Colour Me Blood Red

*Grovels* I apologize to any and all Yamabuki fans! I wasn't originally going to do that to so many characters but it kind of just ...HAPPENED.

And Hematite protects you while you're sleeping, or protects you from demons while you're sleeping or something. Something along those lines. And I actually do have a cross made from Hematite, so it's not that far of a leap for Ootori to have one

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHAPTER 39

Sakuno, Sakuno-chan to her friends, was a young girl just entering her twenties. Self sufficient, relying only on her small income to support herself, and so far had been doing a good job. Small apartment, bills paid; not bad for minimum wage.

The coffee shop uniform did nothing to hide her long tapered legs; a combination of good genetics and a bit of effort. Her long chestnut hair was tied back as per health and safety standards; twin braids trailed down her back to almost her waist. Her face still held the full cheeks of youth, and even as she cried and begged for her life she retained her child-like beauty.

It was one of her very rare night shifts and she had left after locking up with another girl. She held her jacket closed against the light breeze and walked hurriedly to the bus stop. The other girl had offered her a ride home but she refused, not wanting to be a bother. She passed by a small alley on the other side of the street and that was the last thing she remembered.

Fingers played with the hem of the short dark skirt, lifting it up to get a higher glimpse of her pale thigh.

With a start Sakuno awoke, batting at the hand that trailed up her leg. She cried out in panic when a male she had never seen before smiled at her. She skittered back on her hands and bumped into something solid.

“Ah, she’s awake.”

Swallowing audibly, Sakuno slowly tilted her head back to look up at who she had bumped into. She felt like the victim in a horror movie who turns incredibly slowly upon hearing the noise of the killer right behind them. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the small pinpoint of light, the red glow highlighting his sharp features.

Akutsu took the cigarette from his mouth and blew out a trail of smoke. “Keep it down will ya!” He barked at the other two in the room.

Sakuno winced at the sound of his voice, trying not to cower.

Akutsu glanced down at her again, “look at her, she’s trembling like a leaf!” He laughed and that time Sakuno did cower. “BAH!” He barked, purposely attempting to scare her.

Sakuno skittered the other way and another male was there to catch her. She screamed in fear and thrashed, trying to push him away. They all laughed.

“What the hell you guys!?” Sengoku Kiyosumi poked his head out of an adjacent room, the light from a television reflecting off the side of his face.

“Gonna come play?” Muromachi grabbed a handful of Sakuno’s hair and hauled her to her feet.

Sengoku’s eyes scanned over the girl. Thin, curvy, small breasts, even under the dirt and tears she was still pretty, totally his type, but something was bothering him. “You guys heard from Minami?”

They shook their heads, “Nope.”

Sengoku frowned, “that’s not like him to just disappear. He should have been back last night.”

“Maybe he went home with one of the girls from the mob?” Higashikata shrugged.

Being the closest one to Minami, Sengoku assumed Higashikata Masami would know what happened. Seeing as though he didn’t, Sengoku suddenly went from curious to worried.

“Finish playing with your girl then I suggest we get out of here.”

Akutsu frowned, pausing long enough on his way to the first floor bedroom to turn back, “what’s your problem?”

“I have a bad feeling.” Sengoku shrugged, ignoring the renewed commotion in the main room as he returned to the small den. He flopped back down in the armchair and returned to channel surfing.

Sakuno screamed as she was circled, trapped like a small animal. Every step she made was countered with a dark chuckle and a faked lunge. Her hair had come loose when she was grabbed and floated around her as she spun. They hissed and growled at her, flashing fangs.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, catching in her eyelids and nearly blinding her. Why her? She never did anything to upset anyone; she kept her head down and her nose clean. Why? Fingers tore at her skirt, caught in her shirt. Buttons popped on her blouse and she screamed. This couldn’t be happening! Why did they pick her of all people?

Sengoku sighed and turned up the volume on the television. Why the hell did girls scream so damn much? Another noise started, easily drowning out both the television and the commotion in the other room. Sengoku sighed again, giving up on hearing any of his shows that night. Looking over at the closed door he sighed, wondering what Akutsu would think if he knew his little human lover had gone down on everything but the Titanic.

Dan stretched out on the bed, chest down. His hands were clenched around the creaking head board, knuckles turning white from the force. Strong hands gripped his hips, leaving large black bruises.

Dan cried out and begged but his lover growled a negative.

Harder!

But he was only human.

Akutsu slammed into his small body, ripping and bleeding him …and that was him being careful.

