Yuki drove both of them to the nursing home in town. His car, unlike Ranmaru's shiny new blue car, was older. The only notable thing to Sunako was its shiny paint job which made the whole car completely black, from the dark tinted windows to the hubcaps. Inside was like a cave, the dim light from the dashboard being the only light.

He quickly found a parking spot and slipped in with easy. Placing a pair of sunglasses over his eyes, he glided around and opened her door before she could get it unlocked.

Sunako shot him a look. "You don't always have to do that." She wasn't genuinely mad, though. In fact, even if he didn't seem like a vampire, he was and he had just opened the door for her. It was probably one of the best moments of her life. Now, had it been Takenaga, she might have forgotten to breathe.

Yuki simply smiled. "You'll have to deal with it. Being in the company of a lady is not something I get to do often, besides Noi, so I enjoy it when I am." He commented as he led her to the front doors.

"I'm sure you've realized by now that I'm not exactly a lady," she replied. "I was supposed to start classes in two weeks, though. So I guess you saved me from that."

"Classes?" Yuki asked, lifting an eyebrow. They made it to the front door and Sunako reached out to grab the handle before he could, but Yuki got there first with a wily smile.

"My aunt's doing," Sunako said as she walked though the lobby. "She's convinced that if I don't, I'll grow up to be an ugly old hag, unhappy with a lifetime of regrets."

"And you're sure that you won't?"

Sunako looked at him. "Yes." She said, assuredly.

Yuki watched her for a moment. Sunako could identify what he was looking for, as his eyes gave nothing away. Chills went down her spine when she realized for the first time, she didn't know what he was thinking.

"Yuki, dear!"

Quicker than he usually moved, Yuki snapped his head to the left. There was an older woman walking towards them, arms stretched out, inviting him in for a hug. Yuki's smile was effortless as she folded him into her.

"Hello, Mother. How are you today?" Sunako's eyebrows rose in question at his response.

"I'm doing good," the woman laughed and gestured to Sunako. "But I see you've brought a friend."

"Yes," Yuki smiled, "This is Sunako Nakahara. She's my roommate's cousin and I've invited her to come along so that she's not hanging around the house all day; you know how he is."

"Well, the more the merrier." The woman offered Sunako a hand. "I'm Hikari Takahashi, but everyone around here just calls me Mom. I am the manager of this home. Welcome."

Sunako took her hand and nodded in return, uncertain of what to say. "Thank you."

"Yuki comes here every week and helps out, even if it's only for thirty minutes. And all the patients love him. Especially the woman here," she finished with a wink. "It's not hard to see why. Such a cute boy."

Again, Sunako nodded. She couldn't say that Yuki was unattractive at all, but he wasn't exactly the most attractive…boy she'd met recently.

"Well, Mother, what do you need us to do today?"

"Just the usual, darling. Go make the rounds. I hear Kaede was asking about you earlier."

"Then she will be our first stop," Yuki laughed. He waved goodbye and led Sunako down the hall.

The building was bright, and there were people of all ages walking up and down the hallways. She got distracted by noises from inside the rooms she passes, some not so pleasant. She could here the ragged voices from vocal cords that were over-used. She tried hard to keep up with Yuki's familiar and confident path, feeling uncomfortable and out of place. She looked up to find that Yuki's eyes were closed. It was then that she remembered his words from before and why he was allowed to go out during the day.

"Can you even see right now?" she whispered as to not alert anyone else.

Yuki stopped and smiled. "It's not so bad at this time, now that we're inside, but it's not comfortable. "

Sunako looked around uncertainly. "If it's not comfortable then why do you do this? Do you have a family member here? Are you that young?"

As Yuki opened his eyes, Sunako was shocked to see how his normal bright green eyes had darkened considerably, and the pupils pulled into slits. She'd seen the other two vampires look like this before, but this was Yuki.

"You'll understand why we're here soon." With that, he closed his eyes and continued. Sunako took one last glance behind her as they walked. It seemed no one else had noticed their exchange, and fact that both excited her and added to her curiosity.

Finally, he came to a room and poked his head inside.

"Hello," he called out cheerfully.

"Yuki!" The voice that responded was surprisingly young.

Yuki smiled and opened the door wider. "Oh, Sakuno! You're here. It's so good to see you again."

Sunako only had a second to the small body of a girl wearing a pink dress hurl herself into Yuki, who caught her with ease.

"Yeah. I was hoping I'd get to see you." The girl said.

"Silly Girl, let him walk through the door before you latch on to him."

