I jolted awake at the grinding pain in my leg. Cold sweat broke out on my forehead as I lifted my head up gasping for breath. "What... what the hell is going on?" I managed to ask between pained breaths.

"Hold still," a voice said, "I'm resetting your ankle."

There was a sickening crack that sent me screaming and thrashing against whatever the hell it was holding me down. When I found that I couldn't move, I craned my head back and tried to stifle back the painful groans. I whipped my head from side to side, yelling, "FUCK!"

"Stop moving! I can't get it straight with you moving around like this!"

I lifted my head, glaring at the hazy figure before me and shouting back, "How the fuck do you expect me to stay still when you're ripping my leg apart?!"

A plastic mask was placed over my mouth and nose, and nauseous gas fogged up the clear plastic as I breathed it in. I felt suddenly more relaxed, and the pain in my leg had dulled some. "There, that should keep you still," the voice sighed as the mask was pulled away. "I'm sorry about the dogs; they normally don't act like that around... strangers..."

My brow furrowed as I lifted my head. "What? Those were... your dogs...?" I asked, my words slurring together due to the gas.

The figure chuckled lightly. "Of course, though, I am sad they're gone. You bashed in the skull of one and broke the back of the other." It sighed heavily, adding, "I guess I'll have to get more later on."

"Your dogs haven't killed anybody... have they...."

The voice's tone changed, lower in pitch and almost a growl in it. "Of course they have. They had a wonderful feast not too long ago, though you already know about that."

My eyes widened. This person... was Yao's killer?! "You... killed Yu Tou Yao, didn't you?" I asked, pulling myself up only to find that I couldn't.

"Oh, you won't be moving around any time soon." The person, a girl, leaned down to my side and pointed at my bound wrists. "No matter how hard you struggle against these babies, you're not getting out. But besides that, how did you guess I killed Miss Yao?"

I gritted my teeth. "It doesn't matter. What do you want with me?"

The girl shrugged, moving back to focus on my ankle. "I want to erase your existence; is that answer enough?"

"... what have I done to make you want to kill me?"

She turned back to face me, her wide golden eyes looking up to the ceiling as she tapped her chin. "Well... to put it lightly, you were following my tracks, and I don't like it when people get too close to finding the answer," she replied.

I furrowed my brow. "Bitch, we didn't even come close to getting a suspect list in order; you just confessed to a crime you were never convicted of," I stated bluntly. Man, this girl was an idiot.

A small chuckle shook the girl's shoulders. "Oops, I assumed the worst then, right?" She leaned down close to my ankle, poking at the wound. "Man, I wish they didn't toss you around so much; this will take a good week or so to heal up..." she moaned.

My lips curled back in a snicker. "Is that a bad thing? I want to get better!" I stated roughly. When golden orbs flashed back up at me, I quickly shut my mouth.

"I want you to get better, too... my babies are going to be dusty next I see them, though..."

"Your... babies?"

With a smirk, the girl skipped over to a wall, saying, "Yes, my babies." The wall parted, revealing horrifying tools and weapons. My eyes widened at the sight of the pointed tongs and the many sizes of screwdrivers, the yards of chains and leather face masks. Of course there were other things I never even seen or heard of before, but my imagination gave me an idea of what they were used for.

"You mean... to torture me?"

She smiled innocently, folding her hands behind her back and leaping back to my side. "That's right! You see, I'm looking for someone important, and I can't find him without your help. I thought that Yao, as frail as she was, would crack and tell me, but she was too stubborn for my taste. So I'm trying a different method." She giggled like a little child as she brushed back my hair and tapped my forehead with her fingertip. "Yep, I'm trying a new method... I'll get the answers from you, even if I have to beat you for them."

I turned my head away, growling, "Don't touch me."

Her golden eyes narrowed. "I'm just trying to be nice, Zero-kun."

I whipped my head back around to face her, my eyes narrowed and teeth bared. "You... how do you know my name?"

She turned her head to the side, shrugging. "The nice man on the phone. He kept asking for you. Also, my name is not 'you'; it's Kojima Chiaki. Do you like my name?"

"How the hell did Cross call you?"

"Cross?" Her head tilted to the side, her brow furrowed in confusion. "It wasn't Cross; it was someone else, but he wouldn't tell me his name. He just kept asking for Zero-kun. Would you know who it is?"

Kaname.

"No. How do you know it wasn't Cross?"

"... I know the sound of that man's voice..." She stood still for a while, staring at the wall with blank golden eyes. I watched as her fists tightened to her sides, and her shoulders shook with rage. "Yes, Cross Kaien... he killed our parents... our sister... our brother... He took everything from us..."