Chapter twenty-three: You're mine

Kaede blurred past me and yanked my hair so hard that I fell onto the ground. Just as my back hit the ground, I swung the Blood Star and caught Kaede's legs.

CRACK.

There goes her legs.

I smirked to myself. I had successfully broken her legs. Kaede shrieked in pain, holding her legs close to her chest as she rolled on the ground.

Her eyes turned a hideous shade of red. "THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS FONTANA!"

Damn straight it is. You will never lay a hand on my loved ones again.

Anger boiling in my veins, I forgot I was in a tunnel and swung the Blood Star as hard as I could. The spiked ball smashed against her rib cage, creating a massive hole as it went right through her. A loud, inhumane scream filled the air. I dropped the Blood Star just to cover my ears because the scream made my eardrums bleed.

That's right. Kaede's power lies within her voice.

I waited a few minutes until my ears met by silence. I picked up my weapon and glanced at Momi. She had her hands covering her ears and she was scowling. I assumed Momi couldn't tolerate the scream either and stole the noise from the air. I was about to swing the Blood Star again when I realized that Kaede had disappeared.

Crap. Where did she go?

I scanned the area but found no pink hair bobbling around. I frowned but then I suddenly became aware that someone was standing right behind me. I went completely still, feeling her breath on my earlobe.

"Fontana Serena," she said gently, almost seductively. "You don't want to kill me."

"Oh yes I do," I argued but my body was paralyzed.

She purred in my ears. "No. You don't want to kill me. You adore me. Drop the Blood Star, Serena. You know you don't want to kill me."

"The fuck I don't!" I roared, flinging the Blood Star backwards.

She shrieked when the spiked ball slammed into the back of her shoulder.

"Serena!" she hissed into my ears, digging her claws into my neck. "You don't want to kill me! Drop your weapon!"

My body became stiff and my body was no longer in my control. To my horror, my hand released the Blood Star and I helplessly watched it land onto the ground with a loud thud.

I could sense her smile behind me.

"Now listen to me Serena. I know what you really want to do," she purred. "You want…you want to kill yourself."

I shook my head violently. My body began to tremble as I tried to fight her influence.

She used her hands to force me to nod. "Yes. Yes, you do. You want to kill yourself."

"No I don't," I growled, still unable to move.

"Yes you do. That's why you're just going to fall on top of your Blood Star." She petted my hair. "That's right. You're going to fall on top of your Blood Star. You're going to crush your skull."

My body dropped to its knees on its own. I could do nothing about it. I couldn't scream for help. I couldn't fight against the control she had over my body. I couldn't even push the Blood Star further away from me.

"Now Fontana, smash your head," Kaede ordered, using a soft velvet voice.

Just as I was about to ram my head against my own weapon, someone shoved me and froze my legs in solid ice. I couldn't turn my head to see who it was but I didn't need to. Hanabusa's scent invaded my nostrils and in the corner of my eyes I could see his face. His beautiful, dangerous eyes that stormed with fury and the cruel snarl on his lips…for once, he actually looked like a monster.

A beast with a human disguise.

"Aidou Hanabusa, I daresay, I am ashamed of you," Kaede frowned in disgust. "A vampire of such high standing like yourself…interested in a lowly creature like her. It's not too late to find a more promising mate."

"Bokyo, I don't care about your opinions," he sneered. "I'm only here to give you an excruciating death."

"Oh this is so cute. Fontana's knight in armor," Kaede laughed.

Hanabusa's eyes glowed red. "I am more than just her knight."

Within seconds, the entire tunnel was covered in ice and Kaede was dodging his vicious attacks. He was using ice like spears, cutting her in various places.

To human eyes this looked like a winning battle, so it took me a while to realize that Kaede actually had the upper hand. Hanabusa was moving too slow to hit her vital organs and for some strange reason, Kaede was rapidly healing. Her legs were already running at faster speeds and the hole in her back had already closed up. Either she drank human blood earlier, which would explain her healing rate, or Hanabusa's body was suffering from not eating anything.