Sunako looked up to see a middle-aged woman holding a small child and one lying in a bed. Time had taken hold of her face, but her eyes still had a bright youngness about them. There was a soft smile on her face as she gazed at the girl.

Yuki beamed at them. "That's all right; no harm done."

"Yuki, sweetheart," the older woman said and held out her arms in a gesture Sunako was sure she was going to associate with Yuki forever. "I'm so glad to see you."

"Me, too," he said. "Let me introduce my friend, Sunako. She's joining me today."

Sunako was still standing in the doorway, feeling odd for coming in on what was clearly a family moment.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sunako." The middle-aged woman said, shifting the child in her arms again. "I'm Kyoko, this is my mom, Kaede, and my two children."

"I'm Sakuno!" the girl shouted with pleasure from her place by Yuki. She had his arm wrapped tightly with both of hers, though he didn't seem to mind the least.

For the next half hour, Yuki talked happily with the two women in room and the young girl while Sunako stood by the door. She felt awkward, as if she were intruding on a family moment. She watched as Yuki took a seat by the woman in the bed and seemed right at home with them. She even smiled as the girl laughed loudly at something he said. It was clear that she had a large crush on him, and Sunako wasn't surprised. If any one were going to have a crush on Yuki, it would be the younger crowd.

"Well," Yuki finally said as he stood, patting the girl on the head, "it's time that we get going. There are a few others I promised to see today. It was nice talking to you, Kaede. And Kyoko, it was good to see you again."

"Aw!" the girl whined, grabbing a hold of him. "You don't have to go do you, Yuki? Stay a little longer! Please!"

"Sakuno, let him go right now," her mother said with a laugh. "Sorry, Yuki, she's pretty taken with you."

Yuki gave one of his sweet smiles. "It's no problem." Turning back to the girl he said, "I'm taken with her, too."

The girl blushed.

"But I really do have to go," he said softly. "I promise you'll see me next time, okay."

The girl let go of his arm. "Okay," she sighed.

"Good girl." Yuki walked towards Sunako and nodded towards the door. "Bye."

As soon as they were away from the room, Sunako laughed. "I was afraid she wasn't going to let you leave."

Yuki nodded. "Yeah, she does that every time. I feel sorry for her."

"Why?"

Yuki's head shifted towards her. "Because I lied to her."

Sunako blinked, trying to go over the conversation in her mind. True, he hadn't told them that he wasn't a vampire, but they hadn't asked. "When did you lie to her?"

A small mischievous smile that Sunako had never seen on him before grew on Yuki's lips, but he didn't answer her question. In stead, he led her into another room, this one less crowd. He spoke briefly with a man who had no visitors. After that, they went to yet another room where Yuki organized pictures for a woman who talked about her great-grandchildren the entire time.

Sunako didn't know how much more she could take after the last visit. She hadn't known what to expect from Yuki, but spending the day with old people wasn't what had popped into her head.

Yuki turned to her as they left the woman's room. "We have one last stop," he said.

Sunako was thankful. What she wanted to do was go back to the castle and wander around some more. They walked into a room and Sunako was shocked to see Kaede asleep in the bed. She was about to point this out when Yuki shut and locked the door behind her, confusing her even more. The click of the lock caused the woman to stir and she lifted her even eyelids.

"Yuki?" she question, her voice groggy from sleep and age, "Did you forget something?"

Yuki turned and Sunako saw something different in his eyes and the shift in the way he carried himself. Truthfully, she felt a tiny bit of exhilaration before reality sent it.

Yuki looked like a predator.

Sunako knew what it meant, but she was shocked. Of course she knew that Yuki was a vampire and it meant that he had to feed, and it was how he was supposed to look, but she couldn't help but back away from him as he approached the woman in the bed.

"Shh," he whispered, "Go back to sleep. It will all be over soon."

The woman sat up as much as she could. "Yuki, what are you doing!" She reached for the controller by her bedside, but Yuki placed it out of her reach. "Yuki, I don't understand. What's possessed you?"

For a moment, Sunako wanted to bolt for the door and call for help, but she stood rooted in place, watching as Yuki took the woman's arm. She tried to fight him off, but even with his lightest hold, she was much too weak. He put his free hand over her eyes.

"Sleep," he commanded. The woman stopped struggling and sagged against the pillows.

Yuki angled himself into Sunako's view and pierced her with a stare. His eyes were dark; there was nothing sweet or soft about them. He pulled the arm, with its creased loose-fitted skin, to his mouth and with one last glare, bit down into it.

