Hello to you all, and thank god 2020's finally over! God what a crappy year, but here's to hoping things don't go to hell too much for 2021. On another note, this story now has 100 reviews! Omg, I never thought Justine would get more than a dozen or so, so thank you all so much! I can't stress enough how helpful your feedback has been, thank you all so much!

Well, on with Chapter 13!

"Alright, we're here," Akira said as Justine opened the car door and stepped outside, "Now, I want to see you standing right at this spot when I come to get you, okay?" Justine nodded.

Akira narrowed his eyes. "Okay, Justine?" he repeated, firmer this time.

"Yes, I promise I'll be here when you come to pick me up, Akira." She replied exasperatedly before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. They had had a nice Sunday the day before, watching daytime tv and spending time outside. She had not seen Laito even once, and was feeling pretty good, all things considered. It had been such a peaceful day, something that was becoming increasingly rare for her. The only real damper on things was the fact that Akira taking away her movie collection for an entire week put a stop to her plans for a movie marathon.

Now that it was Monday, however, he was quick to remind her that she was still in trouble for ditching, and made her agree to go straight home after school as well as calling during lunch to let him know she was still there. She was not allowed to go anywhere but home, and she was definitely not allowed to go somewhere unless he knew and approved.

It sucked, sure, but she got why he was being so paranoid. Knowing that she had almost died had to have seriously freaked him out. Besides, she reasoned, it was only going to be like this for two weeks at the very most. Then, hopefully Akira would calm down, and things could resume as normal.

Well, as normal as her life could get, anyway.

"Alright then, have a good day, cherie." He smiled, pulling away from Ryoutei Academy's entrance and driving off, Justine waving him goodbye. Now that she was by herself, she made her way to the front doors, doing her best to ignore the stares and whispers of the other students around her.

This time, however, she knew that half of them were not about her and Laito's nonexistent relationship, but about the intimidating new guards posted near the front of the school. All of them were tall, muscular men wearing black suits and scary expressions. Everyone knew why they were there, of course. Eri Aoyama had been missing for three days now, and it had everyone on edge. Based on the nervous mutterings of her fellow students, ever since her disappearance was broadcast on the news, parents had been flooding the school with calls, demanding to know what measures the school was going to take to ensure the safety of their children. Ryoutei responded by hiring tough new security guards, and were supposedly going to be updating their systems as well. At first Justine thought that they were going overboard, until she remembered that most of the students that attended this school were the children of important politicians and prominent business moguls, people with a lot of money and even more enemies. On that level, she could understand why they would be so overprotective of their kids.

Well, at least Akira will be happy to know that she couldn't sneak out of school now, even if she wanted to.

Cautiously scanning her surroundings, she looked for any sign of Laito or one of his creepy brothers. Seeing that the coast was clear, she gave a sigh of relief, though she knew that it would almost certainly be short-lived. He would show up to bother her sooner or later, so she simply resigned herself to enjoying what little peace she had before he did.

After a security guard demanded to see her student ID, she was allowed through into the main building. She walked through the halls on her way to her class, the other students speaking about her and Laito in hushed whispers. She suppressed a groan, lamenting the depressing fact that not even the disappearance of a classmate could calm their fascination with her fictious relationship with the red-haired vampire. True, the Sakamaki brothers were practically celebrities at Ryoutei Academy, but she had thought that a fellow student going missing would have garnered more concern from everyone. Apparently, she was wrong.

By the time she was nearing her classroom, she could already tell that it was going to be a long night, even if Laito had not appeared yet. Her attention elsewhere, she did not notice another girl walking by, and accidently bumped into her, both of them dropping their school bags.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" Justine was quick to apologize, picking her bag up from the ground.

"No, it's okay, I should have been more careful." the other girl said, giving Justine a bright smile. But just as she was about to take her leave, she heard the girl's voice again.

'Ugh, watch where you're going, you stupid foreigner…' The utter contempt in the girl's tone shocked Justine; why had she acted all nice just moments ago, only to immediately say something so nasty?

"Hey, I said I was sorry. There's no need to be rude." Justine said firmly. Normally, she would have just walked away and forgotten about it, but at that moment she was in no mood to be jerked around.

