YUI – 5 YEARS OLD

(SAKAMAKI MANSION IN TOKYO)

Yui wondered around the mansion completely bored. Shu had specifically told her not to leave her room until he came to get her but it had been hours since he, that man and…Subaru left to discuss 'adult business'. Thinking about her beloved white haired brother made Yui's heart hurt. She had missed him terribly over the last year but he was so mad at her the last time they saw each other, he probably hadn't forgiven her yet. Yui stopped when she heard water splashing coming from the pool. Now Shu had definitely forbidden her from going anywhere near the pool area unless he was there with her…but who else could be in the pool at this time of night? Yui slowly crept towards the pool door and slowly turned the handle to open the door. She peaked her head in the small gap she created and watched as a young male with bright red hair swim laps. Yui blinked in confusion, she had never seen him before.

Yui swallowed before she pushed the door opened and walked into the pool area, "Who are you?". The male stopped and turned around.

His bright green eyes glared into her sherbet pink eyes, "Who disturbs yours truly?".

Yui winced slightly at the harshness of his glare, "My name is Yui…why are you in my pool?".

"Ah, the little human father dearest brought into the house," the red haired scoffed as he climbed out of the pool, "Don't contaminate the air brat".

"That's not nice," Yui muttered but didn't quite take it to heart. Shu had once told her that and Subaru had other siblings and that they weren't very nice. This had to be one of the mean brothers Shu had told her about.

"Yours truly doesn't have to be nice to little blood bags".

"Yui!" Shu uncharacteristically growled as he charged into the pool area with Subaru hot on his heels. Yui flinched at Shu's growl and instantly knew she was in big trouble…big, big trouble.

"Shu…I-," she was cut off.

"Not a word," Shu turned his attention to his younger green eyed brother, "That man wants to see you Ayato".

"What the hell does that bastard want?" Ayato snarled as he shoved passed Shu and stormed out of the room. Yui swallowed nervously as she looked between Shu and Subaru. It was hard to tell who was angrier with her.

"I'm very disappointed in you Yui," Shu scolded her. Yui looked down at her feet and wished whole-heartily that a hole would open beneath her and make her disappear.

"What did I tell you?" Shu asked, the disappointment was clear in his voice.

"Not to leave my room," Yui whispered under her breath.

"Louder".

"Not to leave my room," Yui's voice trembled as she tried to hold back her tears. She knew she shouldn't have left her room. She was so stupid. Shu's anger slowly disappeared when he saw that his baby sister was about to cry. He looked at Subaru and saw that he looked completely devastated by Yui's sad face.

Shu sighed softly and rubbed his forehead, "We'll talk about this later Yui but for now, I think you two should talk". Yui looked up in fear. Subaru was probably still mad at her and she didn't want Shu to leave her alone. Shu noticed Yui's fear but knew that Subaru would never intently hurt her. Shu sent Subaru a look that clearly read 'Don't screw this up' before he left the two alone. Yui and Subaru stood in an awkward silence for a very long time.

"You've grown," Subaru finally said. Yui didn't respond.

"Yui...please look at me," Subaru begged. Yui slowly lifted her head and looked at her brother properly for the first time in over a year. He hadn't changed at all. His hair was still white like an old man and his eyes were still red like the rubies their mother had once showed her. Yui couldn't keep the tears from falling from her eyes. She had missed him so much.

"Oh Yui," Subaru knelt and opened his arms. Yui threw herself into his arms and wrapped her arms around his shoulder as she began to cry uncontrollably.

Subaru choked back a sob but that didn't stop the tears from running down his cheeks, "I'm so sorry Yui. I'm so sorry".

"I'm sorry that I made mummy go away Subaru…will she forgive me soon and come back?" Yui whimpered.

Subaru pulled away from his little sister and cupped her face between his two hands, "You did nothing wrong Yui. Mum just had to go away for a while. It'll just be you and me for a little while".

"And Shu? Can he be with us too?" Yui begged her older brother, "I love him too".

Subaru smiled softly. He was forever indebted to that lazy scumbag for taking care of his little sister, "Of course".

"I don't want Laito or yours truly though. They're mean. Laito seems nice but mummy got mad when I told her the nickname he gave me so he must be naughty," Yui hummed.

"Whatever you desire Yui," Subaru wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into another hug.

