Disclaimer: Vampire Knight belongs to Hino Matsuri.

A/N: In an attempt to use source material as often as possible, I base the physical appearances of many of my OCs on background characters in the manga. For a visual of OC Komaki Koizumi, refer to VK c7 pp 13, near the middle of the page. For a visual of OC Kanae Kotonami, refer to VK c7 (middle), and c17 pp 13 (bottom). The latter actually shows up pretty frequently. These references are based off of scanlations hosted on mangapanda, but I don't know where the young'uns are sourcing their manga from these days.

LEMON WARNING:

THIS IS YOUR FIFTEEN MINUTE LEMON WARNING. IF YOU DON'T ENJOY THE SOUR TASTE OF SMUT, PLEASE SKIP AHEAD WHEN YOU SEE THE SCENE BREAK (-L-) INSTEAD OF THE USUAL BREAK (-x-)

You've got the best of both worlds,

You're the kind of girl who can take down a man, and lift him back up again

Well, it kind of hurts when the kind of words you say

Kind of turn themselves into blades

Don't mind my nerve, you could call it fiction

But it's nice to say that we played in the dirt, and here we are.

-x-

SUNDAY

-x-

"I'm gonna need you to stay on your intercom as long as you can, okay?" Rima said calmly, as Ruka curled up in her seat. "We have surveillance that's supposed to come online soon, but it's spotty and I'd rather be able to communicate with you."

"Sure," said Ruka, tucking her knees into her chest as a knot formed in the pit of her stomach.

"We're gonna try to keep as many of you on the intercom as we can," Shiki added from further in the background, waving at a newly-installed wall of monitors behind him. "But we expect we'll have to switch over to surveillance for most of the floor when you can't focus on keeping your intercom with you anymore."

Ruka frowned. "What do you mean when we can't focus?"

"The Chairman said it could get ugly," Rima replied, typing rapidly as screens behind her lit up. "Like, physical pain. And I feel like the last thing on your minds is going to be keeping an intercom on."

"Surveillance is up," Shiki said.

Rima leaned back so Ruka could see. The wall of monitors was almost fully lit; a living room here, a kitchen there, and several displaying static in between.

"There are cameras in the suites?" Ruka scowled.

"Sort of," Rima looked displeased. "The Chairman didn't want to invade your privacy, so he had these installed the day you guys moved in and only set them to turn on today. Unfortunately, since it was such a rush job and we had no time to dummy test it, a bunch of the cameras aren't responding."

She pointed a delicate finger at the third column of screens. Only four rooms were showing — a bedroom, a theater, a kitchen, a gym.

"This is Kanae's," Rima explained, then waved at the five or six blank screens in the column. "She's not in any of the rooms we can see. So we can't see her."

"Are you telling me," said Ruka, "that the Chairman found time to tile an Olympic-sized pool in every suite with antique Spanish tile, and stock a Chinese garden in every suite with live koi, but he couldn't bother to find the time to have security cameras fully functioning?!"

"I'm very uncomfortable with his judgment," Rima deadpanned.

"Ten minutes in," Shiki said over his shoulder, "It's looking good, no one's coming in yet..."

Ruka leaned forward in her seat, placing her feet back on the ground. "Coming in?"

"He means it doesn't look like anyone's reacting to the hormone trigger coming off yet," Rima explained.

"You all keep talking about these hormone triggers," Ruka sighed, exasperated. "I hope you know I don't understand what you mean when you say that."

"The triggers are a gradual hormone release system that sets off as a response to mating season," Rima replied, leaning back. "That's just what the Chairman calls them. Not a lot is known about it, which is why the Chairman couldn't give us a lot of details on what to expect. But, basically, throughout the week, your body starts releasing more and more of your reproductive hormones in small bursts. And you feel the effects more and more as the week goes on. On the last day, your body releases as much of the hormone as it can make, continuously, for 24 hours, in order to facilitate the process of mating."

"You know how you said you've been able to smell Kain's blood?" Shiki chimed in. "Well, we think that's part of the female hormone trigger. No one's in the same room with another person, obviously, but all the girls have been reporting a heightened sense of smell. On Wednesday, after we were attacked, Komaki told us the reason she was ready when the Ds broke into her room through the vents was because she could smell blood coming closer."

"We told the Chairman," Rima added flatly, "He thinks the female hormone trigger heightens the ability to smell blood, in order to give you the persistent urge to seek blood and feed."

"Fresh blood facilitates pregnancy," Shiki offered helpfully, "Says the Chairman. It's a means to cause females to mate. The male hormone trigger is a little more complex, though. The biggest change is they develop the ability to track any females nearby, almost like a sixth sense. The boys have been describing their ability to see your movement, and they can smell you. It sounds like so far this week, they've been honing their ability to hunt. When their hormone trigger comes off, though, things change a little. In addition to their tracking instincts, the sudden influx of hormones gives them the insistent urge to mate. So they're tracking with a purpose today."

"Sounds positively primeval," said Ruka.

"Pretty much," said Shiki.

"The inability to complete the process can cause anywhere from mild discomfort to extreme agony," Rima added, rolling her chair back to observe something on the screens. "Like I said, we don't know exactly what to expect. Everyone reacts to it in a different way."

"But it should take about half an hour for the hormone trigger to release fully, and pump your bodies with the maximum dosage of hormones," Shiki added, taking Rima's seat in front of Ruka's screen. "Nothing should happen until at least 12:30, according to the Chairman."

"The Chairman seems to have a lot of data about things we don't know about," Ruka commented wryly.

"Yeah," Shiki shrugged. "Apparently, he's been researching the phenomenon for the past couple of years, knowing the lot of you were going to come of age soon. He collects a lot of data on us."

"Remember those 1000-question surveys we had to fill out when we were admitted?" Rima said drily.

"I don't want to," Ruka replied, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe he has a naturally curious disposition," said Rima.

"Maybe he has a naturally sadistic disposition," Shiki deadpanned.

Rima shrugged, and turned around to face the wall of surveillance monitors. Suddenly, she stretched out a hand to touch one of the screens. Eyes narrowed, she waved to Shiki.

"Shiki," she said frantically, "Aidou's coming in early."

The auburn-haired boy turned from Ruka, his expression glazed with sudden concern.

"Shit," said Shiki, leaping to Rima's side. "What suite is he?"

"2E," Rima replied sharply, leaning backwards to grab a binder off of one of the tables in the room. Ruka leaned forward, concerned, trying to see past the two vampires in the room, to catch a glimpse of her cousin. She could make out a blond dot on one of the monitors, but no more.

Rima rifled through the binder frantically. "2D was Ruka's suite, so it's empty; Kaori Aso's on the other side."

"Call Aso," Shiki said sharply, "Tell her—"

Before he could finish, a piercing scream shot through the speakers of the intercom, interrupting Shiki's sentence.

Ruka felt a tremble snake its way down her spine. The sound was nothing like any sound she had heard before. It wasn't the cry of fury, or the wail of death. Those, she had heard. The sound that echoed through the intercom in her trembling hands was a guttural scream, confused, full of agony, torment, desperation. Ruka swallowed as the sound was abruptly cut off; a pause, then it came again, in a second wave, deeper, more brutal, trailing off into an tortured moan. Rima, in the control room, had squeezed her eyes shut.

"What," said Ruka, blinking rapidly, "What the hell was that?"

