Yuri's back ached; she had been sitting on a stool in Reiji's study for at least an hour now, her posture remaining perfectly shaky as she balanced three books on the top of her head. Truthfully, she hurt terribly; but when Reiji caught Yuri even slightly slouching and resting, he dug a crop against her back, her skin burning through her clothes.

She tried her very hardest not to cry. Reiji found himself more violent towards Yuri when she became emotional, so he loved stirring up her feelings for humor. She shuddered and shrieked, pulling deeply on the hem of her dress as her body could take no more.

"R-Reiji..! Please..! P-please let me rest..!" She cried, the young man looking up from his chair. He snickered ever so slightly as be closed the novel he had been reading and approached Yuri from a distance.

"Foolish, truly you are. Humans are mere food to us vampires, so try your hardest not to spoil your blood. When I can finally sink my fangs into your flesh, I'll be sure to make it as excruciating as possible," He seemed to snicker in admiration for her pain. "Now, perhaps you'd like to admit those notes of mine you read, stupid girl."

Yuri's back was shaking and trembling; she could barely breathe, a searing pain shot up her lungs and to her neck as she released a loud cry and began to slump forward. "Y-you're vampires...!" She began to cry, tears rolling down her cheeks as Reiji rose again and approached her. The lash against her was far worse this time, and she began to remember the night the exorcism took place. Yuri's wrists ached so much, her legs fell forward and she took a fall off the seat.

It was late the night in which is occurred only two weeks ago; Yuri hadn't given it much thought because it only made her sad, but Reiji's vile behavior made her recall the night of Yakimura's punishment.

Yuri remembered her mind was sent into a frenzy as she laid in her bed that night in the drearily depressing environment. She made a phone call to her old home's empty number, leaving a slur of helpless words and pleas and confessions throughout the ring. She sat in the corner of the bedroom crying, holding the telephone in her lap as she begged for the woman to come home. There was no reason to stay, or, if there was, Yuri simply couldn't see it. She felt tainted, hurt, both confused and upset. Yuri's fingers began to tingle and sting as her eyes lingered upwards towards the drawer in which Chikai had formerly used.

Now, as Yuri was dragged upwards back into the chair by her hair, Reiji began slashing his fangs deep into her throat; it was a stinging, searing pain filling up her neck, and it caught her off guard so terribly she merely screamed in response. Yuri tried comparing it to that of a bee sting, or a splinter, but this was far worse. She couldn't control the situation as the blood drizzled from the young man's fangs and into the edges of her shirt, staining her lavender brassiere.

Her mind longed to be distracted; she began to push herself back to the night in which her life had become unbearable. Even as she longed for another memory, this was all that came back to her.

Yuri marked her wrists up that night; she was scared, utterly petrified as she made the same cuts Chikai had done, though in exchange for a more self-degrading way. Even now they had barely healed; they were hidden up underneath her shirt, tucked behind her blouse's sleeves. The oils in which Yakimura had used in an effort to bless her had merely caused them infection, subsequently they stung like hell.

"Then...what did I do then..? I can't remember..." Yuri's mind thought as Reiji began suckling her neck as though he were an infant latched to its mother's chest. She was frozen in fear, frozen in the present evening time; she was abandoned in a house full of vampires, struggling desperately to distract herself from this dreary fate. Yuri could hear loud noises escaping Reiji's lips; she didn't know if it was a moan of pleasure or dismay.

"I went...to the window...yeah, the window. It was raining outside I think...I was shaking...I was crying. There was no one beside me that night, I was alone..." She recalled as she could feel another lash into her flesh by Reiji's fangs. She screamed in response to this, her body hunching forward in desperation to get away from him. "T-that hurts..!" She screeched desperately, clawing into her thighs.

"Shut up, this is a punishment after all," Reiji simply retorted as he sliced through her again. The vessels in Yuri's neck began evidencing themselves, filling with the sensation of yet another bite. Reiji continued slurping up her blood as though he were desperate.

"I opened it...yeah...I opened it and dropped the phone to the floor. I remember hearing the dial tone on the other end as I began crawling out of it...but what was I thinking..? It was dark in there, my mind wasn't thinking...it just...hurt.." Her thoughts ran amuck like the tears streaming down her cheeks, her collarbone covered in blood. She was far too afraid to resist him, Reiji, the young man gripping deathly to her arms as he drank her blood away.

