[Disclaimer: I do not own the VK characters or its storyline in any way. (c) Matsuri Hino. ]

I could feel his eyes on my body.

As I left the safety of English, a classroom filled with many vampires my age, I could feel the rake of heterochromial irises upon my back. I turned around swiftly to look, but as I did, I caught a glimpse of a smirk in the opposite direction and instead, turned to look that way. As I thought: there was absolutely nothing there. My hand came up to my forehead to wipe away the nonexistent sweat. Was I only imagining things? Shaking my head, I continued down the hallway with my school bag dangling from my fingers. I approached the stairs and waved to some of my friends who made their way past me and into a nearby room.

Halfway down, towards the turning point, I felt someone's hot breath against my ear. I knew for sure this time that I would catch someone. I swung my hand into what should have been a person's face. My eyes widened as the air I had attacked held no presence. The first thing I heard was a "thud" as my bag dropped to the ground followed by my knees. Shutting my eyes worked well for the first twelve seconds but covering my ears seemed even better.

Those thoughts.

His thoughts.

I knew what he was thinking. The bloody images and words that were being screamed at me were vile and gruesome. How was my own brother capable of such things? Every time I saw something, I did my best to ignore it and him. A man, let alone a person, was not supposed to fantasize about those kinds of things. It was completely wrong; to have my brother do it was beyond anything. I just wanted him to leave me alone even for one day.

"Rido," I whispered out loud, "get out of my head. Leave me alone."

After saying this over and over to myself for a good several minutes, the voices stopped and I was back on my feet again to head home.

* * * * *

My right hand hesitated on the handle of the left double door. I didn't want to see him just yet. Confronting him now would be a mistake. Without further hesitation, I yanked the door open to find a pair of dual-colored hues staring into mine. I backed up a few feet and stared at his attire. His curling locks of dark hair obscured most of his eyesight but I could feel their intensity. He had an arm propped against the door frame, and following that arm was the dark red long-sleeved shirt, which, was unbuttoned and opened messily, by the way. As I looked to stare at the ground, I noticed the hem of his ripped black jeans.

"Look who's home." His slow, intoxicating voice chimed as he leaned his head in closer.

"Don't treat me like a kid, Rido." I said simply and tried to push my way through but those dirtied hands caught me in an embrace. I felt uncomfortable when he was around. I didn't want to feel like that in the face of my brother.

"Want me to handle you like a real woman?" he demanded. I watched his lips turn out to reveal a twisted smile. I felt my body begin to shake. I was in a state of panic. I flung my bag against his chest and screamed for him to let me go.

Haruka must have heard me from his room because the next thing I saw was a clumsy Haruka come racing down the staircase with his heart in his hands. This made my skin tingle. I was unsure of how that irritatingly quiet boy made me feel so much like a fan-girl. His soft eyes met mine as his feet took him towards me. When he looked at Rido, his eyebrows crashed together in fury and his hands balled into fists. Our older brother looked at him disdainfully. Haruka stopped a few inches away from Rido, ready to slam his knuckles into our elder brother's nose if he dared to lay his lips on mine.

"Let go of her. She's not a play thing, she's our sister." Haruka threatened through clenched teeth.

Rido enjoyed messing with Haruka on a daily basis. I knew that was what siblings, especially brothers, did to each other, but Rido was ridiculous. Nearly destroying Haruka's bedroom a few times was one thing but when my savior of a brother had something that Rido didn't have…

Rido broke it.

Our elder brother surprisingly loosened his grip on my arms and pushed me to the ground as he stepped outside. Haruka rushed to my side and picked me up in his arms, cradling me to his chest. I had almost burst into tears but his hand stroked my hair reassuringly. How could such a warm and happy feeling exist in this cruel world? Rido turned toward us.

"I hope you're happy with that woman in your be—"

Rido was suddenly cut off as Haruka kicked the door in his face.

"Are you okay?" he asked me.

And for a moment I thought I felt my non-beating organ the humans called a "heart" thump. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed the corner of his mouth in gratitude. Tears stung my eyes as I pressed my face under his chin while mumbling three words…

You were late.