The girl spun around to look at Justine in utter shock, her eyes as wide as saucers. "Wha… What did you day?" she asked, her voice trembling. Justine was put off by the girl's bizarre behaviour but carried on.

"I said there's no need to be rude. I already apologized." She repeated.

"B-But I didn't say anything…"

"What? Yes, you did. You told me to watch where I was going, and you called me a "stupid foreigner." I'd say that's pretty rude, wouldn't you?"

The girl's face went pale as her jaw dropped to the floor. "How… how did you hear that?" she trembled. Justine's eyebrows raised on confusion.

"What are you talking about? You said it out loud, I could hear you plain as day."

The girl took a tentative step back. "No, I didn't! I… y-you…" she turned on her heel and ran in the opposite direction, wanting to get as far away from Justine as possible.

"Hey, wait a minute! Don't go!" Justine called out, wanting to know why the girl seemed to afraid.

"Stay away from me!" the girl cried in terror as she turned the corner, disappearing from Justine's line of sight. She was left standing there in utter confusion, baffled by the girl's sudden and overwhelming fear of her. Compounding her anxiety, she was suddenly reminded of the paramedic that looked her over after the car crash, remembering her eerily similar reaction to Justine responding to what she had said.

Her breath grew shallow at the memory. What if… what they really hadn't…?

"Making friends, Darling?"

Justine jumped at the sound of Laito's usual cheery voice from behind her, spinning around to see him standing there with his hands in his jacket pocket and his usual sly, smug expression. She got over her shock very quickly and glared at the vampire in front of her.

"What the hell do you want?" she groaned, messaging her temple in irritation.

"Well, that's a fine way to greet your hero." He grinned.

"Oh, shut up. You're not my hero."

"Oh really?" He grabbed her chin and tilted it upwards, his foxlike green eyes looking directly into her's, "Then I suppose I just imagined you graciously thanking me for saving your life~." Her face turning red from embarrassment, she smacked his hand away from her face and took a few steps back. As much as she would love to wipe that goddamn smirk off his face, he was not wrong, and she knew she would definitely be dead if not for him. Then again, she would not have felt the need to ditch school that night if not for him, either.

It was almost as if his mission in life was to make hers' as difficult as possible.

"Whatever. What are you bothering me for now?" She crossed her arms.

"What, I can't say hello before class starts?" He gave her an obviously fake pout.

"I'd prefer that you not talk to me at all, actually." She grumbled.

"Hmm, that girl didn't seem to want to talk to you, either." He pointed down the hallway in the direction the girl had run away. Shaking her head, Justine grimaced at the thought of what happened.

"Never mind her, she was just being weird…" she muttered, uncrossing her arms and wrapping them around herself in an attempt to quell her anxiety. Her discomfort did not go unnoticed by Laito, whose smirk widened.

"Aw, you seem so tense, Darling," he cooed, circling his arms around her waist and pulling her against his chest, chuckling as she struggled against him, "Still upset about what happened? It's okay, I can help you relax…" he whispered into her ear, tightening his hold so much that she let out a groan of pain, much to his delight.

"God damn it, no! We're not doing this right now! We have class!" she cried angrily, trying to push herself away from him as best she could. She knew that it was futile, of course, given how annoyingly strong vampires apparently were, but she could not help but do so anyway. To her, not fighting against him would be a sign of defeat, and it would be a cold day in hell before she ever gave him the satisfaction.

"Oh, fine, I suppose you're right," he sighed disappointedly, loosening his hold and allowing her to push him away, "I'm already on thin ice with Reiji as is; I'd rather not have him lecture me again."

"Reiji?" Justine held her schoolbag close to her chest as she scowled at him.

"One of my brothers. You've met him already, during the car ride to my house, remember? The one with the glasses that dresses like a butler." He chuckled.

She frowned in recognition. Oh yeah, she remembered him. The one that glowered at her in disapproval for the entire ride as thought she were an unsightly insect, as well as basically calling her a whore for being around Laito.

Yep, he seemed like a real pleasant guy…

"You have way too many brothers…" she grumbled as she continued on her way to her classroom, Laito following alongside her.

"Isn't that the truth?" he laughed, "You know what they say; you can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family." He said wistfully.