My eye twitched in irritation. I knew he should have had something before going into battle! Stupid, stubborn, arrogant asshole was going to get himself killed just because he wanted to prove that he was still superior to me.

I figured that since Kaede's attention was focused on dodging Hanabusa, she must have released me. I heaved myself up and supported myself with the Blood Star. I took a few steps, stumbling over my clumsy feet. Everything felt prickly as if my limbs had fallen asleep. I lifted the Blood Star over my head, which proved to be a very bad idea. I lost my balance and fell face first into the dirt. I grunted, feeling incredibly stupid for being klutzy and scanned the battlefield.

Zero was still fighting Tolucan but I couldn't tell who was winning. They were moving too fast for me to keep up. Momi sat with her sword in between her legs. She was watching me with a blank stare. I was expecting her to tackle me now that Hanabusa was busy with Kaede, but she didn't approach me.

Now that I think about it…there's someone missing. I could have sworn there was another vampire.

"Miss me?" a male voice grated against my ears. A chill went up and down my spine, causing me to shiver. His voice was worse than nails on a chalkboard.

Speak of the devil and He shall appear.

I quickly got to my feet and spun the Blood Star in front of me. He narrowly missed being hit in the chest.

He laughed at me. "Glad you remembered me."

Heat rose to my cheeks as I felt anger bubble in my chest. "How could I forget? You're the slime ball that twisted my mind into believing I was your child."

"Too bad I haven't really raped your mother. She's always been a true beauty."

My hair started to stick up in dangerous angles. My nostrils flared. "Shut the fuck up."

"I'd like to see you make me," he said, flashing me a perverted grin.

I fumed and swung the Blood Star as hard as I could. He was too fast for me and I ended up destroying the one of the wooden doors. He rematerialized a few inches from my face.

"You'll have to be quicker than that Fontana!" he laughed.

I slammed the Blood Star onto his head and heard his skull crack. A violet, foul smelling blood began to flow from the injury, but he continued to grin at me.

"Your boyfriend is about to end his life," he stated bluntly.

I snorted. I wasn't going to believe him this time. I wasn't going to let him inside my head.

I continued to pound his head in with the Blood Star until he was soaked in his own blood. I watched the blood ooze and gush, swallowing his pale skin. His red eyes bulged out to the point I thought they were going to pop, but he kept his toothy grin.

"What the hell?" I snapped. "The more I hit you, the more you smile! Am I missing something?"

"I am nothing but a distraction sweetheart," he said, playfully gurgling his blood in his mouth.

Just a distraction? Was he telling me the truth?

I looked over my shoulders just to make sure and what do you know? Hanabusa had encased himself in ice. His eyes were glazed over and there were black bags under his eyes. Blood streamed from the cuts on his cheeks. Around his neck were dangerous ice-like knives that begged to plunge themselves into his neck. What had me worried was the sword. Kaede had given him Momi's sword and he had it in front of his chest. And he wasn't fighting back. He looked like he was about to stab himself repeatedly.

The grinning maniac wrapped an arm around me. "And you thought you were her target this entire time, didn't you? Isn't that sweet."

I shot him a nasty glare. "What are you saying?"

"Kaede doesn't want to kill you just yet," he smirked, kissing my ear. "She wants to kill everyone you love first."

Everything in me snapped.

My face turned dark purple as a vein throbbed on my forehead. I tightly gripped the Blood Star until my knuckles were white and my palms were fire engine red. I drove the Blood Star into his chest so viciously that I turned his body into a squashed potato. I was seeing red and the Blood Star was thirsty for blood.

"KAEDE!" I roared just as a bomb went off. I stumbled a little but I did not permit myself to fall.

God damn Thora's timing.

She turned her head to look at me. Her face went from glowing with success to horror. She took a few steps backwards, inching away from me but kept a firm grip on Hanabusa's shoulders.

She was claiming him as her victim.

No one is going to be able to put you back together when I'm done with you.

Before I could swing the Blood Star at her, the vampire male emerged from the ground. He grabbed my ankles and I fell on top of his chest. I wiggled out of his grasp and kicked him in the face to force him to let go of my left foot.

