CHAPTER NINETEEN: THE BITTER TASTE OF HONEY.

      Once the vampiress managed to sneak out of the Sakamaki mansion, she went to the address given by Yuma Mukami, discovering that they lived in their own mansion. She remembered with a frown all the times the long-haired vampire had made comments about their class difference, but apparently this had all been an act. She entered the place anyway, knowing she was going straight into the lion's den. But curiosity got the better of her, compelling her to take the risk.

      After all, she was still a pureblood. Which meant she was stronger than the Mukamis themselves. Plus, she had to her advantage that she had spent years surviving with the Sakamakis; she was more than sure that was worth something.

      "Look who it is," Kou welcomed her, and the girl was already regretting her decision, "Hey, don't make that face! You should be happy that I'm welcoming you! If you want I can bring Yui, she'll show you around and-"

      "Kou," Yuma interrupted him, walking down a couple of stairs. He shook his head at his brother, before looking at Izumi, "Follow me."

      Izumi teleported to the vampire's side, and then followed him at a slow pace up the stairs. She assumed he was leading her to his room, intending to have privacy. However, she didn't let that fool her. She still didn't know if the rest of the Mukamis knew KarlHeinz as well, and she wouldn't let that fact alone confirm to her that they didn't. For all she knew, everything could be planned.

      Yuma closed the door behind him once they found themselves in his room. As he turned around, his face showed how serious the situation was, "You should be careful with KarlHeinz."

      The pinkhaired raised her eyebrows, hoping that wasn't the only thing he had to say to her, "That's old news, Mukami."

      His own children didn't trust him, clearly she wouldn't. Much less when she was well-aware of everything he'd put the brothers through.

      Yuma grabbed her by the shoulders when he realized that she was not taking him seriously, "I am serious, Izumi," his voice became quieter, "Your presence at the Sakamaki mansion was no coincidence. KarlHeinz always knew what you were capable of and, now more than ever, you must be cautious."

      Izumi frowned, inspecting the vampire's face to make sure he wasn't lying to her, "What do you mean? But... How do you know KarlHeinz in the first place? Why should I believe you?"

      The brown-haired man breathed in through his nose before answering all her questions, but he didn't get the chance to do so because the door to his room opened, revealing Ruki. The dark-haired man gave a friendly smile, and Yuma tensed noticeably.

      "Hello," Ruki approached Izumi, giving a small bow, "I'm afraid I haven't had the moment to introduce myself. I am Ruki Mukami, Yuma's older brother. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sakamaki-sama."

      The vampiress immediately shook her head, "It's Kuromiya. Uh... I'm Izumi Kuromiya. I only live with the Sakamakis."

      "Then you are the last of the Kuromiya, Kuromiya-sama."

      Izumi's gaze fell a little, "Uh, yes... I...."

      "Oh, sorry! That was out of line! I'm very sorry, Kuromiya-sa-"

      "Stop that," Izumi interrupted, "That's not necessary. Just call me Izumi."

      Ruki nodded, giving another pleasant smile, "In that case, Izumi, you can call me Ruki," he assured, and Izumi sent him a tight smile. Then, Ruki looked at his brother, "But, Yuma, what's she doing here?"

      "Uh, I..."

      "He invited me," Izumi burst out, approaching Ruki and taking his hands in hers to give him a smile as warm as the ones he had been giving her. He wanted to show her that he wasn't the only one who knew how to act, "I just came to apologize for the Sakamakis' behavior towards you, and Yuma was kind enough to let me in."

      "Ah, sounds like Yuma. He's always been very understanding, deep down."

      The vampiress laughed, "What a coincidence, I was thinking the same thing," she commented, and glanced sideways at Yuma to discover that he was still tense because of Ruki's appearance. That caught her attention, but she wasn't going to mention it at that moment, "Well, I think I should be going now."

      "Don't you want to stay for lunch?" Ruki invited her and, before giving the girl a chance to answer, he added, "I insist. I'd be delighted to meet a friend of Yuma's."

