K A M E K O

". . ."

Kameko stayed silent as she examined the familiar surroundings. The former white walls were now coated with a fresh coat of red; an amazing display of red splatters. The same heap of bodies was still battered, and the same unknown presence was looming over them.The whip in his hand was dripping; the puddle underneath him slowly growing in size. If Kameko could scream right now, she would.

"If you still want to see your beloved parents, you have to hurry." The deep, baritone voice taunted her, daring her to speak up.

She just glared at him, no signs of fear in her eyes, "Hurry what? If I could kill you, oh, believe me, I would."

A low chuckle echoed around the room, "Silly girl. Patience is a virtue."

"Shut up."

"Don't be so rude, dear. If you listen to me, they might get to live." He kicked the pile lightly, resulting in a small groan from the heap.

With nothing else to say, she crossed her arms and scowled. Her reaction must've been amusing, because he snickered.

"I want you to lose that nasty fright of yours." He slowly began wiping his whip with a cloth.

Kameko tried playing dumb, "..What phobia..?"

"It's not that phobia. I want you to be able to kill and stab on will. You must desire to kill." He said blandly.

She gritted her teeth; he must be stupid if he thinks she'll go killing for fun. This man was crazy, a complete nut job, if you must.

"Fufu, I can hear you, and this nut job has your parents. If you don't cooperate, you'll become all alone."

It seemed that the dream was fading because the room was slowly getting brighter. He must've noticed this as well because he brought the whip up, as if preparing to strike. The dream soon turned completely blank, and the last thing she heard was the sound of a satisfying crack.

Kameko jolted awake, her forehead beaded with sweat. She felt her surroundings with her hands; she stopped when she a wall of coldness and hardness.

She slowly turned her head towards the unknown object and met Shuu's chest. Her hand recoiled back as she felt him shift, where was she?

Maybe this was a hallucination. That must be it. She tried to pinch herself, hoping it wouldn't hurt. She winced as a sudden pain left her right arm.

Looking out the window, she couldn't see any sun, meaning she still had to attend school.

Turning her attention back to Shuu, she tried to poke him. When he did nothing more than groan in annoyance, she presumed he was fast asleep. It seemed that he carried her to his bed when she got bitten by Ayato.

Slowly easing her body off the bed, she silently tip-toed to the locked door. As she slowly turned the cold doorknob, she turned back to the lazy vampire and whispered, "Thank you," knowing fully well that he couldn't hear her.

Racing down the hall, she halted at the familiar mahogany door. Slowly pushing the door open, she dashed inside.

Entering the bathroom, she examined her reflection. Her school uniform was wrinkled and out of place. She gingerly shifted the clothing so it exposed her bloody shoulder. She sighed in defeat and began grabbing a piece of cotton to clean the wound. Before the cotton actually touched her skin, she used her fingers and gently dabbed the dried blood. Staring at her blood-encrusted fingers, she skeptically licked it. Gagging at the strong iron taste, her nose crinkled.

"How do vampires drink this nasty stuff?!.... Maybe it would taste better with a pinch of sugar and a dash of cinnamon..." She pondered over the taste as she licked her fingers again.

"...What're you doing..?" Kameko whipped around to find Shuu lying down on her bed.

"Just thinking. How do you guys keep this-"She showed him her bloody finger, "-down? It's so thick! I have trouble keeping water down sometimes."

Shuu just frowned at her idiocy, vanishing out of her room; a sign that she should get ready for school.

-

As Kameko stepped onto the red carpet to meet up with the brothers, she heard Ayato snicker, "What? Are you immune to lava now?"

She walked up to him and smacked his head, "Don't sass me, Tomato- Head."

She could hear the rest of the triplets laugh as they boarded the vehicle, "Kitty, can I get a nickname too?"

Kameko looked at Laito weirdly, "I have way too many nicknames for you."

Silence filled the air as they were driven to school. She dug in her schoolbag for her schedule and inwardly groaned at the words in bold.

P.E.

The limo stopped and they all exited, going their separate ways.

-

"No! I don't wanna~" Kameko whined as she and Aiko stood in front of the gym doors.

Aiko simply rolled her garnet eyes and pushed her friend through the doors, ignoring her shrieks of protest. Kameko tightened her ponytail as the gym teacher picked up a dodge-ball.

"Ladies and gentlemen, hustle up! Girls versus boys, let's go!" She shouted at the confused crowd of students, motioning for them to split up.

