

I shook my head. "I came to practice," I explained, pointing to the piano. I walked further into the room, leaving the door open just in case I needed to escape. I had learned to always at least try to make an escape route when alone with any of my captors.

"Ohhh, so you play, then?" Laito turned back to face the piano. He let his fingers trail across the keys. "I play a little as well. I used to at least. I had forgotten all about this room. But yesterday, I heard a song that I hadn't heard in a very very long time. Were you practicing yesterday, kitten?"

"I was. That song." I walked closer to him. "Have you played that one?"

"Hmmm, no. But I've sung along to it a countless number of times. Come sit next to me. You're so timid, kitten. I won't bite." He patted his hand on the bench next to him.

My mind flashed back to him in my bedroom and him taking advantage of me during the game of darts. "Um," I hesitated.

Laito chuckled and held his hand to me, palm up. "Come, come. I promise."

I complied, ignoring his hand and sitting to his left. I told myself that if he tried anything, at least the door was open and I could run. As I sat, Laito, fortunately, made no movements towards me. "Do you still sing often?" I asked him.

Laito played a few notes at random. "Well, as a child I did. I had a great vocal coach. She was determined to make me the best. She was strict, but she loved me dearly."

"I feel the same about the church," I admitted. Laito looked at me. "All of my teachings were directly from the church. They were strict, but… I knew my teachers were doing it out of love as well. They just wanted me to do my best."

"Hmm," Laito sighed.

We sat in silence. Laito playing a few melodies here and there. I felt like it was the first time I was able to have a normal conversation with one of these brothers. In fact, I hadn't had a real conversation with anyone the entire time living there. I was hoping to get to know my classmates, but it seemed like my association with the brothers scared them off. But this felt nice. Although it scared me because I knew it wouldn't last and I knew I would feel terribly lonely once it was over.

"Should we play together?" I asked, setting my hands on the lower keys.

Laito chuckled. "That's such a naughty question, kitten."

My face turned red. "I didn't mean-!"

"I know, I know," Laito cut me off. "I'll forgive you." He continued playing a simple melody. "I haven't played in so long. I would only slow you down, kitten."

"I see…"

He continued, "But, if you ask reaally nicely, I may sing for you."

My eyes lit up. "I would love that! Please sing for me, Laito. Really." I had always respected talented singers. It was a skill I never had. Although growing up, I desperately wanted to join the church choir.

Laito leaned in and kissed my cheek. "Well who could say no to such a cute lil' kitty? You start, I'll jump in."

I began the piece, unsure of when Laito would join in since the lyrics were not on the music sheets. I was fairly confident in my skills concerning this piece. I had practiced it quite a bit. Although there were some tricky parts.

A few bars in, Laito began singing. His voice was controlled and beautiful. It was clear he had gone through years of professional training. And, looking at his face, I could tell singing made him happy. His eyes were closed and he looked at peace. Finally not smirking or blushing or teasing.

Half way through, I fumbled some parts, but Laito kept up easily. His eyes didn't open once and he didn't get annoyed with me.

When we got to the end, he finally opened his eyes and looked back at me. His face looked uncharacteristically serious. "My mother was the one who taught me to sing, kitten. All four of us were born in this place. We all grew up here together along with our parents. Me, my mother, Ayato, his mother, Reiji and Shu and their mother. And our father mostly lived here as well."

Reiji and Shu had the same mother. Shu had made it seem like they were all half-brothers. But that wasn't true in their case. I wondered if that was why Reiji disliked Shu so much. I let Laito continue, not wanting to interrupt.

"We all know how you feel, Yui. We are all trapped here as well. We just follow along with whatever father wishes. Eventually… well, as you can see it's just us now. But my mother was lovely. Truly beautiful inside and out. I simply adored her." Laito had a far away look. "Every day… We would meet in this room. At a certain point, I was only permitted to see her while in this room. This was a secret from my father, you see. We were expected to be completely independent at a very young age. But my mother wouldn't let me go, thankfully. So I got to see her just a little longer."

