Just a few notes here and there. First of all, sorry this took so long. I haven't been well recently and I just couldn't bring myself to write very much. Also, another thing. At the last sentence, I left it like that DELIBERATELY.

Just so you know.

Please read and review, but most of all, ENJOY.

Much thanks.

Chapter 15

Reiko soon found himself kicked out of the agency with a headache. He grumbled softly to himself before he dusted off his clothes and began to walk back to his mansion, not having bothered to take his car when he had left before. It was only at that moment that he was aware of the burning pain in his body, where the demons had attacked him, and had hit home. He looked down at himself and frowned at the blood that decorated his body like morbid ribbons.

He looked around before taking off down an alleyway, hopping up onto the wall at the end, and levering himself up onto a roof and running soundlessly along the slate tiles towards his own mansion. If people were looking for him, he was sure they wouldn't think to look on the roof. He paused again, his eyes narrowed as he scanned the skies. Satisfied that he could find no harpies, he continued running until he found himself a safe distance away from his mansion. He quickly raised his head, searching the night sky before he bounded to the ground, landing neatly on his feet and made his way to the front door of his mansion.

At that point, he suddenly felt pain shoot through his chest again. He gingerly looked down and sighed seeing that he had ripped up yet another expensive shirt, as well as having several angry-looking claw marks decorating his chest. He pushed open the door with no further delay, worried that perhaps any stray harpies would be able to smell his blood if he stayed on the street any longer. He took in a deep breath before letting it all out in a relieved sigh as he took in the familiar sight of his home.

Yet...something was different. He frowned as he looked around before he came to a realization. The cobwebs were gone, the carpets were polished, not that they had needed it, and the mirrors had been polished. He walked into the kitchen. The unused work surfaces had had their layers of dust removed so then everything gleamed.

'Do you like it?' Reiko blinked and then turned around before clapping his hands to his ears as Lorelei promptly shrieked. 'Oh my God! You're bleeding!' Reiko simply shrugged, ignoring the pain in his ears and in his chest.

'It is nothing to scream at. It happens more often than not.'

'You should get that cleaned.'

'It will heal by itself, eventually.'

'That's no excuse to drip blood all over the house!' Reiko frowned before looking down. The floor was still spotless. He looked up.

'I am not dripping blood!' he snapped indignantly. Lorelei folded her arms.

'It's still not exactly a pleasing sight.'

'I thought nothing in this house was a pleasing sight. I thought you wanted to go home.'

'Actually, I quite like it here, thank you very much. Now are you going to let me bandage that or not?' Reiko sighed and submitted to being dragged to a bathroom. He watched with no apparent concern as Lorelei opened up a first aid kit and gleefully took off the ripped remains of his shirt before she unwound a bandage. Reiko was suddenly struck by an unsettling thought -that Lorelei was going to bandage him to the extent that he was going to look like a Mummy.

She hummed softly as she began "treating" him and cleaning out the wound with a damp cloth and antiseptic. If Reiko felt the sting, he didn't show it and simply chose to sit there, statuesque. Lorelei looked up at his face quickly, saw the blank stare she was getting and then blushed before getting back to work. Eventually, she moved away from him and smiled.

'How does that feel?' Reiko looked down at the soft white bandage that was covering half of his chest. He was forced to agree that it did feel more comfortable now that he knew that he had something that would stem the flow of his blood. He smiled his silent thanks at Lorelei, who simply grinned back as though she'd won the lottery.

He got up at that point and walked towards his bedroom, but as he turned around to shut the door, he was shocked to see Lorelei standing right in front of him.

'Yes?' he asked politely. Lorelei smiled somewhat shyly at him.

'Considering I'm staying here with you, how about we have a conversation? A nice conversation? About you and I? I mean...like...we can swap stories and stuff. Tell ghost stories? Jokes? Insult each other? Anything?' Reiko blinked in confusion.

'You're lonely? I do have a phone. You can call whom ever you wish.' Lorelei shook her head.

'I can't do that. The call might get traced and then we'll be found out.'

'You'll be found out, you mean.'

'No. I mean we. If they find me here, who are they going to accuse of kidnapping me? The chandelier?' Reiko sighed.

'I am sorry.'

'But I am lonely...what do you want to talk about?' Lorelei watched as Reiko slowly lay down on his bed at that point and sighed before rolling over onto his stomach, his back looking somewhat raw again. Lorelei frowned. 'Your back still isn't better?'

'No...but it's getting there. I shouldn't really have fought today but...' He smiled at that point. 'What are friends for, right?' Lorelei nodded her agreement before she was struck with a sudden thought.

'Hey...Reiko's a Japanese name, right?' The vampire nodded. Lorelei moved towards him and started massaging his shoulders, causing him to stiffen somewhat before relaxing, his lips curving upwards into a content smile.