"Aidou's trigger came off," Shiki replied.

A sharp inhale. "That was — that was Hanabusa?"

"He's fine," Rima said shakily, opening her eyes to peer at a monitor. "He's okay, for now, I think —"

Another voice let out a piercing scream, in a higher register, frantic, cut off by petrified sobs; a third voice joined her, both pitiful sounds dancing off of another vicious, tortured roar from Aidou. Girls, Ruka thought, terrified girls who did not have access to Shiki and Rima's calm, comforting presence, who did not know what that horrifying sound was. She would've been terrified too, if she didn't have the situation so clearly laid out before her.

"He set off Kaori," Shiki said hurriedly to Rima, hands splayed over the monitor. "And Eiri Sakurada, in 3E — they're reacting —"

Rima was scribbling rapidly in her binder. Ruka looked peered closer, holding the screen to her nose — time stamps, she observed, dates, and notes.

Aidou's voice roared again, the sound echoing through the speakers of the intercom again; several voices joined him this time. Ruka checked the clock. 12:20.

"Your prediction is a little off," Ruka said carefully, as the terrified shrieks of the girls blended into the monstrous sound.

"Yeah, well," said Rima, who was too busy to come up with a clever response.

"What are you doing?" Ruka asked, pointing at the binder Rima was ferociously filling.

"Checking on everyone," said Rima, glancing up briefly before looking back down, "Recording data. We're on the lookout for everyone's activation times, observing people's behavior, marking down if they're offensive or defensive types, which just means whether they try to go on a cathartic purge by lashing out or not."

Ruka frowned, her spine tightening as waves of screams pierced through the screen. She felt nervous, agitated — she tapped her foot impatiently, her eyes darting nervously around the room, looking for the camera. "Is this information for the —"

"Chairman," Rima agreed.

Ruka's expression hardened. "Are these glorified test tubes?" she demanded, incensed. "Did he have us all penned up here like lab animals so he could study us?"

"No," the blonde girl snapped, tossing her pen down and glaring at her friend. "Yeah, he's stupid a lot of the time, but I honestly believe Kurosu did this to help. And the information we've gathered for him has only given him a better understanding of what is happening. The fact that the Chairman is getting some information that might help us when we go through this again next year does not make you a victim, Ruka, so stop being a brat."

Ruka looked offended, returning Rima's glare with equal ferocity.

Silence.

"I'm sorry," Ruka said finally, tapping her foot anxiously, unnerved by Rima's unwavering glare and the vicious sounds echoing through the intercom. "I'm just — I'm starting to feel a little tense. This is — nothing like I've ever experienced. It's madness."

Rima sighed, and twirled a blonde pigtail anxiously.

"Well, not everything's all peachy," she said, picking up her pen again, and resuming her log. "When the week started, the Chairman wanted us to let him know if anything out of the ordinary happened, just out of curiosity. But then we started noticing patterns and he started figuring things out, which is great. Except, when the hunters showed up, they demanded copies of our logs in exchange for the barrier. And we know the Association's never been so well-intentioned as Kurosu."

Ruka bit her nail nervously, then threw a hand over one ear as another round of screams pierced through the screen.

"What can I do?" she asked halfheartedly.

"Nothing," Rima replied nonchalantly, "Except stay in that room, by any and all means, and don't leave."

The howls and roars of agony echoed through to Ruka, through the control room. The acoustic tiles on the walls of the room absorbed the sound, preventing it from bouncing around like an echo, but still, the full brunt of the sound waves was hitting Ruka in full force through the speakers, before it dissipated into the room. The brunette winced, pulling back from the screen.

"Can I turn this thing off?" Ruka asked, pointing at the intercom in her lap. "I'm sorry, but this room is soundproof. I'm only hearing everything through you, and I...don't want to."

Rima frowned, and looked at Shiki. The boy shrugged.

"...alright," the blonde girl decided. "You seem to be reacting slowly to the hormone trigger; I don't want this to set you off. As long as you stay in that room, I can see you. I'll call back in half an hour. Okay?"

"Okay," said Ruka, as a wail pierced the air. She hesitated briefly, then found the courage to ask: "Will you tell me, please, what happens to Akatsuki? Just —" she raised her hands defensively at Rima's arched eyebrow. "He's in here, somewhere, and I want to know what I'm dealing with, you know. Like, if I should expect...if I should be prepared for anything."

Rima nodded curtly. Ruka flushed a deep red, and slammed the intercom shut.

Silence.

-x-

Rima watched the screen go blank, and swiveled around in her seat. The large room was filled with screens and monitors, wires and cables; across from her, Shiki stood in front of the surveillance wall, tapping unenthusiastically at those screens that refused to display data.

"Well, the keep-Ruka-on-the-line-as-long-as-possible plan failed miserably," Rima said to Shiki.

Shiki shrugged. "I didn't think it was going to work, anyways."

"Yeah, well," Rima rolled her eyes. "The hardest part about explaining to the Chairman why it's difficult to keep two people who are locked together in a room apart when you have no way to physically separate them was his unabashed optimism in his stupid plans."

Shiki shrugged again. "It's not so bad. We got them in separate rooms. So now we just have to hope they stay that way."

"That's unlikely," Rima deadpanned.

"Yeah," said Shiki, "Well, maybe she's a defensive type and freezes up and doesn't leave the room, and then all we have to do is hope Kain has the sense not to go after her."

"She doesn't seem to be reacting," Rima frowned, peering at the screens, brow furrowed.

"She could just be an outlier," said Shiki, turning back to the monitors. "More people are coming in now. We need to get a rundown of their statuses."

"Start listing rooms," Rima replied, crossing her legs and flipping to the first page of her binder.

"1A," said Shiki, pointing to the leftmost column of screens. "Looks empty."

"It's unoccupied. Look at 1B, should be Tetsuya Tennoji in there."

"Active, in the living room. He's starting to punch the walls."

"Alright," Rima winced and made a note. "1C, Seiren."

"Not sure," Shiki replied, tracing his finger over the appropriate monitor. "She's in the kitchen, she looks agitated. But she's just pacing, for now. 1D."

"1D, Souma Ashiya."

"No data. I can't see him. 1E."

"1E's empty. 1G, Hiroyuki Tokumori."

"Active," Shiki frowned. "Very active. In the living room. Looks like he's feeding off of Aidou's energy, they're in the same wing. 2A."

"2A is Ichijou."

"Hang on," the auburn haired boy peered, then pointed. "Look, he's in that bookshelf fort he made in the library earlier this week. He's not making a sound, but he's not moving, either."

"...okay," Rima's brow furrowed. "2B, Kanae."

"Activating," Shiki replied, "But not there yet. She's in her bedroom. Fetal position."

"Is she okay?" Rima wondered out loud as she made the note in her binder.

"I don't know," said Shiki. "I would ask her, but I'm not sure she'd hear me through this one-way surveillance camera. 2C."

"That's Kain and Ruka," Rima replied, sounding a little annoyed.

"I can see Ruka. She looks fine, she hasn't moved, and she's still not active. I can't see Kain, though. No data. 2D."

"2D was Ruka. Empty. 2E, Aidou."

Shiki winced. "Living room. Active. He's breaking everything. He might start bleeding soon."

Rima groaned. "Well, we'll deal with that when it comes to it. 2G, Kaori Aso."

"Bedroom. Active. Next floor."