Justine looked up at him strangely. "Why are you all so different, anyway? Most of you don't even look alike." Laito hummed thoughtfully, putting his hands on his hips.

"That's because we're from different mothers," he explained nonchalantly, "Ayato, Kanato and I are triplets, so obviously we're from the same mother. Shu and Reiji are from a different mother, and Subaru is the only child of his mother."

"Oh, okay…" Justine looked up at him curiously, "So, did your dad get divorced and remarried a bunch of times?"

"Of course not, don't be silly, Darling. He was married to them all at the same time." If Justine had been drinking anything, she would have definitely done a spit-take. Taking a moment to compose herself, she reminded herself that there were several human cultures where polygamy was the norm, so she should probably not be so judgmental when it came to marriage standards of literal supernatural creatures. Sure, it was not a lifestyle that she would ever live, but who was she to judge?

"Oh, I see…" she said awkwardly, her cheeks turning ever so slightly pink, "Is that kind of thing… normal with vampires?"

"Actually, no, not really. But with my revered father being who he is, people tend to make exceptions for him." He turned his eyes away from her, the tone of his voice turning a tad resentful at the mention of his father.

"Really? Just because he's a politician?"

"Darling, he's just a politician in the Human World. In the Demon World, he's a much more important figure."

"Like what?"

He looked down at her amusedly, his green eyes shining with a knowing glint. "Do you really want to know?" he purred, leaning down to bring his face closer to hers, deeply enjoying how uncomfortable it made her. Apprehension immediately took over as she backed away to get him out of her personal space. Not sure what he was playing at, she glared up at him suspiciously.

"I don't know, do I?" she challenged, not sure if him answering will end with a bunch of vampires giving her a pair of cement shoes and throwing her into a lake to make sure she doesn't say nothing to nobody.

Hmm, she wondered where that strange idea came from. It had been a long time since she had seen The Godfather. Maybe it was the fedora.

"Well, since you know so much already, I may was well tell you." He shrugged, looking far too pleased with himself for Justine's liking. It was as if he knew what he was about to say would shock her, and was very much looking forward to it. As much of a goddamn sadist as always, she thought.

"To my kind, he's a very important man. The most important, really, since he's the reigning king of all vampires." He confessed. It took a moment for what he said to register in Justine's mind, the word "king" still buzzing around in her head like an angry bee. Once it did sink in, her jaw dropped to the floor in less than a second, at least that was how it felt to her.

"He's… the king?" she managed to sputter.

"That's right!" he said cheerily.

"Of… all vampires?"

"All vampires." Justine just stared at him in bewilderment, trying to wrap her head around the veritable bombshell he had dropped, before yet another realization hit her like a ton of bricks. If his father was a king, then that meant…

"Then you're… a prince?!" her voiced raised on its own.

"That I am. What's wrong, I don't seem princely to you?" he winked at her teasingly.

'He's… a prince,' she could barely think, 'Laito Sakamaki is an actual goddamn prince…'

Justine has stopped working. Please reboot.

"Um, Darling? Are you still in there?" he asked, looking almost concerned and lightly waving his hand in front of her face. Snapping out of her stupor, she looked at him as though he had just grown a second head with four eyes and a unicorn's horn.

"You… are a prince?" she repeated.

"I'm pretty sure we've established that already, Darling."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, it's just…" she ran her fingers through her wavy, unruly black hair, "It's a lot to take in, I guess…"

"Really?" Laito raised an eyebrow, looking almost disappointed with her. "It's really not that shocking. I suppose mortals just can't handle very much at once."

"Oh, shut up," Justine was quick to bite back, "I thought princes were supposed to be charming and all that crap."

"I happen to be very charming, Darling. Besides, I'm only the fifth son." He casually adjusted the rim of his hat. "I'm not going to be the successor, not that I want to, anyway. Shu's the eldest, so it's probably going to be him. Then again, I suppose Ayato's a strong contender as well."

"Okay, then…" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him, causing Laito to wonder what she thought he had done now. Right as they were nearing their classroom, she stopped right in front of him and looked him straight in the eye. Puzzled by her odd behaviour, he was just about to ask her if she thought his eyes were really so beautiful when she spoke.