I hardly knew what to say. I wondered what had happened to his mother. Or if she was a vampire as well. But, it wasn't the time for my prying questions. "It's important, I think, to hold on to those memories," I told him. "I never met my mother or my true father. I was left at the church and my adoptive father just happened to be the one who opted to raise me. The church and he are really my only family. So I understand. Sort of." My heart pounded. My feelings towards the church had always been so contradicting. Most of the members treated me as a parasite growing up, but so many others had been kind in their own way. I still did not know what part they played in my being sent here, though.

"Hmm, maybe this is why we all feel so connected to you, Yui." Laito lifted his hand and twirled a finger around my hair. "People who feel abandoned or broken, they tend to find each other."

I never thought that any of them felt connected to me. It only felt like they enjoyed toying with me and using me for a meal. "Laito…" I began.

Laito sighed loudly, "Well all of this is just too depressing, kitten." His normal smirk appeared on his face. "Did you enjoy my voice? I think I forgot to mention that it comes at a price." He quickly turned to face me and pushed my back down onto the piano bench.

"Ah, wait, Laito!" I kicked my legs up at him to no avail. He sat on top of me, pinning them down. I was taken by surprise by how quickly his mood had changed and I had accidentally let my guard down.

"Now, how will you thank me, lil' kitten?" Laito grabbed each of my wrists in both of his hands, grasping one above my head and slamming the other onto the piano keys, emitting a strained chord. "You did want to play together, didn't you?"

"Why," I began to ask, but I couldn't find the words. He had been so pleasant just a second ago.

"I just feel so connected to you, kitty." Laito teased. Did those words mean nothing, then? He leaned down and licked my neck. I closed my eyes, expecting to feel his fangs. But I didn't. Laito let go of my right wrist and lifted my dress up to my stomach.

"N- no, stop!" I tried pushing him away with my now free hand, but Laito easily grasped my wrist again, pushing it out of his way.

"Well, that's no way to thank someone," he mocked. "Be a good little kitten and lay still." I felt Laito's tongue against my upper stomach. He was so gentle that it almost tickled. My body twitched. He gave a small chuckle and dragged his tongue down further, settling at my hip. He placed a few kisses above the elastic of my underwear.

"L- Laito," I clenched my eyes, worried about what he might do.

"Hmmm, say my name more, kitten." Laito hummed. Suddenly, he let go of both of my wrists and shifted off of me enough to lift one of my legs free. His free hand met my waist, brushing his fingers back and forth across my skin. He kissed my thigh before giving it a broad lick.

"Mn, hah!" My voice escaped, provoked by the tingling sensation his tongue had caused.

"What a naughty girl," Laito whispered. "I think a punishment is in order." My eyes widened as I felt a sharp pain run through my leg. Laito's hand tightened at my waist. He had delved his fangs into the soft skin of my thigh. He pulled back and admired my blood dripping down my skin before following the streaks with his tongue. "Kitten, your face right now is very," he placed a kiss on the bite mark while locking his gaze mine, "very sensual. Are you making that face on purpose?"

My head was fuzzy and my eyelids felt heavy. I could tell that my face was a deep shade of red from the mixed feelings of teasing and the sudden shock of pain. I couldn't think to answer him.

"Are you trying to seduce me, kitten?" Laito went on. He leaned back towards me, letting my leg drop off the side of the piano bench. I was finally able to shake my head no, but Laito was already at my neck again, leaving gentle kisses up to my jaw. "You're just too cute to resist," he murmured. He brought his hand up to my lips and pried my mouth open. "Hmmm," he breathed. I felt his lips against my own and his tongue slid across the roof of my mouth. Then he pulled back and stood up. "I'll let you off easy since you were so kind today, kitten. Please keep practicing the piano. Maybe I'll come visit again to listen." And he walked out of what was, for just a little while, my safe haven.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~6~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At school, I could easily avoid the brothers. Although I had classes with Ayato, if I was sure to arrive after the teacher, I was more or less left alone. "Pancake!" Ayato yelled as I was leaving a class. "Come here and serve me." He grinned. He hadn't come near me too often after the competition with Shu. But I guess he got past it.

"Ayato, we have our next class," I reminded him. We were now the only ones left in the room.