"3A, Komaki Koizumi."

"Library, not active. She's reading."

"3B, Akira Nanba."

"No data, I can't see him."

"3C, Sakura Ichihara."

"No data."

"3D, Kazuki Himejima."

"Active, in the theater," Shiki replied. "Aaaaand he's tearing the room apart."

"3D, Eiri Sakurada," Rima frowned. "I hope the Chairman does have other plans for this place, what a mess."

"Tell me about it. Sakurada's active, bathroom. She's sitting in the bathtub."

"Well, look away," said Rima. "3G, Yukito Miura, last one."

"She's not naked," Shiki protested. "Bedroom, activating."

"Okay," Rima closed her binder. "That's all of the ones we can see active, except Ruka, and Komaki."

"We'll need to keep an eye on the ones we couldn't find," Shiki said, crossing the room again to sit beside Rima. "Get updates as soon as we see them."

"Yeah," said Rima, frowning. "How about the ones that are active?"

"Whenever there's something interesting to record, I guess. I don't think any of them will answer our calls. Maybe Ichijou and Kanae, and the other defensive ones, for now."

Rima leaned back in her chair, wincing as another round of roars piercing through the walls of the control room, echoing as it bounced off the walls. Her blue eyes shifted to the wall of monitors, where their friends and classmates moved in and out of screens like caged animals.

"So...what do we do now?"

Shiki pondered for a moment, eyes fixed on the surveillance footage, darting between two rooms.

"Set a timer for half an hour," he decided. "For Ruka and Komaki. We'll check back."

-x-

They didn't make it to half an hour. At 1:00AM, Ruka smelled blood.

She called Rima immediately. The blonde picked up on the first ring, looking harried.

"You smell it?" Rima asked frantically, before Ruka could even open her mouth. Ruka nodded. Rima cursed under her breath.

"If she smells it, the whole building smells it," Rima said over her shoulder to Shiki. The boy nodded tersely. Ruka watched as Shiki attempted to dial the intercom through to several rooms; after five ignored calls, he gave up.

"It's Hanabusa?" Ruka said anxiously, eyes fixed on the door. "That's his blood, I can smell his blood."

"Yeah," sighed Rima. "He cut himself on the coffee table glass when he crushed it. Didn't even stop. Kept smashing it with his bare fists. There's broken glass all over the floor. He's a mess."

"My god," Ruka swallowed.

"Ruka, how are you feeling?" Shiki's face popped into the screen, concerned.

"Fine," the brunette replied, flustered. "Um, no different."

That was true. The smell of blood made her thirsty, but nowhere near as thirsty as she had been on Wednesday, when Kain had caught her. Her throat itched, but it was more of an annoyance than an irresistible urge, nothing a blood tablet couldn't dull; she didn't feel different at all, which, she thought, was probably abnormal in itself. Ruka lifted a hand to her forehead, and looked at Shiki questioningly.

"That's odd," was the only thing he said, before pulling back again.

"Komaki's still inactive, too," Rima added. "We don't know why. It's been an hour since midnight, and you two are showing no effects. Seiren went berserk fifteen minutes ago."

"How's Akatsuki?" Ruka asked, twisting the hem of her skirt nervously. "If Hanabusa's hurting himself — I mean, they're really similar. Akatsuki, is he okay?"

"We can't find him," the blonde replied honestly, throwing a thumb back to point at the screens. "He's not in any of the rooms we can see, and he hasn't moved through any of them, as far as we're aware."

"Don't worry," came Shiki's voice from behind Rima as he darted in and out of the screen. "He's been through this before. He probably considerably more control. Takuma seems pretty sedate, too. He barricaded himself in the library after we called and he hasn't moved. There's no sound coming from his room. Or from yours, honestly."

A massive crash echoed through the room, followed by an agonized cry. Ruka yelped in surprise, looking around to make sure nothing had fallen. She blinked. The sound had come through the intercom — another room. Shiki and Rima jumped and darted to the monitors, speaking rapidly in quiet tones to each other.

Ruka's heartbeat raced in her chest. She could still smell Aidou's blood, and it was getting stronger now — coming from the far corner of the room, where a vent blew cold air into the auditorium.

"Rima? What happened?"

"Aidou's bashing himself into things," Rima said over her shoulder, sounding tense. "He won't stop bleeding, and everyone around can smell it. Eiri, Kaori and Sakura are all freaking out."

"Can't you do something?" Ruka snapped, agitated. The smell of her cousin's blood was wafting into the room through the vent in the corner, soaking the whole room in the scent.

"Shiki, please explain to Ruka what we attempted to explain to the Chairman."

The auburn-haired boy rolled his eyes and squared with Ruka. "Ruka, the doors are locked so you can't get out. That means we also cannot get in. So unless we want to drop the hunter's barrier and let the D-classes back in to claw through the roof and the ventilation system, no, we cannot do anything."

He turned back to his intercom, and kept typing numbers into the machine, trying to get through to someone.

"All we can really do is watch," Rima said, sounding mildly apologetic. "We've been trying to keep in touch with people, talk them down, but the ones that are tearing things down and hurting themselves, they're not really up to answering their intercoms."

"Nobody's answering," Shiki said wryly, tapping in annoyance at his intercom. "We got Kanae ten minutes before you called, but she couldn't speak. Or move. And she shut down the call less than two minutes in."

Ruka frowned, silent.

Rima winced as another crash resounded, and turned to Shiki. The auburn-haired boy raised his eyes to the ceiling in frustration, before turning back to his intercom.

"We're due to check in with Komaki now," Shiki said, looking over his shoulder at Ruka.. "Ruka, do you want to stay on the line? It's up to you."

"It's fine," said Ruka, rubbing her temples. "I feel fine, still. I can check back in with you. Do whatever you need to do."

"Okay," said Shiki, and hung up.

-x-

Ruka set the intercom disk down next to her with a sigh.

She knew it was going to be bad, she thought, but she hadn't realized how bad. Standing up, she pulled her arms upwards and stretched, and looked around.

The lone vent in the room was in the opposite corner, a tiny rectangle of slits spewing the smell of Aidou's blood into the room like sewage. Ruka frowned. The thirst would have to be managed, somehow. She couldn't go to the kitchen for a blood tablet. She hadn't thought to bring any with her. The vent would have to be plugged.

Turning to the wall behind her, Ruka ripped an acoustic tile off of the wall. Dangling it carelessly from one hand, she walked towards the vent in the corner, gauging its size as she approached. Small, she thought, and tore the tile in half.

Setting the halves down on the floor under the vent, Ruka turned and methodically ripped half a dozen theater seats off the floor. The vent was high in the ceiling, the smell becoming more and more potent as she neared; Ruka wrinkled her nose. She hoped Shiki and Rima didn't think she was getting out of control. She just needed a stepladder. Ruka stacked the seats haphazardly on top of each other, propped against the corner.

Grabbing one of the halves of the acoustic tile, Ruka leapt onto her makeshift pile of chairs, reaching up to pull the cover off the vent. The smell of Aidou's blood hit her aggressively in the face. Ruka snapped her face away immediately, coughing, and swallowed roughly. Holding her breath, she stuffed the cloth tile in her hand viciously into the space between the cover and the filter, then jammed the cover back on to fix it in place.

