A/N: So, bringing up an important bit of foreshadowing that I put in the last chapter:

Yes, if you asked Maki, it was about time the President took action and truly obtained Akari as his own personal prize.

Hmmm... we like the way you think, Maki. We like the way you think...

Oh my god I just realized something. Maki's a pervert. He totally wants Tora and Akari to make out, and like- wrestle in bed with each other, and- get their hands all over one another... ... ...well, I suppose that actually makes all of us perverts, too. Congrats, all you lemon-loving viewers. You, are perverts. Well ya know what I'm the one writing what you crave so, that makes me one too. Ah, well.

Here are some quotes I found on Hedonism that I thought related to the way I thought Akari and Tora would perceive it:

"The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself."
― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray (how Akari sees it)

"Lust for possession and greed has ravaged the soul of humanity like a great cancer, metastasizing throughout society in the form of a nouveau post-human, consumer hedonism."
― Bryant McGill, Voice of Reason (how Tora sees it)

Vocab- Hedonism: indulgence in sensual pleasures; the doctrine that the pursuit of pleasure is the highest good

Chapter Eighteen. The Hedonistic Approach

It all started with a girl.

Maybe two girls, in fact. Two young women put a crease in the folds of a certain specific sensible reality, twisting it into some sort of confusing game that you really have to think hard about in order to win.

Was he winning? Now that, was the problem. He didn't know if he was winning, because he didn't fully understand the game or what there was to win.

If he pushed his thoughts on the matter, then at first Ayuzawa had taken affect on him, had- changed him- and that was where it started. That was where the root of the issue took place.

The issue about him reconnecting with a side of himself he never had fully connected with in the first place.

Being a nice, honest, open and emotional character was never something easily accomplished, it was actually in the end of it all something he despised and shunned away from his life. For the longest of times he'd been perfectly phlegmatic, with a criminal sort of mindset, womanizing antics, and a high tendency to lie and conceal his true thoughts, feelings, and motives. That's just how he grew up to be, and that's just who he is.

But then Ayuzawa came along, and without even meaning to she had affected him more than any other person ever had, or could. Or so he thought then, but as of late he had found yet another woman who could affect him just as much- no, even more actually. A lot more...

It made sense that he would find interest in a strict school president who also worked in a maid cafe. The contradictory circumstances would strike nearly anyone's interest or curiosity. It struck both in himself. But what had made him so interested in the rich young daughter of yet another famous family? Sure, the family matters were a bit rough, even suspicious to the public, but was it the girl that actually caught his attention then? She was just any other girl, when first he met her. Well, she might have seemed to hold some of the traits of Ayuzawa, like being so stubborn, unpredictable, and strong-willed. But really, that was all.

Then what had caught his intense interest? Was it, again, going back to what his mother had said about her? That she was, just, so... REAL. He would have to guess yes. Undoubtedly, he had never met a more sincere person in his life. Which is why there was an instant pull- don't they say opposites attract?

So then, as he had gotten to know her more, it had been decided. Her unnatural sense of realness is what had made her seem so very not plain to someone like him, who could see any other person as plain, simple- too boring- it was like no one was entertaining enough.

But she was.

Damn all this thinking, you see this is what got to him! This is what had changed about him! He couldn't satisfy himself with HIS games anymore, so he had to play new ones. New games that he didn't fully comprehend. He didn't understand the way his heart would beat differently now, or why he would, on occasion, open up just to her, or do certain things for her. He was changing, he was changing and the change is what brought forth so many complications for him. It was like he was coming undone, and Tora Igarashi NEVER came undone, not for anyone. No matter how intriguing they were.

Complications... so many new complications that just came with one girl. It was absolutely destroying him and his reserve.

But...

That was just it. It was the complications that attracted him.

Somehow, with her more than any other girl, more than anyone else possibly in the world, he found himself wanting more.

More.

"Kanade."