Broken tail bone, broken pelvic, he’d had it all before. It wasn’t all done by Akutsu, he wasn’t his first Vampire lover, or his last, or his only. He glanced at the door, knowing that Sengoku was on the other side. He’d had him as well, along with the other Vampires playing with that noisy girl. They were all careful; he was only human after all.

Dan knew Akutsu had Vampire lovers, he was jealous of them. Akutsu could use his full strength with them …but not with him.

With a growl Akutsu grabbed him under the chest and pulled them both back. Dan landed in his lap with a scream, half in shock and half in pain. Akutsu was driven completely into him, filling him further than the Vampire usually allowed. The sudden shift was almost enough to bring Dan off, but his control was getting better. Akutsu hooked his arms under Dan’s thighs as he crossed his legs under the human’s smaller body, using the grip to keep Dan moving over him.

Dan’s arms flew back around his neck, nails scratching at the tops of Akutsu’s shoulders. The Vampire’s strong hands clamped tightly to his small thighs, spreading him as he guided him over his erection. It wasn’t long after that that Dan finally screamed his orgasm. Akutsu moaned when the tiny body clamped around him, bringing him over as well. Dan slumped in his lap, hands resting on Akutsu’s thighs. The Vampire gently pet the backs of the tiny human’s thighs, nuzzling the back of his neck to keep him from drifting off.

“’M okay …” Dan murmured, turning in Akutsu’s lap to rest his head on his shoulder.

“I didn’t hurt you?” Akutsu dropped his voice so it wouldn’t carry to the sensitive ears in the other room. Wouldn’t do him any good to ruin his reputation, can’t have the others thinking he was soft.

Dan shook his head and leaned forward on his hands to slowly slide himself off of Akutsu’s softening erection. He collapsed onto the sheets, a mixture of blood and semen trailing down his legs. Akutsu slipped off the bed, looking around for his pants. He tugged them on and after grabbing his cigarettes he stepped out through the patio door into the cool night air.

Sakuno screamed when she was finally pounced on and knocked to the floor. Her skirt was completely torn off and something sharp pierced the side of her neck. Muromachi pinned her legs under his and locked her shoulders to the ground with a forearm braced across her.

The high pitched ding of the doorbell made everyone freeze in shock.

Before she could scream for help Muromachi clamped his hand over her mouth. He wrapped a hand around her chest and hauled her to her feet.

“Who is it?” He hissed to Higashikata.

The other Vampire crept to the door and peeked through the windows beside the large white front door. “No one’s there!” He slid open the chain lock and cautiously opened the door.

A nondescript brown box was on the front step, looking harmless. Higashikata peered around as he stepped onto the porch to reach the box. He wrinkled his nose when he got closer, “yuck, it stinks! What the hell is in it?” He grabbed the box and retreated back into the house. “It’s heavy.” Using one sharp fingernail he cracked the tape holding the box shut. “Ugh, the smell just gets worse!” He cautiously peeled back a flap and dropped the box with a blood-curdling scream.

The head of their companion, Minami Kentarou, rolled out.

Sakuno’s eyes widened and she started screaming, her mouth still muffled by Muromachi’s hand. She clawed at his arms in an attempt to get away.

“Now what the fuck are they screaming about?” Sengoku sighed in frustration and went to push himself up out of the chair when everything went black. He blinked in confusion; he didn’t pass out, he just couldn’t see anything. The screaming had stopped, along with all the regular night noises …this felt awfully familiar …it couldn’t be …

“Bingo.” Chuckle.

Sengoku’s senses came back to him in a rush, staggering him back into the chair. His eyes adjusted to the shotgun barrel leveled at his face. Well, fuck.

He was surrounded.

“Sengoku Kiyosumi?” Shishido Ryou asked, shotgun in hand.

Sengoku sighed, he was royally fucked. “The one and only.” Might as well go with dignity …or sarcasm, one of the two.

Niou snickered, tipping an imaginary hat at him, “long time no see. I didn’t get to say this the last time I saw you but you pack one hell of a punch.”

“Thanks,” Sengoku sighed again. How the hell did they find them?

A shotgun blast echoed loudly in the house, followed by a startled, “wow, sorry about that, I wasn’t expecting it to echo so loudly!” Choutarou shouldered his shotgun, smiling in embarrassment.

Yagyuu rubbed his ringing ears, “no problem.”