The smell had been flowing into the room like a river in flood. Now, it had dammed. Ruka leapt off the heap of velvet and metal, and stepped back to admire her handiwork. It wasn't perfect, she noted, but it was good enough to dam the flow.

Smiling, Ruka moved to return to her perch on the other side of the room. She skidded to a halt in front of the large, soundproof door.

Her eyes shifted nervously to the obstruction.

Something was there.

She could feel a presence — an aura, almost — lingering on the other side of the door, just out of reach. It seemed coiled and tense, yet hesitant; felt almost like a fiery explosion being contained by the thinnest of shells. She hesitated, then stepped forward, grazing the wood lightly with the tips of her fingers.

No sound.

Ruka took a long, wavering breath, her hand on the door, thumb brushing over the lock, checking that it was firmly in place.

"Akatsuki?" she said, holding her breath.

The sound of movement, away from the door. Then, all of a sudden, the aura vanished.

Ruka exhaled nervously, her heart pounding in her heaving chest. She turned, pressing her back against the door, and slid down to the ground. She wrapped her arms around her knees and pulled them to her chest, a knot forming in her stomach, her shoulders tense.

"I'll be here," Ruka said to no one in particular.

She put her head down on her knees, and closed her eyes.

-x-

Rima looked at Shiki.

"Is she okay?"

The auburn-haired boy peered at the image of Ruka, still against the door of the room.

"I don't know," he admitted finally. "She could be asleep. Or she could be like Kanae. I can't see her face from this angle."

Rima swiveled her chair back to the intercom screen, and typed in two digits. Shiki shrugged, and turned up the volume for the camera on Ruka.

A small, sharp ringing sounded. The figure against the door shifted, then started, and pushed itself up, before moving to the opposite side of the room, where a silver intercom disk sat.

Shiki looked at Rima.

"Asleep," he said.

Ruka's face appeared on the intercom, brushing stray locks of honey-brown hair out of her eyes, rubbing her neck.

"Hi," she said, shifting to plop down in one of the velvet seats. "Did something happening?"

Rima blinked, dumbfounded.

"Just checking in on you," Shiki intercepted nonchalantly, gently nudging Rima out of the way. "Were you asleep?"

"Yeah," Ruka's lip twisted. "I guess I fell asleep against the door. It wasn't comfortable. My neck hurts."

"Feel weird at all? Feel like you want to bite something?"

"No," said Ruka, still massaging her neck. "Nothing out of the ordinary, still."

Rima looked at her watch, confused.

"It's almost noon," she said, incredulous. "You're not feeling any effects? None at all?"

"No, I feel fine," Ruka said, glancing at Shiki, who was watching her carefully.

He shrugged. "She seems fine."

"You and Komaki," Rima sighed, scribbling something down. "Outliers."

"Komaki's still fine, too?"

"Yeah," Shiki replied, crouching down to prop his elbows on the back of Rima's chair. "We've been calling her on the intercom, too. She's consistently picking up. She's reporting no changes in mood or behavior. We've been monitoring her over surveillance, and she looks fine. Last time we checked she was in the library, reading and having a coffee."

"Weird," Rima shook her head.

"How is everybody?" Ruka asked anxiously. Rima pointed the tip of her pen at Shiki, and kept writing. The auburn-haired boy took over.

"Varying levels," Shiki replied calmly. "The ones that reacted the most violently this morning have worn themselves out a bit. The Chairman says they're offensive-style copers, they're trying to deal with it by lashing out, breaking furniture, busting through walls, hurting themselves. That's the bulk of the people contained in this building, unfortunately. They're still experiencing the effects, but they need time to recover before they can start rampaging again. Some of them passed out. I'd give it an hour, maybe two, before the screaming and the crashing starts again."

"We got in touch with Aidou, very briefly, about an hour and twenty minutes ago," Rima added, eyes still fixed downwards on her binder. "He was the first to wear himself out. He beat himself up pretty bloody, and he's hoarse, he can barely speak. He's healing, right now. He asked about you, he was worried about you."

"Did you tell him I was fine?"

"Yeah," Rima nodded. "But he didn't pick up the next time we tried to call, and we can't see him anymore."

"What about Akatsuki?" Ruka glanced quickly at the door, then back. "How is he?"

"Still no clear sign of him," said Shiki. "He's not picking up calls, and he hasn't shown up on the screens for more than 10 seconds at a time. He might just be pacing around the suite. But we can see some damage, there's dents and tears in the drywall in your suite, like he's ripping at things. He seems offensive but it's weird, he's making absolutely no sound."

"Takuma's been the most contained of the boys," said Rima. "The Chairman calls it the defensive style. They're the ones that take up somewhere and just don't move. Kanae's next to Takuma, and Komaki's above him, and the suite below him is unoccupied. He took up in the library, which is the furthest possible room from Kanae's suite, and he's in the southeast corner of it, which is the furthest possible position from where Komaki's been. He barricaded himself into that corner with bookshelves; he hasn't as much as twitched in twelve hours."

"Jesus," Ruka murmured. "And the other girls? What about Seiren and Kanae?"

"Seiren's been on the offensive. She's been breaking things, but she hasn't hurt herself. She tired out a little bit ago; now she's tearing the pages out of books in chunks." Shiki shook his head. "Hundreds of thousands of dollars of literature. Rest in peace."

"Kanae's in bad shape, though," Rima told Ruka quietly. "She seems defensive like Takuma, she hasn't moved all day. She's been curled up in a ball in her bedroom since the clock struck midnight. She started crying about four hours ago, and she hasn't stopped. She bit herself a couple times, but of course she couldn't stand the taste."

"I don't think she's physically capable of reaching an intercom anymore," added Shiki, pointing to a screen. Ruka could barely make out the image of a dark-haired girl curled up in a tight ball in the farthest corner of her bedroom, away from the window, a small silver disk lying a couple feet away from her.

"She won't move?"

"Not even an inch," said Shiki. "We've called her, but she hasn't responded at all. She doesn't even seem to hear it. The same with Takuma."

Ruka sighed, looking frustrated. "Why isn't it happening to me?" she demanded.

"We don't know," said Shiki. "The Chairman says you might just be reacting late, but he said that six hours ago. At this point, you and Komaki might not activate at all."

"That doesn't seem like a bad thing," said Ruka.

"Maybe," Rima agreed, "It means you'll keep your good sense to stay in that room, at least. But we don't know why it's happening. There's a possibility that you two are just delayed. The hormone triggers act for 24 hours; if you guys are coming in late, that means you'll bleed into tomorrow. And that's not good. If that's what's happening, we need to be prepared for that."

Ruka was silent, contemplating the severity of those implications.

"Did you ask Komaki?" she said finally. "Does she know why?"

"Doesn't seem like it," said Rima. "We've asked her to stay in the rooms we can see, which, unfortunately, isn't any of the soundproof ones in her suite. She can hear all the screaming and crashing and smell the blood, but other than being annoyed she doesn't seem to be reacting to it at all."

A loud boom echoed through the room, followed by the sound of shattering glass. Shiki leaned back in his chair, and tilted his head towards the surveillance wall.

"Aidou's back on again," he deadpanned. "He just demolished the shower."

"Very impressive," said Rima. "Always ahead of the curve, Aidou-sempai."

The pigtailed girl turned to Ruka, one eyebrow raised. Ruka shook her head, looking extremely uncomfortable.

"Let me know if anything new develops," the brunette said, and slammed her intercom shut.