Kameko and Aiko went over to the right side of the gym, and just as the gym teacher was about the blow the whistle, the gym doors opened, resulting in the third years spilling in.

"...Are they lost..?" Kameko whispered to her friend as she eyed Ruki, Shuu and Reiji.

Her friend just shrugged, and the gym teacher looked equally confused as the students. The tension was thick, until a third year coughed.

"..Oh! It seems like we have extra players! Boys, to the left, girls to the right. Hustle!" Ms. what's her face didn't seem fazed about the sudden addition of her class, "Girls have an extra player."

Hearing this, Mika giggled, "Then maybe she-"She pointed to Kameko, "-should sit out. It's not like we need her anyways."

Hearing this, all the other girls snickered, all except Aiko, who just scowled at Mika, muttering curses under her breath.

Before the teacher could object, Kameko spoke up, "She's right." She ignored the look of disbelief on Aiko's face, "I'll sit out. My ankle's still sore, anyway."

The teacher just shrugged and Kameko made her way to the vacant bench. The whistle was heard throughout the room, and the loud sounds of footfall were heard.

As Kameko studied the game, she knew that her team was screwed. For every boy getting struck, two girls took his place.

One of Ayato's balls managed to hit a girl, but instead of getting mad she just started to squeel, "O-EM-GEE! AYATO JUST HIT ME, WE'RE SO GETTING MARRIED."

Kameko giggled at the confession of love, how stupid. If you were together with Ayato, you would not only be hit, that's way too humble.

Thud. Seems that Azusa hit someone. It got so bad that all the girls on her team dropped their balls and just waited for the supernatural brother's throw.

"Have you no shame?!" Kameko thought tiredly as a brunette got hit by Ruki.

The loud echoes of fangirls and the squeaking of sneakers were causing Kameko to go mentally insane.

"Ah~ Laito-sama, that hurt, can you kiss it better~?"

"Squee! Yuuma's throw is so strong"

"Kanato-sama, forget Teddy, use me instead!"

"Ack! Reiji-sama aimed for my heart! How cool!"

The only person not pushing any of her buttons was Shuu, who was sleeping soundly on a lone bench.

She sighed in exasperation as one of Mika's crew members started screeching happily. Apparently, she got it by Kou. Go figure.

Looking over at the coach- who was shaking her head in disgust- Kameko rolled her eyes. Seeing the sudden movement, the coach motioned to her. Confused, the girl walked over to the teacher, occasionally ducking the incoming missiles.

"You are back in the game; your team's going down." The coach pinched her forehead as another yelp followed by a shriek of pure joy was heard from the girl's team, "Now."

Kameko nodded meekly and stepped onto the 'battlefield', meeting up with Aiko who ducked another ball.

She positioned herself and jumped a ball, while Aiko managed to get another two humans out.

Ducking a throw from Ruki, and jumping a narrow miss from Kanato, she grabbed a red ball and chucked it.

"I hate this game", she said and aimed managing to hit another boy in the torso. Instead of getting upset, he just brushed it off easily and made a 'call me' gesture with his thumb and pinky.

She grimaced and aimed another ball at another boy who was going absolute gaga over Aiko.

This continued on until her, Aiko, a few girls and all nine boys were left.

"With only four girls left- wait nope. Scratch that, Kou hit her. Make that three girls left- what? Dang it Mika!" Kameko ran to the other side of the court to dodge another volley of dodge balls, shaking her head at the failure that is her team.

She yelped as Ayato aimed for her head, narrowly missing. Kameko jumped to the back of the room to grab a ball. As she aimed, another ball was thrown at her. She squealed as the dodge ball's proximity was closing in. Closing her eyes, she waited for impact.

It never came.

Kameko opened her eyes cautiously, to see Aiko lying down, gasping for air.

"...Go on... without me..." Aiko rasped out and played dead, "...Ugh...."

Kameko giggled at her friend's generous actions, "You stupid drama queen."

She pulled the limp body of Aiko back to the bench and ducked another dodge ball, courtesy of Kanato.

"This is getting annoying." She mumbled to herself as she threw another ball. Her target dodged.

She readied another ball, but before she could throw it, the whistle blew.

"Glad that's ove-"Kameko sighed and turned around, only to be hit in the head by Azusa.

She groaned as her behind made contact with the ground, ". . . Am I out . . .?"