What the hell! Didn't I just bash his head in?

"You can't have her until he's dead!" he laughed hysterically, oblivious to his broken nose. "That's the rule of the game!"

I gripped the Blood Star.

"TO HELL I CAN'T!" I hammered him in the face.

It felt like a volcano erupted. His body blew up into tiny pieces--a crater forming where he had once been. The tunnel shook violently and parts of it caved in. My hands started to throb in agony from the sheer force of the blow.

"FONTANA! CAREFUL WITH THAT BLOOD STAR!" ZERO warned me. "YOU'LL KILL US!"

But I was too far gone. The only thing on my mind was Kaede's death.

This is for Erica and her family. This is for Jade and his family. This is for my family—my brother, mother and father. This is for Hanabusa. This is to ensure she will never harm anyone I cherished ever again.

This is my revenge. Her death is my freedom.

Your fat ass is mine, bitch.

I sprinted and brought the Blood Star down with a loud thud two inches from her feet. The ground disintegrated, forcing the ice to break. Using my free arm, I possessively yanked Hanabusa away from her and shot her a menacing glare. Kaede hurled herself at me, attempting to latch onto Hanabusa again, but I threw him aside before she could harm him.

She laughed wickedly, digging her nails into my shoulders. "It's just you and me again."

I smirked. "Actually. It's just me."

I head butted her, throwing both of us off balance but I recovered faster. I gathered all of my strength and rage and nailed her forehead with the Blood Star.

There was a thunderous BOOM. Everything began to melt away and the only thing I remember before blacking out is the sound of her hysteria ringing in my ears.

Where am I?

"About time you heard me," Damon smirked, his face inches from my own.

I groaned. "What do you want…can't you see I'm tired?"

"You've been unconscious for a bit," he said. "In fact, you still are. This is the first time I've been able to reach you. Your mind has been fuzzy since then."

I shot up in bed. Wait a second here, a bed?

I looked around to take in my surroundings. I was alone in a polished white room surrounded by huge pink flowers of various species. There was a empty blue plastic chair next to the bed, my Blood Star on the cracked wooden table next to the chair, and the door to the room was left slightly ajar. The window blinded me with sunlight, causing me to jerk uncomfortably. I was in a king sized bed, draped in purple fluffy nightwear. The sheets were soft and white and warm. I would have figured that I was in a some sort of hospital, but because of the size of the bed and the clothes that I was wearing, I decided that I was definitely in someone else's house.

"Is this place important?" I asked, recalling that the places in my dreams were always of some value.

Damon was floating above the bed. He was grinning with wide innocent eyes. "I guess."

Well that doesn't help me at all.

"Is this my death bed or something?" I rolled my eyes, sarcasm leaking heavily.

He was equally sarcastic. "Actually, this is your wedding bed."

"Ha ha, very funny." I glared. "What happened?"

"You did the stupid thing and blew everything up," he answered bluntly.

I blinked. "Did what?"

He chuckled. "You'll see. The future is getting brighter and brighter."

I woke up feeling really groggy. My limbs ached and were covered in countless bruises. I was pretty sure my hair was all over the place. My throat kept clogging up so I had to cough constantly just so I could swallow. Strangely, I was in the same white room that I was in my dream. The sunlight was still glaring at me and the flowers were overwhelming me with their scent. Luckily, I wasn't still in the purple nightgown that I was wearing in my dreams. I was wearing the clothes that I went into battle with, but they were bit shredded here and there.

"I could kill you," a male voice said loudly to my right.

I jumped, surprised to see someone in the room with me when I previously thought I was alone. Fortunately, it was just Zero. Unfortunately, he wasn't kidding about the killing part. I would have asked him why he was so pissed off, but I was too busy studying his appearance.

Zero was covered head to toe in black soot. His clothes were nearly torn to shreds, practically exposing his stomach and legs. His sleeves were missing completely and his tie was gone. His feet were bare, revealing cute slender feet. I had a strange urge to paint his toe nails.

