"It couldn't possibly be her...that guy was very specific," Shu's mind was a weary of thoughts as he continued back to the den, Reiji stressfully pouring himself another cup of tea. "She seems far too absent minded..."

His voice murmured quietly to himself as he entered. Reiji wanted to see him again, an earnest desire to converse over Yuri's presence in the house. When he arrived, he lazily sat about the sofa and fumbled with his sweater.

"There are a merit of things I do not understand. If it was another sacrificial bride for our pleasure, father would have informed me." Reiji was greatly displeased; Shu could sense his brother's fuming jealousy and perplexity of the entire situation.

Sitting back, Shu fumbled with the suspenders on his pants. "Yes, well...that man was awfully clear about all this bullshit..." Shu replied in a nonchalant manner. "He said he doesn't care what we do with her...as long as she stays pure...whatever the hell that means,"

"You mean he went to you? Why wouldn't he come to me with an affair such as this? He honestly expects you to be able to care about these things?" Reiji questioned, and Shu looked as though he simply didn't care. "If keeping this sacrificial bride, quote un quote, 'pure', is a top priority, he wouldn't have gone to you. Rather, Father would have come to me instead."

Shu's eyes shifted towards his feet. "...Hah...I am the eldest, you know." He replied, shaking his head a little in disproval. "Whatever the case, we can't kill her until the allotted time.."

Reiji raised an eyebrow at this; could it be the woman his father was searching for? Perhaps...

"Is she Eve? I doubt it very seriously; she is an ill-informed, absent minded, blubbering idiot. I do not foresee such an imbecile possessing the qualities of such an important woman." His words were sly and certainly cut to the bone; had Yuri heard, she would've been greatly offended and, due to her overly sensitive nature, personally attacked.

"You left her upstairs by herself..?" Shu suddenly remembered, rather curious really. He leaned into the conversation with his younger brother, looking uninterested at the moment.

Reiji thrusted his glasses up the bridge of his nose; his posture remained as perfect as can be as he narrowed his eyes at his elder sibling. "Yes, she'll be in great trouble when the triplets find her. I estimate her death to be sometime within the next few hours. Whatever purity you boasted about will be, oh how do I say this without seemingly giving a damn, non-existent after those triplets get ahold of her."

A snarl appeared on Reiji's face as the other stood up. This entire situation was boring to him; Shu would have none of this. All he remembered at the moment was what Karlheinz had said to him. He didn't care much about this girl, rather, he found it cumbersome knowing he would be required to watch her himself.

However, Reiji was certain about one thing: when the triplets, Ayato, Kanato, and Laito, found Yuri, she would be in deep trouble. For the time being, they were oblivious to their new guest of sorts. Yuri was just as oblivious to them, as she was upstairs in her newfound bedroom tearing through her clothes in search of something sophisticated enough to please Mr. Sakamaki's sons.

No, it wasn't essentially a romantic attraction that this stemmed from; it was more or less her immense desire to eliminate a feeling of unworthiness to be in such an extravagant home and extravagant people. Yuri was greatly distraught when she could find nothing to match their sophistication. At best, all she could find was a dress she'd sewn months before out of fabric from the draperies in Yakimura's office.

It was red to say the least; though pale and faded, it had a lovely collar one the top of it, sewn together from the fabric gifted to Yuri one Christmas. The entire fiasco was rather humiliating for her. The dress was still a perfect fit for her, though she noticed the darts were too large for her petite figure.

"How could I be so stupid!" She cried in a desperate fashion. "The breasts are too big..!" She shrieked in humiliation, covering her face in tears.

Already before chaos would ensue in the Sakamaki estate was Yuri driven to tears; of course, in this case, it was simply her own stupidity that caused her to cry. Maybe it was also a case of teenage girl hormones and stress that caused her to sob, or maybe she just felt like it. Whatever the case, Yuri fell into her bed and buried her tears in the pillows.

It must've been an hour or so before the clock on her nightstand ticked towards nine. Her face was red and puffy, and Yuri knew straight away that no amount of makeup would change her appearance. Rather, she pulled her sweater and stockings on, fastening the buckles on her white mary-janes. At the very least she wanted to be presentable; she straightened out her hair and fixed the bow in the back of her braids.

"There you go, Yuri. Smile a little bit, gosh you look terrible..!" She exclaimed, bursting into tears as she spectated her unorthodox appearance in the mirror.

