Come Back To Me Riho!

Yayoi sat with her legs crossed and tapped a pen against her desk irritably as she pondered everything that had happened. She hadn’t given N.O.S any names. She didn’t want to be connected with Riho. Surely admitting that she knew Shido had turned Riho and had not punished him nor reported it to N.O.S. would endangered her career. Yet N.O.S had been unable to apprehend Riho and really didn’t even know who they were looking for.

Yayoi had dismissed Shido’s questions about the victims being connected the night he had been shot. She knew who the murder was and focused on that. However, now that she had time to really think about it, she considered the possibility. If the victims were connected then they would have a better chance at finding the next victim before they were killed, and maybe even capture Riho. * Now be honest, they will kill her. * She wasn’t completely comfortable with that idea, after all her own sister had killed and she still loved her. However, her sister was dead and no longer killing. And her sister had been infected with a nightbreed, Riho was not. Yet was being a vampire similar… Yayoi wasn’t sure.

Yayoi flipped through the files on the victims again looking for some clue. Their occupations were all different. Some had families some did not. The ages and time they had lived in the city all varied. She gave another sigh of frustration and for nothing better to do she stared at the blinking red button on the phone. * Well, I’ve tried everything else…Just for the hell of it. * She pressed the speakerphone and clicked the red button. It called the research center for the N.O.S.

“RCUA. This is Barb, How can I help you?”

“Hey Barb, it Yayoi.”

“You again? Such a troublemaker.” Yayoi smiled.

“Yes it is. I have an assignment for you.”

“Oh I bet you do,” teased Barb. “It won’t keep me here all night, will it?”

“I hope not. I got some names. I don’t think it’s likely but can you see if they turn up anything in our database.”

“The rookie query for the Research Center for Unusual Activity. I’ve only called 20 times today but could you look up everything in this file no matter how meaningless.”

“Well I know you guys don’t actually work for a living so I thought I’d make your day more interesting.”

“I suppose. Just for you Yayoi.”

“Ok, Let me get you the names, the first is- oh hang on, someone is beeping in. I’ll be right back.”

“Ok,” replied Barb. Yayoi switched the line.

“Yayoi speaking.”

“We caught the vampire.” Yayoi recognized the voice as belonging to the N.O.S. lead that was patrolling the parks at night. “It is someone you are rather familiar with. That detective fellow you used to work with.”

“Is… is he dead?”

“No, not yet. They are sending him to Laboratory.” The black phone receiver hit the desk before tumbling down onto the floor and beside Yayoi’s polished high heels.

“Hello?” came through the phone. “Hello?”

“It can’t be. That’s… that’s… worst. Shido…” whispered Yayoi.

******************

Riho stood outside her apartment door. This felt unnatural. She hadn’t been here since the death of her parents. It was easy to take the wallet and keys from her prey and stay in their place or in a hotel with their cash. It was available and considering their rather dead state, they had no use for it any longer. She had taken measures to ensure she would never get caught sleeping over. That felt natural, standing here where Shido used to say goodbye after walking her home was not. Her lips tickled like when she hoped he would kiss her goodnight. She hated the feeling, hated him. Hated everything he had made her into and for what he had stolen from her.

The young vampire slowly turned the doorknob and nudged the door open. It creaked in protest. Her golden cat like eyes adjusted to the darkness that lay within. Her hand darted out and flicked the light switch. Nothing happened. She flicked it off and on again. The lights flickered in hesitation before turning on fully. Everything was how she had left it. She stepped in and felt a paper rumple below her foot. Never had Riho permitted clutter. *Something Shido left behind? * She picked it up to examine it.

It was a letter, which read, “Please do not stay in the city long. They will suspect if you continue to feed.”

The letter was not signed but it was clearly from Shido. She also noted that he had not mentioned anything that would give her away. * Why would he do such a thing? * An image of his horror stricken face during cain’s last attack came to mind. She shook it away. Enclosed in the letter was a one way train ticket that inscribed in Shido’s flowing handwriting that read “I knew they would catch me. I only regret turning you.” Riho let go, the papers fluttered away from each other and landed on her carpet.

