CHAPTER TWO: FIGHTING AGAINST TEMPTATION.

      Izumi appeared in the room where everyone was with a disgruntled look. Somehow, the human girl managed to get into the last place in which she should be. She sighed, catching her attention while she was on the floor with a book between her hands.

      The vampiress diverted her gaze the moment their eyes met. She moved her hair to create a barrier between the two of them before approaching Ayato and sitting over a little table next to him that was covered with a white sheet. The redhead put an arm over her shoulders, bringing her closer to his body.

      "Of all the rooms, you had to pick this one to enter. This is a room that we have sealed off so no one may enter. I will have to fix it with a new lock," Reiji was the one who spoke up first.

      "That's for sure," Laito nodded, "How did you get in here, bitch-chan?"

      "Please stay put. You're my prey," Kanato commanded, pressing Teddy against his chest with such force Teddy's head grew bigger.

      "I... I'm nobody's prey."

      "Enough excuses," Subaru yelled, hitting the shelf and sending a few books to the floor.

      "Oh, you! Not again, Subaru," Laito said nonchalantly.

      "Shut up."

      Izumi frowned when Ayato let go of her shoulders and abandoned her side. He went to Yui with a wicked smile pulling his lips up. The pink-haired couldn't help the frown that covered her face and, at that same time, her eyes met with Shu's.

      The blonde boy sent her a little smile that only indicated how amused he was by the situation. Izumi squinted her eyes at him before turning her attention back to Ayato, who was taking the human girl by her chin—just like he had done a few moments back in time to her—. That made her sink her fingernails in the table, wrinkling the white sheet that had been perfectly tidy up until then.

      "That's the look that gets my juices flowing," Ayato muttered, looking at Yui.

      Laito snickered, "Perhaps I'll partake as well."

      "I want a taste too," Kanato said, surrounding the girl along with his brothers.

      "There is only one fact that you must fully comprehend," Reiji spoke up, staring at the human girl, "The fact that you can never escape from us."

      "Oh, get straight to the point," Subaru huffed, "Just tell her that if she tries to escape, she's dead."

      Izumi's hold on the table tightened when Ayato and Laito stared at the human with desire, each at either side of her neck. Her fingernails were already deep into the wood, but the only one that noticed her mood was Shu since everyone else was engrossed with Yui.

      Tired of looking, the vampiress jumped down from the table, sending it to the floor in her way. One of the extremes of the table broke when it hit the floor because it had already been weakened by Izumi's wrath. Then, she managed to catch everyone's attention.

      "Oops," she blurted out, feigning innocence while crossing the room and approaching the door. "I guess I miscalculated," she finally left the place.

      Ayato frowned, confused. Izumi was agile, always calculating her movements beforehand so they could be light and elegant. That had been part of her upbringing, and even many looked up to her impeccable and faultless motions. It was impossible for Izumi to throw a table by accident.

      Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Shu's smile remained intact. He even had to go as far as to bite his lower lip to contain the mocking snort.

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      Izumi appeared in Yui's room when she realised that Ayato and Laito were there. In the beginning, she thought it would be stupid to go, but she quickly remembered that she could do whatever she wanted. And that was exactly what she was gonna do.

      She appeared in front of the window, not facing them but still wining over their attention. She turned around and first looked at Yui, giving her a charming smile, "Don't worry, I changed your clothes," she announced. The girl shifted around uncomfortably, so Izumi added, "Please, we are both women! You have nothing I don't."

      "Maybe she doesn't, but you certainly do," Ayato snickered before turning to the human, "Isn't that right, Chichinashi?"

      Izumi rolled her eyes. The last thing she wanted was to be compared with the human girl. Or with any human whatsoever. She was superior in any aspect, any comparison was just making fun of her.

      "What's going on here?" Reiji asked, and everyone turned to him, "You'll be late."

      "Shit. Not you again, Reiji," Ayato complained.

      "But I was having fun," Laito whined.