A large amount of time had passed since Maki had accompanied Tora to the Student Council Room. Since classes were still in session it had been empty, and Tora had immediately taken a seat at his chair and began thinking to himself. Maki had been waiting for a good twenty minutes now, ever so patient for an answer of why he had been taken here with the President.

So when Tora had finally just spoken, breaking the lapse of silence that had continued on for such a long time, the Vice President had jumped, swaying in his stance in front of the large desk as he had been slightly startled.

"...President?"

"Promptly bring Michiyo Akari to this room."

"But, sir, it's the middle of class-"

"Do you think I am not aware of that?"

The two boys' eyes met, and there was a stilled moment in time where there seemed to pass an understanding between the two, the hidden message easily being received. And then Maki bowed, politely, as usual, and hurriedly from the room to fetch the aforementioned girl.

"I don't see what could be so important for him to need to pull me from class on my first day."

Maki merely smiled knowingly behind the girl's back as she followed him down the hall and up to a massively tall set of fine oak doors. He then turned and bowed to her, offering no words at all before leaving her on her own. He whisked away so fast she hadn't even had time to ask if she should just walk right in.

Hesitantly, and expecting the worst, (Oh god, if he's naked on the couch waiting for me, I will not hesitate to run screaming. After I give him a good kick in the balls, that is) she knocked twice and then listened for some sort of response. When none came, she decided to just let herself in, and gave the heavy door a good push.

What surprised her first was the darkened state of the room. All the lights had seemed to be turned off, and it got her into thinking that he had called on her for 'help' with getting the lights back on. It was some stupid trap to get her to meet up with him, and not very well thought out.

"Dammit Tora, I'm not an electrician." She said about to turn around and walk out of there, highly displeased with the idiot.

What she hadn't expected was for the doors to suddenly close behind her, and a tall young man to step in front of them and stand between her and the exit. He leaned against the door with a hip cocked towards her, one leg planted firm while the other crossed over it. His hand was still on the brass handle, his long arm reaching out and creating a sort of blockade between the door and the space where she stood.

Really, she should have expected more than what she had first thought up. Her brain must not be working. He was a devious devil, after all. Of course he had a better plan in mind than what she had quickly assumed!

"Tora..." She said carefully, evenly, unable to see his face due to the dim room and the fact that he had his head tilted down towards the floor just slightly, just enough for whatever look on his face to go unseen.

"There is nothing wrong with the lights."

She opened her mouth and stopped when he looked up at her, and she found his eyes and the intense look in their golden depths. What was he... thinking about?

"Then... why are they turned off?" She wasn't stupid, and so she took a step back as she asked this.

Surprisingly, he stayed where he was, his body leaning casually against the door still.

"I turned them off." He spoke in a light sort of tone, like they were just having tea together and chatting, not like he had trapped her in a dark room alone with just him.

"Well can you turn them back on?" She was starting to become frustrated, and had backed up now almost half-way across the large room. She stopped, looking behind her before she hit the edge of a long coffee table.

Taking the chance to move as she turned her head to look behind herself, Tora was across the room swiftly and deftly in five steps. Once he stood in front of her and her head turned back again, she jumped, shrieking, and lost her balance in front of him, falling backwards with a painful 'thump' onto the long table behind her.

Tora looked down at her as she lay dazed on that table. Her hair was splayed out around her head and her dress had rode up because of the fall, showing much of her legs. He found her eyes- she looked both shocked and bordering on infuriated.

Hmm... just where had he seen this interesting display before?

He smirked to himself, loving how all the old tricks, no matter how tweaked in their approach, still ended up working out the same even with two different girls.

When he was done reveling in his ego he stood over her, watching her with a narrowed gaze that seemed to anger her even more. She tried to kick out at him, but he was quick to grab her ankle, moving fast as he got onto the table and hovered over her.

"I can turn the lights back on." He said carefully, once his body was positioned perfectly over hers and he had successfully pinned her down. "But in order to get me to do that, you have to do something for me in return."