“It doesn’t change anything,” said Riho. “Nothing. It changes nothing. They are still dead Shido. And now you are just as dead as they are. Nothing. Changes nothing.” Riho walked purposefully into the bedroom and hauled her box out from under the bed. * He went through this all right. What right did he think he had?! * She ruffled through the pictures until she found her diary. * I’ll burn this before someone else finds it. Who know’s who else has keys to this place… does Yayoi? I’ll get rid of the pictures too. *

She reached behind to grab the picture on the nightstand and knocked another frame down in the process. She carelessly tossed the picture into the box and bent down to look at the other. *So he framed it, did he? Loser. * She snatched that one and tossed it into the box too. Placing the box on her hip, she went back into the living room. *Well, I was going to leave town anyway, now I don’t have to worry about stealing money. * She picked up the ticket and the letter but something caught her eye, the sharp contrast of red against her white carpet. She ran her fingertips over it.

“Blood…” whispered Riho.

“It’s Shido’s.” replied Guni. Riho turned sharply and stared at the hovering fairy that lingered as far away as possible. “He was right, you know. He said one day he wouldn’t come back and to put the letter out if you came. He didn’t tell me what it said. And I… I didn’t read it… I didn’t read it… I… maybe I should have… but I told him-“

“I don’t care!” And with that Riho released white hot energy at the fairy; Guni nimbly dodged. It shattered the window and blew Riho’s long curtains up and down with an unearthly feel. “You shouldn’t be in my apartment.” Riho’s eyes searched for Guni but she had vanished. “Hide then.” And with that Riho slammed her door and walked away from her old life, cursing as her lips tickled.

********

Cain’s blond hair billowed out behind him as he strode down the city streets. The area reeked of human stench and pollution. His sensitive nose had long ago become accustom to the unpleasant odor. He tried to focus on finding Riho. Cain hadn’t seen Shido’s child in some time and it seemed rather convenient that she was absent now.

Riho had a habit of seeking him every few days but that had stopped three weeks ago. He wasn’t sure why. She had sought him for knowledge, which had never ceased to amuse Cain, especially knowing that every step Riho took into the vampiric world was another step Shido followed her back into it. However, his concern for Shido had the mere thought of Riho’s name casting a downward frown to Cain’s lips

Cain hadn’t seen Shido in a month’s time. That did worry him. He always had a vague idea of where Shido was but now it was like he had vanished. Such a silly thing, Shido certainly couldn’t vanish. He could have moved out of the city… but then Cain would have a good idea of which direction his lover had traveled. Now there was nothing. It was like the bond between child and master never existed. Like there had never been a Shido, which was silly. Yet, it troubled him. He knew wherever Shido was he was certainly not dead. He would have felt it if such a fate had occurred. Yet, Cain was also aware that some fates were worse than death… and Shido had been missing for quite some time. Now he really wanted to find Riho as he suspected she had answers. Cain could not sense her like he could Shido as he was not her maker. That did make things more difficult.

************

Riho awoke to a dark hotel room. Fear ran through her veins but she did not know why. *Did I dream and not remember it? * The dreams of her parents dying had stopped with Shido’s death. She hadn’t expected that and was rather relieved. Perhaps it was her parent’s souls finally being at peace. That should make her happy, but it didn’t. She would never see them again, she would never die, another gift from Shido.

She got out of bed; glancing at the clock, she realized she had been asleep long after nightfall. She had been sleeping longer since his death and more fully, but the rest didn’t ease her mind. Nothing eased her mind and what was worse is she didn’t even know what was brothering her. She went to the bathroom and saw her perfect face reflected in the mirror. It meant nothing. It all meant nothing. She had lived for Shido, for an eternity with him, and then she lived to kill him, now she lived for nothing.

Riho splashed her face with cold water. There were plenty of things to do with an eternity, she reasoned. And just because she didn’t know what they were yet didn’t mean sure wouldn’t figure it out… eventually… she did have an eternity to do so. She glanced over at the train ticket that lay resting on the bathroom sink before she dried her face on the towel.

“Is this how Shido felt? Was he this lonely? Was that why he said I would regret him turning me? When he left Cain, he left the only person he could know forever.” She sighed and picked up the train ticket and carried it to the window. Outside, the stars sparkled in the night’s embrace. “Forever… didn’t use to be an eternity. Maybe a hundred years if you were lucky. But some good friends were sure to live as long as you. You’re children outlive you and your husband lives with you forever. Forever until someone dies, I guess, but how long do you live after their passing… a few years? Not an eternity.”