'Yes...' he said softly, 'yes, it is. My father decided on the name.' Lorelei moved her hands towards the center of his back, and Reiko closed his eyes, lost somewhere in bliss. 'Lorelei...your mother is British, right?' She paused from her massaging and then nodded.

'Yes. I was born in America though. My big sister was born in England but my family moved to America when she was two. When I was five, my father left for some reason I was never told.' Reiko sighed softly at this point, as though able to identify.

'I'm sorry.'

'No, don't be. It's no big deal. I was too little to remember him much and he never really spent too much time with me. Since I was born, my parents had fought a lot with each other so when he left, I think I was glad. I know that I never actually missed him. It was a lot quieter around the house without him around, and it was just us three. My mother, my sister and I. But after my father left, my sister and mother started to treat me differently.

'We'd go from school to school but somehow, I'd always do something odd and we'd have to move and go somewhere else.' She paused at this point, as though trying to gather her thoughts. 'I was never allowed to go out of the house by myself. My sister would walk me to my school, before running all the rest of the way to her school. She was always five minutes late...it was "too dangerous" for me to be anywhere if I didn't have any company with me, apparently. I think they were scared that something might happen to me or that I might do something to someone else. I don't know...they never gave me any answers. Even now, I'm twenty years old, and they still treat me like a child.' Reiko stirred slightly and wriggled around so he was curled up around a pillow, like some kind of overgrown kitten. He watched Lorelei through lidded eyes and yawned, nuzzling slightly into his pillow. Even as she watched him, she felt tempted to reach out and stroke her hands through his hair, as though expecting him to start purring like a real feline. All he needed was a tail and a pair of cat ears. She tried to hide a smile from her face but it quickly vanished seeing Reiko's serious expression.

'Strange things...' he repeated. 'What kind of strange things?' Lorelei frowned slightly before looking away. Reiko however, watched her intently, expectantly only to frown ever so slightly as Lorelei lowered her eyes. 'It's okay...you don't have to tell me.'

'No...it's...silly, really. There was this one time, at a school that I went to, when we were allowed to bring in a pet. Kind of like a show and tell. Anyway, I didn't bring in anything, but one of the most popular girls in my school brought in her pet hamster. Anyway, something came to me and I told her that she should be really careful and take really good care of it. She got upset; she thought I was implying that she didn't know how to take care of her pet. So, I had to tell her that she was getting the wrong end of the stick, and that it was going to die.

'I was accused of being jealous of her, and the hamster died two days afterwards. Apparently, the neighborhood cat got it. But I was naturally blamed that I had snuck into her house at night over the weekend and had let the hamster out of its cage, despite me living on the other side of town. Everyone thought I was a witch and I was bullied because of it. It eventually got so bad that we had to move. But something would happen wherever we went, and we were constantly abused. We had bricks thrown at our house, and stuff put through the letter box.' Reiko bit his lip at that point and looked somewhat sheepish, but for a reason that Lorelei didn't understand.

'Things didn't get much better once we moved back over here. Mom missed her country, and my sister wanted to come to England. The schools were just the same as they were in America. If anything went wrong in the classroom, it would be me who got the blame.' She shrugged at that point. 'Well that's about it for me. How about you?' She smiled at him brightly, before seeing the downcast look on his face. She looked away again and Reiko lowered his head onto his pillow, half closing his eyes, sighing deeply. 'I'm sorry...that was insensitive of me.' Reiko was silent for a while before he raised his head and shook it.

'No...it's okay. I shall tell you. It's only right.'

'I think I know a little of it...they had a crash.' Lorelei's eyes met with his. Reiko quickly lowered them and looked away, lowering his head back down on his pillow, half closing his eyes.

'Mm...' he murmured.

'Reiko?' Lorelei persisted even then.

'Mm...?'

'What does...eeay, onegayee mean?' Lorelei asked, stumbling through the words. Reiko blinked and sat up, frowning at her.

'Iie? Onegai?' A look of understanding passed over his face and he lowered his head. 'It means... "No...please."'

'Oh...what does-'

'Kaa-sama and Oto-sama means "Mother and Father" respectively.' He frowned and looked at her. 'How did you know?'

'I had a vision.'

'Ah...I see...'

'I'm sorry for your loss,' she said contritely.

'No sorrier than me.' He shook his head suddenly. 'I am sorry. I should really just get on with this, shouldn't I? I just...don't know where to start.' He turned his head towards his bedside table, his eyes locking onto something or another. Lorelei followed his gaze and then saw the photo frame. A sudden idea entered her head and she pounced on it gleefully, though her outside appearance was serious and concerned. But before she could put it into effect, he began to speak.

'I wish they were still here, but sometimes, all things considered, I think it is for the best that they are gone. They didn't live to suffer the shame of their son becoming a vampire. I doubt they would be too happy having a vampire as a son.'

