A/N: So Masumi's character took a different turn from what I had originally intended, but I rather like her as she is now... Sometimes you just gotta let them create themselves. Anyway, enjoy, and as always, please follow/favorite and comment for more!

~Nique

Ch. 03: A Clashing of Wills

Reiji was very well mannered. Masumi found herself being escorted out of the room and down the hall, rather than ushered, her arm tucked neatly in his. He said nothing, facing forward, so she said nothing, instead looking around at the manor as he led her. She noticed that some of the woodwork along the door frames and baseboards looked newer than in other areas. The wallpaper changed subtly as they progressed down the hall. Breaking the silence, Masumi made small talk.

"Did you do some renovating lately?" she asked mildly. He spared her a glance, pushing his glasses up his nose before he answered.

"You're rather observant. Yes, parts of the manor were... damaged," he replied, smirking slightly," so they've been rebuilt. As we're still in the process of finishing the work, some of the discrepancies in the wood finish and wallpaper have yet to be corrected." She nodded her understanding. As there was nothing else for her to say, she trailed off awkwardly, letting the silence envelop them again. Finally they reached a doorway where Reiji stopped and pulled a key out of his pocket.

"I do not keep my laboratory open for anyone to peruse, and I dislike interruptions caused by my brothers and their idiotic mates. Should I command you to enter it without me, I will provide you with the key." With that he unlocked the door and stepped inside, letting go of her arm. "Please enter." Masumi stepped inside.

Though on the outside it looked like just another bedroom or sitting room, inside the room had very intentionally been turned into a laboratory. It was no less lavish than the other rooms of the house, the carpet and walling was elegant, and the large desk sitting perpendicular to the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves gave the room an air of intense study and business. An unlit fireplace across from the large stiff-backed arm chair alluded to its perhaps original purpose as a sitting room. But the center of the room was dominated by a massive table, and its counter top was home to countless glass beakers and vials, a neatly arranged set of forceps, pipettes, picks and other assorted tools, a mortar and pestle set, and an old-fashioned measurement scale. Against the far wall, locked cabinets held many other scientific instruments, Masumi was sure, and the shelves above the cabinets hosted an impressive collection of bottled substances and live plants, three of which, she noticed, were highly poisonous. Overhead, the bright light fixture seemed almost surgical as it bathed the table below, and Masumi wondered absently if he ever did any dissections or surgical work to necessitate such a lamp. Along the wall, Masumi noticed several framed scientific awards and a few conferred medical degrees. Wasn't Reiji still in high school?

Large windows looked out onto a courtyard below, and it was in front of these windows that Reiji had moved. His back to her and his arms clasped there, he gazed out.

"Have you finished your inspection, Miss Yatari?" he asked rather stiffly. Masumi blushed.

"I beg your pardon, Reiji-san, I was awed by your collection and the atmosphere of the room." Turning around to face her, he narrowed his eyes.

"Indeed... I have, of course, been made aware of your own achievements. I suppose people tell you often that you're very impressive, that you're very bright and very gifted." Masumi stiffened as he strode toward her and grasped her chin with his gloved hand, tilting her face up so she looked directly at him. "But make no mistake, Miss Yatari, I will have you know your place, or I will beat it into you." He released her just as suddenly as he had trapped her. Still looking into her eyes, he explained, "You may have once been someone important in the mortal world, but you have made a deal with the devil, and now you belong to me. Humans are nothing more than blood bags to me, and you will do well to remember that." He expected her to be left speechless, to simper and cower under the weight of that threat. What he did not expect was her laughter.

"Hmm, oh I'm sorry, Reiji-san, I'm not laughing at you... Well perhaps I am. You know you and your father have very similar eyes. Oh yes, I did make a deal with your father, but I knew the risks, and I chose to come here of my own volition. I know perfectly well what you are, and how your tastes tend toward... hmm, bloody and sadistic pleasures, but let me assure you, Reiji-san, I am not afraid of you. Pain has become my second shadow, but I belong to no one. Your father's price was that I agree to live here and apprentice under you. I do not doubt you are a wonderful scientist indeed, and I truly do relish this opportunity to learn." Masumi took one step forward, tilting her head up defiantly so she again locked eyes with the dark-haired brother. "But I made sure I had your father's word that I will live through this experience. You can hurt me but you cannot kill me, and you would do well to remember that," she nearly whispered the final phrase. She expected fury and violence to accompany her final words, but she in turn was surprised when he merely pulled off his white glove and laid it on the counter top. Removing his glasses he leaned in close to her and flashed his fangs.