Riho looked down at the ticket in her hands. *His only regret was turning me? Why doesn’t he regret killing my parents. I could have had an eternity with them… with them and him. Now, I’m alone. How could he not regret killing my parents? And how can he regret turning me? Would he have rather I died by Cain’s hand that night? So, he wouldn’t be dead now? Maybe that’s it. Maybe he regrets the events that lead up to his death yet felt his death was honorable. Bastard. Bastard! Maybe I wasn’t good enough to spend an eternity with him! Maybe he should have just turned Yayoi! But he needed her for food. That must be why he hadn’t changed her! * Riho’s fisted her small hands as tears rose to her eyes and she fell to her knees.

“After all this time why do I have to miss you? Why can’t I just be angry? Did you really give up everything for me like you said, Mr.Shido?” She shook her head again. She wasn’t thinking clearly anymore. She hadn’t fed since his death. Riho hadn’t needed to because she had fed more than needed before. It was helpful now since N.O.S would suspect her existence if she killed again. But she no longer had a lustful rage in which to dispel all of her pain. Now, her thoughts were calmer and more forgiving like they had been when she lived with Shido. It had been the blood lust that had carried her so far from him. She had wanted it to, needed it to, but now that it was gone, she was losing herself to the overwhelming loneliness. “I should leave this city. I should get on a damn train and get out of this city. It has too many memories. Yet… why was Shido’s blood on my carpet? Only Guni would know that and I am not about to ask. It shouldn’t matter. He’s dead.”

********

Cain was livid. The girl, Riho, had managed to elude him for another four weeks. He had checked the train stations, bus stations, and airports; she hadn’t left. But where she had concealed herself he wasn’t certain. He stalked through the city with a perpetual growl in his throat. He was worried, and he didn’t like that feeling. It was one emotion, that didn’t suit the Great Cain, and like usual with unwanted emotions, Shido was the cause of it. Cain wanted to rip something to shreds, but from previous experience, that did not sooth him as he had hoped. He wanted his connection with Shido back and that was always at the foremost of his thoughts. Then he saw it, a light turned on in Shido’s office. This only intensified Cain’s growl.

“Who dares to enter my Shido’s domain?” He leapt from rooftop to rooftop until he landed on Shido’s building. He quickly found the stairwell leading in and floated down the staircase. When he reached the correct floor, he noted that the office door was left ajar and a glow spilled onto the hallway. Cain bent light around himself so that he would be invisible and then stalked into the office.

Riho had her back to him and she was bent over an open file drawer. Her fingers were dancing over the labels as she searched through Shido’s belongings. Cain grabbed her wrist and spun her around allowing her to see him. Her scream filled him with immense pleasure.

“What are you doing here?” snarled Cain.

“I could ask you the same question,” snapped Riho. *I’ve been too lineate with this girl. *

“Answer.” Her golden eyes stared up at him defiantly. He was barely containing his rage not to kill her. The only reason why he didn’t murder her immediately was that she had answers he needed and she was the key to Shido returning to him.

Cain began to feel the outer edges of her mind for an entrance. As he reached within, she gave a startled gasp. Her mind was garbled with emotions; it made it difficult to sort through in any logical manner. He growled in frustration. This would take too long and he wanted to know where Shido was now. Feeling for her physical sensation part of her brain he went for the quick and dirty way of extracting information. Riho shrieked and her body convulsed, he didn’t stop until her eyes began to roll back in her head. Then he let go of her wrist and allowed her to drop unceremoniously to the floor.

“Now answer.” Riho sobbed at his feet, barely pushing herself up into a seated position.

“I… I was looking for something.” Cain picked her up by the throat and slapped her into Shido’s filing cabinet. He was relieved when nothing fell off of it. He didn’t want anything vandalized for Shido’s return. “I… I don’t know what really. I don’t even know why I am here! I just… I just wanted to know if anything Mr.Shido said to me was truth.”

“What did he say to you? When did he say it?” Her eyes grew wider with horror.

“I… umm… I don’t know… about two months ago.”

“What was the last thing he said to you?”

“That he was leaving.”

“Don’t lie to me!” yelled Cain. He slammed her again into the filing cabinet for emphasis.

“He… he said… He said he had never had a girlfriend before.” Cain’s eyes narrowed.

“That’s it! I swear! That’s the last thing he said to me.”

“Why,” replied Cain dragging out the sentence as he tried desperately not to just end Riho’s life. “would he have said that to you?”

“He was trying to get me to stop feeding. I think he was trying to play off of my emotions.” Riho was scratching at Cain’s restraining hand. Some of her spunk was returning to her voice.

“And that’s the truth you came looking here to find?”

“I told you I don’t know what I was looking for! Just something! He lied about everything!” Cain threw her to the floor and she landed in a rumpled heap.

“Where is he now?”