"Don't worry about small things." He stood from his desk, walking over to me. "When Yours Truly calls to ya' you're suppos'ta obey. Or did you forget who you belong to?" He grabbed my wrist.

"Un, let go!" I yelled. I managed to yank myself free and I didn't hesitate to run away.

Later that night, I found myself back in the piano room. I tried to visit as often as I could. Despite my run-in with Laito, it was still the only room I felt objectively safe in. I had found a new piece to practice and was slowly and steadily improving my skills.

"You must reeeeally be stupid if ya' think you can run away from Yours Truly." Ayato leaned against the door frame, his arms crossed. "Or did ya' just want a punishment that bad, pancake?"

"No!" I yelled, standing up and backing to the window. "I just, l- leave me alone."

"Idiot. There's nowhere to run." He stepped forward, closing the door behind him. "I've been holdin' back for days. And you're gonna pay full price," he grinned. He sat on the piano bench, straddling it with his legs. "Play for me," he beckoned me over.

"Huh?"

"You're gonna make Yours Truly repeat an order? Did you forget the pool incident? No way you can be that dumb." Right. Although Ayato seemed childish at times, I had to keep my guard up. I walked over to the bench. I sat as far from him as I could.

"Tch, no good," he grumbled, wrapping an arm around my waist and sliding me against him. He kept one arm wrapped in front of me and one behind me. "Now play," he ordered.

"Ayato… I'm not even very good."

"You yap too much," he hissed. "Yours Truly wants to hear music. Be honored. Play."

"Fine... I will." Cautious. Stay cautious. I flipped the sheet music back to the front page. I placed my fingers at the beginning keys. "Okay," I whispered.

The beginning of the piece was easy. It was slow and emotional. Not too many jumping notes.

Ayato leaned into my neck, giving it a small lick. "Eh!" I fumbled a key.

"Pancake, if you mess up I'll get angry," Ayato warned. "I can destroy this piano and you in a second flat."

"No, don't," I sighed. "Err, okay. I won't mess up." I started again. I had practiced this piece quite a bit already. Muscle memory was already kicking in. My fingers flowed easily to each key. For some parts, I hardly had to read the score.

"Fooo," Ayato breathed into my ear, kissing just the edge of it. I shook my head, trying to dissuade him. His grip around my waist tightened. He dragged his tongue from my shoulder up to my earlobe.

"Uhn, Aya-"

"Quiet," he barked. "Keep playing. I like it. It's pretty." I wondered if he was even listening to the piece. "This is good practice," he muttered. "Ya' can't get distracted while studying." He placed a kiss on my collarbone, then a few gentle licks. "Hrm," he pulled me closer, almost making me miss a key. "Careful," he warned. "Ahhhh," he opened his mouth widely, revealing his fangs and sunk them down into my neck.

"N- no!" I missed a note and paused. He dug his fangs deeper into my skin. My body tensed. It felt like a knife dragging through me.

I picked up where I had stopped and he eased on the pressure. I could hear him sucking my blood over the notes being played. He was drinking desperately.

"A- ayato," I whimpered. I had lost the tempo of the piece, though he hadn't noticed. Each note dragged on. The score on the paper in front of me was getting blurry.

Ayato pulled his head back, "Hahhhh. Don't stop, pancake. I'm enjoying this. I like my dinner with a show." He was giddy, giving my neck broad licks as he talked. "Hmm," he frowned. "Are ya' feeling ok, pancake?"

I looked over to him, astonished. My whole time living here, not one of the brothers had asked me that.

"Ya' don't seem too excited," he went on. "Usually you get a really cute pained expression." He let a hand drop to my thigh and gripped it tightly, causing me to wince and hesitate on a note. "Like that. That face really does it for me." He bit my neck again in the same spot while pinching at my thigh. "Ahhh, yeah, your blood's hotter now." He grinned at me, my blood dribbling out of his mouth. "I guess ya' just can't get into it if it doesn't hurt, huh? You really are a full blown masochist, pancake."

"I'm not!" I yelled.

"Yeah, yeah," he quickly dismissed my objections. "Keep playing, keep entertaining Yours Truly." He lapped up the blood that trickled down my shoulder.

The next part of the piece, I hadn't been able to master yet. It picked up in pace and it was hard for my fingers to keep up with the jumping notes.