YUI – 16 YEARS OLD

(SAKAMAKI MANSION IN TOKYO)

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Yui groaned as her alarm went off. She lazily rolled over and tried to ignore the high-pitched noise but eventually accepted that she would have to get up and turn it off. She sighed but forced herself to sit up and switched the alarm off. It had been a very long time since she last thought little own dreamt about the time she not only met Ayato but made up with Subaru. Yui quickly got ready for school and made her way into the dining room where she knew her brothers would be. She was surprised though to see all of them in the lounge room watching the news. What surprised her even more was that all of them were sitting on the giant 'L' shaped lounge and watching the news together without arguing.

"Police are ramping up their investigation into several murders happening across Tokyo. Police have declined to comment on the case but are urging people not to travel alone after dark and to stay in groups. They have confirmed that twelve murders that have happened over the past two years are believed to be done by the same person or persons and that a local high school professor is the latest victim. Anyone with are urged to contact xxx-xxx-xxx".

"There's been that many murders and this is the first we're hearing about it?" Yui asked in disbelief as she plopped herself down next to Shu. No one responded.

"Yes. Very strange," Reiji eventually answered. Yui raised an eyebrow at not only his but her brother's strange behaviour but chose not to comment on it.

"Teddy and I are hungry. Let's go eat Yui," Kanato jumped off the sofa and made his way to the kitchen.

"I hope you don't mean me Kanato!" Yui giggled as she followed her purple haired brother with a sweet obsession. She did however pause when she noticed that none of her other brothers had moved.

"Are you not eating today?" Yui asked in confusion. While she knew that her brothers didn't need to eat food to survive, they always had humoured her by having breakfast with her when they all started going to the same high school. Even when they might not have necessary gone to school that day, they all still had breakfast together.

"We'll be there shortly. Save me a space bitch," Laito chirped happily. Yui's eyes narrowed. They were hiding something from her. Knowing that they weren't going to tell her unless they wanted to, she reluctantly dashed after Kanato. Once the brothers were certain that a certain human was out of ear shot, they continued the discussion they were having before Yui had entered the room.

"That man wants us to investigate who is behind these murders and deal with them by any means necessary", Shu leant back into the sofa. This was all so troublesome. He would much rather be in bed right now.

"Why is he so interested in what the humans are doing?" Laito asked in curiously, "Normally he couldn't care less".

"He didn't provide a reason. Only that if more of these crimes happened, that humans would start looking in areas that they should not be," Shu replied.

"Logical," Reiji pushed his glasses up, "While humans are stupid, even they will realise that no human can commit these murders".

Yui sobbed in the back of the limousine by herself. Her brothers had informed her moments before they were meant to leave for school that none of them would be attending due to 'vampire business'. Yui tried to control her crying as she dropped her head into her hands as she reflected on what had just happened. A huge argument broke out when she once again brought up the topic of being turned into a vampire. She had long ago accepted that her brothers would keep secrets from her and, while it hurt her inside, she forced herself to be okay with it. She knew they weren't going to tell her what they were doing tonight and she was fine with that. They had done this before. All she did was innocently…maybe not so innocently...mention that she expected all the secrets to be relieved when she was turned into a vampire. None of her brothers were pleased by her statement and they made it very well known to her. It wasn't often that all six brothers agreed on something and it was an even greater rarity that they teamed up and ganged up on her. Yui had lived with them long enough to know she had to grow a backbone and stand up for herself otherwise they would walk all over her…and unfortunately that's exactly what she did.

"Why won't you do it?," she whispered to herself.

"Yui! We've been over this!" Subaru growled in annoyance. Why couldn't his little sister understand what she would be giving up if she was turned into a vampire. They had all come out to say goodbye to her when the limousine had pulled up when she once again brought the topic of becoming a vampire up.

Yui innocently looked at her brothers, "We have agreed to disagree on this topic. Besides, I'm sure if we ask-".

Ayato cut her off, "We are not asking that man! You have no idea what you are giving up Yui!".

"Drop it Yui," Laito said seriously but a wide smile appeared on his face, "Have fun at school today and make sure my fan club knows I love them".

Something in Yui snapped. Maybe it was because they had had this conversation for the last five years and it always ended with the same outcome. One of her brothers ended the conversation and she was left feeling as if they truly didn't understand how important this was. How she would rather never have children, never marry, never even leave the house again if it meant she could live forever with her brothers.

"No I will not drop it! You think I don't understand the consequences of being a vampire but I do! I know that I can't have children. I know that I can never go out into the sunlight again or see any of my human friends again. I get that! What I don't get is why all of you are allowing me to continue to grow old while you remain young. Are you ever going to turn me?" Yui clenched her fist as she stared at her brothers. She had a backbone and she was going to use it.

