Yamato was elbow-deep in jack-asses, and Hatori and Artemis were trying to run interference for him at the moment upstairs. Nine of the fourteen bodies had been found so far, and the whole police station was talking about the supposed new vigilante in Tokyo.

Three hours in, and the growing rumored backstory for the assumed vigilante had become quite elaborate. The origin story that was circulating among the cops included a broken home, a raped beloved family member, and a hatred of drugs. Many were sure whoever had decided to "clean up the streets" must have had personal connections with all those things.

All that came from the killing of four drug dealers, three rapists, and a husband and wife team that had gotten away with killing their child on a technicality. Hatori hasn't even attempted to remind them that, as the police, they were the ones who were supposed to take these people off the streets legally. Since he was related to the killer and didn't want her caught, he let it go.

Still, despite the fact that everyone assumed it was the same killer and were right, Yamato was working hard to cover it all up. Usagi had drained them all dry. While the bite marks had covered over, he didn't want people to figure out about the cause of death. It would be difficult to explain how they were drained of blood. That would cause people to ask way too many questions.

Yamato remembered Anderson, who he had reached out to what seemed so long ago. He had gotten the vibe from him that he knew about vampires. He emailed him, reaching out to see if he had found out anything more. He wanted to know if there had been any rumors floating around. He figured a man like him would be invested in being in the know. He didn't mind using him to ferret out any information.

Mamoru had stopped by earlier that day and asked if he wanted help. Yamato just shook his head. "I called Ami and Zoisite to help me figure something out. As much as you would be a better help to me, go home. Usagi needs you right now."

He nodded, "I wanted to offer, but I won't fight you on this. I left Rei sitting with her, but it would be better if I were there." She hadn't stopped crying from the previous day. Ami suspected that it was all the human blood in her that even enabled her to have tears. It all broke his heart for her.

He was glad when he got home that he could explain that Yamato had insisted he go back to her. She had felt awful for making so much work for him.

Rei gave him a small nod in solidarity as she left him to watch over her. They were all worried about her mental state right now.

Once she left, Mamoru lay on the bed with Usagi wrapped in his arms. As he did, he whispered that he was safe and that he loved her.

Rubeus only had twenty more reanimated people left to throw at the vampire and werewolf group/problem that destroyed them last time. He was furious. He thought he had sent out such an overwhelming number of the no-longer-not-quite-so-dead that he'd have crippled that section of the city. He had expected them to be still causing havoc and destruction at this moment.

He was standing in Diamond's secret backup headquarters. He liked having taken over the office of such a formerly powerful man. It made him feel like the new power in town. It gave him the confidence to start making lists of humans under his authority that he could send out to do his bidding.

That was all well and good until he encountered his first problem. The problem was the two guys he called initially weren't answering. Then he tracked their phones, and they were at the police station. "Idiot cops forgot to secure the phones." And that, at least, was a relief to him. He accessed the phones remotely through his computer and made sure to wipe them to the factory settings. Now nothing on them would lead back to him.

What he didn't know was that they weren't actually arrested, as he assumed. They were lying in the morgue, drained of blood, with several on the police force trying to cover up who killed them.

He then thought back to the previous day and his failed attempt to create any long-lasting damage. And that inexplicably causes him to reflect on how the beautiful Naru had, in fact, been at the scene of the fight. He wasn't sure if she did participate in it all. A witch had created a glamor and hidden them all from being recognizable before anyone fought. All he was sure of was there was a witch, six vampires, four werewolves, and, surprisingly, a lioness of some sort. He had already spent three hours researching if werelionesses were a thing. So far, he had zero clue that they even existed other than the evidence of his own two eyes.

He called up one of his underlings, the one in charge of his sex ring. He was pissed and wanted to take the edge off. "Send in a redhead for me. I need a fuck right now."

Five minutes later, he had her bent over his desk as he pulled her hair. He was balls-deep in her, and he used her to take out his frustration. He also insisted on calling her Naru the whole time.

Next time, when the battle was to start, he planned on being closer to the scene of the crime. He desperately wanted to get a good look at Naru and maybe even a chance to talk to her. He had no idea how one brief meeting with the beautiful woman had affected him so much. All he knew was that he had to have her. She was now his biggest obsession.

When Rei had left the penthouse, she went directly to Minako's place. Kunzite let her in as soon as she knocked, and she made her way to Minako's room. She knew she would be there tucked in bed and resting. She frowned when she thought about how volatile everything had gotten lately.

She stepped into the room, drew on her power, and gave Minako some more energy trying to help her maintain her power as a vampire. "Were you able to get in contact with him?"

