Hey, guys, I'm back! I changed a few things as you can see (the title and the summary) and I want to explain a few things before getting to the actual chapter, hehe.

So I was thinking a lot about a few things and encountered a few problems. My original plan was to let Masami live with the Mukamis (she also being a Mukami). BUT her living with them for such a long time would have had a huge influence on their behavior. I felt like they would end up to be too OOC, just because she's with them (get it? I can't really explain it). That's why I changed the summary and my plot (kinda). Masami will still meet the Mukamis (really really soon, btw), but they haven't seen each other since the day of their escape (spoiler?). I did this, so that the sadistic side of the personalities would still be there and that they're more like what they are in the game (aka the lovable sadistic bastards we all fell in love with).

Also, thank you for the reviews! I really appreciate it and just to make something clear (to avoid any confusion):

- I know the overall story line and I have completed a few of the routes and read most routes through. - basically, this potato knows what she's writing about, so no worries about that (though I don't know a lot about those two new guys... glasses and an eyepatch...why)

- I'll try to stay canon, but I'll change things for my own plot, so I won't be following the original plot (sorry, I guess?). OF COURSE I won't be changing any personalities, I'll try to keep them in character (which is hard bc there are so many characters ;_;)

- I did the sugar cubes thing on purpose! For later...

I think that was it? At any rate, here's the first chapter that's set in the present!

Chapter 4:

→ The Hat

Tired.

My muscles ache, I'm out of breath. I can't go on.

I'm too weak, too worn out.

"Keep running."

Do as you were told.

Do not disappoint them. Survive.

Keep running.

Keep running.

Keep running.

A cool spring breeze made its way through the window of a small room. It was a typical April evening; the sun peeking over the horizon, making that the deep orange tones in the sky would only fade slowly and the cherry trees had not yet bloomed.

It was around nine in the evening. Masami slowly dragged herself out of bed, half an hour after her alarm had forcefully woken her up. She sluggishly walked past the mirror, catching only a glimpse of what she looked like.

A walking corpse would be a fitting description, thought Masami. She looked like her hair was ran over by a tornado and those dark, purple bags under her eyes didn't make her look any better.

Lack of sleep. Again.

"This is going to be such a pleasant day," said Masami to herself while walking towards her suitcase besides the bed. As she was just about to take out her uniform, she heard a loud knock on the door of her hotel room. There was a short silence after the knock, but that silence was soon followed by an infinite amount of tumultuous knocks. Lazily Masami walked towards the door, fully aware of who this impatient person was. She had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes as usual.

"Why so early..." mumbled Masami before opening the door.

"Well, that took you a long time," A purple-haired girl barged in, already dressed and ready to go. The girl, a head shorter than Masami, jumped towards her and poked her nose. "Didn't you hear me? Are you still sleeping, perhaps?"

"No, I'm awake. You're just really, really noisy," barked Masami back, a bit harsher than she actually intended.

"Ah, I see. Didn't sleep well, huh?"

"No, I'm fine."

"But you look like shit." The girl gave her that typical nonchalant laugh, obviously trying to get on Masami's nerves.

"Thank you. I'll remember to bring my trashcan along next time," Masami said in an overly sarcastic voice and a dead expression. Was this how her morning had to start? Masami was so exhausted, she could possibly sell her soul for a good night of rest. Even a few hours would suffice.

"Calm down, I'm just teasing. Besides, thank you for coming with me. I really appreciate it, Masami-chan." The sentence had started with that typical frivolous voice, but the 'thank you' had a rare sincerity to it, something Masami only rarely heard from this girl. Masami's annoyance slightly dropped.

"Don't worry, it's the least I could do for you." Masami rubbed her chin as she walked back to her suitcase and picked up a neatly folded uniform along with a towel.

"Oh, yeah! When I asked you if you wanted to come along, I thought I had to bribe you into it, but thank god I didn't have to," said the girl in her typical mocking voice. "Bribing just doesn't work on you and your stubborn-ass personality."

Masami responded with a weak smile. The only reason why she agreed to go in the first place, was just to get her off her back and to do something back for her. She had done so much for her, this was the least she could do to repay her.

The girl, who had dropped herself on Masami's bed, pointed at the uniform in Masami's hands. "Cute isn't it? A bit too cute to my taste, though..."