The woman let out a painful squeal, almost as if she couldn't scream. Sunako stared at Yuki as he added more pressure, a small trail of blood flowing down to the sheets and spreading there. She was fixated on him as he feed, draining the woman of her life.

For a moment, he stopped. The woman, visibly paler, relaxed the tiniest bit. Yuki lifted his head and his tongue swept across his lips. Sunako became aware of his two elongated incisors as his upper lip curled and he ducked back into the arm at a different place.

Sunako wasn't aware of how long they were there. Time seemed to freeze as she waited, standing as still as possible. She didn't know the feeding habits of vampires. What if she moved and he in, his blood lust controlled mind, attacked her. Apart of her wanted to find out, but a bigger apart of her wanted to finish what she started.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Yuki pulled away and sighed. It was a satisfied, full sigh and Sunako wondered if this meant he was done.

"Don't worry," he said with a chuckle. Sunako looked up to find him gazing at her. His voice was deeper and his eyes were still dark, and he was still holding himself differently. If was as if he were suddenly a completely different person. "She's not completely drained."

Sunako blinked. "She's not?" They had been standing there for what felt like a long time.

"No, silly. I can't have people wondering how the old woman ran out of blood, now can I?"

She glanced down at the sheet covered in blood. How was he going to explain that? "No, I guess not." The blood was beautiful in the way it stood out against the pure whiteness. Lying across the dead woman, it almost looked like a piece of art; images like this reminded her of why she loved looking at it.

"All right, let's go Sunako."

Sunako followed the vampire out of the room and back down the hall. No body stopped them, or even looked at them. No body had any clue as to what had just happened in there. They reached the front doors as Yuki slipped on his dark glasses and opened the door for her.

Before shut behind her, she heard someone scream.

xXx

The drive back had been quiet. Sunako was stuck in her own thoughts, wondering how she felt about what she'd seen.

"You–you had just talked her granddaughter. That little girl…" Sunako trailed off.

"I told her I had lied to her," Yuki replied lightly.

Sunako looked at him. "You stood that room, laughing and smiling with that family, all the while knowing you were going to kill her?"

"I knew I was going to kill her when I woke up."

"Then why would you even…I don't get it," Sunako argued, "Why would you get close to people that you know you're going to end up killing?"

"Because I can't just randomly show up at places and expect them to let me stroll around unattended. Besides, do you believe she was going to live until the morning?"

"What? You mean…"

"She was going to die tonight without my help. I just saved her a few hours of suffering."

Maybe he wasn't so bad… "But still, do you have to get close to them?"

"Again, I can't just wander around doing nothing when I visit. I talk to the people there, it's makes them feel better. Some of them don't have families that come often. I'm doing them favors."

Sunako stared at him. He hadn't changed back into the Yuki that she was used to. He was still hard and dark, and undeniable vampire.

By then they had reached the mansion and Yuki was already opening her door. She followed him inside to the stairs.

"Hey guys, what have you been up to–Yuki, what have you done?" Noi's eyes were wide as she stood on the stairs above them, gaping at them.

Yuki didn't answer. He brushed passed her and headed down the hall.

Noi turned back to Sunako. "Did he…"

"He feed off an old woman after sitting with her family and hugging her grandchild." Sunako admitted, not sure how else to say it. Apart of her was still in shock. She hadn't imagined that the first time she watched a vampire feed, it would be like that. She didn't think it would be him. "He's like a different person."

Noi's shoulders sagged as she sighed. She walked the rest of the way to Sunako and pulled her along. They headed down a hall on the first floor that Sunako hadn't been down yet. Opening one of the many doors, she invited her in. Upon examination, Sunako realized that it was probably Noi's room. It was bright and open with colorful decorations and light, airy furniture.

"Ranmaru and Kyohei wear their vampirism like a shield. Most of the time, I'm surprised that people don't notice right away. I mean, people notice they're different, but they don't really understand." Noi started as she sat down on a small couch, patting a spot for Sunako to sit. "Yuki, on the other hand, tries very hard to hide it. It's like he has a split personality, and just thinking of feeding brings out his other side."

Sunako lifted an eyebrow. "Isn't suppose to be like that?"

"Yuki's a bit different, though. Like I said, the others use it like a shield; they don't completely hide what they are at all. Yuki…well, if I didn't know any better, I would never guess that he could be a vampire."

Sunako nodded in understanding, recognizing she felt the same way.