Minako smiled and said, "Yes, his granddaughter is no longer dying of brain cancer. In fact, it's all gone. The doctors are baffled."

"I'm glad her life was saved. How are you?"

Kunzite watched the two girls talk from the doorway. He wanted to give them their space, but he hated letting his mate out of his sight, so that was as far as he would go.

"Apparently, advanced, stage-four brain cancer is hard to heal. I'm still exhausted. Even with all the blood that Kunzite has managed to get me."

"How is that working?"

"I have to use some of the energy I need to compel them to forget what happened afterward."

And that was really why Rei was there. Kunzite had called her instead of Usagi since she was dealing with her own struggles right now. He figured if Usagi wasn't going to be the one to order Minako to do something, she would take it better from a witch. She was an older vampire by far than the other girls, and he figured she'd be less likely to listen to them.

Rei went for being blunt since she didn't want any room for argument. "Well, that's a stupid ass idea. As of now, Kunzite will be alerting Ami or Makoto when he brings you blood, and they will take care of compelling them. Why waste the energy he worked so hard to get you?"

Minako shook her head, "They don't need to be inconvenienced."

"That's not your decision to make. I'm not asking. I'm telling you. If I need to take this to Usagi, I will."

"You can't. She's…" Minako trailed off. "You trapped me on purpose."

"Yup."

Kunzite was pleased with how things were turning out. He liked Rei, and as a priestess, she obviously had experience with speaking with authority.

He was surprised when she looked over her shoulder at him and said, "Are you going to forgive Usagi for yelling at you?"

It was Minako that said, "She hasn't even apologized to him yet."

"She's already forgiven," Kunzite insisted at the same time. "It's not hard to imagine what kind of headspace she was reacting from. She was terrified of losing my mate. I can more than accept that."

Rei nodded and looked back at Minako, "She will apologize. She would have called him already if Mamoru would let her. He's being protective of her after what he sees as his own failure. He wishes he had thought to call Dracula for help earlier. By the time he had Yamato call, it was too late." She knew despite being a policewoman, Minako hadn't been in contact with work. Neither Minako nor Kunzite had an update on what had been happening.

Both Minako and Kunzite were totally confused. "What?" Minako asked.

Rei explained, "Last night, everything had finally become too much for Usagi, and she lost it completely. She wasn't herself even on a physical level; she made everything rattle in the penthouse, knocked out the power to the whole building, her hair went silver, and her eyes were gold. She then disappeared, and Mamoru had to stop her killing streak. Her altered self was sure she had to kill anyone who might harm him. Apparently, they had been discussing his safety when she went nuclear."

"Killing streak?" Kunzite asked.

"Fourteen before he found her and was able to get her to stop. Fourteen dead in five and a half minutes. Somehow she is able to cry now too. She's been crying non-stop since last night. Usagi is back to herself, though."

Minako sighed, "And I'm here, unable to help at the police station." It was obvious that Minako was now ready to forgive her too.

"Yup! And you'll stay here. Do you want to make things harder on her?" Rei asked, and Kunzite grunted in agreement. She then added, "Yamato, Hatori, and Artemis are there. And Ami and Zoisite are lending some assistance. So far, the police have only found nine of the bodies. And since the rap sheets on those found are long and vile, they're looking at whoever did this as a vigilante –one they like. And right now, after Diamond and the new undead horde that attacked, they find that encouraging."

"Yamato has the hardest job, I assume, with the drained bodies," Kunzite stated.

"Yeah, but he still refuses Mamoru's help. I think it's because Yamato wants him to help Usagi heal emotionally, and also, I think he doesn't want him faced with the people she killed in her altered state. I suspect Yamato is trying to spare him that too."

"Spare him what?" Minako asked, not following.

"Spare him from facing the deaths she caused while she was out of her mind and determined to protect him." Rei grimaced. "They were horrible people, but they don't have the chance to change for the better anymore."

Kunzite said, "I think that's a bit presumptuous to assume they would change."

"I agree, but Yamato is looking at everything from the lenses of a police coroner. If he's right or not, the real truth doesn't change. I think he's trying to protect Mamoru."

Abruptly Kunzite pushed away from leaning on the door and said, "Minako's getting tired. She needs her rest."

Rei nodded and left the room despite Minako's protests. As she followed Kunzite to the door, she said, "Usagi is upset over yelling at you."

"I wish she wouldn't give it another thought." He then teased, "Tell her if I required my friends to be perfect, I wouldn't have my pack. Tell her it's forgiven and forgotten."