"It's okay, I guess..." said Masami, inspecting the uniform in her hands before glancing at the purple-head. "Hmmm, you're not wearing the bows."

"Of course not. Why would I, Masami-chan? It's such a bother," laughed the girl back as she fixed the collar of her shirt. Her shirt was open, showing off some cleavage, it barely being on the edge of 'school appropriate'. Furthermore, the shirt was only partly tucked in her skirt and her jacket tied around her waist.

Fashion these days... It was something Masami had to catch up on.

Or not.

Masami smiled as she looked at the girl's look. "Guess that it wouldn't be you if you wore those innocent little bows... since you're everything but cute and innocent."

"Awh, Masami that hurt. That hurt right here." The girl pouted and dramatically placed her hand on her heart.

Masami stuck out her tongue and walked towards the bathroom, since she hadn't showered yet and she really wanted to freshen up. No, she really needed to freshen up. Didn't you have to make a good impression on your first day? Not that she cared, but she did pity those who had to see her in this condition.

"Well, you just go take a shower and I'll wait for you in the lobby, okay?" said the girl after getting up. She stretched her arms and yawned loudly, before walking towards Masami. And then, out of nowhere, the girl punched Masami on the shoulder with her fist. The pain shot through Masami's shoulder in a fraction of a second.

Strength like that should be illegal, dammit!

"What was that for?!" yelled Masami, jerking back and placing a hand on the attacked shoulder.

"For not coming to me when you have nightmares all night long. You can't keep quiet about things like that, and certainly not to me. You should trust me."

"Nightmares? I don't have nightmares. You should stop worrying about me, really."

"Liar, liar pants on fire... You know, you always want to shoulder the burden on your own. It will crush you, sooner or later. Just tell me when something is bothering you, alright? I always tell you everything, so it's only natural for me to ask you to open up to me."

These damn lectures again. And burden... Pffft, what did that even mean?

Masami let out a deep sigh. Of course, she didn't agree with anything she said and didn't feel like she had done anything wrong in the first place. But being too tired to go into a never ending discussion, she decided to agree with whatever she said. "Alright, I'll give it my best shot."

Revenge for the punch would come later.

"That's my little sister! Now get ready, weren't you the one who really wanted to go to school?"

"Oh right, damn," groaned Masami. She ran towards the bathroom with her clothes and closed the door behind her, leaving the purple head alone in the hotel room.

"See you downstairs, Masami-chan~" sang the girl.

"See you, Ayano."

Masami got out of the taxi that had brought them to school. It hadn't been a long ride, since the school was pretty close to the city, where the hotel was located. The first thing Masami noticed were the chatting groups of kids in front of the school. They seemed to talk about their weekend and were laughing as they walked towards the school.

It looks like they're having fun. Must be nice. Masami felt a bit curious now.

Only a little bit, though.

"Nice building," said Ayano when she got out of the car and placed her arm around Masami's shoulder. The sight was ridiculous: a shorter girl putting an arm around a tall one. But it was something Masami had gotten used to, this was just Ayano's weird way of showing affection.

Masami looked up at the building. Her jaw dropped slightly. "Is this supposed to be a school?" Masami said skeptically. This school did not look like one of those school she had seen on TV. "It looks like a fucking castle."

"Darling, mind your language," said Ayano while shaking her head in a disapproving way and a small grin on her face. "This is a school for wealthy children, so naturally, it's a bit bigger than other schools, little girl."

Masami continued to gape at the enormous building. It looked old and had a historic feel to it. She didn't like that feeling at all. The building gave her bad vibes, she felt them right in her gut.

"Let's go! ~" sang Ayano, getting Masami out of her trail of thoughts.

"Getting education...From actual teachers. Should be...Fun," mumbled Masami, trying not to look at the colossal building.

"Hey, I also taught you many things!" sounded the offended voice of Ayano.

"Yes, but teachers actually know what they're talking about," said Masami who was trying not to smirk at her kick-ass comeback.

Only with Ayano, Masami would let her guard down and open up. Masami was very aware of the fact that she wasn't a joy to be around and enjoyed the fact that she lived a life in the shadow of her extravagant friend.

That was how it's supposed to be.