Imagine that. Zero with painted toe nails.

Okay, so I'm attracted to feet. Sue me.

I arched an eyebrow at him.

"I told you, you idiot," he snapped. "The Blood Star feeds on your emotions. The angrier you are, the stronger it strikes. You were taught to control yourself for that very purpose."

Uh oh.

He continued, becoming more irritated. "You blew up the whole church and nearly killed us all. Hanabusa and sensei are currently comatose. You blacked out for three days because the Blood Star zapped you of all your energy. If Thora hadn't forced her way through the rubble to get to us, we'd be buried alive right now."

I tried to get off the bed, wanting to see them for myself, but Zero shoved me back onto the bed.

"You're too weak to move. I'm not carrying you to them."

I puffed my cheeks in protest. "But!"

"GOOD AFTERNOON!" Thora shouted, bursting through the doors. I cringed at her voice and Zero caught me flinching.

He smirked deviously. "You'll be sensitive to noise and light for a while. You have yourself to thank."

"Oh don't be so harsh on her, Silver," Thora hushed him. "After all, she did succeed."

"Really?" I croaked. The back of my throat felt scratchy.

"Yes, Serena, Kaede is dead. You made that quite certain," she laughed when she noticed my grin. "But you also nearly killed your comrades."

She shook her head. "And I thought the bus was bad. Do you always run in the wrong direction?"

I gave her a puzzled look. I hadn't been running in the wrong direction. In fact, I hadn't been running at all. I only flung the Blood Star at Kaede's forehead and hit her right on the mark. I couldn't help but smirk to myself. And then I remembered Hanabusa and Yagari-sama.

Oh fuck.

I forced myself to get up and struggled against Zero's forceful arms.

"Aww, that's so cute! She really wants to see them!" Thora giggled.

I shot her a glare, signaling I wasn't in the mood for her giddiness. However, nothing ever seems to phase that freak. She just keeps smiling.

Realization hit me. The light bulb suddenly went off in my head and gave birth to a new theory: Vampires who don't sleep during the day suffer brain damage. It would explain Takuma's politeness, Zero's lack of social skills, and Thora…being Thora.

"If you don't want to take her, I will!" she announced and easily scooped me into her arms.

She had me upside down on her shoulder, giving me a good view of her rear as she skipped down the hall. I was starting to feel very ill, but it was then I realized we were back at the old mansion. Thora must have dragged all of our unconscious bodies. She plopped me into one of the comfortable lazy-boy chairs and pushed the chair closer to Hanabusa's bed.

She winked at me. "I figured you'd want to see him first."

I gave her a brief nod and mouthed 'thank you'. I waited for her to leave, however, Thora just stood there with a blank look on her face. I poked her with my finger.

She gave me a grin. "Does Zero know a lot about vampires?"

I shrugged. I mean how the hell was I supposed to know? Zero barely spoke about himself. But then again, why would she want to know?

I gave her a suspicious glare.

"Oh no," she giggled. "I'm not telling you yet."

That can't be good.

She skipped out of the room, silently closing the door behind her. I groaned, rolling my eyes upward to the ceiling and hoped God was listening.

Are You mad at me? Is that why You've cursed me? I swear on everything holy that I'll try to be a better person. So please, PLEASE, stop her if she does something insane.

I turned my attention onto Hanabusa and frowned at what was before me. He looked even worse than before we went into battle. There were dark purple circles under his eyes and his cheek bones were beginning to stick out. His muscles seemed to have disappeared—his skin only loosely clung to his bones. He looked like he could star in some zombie movie!

Damn your fucking pride, Hanabusa! I knew you should have eaten something before going into battle!

I heard something click and looked up to find Zero closing the door. I sighed in frustration and my eyes went up to the ceiling again.

I knew it! I KNEW IT! You DO hate me!

"Go on," Zero said. "Pretend I'm not here."

I was about to shoot him a glare when I realized he was actually talking to himself and caught a few of his mumbles.

"…damn…perverted…FUCK!" His head gently banged on the door. He noticed me staring. "Stop looking at me like that."