"No," Kanato replied bluntly.

Yui's eyes slowly widened in hurt as she processed Kanato's response, "N-No?".

"You're only 16 human years old. You can't decide what you want to do as a career little own make an eternity long decision about something so serious," Reiji explained.

"What does choosing a career have anything to do with this? It won't matter when I'm a vampire," Yui responded in disbelief. Her greatest fears were being confirmed. Her brothers where never going to change her. She was going to grow old and wither away while they would continue to live on.

"It has everything to do with it. What were you planning to do with yourself if you became a vampire," Subaru demanded. He hated being harsh on his precious sister but he and his brothers needed her to understand that this wasn't a decision to be taken lightly. She wouldn't be able to click her fingers and undo it.

Yui flinched at Subaru's harsh tone but refused to back down, "I-I don't know but I would figure out-".

"Teddy and I think that maybe after you have truly lived a human life that we can address this issue," Kanato cut her.

Yui stumbled over her words, "T-Truly lived a human life? I've lived enough to know humans are cruel to others who are different. I've lived enough of my life to know I want to be able to stand on par with my brothers as equals!".

"It's not easy for vampires to have children. There must be several specific circumstances and most time, black magic involved to produce a child. Even then, there's no guarantee that a child will be created. You may be willing to give that up Yui but we are not going to let you give that up," Laito readjusted his fedora to cover his eyes. He didn't have what little heart he did to stare at his sister's broken face.

"It's my body! It's my soul!", Yui screamed, "Shouldn't I get-".

"End of discussion. We will perhaps address this topic in a few years but for now, you'll be late for school if you don't leave now," Reiji said before he turned around and went back into the mansion.

"Teddy and I agree. We'll see you when you get home," Kanato waved a good bye before he too made his way into the mansion.

"How long is a few years? When I'm thirty? When I'm sixty? When I'm on my death bed?" Yui's voice cracked as she felt her eyes swell with unshed tears. She could not believe that her brothers were seriously not even thinking about changing her.

"If you knew what was involved, you would-," Shu began before Yui screamed.

"Then tell me! What is involved? I might then understand why you won't do it!" Yui couldn't hold back the tears any longer, "Please. Please help me understand Shu". Shu stared into her eyes for a few moments before he turned away and went into the mansion. Yui choked back a sob and whipped the tears off her cheeks.

"You may hate us right now…but we only have your best interests at heart bitch," Laito added.

Ayato nodded in agreement, "The ritual isn't simple. There are many steps, several inmate steps, and you could possibly die". The two green eyed brothers shared a look before they both decided it was probably best to let their sister calm down. She was obviously incredibly upset and nothing they would say would be able to calm her down. It would probably only make her more upset.

Subaru approached her but Yui stepped backwards out of his reach. Hurt flashed across his face but he knew that she needed time to calm down, "Go to school Yui".

Yui let out a frustrated scream as she picked up a nearby champagne glass and threw it against the window. She watched in satisfaction as the glass shattered but a small part of her felt bad for the mess she had made for the driver to clean up…it was small enough to ignore. Yui went on a complete rampage. Anything breakable in the limo was broken. Yui was about to throw the very last wine glass when the limo door suddenly opened as the driver announced they had arrived at school. Yui's face turned bright red in embarrassment but she composed herself as if nothing had happened and stepped out of the limo before handing the sole remaining wine glass to the driver.

"…sorry about the mess. You'll need this to try and find another glass set that looks similar," maybe she had gone a little extreme. She probably didn't need to break all the glasses...or the champagne bottles….or the blood filled wine bottles…that was definitely going to stain the seats.

The driver chuckled, "You are definitely a Sakamaki".

"Ah!" Ayato shouted as he threw a book against the wall, "Yours truly found nothing! Can this thing just not be polite and tell us what the fuck it is!".

Reiji didn't look up from the book he was reading, "I would appreciate it you didn't damage the books. It's not their fault your too thick to figure out what the creature".

Ayato glared at his older brother, "Oh and you have? Well please then dear brother! The floor is yours".

"I know what the creatures is not which is far more important then what the creature is," Reiji smirked at Ayato, "I'm narrowed it down to-". Reiji's phone suddenly rang before he could finish.

"Yes?" Reiji answered his mobile in annoyance.