Yuri's eyesight began to go hazy; the slightest move caused her skin to rip and tear, so she struggled her best to stay as still as a statue. By now, she struggled to stay awake, too. He'd only been sucking for a few minutes or so, but Yuri felt drained of life.

"It was dark outside...All I saw were dark grey clouds...I didn't wanna look at the ground, I don't like heights..." She began to remember, her chest aching at the mere thought. "I remember praying...I remember hating her...mama...she really deserved it, didn't she?" Yuri choked desperately for air, moving her hands towards Reiji's lips in an effort to get him away from her, for it hurt far too much.

"What did I do...what did I say..? They, they caught me..."

"Pathetic," Reiji remarked, dropping her body into the newly stained floor. Yuri hit the floor, her mind awake as her body sought rest. He shook his head in dismay, reluctantly lifting the fragile girl up into his arms. "She'll certainly be indebted to me after this," And thus, Reiji carried Yuri off to her quarters; she was as frozen as an iced over lake, and as cold as a December morning. Alas, it certainly hurt for her far worse in her head than her body.

It was around midnight by the time Yuri awoke. The Sakamaki sons were nowhere in sight, nor in sound, as Yuri laid in her bed staring at the ceiling. Her eyes began to aimlessly shift about the room as she caught gaze of a note sitting on her vanity. At the moment, Yuri was in far too much pain to fetch it. Thus, she merely ignited the oil lamp on her nightstand and examined the rest of the room to be sure she was alone.

"Hello...?" She muttered to herself, praying it was all simply a dream. However, when she ran her fingers over her collarbone, Yuri wasn't mistaken. It certainly was no dream, it seemed more of a nightmare than anything else. She was taken back for a moment, utterly petrified at the holes and lacerations buried deep into her flesh and the vessels of her neck. She leaned back into the pillows and felt as though she would cry once again. At last, it seemed to be real.

"I don't understand, why? Why here? T-Togo Sakamaki i-is a vampire...!" Yuri found herself crying, her overbearing emotions taking hold. "W-why would he want me? W-why?" She cried; her fingers began lifting the sleeve of her clothes and running her fingers and eventually, her nails, across the slits imbedded deep into her wrists.

Yuri felt quite emotional as she scurried up from bed and towards the vanity, lifting the note that Reiji had seemingly left. Her eyes began to scan it as she laced her fingers across the page's edges.

I regret to inform you Miss Hatori, that the Sakamaki sons have departed for their schooling tonight at approximately eight o'clock PM, and will not be returning until 3 o'clock tomorrow morning. Please, make yourself comfortable and enjoy the cider and cookies.

Best regards, Elise.

Yuri felt her cheeks heat up as she glanced to the food Elise had left her; she felt herself blush beneath her hair as she could barely resist taking a bite. For a moment it seemed as though her sadness had simply disappeared. Oh if only she could remain that way.

Yuri created makeshift bandages from cloth she'd found in the bathroom; she'd done it many times before, especially after the consequences of Yakimura's cruel and unjust punishments. So, she spent some of her time wrapping her neck in this cloth, and other bits of it somewhat enjoying the baked goods Elise had made her. Other times, Yuri leisured herself in creating paper flowers for her bedroom using a lovely set of paper in her suitcase. By one o'clock, Yuri rose and departed from her bedroom and began a long journey back to the field of flowers.

It was dark, so she took a lantern she'd found near the door she departed from the night before and relit it to her pleasure. It was quite a warm evening as Yuri began her journey back into the woods behind the Sakamaki house; her mind drenched in curiousness, she ran about the way and followed the trail of mud and leaves she'd left. The clouds overhead illuminated the moon and helped her find her way. When she arrived at the cavern once again, Yuri brushed her way through the bushels and returned to the sacred place.

"It's so much prettier than I remember..." She said to herself; her eyes lingered about the flowers as she seemed to smile at their beauty. For they, as the flowers outside of Yakimura's house, filled her heart with beauty; they carried her sadness and loneliness away. Yuri felt safe and peaceful among the lilies, making her way to the center field again and relaxing in the nest.

The sounds of crickets and birds chirping in the trees were all that accompanied her. Yuri hummed in response to this, beginning to feel rather tired and exhausted at the moment.