-

Rubbing her sore tailbone, she changed into her polka dot patterned pajamas. She took a deep breath and a large puff of musty air filled her lungs. Feeling unsatisfied, she guardedly opened the door, narrowing her eyes at the once in a lifetime silence. Everything was quiet.

Too quiet.

The silence was broken when Kanato's voice shouted through the eerie mansion, "AYATO. THAT PUDDING WAS MINE!"

"Ah?! Shut up! If you want another cup of pudding, just ask that tableware otaku!" Ayato's annoyed voice retorted.

"That's not the point... I... I... WANTED TO EAT THE PUDDING THAT'S NOW IN YOUR STOMACH!" He sounded close to tears.

"What do you want me to do? Regurgitate?! Tch."

"There's no way I could eat that!"

"Nfu~ Today's awfully quiet today~" Laito said, obviously amused by the brotherly feud.

Kameko rolled her eyes and decided that it was safe to sneak out of the house. Slowly stepping down the stairs, she used her whole body to push the gigantic doors open.

Relief flooded her senses as a gentle zephyr blew through her hair. Taking slow and smooth steps, she straightened her pajamas and went to the rose garden she's always wanted to visit.

The bushes of roses were odd, being colorless and all. She brought her hand out and gently caressed the petals. Remembering to be careful, she picked the rose off the bush, bringing it to her nose to take a sniff. The scent matched the package of chocolates she received anonymously that day.

". . .Such a gentle aroma..." Kameko whispered.

The white rose. A symbol of purity, virtue and sincerity. How fitting.

"...Why are you doing here?" A low voice said from beside her.

Cringing at the hardness of the voice, she dropped the rose, "Oh you know, just breeding elephants, no biggie. Just admiring the scenery, nothing more."

He growled at her answer, obviously pissed, "You shouldn't be here."

"...Sorry...?" She apologized, "For the rose, I mean."

Kameko hesitantly took a small step back, accidentally crushing the flower, turning to leave; she stopped when she felt a presence. Looking up at the tall tower, her eyes widened. There standing in front of the window, stood a beautiful woman with white hair and cowering red eyes.

"...Why does she remind me of someone?" Kameko wondered.

Her gaze shifted to see the lady's mouth moving slowly, "Tell him that I love him."

It was either that or 'The fat cat likes to show off skin."

"Hey Subaru...?" Kameko started.

"WHAT?" He nearly shouted.

"Who's the pretty lady in the tower?" She saw a vain pop on his forehead, "... She reminds me of someone... who..?"

He looked at her incredulously, "..Are you an idiot?! SHE'S MY MOTHER, STUPID."

"Ohhhh, now I can see the resemblance!"

"She was whispering something... about you." Kameko started.

She gasped when Subaru flashed in front of her and grabbed her collar, pulling her up until they were face-to-face.

"WHAT'D SHE SAY?!" His voice was strained, as if scared of her answer.

"S-she said that-"Kameko breathed uncomfortably as his grip tightened on her shirt, "She loves you."

He suddenly let go and grabbed his head, "...That's impossible. NO ONE CAN LOVE SOMEONE AS FILTHY AS ME."

"You're not filthy, Subaru." Kameko insisted, "You're drop dead gorgeous"

"What would you know, you stupid girl?" He growled back.

"Because you're gentle."

"No. I'M NOT."

"I know it was you who gave me the chocolates." She suddenly blurted out.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"Please Subaru, that box smelt like roses," Kameko slowly took a step back, "And I love the smell of roses."

He was quiet, so Kameko decided to head back to the mansion.

Said girl was startled when she felt two extremely cold arms wrap around her waist, "What's wrong?"

"...Shut up." Subaru said.

She squirmed as she felt a warm puff of breath near her neck area, "That tickles!"

The grip around her waist tightened, causing Kameko's heart to beat.

Just one little ba-dump.

She whimpered as she felt a pair of sharp fangs penetrate the base of her neck. Refusing to make any noise, she bit her tongue. A bead of sweat trickled down her forehead as he began to suck the blood.

"See? I am filthy, don't come near me; I'll hurt you!" He growled before taking another bite, right beside the previous.

"N-no! You're not hurting me..." She struggled with her words.

"Heh. Liar." He licked a stray line of blood running down her neck.

Ignoring the feeling of his cold tongue, she gazed at the moon, "The next full moon is coming up..."