She squirmed underneath him, trying to lift either wrist he had pinned in his grip, or get a knee up in between his legs. But every time she switched her position, he switched his.

"Get off of me!" She demanded of him, though he only smirked.

"You have to do something for me first..."

She stilled beneath him, huffing heavily, and he directed his attention on her glaring eyes.

"Why are you-"

"I want you, Akari."

She blinked at him, looking highly surprised as she stared up into his face. They looked at each other for a long moment as his words sunk in, and then he started to lean forward...

"T-Tora..."

There came a knock on the door, and both of them jerked, her head flying up to see if someone was coming in, and Tora's head spinning around to glare daggers at the door. The knocking just kept on, persistent and never pausing.

Getting off of Akari, he made his way towards the door, flipping on the lights on the far wall as he went. Akari herself quickly stood from the table, smoothing out her uniform and standing uncertainly for a moment as Tora opened up the door.

"Is there something that you need?" Tora gritted his teeth at the young man who stood in the doorway.

The boy who had knocked peeked over Tora's shoulder as he spoke, catching sight of Akari as she made her way toward the now-half-open door, hoping for escape.

"I was just coming here t- Akari-san?"

Tora blinked, looking next to himself to see the girl in question standing there, trying to sort of squeeze past and out the door.

"Oh, hello." She said, meeting his brown-eyed gaze with a forced smile.

"I'm sorry," The boy shook his head, taking a step back. "Was I interrupting something?"

"No!"

"Yes."

Tora closed his eyes for a moment in annoyance, as Akari shot him a spiteful look.

"...Okay... Well, President, I just came here in hopes of speaking with you about the renovations being done in the west wing."

"Of course, but couldn't you have come at a better time, Orochi-kun?" Tora was trying his best not to sound or look impatient. "You should be in class."

The boy being addressed laughed good-naturedly. "Oh, I thought this was as good a time as ever. I have a free period due to work I've been attending to lately for the family."

"Then please, make it quick." Tora opened the door wide, so that the other boy could step in. And then, of course, before Akari could slip by he slammed it shut again, turning to her with a particularly evil look. "And where are you going, Michiyo-san? We still have our business to discuss."

"But-"

"It's alright Akari-san." Orochi looked at her with a smile of understanding. "I won't be long, you should stay."

As Akari stood hating both men in the room right then, Tora made his way across the room and settled against the back of his desk, folding his arms and staring over at Orochi with a bored sort of look.

"Well, how much more money does your family want for the rest of the renovations?"

Akari watched as the two boys began to speak to each other as if they were fully grown adults gathered for a business meeting. The change in the atmosphere was severe, going from uncomfortable to all-strict-business as soon as Tora had spoken.

When the two were done with their chat that she could barely follow, Orochi had shaken hands with Tora, thanking him, and then turned to nod his head at Akari.

"I'll see you at your party soon, Akari-san." He said, giving her a pleasant smile and a certain gaze with those warm brown eyes.

Before the young man could leave, Tora stayed leaning against his desk but stopped him with a question.

"How do you know Akari?"

Akari watched Tora and took note of his narrowed gaze, as if he was... suspicious, of Orochi.

"I met Fuirutsu-kun... earlier today..." She stated, fading her sentence into a dull lull, her voice slowly growing quieter and slower with her words as she sensed the sudden tense atmosphere that was building up.

"Call me Orochi." Fuirutsu turned to look her in the eye.

"Oh. Well I suppose I will..." She glanced from one boy to the other, trying to figure out what exactly it was that felt so off. "I don't like using honorifics much, anyhow."

"Good." Was all Orochi said, putting a strange emphasis on that one word. He suddenly turned his head towards Tora, giving the blonde a long look that completely lacked all subtlety. It definitely meant something.

Yes, it was quite obvious to everyone in the room that there was a point trying to be made. Though what that point was, only two people had figured out by now.

And Akari remained, for the first time since Tora had known her, somewhat clueless.

"I think you should get back to your work, Orochi." Tora said, his tone lower than before as he stared the other young man down.