Yukimura walked into the small den, flanked by both Sanada and the shape-shifter Gakuto. The cheetah purred as it rubbed against his thighs. Being a red-head in life, Gakuto’s animal form wasn’t the true burnt gold of a typical cheetah. It could easily pass if one wasn’t looking close enough, but upon closer inspection there was enough red mixed in with the pale yellow to give him a sharp golden colour. His dark blue eyes were a startling difference to the typical brown, making it painfully obvious that he wasn’t pure Cheetah.

“Don’t kill this one,” Yukimura waved in Sengoku’s general direction, “we can use him. I’m really getting tired of these games their Mistress is playing so I’m getting some answers one way or another.”

Sengoku swallowed, “how did you find us?”

“Easily,” Sanada hauled Sengoku out of the chair and bodily dragged him into the other room.

Everyone in the house had been rounded up, overtaken by sheer numbers. Muromachi was on his knees, Choutarou had the barrel of the shotgun pressed firmly to the back of his head. Yagyuu had one of his arms twisted back, close to breaking his shoulder. What was left of Higashikata was painted in the entryway; he had attempted to flee, thinking the humans too noble to shoot an unarmed man in the back.

His remains were being poked and prodded by Oshitari Yuushi; the Vampire wrinkled his nose and sighed. “Are we burning bodies or just setting the whole place on fire?”

Yukimura looked to Sanada and shrugged, “it’s a new development, not a lot of people. We could burn it down, make it look like kids?”

Sakuno had finally passed out when the Vampire’s chest exploded before her eyes. Shiraishi gathered the poor girl into his arms, wrapping her in his jacket as best he could.

“Who’s missing?” Yukimura asked Sengoku, standing directly in front of him.

“No one.” He answered.

“Wrong,” Yukimura hissed and slapped him, using his nails to rip open his cheek.

Sengoku’s head snapped to the side, blood flying from the gashes on his face. “Akutsu Jin.”

“Where is he?” Yukimura asked sweetly.

“Hell if I know?” That earned him another slap to the other cheek. “Fuck! I don’t know! Last place I saw him was in the bedroom fucking his little human! You guys dragged Dan out but not him, so I DON’T KNOW!” He spat blood onto the floor.

Yukimura turned his attention to the little human. Dan was a few inches taller than him, but when one emits as much power as Yukimura Seiichi, height means nothing. The human cowered, clenching the sheet tighter around himself.

“Where did he go?” Yukimura trailed a bloodied finger up Dan’s arms. He leaned in close, tucking his face into the warm curve of the boy’s neck. “You smell warm, you smell like sex. Do you enjoy fucking Vampires, boy?”

Dan trembled violently; he had never felt anything like this Vampire before. Akutsu and Sengoku were strong, but compared to the Vampire before him they were nothing more than Fledglings.

“A-After we finished h-he went outside for a smoke …the next thing I knew you guys were in the room.” Dan trembled; a gasp and a small cry escaped his throat when Yukimura’s fingers trailed over his chest.

“I can’t sense or smell him Yukimura, he must be being protected,” Niou said.

“Yet she stopped protecting these ones …I wonder why?” Yukimura tilted his head and pursed his lips, idly running a finger around one of Dan’s small nipples. “Don’t kill the human boy, we’ll give him to Tezuka and he can do what he wants from there. I want the ginger …kill the remaining.”

“Wait!” Muromachi cried out in panic, but his plea fell on deaf ears.

“What can you tell me?” Yukimura lifted his head, seemingly asking no one in particular.

The steps creaked as Kenya made his way back down, “he was here. Not lately, but he was most definitely here. That weird energy is all over the place, but it’s getting weak.”

Sanada frowned and grabbed Sengoku by the throat, “where is Kite?”

Sengoku choked and gasped as his windpipe was crushed, “-t know.”

“Don’t know?” Sanada repeated, eyebrows drawing together in a frown.

Sengoku shook his head as best as he could.

“Why don’t I believe you?” Sanada released his throat.

“It’s the truth!” Sengoku spoke quickly, watching the Master’s eyes darken in anger. “He takes different orders than we do! We were told to wait here while Yohei organizes the attacks. We weren’t supposed to do anything that might interfere with their attacks, or whatever she sent Kite on! But we weren’t told!”

“He’s telling the truth,” Shiraishi shifted the girl in his arms, nodding towards Sengoku. “He’s too scared to lie.”

“Believe me, if I could, I’d be pissing myself in terror,” Sengoku chuckled. Why did she stop protecting them? Was this some sort of divine punishment?

“Were you forsaken too?” Niou whispered into Sengoku’s ear, chuckling evilly.

Sengoku snarled over his shoulder at the other Vampire.

