"Yuuki", I heard the familiar voice that haunted me. "Come here"

From out of the dark, a pair of hands appeared and reached out to grab me. I tried to run away. But there was nowhere to run to. Everywhere was nothing but unending darkness. Before I knew it, the hands caught the back of my neck and slammed me down to the ground. The sound of the chains echoed and soon, the hands were replaced by the same chains.

I was afraid. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry.

But it will only give my captors the satisfaction they wanted. And I'd rather die than give it to them.

Then there was the sound of footsteps.

The sound of a sword being unsheath.

The sound of the blade being whip in the air.

Then there's the pain on my wrist. Red liquid started to ooze out of my pale, white skin.

"Don't worry, princess. You won't die"

I woke up, panting and sweating heavily from the nightmare. I felt my body shaking from fear.

Air. I thought. I need fresh air.

I didn't bother draping my shoulders with the dark blue kimono I got from Saito. When I opened the door, the cold air greeted me. But I didn't feel cold. Instead, it made me feel better.

I sat on the porch and absent mindedly combed my blond hair with my fingers as I tried to calm myself. I need to leave as soon as possible. How could I just trust these people? Just because Chizuru is an Oni and is living with them doesn't mean that they can be trusted.

And plus the fact that sooner or later I'll have to feed.

My thoughts were cut off when I heard a faint sound of someone coughing. A human wouldn't have been able to hear it but my senses are not of a human's. Curiosity got the better of me so I stood up and looked for the source of the sound.

I could now pinpoint where the sound was coming from. It was just coming from a certain room not far from mine. Someone must be sick.

I was almost at the door of the room when all of a sudden, the door of the room beside it opened without a sound. I was caught off guard when a pair of hands suddenly pulled me inside. The door was shut just as quietly as it was opened and before I could scream, someone clamped my mouth shut with a hand and pushed me softly to the wall.

I raised my eyes at the person now looming over me. His indigo hair was disheveled and his ocean blue eyes were staring at me. His face was as blank as the first time I saw him but there was a faint color of pink across his face. It's probably from the cold air.

Saito raised his finger to his lips, motioning for me to keep quiet. I nodded my head slowly. Sensing that I am not going to make any sound, he slowly let go of my mouth. With him so close, I felt my throat and lips run dry. I lick my bottom lip with my tongue to keep it from drying.

I was surprised when Saito grabbed my hand and used it to cover my own mouth. Before I could say anything, he turned around and walked away. I find it amazing how light his footsteps are to the point I could barely hear it.

This man would do well as an assassin.

I was about to move but he quickly turned around, as if he sensed what I was about to do. Without looking away from he, he grabbed something from his desk and went back to me. It was his kimono.

Without saying a word, he wrapped it over my shoulders.

I blinked a few times, yet surprised again with his actions.

He pulled my other hand and opened my palm. With his long, slender finger he wrote something on it.

Don't move. He'll hear you.

I furrowed my eyebrows at him in confusion.

Souji he wrote again on my palm.

Oh. So it was the red-haired guy who is sick. I just nodded my head at Saito to let him know that I understood.

I found myself having a staring contest with the man. Under normal circumstances, it would have been awkward. But there was something comforting having to look at his eyes.

Noises from outside of the room grabbed out attention.

We listened.

There were sound of footsteps and Harada-san's voice could be heard. He started talking to Okita-san and they are now talking about a dead body they found in an alley.

"The body was dry of blood. It looked like a shriveled fruit", Harada told Okita. My heart started to pound upon hearing his words.

"He must have been dead for a long time", Okita.

"No. The body is fresh. There are no signs of decay. It looks like something had sucked its blood dry and took out his heart"

"And? What is that thing?"

"It's a fox. It followed me"

I couldn't help but to gasped aloud. Someone I know found me. But whether she's a friend or foe still remains unclear. Despite the cold weather, sweat started to form on my forehead.

"Let me see the body", Okita said. Harada must have nodded since we heard the two of them walked away. I let out the air I didn't know I was holding.

"You know something about it". It wasn't a question. Saito the mind reader was stating the result of his observations. That part of him somehow annoys me.

So before he could guess anymore, I quickly ran towards the door and opened it. I was thankful that he didn't run after me.

But my moment of joy was short lived. I haven't even stepped out of the room when I bumped into something big and hard.

Or rather someone.

I almost lost my balance if it wasn't for Harada-san. He quickly grabbed hold of my shoulders to steady me. We looked at each other with the same surprised expression. He was still wearing the blue colored haori. Beside his leg was a small white fox with unmatched colored eyes.

"Shoo", I said, trying to make the kitsune go away.

"It's alright, Yuuki. It won't bite, see?". Harada-san patted its head carefully and true to his words, the fox remained calm. If only Harada-san knew that this fox is the culprit of the body he found earlier I'm sure he'd be acting differently.

"What are you doing in Saitou's room anyway?"

"She needed another kimono". I heard Saitou-san said from behind me and when I turned around, he was already handing me the kimono he draped over my shoulders earlier. It must have fallen when I tried to escape. I took the kimono from his hands and murmured a thank you.

My attention quickly returned to the small animal.

"Can I keep it in my room?", I asked. It was the only way to keep it away from them.

"I thought you don't like it?" Harada-san asked, confused.

"Because I thought it would bite me. But it looks friendly." I made sure to keep eye contact with it.

"Alright. Take good care of it for me". And just like that, Harada-san handed it to me. But not before patting it on the head lovingly. "Can you make it back to your room by yourself?"

I rolled my eyes at him and walked back to my room with haste.

….