"Perhaps I could pick some...yes, they're so lovely, I should bring them to my bedroom..." Yuri thought, and thus, she couldn't help but begin to slowly reach around the pockets in her dress, hoping to find something suitable to smoothly remove them from their stem. After a moment of realizing she hadn't a single item besides a small folded up piece of paper, Yuri began to delicately remove a lily from its home, yet, she was rather surprised at how easily it removed. It was as though it longed to go with her, eager to see a glimpse of the real world.

"How cute, they're soft too..." She muttered, gently placing it in the warmth of the dirt below. Yuri made her way around to the others, beginning to collect another bunch of them, filling up a small bouquet that gave her much happiness. The area smelt rather good, like the flowers surrounding the trees cascading moonlight down around Yuri and the lantern. She began to hum once again, and hadn't especially realized how enjoyable this was to her. It began to remind of her childhood once again; it brought her so much warmth.

Yuri could have stayed there forever if she wanted to. Among her new life in the Sakamaki estate, this would be retreat, for it made her as happy and content as can be. It was as though there was simply no room for sadness or thoughts and worries of Ayato, Reiji, or even Shu. Yuri felt safe, and that was a feeling she hadn't experienced in years.

"I feel sleepy...how strange. I've rested all evening, but the flowers are too relaxing for me, I can barely hold myself up any longer..." She began to gaze affectionately up to the moon, shimmering off her lovely doe eyes. "Oh, that's right, I've forgotten to take my tablets and pills, I ought to get to it...when I get home."

Three o'clock seemed to come rather quickly for those boys; they returned home in their fashionable limousine, one in which only the richest of men could afford in a time like this. There were two rows in the backseat, in which one sat Reiji, who seemed to be rather social with Ayato at the moment.

"Why did you have to punish her though? Yours Truly could hear her screaming from down the hall! I could barely sleep last night, you inconsiderate bastard!" Ayato was, naturally, complaining once again. Reiji simply shook his head at his brother's childish antics.

"You are just as stupid as she, complaining about every bit of everything, never able to shut your mouth. Budding your head into my business, as usual." Reiji retorted as he began to growl lowly in disgust. After all, he was simply doing what he suspected was best for Yuri in that moment, which was, of course, punishment.

Laito raised his eyebrow in response to this; he was seated in the backseat, merely leaning forward with his arms draped about the cushions now. "A punishment? My, Reiji, do you mind if I intrude? Was it, heh, a sexual punishment?"

Reiji went utterly silent. "If that is what you desire it to be to feed your libido, then so be it." He simply replied. Laito of course, merely sat back and began allowing himself to fantasize away at the mere thought of Yuri naked and all of the twisted, morbidly obscure torture he had performed on her.

Ayato growled in displeasure beneath his breath. "I thought I told you to refrain from putting that disgusting image in my mind, you idiot!" Ayato shouted as he reached back and rigorously smacked Laito's head. Laito grunted lowly in response to this, though he didn't strike him back.

"All of you, shut up," Shu groaned lowly. "We're almost home...stop acting like children," he simply stated. Reiji detested those words coming from Shu's mouth as the car arrived at the beginning of the hill leading to the house.

"My goodness, that is ironic coming from someone like yourself," Reiji snapped in return, yet Shu was far too lazy to respond back. "Look at yourself now, resting your eyes the same you always do, you stupid child."

Shu turned his eyes towards the window, gazing at the ocean of trees surrounded in darkness. His mind began flurrying amuck; he recalled hours before in which Yuri had come to his bedroom to seek shelter from Reiji. He was greatly annoyed by this as he recalled it even greater. "What a nuisance," he thought to himself as the car began to stop at the foot of the doorway.

"Yet another wasted day of my life," Subaru groaned, stepping out and heading inside. Then went Reiji, followed by Shu and then the triplets. They each began to depart their separate ways in the foyer, to which Shu simply stood for a moment.

"That scent...what is it?" He thought to himself as he shifted his eyes upward; there, standing on the balcony overlooking the entrance hall, was Yuri. In her hands was a bouquet of flowers. She simply walked by; Shu caught sight of the bandages around her neck and began to think for a moment, yet, before he could finish, she disappeared, and a mysterious feeling came over him.