Orochi himself narrowed his eyes on Tora. "You're absolutely right. My visit here is done, so I'll be going now."

He turned his head to Akari, giving her a nod before going to walk past her and out the door. Akari looked back over to Tora, who had leaned forward from his desk and stood up straight, as if preparing to walk over to her. Quickly, she reached back to the retreating young man, grabbing a fistful of his uniform and stopping him in his tracks. He turned his head, staring at her with wide brown eyes, though he didn't look all that surprised.

"I think, I um..." She had to think fast or else she'd end up alone in the room again with just Tora. And then, she remembered their earlier conversation when she'd first met him. "Orochi. If you're not too busy with your work right now, I'd like to finish our earlier discussion."

At this, Tora was quickly walking towards the pair, though Orochi had reacted first, his face lighting up at her words.

"Oh, of course that won't be a problem. We were interrupted by the bell before, so we never did finish talking, did we?"

"No, so let's-"

Akari was stopped when she felt Tora's grip on her arm. Both her and Orochi looked over at the golden-eyed President, only to see a confident smirk settled on his face.

"Oh, you'll have to arrange that another time. We still need to finish our discussion," His eyes narrowed pointedly on her. "Akari."

It was unexpected by everyone in the room, but there was a sudden tug on her other arm as well. Orochi had a hold of her other arm now and he was trying to find Tora's gaze.

"Could it wait? We were discussing something rather important."

Tora's eyes switched over to the other young man's. "So were we."

Suddenly, Orochi was smiling, and he then looked over and gave Akari a sudden confronting look. "Then let's let Akari decide, since we both can't seem to reason with each other."

She looked at both young men holding onto her, and suddenly she realized in a giant wave of anger-

"IDIOTS!"

Akari yanked her arms from both of their grips, and turned around to rush the door in a fit of offended rage. Treating her like an object- both of them were idiots!

"I am not going to play this stupid game! If you want to speak with me, then you're going to have to find me at a later time. Actually-" She turned at the door, staring both men down angrily. "Don't find me or speak to me at all."

She made sure she slammed the door shut behind her. And once she was gone, the room took on an eerily quiet state.

I wonder if she gets her temper from her father. Tora thought to himself, in awe of what had just transpired, though he was still fairly angry and frustrated himself.

Orochi's mouth had fallen open, as he had not expected that, and then he looked over to Tora, trying to find something to say.

"Don't think too much of it." Tora was suddenly smiling, but not at the other boy. He smiled, almost smirked, at the door that Akari had just left behind. "That's just how she is."

Complicated.

He smirked again, turning his back on the door as he expected Orochi to leave without being told.

Meanwhile, Orochi stared at the door the girl had disappeared behind as well, and despite Tora's order, he thought much more of it than the President would have liked him to...

The brown-eyed boy smirked the same as Tora as he left the room.

The moment Akari had stepped out of her last class for the day, an overwhelming sense of accomplishment ran through her.

SHE HAD MADE IT!

She was just gathering up her books as she thought this, and took her time as she went. Being the last one out of class, she turned to shut the door behind her, only to find a person already leaning against it's closed surface. Students flocked around the two of them, going this way and that, just passing on by, but they seemed to go unnoticed by the boy standing in front of her as his gaze zeroed in on just her.

"Orochi." She stated his name plainly, casually, but his reply sounded very different.

"Akari." He peered at her oddly as he said her name, sounding, like she had said, different than just casual. Then he ran a hand through his light brown hair, drawing her attention to it before her eyes connected back with his when he reached out an hand to her.

"Those books look heavy. Can I help you with them?"

She rose an eyebrow at him, but allowed him the gentlemanly act. Because, in fact, they were heavy- as heavy as they looked.

He started walking first, and since she herself is directionally challenged when it comes to this school, she automatically followed. They passed by numbers upon numbers of students, and she realized he was quite popular when lots of people continued to shout a hello to him or speak a quick goodbye as he passed by.

