Yuri stayed in the garden for the rest of class time; she dare not risk departing to the other areas of school in great fear Reiji could be lurking around waiting for her somewhere. If she found the courage, she could have gone off in search of Shu, but she felt at great liberty to stay with the plants. Somehow, they made her feel a little better to say the least, despite her great pain.

It must've been around two-ish when Yuri departed from that place; after all, she could certainly do better going to her secret place back at home than some silly old garden at school where the eyes of others lurked. Yuri's sacred place, at the very least, was kept safe from those who might disturb it. At least for now, anyways. The Tsukinamis had found it but had no interest in returning for the moment. 

Subsequently, Yuri now ushered herself through the hallway among the students, her anxiety fleeting at the sight of the girl with dimples. She radiantly dashed through the students, and Yuri felt herself blush at her sight.

"A-ah! Hatori! Hatori!" She squealed excitedly, and Yuri abruptly became self-conscious of herself and her appearance. The next thing that caught her off guard was her name; she couldn't recall giving it to this girl, but somehow, she was very aware of it.

The feeling of safety disappeared, and suddenly, Yuri's anxiousness became too much; she hurried the opposite direction in panic, for no one could take Hikari's place. Or, even if they could, Yuri was undeserving of redeeming herself or daring to put another poor girl through a similar fate.

The dimpled young woman paused and stood there; she was going to call again but refrained when she examined the expression Yuri held when she fled the opposing direction. Rather, she stayed there in perplexity.

"Why must I be so folly and cry all the time...you stupid moron," Yuri thought to herself repeatedly in her mind. Little by little, she burned her self-esteem until she was left with nothing but ashes and fragments of her confidence. What had been built up, if at all, had vanished into thin air. Her name had spread about the school like wildfire from the Sakamakis, and thus began the rumors and constant pressure to explain the situation in Kyoto, in that God forsaken house where Hikari had been ruthlessly raped and slain in cold blood. Those memories caused her great amounts of depression, so it was best for her if she just forgot it. But fate had different plans...

Yuri could make it no more than three hundred feet before a group of young men stepped from the doorway; the stench of cigarette smoke followed, and Yuri began to feel sickened at the stench. They looked at her rather curiously as they paused in the doorway, and after a moment one of them bent down to her petite height.

"Say, I heard your name on the radio last night. My folks listen to it to get an update about the depression, never would we have expected to hear someone from our school on that old thing..." The boy shook his head as she began to turn away, fearing the male sex.

"H-how did you know my name...?" Yuri stuttered nervously, though this kid seemed a bit different and unusual compared to Yuzuru and his friends, Loire and the others back in Kyoto...

"Oh, I heard that Reiji guy address you by it, so I got curious and wanted to talk to you," He smiled a bit, and Yuri turned a little red. She tried suppressing a strange feeling in her chest, one that deeply enjoyed grazing her doe eyes upon his deep charcoal hair and lilac oculus.

"O-oh you did! Y-yes, Reiji happens to use my name un-accordingly whenever he pleases...it's bothersome but not to worst thing I suppose." She replied, shaking her head in response. Her eyes shifted to the floor before one of his friends snapped his fingers. A cheeky grin came over him.

"We're part of the school newspaper, Tomoya, Akio, and I." The boy gave her a thumbs up, and Yuri felt a bit uneasy before looking to her shoes. "Mr. Nakamura oversees us, and we thought it might be neat if you would let us interview you! I mean, how many schools have a popular person go to them, hm?"

Yuri tensed up and blushed, Akio, the one standing to Tomoyo's (who was the ring leader of this affair, standing between the three) left, clapped his hand at this. "Yeah! We'd get to you faster than the newspapers could!"

If Yuri could've given an answer, she would have; instead, moments later, Reiji grabbed onto her shoulder and flashed the three young men a delightfully devilish smile of pure, uncanny hatred, mixed with sincere disgust for their actions.

"With all do respect, Miss Hatori isn't interested in giving any interviews to third party outlets. Take your mediocre charade somewhere else or I shall call Mr. Nakamura over to deal with your pathetic asses." Reiji replied firmly, a sheer snicker coming over his cheeks as Yuri covered her face in humiliation.

The newspaper boys looked at him with a look of annoyance before shaking their heads. "What a buzzkill! I guess I can't say anything against a politician like Togo Sakamaki's son, after all you might rat me out or something," Tomoya replied as he shook his head and began walking away. Though, after a moment, the last one reached into his pocket with a little piece of scrap paper, holding it out to her.

"In case you change your mind," he smiled, though Reiji snatched it straight up and crumpled it up in his hand.

"She's not interested." Reiji reiterated, this time, nearly dragging Yuri out of the hallway as those boys disappeared from her sightline. Yuri of course, dug her heels into the floor and started trying to get herself back into school to talk to those guys. After all, they seemed rather nice, and Yuri was truly tired of having Reiji treat her this way.

"R-Reiji!! Let me go!" She screeched as though she were a bird flying over a harbor; her hands attempted to yank themselves from his terribly strong grasp. However, there was no way in which he would ever let her go.

