"Urg..."

A shakey hand made its way to her forehead and she grumbled in displeasure. Her wonderfull world of dreams, where she and Usui-kun could get as close as they wanted and not a drop of blood in sight, was rudley destroyed when something hard hit her head. She felt slightly dizzy and groggy, her eyes were sore and puffy and her jaw ached something cronic. Groaning again, she slowly sat up, using her pillows to prop herself. Rubbing her head, she yawned.

"What time is is?" she asked aloud.

Scanning the room she found that she wasn't in her bedroom at all. The curtains were black outs, the walls were dark and dingy and the covers were not her usual pink. Her eyes widened in shock when the realisation came to her. She was in someone else's bed. Pulling the cover up to her chest she tried sorting her thoughts. What was the last thing she remembered doing?

"I was in the park.....Then....Nothing! I can't remember what happened after that!!"

What if she was left in the park, and some stranger came and took her home?! Pushing the covers off, she looked at her body. Well, she wasn't naked, so that was a good thing. Right? But then she noticed she was in her own night clothes.

"If someone took me, how come i'm in my own pj's?" she thought, dragging the cover back up to her chest "Just where am i?"

As if on cue, the door to the room opened softly. A figure clad in dark clothing walked quietly over to her. Their features hidden by the darkness of the room, but something was familiar about them. The way they walked and held themselves. A voice was screaming in the back of her mind, telling her to get as far away as possible but she couldn't find the energy to move. Her joints locked in place, and her body altogether seemed to freeze up.

"Great time to get the gitters!!" she thought sarcastically.

As the figure came closer, their voice rumbled through the air. Her heart skipped a beat as the voice floated into her pointy tipped ears. She knew that voice!

"Your awake then?" it asked, stepping slightly out of the darkness to reveal its self.

"Onii-chan?!" cried Karin, letting go of the breath she didn't know she was holding "W-w-what are you doing here?!"

Ren scoffed and folded his arms across his chest. His face holding the usual emotions of extreme bordom. One eyebrow quirked up, and a smug twitch of his lips gave the impression he intended.

"What? Can't i come into my own bedroom now then?"

Karin tilted her head in confusion. His bedroom? It couldn't be. There was no coffin, and certainly none of the things she imagined he would harbour in his room. And if this was indeed his room that would mean she was in his bed. Sending him a questioning look, she was not happy when he returned it with a look of emusement and aggitaion. A look that clearly said 'Yer that's right. Your in MY bed.'. Her face flushed a vibrant pink and she practically leaped from the bed, although regretting it afterwards. Her head span and her vision blurred. Falling forward she was surprised when Ren reached out and grabbed her just before her face made contact with the floor.

"You need to be carefull. You're still recovering." he said, his voice soft and gentle.

"Huh?" she breathed out "Okay who is he and what has he done with the real Ren?" she thought it best not to say that aloud, just incase he decided to drop her deliberatly.

Picking her up bridal style, he gently placed her back in his bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. Although his face held no emotion, his eyes were betraying him deeply. His golden swirls were a mix of worry, sadness but a tinge of anger. Looking up at him with a confused gaze, she tried speaking but he put his fingers on her lips.

"Don't speak. Just rest, 'kay?" he said then moved to leave.

"Onii-chan..." she squeaked, as though she was forcing herself to speak "Why am i in your room?"

Ren sighed and returned to her side. Sitting at the end of his bed, he then leaned in closer towards her and poked her in the nose, causing her eyes to cross as she watched him do so. Keeping his finger attached to her daintly nose he spoke.

"Because, you are." he said, matter of factly.

"Huh? Like that makes any sense!" she replied.

Groaning, Ren slapped his hand to his forehead and dragged it down slowly in an overly dramatic way. Mummbling something about how she was utterly stupid and lucky at the same timehe then sighed and dropped his hand. All the while Karin held an expression of complete confusion and embarressment. She had a cute blush on her cheeks and bridge of her nose that, to anyone else, would have portrayed the begining of her 'Blood Increase'. But almost sixteen years of embarressing your younger sibling, you learn to tell the difference.

"Look, i don't have time to explain now, but i'm gonna say one thing and say it once, 'kay? So listen." he paused waiting for her to answer, which came in the form of a curt nod "You. Are. Not. To. Leave. This. Room." he ordered, saying each word with emphasis.

Karin went to speak but was silenced by his hand. Standing and brushing the creases out of his clothes, Ren then walked to the door. Just as he was about to cose the door behind him he spoke, so softly that Karin almost missed it.

"Just....Be carefull, will ya?"

Once again alone, Karin held her hand to her chest weakly. What was that all about? And why was Ren being nice to her? For so long now she had always thought that Anju was his favourite sister, well he seemed to act as though she was. Maybe he was doing this so that she would have to repay him and he would take advantage of her?! That had to be the reason, as Ren never cared for anyone but himself and only sometimes Anju.

"Oh and that time when i was with Usui-kun....But i bet that was just cause Anju was with me." she thought, then sighed at the memory.

It was that day that Usui found out about her secret. About her being a vampire. She was so scared at first, and she could have sworn he would turn her into the science labs so that they could conduct tests and experiments on her and her family. But she had been so wrong. Instead he kept their secret, and even helped her in her times of need. He even went so far as to let her bite him so that she wouldn't have to bite anyone else again. Her blush brightened as she thought about biting him. She could remember that time at the lake, the first time she had bit him. The way his arms wrapped around her holding her tight against himself. On that day she was positive she had died and gone to heaven. Squealing in embbaressment, again regretting the quick movements.

"Usui..." she thought, sadly "I wonder what he's doing? I haven'tseen him in ages....I wonder if he's worried or not?"

The cold night air slowly crept up the back of his neck. He knew he should get a new coat, but with money being as tight as it was he just couldn't afford it. This weeks salary would allow them an hour or so of heating, and maybe a bit of food shopping, but nothing more. And to top it off, this months bills were due in a couple of days. It looked like he would have to get another job. Anything would do, he'd clean toilets if it meant a decent wage. Sighing he gazed up at the moon. For sometime now, he was sure the usual white orb had more of a pinkish glow. And with each day that had past so far this week, the glow was getting slightly darker, turning more red than pink.

"I wonder if Maaka-san's alright........It's been a while since i last saw her." Usui thought.

In fact, it had been over a while since he last saw her. Their last proper encounter had been a couple of days after the 'ritual'. Thinking back to what happened, his cheeks flushed cutely. Never before had he been so scared. The thought of loosing Karin was almost to much to bear. Since the first time he met her, that ever fate full day on his first day of transferring, he couldn't get her out of his mind. She was a mystery to him and he silently pledged he would figure her out.

"I should really check on her. It's not like her to stay off for this long."

Walking once more, now in the direction of the Maaka house hold, Usui couldn't shrug off the feeling he was being watched. The tiny hairs on the back of his neck rose and a shiver ran down his spine. Pulling hard at the collar of his jacket, he pressed on.

A light knock at the door alerted Anju to the visitor. Without consent, the wooden door opened slowly, creaking as it did so.

"Anju." came a voice.

"What is it, Ren Nii-san?" she replied.

"We need to talk."

Outside, bats took flight covering the sky while their shadows danced upon the ancient house.