“I… I don’t… I haven’t seen him for two months,” replied Riho. Cain cupped her chin and forced her to gaze up at him.

“Why haven’t you seen him for two months?” He asked slowly as if speaking to a misbehaving child.

“He’s dead.” Cain backhanded her so roughly that her body hit the vanessan blinds that clattered as her body slumped to the ground. He picked her up by her wrist so that he could glare at her properly.

“I would know if he was dead. I assure you he is not. I am tired of these games, Riho and my patience is wearing thin.”

“He is dead,” moaned Riho. Blood dripped down from the back of her skull and mingled with her long hair.

“As I said before, I would know if he was dead.”

“If you know so much how come you don’t know that he is dead?”

“I will only ask once more.” Cain tapped into her mind and granted her physical anguish. He was briefer this time if only because he wanted the answer more than he wanted to see her quake before him. “Where is Shido?”

“I don’t know,” groaned Riho. * A truthful answer? How is that possible? *

“Why do you believe he is dead?”

“Why don’t you?” asked Riho. She managed to crane her neck to peer up at Cain through her half-lidded eyes. * How long before she simply passes out? *

“I would have felt it.”

“Why?” Cain growled at Riho’s own naivety. *Didn’t Shido teach her anything? *

“Because I made him I can sense some things about him. Where he is for example and if he is dead for another. That is how I know he is still alive.”

“You exploited that power to stalk him?” as the conclusion came to her, her golden eyes opened fully.

“I was not stalking him.” He was frustrated and angry and he missed the bond between Shido and him. It was making him rouse at accusations he wouldn’t normally have cared about. He smiled suddenly. Riho tried to pull away but that was rather impossible since her feet were dangling above the ground. “Shido always knows where you are too. After all he did make you.” Riho’s small hand was fighting Cain’s grip on her wrist.

“That’s not true.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because I know that he cannot sense where I am.” Riho replied in a voice similar to Cain’s when he was announcing his assurance that Shido was not dead.

“And how would you know that?” This conversation was really wearing on Cain but the girl was talking about his Shido, and that could lead to somewhere productive.

“Because he has been looking for me ever since I left. He only found me when I wanted to be found.” Cain dropped her as he tried to process what she had stated.

“He doesn’t know how to use that power?” asked Cain to no one in particular. He covered his eyes, shamed that his child could be just as naiveté as the one he had created.

“Does it work the opposite way? From child to maker?”

“No.” Cain answered blandly. It was like one of the many times he had met with Riho. She pestered him with questions and he tried to answer them faster than she could think of them.

“Why?”

“Because it is meant to protect the child. They are rather rueful when first created.” Cain looked at her pointedly. “And their foolishness sometimes makes them dead.” He made sure she understood the underlying threat.

“Well if you can sense him why don’t you just go find him?” Cain was not about to admit that he couldn’t do just that.

“Why did you believe Shido was dead?” Riho looked away and her cheeks colored. Cain picked her up by her hair as Riho thrashed about and cried out in pain.

“What have you done?”

“N.O.S has him! They shot him. I heard it happen. He didn’t get away. They must have killed him.” Cain growled low in his throat.

“N.O.S couldn’t catch a vampire if one walked into their headquarters and asked to be arrested.”

“He… he… they…”

“Spit it out!”

“He did it to save me.” Cain shook her roughly by the ponytail. Cain had known N.O.S was after Riho, but only because she allowed them to stay on her trail.

“Why would you think that pathetic organization could take down Shido?”

“He was weaker than normal.”

“Why?”

“He had lost blood.”

“How?” questioned Cain. When Riho didn’t respond he shook her roughly once more and touched the edges of her mind in a warning.

“I… I… I… please, stop!”

“Tell me, Riho!”

“I… tell me you won’t kill me! Tell me you won’t if I tell you.” Cain slammed her against the wall and felt the rush of her blood surface and spill from her injured head. He bared his fangs only two inches away from her eyes so that she could understand his murderous intentions.

“I will promise you this. I will kill you if you do not tell me. You have at least a shred of hope if you speak truthfully.”

“I… I…. drank his…” Cain roared and smashed her against the wall, which cracked against such force.

“There is nothing more disgusting! We are vampires not cannibals! We may taste a lover’s blood but we never drink like they are cattle! Like they are human prey!” He trodden her against the wall a few more times and tried to restrain himself from destroying her completely. She had passed out and he allowed her to plunge to the floor behind Shido’s desk. He couldn’t kill her. Shido would never forgive him if he did. And she was drawing Shido closer to what it meant to truly be a vampire. But this, this outrage he would have to punish her still for. It was unthinkable that not only a vampire drank from another, but it was a child from the master. It would not happen again.