"Remember how I told you that Yuki was an accident for the most part – he wasn't meant to be changed? Well, I think vampires turn those who they think can handle it. Yuki was never the type of person who could handle it, but if he didn't do something, was he was going to starve. Vampires don't starve to death, they just starve.

"What I think happened, was he developed another personality, one that could handle the thought of killing; one that could drink another person's blood. When he's ready to feed, it's the one that takes over."

"Does Yuki remember?"

Noi's smile was weak and she gave a humorless laugh. "This is just a theory. I don't actually know if it's true or not, but I do know he knows what's going on all the time. He knows who he kills."

Sunako blinked, taking it all in. She didn't know if she should confess to Noi about liking this "vampire-Yuki," but she did a little bit. She also rather liked the other one, which surprised her, as she usually didn't care for people like him; they were squeamish.

"How does he get away with it?" She asked, curiosity winning out all of her other thoughts. "Does he do this at other places?"

Noi shook her head. "Not that I know of. I know that he has a system that works, but I couldn't tell you what it is. I've never been interested enough to ask, but he might tell you if you wanted to know."

Sunako looked at her, surprised that she was answering all of her questions so easily. "Why does he kill old people?"

Noi rolled her eyes. "You keep asking me like I have his answers. Sunako, he's not going to bite you, no matter how much you ask, so don't have anything to be worried about. Honestly, I like Yuki, but I don't like it when he's like this. It…bothers me, so I don't want to know anything that part of him. If want to know what motivates Yuki, you're going to have to ask someone else."

"Did Takenaga tell you to answer my questions?"

"What?" Noi gave her a puzzled look. "No. He didn't. In fact, he's told me barely anything about you other than you'll be staying here."

"Then why are you being so nice to me?" Sunako inquired, trying to understand what the girl's angle was.

Noi laughed loudly. Long, girlish shrieks that made her grab her sides. Sunako watched, bewildered, as the other girl almost slid of the couch.

When she finally managed to calm down enough to talk, she said, "Because you're a girl!"

Sunako looked on in disbelief. "I'm a girl?"

"Yeah," Noi chuckled, "I know that they're vampires, but that doesn't change the fact that they're boys and annoying for the most part. You're the first girl, not to mention human, who has passed through those doors since I've lived here. That's why I'm being so nice to you. That, and I like you."

Sunako settled into the couch. Some one liked her. It was a different feeling. "So, you consider me a friend?"

Noi shrugged. "Maybe not 'stay up all night sharing our deepest secrets' type of friends, but I like having you around, so maybe someday."

"I've never had any live friends before." Sunako declared.

This caused the other girl to laugh again. "Neither have I."

Sunako couldn't be sure, but she thought she felt something around her change.

xXx

Around three in the morning, Sunako found her way to the back porch. The yard was a vast garden, complete with fountains, beautifully made benches, trees that must have offered generous amounts of shade during the day and even a large dark gazebo in the center of it all. It was all very well put together and Sunako wondered who kept it up. Surely, it wasn't Noi. She didn't seem like the type to want to spend time tending to plants…unless, of course, Takenaga had requested it.

She sighed as she sat down on one of the benches. The day had not gone at all how she planned, but she couldn't get the image of Yuki feeding to leave her mind. Sunako had said that she wanted to see Yuki's vampire side, but she just didn't think that it would be in such a way. Still, there was something in the way he had bit into the woman's flesh; the way the blood had dribbled down to the sheet and gathered there. Something inside of her repelled against the idea of stealing someone away from their loved ones, even if it was there time, but a further part of her knew he had to do it some way; she knew no matter whom she picked to feed on, she'd be stealing them from someone.

A shadowy figure caught her eye and she lifted her head. Standing of the top of the castle, on one of the towers was one of them. Sunako couldn't tell who from her place but she watched with absorption as they leaped from the high walls and dove down to the ground. They landed gracefully and stood with a carefree style. Now, with the light from the kitchen window lighting the area, she could tell it was the loud, angry one. The one that hated her—Kyohei.

"What are you doing out here, Human?"

Sunako frowned at his sneer. She couldn't believe that a moment ago she'd wished that she could do what he could. "What does it look like?" She hissed in return, "I'm thinking."

"Really?" he shrugged. "Couldn't tell. You had a blank empty look on your face."

She decided that the way his hair fell haphazardly around his eyes annoyed her. It was unfair that he could be everything that she wanted, so beautiful and yet so annoying all at the same time. He stood before her, in jeans and a jacket—no shirt—glaring at her in a way that made her want to rip his violet eyes out, vampire or not.