-x-

"So Ruka's still fine," said Rima, rubbing her temples. "How's Komaki?"

"She's making a sandwich."

Rima glared at her partner in annoyance. The auburn haired boy pointed to one of the surveillance screens, where a girl with silvery hair and violet eyes was lingering in a kitchen.

"She's actually making a sandwich," said Rima, sounding very surprised.

"We should call Komaki again," Shiki decided, as loud crashes and yells began to crescendo again around them.

"Why?"

"I want to if she and Ruka have anything in common," said Shiki. "They're not reacting to the hormone trigger, but maybe they're resisting it in the same way."

Rima shrugged, and obliged. Two rings, and the call was answered.

The girl in the screen brushed her silver bangs out of her eyes with a free hand. She smiled at Shiki and Rima, and set down the glass of blood tablets she'd been sipping.

"Hey guys," Komaki Koizumi said cheerfully, "It hasn't been another half hour yet, you know."

"She still looks fine," Rima said to Shiki, who nodded in consensus.

"I feel fine too, before you ask," Komaki volunteered.

Shiki fixed the violet-eyed girl with a deadpan stare. "You know, you should've started feeling acute bloodlust at least ten hours ago."

"Nope," said Komaki, picking up her blood tablet mix and showing it to Shiki, "Just regular old bloodlust. Same as yesterday, and the day before."

"So weird," said Rima.

"I mean, I had a heart attack every time I heard someone shriek," Komaki said absentmindedly, "But that only lasted for the first hour or so. I've gotten used to it. It makes it kind of hard to nap, though, but I guess I can't very well ask everyone to quiet down."

"Sorry you have to keep listening to it," Rima said absently, eyes fixed on a different monitor. "The cameras in your soundproof rooms don't work. We want to keep you in our line of sight, just in case things change."

"It's fine, I don't mind too much. Just glad I'm well out of it," Komaki smiled, then furrowed her brow. "Is Ichijou okay? I've been hearing poor Akira loud and clear from next door, but nothing from down below. Kanae told me a while ago that Ichijou's right under me."

"He's okay," said Shiki, "Relatively. I'm sure he's in just as much pain as everyone else, but he's not screaming or breaking things or hurting himself, which is one less thing we have to worry about."

"That's terrible," Komaki said. She took a small sip of her blood tablet concoction, grimaced, then set it back down gingerly beside the intercom screen.

"Not fancying fake blood today?" Rima noticed, tilting her head.

Komaki shrugged, running a finger along the lip of her glass. "It's not that. The smell of blood's making my throat itch, but I'm not particularly hungry. I'm using the tablets as lozenges, pretty much."

Shiki watched the silver-haired girl carefully.

"Are you and Ruka blood-related?" he asked.

Komaki tilted her head back and thought about it.

"Probably," she said finally, "But not closely. Why?"

"I thought maybe shared bloodline might have something to do with why you two aren't responding."

"That's unlikely." Komaki shrugged. "Ruka has first cousins in this building, Aidou and Kain, and I presume they're going nuts. My closest relation is Eiri Sakurada, who's my second cousin once removed, and she's not resistant to the hormone trigger. Ruka and I go much further back than that. It wouldn't explain why closer relations are responding, but we aren't."

"Well, that's that theory stricken out," Rima sighed. "Alright, Komaki. We'll check back in half an hour, as always."

"Of course," Komaki smiled. "I'll be waiting with bated breath."

-x-

It was four in the afternoon.

Ruka was lying on her stomach on the floor in the music room, exhausted and bored out of her mind. Her intercom was propped open in front of her, and Shiki and Rima were still staring at her like she'd grown horns.

"Still nothing?" Rima looked perplexed, scanning her friend's face. "It's been 18 hours, you're not still not active."

"Like I told you the last ten times, no," Ruka groaned, frustrated. "I'm fine. Go bother Komaki, leave me alone."

"Ruka Soen and Komaki Koizumi," Shiki murmured, pointing at the monitor where Komaki Koizumi was clearly displayed, calmly reclined on the couch, flipping through a book. "Eighteen hours past due, no effects at all."

"Do you think they're just genetically immune?" Rima tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes, as if it would give her some sudden insight into Ruka's condition.

"That can't be it," Ruka said immediately, shaking her head insistently. "I was feeling the effects earlier this week. And even yesterday. It's not that I don't feel it, I'm just not being hit by this surge you were expecting."

"Right," Shiki mused. "It's like the trigger didn't even come off. Everyone else is experiencing a huge jump in drive; you two are feeling the same you've felt all week."

Rima turned to Ruka. "We talked to Komaki. She says it's probably not blood-related."

"She's probably right," Ruka agreed. "Our last common ancestor was more than 20 generations ago. There are plenty of people in the Academy who I have stronger blood ties to than Komaki."

"So if it's not immunity and it's not blood, what is it?"

The trio sat in silence for a moment, Ruka picking at the carpet.

"Hang on," Shiki said suddenly. "It is blood. But not in that way."

The dark haired boy turned on his heel to grab a piece of paper off of the desk, then crossed the room in a few short strides to join Rima at the screen.

"It's not that you two aren't experiencing a heightened surge of hormones," he said, "It's that you aren't experiencing a heightened impulse to feed. Komaki," he pointed to the paper in his hand, "Has had fresh blood lately."

"The report from Wednesday," Rima said, sounding surprised.

"Sixteen D- and E- class males broke into her room through the roof," Shiki intoned, reading off of the paper. "Due to the disintegration of the bodies, we didn't record cause of death, but at the time it didn't matter. But I bet she at least partially drained one of them. There's no way she could've resisted the urge to feed on them, if she could smell their blood coming from a mile away."

"Ruka bit Kain," Rima said slowly as she put the pieces together. "That same day, Kain gave Ruka his blood."

"It's only been four days since then," said Shiki. "Fresh blood sates bloodlust for a week."

Ruka inhaled sharply, realization dawning on her.

"His blood's still in my system," the brunette said, sounding dazed. "My body doesn't need blood, it already has it."

"Yeah," Shiki exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "You've both had blood. Your ability to detect it isn't dampened, but the fresh blood in your system is probably inhibiting the final release of your hormone trigger. The trigger's meant as a last resort to compel mating, but you don't need that. Not if your body's requirements for the compulsion have already been met."

"Good work, Shiki," said Rima, clapping halfheartedly.

"But Akatsuki had my blood, too," Ruka said, feeling dazed, not sure where she was going with that statement. "When I healed him, I gave him my blood. Shouldn't it..."

"No," said Shiki. "Blood is enough for you. But that's not what he needs."

"My blood isn't what he needs," Ruka repeated numbly.

The second intercom behind Shiki and Rima beeped loudly. The pigtailed girl turned around, and sighed dramatically.

"It's the Chairman," she told Ruka. "We need to deal with this. We'll call you right back, okay?"

"Sure," said Ruka.

-x-

Ruka placed the silver disk down, gently, down onto the ground beside her seat. She raised her left arm and pulled the sleeve of her blouse back, back over her forearm, over her elbow. She pressed a finger down on the white skin and watched the red and white veins bulge, filled with blood, moving through her arm to her chest to her heart.

"You're still protecting me, aren't you? You big dumb idiot," she said, to no one in particular.

