Dio jumped to his feet immediately, pushing Arisu behind him. "What do you mean she doesn't belong to us?! She's our daughter and I won't let you take her away!"

"Your daughter?" Kuro asked, his eyes cold and judgmental. "She isn't your daughter. She killed her real parents. Didn't she just get through with that story? I was listening in. So you should know that I have to take her away now no matter if you like it or not."

I stepped up beside Dio, shielding Arisu as well. "Dio's right!" I growled at him. "She is ours now. We took her in, we saved her when she could've died. We've protected her all these years. We loved her. You can't just waltz in and snatch her away. There's no way we'd let you do that. We're a family now. And even if it's fake, I'm the mom, Dio's the dad, and Arisu's our beloved daughter."

"Touching speech," snorted Kuro, rolling his eyes at me. "Now Arisu, will you step forward already. I wouldn't want to have to go and take you by force."

Arisu stared down at her feet, her hands clenched into fists. She looked confused. She didn't know who to listen to.

"If you want a fight, then let's fight!" Dio challenged. "If beating you is what it takes to keep Arisu by my side, then so be it!"

"Do you have a death wish?" Kuro asked in all seriousness. "No one has ever been so idiotic as to challenge me. It means certain death."

"That's what you think!"

Dio ran at Kuro, fists raised. As he went in for a punch, Kuro cooly moved to the left, dodging him with ease. Kuro wore a bored expression, as if this were all too easy. I knew that Dio was strong, but something told me he wouldn't win this particular fight.

Dio turned around and tried another attack, kicking at Kuro in an attempt to knock him off his feet. Kuro jumped, Dio's kick missing. Kuro then tried kicking at Dio himself, landing smack in the middle of Dio's stomach. Kuro smirked and his hands lit up with black fire. Arisu's eyes widened in fear.

She pushed me out of the way and bounded forward. She sprang out, throwing her body in the path of Kuro's fire. Arisu let out a heart-wrenching scream as the fire smoldered her body. Kuro swore under his breath and walked to Arisu, taking her in his arms. He whispered some sort of enchantment and the fire stopped, Arisu's skin starting to heal right before my eyes.

Kuro glared at Dio. "Look what you did. If you hadn't gotten in my way, that wouldn't have happened." Kuro's hand lit up again, but Arisu grabbed his wrist and his flames went out. He faced Arisu, staring at her in confusion.

"Don't hurt them," she begged. "Please don't hurt my mom and dad. I'll do whatever you ask, just please...they've suffered enough. We all have. There are enough open wounds as is. And they're just starting to heal again…"

"I never expected you to trust in human beings again," Kuro stated. "What's so special about them? I've seen over the years how happy they've made you. But...why?"

"I didn't think I'd ever love again either," admitted Arisu. "But...they were willing to help me. Even though I was strange, they weren't afraid of me. And they helped me escape that mansion. They said they loved me. We bonded. They were always there for me and you weren't. I remembered how you said you'd always watch over me. So why then? Why didn't yousave me when I was being tortured? When I was stabbed, mauled, and used for scientific experiments?!"

"I wanted you to gain more and more hatred for humans," Kuro explained to her. "I wanted you to hate them as much as possible, I wanted your trust towards them to be eradicated. And then...I could be all you needed."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Arisu, pushing her way out of his arms. "You said you wanted me, but what does that mean? That you...love me? How could someone like you love? How'd you fall in love with me if I was just five then?!"

"Even a creature such as I seeks accompaniment," Kuro sighed. "You saw that with Ogre, yes? And like you, I have a unique ability. I could see certain bits and pieces of the future. I saw the beautiful woman you'd become and I wanted you to be by my side. I never saw these two in your future, however."

Arisu's P.O.V.

"Then what did you see in my future?" I spat at him.

"At first, I saw you with me. I saw you falling for me like I'd wanted, relying on me since you couldn't rely on humans. Now I see how the future can change. But I won't allow it to change. Follow me or I'll eradicate these two whom you call your parents."

I jumped to my feet. "You stay away from them!"

He rose up as well, an evil smile lining his face. He knew that he had me under his thumb. I heard it in his thoughts. "Then you'll come with me?"