Masami usually kept herself a bit more on the background whenever there where strangers around, or just around people in general. Ayano was more confident and tactful when it came to talking to others. Some might say that Ayano's a manipulator at heart, but Masami didn't think of her that way. Ayano was just good with words and just appeared to be a bit more charismatic to others. That's how people fell in love with Ayano. Because, honestly, who didn't? She was confident, smart, strong and on top of that: attractive. She had all the keys to success and was very aware of that. Ayano, oblivious? Biggest joke of the year, if you had to ask Masami.

Furthermore, Ayano made good use of her ability to understand how others think, understand how others feel and what others desire. She knew how a human mind works and knew all the mysteries it contains. She knew how to win their hearts, how to charm her way into their minds.

Masami sometimes felt enormous amounts of envy towards Ayano. Ayano was everything Masami once dreamed to be. Masami had always looked up to Ayano, and still did. And yet, she couldn't be anything like her. She wasn't confident, she wasn't smart or charismatic. She wasn't able to live life at its fullest like Ayano did.

But that didn't matter. Things were fine the way they were. Masami didn't feel like she deserved the kind of attention that Ayano always got. Masami didn't desire that at all, she truly wanted her friend – no her sister, to get as much attention and appreciation, since she actually deserved it.

The only thing Masami wanted was to be strong and to find something, even though she wasn't sure what.

There had always been a gaping hole inside her, a hole she desperately wanted to fill. If only she knew with what.

"Ah, yes. We were supposed to go to school here."

"Hmm?"

"We're registered, I'm sure of it. Oh, our deepest apologies for the two weeks of absence. Our flight had been delayed and we had some trouble with getting new tickets and such," said Ayano to a vile looking woman at the reception of the school. Masami stood beside her, trying to listen to the boring conversation. You could tell by Masami's expression that she wasn't trying that hard to keep up with their talk.

"Let me take a look," said the woman, looking at them with a distrusting face. She disappeared behind a large computer screen.

"Little miss sunshine, if you ask me," whispered Ayano to Masami, who tried her best to hide her snickering.

"I see. You girls must be Sato Ayano and Sato Masami." The woman, who had turned back to them, took out some papers from a file. "Here are your schedules and the school rules. We expect nothing more than impeccable behavior, understood?"

"Thank you very much, and yes we will not cause any trouble." Ayano took the papers and handed Masami her schedule.

Masami quickly compared her schedule to Ayano's. "Huh? We're not in the same class?"

"Is there a problem?"

"Eh... Yes, actually there is a problem. I want to know why we're not in the same class."

"That's just how it is, there is no particular reason for that. It cannot be changed," bit the woman back.

"We understand. Thank you for your time and again, sorry for the trouble," said Ayano quickly, with a sugar sweet smile.

The woman closed her eyes slightly and waved with her hand. "You can go to your classes now, you don't want to be late."

"Okay!~" Ayano grabbed Masami by her arm and was about to skip away.

"Wait a second."

"Oh?" Ayano turned around.

"We have a dress code, so we expect young ladies like yourself to dress appropriately. You got that, missy?"

"Okay, miss! I'll try to pay attention to the dress code."

She won't.

Masami and Ayano then left.

"What a hag."

"Tell me about it." Masami smiled and took a closer look to her schedule. Her smile dropped like a brick. She started with math. Great. Couldn't be better. She didn't know any math, let alone any other exact sciences, or any sciences at all.

"Oh, come on! Brighten up. You look like one of those zombies from that movie we saw a few weeks ago. Really ugly. Not to mention cranky and dead as hell." Ayano gave Masami a light push.

"Yeah, yeah, you made your point, but –"

"But what?"

"But being in a room without my trusty, annoying sister... How will I ever survive that?"

"So cute!" Ayano pinched Masami's cheek and gave her a cocky smile. "You're actually going to miss me!"

"Don't count on it, missy," said Masami and grinned as she used the word that the vile woman from the reception had used to address Ayano.

"Oh, stop it you."

"Now, we should probably go, before some other witch sees what you're wearing. They've got their eyes on you and your great sense of fashion. Beware, Ayano."

"It's only 10 in the evening, Masami-chan! Take a break!" said Ayano rather dramatically just when a group of girls passed them.

"We really have to go now, everyone is already heading to their classes," replied Masami, completely ignoring Ayano's little drama act.

"Fine, fine. See you during lunch okay? Just text me where you are."

Masami nodded and perused to go to her class. When already at the end of the hall she heard a shrill voice.