"Look, there's no easy way to ask this, so I'll just be blunt," she steadied herself and took a deep breath, "Is there a secret, millennia old alliance between vampires and lizard people that disguise themselves as politicians and celebrities to slowly take over the earth and rule over mankind?"

For a solid ten seconds, Laito could only stand there in complete astonishment. Not because what she said was even remotely correct (Lizard people, where do mortals come up with these ideas?), but for the first time in his 208 years of life, something a human, of all things, had said left him utterly speechless. Truthfully, he'd merely been teasing her when he called her crazy back at that doctor's office, but perhaps he hadn't been so off the mark after all…

Well, she was always full of surprises.

"Darling," he finally said, her intense glare still on him, "I've been alive for over two-hundred years, and that might just be the single most bizarre thing I've ever heard."

"Then you clearly don't go online much." She responded flippantly, stepping inside the classroom and leaving Laito standing there in the hallway, for once in his life not sure of what to say or do. He remembered once overhearing his mother tell his uncle that the worst thing immortal beings like them can experience, more than anything, was boredom. On that he had to agree, and therefore was grateful that despite how strange Justine could be, she was definitely never boring.

Justine could hear the whispers of her classmates from outside the door, but as soon as she entered the room, everyone went deathly silent. They all looked at her nervously, with the same anxious expressions from when someone vandalized her desk. She tried not to roll her eyes as she wondered what stupid crap had been written on her desk this time, only to be pleasantly surprised to see her desk completely clean with a small glass vase holding a lovely white flower on its surface. She blinked in confusion, wondering why everyone was acting so strange over a flower as she sat down at her seat.

And why a flower? Had the bully felt bad about what they had done, and put this here as some sort of apology? Apparently even bullies in Japan were polite, she thought.

She cringed as she heard Laito take his seat next to her, whistling as though he were surprised.

"Well, now, this is something," he grinned as he rested his chin on his hand, "I didn't think someone would go this far."

"What are you talking about? It's just a flower." she looked at him skeptically. Laito smirked at her, amusement dancing in his emerald green eyes.

"Still not completely familiar with Japanese customs, are you, Darling?" He plucked the flower from its vase and sensually brought it close to his lips. "You see, when a student dies, a white flower just like this is placed on their desk as memorial. But of course, if the student is actually alive, then this means that whoever put this here is wishing death upon you." He was more than happy to explain. "I don't know who you wronged, but they must really hate you~."

He tucked the flower behind her ear and gently raised her chin to meet her shocked gaze. "There, now don't you look lovely?"

Justine could only stare back at him with wide eyes, far too unnerved by what he said to think to smack his hand away. Instead, she wordlessly removed the blossom from her hair and put it back into the glass vase.

Who… Who was doing this? And what the hell had she done to make them hate her so much? Nobody had even known that she existed before this whole mess, so where they jealous of all the attention she was receiving from Laito? Well, fine then, she thought spitefully. Whoever her mystery bully was, they could have the bastard. It was not like she wanted anything to do with him.

Just as she was wondering where she going to put the vase, the door slid open and in walked Mrs. Namikawa, looking as buttoned-up and surly as usual. She glanced at Laito, who in return gave her a bright smile and a friendly little wave. When she saw that he still sitting very close to Justine, her nostrils flared and her eyes burning with hate. Justine sank deeper into her seat under her furious gaze, looking away as to not let anyone see her cheeks turn red. Well, she clearly still thought that Laito was cheating on her with Justine, even though she was cheating on her own husband with Laito.

In that moment, it felt as though she were living in Korean drama series. One with vampires and psychotic high school teachers.

Damn, if she wasn't living it right now, that sounded like a show she would totally watch.

Eventually, Mrs. Namikawa actually began her lesson, though she still sent Justine a few dirty looks every now and again, which she was thankfully able to ignore for the most part. What she couldn't quite ignore, however, was Laito's usual poking and prodding, but she grit her teeth and endured it the best she could. Desperate for some kind of distraction from him, she stared at the white flower that was still on the desk. 'Well, at least it's pretty,' she thought wistfully, 'Even if it means that someone wants me dead. I should really be used to that feeling after eight years…'

'Oh, come on! How the hell am I supposed remember all this crap! This is bullshit!'