I gave him my middle finger. It was my 'Fuck you too bro.'

He growled. "You need to keep your Aunt in control."

Just as I was about to open my mouth, I heard a loud girly shriek.

God I need to get a set of earplugs.

"OH SILVER! WHERE DID YOU GO SWEETHEART?"

I started opening drawers, praying that I could find earplugs. I mean there have to be earplugs somewhere—this mansion was a storehouse! And my poor ears couldn't take it anymore!

Thora flashed a huge grin at the male prefect. "Snookums, why did you shoot at me?"

I stared at the two and Zero gave me a pleading look.

"You have got to be kidding," I groaned.

Thora hooked her arm around Zero's neck. "He's my sweetie pie."

"Get off," he grunted.

I sighed, predicting a restraining order in the future. "Zero, you have got to aim higher."

He grumbled. "I'll try to remember that the next time she sticks her hands down my pants."

Head meet table. Hi table! Please hit me hard enough to erase my memory. I have a lot of bad images.

"So how's your snookums?" she grinned. "And glad to hear your voice is improving."

Zero took the opportunity to slither out from Thora's grasp and hurriedly escaped out of the room as Thora fixed her attention onto me.

I dug my nails into my palms as I narrowed my eyes dangerously at the nutcase. "He is not my snookums. As for how he's doing, what do you think?"

She was still grinning. "I love it when you're feisty. Hey! Do you think Zero'll drop his pants for me?"

Another mental head slam.

"Didn't Zero just shoot you?" I asked, even though I'm pretty sure I didn't hear a gun go off.

"Yes, but he missed."

"So what? That's still technically a rejection. Can't you molest Yagari-sama?" I suggested.

She scowled, her face gaining creepy wrinkles. " What? You don't think I'm good enough for Zero?"

I scooted my chair a little. "I was thinking more along the lines of not young enough, actually."

She let out a thunderous laugh. "Aw! I love your sense of humor!"

She strode out of the room, calling for her silver haired vampire. I sunk deeper into the chair and sighed. Man, I really need earplugs. I looked down at Hanabusa's face and could have sworn there was a smirk. Either the bastard was dreaming good dreams or he was pretending to be unconscious.

"Hey," someone whispered. "Is she gone?"

I lazily moved my head to the side and noticed Yagari-sama. Though I was glad to see him well, I couldn't help but give him a puzzled look. "I thought you were unconscious?"

"Yeah, I faked it to get rid of her," he said, scanning the area for a certain vampire in heat.

How the hell do you fake a coma? Maybe it's a vampire hunter trick. Something I should definitely learn.

I laughed. "So she has gone after you?"

Yagari-sama sighed heavily, closing the door as quietly as possible. "Yes."

"And what happened?" I asked curiously.

"I shot her in the ass."

I laughed so hard I fell off my chair. Yagari-sama cocked an eyebrow at me.

"It's not that funny," he frowned. "I've actually been forming this theory of how your family line continued."

"This oughtta be good," I smirked, folding my arms over my chest. "Continue."

"The men were raped," he stated bluntly.

Zero appeared out of nowhere. "You may be onto something."

"Zero?" I blinked and looked at the door, which was still closed. "When did you...Oh forget it."

"Still hiding?" Yagari-sama asked, smiling.

Zero glared at him, eyes becoming thin slits. I giggled at him.

Yagari-sama chuckled. "She really doesn't take no for an answer."

"I'm so bored," Thora whined, sitting across from me.

"Go play in traffic," Zero replied.

Thora pouted. "Darling, I said I was bored..not suicidal."

"Don't call me that."

I sighed, rubbing my temples. We were at the kitchen table, eating food that Yagari-sama cooked since Zero accused Thora of slipping some strange liquid into whatever she made. I was partly amused. I mean how often do I get to see Zero all frustrated and sexually harassed? On the other hand, I pitied him a great deal. Thora never gives up. I've lost count of how many times she pinched his ass and tried to sneak her hands into his pants.