Yuri was certainly self-conscious about her appearance; she disliked a great many things about herself, from her face to her weight. Firstly, the lack of food for two and a half years at her home in Kyoto took a toll on her; Yuri was underweight and thin, to the point where she had reached ninety-five pounds or so. She had quite the small chest, and it caused her immense shame and embarrassment. How she longed to look as the girls in the magazines her friends collected; tall and feminine, neatly groomed hair and a lovely tiny waist. She wanted those smooth delicate features rather than the somewhat round face she was gifted with.

Yuri could've run down all her features and things she liked and disliked about herself, but she was interrupted with the sound of slamming doors and yelling. This caught her off guard, to say the least, as she was under the impression Reiji and Shu were the only men in this house.

"Argh! Dammit, Reiji! It's too early for dinner! Let me go back to bed!"

Yuri heard this and stood still before the mirror, frozen in both fear and unnerving apprehension. After twenty seconds, the door opened, and the tall fellowed man was there again.

"Come along now, dinner is ready. I see you took the allotted time to change? How adorable, a lower classed young woman attempting to make herself attractive," Reiji scoffed before leaving, and this caused Yuri's image to shrink once again.

"...That hurt..!" She cried, wiping her face and smoothing out her dress.

The noisiness in the hall had stopped, and Yuri took the moment to leave her bedroom. She hadn't worn her heels in a while, so she was a little bit rusty at the art for sure. She drifted among the corridors in the sudden realization she hadn't the faintest idea where she was going.

"Hello..? Hello-oo!" She called, shyly holding her hands to her chest. "I-I'm lost, Reiji!" She called, stumbling down some stairs.

Utterly clueless, Yuri shrieked loudly at a bolt of lightning and clash of thunder from the window. This certainly wasn't proving to be a good experience, as Yuri was crouched down on the steps covering her ears. The rain was violent as she could hear a few branches hitting the window.

Oh how she was terribly frightened of thunder. Yuri's face had only been dry of tears for a few minutes or so before she began crying again.

This was a terrible impression she gave off, especially to Ayato, the young man standing at the foot of the steps. A loud cry of thunder rang out, and the bright lightning illuminated the man.

"So who the hell are you?" He called out, a displeased expression on his face.

Yuri quickly looked up; there he was, a young boy with red hair. He couldn't be more than a year or two older than her, but his emerald eyes seemed to ring out centuries of ethereal beauty.

"Huh? Are you blind? Stupid? Deaf? I said who the hell are you!" Ayato shouted, making his way up the stairs now.

This alarmed Yuri, who began to pull herself backwards in an attempt to get away from him. "G-get away from me!" She screeched loudly; in response, Ayato gritted his teeth as he approached closer towards her.

"One of Laito's sluts? Is that what this is about? I never thought he'd bring home such an ugly, bare-chested bitch,"

Yuri quickly shook her head as Ayato came closer; this time, he was before her, reaching out to yank her off the floor and throw her out. "N-ngh don't touch me!" Yuri screamed this time, and, though exceptionally weak, she laid a hand against the boy's cheek.

Ayato pulled away, rubbing his face as he begrudgingly growled beneath his breath. "...You sly son of a bitch..." He warned cautiously.

Things could have ended badly had Reiji not interfered; extremely irritated, he rubbed his temples and pulled Ayato away from Yuri in displeasure.

"Enough of this nonsense, you're both late to dinner," Reiji groaned this time, dragging the two of the them down the steps.

Yuri squirmed as Reiji held her wrist, Ayato's too as he pulled them down the corridor. It wasn't until they approached a hallway when Yuri was released; she watched Ayato and Reiji move along into a room. She quickly followed behind them, slowly peaking into the door.

"You got my damn bread..." Someone growled lightly. Something was off, and Yuri knew it. There was something peculiar about these brothers. They sounded slightly aggressive, and, shyly embarrassed, she entered the dining room.

There were ten chairs laid out about the long table; four were on the sides, and two rested at the edges. There were candles and quite a banquet of goodies, and Yuri couldn't believe it.

"Asshole! Give me the butter!" Ayato hollered as he reached across the table to the young man sitting across from him. Most of them were conversing, and hadn't noticed Yuri until she paused at the foot of the door.

The other redhead, who Yuri hadn't been acquainted with, looked at her from his position across the table. Slowly, one by one, each of the brother's turned her way, causing her cheeks to blush crimson red in embarrassment.

"...Hello, I'm Yuri Hatori," she bowed, slightly flustered. "I...I don't suppose I've met most of you," she said softly, examining each of the brothers with a sheepish gaze. "I've come to stay with Mr. Togo Sakamaki,"

"Togo Sakamaki? What is this bullshit?" There was a boy who looked slightly younger than his siblings, with fair skin and the lightest shade of hair. He shot her the most unnervingly sinister glare from his seat at the foot of the table. Yuri could feel her palms go sweaty at this. After all, it wasn't a mistake, was it?