'I think you're more human than those who actually are,' she said without thinking. Reiko blinked and looked towards her, dazed, as though he had just been paid the biggest compliment of his life. Lorelei decided that now was the time to push forward and out her plan in action.

'Were they nice?' She looked at him hopefully, wondering whether this was the key question that would cause him to retell his past. Reiko was quiet for a while before he smiled.

'Yes...from what I saw of them. I was five when they died. At that age, parents usually are anxious to ensure that their children see no sadness or negative emotion. They were always nice whenever I was around. I remember that I was very happy back then.

'My mother's name was Adele. She was always smiling, and always made sure that I never felt as though I needed anything. I can't recall ever asking my mother for a toy or a game...or telling her that all the other kids in my class had such-and-such a toy or whatever...For me, just knowing that my parents loved me, and doted on me was enough.

'My father, Saniiro, had been born in Japan, but had been brought up in England. He taught me what little Japanese I know, and he too always seemed to laugh and smile.' At that point, a shadow crossed over his face. 'Well...actually...that's a lie. I know that we were quite short of money; we weren't the wealthiest people around. Even so, I never was refused anything, and I never felt in need of anything save food. We never could afford to eat very much, and I never had much, just the odd toy car or a football –they were quite cheap- but somehow or another, we were able to make ends meet.

'Apparently, we were also able to save enough money on the side as well. One day, my father came home and picked me up and swung me around and around. I remember that when he put me down, I felt dizzy, but we were laughing, all three of us. They kept mentioning the word "holiday"...I remember wondering what one of them was...but because my parents were laughing so much, and looked so happy, I wasn't worried. My father was excited, and as a result, so was I. Ironic, no?' He paused at this point, and Lorelei sighed, feeling her heart move out towards him. She felt like hugging him tightly, seeing that this remembrance was obviously painful, but somehow, she didn't think that the vampire would be thrilled at the prospect of being held in her arms. Reiko cleared his throat before looking down at his hands, roughened from battle.

'After the crash,' he began again, his voice quiet, sad. 'After the crash, I was taken to an orphanage. I never actually felt as though I could settle there though...despite the fact that I was there for about two or three years. I guess I was lucky, some kids had been there all their lives. I didn't have anyone to go to. My father's father probably would have let me stay with him, but he had moved to Japan recently after the death of his wife and had died peacefully in Japan two months before the accident. My mother's parents wanted nothing to do with us, for reasons I still don't know. Both my parents had had no siblings and the authorities could find no other relatives of mine so I had to stay there...' He paused again, made as if to start speaking again before he fell completely silent. Lorelei leaned forward, eager, almost desperate to hear more. Reiko fidgeted slightly before he looked towards her, seeing her eyes fixed on him. He cleared his throat before he began again.

'They had...told me that...one day I'd...meet them again.' He said, his voice shaking ever so slightly. Lorelei put a hand over his, trying to comfort him, feeling guilty that she had pushed him into telling her everything. Reiko cleared his throat again, shook his head and closed his eyes, as though he were about to jump off a bridge.

'I didn't realize what they really meant; that I'd see them again when I die. As a result, I lived in fear thinking that I'd be taken away before my parents could come and collect me. I was adopted four times in total but the first three times I was taken back. Things never really worked out. Either I'd kick and scream and struggle like a kid possessed. I'd refuse to have anything to do with them. Once, it wasn't anything to do with me at all; they simply abused me. When the social worker came around to check up on us, and I accidentally dropped a mug and the man hit me, well, it was game over for that attempt.

'When I was adopted for the fourth time though, the couple refused to give up on me, and tried ever so hard. Even though at first I hated them with a passion, I eventually grew to like them. I owe them a lot.' Lorelei realized only then that she was still holding his hand.

'What were they like?'

'My adoptive father is called Sean and my adoptive mother is called Vera. They were wonderful towards me, and Vera in particular spent a lot of time with me. She soon became my best friend and I began to open up to her more and more. I think I was about ten when I told her why I had been so scared. She was the one who told me the truth, even though I'd already heard it by this time after I'd caught pneumonia from standing outside waiting gor my parents to come back. Part of me refused to believe them then, and when Vera tried to tell me again, I still refused.And when I kicked her, refusing to believe, she didn't get upset. She stayed by me even then. It was later on that year when I first called her "Mother". I could never bring myself to call her Mum...just Mother. My real Mum was in heaven somewhere, and even though I could call Vera Mother, she wouldn't take her place.

'You'd think I'd be happy living in such a caring environment right? Well, I was happy, but not when my adoptive cousin visited. I was Vera's only "child" and she somehow got the idea that me and her sister's son, in short, my adoptive cousin would become good friends. This may have been true, had he not uh...hated my guts.