She set her feet down on the ground and pushed herself out of her seat, wandering slowly around the perimeter of the room. She stopped halfway, in front of the blank square of cement wall from where she had torn an acoustic tile hours ago. She could make out the bare lines of her reflection in the polished surface — honey brown hair framing an angled aristocratic face; amber eyes above a straight, regal nose, and full lips, and a pointed chin. A girl, she thought, not a woman. A girl, still scared, still selfish, still hiding.

"When did you become so stupid?" she asked the wall, and felt the sound of her own voice bounce back towards her.

"Right," Ruka smiled, wryly. Turning, she swept the silver intercom disc off the ground, and opened it.

The blank, black screen stared back at her. She steadied herself, turned the device over onto its back, and smashed the hinge down on the back of the chair.

The shattered screen landed with a dull thud beside her. She looked at the broken keypad still in her hand, then tossed it, nonchalantly, onto the floor.

"Sorry, Rima."

-x-

"Rima," Shiki straightened, leaning forward in his chair. "Ruka's on the move."

The blonde whirled around. Her eyes traveled from Shiki, down his arm, to the screen where his finger was pointing.

"Is she active? What's happening?"

Shiki shook her head. "That's not possible at this point. She's headed for the door."

"Get her on the intercom," Rima snapped, "Now."

Shiki nodded and leap to the screen, dialing rapidly. He frowned when instead of the normal round of ringing, the device emitted three short beeps.

"Disconnected." He leaned closer to the monitor, where Ruka was making her way up the lane between the two sections of seating in the room. "She broke it. Look, it's on the floor."

Rima growled, head snapped back, tapping the keys on her intercom desperately.

"I'm getting the Chairman on the line," she snapped over her shoulder. "Ruka Soen, you are the dumbest fucking person I've ever met."

-x-

Ruka stopped in front of the door.

She should've known.

He was there again, on the other side, she could feel him; he was leaking energy like waves crashing against a wall, like a storm being contained in a glass bubble, like — like fire, she thought, in a wooden crate. With a deft twist of her wrist, she flipped the lock and threw open the door.

The carpet in the hallway had been ripped away in strips, the mark of bloody fingernails still visible on the cracked cement floor. Pieces of wallpaper and plaster had been torn off the walls; the sconces lining the hallway now lay cracked and broken on the floor; the overhead lights have been smashed. She could smell the scent of burning wood coming from the direction of the Chinese garden; she could see shattered tile falling through the threshold of the pool; she could see jagged pieces of glass and plastic trailing down the hallway. The doors lining the walls had all been cracked, punctured, splintered, burnt; the one at the end of the hall, leading to the rest of the suite, hung weakly on its severed hinges. The door to the room Ruka had been in was untouched, its polished mahogany standing in bewildering contrast to the wreckage of the hallway.

He had destroyed, just like the others. Ruka surveyed the scene carefully. He had lashed out, broken, punched, and ripped to get the burning fire out of his veins, but he had not disturbed her. He knew where she was. He didn't make a sound.

Across from where she stood, Kain crouched, back against the wall, one arm propped on a knee, the other laying to his side. She could see the tension in his body, the knots in his muscles, the streaks of blood on his face, his arms. His blood red eyes, streaked with black now, peered up through his rust-red hair, fixed on her, his lips fixed in a snarl.

Unfazed, Ruka stepped forward in one fluid motion and crouched down in front of him, her skirt settling down around her like water. He flinched back, and growled at her.

She reached forward and put her hand on his chest, over his heart.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, calmly, her eyes fixed on the ground. "You must have been waiting for me a long time."

Kain snapped back, pushing himself away from her. His fingers dug into the ground; against his back, the wall cracked. He bared his teeth at her, snarling.

Ruka touched down, settling on her knees. Leaning forward, she closed the distance between them without hesitation and pressed a small, soft kiss on his cheek. When he tensed, she pressed both hands to the sides of his face, and put her forehead against his, meeting his gaze.

"I'm sorry it took so long for me to come out the door."

Her fingers reached back, massaging the tensed muscles of his neck, tracing through the short hairs at the base of his head. She exhaled slowly, the leaned in again, and kissed him hard.

His hands shot up and grabbed her shoulders roughly. She winced a little at the pain, but — he didn't push her away. Ruka shifted the rest of her body closer, pushing past his reluctant lips, kissing him harder, pressing her tongue against his lips and teeth, her hands running through his hair, now, pulling him closer.

A growl rumbled through his chest, and suddenly, Ruka felt herself flung backwards, back pressed flushed against the cold concrete floor, and Kain above her, his hips pressed against her, kissing her desperately, one arm holding his weight up while the other hand skirted under the fabric of her blouse to press against the skin of her waist. He pulled back for air, and Ruka tried to catch her breath, throwing her arms around his shoulders as he pressed hot kisses down the side of her neck.

He stopped when his lips brushed her collarbones.

"Ruka," his voice came, hoarse and quiet, pushed through his teeth like a hiss.

"It's okay," she told him, firmly. "Let me help you."

He stiffened, again. She caught her mistake this time — gently, she reached forward, and brushed a lock of red hair out of his eyes.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to come," Ruka said again, catching his gaze, and holding it. She took a deep breath, and smiled at him. "I'm done thinking. You can stop waiting."

He looked at her. Then, slowly, he pushed himself up to his knees.

"I might hurt you," he said quietly, still tense with the force of restraint.

"I don't care," she said. She reached up and pressed her palm against the exposed skin of his stomach, her fingers splayed across his abdomen.

He looked down at her, conflicted. Then, slowly, he stood up, and held out his hand to her, his eyes running over the peeling walls, the cracked cement, the splintered wood.

"Not here."

-L-

Ruka fell back again the mattress. Kain followed suit, without restraint; he pressed her against the bed and pulled off her skirt, throwing it haphazardly into a corner. Ruka relaxed, wrapping one long, white leg around him. He paused briefly to rip off his own shirt, before diving down again to kiss her.

Ruka's hands roamed across Kain's back as their tongues tangled; she reached down, under his belt, and pulled her hand across his hip, tracing her fingers down to his inner thigh. He groaned when her fingertips brushed against his erection, and snatched the offending hand, pinning it down to her side.

"Fuck, Ruka," he muttered against her lips, moving down to trail kisses down her neck and her collarbones. She moaned, feeling his hot lips trace their path down her skin. He was scorching, his temperature leaping as if he were on fire. His searing fingers hooked one of her knees, pulling it up to expose the flesh of her thigh. He paused when the downward trajectory of his lips brushed against the neckline of her shirt; without hesitation he raised both hands and ripped it down the middle, sending buttons flying.

"Sorry," he murmured against her skin. Ruka shook her head. Running his hand up the small of her back, Kain deftly unhooked her bra, and pulled it down, before taking one stiff pink nipple into his mouth.

"Akatsuki —"

Ruka's words were interrupted with a moan, as she arched her back to press closer to him. His breath was sizzling, sending goosebumps washing down her skin. He licked and suckled at her breast, one hand massaging the other lightly, the other hand running gently up the back of her thigh. Ruka's chest heaved, her vision blurring as her nails dug into his shoulders, her hips pressed against his abdomen, eager for more. She felt the surge of heat, the wetness, and swallowed thickly as the spot between her thighs began to throb with want.