"I will." Rei then glanced back at Minako's room. "If she gives you any more trouble, let me know. Makoto will be here in three hours to help. She's even bringing the blood with her. You need to rely on us more too."

He smirked, "I liked picking. I didn't bring her any hot men to drink from." That got Rei to laugh.

Dracula fidgeted with his phone, and Lucy snatched it from his hands. "Stop your incessant worrying," she said.

"She's crying. That's huge." Dracula scuffed his foot on the floor. "I've only heard rumors that it was even possible. If they don't handle this right, this could still all go to hell."

Lucy knit her brow, "How?"

"She could detonate again, and it could be so much worse. Fourteen dead in five and a half minutes. We only got that lucky because she stopped to drain them all dry."

"You're worried about the dead?"

He scoffed, "I'm worried about her being exposed as a vampire and, by extension, exposing her whole group. I know personally what it's like to have a loved one hunted because of a mistake I made." He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "You were almost killed."

She snuggled in his arms and said, "So advise Mamoru. I know you've tried to stay out of it all because you didn't think he'd appreciate being told what to do for his mate by another man, but it looks like he could use the help."

He nodded and said, "The good news is that she limited her killing to horrible people. It shows she was still in control partially. I bet it was the only reason he was able to pull her back to herself."

"Probably. I wonder how much his bond with her as King and queen affected it all. It's possible she can't lose herself completely because he owns part of her."

Dracula thought about that for a bit and then said, "It's all fascinating to think about, but I don't know if we'll ever know for sure."

Lucy didn't agree but kept quiet. She had no proof of her theory, after all. What she was sure of was that the last vampire to be in the same state Usagi was in had a twentieth of her power, and he had killed thirty-four innocent people before being staked.

Sapphire was standing next to a very nervous Naru when the front door opened to her family home. Tonight they were having dinner with her mother and her stepfather. It was the first time he was going to meet the man. He knew Naru's mother, Mayumi, but that was from purchasing things from her at OSA-P.

He wished he could erase her reason for worrying, but he realized that he would just have to be there for her as a support. It was the first time she had seen her mother or her stepfather as a vampire, and she was terrified.

She had convinced him that her stepfather had said some odd things over the years that, now looking back, made her believe he might know something about the supernatural.

And she proved to be right when her stepfather, Satoru, asked his wife to let him "handle things," and he stared at them both, not inviting them into the house.

Sapphire watched Naru's mother fidget and start to say something, but her husband cut her off. "We need an explanation first. Please, darling," he begged her, not taking his eyes off Sapphire.

"What?" Mayumi asked, confused. "You know that Naru is engaged to Sapphire. I told you he bought her an engagement ring at our jewelry store. What is there to explain?"

Satoru frowned at Sapphire, "You made our precious Naru a vampire?"

And now Sapphire officially admitted that not only was Naru right, but she also might not be worried enough. It was then he noticed the signet ring the man was wearing. He was of The Order of the Van Helsings.

He took Naru's hand and laced their fingers together. "I can see dinner isn't going to happen."

Her stepfather glared at them. "I want an explanation!"

"What could I say that you would possibly accept? I recognize your ring and what it stands for. I know she's in danger from you now."

"I would never hurt her!" the man snapped back, unsure.

Sapphire nodded sadly, "No, but you will report on her, and your 'friends' will come after both of us."

Naru tugged at his hand, "what does your ring mean?"

"Order of the Van Helsings," Sapphire told her. "Dracula will be very interested to hear they're still around."

Mayumi was crying silently, still not understanding anything other than the fact that her husband was angry, but the name Dracula caught her attention. "Dracula's a myth."

As her husband shook his head, but it was Sapphire who said, "No, he's very much alive."

Naru's stepfather said, "If no one's managed to kill him. And I doubt that."

Sapphire laughed at him, "No, your order hasn't managed to kill him or Lucy yet."

"Van Helsing killed Lucy, and how would you know about Dracula?"

"I could get them on speakerphone for you right now. They're friends of a friend. Van Helsing failed to kill Lucy, you're being fed lies."

"Bull-shit."

Sapphire didn't argue. On second thought, he didn't want to expose any more about any other vampires he knew in Japan or any other country. The man had dangerous acquaintances.

He changed the subject. "I'm sure you've already figured out that the apartment we were living in is officially abandoned now. Don't bother sending your cronies to look for us there."

When they walked away, Naru was crying. Once they were in his car, he sped away. He headed for a hotel on the edge of town. He had been wanting to take her there, and now was the perfect time. He wanted to keep her away from places where anyone could come looking for them.