*************

Guni’s green head peered out of the ivy plant that was on top of Shido’s filing cabinet. She shivered after she had watched the two vampires disappear into darkness. The wall was cracked and Riho’s blood stained the floor.

“Shido, I thought you were dead after what Riho said in her apartment… but… you must be alive. I’m glad about that.” She sighed and rested her tiny arms on the clay pot. “But where are you? Yayoi’s mad at you, Riho… well Riho is nuts. I can’t believe your only friends now are me and… Cain.” The fairy shivered again. “How did I end up in the same category as Cain?”


**********************


Yayoi had pulled some serious strings to walk down these corridors. It had been three months since she had discovered Shido had been captured. Three months of research and plotting to have every nerve in her body scream ‘run away’. Yet, she followed the scientist in front of her with a steady click, click of her heels. She found it hard to like anyone associated with the Laboratory. Every organization had its darkness and this was N.O.S.’s.

“You will have ten minutes. Find out as much as you can and get out.” The scientist opened a two-inch thick door for her and she stepped in to hear it seal shut behind her. If she had expected this questioning to be regulated similar to police questioning she was sorely mistaken. Somehow, even though she had known it wouldn’t be so pretty, it still took her by surprise. A naked man was strapped to a steel table and the one light shone directly over him. She knew it was Shido by the lavender hair that dangled gracefully off the edge.

She hesitated about stepping closer. It was foolish as she did only have ten minutes with all the machines being fully turned off. Glancing back at the one-way mirror, she could see right through it to the empty observatory. Yayoi had told them, Shido would detect them watching or recording, making her information gathering useless. It wasn’t true, but she didn’t want them to know what was said between them. Yayoi had concluded it wasn’t any of their damn business.

“Shido?”

Yayoi approached the table. She touched the smooth muscle of his forearm, yet gained no response.

“Shido?” she tried again. This time she brushed the bangs away from his closed eyes. He looked peaceful, despite his naked state and restraints. The vampire snapped open his golden eyes with the edges bleeding red. He emitted a hiss and a rough scream that sounded as if his throat was raw. Yayoi had never heard such an anguished sound before. His fangs bit blindly towards her hand as she pulled back. He convulsed as if fighting the steel manacles and his teeth searched for her flesh and beneath it the blood.

“Shido!” He stopped and clenched his fists, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling. His breath was ragged and echoed off the solid confides of the room. He squeezed his eyes shut as if waiting for impending pain. “Shido, its me Yayoi.” His growl followed her announcement. She waited for some kind of recognition but it did not come. She sighed, and looked down to see her own angry and frustrated face reflected in her black heels. “Perhaps you are not Shido anymore. Just a beast created by these madmen.”

“Yayoi?” His voice sounded different, harsher, and deep. Shido had turned away from the blinding ceiling light. His unnatural eyes were unfocused in her direction.

“Yes its me, Shido.” She could see him visibly swallow. His eyes darted back and forth as if trying to focus on her yet failing. “I don’t have much time here. There are some things I have to tell you.” When he did not respond she continued hoping for his mind to comprehend even though it was clearly disturbed. “I checked up Riho’s victims-”

“Quiet,” interrupted Shido. His nervous golden eyes with the scarlet edges seemed to gesture towards the one-way mirror.

“They’re not there, Shido.”

“How can you be sure?”

“I made sure of it. Like I said I don’t have long.”

“Is she ok?” Yayoi inwardly growled. After all this time and torment, he was still concerned about Riho, when she needed him to focus on what she was saying.

“I wouldn’t know, Shido. We don’t exactly stay in touch.”

“But… they… they haven’t… She’s not here, is she?”

“As far as I know N.O.S. knows nothing about Riho.” Shido, relaxed his hands from fists to laying limply against the steel. He nodded to her to continue. “The people she murdered do have something in common just as you suspected. They were all related in a death of a nightbreed. A nightbreed that had committed no recorded murders. For the most part, they were all ordinary citizens that got caught up in it and provided N.O.S. information so they could complete the capture. One however was a police officer. What concerns me most is that I don’t know how she got access to that information.”

“Are you coming here to ask me that, Yayoi?”

“No… yes… somewhat.”

“I can’t help you. I’m not your investigator buddy any longer. I’m a lab rat,” he replied staring back at the ceiling light.