"Good evening Mr Sakamaki, I need to order more beverages as well as glasses for the limousine and I wanted to know whether you wanted to remain with the stock I lasted ordered or change to another brand". The brothers looked at Reiji in interest.

"And why would we need more?"

"Your sister was quite upset this morning and destroyed…well everything…but she didn't break one glass so another set can be purchased that will match".

Laito burst out laughing and looked at Subaru, "Are you sure Yui and you aren't related by blood?".

Subaru scoffed, "Shut up Laito".

"She definitely got your temper," Laito taunted.

"I don't think I'll be able to get the blood stains out of the car seats either. In my professional opinion, I believe it would be best if the entire backseat area was replaced. The champagne mixed with blood and all the glass, it should all just be redone".

Kanato nodded in agreement, "I never liked those seats".

"Do whatever you need to and just send me the bill," Reiji said before he hung up.

Ayato let out a low whistle, "Think she'll have calmed down when she gets home?".

"Does Subaru every just calm down in a few hours? Give her a day or two," Shu piped up from the lounge he had previously been sleeping on.

School had ended an hour ago but Yui didn't want to go home. She couldn't bear seeing her brothers just yet. She was so incredibly hurt by their actions and while the mansion was big enough to probably be able to avoid them, she just didn't want to be there. Yui had the driver drop her into town and told him she would call later to pick her up. Nothing was open since it was early in the morning and there were very few people out and about. A clash of thunder broke her train of thought as the sky opened up and began to pour.

"Of course," Yui muttered as she started getting soaked.

"Yui?" A voice called out. She spun around and was surprised to see Airi standing there with an umbrella.

"Airi? What are you doing here?" Yui asked in surprised.

"My house is just around the corner. You look like a drenched rat," Airi walked over and held the umbrella over Yui's head as well as her own, "Won't do much but at least you'll stop getting wet".

"Teddy and I have never heard of it," Kanato said in a monotone voice.

"Most haven't. It's not a common creature. Those that do exist are incredibly secretive and make sure to stay away from anything that could bring attention to them," Reiji readjusted his glasses, "The Harionago is a female ghoul who takes the appearance of a beautiful woman with extremely long hair with thorn like barbs at the ends. The diet of the Harionago consists of human flesh. As they are extremely secretive, the Harionago use the sharp ends of their hair to peal every scrap of flesh from the bones of their victim in order not to kill often. The ghoul will traditionally have black eyes with white pupils and a human form, normally female, of some kind. When the Harionago needs flesh, their skin will begin to turn orange and their white pupils will start to glow-".

"How orange are we talking about? On a scale of Airi's horrible spray tan to a carrot? Oh wait, she looked like a carrot," Laito joked. The brothers suddenly froze as a terrifying thought washed over them.

Ayato was the first to break the uneasy silence, "It's not possible. Yours truly would have sensed that she was a paranormal creature".

"Would we though? This is the first time I've ever come across this ghoul," Shu, despite appearing calm on the outside, had a bubble of panic starting to develop in his chest.

Reiji pulled out his phone and dialled a number, "Is my sister with you? She hasn't arrived home yet".

"No Mr Sakamaki. She requested to be dropped off into town. She said she would call me when she wanted to be picked up-". Reiji hung up on the driver and dialled Yui's number.

There was no answer.

"Thank you Airi. You have no idea how much I appreciate this," Yui smiled at her friend as she accepted the cup of tea Airi handed to her, "I can't believe this is the first time I've been to your house in all the years I've known you".

"You're lucky my parents are away on business! They're so strict about having friends over. Probably because of all the old garbage they gather," Airi sighed in annoyance. Yui nodded in understanding. Airi's house was nothing like Yui had expected. The house was a traditional Japanese house with everything from tatami mat floors to shoji sliding panels. What did surprise Yui though was the number of artefacts and relics just randomly laying around the house. It was obvious that several of these items were very valuable but it was a complete shock to Yui that so many of them were just…discarded around the house as if they were nothing. Books that looked as if they had been around since the beginning of time to statues from cultures that Yui didn't even know recognised were shoved up against walls for people to walk through the house without stepping on anything.

"There um…is quite a bit," Yui said as she spied a pile of very old looking weapons piled in the corner behind Airi, "I'm just so surprised that there everywhere".

"When you collect so many things over so many years, you just run out of room to put them anywhere. You don't have the heart to throw anything away but a sword is still just a sword no matter what century it's from," Airi shrugged as if having waist high piles of priceless items laying throughout the house was perfectly normal.

