"Back in school they never taught us
what we needed to know.
Like how to deal with despair,
or someone breakin' your heart.
For twelve years I've held it all together,
but a night like this is beggin' to pull me apart."

-Brand New: Seventy Times Seven

Crashes sounded through the empty halls. He was disgusted by the room he was placed in. Everything had been set up so nicely as though he were supposed to enjoy his stay. A dim light and a warm bed with heavy blankets, along with a warm color tone on the walls to match. It was meant to be so comfortable. This, however, only added to the rage that Krad was having issues controlling...had he really been trying to control them, that is. The dim lamp light was the first thing to go; it being picked up and thrown against the wall to break and dent the wall. The blonde paced around the room nervously, constantly scratching at his arms and pulling at locks of his hair.

"God damn it--motherfucking...damn it, damn it, damn it!" He screamed as a large chunk of the wall was plowed in by his fists and feet.

"Easy target, easy target, easy-weak-fucking-target!"

His entire body trembled with the obnoxious mix of rage and fear. Even standing up was proving to be a difficult thing to do at this point in the tremors. He only knew one thing that would calm his body. 'Just a little wake-up call, that's it.' Frantically, still shaking, he clumsily looked around the newly messy room. He rifled through the drawers of the night stand, the bed spread, and under the mattress. There was nothing. He paused, then remembered the last place he had put it. Slowly, he moved the bed away from the wall and knelt on the floor. Then he ran his hands along the wooden border on the wall until he found the loose piece that when removed, revealed a tiny nook in the wall.

"What? No! No, no, no! It's gone!"

"Was there something you were looking for, Krad?"

A sudden lock went underway between Krad's eyes, and the dark eyes of his "master." The ones that always made it obvious that he was at least a step ahead. There was always that arrogant glint telling him that Dark knew something that he didn't. His body was still trembling, but not from fear; the boy brought himself to his feet and tried to calm himself with basic deep breathing. The feeling of a hand gently cuffing around his wrist made him jump back right into the monster's other arm just as it locked around his stomach.

"Sad. I was under the impression that you'd kicked that nasty little habit. I remember your little incident. I could feel your life draining from you, and I must admit that it was quite painful for me as well. Along with the addition of," he pulled the locked wrist to his eyes and ran his thumb along the traumatized skin, "seeing your body scarred by your hands."

"You know nothing!" Krad began to violently fight against the grip on his arm.

"Calm down."

"Well, what the fuck do you think I was trying to do?!"

"Krad, stop yelling." He warned calmly.

"Do you really expect me to be calm in a place like this?!"

"I said stop yelling, Krad." This time his tone was deeper and firmer. However, Krad didn't exactly register the words.

"Why me, huh? Why me?! Why not someone who had nothing to begin with?! Instead you took my life away from me—twice!"

Dark, who was holding back as much as he could, took a tight hold of the prisoner's hair. Krad only responded with a short, but high pitched yelp as his face was drawn mere inches from his captor's. The grip tightened, and past images ran through his mind, reminding him, and warning him. Each one vivid in detail, and each one reminding him of why he had ever feared Dark in the first place. The uncontrollable shaking had been immediately tamed by the fear-stricken mind and body. He stood there motionless, waiting for the worst to happen. Instead, the grip pulled him to meet his ear with an arrogant and obviously irritated voice.

"You're a forgetful little thing, aren't you? I remember specifically saying that we were going to be using our brains this time." He released the blonde locks roughly, pushing him backward. "This time I'll ask just to make sure." The blonde fell straight to his knees. "Do I make myself clear, Krad?"

The yelling and the harsh tone were too much for him. He found his only responding ability was a nod, but apparently one that had not been visible enough. Dark crouched in front of him, grabbing him by the shoulders, and knocking him straight into the stone wall.

"Did I stutter?!"

"Yes, I understand! I understand!"

His hands shot up to cover his face, holding back loud sobs. It had been so long since this had been on his mind, let alone actually happen. Among his memories, he remembered the worst of it, and almost laughed at himself for reacting so much to a push into the wall. Other than that, his concentration was newly set on not upsetting the monster. A lesson that he had only just re-learned, but had learned a hell of a lot sooner than the first time. It was so different then; he was so stubborn...determined to make it out unbroken and with whatever dignity a child can have.

"Good."