Zero always looked emo until she pinched his ass. Then it was hell on Earth. Guns went off, Yagari-sama would roll his eyes and beg God to spare him and kill him there, and numerous explosions would shake the mansion. However when Thora wasn't molesting Zero, she would hold him. I didn't mind that so much. Zero reminded me of a lost child in Thora's embrace, and sometimes he would relax into the hug.

"I'm going to check on Hanabusa," I announced to the group, but Thora wasn't listening and Zero was ignoring everyone.

"Escape while you can," Yagari-sama mouthed to me.

I didn't need to be told twice. I was gone before anyone could object. I took two steps at a time, rushing up the stairs. The further I got away from the love-bird psychos the better. I heard the phone ring and didn't bother to answer. I figured that Yagari-sama would want an excuse to run away from them. I entered Hanabusa's room and was taken by surprise to find him awake, sitting up and blankly staring at the television.

He heard me enter and glanced my way, but said nothing.

"You're awake," I said.

Smooth Serena. Real smooth.

A smile smirk played on his face and he said slowly, "Thank you... for stating the obvious."

His voice was rough and cracked at the end. I barely heard him speak. I pulled one of the plastic chairs closer to the bed and placed my hands on his cheeks, pushing away his bangs.

"How do you feel?" I asked.

"Like... shit."

Truthfully, he looked like shit. His appearance had only changed for the worse as the days went by. Rest didn't even restore his body. I bit into my bottom lip thoughtfully as my fingers nervously tapped on his cheeks. I wanted to help him but I wasn't sure he was going to let me.

He noticed it but didn't ask me. "So...what happened? Is everyone all right? Did...we win?"

"Uh? Oh! Yeah...everyone is okay. You're actually the last person to wake up," I answered. "And yeah, we did win. Kaede is dead."

"And the other members of the Bokyo clan?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Thora hasn't said anything about them."

He took a deep breath. "That means they're still alive."

"I guess."

"Serena, stop that. You're making me edgy," he referred to my fingers.

"Sorry," I immediately apologized and removed my hands on his face.

Silence and tension flirted with each other in the air. It made me feel so awkward. I've never felt ridiculious or vulnerable around Hanabusa before, so what was different? Was it because he was weak and at the mercy of my hands? No, that would have made me overbearing and protective of him. Was it because I actually had to save his butt? But that would have made me feel proud. Was it because...of what I wanted?

He closed his eyes tiredly, his head drooping slightly. "Something's...on your mind."

I laughed nervously. "Well, yeah, you see...I have this crazy idea...you may or may not like it."

He stared at me. I could tell he wanted to laugh at me. "Try me."

"Well... seeing that you're in weak condition and I know for a fact that you've been literally starving yourself since my accidental kidnapping..."

"Just spit it out Serena. I'm too tired to play guessing games," he demanded. He looked like he was about to pass out.

I thrusted my arm in front of me, putting my wrist close to his mouth. "Drink from me."

He blinked, taking a couple of minutes to react. "What?"

"You're weak right now and you're starving and I want you to drink from me," I said, more forceful about it this time.

He shook his head but I cut him off before he could reject me completely. "Look here, dumbass, if you had eaten before the battle you wouldn't be in such bad shape right now. And I wouldn't have had to save your ass from Kaede. Besides, I've had your blood before. I'm just returning the favor."

"You don't understand Serena. There are risks to me drinking your blood," he sighed.

"Such as?"

"Like I don't know if I'd be able to stop myself from draining you," he answered.

I frowned. "You're not talking to someone who's completely weak, ya know."

He groaned. "Serena...you really don't have any idea..."

"Hanabusa, just drink damn it," I growled. "You're not in any position to decline 'cause if you say no, I'll beat the shit out of you, which won't take much I promise, and force you to drink."

He glared at me, his left eye twitching in irritation. "Why do you have to be so god damn stubborn?"

"Because you're an arrogant idiot."

"It won't tickle."

"I won't laugh at your pathetic fangs, I promise," I spat back.

We sat in silence. Hanabusa shifted uncomfortably in the bed, causing me to reach out to him with my free hand. My hand softly toyed with his blonde locks.

