When Mitsuki came to, the world was a blur of grey and beige. Her eyes were having trouble focusing so she relied on her other senses. It was cold, the ground a rough stone prickling her arm. She could hear droplets of water hitting the floor so frustratingly slowly.

More than that, her back burned. Not just a normal aching pain - it stung like flames had been licking one clean stripe up her back. Mitsuki crawled on to her elbows. Even if her eyes weren't still blurring her environment, it was dark. There was barely any light around her that she could detect. Moving forward, she reached in front of her and gulped as her hand closed around a rusty metal bar. She moved her hand ever so slightly to the side only to find another one.

A wave of panic washed over her. By the way things were looking, she was in a cell. Why?

Did this have to do with him?

Mitsuki dragged herself upward to sit on her bottom, just that little action taking a great deal of effort. The pain was making everything so much harder she had to admit. Breathing heavily, she rubbed her eyes, desperate to get a better look of her surroundings.

Her eyes cleared somewhat, she took a look around the room again. It was a musty cell, a single light illuminating a long, eerie hallway. She looked to her left and gasped. There was another person here. They were slumped over and looked almost lifeless.

Mitsuki climbed to her knees and banged on the bars. "Hey, are you awake? Or alive?" The other prisoner turned to Mitsuki, and she sharply inhaled.

"Izumi?"

Izumi lifted her head slowly and peered at Mitsuki with tired eyes. "Mitsuki."

"Izumi, what are you doing in here?" Mitsuki crawled toward Izumi, only bars separating them. She met her sister's exhausted gaze with her own confused one. "Izumi, what's going on?"

"I'm sorry," Izumi muttered. "I've gotten you stuck in this mess again."

"Izumi, tell me what happened," Mitsuki demanded, shaking the unmovable bars. "I deserve an answer."

"I…" Izumi took a deep breath. "I tried to harness the witch's power." She slumped over even more if possible. "I failed. He trapped me."

"Izumi!" Mitsuki hissed. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking I could rebuild the clan, regain my honor! Why else would I do this?" Izumi cried out and stood abruptly. She kicked the bars with force, and Mitsuki slipped backwards.

Izumi slid down the wall and muttered to herself, and Mitsuki realized that although Izumi was here, Mitsuki was all alone.

Hiroomi flipped through pages rapidly, desperate to find anything that could help them. After being calmed down by Akihito, he knew that charging in blindly would do nothing. Before, they had Izumi's help to seal off the head. This time they didn't. Plus, if Tohru was active again...what had happened to Izumi?

Besides him, Akihito and Mirai were also researching ways to kill the witch. When Hiroomi had told them of the news, all the blood had drained out of Akihito's face as he looked at Mirai's scarred back.

Hiroomi never wanted either of his friends to go through that hell again. Never again.

Mirai squealed. "Here, here. Hiroomi, look!"

Hiroomi peered over her shoulder and his eyes widened. "This is a spell to kill witches. It requires a few difficult ingredients, things we can most likely get from Ayaka, but..." He looked to Akihito.

"What is it?"

"It requires blood from a half-demon. A lot of it."

Akihito paused but eventually nodded. He looked to Mirai who was staring at him with wide, horrified eyes. "I'll be okay," he murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Let's do it," he said to Hiroomi. Hiroomi bit his lip and gave his friend a curt nod.

He could only hope this would go well. He was going to get Mitsuki back, one way or another.

Anger flashed in Izumi's eyes at the sound of footsteps in the corridor. Mitsuki froze as she saw him again.

Tohru.

"Hello, Mitsuki-chan," he said pleasantly, an eerie smile on his face. "Long time no see."

"You stay away from me," Mitsuki hissed, backing up toward the wall.

Tohru clicked his tongue. "That just won't do. Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Monster!" Izumi screeched. It was clear being imprisoned was taking a toll on her. "I demand you let us out!"

Tohru threw back his head and laughed. "You demand me? Don't you remember? Your little binding rite didn't work." His eyes were cold and dull. "You won't be demanding anything of me, you little bitch."

Izumi's face contorted with fury, and she kicked the bars again.

Tohru chuckled. "Not being able to use your powers is such a pain, isn't it? I'm sure you're finding that to be true as well, Mitsuki-chan. Or maybe..." He inched closer to her cell. "You're enjoying being so close to me?"

Mitsuki shivered, and she willed herself not to shed tears.

Tohru snorted and backed away. "You may be afraid now, but you'll learn. You'll learn to love me." Mitsuki couldn't even say anything. His eyes were wild and frightening. She could barely breathe. "That's all for now. I'll be back later."

As the sounds of his footsteps became softer and softer, Mitsuki gasped and tears escaped her.

"Hiroomi, please come find us," she whispered.

Sorry for such a short chapter and such a long wait. I'll try to get the next one out faster.