“For now. They will kill you when they are done.”

“If you are trying to cheer me up, you are not doing a very good job of it,” replied Shido. Yayoi checked her watch for the remaining time.

“Shido, you have to help me, so I can help you.”

“Why would you help me? I thought you told me to starve.”

“Why must you be so difficult?!” shouted Yayoi. His eerie eyes turned back to her and for once, they focused.

“Is it really you, Yayoi?” asked Shido softy.

“Yes, of course it is, Shido!”

“I couldn’t see you before… the injection must be wearing off… Yet, do you still taste as sweet?”

“No chance of finding out.” Yayoi replied sharply. He turned away looking into the light.

“Even if I can see you I cannot be sure you are not some other experiment. A delusion, maybe. Maybe something these guys engineered.” There was a moment’s pause before he spoke again. “Spill your blood. Spill it so I may know if its really you.”

“Have you lost your mind?”

“A scratch. You’re not one to be afraid spilt blood.”

“This is ludicrous.” Glancing down at her watch, she realized she didn’t have time for this argument. She pilled a safety pin out of her purse. She always kept a few just in case she lost a button and needed to keep a shirt closed. She pricked her finger and allowed a scarlet drop to surface.

“Sweet blood,” Shido murmured. His deeper abrasive voice sounded bizarrely creepy and so unlike Shido. “You always had sweet blood, Yayoi. Sweet in smell, sweet in taste, beautiful like you.” His fingertips lifted upwards asking a silent question and his eyes now swirled a deep crimson turned back to her.

“What have they done to you, Shido?” questioned Yayoi. Despite her hammering heartbeat, she grasped Shido’s hand and he closed his long fingers over hers.

“Too much. I honestly don’t know how Riho would have got such information. Its doubtful she would receive her information from someone within N.O.S. Riho was never very good with computers so she couldn’t have hacked into the systems. No other vampires live in this city. Some pass through but never for long and they are not social with other vampires they meet. Its also highly unlikely that they would know about the nightbreed deaths since they do not live here. And vampires won’t kill a nightbreed but they also don’t care if they are killed.” Yayoi nodded. That was what she needed to know.

“I will figure this out, Shido. With a little more time, I may be able to make a case for you. Its illogical that you would take a vendetta out against nightbreed killers since you have killed so many yourself.”

“But… if…”

“I’ve given it some thought. And you love Riho. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before. I knew there was affection, but that’s not really the same. I could never kill my sister, despite all the murders. If she had continued to live like that, I probably would have allowed it, because I could not stop it. I would have tried to cure her of course, but if there was no cure… well she was still my sister and I still love her. And that is how it is with you and Riho. You can’t kill her because you love her. I asked you to do something that if I was in your position I couldn’t have done. It was unfair. Still, something does need to be done about Riho, for her own protection, and for others protection. I need you to endure until I can get you out of here. In exchange you have to agree to keep Riho confined until she comes to her senses.”

“I….”

“If not she will end up here.”

“Then I will.”

“There haven’t been any other murders since you have been here.”

“She may have left…”

“If she is no longer in this city then she’s not my concern, but I know she is. You are still here, so she is too.” The hum of the machines clicked on and Yayoi knew the one-way mirror behind her was truly a mirror know. Her body blocked them from seeing her hand holding Shido’s. She gave it a comforting squeeze and he gripped her hand tighter. She heard the door unlock.

“That’s it. Time’s up. Hope you got all you needed.” Yayoi really did hate all Laboratory workers. She managed an annoyed glare over her left shoulder before she turned back to Shido. He was much paler than before and his scarlet eyes that should have been fear inducing appeared frightened.

“Don’t leave. Not yet. Please.” Yayoi sighed. She hated taking orders that didn’t agree with her agenda. And leaving Shido here did not sit well with her.

“Come on. Let’s go. You have already delayed our schedule.” The moment the scientist had uttered ‘schedule’ Shido squeezed her hand and whimpered softly before pleading quietly for her to stay. He was afraid. From everything she knew about this place he should be, they tested new weapons out on their subjects and tried to understand their weaknesses better.

“Time, that’s all,” responded Yayoi softly. She hoped Shido would catch her underlying meaning that she would find a way out for him. She slid out of his grip easily because his palm had begun to sweat. The first scientist walked closer to the steel bed as Yayoi went to the door. A second scientist was waiting to lead her out, but before the door closed she hear Shido’s anguished hiss and scream as he tried unsuccessfully to scare the scientist away.