WHOOP, HERE IT IS!   (finally) 

The car ride back is silent. Ume isn't driving me anymore. Instead, two new guys sit in the front seat. The one driving keeps flexing his hands, squeezing the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turn white. Every so often I make eye contact with him in the rearview mirror, his golden eyes catching the stray strands of light from the setting sun.

The boy next to him shifts uncomfortably and I notice him staring at me from the corner of his eye as well. I almost flinch at the sight of his blood red eyes. A solid color that seems to bend and swirl in his irises as he stares at me.

Youko never came back after yelling at me in the guest room. I never considered how much he must be in pain over the death of his brother. I only saw them together a few times and they weren't exactly friendly toward each other.

Another twenty minutes passes in deafening silence and I can't take it anymore. I'm so worried about seeing Ryuu again.

Will he be furious?

Will he try to lock me in a closet again?

A shiver runs down my back at the thought of the cramped space. I curl my fingers into fists at the memory of leaving him bleeding on the floor. He was the one person that would have done anything for me and I left him.

"Miss? Miss, you're here." I was so deep in my thoughts I hadn't realized that the car had stopped and both of the men in the front seat have turned to stare at me. Red and gold eyes watch as I struggle to stop tears from falling. Suddenly, I'm not so sure about returning home.

My house looks the same, though the strawberry gardens appear to not have been weeded or watered since Ryuu locked me away.

Asterid and Goro stand on either side of a very relieved looking Ryuu. A small bandage wrapped around his head is the only give away that Katsu ever hit him. He reaches for the car door and opens it for me. I've barely stepped out of the car when he wraps his arms around me and holds me against his chest.

I only hesitate for a second before hugging him back. It feels surprisingly good to be back in his arms again. We stay like this for a bit but when I hear someone clear their throat behind Ryuu. I blush and remember that we have an audience. Pulling away, I face a very uncomfortable looking Goro. Unwrapping my arms from Ryuu's chest I step back and stop immediately when he tightens his hold. Bringing his head down to me, he rests in the crook of my neck.

Breathing in deeply, he whispers, "I thought...you were gone..." I squeeze him back in a lame attempt to comfort him.

"I'm back. It's ok."

"You're back. And this time, You're staying."

I'm about to reply when someone shouts from the front door. Ryuu stiffens and holds me closer.

"Ry, you're scaring the poor girl!" Glancing over Ryuu's shoulder I see two boys walking over to us from the house. Both of them have matching smirks and resemble Ryuu so much, they have to be his brothers. I last time I've seen them was probably twelve years ago when Ryuu's mother worked at the house. I wonder why they're back now?

I believe their names are Kyo and Naomi. Kyo was always the quieter of the two and had a strange habit of wearing masks. I think I remember Ryuu telling me about Kyo's obsession with the mysterious and unusual.

Naomi was always loud and obnoxious. I can only hope he's outgrown that.

Straightening his back, Ryuu ignores his brothers and takes my hand to lead me inside. As we pass the two, Kyo nods his head in greeting, Naomi holds his hand out to me. I go to shake it, my grip hesitant, when he yanks me away from Ryuu. My eyes close as I slam against his chest. Naomi's arms cage me in as he leans over me with a wide grin.

"Hey, kitten. Long time no see." He winks down at me kisses me full on the lips. I jerk back and feel Ryuu grab Naomi, who just smirks.

I stumble backward and would have fallen if Kyo hadn't caught me. He doesn't look at me but instead watches his brothers carefully.

"You think you can touch Mistress like that?" Ryuu pins Naomi against the side of the car, his hand holding a fist full of his black jacket to keep him still.

"Relax, lil' brother. She knows I'm just teasing." Naomi laughs at Ryuu's blushing face. Moving his head to the side, Naomi winks at me, licking his upper lip. Ryuu pulls Naomi's shirt and slams him more forcefully on the car.

"Enough!" The boy with golden eyes steps out of the car. Not so subtly, he lays his hand on the handle of a pistol tucked in his waistband. Quickly, Ryuu releases Naomi and walks back to me.

"What are you still doing here?" Ryuu speaks suddenly, blushing when he realizes what he's said. "I mean-- Thank you for driving Mistress back home but I've got it from here, sirs." Ryuu nods to both of them. The red-eyed boy has stepped out too and is now casually resting his chin on his fist onto of the car, a jovial smile lighting up his face. 