She then noticed the faint red lines that painted his chest and face. "What happened to you?" She asked suddenly before she could stop herself.

He smirked. "I was out fighting." His eyes seemed to glow now. Sunako recognized it as the same glow Yuki's had all day and conflicted emotions rose in her; he stole a life, he murdered, but it was apart of who he was, and that was a creature of the night.

"You fight?"

"Yeah. We all have our different ways." He replied, shrugging again.

Sunako lifted an eyebrow, not understanding what he was trying to say.

Instead of explaining, Kyohei came and kneeled before her, saying, "Do you get what the kid was trying to teach you today?"

Sunako thought about it before shaking her head. Kyohei sighed.

"What do you see when you look at us? Your 'children of the night'? Perhaps you see humans with a terrible disease. What do you see?"

"I see everything I've ever thought of. You guys aren't terrible; why can't you see the lives you have here?"

"Oh, we see it. You're over-glamorizing it. Yuki killed someone today. I killed someone, and so did Ranmaru. He took them and slaughtered them in the worst way. None of them did anything wrong. Is whatever you get out of this life worth that?"

Sunako looked away. "You don't have to kill them," she mumbled.

"You think it's so easy to stop?" Kyohei questioned, disbelieving. "You say you understand us, our blood lust, but you can't. You couldn't possibly know starvation like this."

"…You haven't explained what he was trying to teach me."

"That not everything is as it seems. Yuki is the kind of person who remembers every face; he will carry that guilt around with him forever. He does what he needs to do, but he hates it. Unless you can tolerate doing what he does, because he is the kindest of all of us, then you shouldn't be here."

Sunako blinked.

Kyohei continued, "Unless you can stomach the thought of killing for yourself and only yourself, then you should leave."

"I'm not giving up," she countered quickly. "I'll figure out a way. If Yuki and deal with it, then so can I."

His hand reached up and knocked her in the head. "Listen here, Stupid, Yuki didn't have a choice in the matter. He makes do with what he can deal with, but even he has to force himself. Do you think their blood taste good? It doesn't; not when they're so close to death. Yuki is strong-stronger than all of us. You don't get to think of him as weak."

"That's not what I was saying," Sunako argued, glaring. "I was trying to say that if some one as good as Yuki can figure out a way to be okay—"

"But Yuki's not okay with it," Kyohei interrupted. "That's why he works so hard. Why he only picks those who are about are at Death's door anyway. It makes him feel less guilty."

Sunako stomped her foot. "I will be fine. I may not be okay with killing people, unlike you seem to be, apparently, but I will find my own way."

Kyohei's head tilted to the left and his gaze harden. "You think I enjoy what I do?"

Sunako held firm under his stare. She wasn't going to let him scare her this time, no matter how dark and threatening he got.

Kyohei's lip lifted in a growl. "Maybe you'll fit right it with the vampires you idolize, after all," he said angrily before turning away and taking off. He somehow managed to fly back to the roof of the castle and then slipped through a window, disappearing from her sight.

Sunako glared in his direction before heading back into the house.

There was definitely something wrong with that…thing, she declared internally as she crawled into her coffin.

Chapter 6. Yay.

I'm not sure I like the ending scene very much. I wanted to make it clear that there are certain things Sunako's going to half to deal with. That she doesn't understand everything no matter what she says and she can't just jump in and be okay like she wants to. In the manga, she says that she has no intention of killing people; she just can't stand the 'radiant creatures'. But here, it's made obvious if she gets what she wants, she won't have a choice. At this point, Sunako is so set on her decision that she can't see any other way, but I don't think she argued it very well.

If there are things that you thing could make it better, please let me know. I'd love to hear from you how this should be.

Tell me what you think. Do you like this side of Yuki? He's not nice, I'll tell you that, and he'll make other appearances. And what about Kyohei randomly showing up to explain things. He does that quite often, doesn't he. Yell at her and blame her, but makes sure she knows what's going on because she can't really see a lot of it by herself. At least that's how I see it.

So other than that, the same ole same ole: see a mistake, let me know. I swear, if it weren't for spellchecker, auto-correction, and synonyms, this story would be nothing. This chapter is around 10 pages long. I told one of the the reviewers (she knows who she is) that I was trying to make the chapters longer. I usually tried for 6 pages. Now, I'm trying for 8-10. Not a whole lot, when you consider that most of it will be dialog, but hey, it's something.

Review. Review. Review. Reading and reviewing makes the world go round.

Thanks.

Until next time.