Suddenly, he turned a corner leading into a different hall, one much last crowded, and she hurried to walk up beside him. She hadn't been able to reach him quite in that huge surging crowd.

"So I take it you're not angry anymore." He stated as they walked, and she looked at him carefully. Was it just her imagination, or was he really somehow... just not acting right?

"No," She sighed, shaking her head and clearing the weird suspicion about him away. "I just needed to cool off in class."

He laughed, and they turned another corner. She was starting to wonder exactly where they were going- they were in an empty hall now.

"Well I'm glad. But I have to say," He stopped walking suddenly, and she stopped next to him, watching as he glanced down at her in a strange way. "Seeing you angry was... well, for lack of a better word, entertaining."

She opened her mouth to object, but then decided to let it pass. It was hard to stay mad at him right now- when he was being so nice and carrying her books for her. But...

Where exactly were they going?

"Um, you're not lost are you?" She asked when he didn't make a move to start walking again.

"No, this room is where the we keep all the textbooks." He nodded towards the door on the wall beside him, and then looked down at her with those big brown eyes of his. "Could you open the door?"

"Uh..." She was going to question it. She really was. But then again, he'd gone to this school a hell of a lot longer than she had- it was her first day, and probably his billionth. Stepping past him, she opened up the door of the room and stepped in first.

"What the..."

Now she understood why there was such a lack of students in this corridor. The room was only half-built- there was a heavy smell of wet paint in the air, and the floor was covered in plastic sheets. Wood was stacked here and there, and there was a massive chalkboard lying on the floor by the wall that, she assumed, was the wall that went behind the teacher's podium. There was no podium there yet, though.

"Oh, did I get the wrong room?"

She turned to face him, seeing that he had placed her books on a sawdust-covered desk by the wall. She gave him a look that held a heck of a lot of suspicion, and he just blinked back with an innocent smile.

"Is this the west wing? The one you were talking about the renovations with Tora about earlier?"

"Guess so."

"And why are we here? I need to go home, or my family-"

"I figured, if you aren't still mad at me, and you said you weren't, that we could continue our unfinished discussion finally. We won't be interrupted here."

"That's seriously strange."

You want to talk in a creepy abandoned part of the school undergoing some crazy indoor construction? S.T.R.A.N.G.E.

He cocked his head to one side slightly, quizzically.

"Why is it?"

"Because, it just is." She turned her head away from him, trying to ignore the fact that his boyishly young features made him look especially adorable when he cocked his head like that.

It was hard to not examine him. He had long legs that were the cause of his tall height, and wore his uniform jacket across the edge of his shoulders, (it somehow clung there defying the law of physics) so that a plain t-shirt worn over his chest was clearly displayed- and it was a shirt that left nothing to the imagination, because you could see his muscles pulled tight through the fabric. All that, and his boyishly charming facial features and big brown eyes, it was a sight to see.

She gulped, noticing only just now how close he'd gotten to her.

"So I'm a strange person. Does that bother you?" He asked, gazing down at her as he stood so close now, his shoes edged next to hers and his knee seemed to accidentally bump into her.

Or maybe it wasn't accidentally. When she caught the look on his face, she noticed it was slightly changed from boyishly charming to... sly. Just plain damn sly.

"You aren't all that strange, I guess." She tried to step back, but in that moment her foot decided to get caught in between two wooden boards on the ground.

She fell back suddenly, but not before she reached out, grabbed his shoulder, and he unexpectedly came falling down with her. Shouldn't he have had more balance than that?!

A large amount of sawdust was in the air as they collapsed to the dirty flooring, and they both ended up coughing and pulling at each other's clothes, trying to get a grip on themselves. When the sawdust cleared and spread away from them through the air, she winced as she felt all of his weight on top of her, and tried to push against him at the same time he tried to pull away from her. The result was him being sent back all the way onto his knees, so now it just looked like he was- well, it didn't just look like it.

He was straddling her.