"Quit your loud yapping and start behaving like a real woman!" He shouted; within seconds, his grip on her became heavy, he began clinging his nails into her veins. This made Yuri scream before she stomped her foot on his shoe. She had become so frustrated she could barely contain herself any longer, and thus, Reiji fell victim to her antics before she broke her hand free and managed to smack him across the face.

"You have no right to treat me this way!" She shouted, attempting to break away. However, Reiji was simply extremely peevish at her by this point; he'd reached his breaking point, and thus, as Yuri began monologuing, he went over his usual edge...

"I'm a human being so stop treating me like I'm trash!" She screamed, slapping him again before Reiji eventually snatched her wrist and began twisting it; this caused her to fall over and succumb to his strength. She fell over with a loud whimper as Reiji abruptly began dragging her body across the pavement. One might think this would attract the attention of the students making their way through the hallways and corridors, however, the bell drowned this out, and Reiji stuffed her into the back of the limousine.

Yuri squirmed and continued to scream in both pain and fear; in a matter of moments he had slammed the door and shoved her into the back seat. Reiji snapped his fingers abruptly and the car began driving off and away from school, he and Yuri buried in the backseat somewhat tangled up with one another.

"It's time for you to be punished, punished and destroyed," Reiji seemed to snicker beneath his breath; their bodies meshed together like bread and butter, and as he began tearing the outer layer of her clothes off, Yuri began screaming loud enough that Reiji slammed the privacy screen closed.

"R-Reiji w-what are you doing!" Her voice screeched in a loud manner as her arms smacked him repeatedly. Her feet kicked the window behind her in a sleazy, desperate manner, and Reiji continued to ignored this as his fangs began to relentlessly graze across the flesh against her neck. Oh how terribly it hurt when it bled, but more importantly, when they eventually pierced their way through her veins until they were buried inches into her skin.

First, there was a wave of heat; Yuri had become so nervous with Reiji lazily reclined atop her chest and body that her body began to sweat in deep, great fear. Then came the horrible feeling of her body spacing out into some outer worldly dimension of nausea. She felt so sick that she had forgotten what was happening. As Reiji sucked away, taking another bite of her jugular vein, Yuri felt herself beginning to drift away.

"O-oh no...o-oh no...where is Shu..? Where is Shu when I need him...? Doesn't he care..?" Her thoughts strayed a similar way as the car that drifted off into the night. Moments later, Yuri did the same. Reiji took far too much blood that she was so sluggish and sickish she lost her consciousness in the backseat. Reiji continued on punishing her until he saw the time was finished and she had enough.

It was dark outside, more so in the car except for the rather small reading light apparent on the side in which Reiji sat reading, Yuri's legs sprawled out against his lap. They drove a good while, past the same ocean of trees Yuri had ventured along not so long ago. It seemed like hours, and, eventually, as the fog clouded the windows and temperature outside grew cold, Yuri awoke in the back of the car.

Her lips were a pale shade of blue, and oddly enough, they were coming to a rolling stop outside of a building where Yuri could make out stones and grayish brick along the sides. Reiji could hear her wheeze, and hear her gasp, and eventually, he set his book down.

"Are you awake?" His eyes narrowed, and Yuri rubbed her forehead. She looked dazed and confused as the door opened and the driver stood in the darkness of the early morning. Reiji removed her legs and sighed, shaking his head in disproval for her current state. "Don't be so folly. Make haste and hurry out the door to join me, and don't waste any time you understand?"

Yuri slowly began to rise; her chest ached terribly, but her neck hurt far more. She was drenched in blood and her feelings were hurt to say the least. Reiji simply shook his head before stepping out and adjusting the tie around his neck. While she attempted to sit up, her body cried desperately for her to lay back down, and thus, it took Reiji dragging her from her seat to pull Yuri out of the car.

Her uniform was sloppily ruined; all she could do was give a sharp moan of discomfort, for Reiji wouldn't permit her a single tear. Subsequently, he shook his head and took her by the wrist.

"R-Reiji...where are we..?" Yuri wheezed weakly as he began to lead her upwards towards the entrance. Yuri had disregarded her shoes and left them behind since Reiji spared no time in hasting away from the car. Before she knew it, she was presented at a doorstep in the early hours of the morning with Reiji by her side, completely perplexed at the situation. However, within a few moments, Reiji gave it a slight knock and the tall mahogany doors slowly began to open.

A woman stood there to greet them, and straight away, Yuri was taken aback by how pale the frail old woman was. She had dark circles underneath her eyes, wrinkled cheeks stretching out her mouth. A black bun sat on the top of her head and the fly aways were secured by the oil in her hair.

"Mr. Sakamaki, please come inside," the woman bowed lightly, and welcomed Reiji and Yuri inside the house. By this stage, Yuri was so severely confused that she nearly darted for the door instead. However, Reiji wouldn't allow it.