“I’m getting tired of this, Oshitari-kun, Yagyuu, hold him,” Yukimura gestured to Muromachi, “Ootori-kun, would you do the honours?”

“MUROMACHI!” Sengoku screamed as the shotgun went off. He thrashed and kicked at Niou but the other Vampire held fast. Niou growled when Sengoku’s elbow caught him between the ribs. With a sift kick he knocked Sengoku’s legs out from under him, riding him to the ground. Sengoku’s breath left him with a whoosh and Niou grabbed a handful of hair and smashed his jaw off the floor.

Blood splattered the room from the shotgun blast and Sengoku managed to close his eyes before his face was covered in blood and heavier things. Dan screamed and stumbled backwards but Yukimura grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving. He wrapped his arms around Dan’s chest, hand caressing the long column of his neck before he turned and pushed him to Sanada. Yukimura stepped daintily around the blood, careful not to get any on his designer stiletto’s and squatted in front of Sengoku. He brushed Niou’s hand away and grabbed the same clump of hair, yanking Sengoku’s head back at a painful angle.

“Now, I hope you’ll be more useful, yes?”

Sengoku nodded, not quite sure if the Ancients letting him live was a better bet then them killing him. Yukimura stepped back and let Niou drag him to his feet.

“One question,” Sengoku suddenly asked, hoping it wouldn’t earn him another slap.

“Yes?”

“How did you find us?”

Shiraishi chuckled, “Your mistake was the house. It was smart of you guys to put the house in Akutsu’s mother’s name, and to even buy it legit. We wouldn’t have found you …except Akutsu’s mother is known in the Vampire world.”

Sengoku drew back in shock, “how did you guys find out about Akutsu’s mom!?”

Kenya yawned as he side-stepped the blood pooling on the floor, “I have more contacts than you could ever imagine. Someone was BOUND to know something. Wasn’t much, seems Akutsu’s been pretty much off the grid, but someone knew his mother. After we knew her name we just did a little research …” he cracked open the door and poked his head out. “I don’t hear anything, we’re still in the clear.”

“Dan-kun, why don’t you go get some clothes on?” Shiraishi said softly to the frightened boy, drawing him gently out of Sanada’s bruising grip.

Dan nodded and glanced over his shoulder at the Master. Shiraishi passed Sakuno to Kenya and smiled, “don’t worry about him.” He placed his hand on Dan’s elbow and led the boy back to the bedroom.

Niou, Yagyuu, and Oshitari hung back to destroy the evidence. Shiraishi would take Sakuno and Dan to the organization, and Shishido and Ootori were to return to Atobe’s side.

Oshitari grabbed Shishido roughly by the shoulder before the Hunter could slip into Ootori’s truck. “Remember what Atobe told you!” He hissed into the Hunters ear, the tone more sexual than threatening …which in it’s own way was threatening.

Shishido shoved him away, “yeah, yeah! I fucking got it.” Keep Tezuka out of it.

He frowned and stepped back, slamming the passenger door. Cutting Ootori off he grabbed the driver side door and climbed in. “I’m driving.”

Ootori’s eyes widened in surprise, “Shishido, what-“

“Just trust me,” he grabbed the keys from his partner’s loose grip.


“Damn it! Why do they always RUN!?” Kirihara growled in frustration and took off after the Renegade Vampire. He smashed his shoulder off the corner of a wall when he was forced to back-track to avoid an airborne lamp.

“Akaya!” Jackal turned when he heard something shatter; narrowly avoiding a swipe from the other Renegade he had backed into a corner.

“I’m alright! Fucker threw something!” Kirihara yelled back.

The next shatter had him letting out a stream of profanities. Following the path of the Vampire he found the window in the bedroom completely smashed, the carpeted floor covered in broken glass.

“Mother fucking jesus …arg!” He leaned out the window, careful of the glass shards, and hoped he could still see the Vampire.

A dark shadow caught his attention and he saw the Vampire a rooftop over, running. With another curse Kirihara threw himself out the window. He landed on the top of an adjacent roof with a loud thump, his boots sliding against the metal top.

The buildings in this section of town were stacked so closely together the rooftops overlapped, alleyways narrow enough to jump over. The streets were narrow enough people could yell from one apartment to another across the street and be heard perfectly. Café’s and small boutiques were the only shops on the streets, trying to give it a more Mediterranean or Parisian feel.