She blinked up at him, not really knowing what to say. What should she say? It was an accident? I'm sorry I made you fall on top of me? Okay not that. That sounded weird.

"Akari..."

She found his eyes, and was shocked with what she saw in them. Hidden... desire...?

"Are you... are you okay?" She asked, though it was obvious he was clearly doing better in the situation than she was.

"I think." He reached down to her, pushing some of her hair out of her face and one particular strand away from her lips. If she had caught it right, she thought she saw him staring at her lips for a few moments.

Shifting uncomfortably underneath him, Akari decided this was a fairly embarrassing position for her to be in. Well, and him too, though that look in his eyes was telling her he didn't mind all that much.

"Do you need me to get off of you?" He asked, though it was more of a murmur. She realized now that his hand hadn't left her face, and his fingers were barely touching her cheek as they hovered there.

"Um- could you just- yeah." She blushed. These situations were a burden to her, she was positive of that, and yet they always got her stomach all warmed up.

"Okay."

A moment passed, and nothing happened.

"Orochi?" She said carefully, her breath hitching as his hand started to travel.

His fingers first caressed over her cheek, then up to her ear, and they paused in her hair for a moment. He leaned down as he pulled out a thick strand of hair, and touched it to his lips, inhaling its scent with his nose. Her chest rose up in a sudden quick motion as she sucked in a heavy, deep breath, and his eyes seemed to catch sight of it because then his hand traveled out of her hair, the strands slipping between his fingers. Now that his head was closer to her, he was just staring at her. Just- staring. Really intently. And then she gasped and he gave the tiniest of smiles, and that certain sly look reappeared in his eyes, when his hand pressed itself just above her chest, his fingers glancing over her neck.

"Here's the money for the rest of the renovations, Orochi-kun."

Orochi seemed to freeze over her at this point. She heard his quick intake of breath, and then the curse that followed from his lips. His head was so close to her now that she could feel his breath against her cheek, and feeling that strange tickling caused by it and also hearing the stern voice coming from within the room is what caused her to act.

"You should get off of me now." Orochi looked at her and didn't move. "Now."

"Yes, please, Orochi." Tora's voice sounded extremely bored in the background. "Let's not bring actual affairs into our business affairs."

Orochi cleared his voice, and closed his eyes from her view as he finally got off of her. Now able to move as he stood up, she sat up carefully, rubbing her spine where she had hit the floor. She wasn't going to look up, because she know she didn't want to see what Tora could possible look like right now.

"Thank you, Tora." Orochi seemed to sigh with his words.

"You don't have to thank me. It's just business as usual." Tora sounded, to Akari, still strangely bored and unaffected, as if the longer he talked to the other boy, the longer he wasted his time.

There were quick footsteps that she heard, and then a door quietly pulling shut. And then-

"Get up. You really look ridiculous, kneeling on a dirty floor like that."

She scowled, hating to have to listen to any order of his, but got up due to the fact that she really did feel ridiculous. As soon as she stood, she couldn't help but glance over at him.

His eyes, not for the first time, settled on her. And they stayed. And for once, she saw more than just a spark in the golden depths. More than just a plan or a scheme or hidden secrets. She saw an EMOTION there. A powerful one.

Quickly, he stalked towards her, all strengthening walk, lean, muscular figure, blonde hair and golden tiger's eyes, and he was not only fiercely quick in grabbing her wrist but also there was an air about him that seemed almost- desperate. Jerking her with him, he brought her out of the room and at an insanely fast walk turned her down the empty corridor with him.

"Tora, how did you know I was in there?"

"I didn't."

She tried to pull back but his hold on her was like iron.

"Is there something you need to tell me?"

"Why?"

"I'm trying to guess your reason behind pulling me around like this. There better be one hell of a good reason for it."

"Don't I always have my reasons?"

Akari shivered in his grasp as he led her past window after window, shoes clacking softly as they traveled through the school's halls. She just couldn't get over the clipped tone he was using with her. It was like he was on an edge that he was barely clinging to, and he was about to fall off of it. And he was angry with her, so he was going to bring her over the edge with him.