"Mrs. Kobayashi, I've brought Miss Hatori with me tonight in preparation for the gala. This seems so sudden for her I'm sure, but disregard whatever feeling you may have towards her. After all, this is simply politics, it's nothing personal." Reiji gave the frail woman a smile before she nodded in reply, taking a very hesitant Yuri by the hands and leading her down the hallway.

"M-Mrs. Kobayashi..!" Yuri stuttered rather nervously as the woman led her into the back of the house hastily. She had the least bit clue of where she was, or how she had gotten there. Within a few seconds or so, they arrived in a study of sorts, however, this one had a screen in it, along with a lovely dress fashioned onto a mannequin. Yuri was severely perplexed before her eyes shifted around towards the chair positioned in front of the fireplace; there was smoke rising from it, and a finger reached out and dipped a cigarette into an ashtray.

Reiji bowed momentarily before the figure rose up, and Yuri froze up.

Togo Sakamaki stood up and removed the fedora covering the sinister glare beneath; Yuri was taken aback, he looked just the same as the newspapers shots, and was now standing straight before her very own eyes. He was tall and sinister, and puffed an obtuse amount of smoke from his mouth. Togo's eyes laid upon her, and Yuri almost found herself victim to a heart attack.

"Misses Yuri Hatori," The man offered her a warm smile, one unlike she'd seen from his sons. It was truly strange how easily she melted away her cares by falling victim to it. He made it seem all so easy and, to say the least, terrifying to trust him.

"I am Togo Sakamaki, and this is my son Reiji, I'm sure the both of you have become acquainted with one another, after all, what a lovely pair you make together," Togo began to swipe the chair and make his way over towards the two young teenagers. When he reached Yuri, he offered her a bow before affectionately planting a kiss on her palm.

Their eyes met for a moment, and Yuri blushed a certain hue of embarrassment before shifting his eyes towards his son. "And you Reiji, always as obedient to my every command. I ought to congratulate you on arriving to this affair on time,"

Reiji simply chuckled in egoistic pride. "When one applies a task for me, I shall get it done. Don't you know that, father?" Reiji practically laughed at him as Yuri's eyes wandered.

"Hm, I suppose you're right. Now, to the situation at hand, I'm sure she's just dying to understand the situation. Miss Hatori, as I'm sure Reiji has already explained, you will be the honorary guest at my gala celebrating Japan's rise from this depression and the improving state of our orphanages." Togo smiled cheekily.

Yuri looked away, her hand over her neck as she blushed in hues of embarrassment. "With all do respect...the orphanage in which I was sent to was not in the least bit improving nor funded by the government, and therefore had no regulation whatsoever..." Yuri explained in a slightly timid voice.

Togo raised his eyebrow as he lit up yet another cigarette to ease his senses. Reiji helped himself too, and now, the entire room was enjoying a good smoke except for Yuri, who abstained due to a great deal of rumors regarding smoking.

"My oh my, that was during the epiphany of Japan's depression, now wasn't it? Unlike the westerners, we'll have the opportunity to escape this slippery slope rather early. Building national parks won't get them out of this one," Togo laughed as Reiji couldn't help but chuckle a bit himself. "Now, we're all polite aren't we? Have a seat with us, Hatori. We gentlemen are certainly obligated to treat you women with a sense of fanciness,"

Mrs. Kobayashi merely sneered at them, directing her attention to the dress draped down the mannequin near the screen.

"I...I suppose..." Yuri found herself sitting in this strange place where the record fuzz seemed to be continuously playing a soft jazzy tune to entertain the party. At this rate however, within moments, Togo continued on.

"There are a great many things required of you for this gala, do you understand?" Togo began, Yuri simply staring at the hands in her lap. "You are to refrain from commenting on the murders, for one, especially any criticism of your involvement. People don't need to suspect the politician for humanitarian is the same man bringing a murderer into his home, now can they?"

Yuri sighed and shook her head. "N-no sir, they cannot..." She replied to him in a rather shy tone, Reiji taking a seat beside her. He puffed his cigarette before putting it out in an ashtray and sighing shakily.

"Which is precisely why you'll be looking rather charming for the gala," Reiji interrupted, puffing out a large cloud of smoke from his mouth. "Pouty lips and a waist smaller than an hourglass. Mrs. Kobayashi has selected that gown for you, and subsequently, you are in her debt to wear it."

Togo took a puff of his own cigarette now, crossing his legs and shaking his head. "You'll be presented among my friends and coworkers, so your manners must be the most polite as well. Do you understand?"

Yuri turned red; her anxiety began to work itself up again. "A-a gala? M-must I really go...? I've never been to a social gathering I...I don't like staying around very many people." Yuri confessed as her face began to shift into a melancholy aura.

Togo nodded. "After all, this is the only repayment I ask from you. After all, I saved you from that home, didn't I? The least you can do is make an appearance for me." Togo resolved, and, a few moments later, Yuri's eyes began to shift towards the pale white dress covered in flowers. Her thoughts ran astray, and as she looked at it, she began to wonder if Shu might look her way.