"See? You need the practice," Ayato laughed, noticing my errors.

My face flushed red. "I only just started recently," I huffed.

"Hm, right, right," Ayato lazily licked the slow drops of blood leaking out of his bite mark. His hand caressed my thigh now. His other hand reached around me and settled softly on my breast. I flinched. "Stupid. Focus on practicing," he jeered.

"But," I whimpered. "You're-"

"I'm helpin'. You'll learn faster this way, pancake." He sounded so sure of himself. But his reasoning made no sense. He lifted my breast up, pushing it from the bottom, and then grasping it entirely in his hand. "Pancake…" he muttered, clearly dissatisfied about something. "I think you'd play better naked," he said bluntly.

I stopped playing. "No way! No. Not happening."

"Your dress is too flowy!" he yelled back. "Take it off. It's in the way." He tugged my dress up, but I held onto it.

"Of who, exactly?"

"Tch!" He grabbed the side of my neck and pushed his fangs back into my skin, now in a slightly different spot, opening a new wound. My neck pulsed in pain. He dug his fangs deeper and it felt as if he was widening his jaw, tearing at my skin.

"Hahh, hn, s- stop, please," I begged. I clenched my hands into fists.

He let go and leaned back, letting out a satisfied sigh. "I can pin you down and tear you apart whenever I want," he reminded me. "You are at my mercy. Every day."

"I'm sorry," I whispered. My neck and shoulder still stung.

He lifted my dress, now with no objection. "Why'd you stop playing, pancake?" He asked. My hands were still at the keys, but they were clenched. My face heated red. "You'll never get any better this way," because he got what he wanted, he was once again grinning. He placed his hand over my fist and pressed it down, playing a few discontorted notes.

I picked a spot to begin and continued playing.

"So," Ayato brushed his hand over my chest, right above my bra, "When your face gets all red like that, the rest of your body does too, huh?"

"It- it doesn't," I protested.

Ayato snickered. He fiddled with the clasp of my bra. "What about lower? You get red there, too? Let's find out." He unlatched it quickly. He didn't pull it off, though. Instead, he licked my shoulder where blood was dripping. He touched the marks on my neck.

"Aht," I winced. He pressed a little harder, but let go quickly.

"Your blood is special, pancake," he muttered. "It's like nothing I've ever tasted before." He slipped my bra off, causing me to move my arms and miss notes.

"Ayato, this isn't helping," I tried to reason. But of course he already knew that.

"You stopped here," he pointed at the sheet music. "Start from there." The spot he pointed at was well before where I stopped. But I didn't want to anger him again. There was a small spot of blood on the paper where he pointed.

"Can you sing, too?" He asked me. His hands lightly touched my waist and hips and thighs. He hadn't done anything for a minute or two other than look me over and gently touch my skin. I shook my head no. Ayato leaned closer and licked my breast. I looked down to see that he had let the blood trickle down my body. He lifted my breast with his hand and licked again, this time licking over my nipple.

"Mn," I breathed.

"I like those noises better than singing, anyway," he muttered. He pressed his lips against my chest, nipping at the skin and sucking, leaving a red mark like he'd done before. "I wanna stamp your whole body, pancake." He lifted his head, hovering over my collarbone. "Everyone should know," he continued, licking my collarbone roughly, "that you're mine." He bit down with his fangs and sucked, drawing blood to that spot.

"Ahn, Ayato." I flinched and pulled away, causing him to tear my skin slightly. "Ah, ow!"

"Don't move like that, then," he sighed. "Obviously it's gonna hurt more that way." He licked at the blood seeping out. "Or don't you like that? I guess that's what turns you on the most."

"That's not tru-"

"But your blood's flowing so fast," he talked over me. "And your skin is so hot," he chuckled. "Ya' really love it when I bully you, pancake. Just admit it. It's okay," he licked my cheek, leaving the faint smell of blood, "I like teasing you, too. That's why you're mine."

I stopped playing. "That's the end," I said.

Ayato frowned, "But I'm not done. Choose another one."