The ledge of the roof aligned with a taller building and Kirihara used his momentum to roll over the raised lip and land on his feet. The roof rattled loudly as he continued to run, leaping over a narrow alleyway and dropping to a roll to break his fall instead of his ankle. He caught a glimpse of the Vampire at the edge of the next building but by the time he caught up the Vampire had slid down the metal fire escape ladder and disappeared into the crowds.

“Fuck!” He cursed, thumbing the safety of his gun and slamming it back into the holster.

Kirihara limped into the Organization an hour later, beaten up and tired. Apparently, running over rooftops was more difficult than he previously thought. His legs screamed and groaned as he dragged himself over to the elevator. Jackal chuckled, equally beaten up and sore.

Jackal grabbed his chin and tilted his face into the light, “damn, she got you good.”

Kirihara shrugged; one of the Vampires had taken a swipe at him and managed to catch him in the side of the face. “They always go for the face, I don’t get it.”

“It’s because you’re so pretty …” Jackal grinned.

“Ha ha …” Kirihara rolled his eyes. It was sad that he was getting used to being told he looked like a girl. “I’ve had worse, I’ll just clean it up in the bathroom and tape it up when I get home.”

Jackal clapped him on the back, “and since this was an official job sanctioned by Sanada, that means paperwork.”

“Ah fuck,” Kirihara cursed. He totally forgot.

With the recent events Tezuka had let the Hunters bypass the paperwork. Unfortunately, now that they were back to regular work, reports were required incase questions were raised.

“I hate paperwork.”

“Look, we’re writing the same thing, I’ll help you with your draft, because I know you left your laptop at home again.”

Busted. “Uhh …yeah, that’ll work.” Kirihara scratched his head nervously. He needed a shower, badly.

“WHAT!?”

Kirihara and Jackal froze when the sound echoed through the open elevator, Jackal’s hand clamped over the elevator door before it closed on them.

That was Tezuka’s voice!

“They found Akutsu’s crew. Atobe gave me strict warnings not to involve you …but I thought you needed to know this. They had a girl …”

“A girl?”

“Ryuzaki Sakuno …”

“SHIT!” Tezuka’s eyes flew open in shock.

“I don’t believe in coincidence any more than you do Tezuka,” Shishido shook his head, “something’s wrong. Shiraishi is on his way here with the girl and the kid, Akutsu got away and Yukimura is keeping the ginger Vampire …uh …Sengoku?”

“Thank you for telling me Shishido …thank you for going against direct orders from Atobe …are you going to be okay when Atobe finds out-“

Shishido shushed him with a wave of his hand, “nothing I can’t handle.” The last thing he needed was Tezuka interfering on his behalf, that would just piss Atobe off more and he was already up shit creek without a paddle.

A small group had gathered at the entrance to the offices upon hearing Tezuka’s raised voice. Tachibana stood with his crew; Ishida, Sakurai and Kamio stood behind his shoulder. Ann was next to Miyuki who had joined her brother for a visit with the Hunters in the building.

Miyuki was almost a head and shoulders taller than Ann, her dark eyes were narrowed in curiosity. Her long tanned legs were left bare even though the weather had started to cool off. She wore a small pair of cut-off jean shorts, and seemed completely oblivious to the heads she turned.

When Tezuka saw the two women standing shoulder to shoulder his mind snapped into his ‘Commander-mode’, as the Hunters dubbed for him, and orders started forming one after the other.

“Miyuki, Ann,” he gestured the two Hunters over.

“What’s wrong Tezuka-san?”

“What is it?”

“Shiraishi is bringing a girl here, I need you two to look after her. She was kidnapped by a group of Vampires …I don’t know what they did to her, but I think it would be best if she had females at her side instead of more men.” Preparing for an argument he was actually surprised by the determination on both their faces.

“Leave it to us.”

Tezuka’s eyes widened, it was painfully obvious to him that he had been around males for far too long. Almost any of his other Hunters would have argued or at least complained, but not his females. Someone in need brought out the maternal streak in both of them, knowledge that they were needed here. He smiled softly, the female Hunters were so different than what he was used to.

His next plan was to send someone to Ryuzaki Sumire’s house. That was no coincidence that they took Sakuno, her grand-daughter. There was no guarantee they were going to try and attack Ryuzaki, but he wasn’t willing to take that chance.

“Tachibana! I need you to take your team and head to Ryuzaki-san’s …I don’t know if she’s in trouble but-“

Tachibana smiled knowingly, “don’t worry about explaining, I get it.” He gestured to his team, “let’s go boys!”