There was a pause of silence, but only for a moment.

"And by the way…you were never an easy target."

Krad had chosen to ignore the comment due to the fact that he had nothing really on his mind to begin with. He hadn't actually really heard what Dark had said, and that may have been a blessing for him. His master could only imagine the teen's reaction to the reason for his current and possibly permanent situation.

The door closed behind the beast, leaving the other to continue in his mindless trance with the bottom corners of the room. His outburst and the things that had followed it had, in no time at all, left him completely emotionless. After all, he couldn't have possibly seen a better way to get through this. His fits were not tolerated by any means. The only feelings he could show without consequences were the ones that were not rebellious in the least bit.

Outside the room, Dark sighed loudly, and made his way through the halls. He'd figured he should go check and see if Krad's brothers were awake. Not that there was much to be done if they were, since he'd just be leaving them the way they were. He didn't think there was any use in introducing himself. "Hello, I'm Dark, and I've kidnapped you—your brother as well, for a second time." A smirk pulled at his lips, and he laughed to himself. That would have been quite the introduction, and he would have most likely have been thoroughly amused by the looked that would appear on their faces. Confusion, fear, that famous this-is-just-some-dirty-trick-where-are-the-motherfucking-cameras look. He knew that one would show up. When he arrived, however, the two boys were still sound asleep.

Just as he was about to leave to the hallways again, he turned to meet Krad, who was standing still in the doorway. Unexpectedly, he looked content, almost even confident, with his eyes straight and level with Dark's. They looked at each other for quite a while before Dark figured out that he was going to have to start what could be a conversation.

"Was there something you wanted?"

"…I'm hungry." He said flatly.

Dark just smiled.

"Well, why didn't you say so earlier? Let's go."

When Krad had first involuntarily set foot in the kitchen of that place, he had wondered why Dark needed food, since he had such a swell time eating what stability Krad had left emotionally. He had just laughed, and responded simply, "Just because I'm not human, doesn't mean that I don't enjoy good tasting fruit and junk-food. I have taste buds, you know." It was actually oddly convenient for Krad, although he wouldn't have minded Dark having to either take him out somewhere, just so he could be out, or for him to leave to go get food every day. Instead, he acted like a normal human; shopping for food at least once every two weeks. Shopping being stealing, of course. Monsters don't have money, now do they? He did, however, recall one disastrous occasion where Dark had forgotten, basically, that he existed. He supposed that it was his fault for locking himself away in his room and only coming out if told to.

He snapped back from his memories, and followed Dark through the door to the kitchen. Like always, it was completely spotless. To him, it was funny; Monsters…clean? It made no sense. But then again, neither did him trusting one. He shivered suddenly, brushed it off, and opened the fridge. Then, he made a grunting sound when he was lightly pushed out of the way. He looked into reddish eyes puzzled, and they smiled back at him.

"Tell me what you want, and I'll make it for you. How does that sound?"

xXxXx

Dark stared intently as the other practically inhaled the food that he had made for him. All the while, the only things running through his head were about how easy this had been compared to last time. This time, the blonde put up zero to little fight. Last time it was probably one of the most difficult times he'd had gaining control over one of the people he had taken. After running through what he'd done, he realized that he was only lacking reactions because of his two brothers being involved. Only because of them. He knew very well that Krad was a prideful creature, just like him. As soon as they were gone, he'd go back to defending himself, instead of being obnoxiously calm and obedient for their sake. He unconsciously smirked as he continued to stare off into space; now slightly excited for what was up ahead for Krad and himself when he brought his brothers home.

'You never were an easy target. You've always done a damn good job of getting what you want.'

He watched silently as Krad stood from the table and brought his dishes to the counter.

'The thrill of the chase has always been just too much for me to control.'

His smile grew wider when the blonde turned to look at him, and unknowingly to himself, he was smiling softly straight back at Dark.

'By the end of this, your thought-process and sense of logic will be fucked six ways from last Tuesday. I'll be the only one with the answers for you to rely on.'

"Hello.
Is there anybody in there?
Just nod if you can hear me.
Is there anyone at home?
Come on, now
I hear you're feeling down.
I can ease your pain
And get you on your feet again.
Relax
I'll need some information first.
Just the basic facts
Can you show me where it hurts?"

-Pink Floyd: Comfortably Numb