"I did not give you enough credit, Miss Yatari, I underestimated your foolish pride. I will break you yet, Miss Ya-"

"Call me Masumi, we'll be working closely together and formalities waste precious time," she interrupted. His hand shot out and wrapped itself firmly around her neck. He squeezed just slightly, but Masumi felt no pain.

"You will not interrupt me again," he said in a deep voice. His thumb stroked the side of her jaw. "There are things worse than death," he mused as he leaned into her, pressing her back against the counter as his leg slipped between hers, pinning her in a decidedly dominant position. His fangs neared her throat as she merely smiled slightly.

"And I have tasted those, too. Do your worst, Sensei." The bite came quickly, his sharp fangs sliding into the pale, smooth skin at her neck, his hot mouth closing over her skin, drawing her blood up to meet his eagerly waiting tongue.

The bite itself hurt very little. Masumi was very accustomed to need pricks, and this simply felt like two needles at once. It was the sucking that hurt. Masumi could feel her skin bruising, but focused instead on finding an escape route. Pulling away from Reiji would require her to rip her neck away from his fangs, which would be dangerous and painful. Even if she managed to do it, she couldn't escape from his embrace: one hand was wrapped around her right wrist like a shackle, the other wrapped around her and keeping her head still while he drank. Lifting his lips from her skin, Reiji watched as the two wounds dripped crimson blood, wiping at it with his right hand, the one holding her steady. He licked his fingers, watching her expression. Masumi understood why he'd removed his glove. His eyes glistening, he roughly turned her head to the other side, biting into her again. After three pulls, Masumi felt light-headed and would have buckled had Reiji not been keeping her up with that hand around her.

"You are mine, and I will mark it on your body so you will never forget," he whispered this promise as she slipped under.

Her last thought was Damn, I might have taken the bravado a bit too far. Oops.

Masumi woke up on her back in a large bed. Blinking slowly, she tried to take stock of her surrounding. Thick wooden bed frame, black pillows and covers, deep blue silk sheets. In this room too there were floor-to-ceiling book shelves, a fireplace and a large armchair, where Reiji sat with a book in his lap. Without looking up from its pages, he spoke.

"It's disrespectful to make your host go out of their way to accommodate you, Masumi-san," his voice was deep but calm. Masumi sat up carefully. She didn't move from the bed, but made a little bow as best she could.

"I apologize for putting you out, Reiji-san, but I wouldn't have had to burden you if you had been able to restrain yourself," she said rather defiantly. The book snapped shut, and a gloved hand pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose so his eyes were obscured by the glare the lights made on the reflective surface.

"Restraint. Interesting you should mention that." He stood and strode across the room, leaning over Masumi as she recoiled into the sheets, his body pressing hers down until her back hit the pillow and his arms closed in like a cage around her. He stared into her eyes for a tense moment before he broke the contact, reaching with one hand above her head to grasp something attached to the bed frame. He pulled it into her field of vision and her eyes widened as her heart sped up.

"I could have chained you to my bed, kept you immobile and helpless, bound to my every whim and will, Miss Yatari. As I mentioned before, you belong to me..." he paused and dropped the cuff. "But I have use for you elsewhere, and keeping you trapped here would run the risk of wearing you out too quickly. No, I have other plans for you, Miss Yatari, but remember I am prepared for every eventuality." He straightened and Masumi let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

Reiji held out his gloved right hand, and Masumi took it tentatively, allowing him to help her out of bed. Her dress fell neatly back into place and she was led through not the front door to the room, but toward the bookshelf, which slid aside when they drew close, to reveal the entrance to his laboratory. She glanced behind her as the bookshelf slid back into place. Reiji sniffed.

"It opens in response to my power. Should I require you to use that entrance, this will act as your security clearance." He held up a tiny vial on a silver chain. Masumi stared at the dark liquid encased within.

"Is that...?" she breathed incredulously. Reiji dropped her hand and turned her around to fasten it around her neck. The clasp slid into place but he held her there a moment longer.

"It is a small measure of my blood. It is powerful enough to give you access to this room, but I warn you: Should you use this to enter the laboratory without my permission or move in any way to jeopardize the integrity of my sanctum or person, you will be immediately and severely punished. Do you understand?" Masumi nodded and he let her go.

"Do not lose this gift." Masumi grasped the small vial in her hand, nodding her understanding again. She tucked it under the neckline of her dress for safekeeping. Reiji turned to the central table.

"Very well. Let's begin."