The two drivers glance at each other before both shaking their heads in unison.

"Sorry, Sir Ryuu. We've been given direct orders to stay with Miss (Y/n). Until we are told otherwise by Master Youko, we will both be staying at Mistress' home as protection." Golden Eyes tells Ryuu with a bored voice.

"That's what we're here for." Naomi's eyebrows flick in irritation as he takes in the two new boys. "You two look as if you couldn't even protect yourselves, let alone our  Kitten." I hear Ryuu exhale sharply at Naomi's comment but doesn't say anything.

"Sorry, but we were given direct  orders." After a few uncomfortable few seconds and many hostile glares, Ryuu smiles.

"Of course, Master Youko would want to protect Mistress (Y/n). You two can stay in one of the guestrooms once I get it prepared for your stay." Before Ryuu even finished speaking, he had begun to walk me into the house. Glancing over my shoulder, I notice Asterid and Goro have left. I see Kyo and Naomi quickly trying to catch up and the slight movement of Red Eyes slipping a small pistol in the back of his waistband. He just smiles back at me, though, this time it looks a lot more sinister.

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P.O.V Katsu

I don't know how long we've been driving. A long time. And by the look of it, we'll be stopping for gas soon.

The guy on my right keeps his handgun pointed at me at all times and the one on the left holds the bag that I had brought with me to Youko's mansion. I'm sure that (Y/n) has made it home by now. I can't help but worry about her. Ryuu can't be trusted.

About thirty more minutes pass, then we slow down and park at a gas station. We let Youko's around sundown and by now the sun has completely vanished. No one but the gas attendant loiters near the gas pumps. If I'm going to escape and return to (Y/n) now is my chance.

The driver gets out of the car to get gas and the guard to my left places my bag by our feet, unbuckling himself.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going? You can't leave me alone with this kid!" The guard to my right yells as the other exits.

"Are you really that afraid of him?" The guard looks me up and down before laughing. "I'll just be gone for a second. I haven't pissed in two hours and I'm not waiting until we stop again. Shoot him in the foot if you have to." He closes the door with another snicker.

Youko never tied my hands and feet together. A really big mistake, if you ask me. His last mistake.

I feel as if I could easily take this guy down, even with the gun pointed at me. I glance at the guard outside getting gas. I can see him staring intensely at a couple of sorority girls at the adjacent pump. I wait until I see the other guard walk around the other side of the station to the bathroom.

"I also need to use the bathroom," I say as innocently as possible. The guard just sneers and shakes his head at me.

"You don't trust me. I get that. But do you know why you shouldn't trust me? Why you should fear me?" I tilt my head to the side in false contemplation. "How about we talk. Get to know each other a little before you drop me off in the middle of nowhere?"

He scoffs but doesn't stop me from continuing.

"Do you know how I met (Y/n)?" I laugh to myself. "No, of course not, you're just a lowly watchdog. No one has to tell you anything. You just have to get the job done." He clenches his gun and clicks his jaw, though, still says nothing.

"Well, anyway. She found me laying in a pool of my own blood in her garden. I was half dead when she brought me in her house. A bullet had pierced through my stomach. In between my lungs and an inch under my heart. I can't remember who shot me or why but I think I'm starting to remember." I turn to smile at him.

"I remember a lot, actually. I remember feeling warm flesh beneath my fingers. I can almost feel it now,  the pressure on my nails as I dug into the skin of someone's neck as they struggled to breathe. Red wax hearts dot my vision when I close my eyes. But I don't know why. Or the reason for any of it." As I recall my thoughts to him I slowly inch my way closer to him. His face has gotten considerably paler as I go on.

"An annoying blonde and the taut string from a piano. Rope necklaces and twenty-pound weights as bracelets. The warmth of a body and the smell of wet wood in a forest. The memories are there, but seemingly from another person. Another lifetime ago." I'm an inch from his face now.

I lung for the wrist that holds the gun and twist it so it's no longer pointed at me. It rests up under the boy's chin. His eyes widen and sweat break out across his forehead.

"We're about the same age but I know that if anyone is going to shoot a gun, it'll be the guy with the track record of making impulsive decisions and not the useless servant who can't be alone for two minutes without fucking everything up." Reaching for my bag of clothes on the floor I place it against the boy's face and hold the gun to it. The gun doesn't have a silencer so this will have to do. I pull the trigger.