Justine heard a male voice ring loud and clear, making her jump. 'Mon Dieu, did he really just say that right in front of her? Does this guy have a death wish or something?' Justine wondered as she braced herself for Mrs. Namikawa's enraged voice to verbally rip that poor kid to shreds. Except, she did not hear her teacher raise her voice at all. Terribly confused, Justine whipped her head towards where she heard the voice come from. A male student was sitting at his desk, clutching the side of his head and looking down at his schoolwork in frustration, but otherwise not saying a word. She looked around the classroom. Nobody had raised their head to signal that they had heard him, leaving Justine with a familiar dreadful feeling and a lump in her throat.

"What's wrong, Darling? I can hear your heart beating so loudly~." She heard Laito's lilting voice next to her. She didn't even turn to face him, too unnerved by what had just happened. "Darling?" he asked, his tone sounding a touch more serious than before. She once again failed to respond, too consumed by her frantic, panicked thoughts.

'H-How did I hear that? Oh my god, this is just like the girl from before, and that paramedic…' Justine's face grew pale and she started shaking, 'I-I'm hearing voices? Oh my god, it's finally happened! I've crazy and now I'm hearing voices in my head! Oh my god, ohmygodohmygodohmy-"

Justine nearly jumped out of her own skin as she suddenly felt a cold breath right in her ear. She clamped her hands over her mouth to suppress a yelp, and turned to see Laito's face mere centimeters away from her own, his usual smirk still there but with an odd look in his green eyes.

"W-What the hell was that for?" she angrily whispered, as to not draw attention to herself.

It took a moment for Laito to answer as he stared at her, as though he were working out a response. Finally, he gave her a wink and replied, "You didn't say anything when I spoke to you, so I needed to get your attention. I've told you I don't like being ignored~." Justine just glared back at him; she would not even dignify that with a response.

Laito continued, "Now, tell me what's got you all riled up, hm?"

Angry and embarrassed, Justine turned her face away from the insufferable vampire next to her. "It's nothing!" she grumbled. Not pleased with her answer, Laito decided to tease her a little more, and ran his cold finger down her exposed neck. This time, Justine was unable to stop her startled voice, and a second later all eyes were on her. Her face went crimson red as everyone in the room stared at her in bewilderment and mild annoyance. Laito just smirked amusedly at her.

"Lenoir-san," Mrs. Namikawa harshly glared as she stood right by her desk, "Is disturbing my class somehow funny to you? Or as you just too stupid to know when to be quiet?"

Justine grit her teeth and bore the brunt of the teacher's hurtful words. She had heard worse, anyway.

"No ma'am, I'm sorry." She apologized, looking away from Mrs. Namikawa as to not see her menacing scowl. With a derisive scoff, the teacher turned away from Justine and marched back to the podium to resume her lesson. Raggedly exhaling, she looked back at a very pleased-looking Laito.

"Stop. Fucking. Touching. Me." She quietly growled. The fedora-wearing vampire's smirk stayed on his face.

"Now, Darling, there's no need for that kind of language. Women like to be teased~."

"There's a difference between "teasing" and "harassment," you bastard."

"You're so funny, Darling. That's why I love you so much."

Deciding to stay quiet, Justine focused her eyes directly on the blackboard in front of her. She had been sent a floral death threat, her crazy teacher had it out for her, her classmates thought she was dating a psychotic vampire, and said vampire was really upping the ante with his pestering her.

'It's a really bad day to be me…' she thought sullenly.

Akira yawned loudly as he laid back in his comfy recliner, intending to do a bit of reading before going to bed. He had to be awake early to pick Justine up from school, so he liked to have a bit of alone time before sleeping.

He had not yet talked to his friend on the police force about the man who had nearly killed his adopted daughter. He had, to his surprise, saw the local news report on a man that had just been in a full-on collision fall to his death from a hospital window. He was more than sure that the man was the same person that tried to run Justine over, but he would of course need to confirm it, just in case.

This, of course, could possibly mean that they had somehow managed to find Justine again.

But how? They had been so careful, how could the two of them have been found so quickly? It had taken them years to locate them in Montreal, so what had he done wrong?