"Subaru, refrain from using such language in front of our guest. Much less in front of a young lady," he snapped back, causing the pale skinned boy to sit back in chair.

"You may have a seat beside Ayato and Kanato," Reiji directed Yuri with a gesture to the chair between the young man from earlier and a strange fellow with lavender hair.

"Y-yes, thank you," she replied, pulling out her chair and sitting in a modest fashion. It was a few moments before the socially extroverted red headed fellow sitting across from Ayato began conversation.

"A young woman here? A lovely one too; So soon? Is this is a gift from father, perhaps?" Glancing about to Reiji, the young man had a seemingly sinister smirk rise on his face.

"I-I'm not a gift..." Yuri spoke up, attracting his attention as though he were a feral animal in the wilderness, catching sight of a helpless prey.

The boy raised his eyebrow as he glanced at her. "Not a gift you say? Perhaps you've come from town to seduce us and steal our riches,"

Subaru clicked his tongue, shooting an unnerving glare towards the boy Yuri would know as Laito in a few moments. "Not every conversation you have needs to be sexual, you fucking pervert..."

Laito raised his glass to that, letting out an array of laughter as Reiji sighed, irritable at this. "Honestly, what part of keeping your profanities to yourself do you not understand?"

"I'm being honest..!" He quickly shouted, Ayato groaning in annoyance. "Laito feels the need to talk to every woman he meets like they're gonna become his next slut to lay!"

"Shut up! Stop spoiling my food!" Ayato's words sprung out like vomit, and things heated up again. Yuri smoothed her napkin against her dress as she began dipping her bread into her bowl. "I don't wanna talk about what this titless bitch over here looks like naked. I might throw up at the thought."

Shu, who was sitting beside Laito, looked lazily around the room and past the candles. He stayed quiet, taking a sip of what Yuri could tell to be wine before leaning his elbow on the table. Their eyes met for a moment or two, and Yuri felt immensely uncomfortable, remembering their remarks.

"...All women look the same, naked, Ayato. This girl isn't any different," Shu replied, causing Yuri to fume red.

"...Thank you for dinner, Reiji....and Shu," she sighed, looking at them shyly. Reiji, of course, expected a word of thanks, so subsequently he merely continued eating. Shu however, continued to lock his gaze towards Yuri and brushed his food around his plate. He looked as though he was thinking, though Yuri couldn't quite figure out what it might be.

"...How cute..." He mumbled sarcastically, causing Yuri to pout a little at his mannerisms.

The boy with lavender hair, who quite frankly looked as though he hadn't sleep in a hundred years, turned Yuri's way and narrowed his eyes at her attire. "What's that your wearing? It's horrendous..."

Yuri took personal offense to this and looked down at her lap. "It's all I had..." She whispered, feeling exceptionally self-conscious at his remark. "It's just a dress...there's no need to be so mean about it..."

"Awe now Kanato, don't be so mean towards poor little...what was that name of yours?" Laito replied, taking a bite off his fork and glancing towards Yuri. She was still meditating upon Kanato's knife and slur of offenses to notice nor to care about her name.

"Yuri Hatori, she's from a hovel in Kyoto," Reiji began to explain. "A place for mongrels and filthy underclass children to stay. Like an orphanage of sorts,"

"That girl beside Teddy and I? Her lips are purple, and her skin is too pasty to be a doll's...what a disgusting girl." Kanato hugged the bear sitting in his lap, looking away from Yuri, who was now trying to contain the emotions pushing their way from her throat.

"Aw come now, she's not the ugliest woman I've seen. Be a little kinder, will you? I'm sure Reiji will take your sweets away if you don't." Laito smirked ever so slightly, taking a sip of soup and a crunch of bread.

Kanato dropped his fork, clasping his most precious possession in his hands. "You're only saying that so you can fuck her! Shut up! You don't know anything!" He fired back, causing Laito to burst out in laughter.

"I'm only teasing! But for real, be kinder to our guest," he snickered lightly, amused at his brother's tense reaction. "You wouldn't want such a woman to run away, now would you?"

Kanato glared down at his plate, having ate barely anything. "She's just another sacrificial bride..I'll treat her however I want," his tone turned quite sinister, and, slightly uncomfortable and perplexed, Yuri re-running what Kanato had said towards Laito. It made her sickish, and suddenly she felt she would vomit.