Yui wasn't quite sure what to say to that. All artefacts or relics that even had a little bit of importance to her family was proudly displayed in glass cabinets and always taken care of, "Makes…sense".

"Now drink up! This will help stop a cold from developing. I've never seen anyone so drenched before," Airi chuckled as she sipped on her tea.

Yui smiled softly, "I can only imagine how I looked with my makeup running everywhere and my clothes practically glued to my body". Yui blew on her tea softly before she took a big sip. The tea was a mixture of strawberries, honey and something Yui couldn't quite put her finger on.

"This is delicious Airi! What is it?" Yui asked as she quickly finished off her tea. Airi just smirked but didn't say anything.

The two sat in a comfortable silence before Airi spoke up, "So, what happened with your brothers?".

Yui sighed softly and rubbed her forehead, "We all had a huge disagreement and I just had to get away".

Airi nodded in understanding, "It's no surprise with that many males under one roof".

"You have no idea. I might head off. The house is big enough that I can avoid them if I really want to. Do you might if I use your bathroom before I go?" Yui asked as she stood up.

"Down the hallway and first door to your left," Airi nodded to the hallway. Yui quickly thanked her and carefully made her way to the bathroom, being extremely mindful not to step on any of the items laying on the floor. Yui placed her hands on the shoji panel that lead to the bathroom and couldn't get the panel to slide.

"Hey Airi, I think there's something wrong with the panel!" Yui called out, "I can't get it to slide".

"Give it a good tug" Airi called back. Yui shrugged her shoulders. She felt a little silly thinking about it now. Airi's house was obviously quite old and one would expect that not everything would work perfectly given the age. Yui gave a hard tug and the panel slide open. Yui choked on her breath and covered her mouth in horror as she stared into the bathroom. Laying on the floor were two human skeletons.

"Are you okay Yui?" Airi asked. Yui whipped around and fought the urge to run as Airi slowly walked towards her.

"Are those…," Yui swallowed harshly, "…your parents?".

Airi laughed harshly, "No. Those were the owners of this house. They didn't like my opening bid for the house so I they got the other option. I warned them they wouldn't like it but you know what humans are like. Stubborn, pig headed and think that they are the superior species". Yui's head suddenly started swimming. She felt herself starting to fall and quickly tried to steady herself on a nearby wall.

"Finally! I wondered how long it would take for the bloody tea to kick in," Airi chirped as she walked towards Yui. Yui tried in vain to crawl away as her body started shutting down and used every bit of strength to keep her eyes open.

"It'll be okay Yui. You'll see". The last thing Yui remembered before she passed out was pitch black eyes with white pupils and heard her phone ringing.

Yui slowly opened her eyes and blinked in confusion as she realised she was sitting in the middle of a meadow. White flowers and blades of grass danced softly in the light breeze that rolled across the field. Yui slowly stood up and looked around trying to figure out if she was in danger. Airi was nowhere in sight but that didn't stop the uneasy feeling growing within Yui. It felt like she was being watched but she couldn't see anyone watching her.

"What is going on," Yui whispered. The feeling of dread grew tenfold when Yui studied the flowers around her in more depth. She had mistaken the flowers for being white when they instead had transparent petals with red veins and a purple triangle centre.

"They called telipogon diabolicus," a voice called out. Yui looked up and her eyes widened when she saw the purple haired lady standing a few feet away. The woman wore a long black dress that had straps made up in a zigzag pattern. She had a white rose embellishment above her right breast, a black choker around her neck and a long black glove on her left hand. The woman closed the gap behind them and it was then that Yui not only noticed that there was a high slit on the dress with delicate looking white ruffles underneath but a pair of very familiar looking green eyes. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought she was looking into Ayato or Laito's eyes.

"There also known as the 'Demon Orchid'. It's very fitting…when you know the story behind it," the woman smiled. Yui assumed the woman was trying to be friendly but her smile made Yui's skin crawl.

Thump

Thump

Thump

Yui gripped her chest as she continued to maintain eye contact with the woman, "Who are you?".

"My name is Cordelia," Cordelia placed both her hands over Yui's clenched fist, "It's hurting, isn't it? Your…heart…feels like it's going to explode". Yui's eyes widened as Cordelia pushed Yui's hands away and placed her own over Yui's rapidly beating heart. Yui's heart suddenly started beating normally.

"Don't worry my precious, I'll be there soon".