As if on cue a large group of Hunters entered the building. Momoshiro and Ryoma returned from a job at the same time Shiraishi pulled into the parking lot. They helped Shiraishi get Sakuno and Dan to the upper levels.

Tezuka was on his phone with Oishi when the elevators dinged open. Momoshiro held the doors open and Shiraishi led Sakuno out. The girl had woken up on the way there and Dan had helped her slide into Shiraishi’s jacket. The boy rolled up the large sleeves for her and helped her button it up when her trembling hands couldn’t keep a grip on both the jacket and the button. The black jacket hung to almost her knees and made her already pale skin look sickly.

Miyuki took the girl from her escorts and talked quietly to her as she led her across the hall. Once the elevator was free they would be taking her up to the clinic.

“They didn’t hurt me,” Sakuno whispered, unable to find her voice.

Relief washed over the whole group, they had all feared the worst for the poor girl. The Hunters still hadn’t been able to get over what happened to Kaidoh at the hands of the very same group of Vampires.

“The blood isn’t mine,” her skin went from white to green, but with a few deep breaths she managed to keep her stomach settled. “Someone saved me before they could hurt me. One of them only bit me.” She pulled the collar of the jacket away from her neck to show the wound. The blood had dried where it had pooled around her collar, sticking to loose tendrils of her hair and the lining of Shiraishi’s jacket.

Tezuka smiled softly at her, “the girls will take you to the clinic and help you get cleaned up.”

Miyuki led Sakuno back into the elevator but Ann hung back. “Sakuno-chan and Miyuki-chan don’t really need me, Sakuno-chan isn’t hurt as badly as we all assumed so …”

Tezuka smiled despite himself, maybe not so different after all, “go catch up to your brother.”

A bright smile flashed on Ann’s face before she turned on her heel and raced to the stairwell to head her brother off.

“Kenya.”

The Fae looked up and raised an eyebrow, “yeah?”

“Could you go with Tachibana as well? Just incase they need you, or your many talents.” Tezuka asked.

Kenya grinned, “no problem.” He turned and followed the way Ann went.

“What are you going to do with Dan-kun?” Shiraishi laid his hand on the boy’s shoulder, a cold serious look in his eyes.

“Back down Shiraishi, we’re not going to hurt him. I just called Oishi, we’re just going to talk to him.” Tezuka held his hands up in surrender.

“They’re really nice here,” Dan twisted so he could look back at Shiraishi, “I’ve been here before. They didn’t hurt me.”

Shiraishi nodded and released his shoulder, letting the boy trot over to Tezuka’s side.

During the commotion Kirihara managed to slink up to Ryoma’s side. The Rookie glanced at him curiously upon seeing his nervous state.

“Yo, Ryoma …I got a question,” Kirihara fidgeted, which wasn’t a usual gesture for the Hunter.

Ryoma turned so he could give Kirihara his full attention, “what’s up?”

“Is there a way to shield while you sleep?”

Ryoma frowned, what a strange question; even for Kirihara. ”Practice.”

Kirihara frowned, that wasn’t what he wanted to hear, “is there any other way to shield your mind while you sleep?”

“Let me guess; white sheets, white canopy and a sea breeze?”

Kirihara spun to face the source of the comment, hands coming to fists at his sides.

Shishido grinned at him, “so I was right.”

“How the fuck did you know?!” Kirihara hissed.

“It’s Atobe’s comfort zone. It’s an actual place; it’s one of his smaller houses on the coast. Especially with first timers, he likes to bring them there because it’s easier for him to control.” Shishido explained with a shrug.

“I am so far out of the loop it’s not even funny, Kirihara what’s he talking about?” Ryoma grabbed the Hunter’s arm and tried to get him to turn around.

“Hematite; Choutarou wears a cross made of it. If nothing else it may wake you up when Atobe tries to slip into your dreams.” Shishido continued, ignoring Ryoma. “It’s woken Choutarou up enough times that Atobe doesn’t even bother with him anymore.”

“You sound like you’re talking from experience.” Kirihara’s eyes narrowed. The expression on Shishido’s face said that clearly he was. “So a little rock is going to keep me from getting mind fucked?”

Shishido snickered at the term, “that’s one way of putting it. You have to keep it purified or else it stops working, and it works better when it’s touching your skin. But yes, a little rock will help you keep from getting …” he snickered again, “mind fucked.”

Kirihara grumbled, he was about to put faith back into rocks. He still wore the charm Shinji gave him, and now he was about to throw another one into the mix. He felt like he should be the poster child for Witches Anonymous.