My heart started pounding. The place he was thinking of...he planned on taking me to an isolated world where it would only be me and him. I'd never see anyone again. That horrified me. If I was afraid of anything besides the death of others and myself, it was being all alone. Not that I'd be completely alone with Kuro there, but I still had no desire to be trapped with him. What choice did I have though? I knew how powerful he was. He could destroy them in a second, leaving no traces behind.

"You swear you'll never hurt them?" I asked.

"Of course." Did he forget I was listening in on his thoughts?

"You're lying."

Kuro's smile faded. "That gift of yours is a bit troublesome. Fine. I swear I won't hurt either Aya or Dio...as long as they don't attempt to steal you away from me."

I turned around, facing my parents. They looked panicked, angry, and hurt. I could hear from dad's thoughts that he wanted to kill Kuro. And I heard the despair within Aya. 'We can never be happy without you,' she thought. And it broke my heart. Why? Dio had just proposed. The chaos had finally winded down. Why had I ever made that stupid agreement.

"Can I say good-bye to them first?" I asked, my voice coming out a whisper. I meant to ask it more firmly. If I sounded stronger, maybe he'd listen to me.

Kuro looked thoughtful. Yes and no ran through his head and I was earnestly surprised when he answered, "I suppose. Make it quick though. I have no desire to stay in this wretched world any longer. And don't think about running away from me. You'll regret that."

I gulped and nodded, walking slowly over to my parents. Mom was about to burst out into tears of frustration and Dad was about to punch through the wall. They knew they couldn't do anything for me. And what they hated the most was not being able to help someone in need.

Mom made a sort of whimpering noise and pulled me into her arms, squeezing the life out of me. I could sense she was about to cry.

"Don't cry," I pleaded. "If you cry, then I will and it will only make things harder."

"Why do you always have to sound so grown up?" she whined. "I should be the one giving you advice. I'm sorry, Arisu. I failed you. I can't help you even though I desperately want to. I love you so much. If you leave us...I don't know what I'll do…"

"Don't worry about me."

"Isn't it my job to worry?!" she protested.

"I'll kill him," dad hissed. "I'll kill that bastard. He can't just take you away from us. I'd rather die than let him have you."

"Don't talk too loud," I begged him. "If he hears you, you really will die."

Dad lowered his face, but continued to talk. "I willkill him. I promise I'll rescue you somehow. He can't expect us to forget about you. I promise we'll come back for you, Arisu. Don't you ever believe that we've forgotten you."

I felt tears pricking at my eyes and I knew had to leave before I broke down. "I love you, Aya. I love you, Dio. Mom and dad...I won't forget you either. And even if we don't see each other again, your faces will forever be engraved in my hearts."

I heard a whine escape from om and I quickly turned around. Don't look back. Don't look back. Dammit! Why'd I look back?! My heart sank as saw my mom start bawling, more than she had ever before. I never thought that'd be possible. Even dad was crying although he seemed so strong-willed. His tears were hot with rage.

I quickly spun back around and put my hand over my mouth. Don't cry. Don't cry. Dammit! Why don't I listen to myself? Kuro frowned as he saw my tears. I whimpered, but I couldn't be heard over my mom. Her loud tears rang in my ears and I wanted to run back and hug her, but if I did, I'd never be able to abandon them.

Kuro extended his hand to me and I took it nervously. Before we left, he snapped his fingers, and I knew he'd cast a spell of some sort. Suddenly, we were in a new world. And as I stared across the vast horizon of nothingness, I felt truly empty and alone.

"What did you do?" I questioned him.

"What do you mean?" he asked, playing innocent.

"You know you can't lie to me," I hissed. "I can hear you chuckling mentally. What did you do to my mom and dad?!"

"I didn't break our promise," he informed me. "However, you never said I wasn't allowed to erase their memories of you."

My heart shattered. I released his hand and fell to my knees. "No...you didn't...so...they won't remember me?"

"That's what I just said. I thought it would be easier on them if they just forgot you all together. It makes it easier for me too. Now they won't try and search for you. Not that any average human can enter my domain anyhow."