"Where are you taking me? Student Council Room, I'm guessing."

"Aren't you smart."

Suddenly, he pulled her to an abrupt stop in front of the large doors she'd seen earlier, and opened the door for her. She looked up at him after watching the door swing open eerily, and caught the strangest look on his face. He raised both eyebrows at her, as if to dare her to defy him, and she turned and walked into the room quickly, hurrying over to the couch and sitting against the arm of it before he could force her up on a table again or something.

When he entered the room after her, she watched him as he locked the door. She also watched him as he turned around to face her, and slowly, almost as if to draw it out in some sort of predatory way, walked towards her from his place across the room. Immediately she stood up straight and turned away from him, maneuvering past other furniture in the room as he continued to approach her like that. She could hear it as his steps started to quicken, and right as she moved behind his desk near the large window, she turned to see that he was only just a few steps behind her.

"Tora..." She backed away and around the desk, but he just walked around wherever she went. It was sort of turning into a strange game- he was chasing her around and around the desk, both of their steps quickening until she ran over to the corner of the room, seeing to it that she had picked a corner where in front of her, across the room, there was placed so much furniture and other objects that he'd have to carefully walk around each thing before he could get to her.

He scrutinized her from his place a few paces in front of the desk, stopping his threatening steps for a moment.

"Being stubborn like that stopped being cute a long time ago." He mused, watching her for a moment before hurrying across the room towards her with quick, light steps.

Akari had just enough time to have a moment of panic and then jolt into action before he reached the spot she had just been in. She stumbled past a wall filled with bulletin boards and papers and pictures before she reached yet another corner of the large room. She looked behind herself once again, expecting him to be rushing towards her, but he had slowed in his speed now and was just... walking towards her. Slowly, and with even steps. His gaze was like golden melted butter on hers- except there was an unexpected sharpness added into the warmth that was choking her of all words.

"Akari..." He said suddenly, catching all of her attention as he stopped walking. And then- then he was smirking at her. And then he was shaking his head, and he started to laugh at her. Really truly, he was just standing there, with his chin tucked down and his head bent as he laughed at her.

She suddenly stepped forward, about to confront him about his unneeded laughter, when his head suddenly lifted back up and he caught her eye again, smiling with a glint of his canines. It was a sadistic smile if she ever saw one.

"You're such fun to play with." He commented, watching her what she deemed a safe distance away. "Now... let's finish our earlier 'discussion'."

"You're such an ass. Stop messing around like this!" She responded, stepping forwards slightly too.

He just stood there, and suddenly, the grin faded from his lips. His eyes narrowed on hers in a dangerous sort of way, and he raised a single, perfect gold eyebrow at her statement.

"Like this... Tell me, how else would you like to mess around?"

"I-"

"Would you, perhaps," He had started to walk forward again, effectively causing her to back up, all the while watching him. "Like to mess around more like-"

Her back bumped against something. She sneaked a glance- hah!

The door.

Turning around at an impossibly fast rate, she was quick to unlock it with cold, sweaty fingers and yank at the handle.

"This?"

His breath on her neck is what made her pause. And when he slid a hand around her waist, across her stomach, she was finally caught.

His free hand went to the door, pushing it with a decisive click, shut. Then she watched on as his hand traveled slowly, leisurely, down the door's surface, his fingers slid over hers, and then he managed to lock the door again, and pull her hand away. Those slow, deliberate movements alone were enough to freak her out completely.

"Tora," No doubt, her voice was panicked. "What are you doing?"

She could feel everything in that moment - every movement he made against her - his hips swiveling slightly against her backside, his chest expanding and retracting against her back as he breathed her in as well - and she quivered as the familiar warmth of his breath ghosted against the skin just behind the crest of her ear.

"I'm going to have my way with you now," He answered her in a low, rumbling husk. "Before anyone else can attempt to beat me to it again."