      "You also need to get changed," Reiji commanded to Yui before turning to Izumi. He looked her up and down, quirking his brows when he noticed that she was going around with only her silk pyjamas. "What are you doing without your uniform? Or better yet, what are you doing like that? It is not appropriate for a lady."

      Izumi shrugged it off, "I don't feel like going today. I was thinking of staying to read something and - "

      "Don't make me take you by force, brat," Reiji interrupted her, shooting a stare that told her she would have to deal with consequences if she wasn't obedient.

      "Uuh, what are you implying, Reiji?" Laito's sly remark quickly came.

      Izumi snickered, resembling almost a child, and winked to Reiji, "Should I call you daddy?"

      Reiji tensed up his jaw, "Could you stop the pompous act?"

      Her smile did not tremble, "First of all, it's not an act."

      "Izumi," he grumbled, huffing and pinching the bridge of his nose before staring down at her. "Please, stop it."

      Finally, the pink-haired girl approached him, giving him a flirtatious smile, "Fine, I'll go change. If daddy begs me to, I cannot not do it..."

      Reiji took her by the wrist, stopping her from moving forward. The girl let out a small whine, taken by surprise by the strength that the vampire was inflicting upon her.

      Ayato hissed and stood up, appearing in front of Reiji in a second, "Oi, Reiji! Let her go!"

      The oldest one in the room didn't look affected in the least. On the contrary, his face seemed composed. He fixed his glasses with his free hand before letting go of the vampiress. Barely looking at her over his shoulder, he muttered, "Be quick, or we'll be late."

      "Late to where?" Yui asked. Izumi huffed through her nose, caressing her wrist. She knew it would leave a mark that would appear sooner rather than later.

      "To school," Reiji answered her, glancing at her before staring at the other girl again, "Izumi, you'll go, the good way or the bad way. You choose."

      "Don't worry, Reiji. I'll take care of the little brat," Laito purred, winking at the girl. Ayato hissed to his brother, but Izumi still smiled at the boy before going to her room.

      Once inside the four walls, Izumi stared at her reflection in the mirror. She was brushing her hair when Laito finally appeared behind her. He approached her, his lips caressing her ear while his emerald eyes looked at her through the mirror.

      "Do you need help changing?" He murmured and bit her lobe with fierceness before giving her a wolfish grin. However, Izumi kept her composure. After all, she was very well acquainted with his antics.

      "Nice offer, Laito," she drawled in response, and his eyes shone with hope, "But it's not the moment. We'll be late, and I don't want to deal with mad daddy Reiji."

      "That's why I am here," Laito pointed out, straightening up and taking the uniform that laid on her bed, "You'll finish quicker if I help you."

      The silk went down Izumi's shoulders and fell to the floor smoothly while Laito stared longingly at her through the reflection of the mirror. The pink-haired girl kept her gaze fixed on his eyes, and she smiled at him, "Are you going to help me to put on my uniform or not, Laito?"

      "Uuh, I believe you look better like this," he purred, but still went down to his knees and held the skirt between his hands. Izumi put one foot up to enter it into the skirt and then did the same with the other. Then, Laito travelled up her legs and left the skirt on her waist. He took the blouse and buttoned it up once it was hugging her abdomen. "See? We finished on record time, Yu," he murmured against her ear again. He stood behind her and wrapped her throat with his hands, "Though it wasn't easy to contain myself."

      Izumi wet her lips, "Good boy. Now, let's go."

      She patted his hands and Laito freed her throat. Then, both of them went out of the mansion and went to the limo.

      Inside the vehicle, Izumi was surprised by finding Ayato sitting next to Yui. Thus, despite him saving up a seat right next to his other side, she chose to ignore him and sat between Laito and Kanato. However, the vampire didn't take it seriously, since it was nothing new that the girl did a scene just to catch his attention.

      Half of the trip to school happened in silence, up until Ayato started talking to Yui. The pink-haired girl stared at both of them without showing any emotions, keeping her pride up while they continued their conversation.