"Akatsuki —"

She moaned again, louder, as his roaming fingers found the damp space between her legs. He glanced at her slowly, rubbing his thumb gently but firmly against her, dipping his face down to take the other breast into his lips. She shuddered as his hot tongue swirled against her sensitive nipple, a wave of pleasure washing over her as he slipped his fingers under the silk of her underwear and explored the wet folds underneath. In less than a second he found her clit again; he pressed, gently, and bit lightly down on her breast.

Ruka's body arched into him, her hips desperately pressing against his fingers.

"Yes, oh god, Akatsuki..."

He growled as she moaned his name, and pushed her upwards, towards the pile of pillows propped against the headboard. Moving lower, he pulled her underwear down her slim, white legs, and tossed it to the side, before pushing her knees up and burying his face between her thighs.

Ruka screamed in pleasure, her hands grasping at the sheets as his wet, hot tongue pressed against her throbbing clit. With practice proficiency, he tasted her, flicking his tongue gently over and around the sensitive spot, his hands gently massaging the base of her thighs as he worked. Kain moaned softly as she writhed beneath him, whimpering. He ran his tongue over her wet folds slowly, tasting her, before moving up to focus back on her clit. Ruka dug her fingers into his hair, pulling him closer as he licked expertly at the source of her pleasure.

"Fuck," Ruka moaned, one hand pulling at his rust-red hair, the other splayed across her tensed abdomen, "Yes, Akatsuki, yes —"

He growled, and pressed one finger against her entrance. Feeling the wetness, Kain slid his index finger into her, and quickened the pace of his tongue; he felt her muscles clench around his finger as Ruka moaned, her breath hitching, and angled her hips down, pushing him deeper inside her. Feeling her becoming slicker, and wetter, Kain added another finger, and groaned with pleasure when Ruka screamed his name, her breath speeding up dramatically, her hands fisted into the sheets.

Anchoring himself on one elbow, Kain curled his fingers upwards, and began thrusting them, slowly, in and out of Ruka. He kept his tongue fixed to the sweet spot between her legs, eyes fixed on the arch of her body, the stiffness of her nipples, the flush in her cheek as she moaned and begged for mercy.

Watching her carefully, he flattened his tongue and began broad licks of her clit, his fingers moving harder and faster. He felt the muscles around them tense, her body rocking against him, glistening with sweat, and waited for the inevitable contractions of her orgasm.

Ruka moaned, her mind blank, feeling the brink coming closer. She felt the waves of pleasure roll up her body with a rhythm, and clenched her teeth.

"Akatsuki," she panted, "Akatsuki, stop, I'm going to come."

"Mmm," he grunted, not responding.

Ruka grabbed his head and pushed him away. Kain snarled, and wiped his fingers, covered in her wetness, on the sheets, running his eyes over her flushed, naked body, her hair sticking to her face as she pushed herself up. She reached for his belt, unhesitant, and unbuckled it. Kain's protest caught in this throat when she pulled his thick, stiff member into her hand, running her fingers along his shaft as she pushed his pants down to his knees. Ruka released him and pulled him down towards her, pressing her chest against his as she licked the spot behind his ear and wrapped her legs around his waist. Kain couldn't suppress a pleasured grunt as he felt the base of his member rub against the folds between her legs, still slick and wet from desire.

"Not without you," she mumbled against his neck.

He hesitated. "Are you sure?"

She didn't. "Yes."

Kain pulled back slightly, kicking his pants down onto the floor. Taking his shaft in his hand, he rubbed the tip gently against her entrance. She whimpered and reached down to guide him, receptive; without another thought, he pushed into her.

Ruka's breath hitched in her throat as her muscles tensed around him. He was bigger than she expected. He paused, brow furrowed, trying not to be overwhelmed by how tight she felt around him; slowly, gently, he pulled one of her legs higher on his hips, and began thrusting.

Ruka cried out in pleasure as the tip of him made near-immediately contact with the pleasure spot inside her. She raked her nails down his back, rocking back against him; he dipped his head and kissed her lips, before settling them into the dip of her neck as he thrust into her faster.

"Akatsuki," Ruka gasped. She hadn't come fully off her high, and the friction of him against her was driving her back to the brink. "Oh god, Akatsuki —"

He was thrusting hard, now, ramming into her, one hand holding her leg around his waist as the other tangled in her hair.

"Ruka," he murmured, "I love you. So much, I love you."

Ruka's chest heaved; she felt the heat gather in the base of her stomach, the throbbing between her legs intensifying with every breath, the pleasure multiplying with his every move, her orgasm inching closer and closer as he made furious, desperate love to her, his nose buried in the crook of her neck.

"I love you," she cried out, moaning her gratification, "Akatsuki, Akatsuki, I love you."

Without warning, she felt a sudden, sharp pain at the base of her neck — Ruka felt the urge to cry out in pain, but as he thrust into her one last time, she felt the sound morph into a scream of satisfaction, the white washing over her, the warmth of him spreading through her abdomen, the pleasure of her orgasm crashing down on her like water breaking through a dam.

He collapsed on her, rolling slightly to the side so not to crush her, his breath short and ragged. Ruka thought she felt the warmth of his fingers brushing her collarbones, and the distinct, metallic smell of blood, before she faded to black.

-x-

The hours, minutes, seconds, were agonizingly slow.

"How long?" Chairman Kurosu asked anxiously, leaning over the back of Rima's chair.

The blonde was staring nervously at the clock. "Five minutes, fifty one seconds," she said. "Shiki, anything?"

"No," the auburn-haired boy stood before the wall of surveillance monitors, eyes darting from one screen to another. "Nothing, not since we saw them go in."

"This is bad," Kurosu wrung his hands, "This is very, very bad."

"Calm down," Rima snapped at him. "In four minutes and forty six seconds the doors will all unlock, and then we can stop speculating and start damage control."

"Should we phone their parents?" Shiki asked.

"No," Kurosu said firmly, "Not until we know something for sure. It's very possible they didn't complete the mating process, in which case there is no need to panic at all. And we'll know in —"

"— three minutes and thirty five seconds," said Rima, eyes fixed on the clock.

A sharp rap sounded from behind.

"Hello," a voice greeted from the door.

The three jumped, and whirled around.

A tall man stood in the doorway. His thick, honey-brown hair curled down to the shoulders of his immaculate grey suit, and a large bouquet of flowers was tucked into the crook of his arm. Amber eyes flitted calmly between the three occupants of the room, the curve of his aristocratic nose pointing downwards at them, a consequence of height, not hauteur.

"Azuma," Rima greeted nervously, the first to respond, jumping up from her chair. "We weren't expecting you."

Azuma Soen, second son of the House of Soen, smiled, stepping into the room. He set the bouquet in his arms down in an empty chair, then straightened, reaching up to brush a lock of hair out of his eyes.

"It's alright, Rima," he said, his low, sonorous voice calm. "I came to pick up my fiancée, but I couldn't find the Chairman in his office."

"My apologies!" Kurosu waved his hands nervously. "I, um, I'm sorry for the inconvenience. You didn't have to come all the way down here."

"It's no matter," Azuma brushed the Chairman's apology away. "My parents had informed me of Ruka and Akatsuki's situation earlier this week; I thought it wouldn't hurt to drop by to see her and make sure everything went smoothly."

Kurosu cleared his throat, trying to gather the severity the situation demanded.

"My...apologies, Soen-san," the Chairman bowed. "The reason I was not in my office when you came to call was due to the need to oversee an — an unexpected situation."