'I guess it was jealousy that made him hate me like that. It's kind of ironic, considering I was always slightly jealous that he had real parents, you know?' Lorelei nodded at that point. Reiko's expression grew more thoughtful as he continued. 'We fought a lot, me and him. His mother, my aunt, she gave me a lot of attention, you know...hugs and gifts. I knew it was only because of the fact that I had lost my real parents. Anyway, my cousin didn't really understand why they were being so nice to me, and pampering me, so a rivalry began to grow. I had the misfortune of only knowing about it when I was about seventeen or so.

'As we grew older, the rivalry grew with us. It was little things at first; he'd take away a few of my things, and mislay them so I couldn't find them again. Soon it got onto bigger things.'

'Like what?' Lorelei asked, hearing Reiko's voice peter out. Reiko looked towards her, and for the first time, Lorelei was aware of something akin to pain in his eyes.

'Like crimes,' he said bluntly. Lorelei frowned, not sure whether she had understood. Reiko nodded again, his pain suddenly vanishing to be replaced by a look of resignation as he realized he would have to explain. 'He did stuff, and I got blamed. Simple.' He lowered his head, as though ashamed. Lorelei looked at him aghast.

'That's awful! Jeez...you really don't catch a break, do you?' Reiko remained silent but looked up at her. 'So uh...what happened?' Reiko shook his head. Lorelei's face fell. 'I'm sorry. Am I being insensitive again?'

'No no...well...maybe just a little,' he admitted. Lorelei smiled somewhat sheepishly at him.

'I'm sorry.'

'Don't be.'

'Are you mad?'

'No.'

'Good.' There was an uncomfortable silence between the two. Reiko decided to lie down again, curling up against his pillow with a sigh. Lorelei fidgeted for a while before she sighed also. Reiko looked up at her quickly.

'Is something wrong?'

'No, why?'

'You sighed.'

'I'm just thinking about your cousin. He was a total-'

'Yeah...I know. You know, we don't talk much anymore. Things kind of came to a head one day when he finally went too far in lying to me and saying some random crap about my parents being scum and abandoning me because I was unwanted. Obviously, we fought. I got my face kicked in but hey, I still tried to protect my parents' honor, and that was all that mattered to me at the time.' Reiko stretched before hugging the pillow to him a little tighter, as though for comfort. 'There's not much for me to tell you. I grew, I died, and here I am.' Lorelei raised her eyebrows before shaking her head.

'Wow...' she murmured to herself. 'Wow.' Her eyes drifted over the rich furnishings of the room, and she remembered the things she had seen while she had explored most of the house. Granted, she hadn't been able to see everything, but she had seen enough to know that the vampire was incredibly wealthy. 'How did you ever afford this place? It's huge!'

'My father, well, my adoptive father owns a prestigious computer business. He made me a partner.'

'Do you keep in touch with your adoptive parents?'

'...over the phone, yes...' Reiko seemed to approach the subject with a certain amount of trepidation. Lorelei frowned, before continuing slowly.

'And...have they ever...visited you?' Reiko turned a delicate shade of pink. Lorelei realized that he was blushing, something she had never heard a vampire doing.

'...no...' he whispered miserably. Lorelei frowned.

'Did you ever...invite them?' She watched him steadily, and Reiko seemed to shrink into himself, before shaking his head mournfully.

'It's pathetic...I know...but...I'm a...a monster! They wouldn't be able to accept me if they saw me!' He looked absolutely wretched and Lorelei sighed before nudging him into a sitting position and hugging him comfortingly.

'You lost one set of parents...don't distance yourself from the second set. They obviously loved you.'

'Yeah but I was human back then...' he returned hopelessly. He blinked as he suddenly realized that Lorelei was actually hugging him. He swallowed hard before nervously returning the hug loosely, but then tightened his grip.

'Oh Reiko...you worry too much...'

'Old habits die hard...I guess...' He tightened his grip on her a little more before resting his head on her shoulder warily, still unable to believe that he, a vampire, was being showered with affection by a girl who had hated him. He had never hated her, never. Sure, he'd been upset and irritated at times, especially when he was accused of being all manner of things, but he never had actually hated her. Somewhere in the space of time they had shared together, the tables had turned, and Lorelei had grown to accept him. It filled him with warmth he had only been able to feel when he was a boy, and playing in a garden, under the heat of the sun.

Even when Lorelei had hated him, and had been cold towards him, he had tried to befriend her. Why? He figured that it was probably because she intrigued him. It couldn't possibly be anything to do with her looks, or the fact that she was playing hard to get. Okay, maybe it was, but nevertheless, the fact that he'd actually succeeded in turning Lorelei into a friend filled him with a strange sense of satisfaction. He closed his eyes and sighed contently, unaware of the fact that for the first time he was smiling, not because it was tinged with irony, or an intimidating smirk, but because of the simple fact that he no longer felt alone.