"Kanato, don't go pushing your nose places they don't belong," Laito replied as his brother, Subaru, wiped his face.

"...Say that about your dick," he grumbled.

Reiji shot up, his hands on the table as he glared about the young men. "I've had enough of this!" He shouted, a slightly terrifying expression on his face. "You've gone and embarrassed the Sakamaki namesake, subsequently, you two, Laito and Subaru, are excused!"

Yuri watched the two stand up, pushing their chairs in (though Yuri noticed the aggressive manner in which Subaru had done it) and depart from the room. As Subaru passed, he crossed his arms and shot a glare towards Yuri.

"...Better lock your doors tonight," he warned cautiously before leaving.

This of course, made little sense to Yuri. She would have locked her doors anyway, especially due to the fact that she was residing in a house full of hormonal teenage boys. Yet, the way he said it caused her great confusion.

She sat there for what seemed like an hour before Ayato rose to his feet and shoved his chair in. He walked off without another word as Kanato glanced towards Reiji.

"Where's the dessert?" He said in an extremely impatient tone.

"I'll have Elise fetch it," he replied, snapping his fingers. A woman came from behind the door, and the two of them whispered to each other for a moment.

Yuri was taken aback by how quickly Shu had departed; she didn't see him get up, or push his chair in. "Must be my anemia..." She whispered softly. "I'm hallucinating again...like that night.."

After a moment the maid came around, serving plates of chocolate mousse and whipped cream. When Elise approached Yuri's plate, Yuri began to feel self- conscious of herself again. She felt guilty rejecting it, but felt the same accepting it.

Kanato looked very pleased with the dessert, digging his fork into it happily. "Thank you," Yuri nodded slightly. However, it was strange, because Elise wasn't sure how to respond. She glanced over to Reiji, who was eating slowly.

"Ah, yes you're welcome, miss," she smiled before pushing the cart away. Yuri found it a little strange; nevertheless, she took a bite of the mousse and was overwhelmed by the flavor. It was a mixture of chocolaty deliciousness, delicate and flavorful. She'd never had anything of this measure at Yakimura's house.

"Miss Hatori, how was your trip from Kyoto? What do you think of our estate, so far?" Reiji struck up conversation like a fire in the dead of winter. Yuri wiped her mouth a little, glancing at her plate tiredly. Oh how hard she tried not to cry.

"It's very lovely...your house. The stairs and the beds...the vanity in my bedroom is beautiful too, and I fancy these teacups and this silverware. I've never had the chance to really eat off of something like this before, so it means a lot to me that you invited me to dinner like this..." her voice trailed off. What more could she say? She was petrified of embarrassing herself in front of Reiji like that.

"Of course you've never stayed in anything like this before. None of you common-folk have, and Teddy agrees with me. For that reason you ought to leave this place and never return. That or we'll just have to eat you.."

Kanato shot Yuri a nasty look, one that seemed to emit from his stuffed bear, too. "You don't have to be so mean about it..." Her voice muttered in a very timid way. Kanato began fuming in anger at this, pulling the fork from his cake and stabbing the space between Yuri's fingers. She abruptly yanked her hand away as though she'd touched a hot coal, a gasp coming from her lips.

"Perhaps I should sew that mouth of yours shut. What do you say, Hatori? Teddy and I just might pry your eyes out for that one!"

After an awkward string of silence, Reiji stood up and wiped his mouth, setting his napkin aside. "Dinner is finished; you two are excused as well," he said in reference to Kanato and Yuri.

Yuri glanced away for a split second before Kanato was gone. It baffled her, but she pushed her chair in and bowed again, brushing her hair back. "Thank you again, Reiji," she thanked him in a furrowing mess of emotions.

Reiji pushed his glasses up slightly, blowing out a candle on the table. "Don't thank me yet. You ought to rise before seven tomorrow, you understand? Perhaps if you're lucky those triplets won't disturb you."

Yuri's eyes glanced to the rug on the floor, her body feeling heavy and tired. "I'm used to waking up early...it won't be much of a problem."

Reiji caught hold of her expressions and mannerisms, his eyebrows displaying the curiosity in his head. "My, you seem to be under the impression we Sakamakis linger about in the daytime, am I correct?" He replied.

Yuri, slightly perplexed, ran a hand across her arm. "Y-yes sir, of course," she replied, Reiji's lips curling into a sinister smirk.

"You are in for quite an adventure." His voice stated, turning the lights out in the room and disappearing into the many corridors of the mansion.