Hanabusa's fangs slowly extended and his eyes were red. "You're absolutely sure about this?"

I nodded, relaxing my muscles. He gently took my wrist and sniffed my skin, which was really odd to watch. I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly, waiting for him to puncture my skin. Seconds passed. I peeked through one of my eyes and noticed him staring at me.

"What?" I asked impatiently.

He kissed my wrist, instantly sending shivers up my spine. His cold tongue softly licked the area he wanted to bite into and I could feel heat burn my cheeks. I watched him sink his teeth into my wrist and flinched at the pain. It hurt a lot more than I thought it would. I took another deep breath, forcing myself not to freak out. I knew I could handle this. After all, how many times have vampires drank from my neck without my permission?

Hanabusa's eyes looked up to me, silently asking me to continue and I nodded. The whole thing was weird. I could feel the pull from his mouth and hear him slurp. The pain went away, replaced by a false impression of safety. Vampires must use it to force their prey to believe that they were in good hands and allow themselves to be drained.

However, I really was in safe hands. I knew Hanabusa wouldn't drain me. I witnessed Hanabusa's body turning into the familiar figure I was used to and color began to return to his face. The dark circles under his eyes were slowly disappearing.

"Hanabusa, hate to stop you, but I think you're good to go," I told him, suddenly feeling dizzy.

I heard him gasp sharply and he immediately released me. He backed away from me, wiped his mouth and licked the rest of my blood off his hand.

"Damn," he muttered.

I shot him a curious look. "What?"

"You're delicious," he smirked.

"...I'll take that as a compliment?"

I was hit with a sudden wave of exhaustion, causing me to slip off the plastic chair and land on the floor. Neither of us moved at first, taking a few minutes to register what happened.

"Serena?" he called out to me. I yawned in reply. "Are you okay Serena?"

I was about to answer, but he grew impatient and leaned over the bed to find me.

He frowned at me. "I told you! I told you that I'd drain you!"

"Oh shut up Hanabusa--you didn't even drain me! I'm just sleepy now!" I snapped.

He used his new strength to lift me off the ground and place me onto the bed. "Well then we can nap together."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Nap? Together? In the same bed?"

"Give me break. It's not like we haven't been in the same bed before," he grinned.

A light bulb flashed in my head. "Oh yeah! From when you invited yourself to sleep in my room because apparently the sun bothered you in your room."

"Yeah," he laughed. "That was a total lie."

"Say what?" I gasped in disbelief.

"I lied. The sun doesn't go into my room at all," he grinned.

"Then what the hell?"

"Damn girl can't you put the pieces together? I just wanted to sleep next to you!"

My face flushed violet. "YOU PERVERT!"

He laughed loudly. "You enjoyed it."

I groaned, too tired to argue with him. "You know what? Just shut up. I don't feel like discussing it now."

"Of course you don't," he smirked.

"If you don't shut up soon I'm shoving the Blood Star up your ass," I threatened.

"Oooooh! Kinky!" he whispered seductively into my left ear.

"DAMN IT HANABUSA! I WANT TO SLEEP!"

"Okay, okay. Don't get your thongs in a bunch," he chuckled.

My nostrils flared. "I don't wear thongs!"

He smirked devilishly. "I know. I went through your clothes while you slept. You wear a lot of boy-shorts, but that's okay. They're still sexy."

I smashed his face with a pillow. "YOU ASS!"

Thora stuck her head into the room wearing a hopeful grin on her face. "Am I interrupting?"

"Do you think the Kuran would buy it if I told him Hanabusa died?" I snarled, stuffing his face with my pillow. "I might just kill him myself."

"Well, considering that you almost did..." Thora trailed off.

Oh. Right.

"Glad to see that you're healthy Missy," Thora said to Hanabusa once he removed the pillow. "Well, for the time being anyway."

"What's the news?" I asked her impatiently. I wanted to get her out of the room as soon as possible.

"Oh! Right! That's why I came in," she said. "I have news from your father."

That caught my attention. "And?"

"Apparently someone died while you were away...Kiren something," she told me.