Oh god.

"Masami-chan!"

"What?"

"Don't skip any classes okay? Be a good girl! ~"

"You better behave, Ayano!" yelled Masami back before leaving the hallway.

What a way to start your day.

"Okay, class. We have a new student here. Please introduce yourself."

Okay, now come up with one hell of an amazing introduction.

"Hello, I'm Sato Masami. Nice to meet you. Please take good care of me."

Nailed it.

The teacher, a 40-year-old bald male, nodded. "There's a free seat somewhere in the back," said the teacher. "You can go and take your seat."

Masami nodded and walked towards her seat in the back. She tried not to look stressed or nervous, but that was harder than she thought it would be. Especially when 24 students stared at her while doing so.

Stay cool.

Chill.

Masami took her seat and sighed mentally. She was not seated by the window, but somewhere in the middle of the classroom, in the back and in between two girls. Worst place to sit, if you had to ask her. She wanted to sit next to the damn window and these girls looked like a couple of spoiled brats. Okay, no she took that back. One of the girls gave her a tiny, yet very friendly smile.

This girl. I approve of her.

But the worst thing was the guy in front of her. He was wearing a HAT in class (was that even allowed? Another one who didn't follow the damn dress code!). And it wasn't just a hat, no, it was some weird-ass fedora. He totally blocked her sight with that damn hat! She couldn't see half the blackboard. But that wasn't the worst thing about him. The worst thing was the fact that he was currently staring at Masami with strangely familiar eyes and an even more familiar suave smile.

Masami felt like punching him in the face. Her intuition told her to do so.

But, as the good girl Masami was, she decided to ignore him and to wait until he turned around. Which took a VERY long time. It was like he was inspecting her, his eyes sliding over her as if she was some piece of meat. Great. And then he had the audacity to give her a creepy giggle, before finally turning around.

Masami felt enormous amounts of regret. She could have been in the hotel, watching TV or exploring the city, but no, she just had to agree to accompany her bratty sister to school. The pain and regret was too real.

Too real.

So the rest of the lesson went pretty normal. Masami couldn't follow at all, but still took some notes, as the fantastic student she was. Well, the only reason she did that was to prevent herself from driving a crayon through Fedora's skull. He was leaning behind, with both his elbows resting on Masami's desk. Her annoyance rose with the speed of light. This guy was able to piss her of in such a subtle way without even saying a word. Bravo.

This guy was obviously a professional.

After class the glorious sound of the school bell went off. Everyone stood up, ready for a short break. Masami was ready to spurt her way out of this doomed classroom, but no.

He was blocking her way.

"Ah, a cute vampire girl? What an absolute joy, fufu," said Fedora with a chuckle. A CHUCKLE. Who the hell chuckled these days?!

Masami's face was blank, she was literally using all her power to not scrunch her face up. He knew she was a vampire? How?

Ah, and then it hit her. He was a vampire too. Masami mentally slapped herself on the forehead. How could she not notice something like that? She was a freaking vampire! How could she look over the fact that another vampire sat with her in the same room. Masami blamed her restless night.

"...Okay," said Masami. Keeping quiet had only made him come closer, so saying something was the best option. "I have no idea what you're talking about. By the way, you got something on your hat."

"A-re~?"

And with that Masami took her chance to escape by changing her direction and speeding her way towards the door. This was probably one of her most childish actions ever.

But it worked, she had successfully left the classroom.

And then she saw Fedora standing in front of her.

Again.

With that damn smile on his –let's be honest here– handsome face.

Masami groaned. This guy could teleport. Why couldn't she do that? Damn her lack of cool abilities.

"Ah, so trying to play with me? If you want to play, then you should have asked, fufu~" Fedora held the tip of his hat and gave her a seductive wink.

Well, this was... awkward. Was he trying to hit on her? Masami couldn't tell if he was serious or not. He looked like he was teasing her, very much like a certain girl she had to live with.

Oh, that was it.

Masami knew who this person reminded her of. His eyes were just like Ayano's. Actually, his overall attitude and that (damn!) smirk reminded Masami of Ayano.

Weird.

But at this very moment, thinking of a sharp and witty answer to this seductive bastard's 'subtle' way of flirting was her main priority.

But, of course, her phone went off, interrupting her thinking process.