I didn't want to cry in front of him, but I couldn't help it. I started sobbing, screaming at the top of my lungs. "I hate you! I hate you! I HATE you! How could you do that? Even if we were a thousand miles apart, I wanted them to keep me in their hearts. Now...they'll just move on without me. They'll just think I never existed? That it was just them who faced Alfred and Ogre? They'll think they were alone all that time? Why would you do that? I don't want to be forgotten…"

I released a sound completely unfamiliar to me. It was a cry of longing, loneliness. My own parents wouldn't remember my face anymore? They wouldn't remember the times we'd laugh together? Cried? Fought for each other? They wouldn't remember the countless times I'd expressed how much I loved them. I never existed…

"I don't see why these hurt you so deeply," Kuro said heartlessly. "If you'll never meet again, then why leave them broken hearted? This was the best option. I promised I wouldn't hurt them as long as they didn't look for you. Now they won't be hurt and they'll leave us be. Now please, Arisu, stop crying. It pains me to see you this way. And you hate me? I don't think-"

"-I do hate you!" I screamed at him, biting the hand he'd offered to me. I sprang to me feet and started running.

I knew I couldn't go anywhere. I knew he'd catch up and contain me, but I needed to release these feelings. It felt good to run, although painful. I don't know how long I'd been running, but it felt like hours. My feet burned, I could barely see out of my blurred eyes, and my lungs were crumpling up, begging for air. Eventually, I couldn't run anymore and I collapsed.

I moaned and pulling my legs to my chest, hugging them tightly. I panted, trying not to hyperventilate as tears began spewing out again. Soon, I didn't have any energy left, and I dropped my legs, my arms shaking too much to hold them.

"Do you feel better now?" asked Kuro, staring at me impatiently.

I didn't respond.

He sighed. "Even if you hate me, I don't care, because I care for you greatly Arisu. It broke my heart when I saw you, a poor little girl's spirit mourning her own death. I wanted to help you and hold you. I decided to use my power to create new life for you. And this is how you repay me? You're acting like a child. A deal is a deal and you belong to me now. I honestly love you, Arisu. I hope you'll come to realize that."

"If you love me, then why are you hurting me like this? This feeling is worse than the feeling of my own mother driving a knife into my flesh. It hurts so much more. I remember what Aya once said. How love was the strongest tool in the world. That it could make you whole or rip you apart. And now I'm being ripped apart. If you're going to kidnap me like this and ruin my happiness, then I'll resist you with all I've got. Then, you can experience the pain I'm feeling...mommy...daddy...even if you won't think of me again, I'll always be thinking of you. I'll carry your will within me and fight him…"

Kuro hissed and snapped his fingers. I found myself within a large cage. I laughed weakly.

"What's so funny?" he snapped, irritated that I wasn't doing what he wanted.

"Oh, just thinking how your words don't match your actions at all. A cage. Yup. Everyone imprisons the one they love. It's only logical. Note my sarcasm. Being caged...I don't mind it much right now. It'll just remind me to continue fighting. So that someday, I can escape."

"I won't allow that to happen."

"You can't stop me. Even if I can't get out of the cage, there are other ways to "escape." For example, if I were to die…"

"You can't die here," said Kuro, a smile forming on his face. My eyes widened. I hadn't expected that. "The deal you made with me said you'd be mine for eternity. I did mean eternity. In this world, you become immortal. How do you plan to fight me now? It would be in your best interest to cooperate with me. I'm the only person you'll ever talk to again."

"You're still wrong," I said with a smile. "I shouldn't lose faith in mom and dad so quickly. No spell of yours could ever stop them. A bond like ours is branded on the heart forever. Even if you've scrambled their minds, their hearts will reach out to mine. And then they'll find me and you'll be in trouble."

"But I also said I'd kill them if they searched for you."

"Then maybe they won't be searching for me. Who they're really after might be you. They won't forgive you for doing this.

"That is, ifthey remember," chuckled Kuro. "And don't get so mouthy with me. I have powers you couldn't imagine. If you don't willingly fulfill our promise, I have other methods of making you mine, darling."

I glared at him and crawled to the back of the cage. I wanted as much distance between us as possible.

"I'll never let you beat me!" I shouted. "Mom, dad, and I...we never lose. Never!Use whatever magic on me you want, but I won't let you take advantage of me!"

"Go to sleep," he ordered, snapping his fingers. It felt like a heavy blanket loomed over me. I couldn't keep my eyes open. Damn you, Kuro. "Maybe you'll be less orneryafter you rest for a while. I hope you'll behave yourself in the morning...it'd be to your benefit…"

"Curse you, Kuro…" I managed to snarl before falling into a magic-induced sleep.