Hysteria grabbed me by the throat and I shot up in bed."WHAT? HOW? WHO? WHEN?"

"And where," she said. "Don't forget where."

"Now isn't the time to joke around you idiot!" I snapped.

"Serena! Serena calm down," Yagari-sama sighed as he joined us, coming up behind Thora. "Kiren's alive."

My heart stopped throbbing painfully in my chest.

"Then what happened?" Hanabusa questioned the two.

"Her Mom passed away. Apparently she was battling cancer," Yagari-sama replied somberly. "And the funeral is on January the third."

"Oh that sucks. That's in four days," Thora frowned. "You humans are quick to bury the dead!"

Or they knew ahead of time and planned it all out.

I inhaled slowly, a new aching spreading into my veins. I felt guilt creep into my heart. I hadn't been there for Kiren. I won the prize of the worst best friend ever.

"The Chairman wanted to know if you wanted to continue your fight here and look for the remaining Bokyo clan, or if you wanted to return to Japan," Yagari-sama asked me. "It's your call."

They all stared at me, waiting.

"Well that's a dumb question," I sneered. "Of course I'm going back."

I had my whole life to hunt down the rest of the Bokyo clan, but Kiren needed me now.

"Okay, we'll make arrangements to leave tomorrow morning." Yagari-sama left the room but Thora remained.

"Sooo...." she began, winking at Hanabusa. "Did you..."

"Oh for crying out loud woman, my best friend's mom just died!" I snapped, hurling a pillow at her.

"Right, right...see you!" Thora hurriedly left the room, slamming it shut. My nostrils continued to flare. I felt the urge to get out of bed and chase her down. I wanted to strangle her.

"GOD THAT WOMAN HAS NO MORALS!" I shouted.

"Serena..." Hanabusa patted me on the back.

"WHAT?" I snapped.

"You should sleep."

"How can I sleep? Did you not hear what they said?"

He rubbed my shoulders. "I did but getting upset about it now won't do you any good. You need to rest. You're overemotional right now due to loss of blood."

"Overemotional? OVEREMOTIONAL? How can you say that!"

He glared at me to make it obvious.

"FINE!" I threw my arms into the air, yanked the sheets around me and curled on my side. I heard Hanabusa sigh, and he buried himself into the sheets.

He turned the switch on the lamp, causing the room to be swallowed in darkness. The only light came from the digital clock in front of me. I didn't even realize it was almost four in the morning. And just like that, my mind began to feel fuzzy. I felt confused, tired, scared, angry, and depressed. Tears began to slide down.

"Fuckin' A," I sniffled, wiping the tears but they kept coming.

Kiren, I'm so sorry.

I felt two strong arms wrap around me--one went across my stomach and the other dug itself under my neck. Hanabusa pulled me into a protective embrace, his scent overwhelming me.

"It'll be all right, Serena. Just sleep for now," he whispered into my ear.

I remember my muscles slowly relaxing; my body snuggling closer to him. His scent forced my breathing to gradually become calmer.

"Hanabusa..." I whispered.

"Hmmm?" He had rested his head on mine.

"Nothing," I said, comforted by his voice. I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

All rightie! Another chapter done (And this is my sad attempt at romance)! I meant to update two weeks ago but then my computer decided to be a pain in the ass, so I just got it fixed! Anywho, I thank everyone who reviewed, and no, I don't need reviews to know how good my fic is (not to sound cocky). I want reviews because I want people to point out my mistakes because there are always mistakes and most of the time I don't catch them.

Happy birthday Serena (her bday is September 17), which is another reason why I waited to update. I wanted to do it on her bday but it's 3 AM so I'm late. As far as Zero and Thora go, I'm not sure I want to make them a "couple". I'm just tired of how Yuuki treats her men. She can't have both--that is not okay lol. But at the same time, I don't know if I like Zero and Thora as a couple. I just like to poke fun at Zero.

Anyway, same deal. Ten reviews, faster update. Love you guys! GOOD NIGHT...err morning. Please let me know what I need to fix. Thanks!