I hesitated. I covered myself with my arms, I felt my body heat up. It was easy to ignore when I was focusing on the music, but Ayato had seen me half naked. And. And felt me. And licked me. Was I really becoming as perverted as they all said?

"I'll choose it." Ayato stood up and walked over to the bookshelf.

"Ayato, did you ever meet Laito's mother?" Although I was curious, I was also trying to distract Ayato while his back was turned to me. I shifted on the bench, trying to not make a noise.

"Uhh, yeah. I saw her around a little. She was in here all the time," he answered. He pulled out random folders, but placed each one back. "She was really good at playin', actually. A lot better than you, pancake."

I reached for my dress that was on the floor. "I just started learning. So of course I'm not too good yet."

"Where do ya' think you're going?" His foot stepped on my dress before I could pick it up off the floor. I looked up. He shoved me back onto the bench and placed a folder onto the stand. "I'm still hungry, pancake. You think just a couple nibbles are gonna satisfy Yours Truly?"

"Ayato, I'm tired." I tried moving off of the bench.

He gripped my shoulders. "We won't be done until you're as good as Laito's mom. And I'm not gonna be satisfied until I drink every last drop, pancake." He reached over me and flipped the folder open. "So start playing."

His grip was tight on my shoulders and I recalled the pain of his last bite. I started playing again. I took the piece slowly, even though it was supposed to be a quick tempo. It was out of my league as a beginner.

Ayato stayed standing behind me. He idly played with my hair, tossing my golden locks side to side. He rested his chin on top of my shoulder, placing a hand on either side of me supporting his weight. "Hmmm," he mumbled. "I never learned to read sheet music. Did ya' learn from your church?"

"Yeah," I answered, fumbling a couple notes while talking. "What was your mother like, Ayato?"

"She was nothin' special," Ayato answered, shrugging off my question. He lifted one of his hands and brushed a finger from my neck down to my breast, pausing at my nipple. He pinched, shocking me and making me mess up the piece. "Focus, focus," he teased. "Do that part again. It was awful." I restarted and when I got back to the same part, I felt his fangs push into my skin once again. His hand still wantonly poking and pinching at my breast.

"Uhn, ha." I held down the keys of the piano, unable to focus on the music. My fingers trembled and my vision blurred once again. He had taken so much blood already.

Ayato leaned away from my neck. I was expecting him to yell at me to continue playing, but he pushed me gently onto my back on the bench. He stood over me, one leg on each side of the bench and leaned down. He placed his knee in between my legs.

"Ayato?"

"I wanna hear you say it," he said quietly. He moved down to my chest, licking my skin and biting down to make another mark.

"Eh, mm," I mumbled. Somehow, at some point his marks stopped hurting. "S- say?"

"That I'm the greatest." He gave a broad lick in between my breasts. "That there's nobody better than me," he continued. He marked me where he had licked. "And that you belong to Yours Truly."

"I- I don't belong to anybody," I protested.

"Wrong answer." Ayato placed both hands around my neck and lightly squeezed. "Say it. Say 'Ayato, you are the greatest.'"

I peered up at him. He was grinning, but his hand clasped slightly tighter. "A- ayato, you are," I paused, "you are the greatest."

He bent down and licked my lips. "Now, 'Ayato, there's nobody better than you.'" He looked at me eagerly, now smiling ear to ear.

"Ayato, stop," I hoped he was just playing a game. His grip tightened around my throat. "Ack, gah," he loosened it, letting me breathe. "Ayato, there's, hah, there's nobody better… than y- you."

"Good girl," he praised. He leaned his head down again and kissed me, dragging his tongue under my own before leaning back up. "And 'Ayato, I belong to Yours Truly. Forever.'"

I didn't want to. I looked away. I could never say those words. One day I would escape. And I'd never look back at this place. One day I'd be able to put all of this behind me. One day.

"Just say it," Ayato muttered. He clenched his hands around my throat again. His face twitched in anger. "Say it." He put more pressure on my neck. I grabbed his wrists, trying to push him away. "Yui, say it!" I opened my mouth, but I couldn't talk. I couldn't breathe. He leaned down, putting his body's pressure onto my neck. He started laughing. My vision became blurred. "Hah, you really make a shitty masochist, huh?"