No, wait, it was still too early to assume it was them. He needed to make sure, and then figure out what to do.

Just after he had calmed himself down and was about to open his book about marine biology, his phone began to vibrate next to him. Picking it up, the screen displayed a call coming from an unknown number. Wondering if it was wrong number or a scammer, he answered.

"Hello?" he said.

"…M…Monsieur Hojou?" A weak, timid voice that Akira had not heard in over a year whispered in his ear. Immediately getting up from his seat, Akira was now completely awake.

"… Sabina? I… haven't heard from you in while."

"I'm so sorry," she apologized, "Back in Montreal, you told me that you were moving to Japan, and I wanted to give you both time to settle…"

"It's okay, Sabina," Akira gently cut her off, "I was able to get a good job here, and Justine's going to a really nice school."

"That's wonderful to hear. How… how is she?" Sabina sounded reluctant to ask.

"She's doing really well, actually. Her grades are good, and she's adjusting to Japan better than I expected." Akira answered. Most of his conversations with Sabina revolved around Justine, naturally, and he felt that the poor woman had earned the right to know how her own daughter was doing, at the very least.

"Oh, good!" she sounded thrilled to hear, "Is she eating well? How is her therapy going? Has she made any friends?" she barraged Akira with rapid-fire questioning; she had clearly been wanting to ask him about Justine for a very long time.

"Don't worry, Sabina, she's fine, really she is. You don't have to worry so much." Akira replied, trying to lighten the mood just a bit.

"Oh, yes of course… I know she's safe with you…" her tone of voice dimmed, as if a wave of melancholy reality had washed over her. "Monsieur Hojou… Do you think that… maybe… I could talk to her?" she dared to ask.

Akira sighed, knowing that his answer would only disappoint her. "Sabina, I'm sorry, but no. She sent back your latest letter just last night; she's not ready yet." He grimly explained. He could almost see her face drop as she took what he said in.

"I see…" she muttered despondently, "So then… I can assume she didn't read my letter either?"

"No, she didn't. I'm sorry Sabina, I really am, but we all need to go at her pace." He tried to ease her sadness, "She might think that we're forcing her to forgive you and Antoine..."

"Not Antoine!" he was surprised as she suddenly raised her voice, "Dear God, not that man! I haven't spoken to him since the divorce, and I would never let him go anywhere near her!"

"Okay! Okay…" Akira said. Antoine Lenoir had been just as bad a husband as he was a father, and both Sabina and Justine were better off without him. "Sabina, look, I promised you that I would protect her, and I don't break my promises. I'll keep her safe, I swear on my life." He heard Sabina take a few deep breaths over the phone, and a few moments later, she spoke again.

"Yes, I know that you will. I have been for so long. It's just… Please, if you would let her know…" the woman choked back a sob as Akira quietly waited for her to continue, "Let her know… that her maman loves her so much, and that I'm so, so sorry…" Sabina could no longer hold back her tears, crying into the phone. Akira just stood there and listened, his own heart aching for her. Their conversations always ended like this, with her sobbing and begging for Justine to forgive her. He honestly did like hearing from Sabina, but always hated to hear the woman mourn the loss of her only child.

"… I will, if she's willing to listen…" he finally told her. This seemed to bring her some comfort, as her weeping quieted.

"Thank you, Monsieur Hojou," she shakily said, "For everything you have done for her, and for me…" She then hung up, leaving Akira by himself in his living room. Taking a deep sigh, he rubbed his eyes tiredly and decided to go to bed, leaving his book on the coffee table.

Justine might never want to see her mother again, understandably so, but even then, he hoped that Sabina could somehow finally find even the slightest peace of mind. She had entrusted her daughter to him, knowing that, as a mother, she had failed to protect her child from harm.

And that, Akira knew, would haunt her until the day she died.

Okay, there's the 13th chapter! I hope it was worth the wait, and I'm so grateful to you all. I would like to give special mention to the reviewer who wrote their own scenario of Justine meeting the Sakamaki brothers! I was so touched by that, thank you so much. Although that's not quite how I'm going to do it, you actually got a few things spot on.

Again, thank you, and have a great day!