"A situation," Azuma repeated, his tone shifting. Moving further into the room, he peered more closely at the wall of screens from which Shiki had turned. Shiki shifted apprehensively, trying to block it, but Azuma's expression hardened. He averted his gaze quickly, brow furrowed, and turned, slightly, towards the door.

"Chairman," Ruka's brother said, the camaraderie gone from his voice, "I apologize for the inconvenience, but would it be possible for me to withdraw three more students from your care today, instead of just the one?"

"Of course," the Chairman squared himself, suddenly serious. "I'll prepare the necessary paperwork."

"You have my thanks," said Azuma, watching the Chairman expectantly.

The Chairman hesitated, then nodded at Rima nervously, before leaving the room. Azuma turned to the pigtailed girl, and fixed his amber eyes unwaveringly on her.

"Rima, if you could please lead me to where Ruka is?"

"Yes," said Rima, seeming to deflate, "Of course."

"How long until these doors unlock?"

Rima turned to the screen. "Fifty-two seconds, Azuma-sama."

"I see." Azuma shifted his arm and looked at the watch on his wrist. "Senri, when the doors unlock, please retrieve Kanae and Hanabusa, and bring them to me."

Shiki nodded nervously, leaning back against the wall of screens. The tension in the room had multiplied tenfold, and the auburn-haired boy suddenly seemed unsure of what to do with himself.

The brown-haired man waited, eyes fixed on his watch.

At the stroke of midnight, the grandfather clock in the atrium began to chime. Eighteen sharp clicks resonated through the building, as the doors to the restricted rooms simultaneously unlocked. As the echoes faded, the last toll of the grandfather clock rang out slowly, reverberating into dense, palpable silence.

Azuma nodded curtly, and raised his eyes again to the two young vampires in the room.

"Now then, if you can collect yourselves," he said tersely, "Shall we go?"

Rima gave Shiki a frantic look, and set the binder in her hands down onto the desk beside her. Azuma turned on his heel and marched out the door, Shiki and Rima close behind.

-x-

Azuma pushed the door to suite 2C open with a steady but solemn air. Rima, regaining her composure, followed him inside, and took in the damage.

The door to the soundproof hall had been ripped entirely off its hinges. A quick glance down the hallway showed the rest of the complex to be in no better state. In the living room, the TV had been shattered, and crater-like dents were spaced out on the walls, between peeled plaster and cracks in the cement. Azuma made a beeline for a door at the far side of the room, Rima right behind him.

The brown-haired man set one hand on the handle of the door, and tensed. He turned to Rima, his expression caught somewhere between bewildered and furious.

"He's not here."

Rima blinked, then furrowed her brow. "What?"

"Akatsuki," Azuma was definitely furious now. "He's not here. He's gone."

Rima ran to the door and pressed her ear against it. One breath. One heartbeat.

"Oh my god," she said, recoiling.

Footsteps sounded from down the hall. A blond head rounded the corner, a pair of blue eyes blinking at the damage.

"What on earth," said Aidou, when he saw Rima and Azuma.

"Hanabusa," Azuma Soen snapped, "Find Akatsuki. Now."

The blond man looked taken aback. "He's not —?"

"He's not here," Rima said frantically, "He's gone."

"He's —" Aidou's expression darkened.

"Now," said Azuma. The blond man nodded, turned, and leapt over the banister. A split second later, the sound of a slamming door echoed back up to the two upstairs.

"I'm going check on her," Rima said sternly as Aidou's footsteps faded, her expression determined. "Stay out here."

Azuma nodded and stepped back, leaning against the wall by the window. Rima took a deep breath, prepared herself for the worst, and entered the bedroom of the suite, locking the door resolutely behind her. Azuma watched the door nervously, arms crossed, worry etched into his face.

"Azuma," came a sharp voice from the entrance.

Azuma looked up. Across the room, Shiki and Kanae had arrived, stepping into the heavy atmosphere of the suite without hesitation.

"Kanae," the tall man turned towards Kanae, his stance opening to receive her, voice saturated with concern. "My love, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about me," the black haired girl said dismissively, crossing the room to her fiancé. "Shiki and I ran into Aidou. How is she?"

Azuma put a finger to his lips, then pointed at the bedroom door. Shiki slowly picked his way across the demolished room, stopping a foot away from Azuma and Kanae, eyes fixed on the same spot theirs were.

A soft whisper, and a confused, groggy murmur. A surprised gasp, then the quick exchange of female voices — Ruka's frantic cry — and silence. Rima's voice, anxious, nervous. Then, finally, the sound of soft, muffled sobs.

The other three retreated, and waited, silently, on the other side of the door. Long moments passed, before the handle of the door turned again, and Rima popped out, shutting the entry firmly behind her. She pressed her finger to her lips and waved furiously, ushering them away from the bedroom, into the kitchen, out of earshot.

Leaning against the kitchen island, surrounded by three concerned vampires, Rima took a deep breath to steady herself, before sighing, rubbing her eyes with one hand.

"Well?" Azuma demanded.

"I didn't tell her you were here," the pigtailed girl replied. "I woke her up. She's in shock."

Kanae's mouth thinned to a line. "Is she —?"

"Yes," Rima sighed heavily, dropping her head into her hands.

The squeak of the main door crept in, before a second blond appeared in the archway of the kitchen.

"I couldn't find him," Aidou said darkly, shoulders tense. "Not a trace of him, past the remnants of the hunter's barrier. He covered his tracks. Wherever he is, he doesn't want to be found."

Azuma's gaze hardened. Pushing himself off his perch against the marble countertops, he straightened, with an unreadable expression.

"Rima, Kanae," he said softly, "Will you please go take care of my sister?"

The two girls nodded, and vanished through the doorway. The click of the bedroom door shutting sounded again as they sealed themselves into Ruka's room.

"You two stay in here," the brown-haired man said, pointing at Shiki and Aidou. "Come and get me if she needs me. I have to make a phone call."

Both boys nodded, expressions solemn. Azuma marched out of the kitchen, and out of the room, taking care to shut the titanium door quietly but firmly behind him. Leaning over the balcony, Azuma stared down at the ground floor, and took a deep breath.

He turned and pulled a cell phone out of his pocket, and dialed with an even gaze, pressing it to his ear. He waited patiently for the line to be picked up, facing the door of his sister's suite, standing a foot away, eyes averted, one hand in his pocket.

"Yes," Azuma said suddenly, straightening, raising his eyes to fix on the titanium obstruction in his path. "We have a problem. You need to come here, now."

-x-

Through timeless words and priceless pictures, we'll fly like birds not of this earth

And tides, they turn, and hearts disfigure,

But that's no concern when we're wounded together

And we tore our dresses and stained our shirts, but it's nice today.

Oh, the wait was so worth it.

-x-

Next time...

"The formal announcement is next Saturday. There'll be a ball, of course, and the blood ceremony." She sighed. "Well, I guess there's no going back now."

A/N: First of all, does it honestly seem like the VK fanfiction page has a disproportionate number of main character OCs?

Second of all, if I don't get reviews, I just can't summon up the motivation to write, so please, please, please review!

Third of all, if you have questions about One Week and you're anon, please leave an email or some way for me to contact you. I love answering reviews and PMs, just give me a way.

Italicized lyrics are from A Beautiful Mess by Jason Mraz.