      "Ayato, how many times must I tell you?" Reiji closed his book and stared at Ayato, preventing him from feeding on the girl. "Take such activities to your room."

      Ayato moved away from Yui, not without rolling his eyes. Seconds later, he always already glancing at Izumi. She noticed this and put her head over Laito's shoulder, who didn't protest about it. On the contrary, he put his arm over her shoulders and took her nearer his body.

      Izumi stared for a moment Laito's free hand, pondering if she should do it. Her hand was lying on his lap, slightly open, almost as if he was daring her to do it. Izumi looked back at Ayato, and their eyes met. None of them was sure if that exchange lasted seconds or minutes. Nonetheless, no matter the time, Izumi finally took Laito's hand and intertwined their fingers together. Ayato only huffed and looked away.

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      Izumi buried her face on the book, feigning interest while she was actually talking to Laito in whispers. The classroom was silent, everyone reading and the teacher writing down on the blackboard the next activity they had to do. However, the peace found its end when the door of the back opened a little. Ayato's head came between the crack, with the teacher clueless of his intrusion.

      "Oi, Izumi!" He called in a whisper, though loud enough for the students sitting at the back to hear. Their heads turned to him and, eventually, everyone was witnessing their interaction, "Do you want takoyakis?"

      Izumi breathed in, catching Yui's aroma in the air. Not only was it coming from his clothes, but she could also tell that the little human girl was on the other side of the wall where she couldn't see her. Finally, she shook her head.

      "I'd rather stay with Laito."

      Ayato's smile fell and was replaced by a frown, clearly offended by her refusal. Meanwhile, the students didn't lose time to start murmuring among themselves. It was well known that Ayato and Izumi had something between them. Though some believed that the girl was dating any other of the siblings, the general belief was that she was dating the redhead.

      The rumours about the girl dating one of the Sakamakis never ended. But her rejection of Ayato's direct proposal only threw gasoline to the fire, making the rumours rebirth with a thumping force.

      Ayato noticed the commotion that that had caused and, aware of the attention that was now on him, chose to act indifferent. He shrugged her off, his face showing disinterest and went to close the door.

      "Whatever."

      "Not that I'm complaining but, since when exactly do you prefer to be with me instead of Ayato and his takoyakis?" Laito asked. There was no doubt he was pleased with this new prospect, since Izumi used to throw it all away whenever it came to Ayato and his invitations to do whatever but studying. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but wonder about the reason behind her decision. Izumi only shrugged her shoulders. "You love takoyakis, what's wrong?"

      "That stuttering human was with him," she finally answered. She wasn't in the mood to deal with Laito's perseverance.

      "Ah, so you're jealous."

      "What? Of course not!"

      "Then, what's the problem?" The vampire prided in. Izumi sighed, taking the book again and covering her face with it to create a barrier between them.

      "She's insufferable. Her babbling drives me crazy, and she's way too clumsy," she listed, "And she makes me want to drink her stupid blood!" She let out without thinking, letting her emotions get the best of her.

      Laito tsked, "I see... that's the real problem. She awakens your thirst."

      "Laito, I survived my whole life with just blood bags. I won't change that now."

      "But you must admit Bitch-chan smells exquisitely sweet."

      "Laito," Izumi warned.

      "Alright, you don't want to talk about her. I got it."

      After that, Izumi believed that everything would be alright. She thought that, thanks to her blood, it wouldn't take much time for someone to not be able to control themselves and then they would take a little bit more blood than they should. Then, the girl would die and she wouldn't have to see her again. Humans had always been fragile beings, with such short lives it was pathetic, almost pitiful. But on this occasion, she couldn't help but be grateful for it.

      However, something that she never believed possible happened. And she had the misfortune of seeing it with her own eyes.

      Ayato had kissed Yui.

      Hell would break loose from now on. Izumi would make sure of it.