AN: I figured I should get this chapter up before school starts tomorrow. After that, I'm not sure I'll be able to update as much. I'm doing my best, but school is rather important. Without it, I'll be a poor homeless person! O.O That would NOT be fun. Anyway, here's the chapter!

As they piled out of the car, Elena was worried. The Old Wood? Had Damon really gone in there? Of course he did. He'd have to prove to them that he was capable of doing something. The problem was, everyone believed in him except for Damon himself! That irked Elena to no end. This whole stupid situation could have been prevented had Damon had higher self-esteem. But, these days, high self-esteem was hard to come by. Even Elena's ego had been somewhat deflated between death and everything else that had happened. Saving Stefan had been difficult, but she'd loved it. The question was: Had she loved it during or after the rescue? In other words, had she loved being with Damon or getting Stefan back? The answer was unclear. And, it would never be clear unless they found Damon.

Elena sighed and looked at Stefan. They were in the wood now. It was only a matter of time before they fell into a trap. Had Damon fallen into a trap? That certainly wouldn't have been good. The traps were impossible to get into unless one fell into it. And, it was impossible to leave without Shinichi's special keys. Somehow, Elena doubted that the kitsune would give them the key to free Damon. But, she was getting ahead of herself. They didn't even know if Damon had fallen into a trap yet! Although, something inside of her was telling Elena she was right. This time, however, she didn't want to be right. She did her very best to ignore the feeling, to believe that Damon was alright.

"This isn't going to work. Look, staying on the 'safe path' isn't helping. Knowing Damon, he didn't stay on the path. He probably didn't even start on the path!" Elena was fed up. She knew that Stefan and Sage were only trying to protect them, the humans, but she was trying to protect Damon. Why she needed to protect him she didn't know. She only knew that she had to get to him now. With that thought in her mind, she left the group and started on her own path. Crashing through shrubbery and pushing branches out of the way, she was making good time. She heard a twig snap. Elena pivoted. However, when she had turned around, there was nothing there. Writing it off as paranoia, she kept going, a bit quieter this time. About a minute later, she heard a rustle in the leaves. Elena frowned. Alright, this wasn't paranoia, there was something there. She could have groaned. Why had she snuck away from the group again?

Elena ducked into the brush and sat, silently watching the place she'd been standing. Nothing happened. Just as she was starting to believe she had escaped her stalker, she felt a breath on the back of her neck. Elena whirled and looked the mystery person in the face. Then, she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Oh my god, Stefan! Don't scare me like that! I thought I was being abducted!" Elena exclaimed. Stefan cocked his head.

*Somewhere Else*

Damon woke in an uncomfortable position. Where was he? How had he gotten here? He was in a windowless room. But, the strangest thing was the shackles. He was chained to a chair. Had all of it been a dream, then? Maybe he was still a vampire. Damon pulled with all of his strength against the chains. His wrist felt odd. He looked down and groaned. Not a dream. The cast was still there. So, the question remained, what was he doing here? And, where was "here"? Again, Damon looked around the room. It was bare. The walls were concrete, the floor was concrete, and the ceiling was concrete. The only thing in the room was the chair with the chains and, of course, Damon. He strained against the things holding him to the chair. He was really stiff. The chains were digging into his arms, his chest. And, he was so confused! He wanted an explanation. At least, before he died, he deserved to know who was behind it.

Damon's stomach made a sound. Oh, great, he was hungry, too. He was tempted to call out, but he knew that wouldn't help. Likely, there were guards at the door. So, instead, he tried to remember. Damon thought hard, as hard as he could, about the night before. Where had he been? He remembered doing research on kitsune. And, he remembered sharing it with the group. But, wait! Then, he'd felt left out because Sage and Stefan had gone to check out the Old Wood. Of course, he'd followed them in and gotten lost. And, someone, had captured him. Who was it?

"Morning, sunshine." A voice called from nowhere. Shinichi. Where had he come from? How had he gotten in? If he found the entrance, he'd found the exit. Damon attempted a growl, but it didn't sound very menacing because he was human. He heard Shinichi chuckling.

"What are you doing? Let. Me. Out!" Damon yelled, struggling now more than ever. Shinichi came into the light of the room. He was smiling at Damon, as if they were good friends on an outing.

"Me? Oh, I'm not doing anything. You, on the other hand, are doing quite a bit." He told Damon mysteriously. Damon groaned inwardly. Why couldn't he just be straightforward? But, Damon knew the answer to that. Shinichi was playing with him. He'd captured him to serve some greater purpose, but that purpose was still unknown to Damon. He forced his tense muscles to relax.

"I'm not doing anything for you, bastard."

"Oh, I beg to differ." And, with that, Shinichi was gone.

Shinichi POV

Shinichi entered the large living room area. Misao was already there, sprawled on the couch, looking paler than she had just this morning. He sighed. The band of merry idiots had taken her hoshi no tama. It was the most important thing a kitsune had. Sure, it held some of her Power, but it also held her soul. The fact that his sister's soul was being held, even now, by disgusting human beings made him want to throw up. But, there was an advantage to all of this. He had his own disgusting human being in the form of Damon Salvatore. It was amusing to him that someone so strong, someone who had beaten him before, had lost everything. How weak he was. Shinichi had gone with chains to tie him down, just in case, but he figured that rope would've done the job. Still, the chains would be painful for Damon. That, too, made him smile. For, it was Damon who had gotten the star ball in the first place. Yes, he was a naughty naughty boy. And, naughty boys needed to be punished.

Shinichi sat down beside his sister, taking her head in his lap. She was so beautiful. But, of course, so was Elena Gilbert. She was part of his plan. Not only would he save his sister, he would have Elena Gilbert, too. And, Damon Salvatore would bring her, and the rest of them, to him. Shinichi realized that, again, he was relying on Damon to do his work for him. But, that was really no problem. This time, he wouldn't need any malach. He could do this on his very own. See, while Damon was trapped with the kitsune, the others would miss him quite a bit. Then, undoubtedly, they would come to find him. And, when they did, he would convince them to do what needed to be done. It was the perfect plan. And in the meantime, Damon would be the twins' plaything. They had been bored as of late. Shinichi smiled. His plan was flawless.

AN: Hmm...I wonder...Does anyone else spot the flaw in Shinichi's plan? Or, is it just me? Anyway, I hope you liked it! Review because there's lots of good (dramatic) stuff coming!