After reaching for the device, Masami felt slightly relieved when seeing the name on the screen and quickly skimmed though the text message.

From: best sister in the WORLD (the person in question had picked the name herself, tsk, tsk)

Where are you? I'm waiting for you in the entrance hall ~

Okay need to text back, this is obviously an emergency.

To: best sister in the WORLD

Come to me right now

I'm in front of my classroom

there's another vampire

he is wearing a fucking FEDORA

this is an emergency

sos

Good, that should do it. A bit relieved, Masami looked up, her gaze back on the guy and she had almost jerked back. This guy, this fedora-wearing ASS, just stood there, his face literally an inch away from her own. Their noses almost touched.

ALMOST.

Talking about personal space. He didn't know what that was, didn't he?

"What the – Don't invade my personal space!" was what Masami really wanted to yell, but being the master in the arts of controlling her own emotions, she just stared at him with a deadpan look on her face. But that didn't take away the fact that she really, really wanted to kick him in the balls. The urge was strong. But she had to control herself. He was annoying her on purpose and most likely expecting some spectacular reaction, like seeing her blush – something that wouldn't happen in a million years.

And just like she thought, he looked somewhat dissatisfied with her reaction.

Good.

But the situation hadn't changed.

Currently, they were staring in each other's eyes. Not the romantic kind, though.

The silence was getting too long. She had to say something. Get herself out of this overly awkward situation.

"I would love to stay, but I have to meet with someone right now." Masami took a step to the right, still not breaking the eye-contact. No way was she going to lose this round. "Bye." Masami finally broke the eye-contact and turned around, ready to leave.

"Ah, leaving so soon already? How disappointing, slut-chan."

What. What did he just call her?

He.

Didn't.

Dare.

"What did you just call me, you prick?"

"Fufu, did I break through your shield? Angry, slut-chan?"

Without thinking, Masami grabbed Fedora by his tie.

"What did you call me again?"

This was definitely not going according to plan.

Bye, bye, self-control.

Fedora only gave her that giggle. Was he mocking her? He better not do that. For his own sake.

"What a good face... Already inviting me in, don't you?"

That was it.

This was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Just when Masami was about to jam her fist into his stomach, she heard the familiar voice of her female companion.

"Masami-chan! It's the first day of school, stop flirting around. How dare you keep me waiting like that, you bastard."

Masami had never been happier to see Ayano. Finally, the purple-head had arrived.

"You were the one who kept me waiting!" Masami let go of Fedora's tie and angrily walked towards Ayano who stood a few meters away.

"Hmmm, who got you so angry? I rarely see you in this shameful condition, darling."

"Doesn't matter, let's go. I need some fresh air."

"Are? ~" Ayano moved Masami away from her and set her gaze on Fedora, who stood there, completely perplex. It was as if he was seeing someone completely different, as if he recognized Ayano from somewhere.

Again, Masami was completely confused.

"What? Is there something?" Masami moved in front of Ayano, intentionally blocking the view of the short girl.

"Ah, nothing. Let's go!" sounded Ayano's smooth voice. Quickly, she put her arm around Masami's and then, as usual, Ayano dragged Masami away, leaving the fedora-wearing bastard behind.

"So they're all here..."

"Who?"

"The Sakamakis."

I hope I grasped Laito's personality a bit? Please tell me if I didn't or if I could do better! Anyway, no Mukamis yet (SORRY). They'll come...SOON.

And yes Ayano's still here. The purpose of this chapter? I just really wanted to show you what kind of a relationship Masami and Ayano have and how they both act when they're with each other and how they act with strangers (lady at the reception, Laito for Masami). I think it's better to already make a few things clear in this chapter, just to avoid confusion in later chapters.

The little "angst" piece in the beginning is a snippet of Masami's nightmare.

OTHER

• Thoughts on this chapter?

• Very important: is the pacing okay? If I need to go a bit faster, then please tell me. I always tend to take things too slow (oops).

• The girl who gave Masami a friendly smile... Guess who that was (Hint: name ends with ui, starts with a y)

• So I wanted to ask you guys this last time, but I totally forgot about it. Who's your favorite Sakamaki and Mukami? And who's your ultimate favorite?

REVIEWS, FOLLOWS AND FAVORITES ARE APPRECIATED

If you have questions, feel free to ask me anything (or advise, or complaints, or you know anything!)