The boy lurches back and hits the window but the sound of the gunshot wasn't as loud as I thought it would be. The guard at the pump doesn't even glance at us.

I waste no time climbing into the front seat. By now the guard outside has taken the pump out and has begun to pay. Smirking, I turn the keys over and nearly run the guy returning from the bathroom over.

I can hear them shouting at me but that just makes me drive faster. The idiots left the keys in the car, gave me a full tank of gas and a gun.

(Y/n), wait for me. I'm coming home.

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P.O.V   (Y/n)

Dinner is just as awkward as you'd think I'd be.

Ryuu sits to my immediate right and Naomi to my immediate left, Kyo sitting beside him.

Golden eyes, Juro, and Red eyes, Ren, stand behind me. They refuse to sit down to eat, claiming to have eaten earlier and said that it's would be easier to protect me if they stood. Naomi hasn't wasted any opportunity to mock them and Ryuu has been ignoring them completely. Kyo hasn't touched his food because he doesn't want to take off his mask and I've become sick to my stomach with worry over Katsu.

When I'm away from Ryuu, I worry about him. When I'm away from Katsu I'm worried about him. But when they're together, I worry about them killing each other.

I can't go on like this, I'll die before the age of twenty with gray hair.

"Ryuu, this strawberry salad is delicious," I say in an attempt to ease the tension. Ryuu smiles and relaxes his shoulders.

"Thank you, Mistress. I picked the strawberries this morning in preparation for this evening." He scoots his chair a little closer and grins down at me.

"I noticed that the garden has become overrun by weeds. Have you been watering it?" His smile falters and his eyes dip.

"I'm sorry, Mistress (Y/n). I haven't had enough time these days to tend to your garden but now that you're back I'll be sure to go out tomorrow morning."

I nod in agreement, "I'll go out with you."

"If I may, Miss (L/n). I don't think you going outside so soon after today is such a great idea." Ren says, stepping in between Ryuu and I. Looking up, I can see his red eyes glinting dangerously at Ryuu in warning.

"Yeah, well. I don't remember anyone asking you, Red." Naomi sneers.

"It's Ren." Ren clenches his jaw to stop himself from saying anything else.

"Really? Cause you look red." Naomi laughs at his own joke. He stands up and walks over to him. He's about an inch shorter then Ren and has to look up as he says, "If Kitten wants to go outside, Kitten can go outside. Right, Ryuu?"

Ryuu shakes his head at his brother but doesn't disagree, "I can protect her if that bastard shows up again." 

"Just like you did last time?" Juro speaks up from the far wall for the first time since he entered the house

The sound of Ryuu's and Kyo's chairs scrapping the marble floors is the only noise in the whole house. I can see Ryuu's face turning red and his brothers' eyes darken, the only sign of anger on their faces.

"I think dinner is over." I stand up and throw my napkin on the table. Taking Ryuu's hand in mine I pull him away from the strained atmosphere and toward my room. At least there we can have some semblance of privacy. I know that Juro and Ren will be stationed outside my room all night. I should probably tell them that Katsu comes in through the window but right now I need the five boys away from each other for a bit. And what are the odds of Katsu coming back tonight?

Once in my room, I immediately go to my book shelves. Everything looks the same, dusted and alphabetized just as I'd left it. Ryuu had no problem cleaning this room.

I sit down on my downy mattress, suddenly exhausted.

"Mother hired Asterid and Goro for a reason, you know. It's their job to keep me safe. Not yours or your brothers." Ryuu must have really felt desperate if he called his brothers for help. Both of them were bouncers at a local club in the city and I'd heard that they could take care of themselves pretty well, but Ryuu never got along with them, for obvious reasons.

"I know. I just... when Youko called this afternoon saying that he was bringing you back I panicked. And I didn't realize he would send two of his own servants to stay with you." He sits down next to me, putting his head in his hands and leaning forward on his legs. I wrap an arm around him and rest my head on his bowed one.

"I'm so sorry, Ryuu." He turns toward me and encompasses me in his warmth. His white button down is wrinkled and smells like him, expensive spicy cologne. I can feel my eyes growing heavy and I don't fight the sleep overcoming me. With the fleeting sense of Ryuu kissing my forehead, my last thoughts are of Katsu.