      What are you, her mother? If there was one thing Yuma's attitude told him, it was that she should leave as quickly as possible. But that raven-haired, blue-eyed vampire seemed determined to keep talking to her.

      But, before Izumi could respond, she sensed a presence she hadn't thought she would have to face even though she knew it was residing there. She didn't know if it was that she recognized her footsteps, or caught her distinctive scent, but her eyes instantly turned to the still open door, and a moment later Yui stood there.

      "Izumi-san," the blonde stammered, her eyes wide with surprise, "What are you doing here?"

      Before either of the other two vampires could react, the pinkhaired girl stood next to Yui. There was no doubt that she was much faster than them, but they hadn't noticed that until now.

      "Are you okay?"

      Yui nodded. Confusion and surprise still swam in the pink pools that happened to be her eyes before she hesitantly grabbed the girl's arm, "Are you okay?"

      That really unsettled her. Izumi held her breath for a moment before nodding, "Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

      The human watched her face carefully, "You look pale."

      Izumi blinked, then clenched her jaw. She turned to the Mukamis, not saying another word to the human, "I should go now. Thank you for inviting me," she blurted out and disappeared so fast that she left Ruki saying "wait" after she was already gone.

      For a few seconds, silence fell over the room. Then, Ruki looked at Yuma and narrowed his eyes, "Why were you speaking to her about KarlHeinz?"

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      Izumi was crossing the school hallway, on her way to her next class, when she spotted Shu on the way. Knowing she had minutes to spare, she decided to approach him. However, her good mood dissipated as soon as she noticed Yuma drinking Yui's blood in front of the blond.

      Shu sighed before getting up from the ground and walking towards her, "How disgusting."

      "Yuma, would you be so kind as to not do that in the middle of the hallway? Or are you that needy?" Izumi chided with a flirtatious smile.

      "Sad because I managed to prove that not everything goes the way royalty wants it to?"

      Izumi clenched her fists, and shot him a look that showed she was ready to fight. But she stopped when Shu took her fist and wrapped his hand around it, and she looked up at him. The look the blond gave her left it clear that he wanted her to go with him, and the girl hesitated for a moment on whether to follow him or not.

      Lately, Shu was acting weird. Quite weird. He had made a habit of staying away from her, only being around at times when he was forced to. Although she knew that if she questioned him about it, Shu would deny it, it was obvious to her that the boy was avoiding her. The detail was that she didn't know the reason why.

      Besides, he was more moody than usual. He tended to fight more with his siblings, and his eyes would sometimes darken so much that it made her believe he hadn't drunk blood in months.

      She reasoned that, if she followed him, maybe she'd get a chance to talk to him. Ask him why he was avoiding her, and what was wrong with him.

      "Are they leaving already? You sure give up quickly."

      Izumi turned to Yuma and gave him a cruel smile, "I'll leave after I shove my blood down your throat."

      Yui gasped, seemingly surprised that she was threatening him. However, everyone ignored her reaction except for Izumi, who looked at her curiously for a moment. Maybe the girl had thought they were friends just because she had seen her at the Mukami mansion....

      "Stop trying to provoke me or you'll end up dead," Izumi warned, as Shu left to hide in the music room.

      "Oh, but everything provokes you," Yuma's smile grew, "I really think it turns you on to be treated like shit."

      "I think you get off on teasing," Izumi replied, pouting, "Or maybe you're a virgin mommy's boy. Oh, wait a minute, I forgot!"

      Yuma ran at her and punched her stomach. The vampiress flew into one of the walls of the hallway and spat blood on the floor. She was taken by surprise when she discovered the strength his blow possessed, there was no doubt he was stronger than the average turned vampire. But equally her lips curled into a smile, that he would hit her had been her aim.

      "Yuma!", Kou's voice caused the muscular vampire to stop instantly. Izumi's smile disappeared as quickly as it appeared. She concentrated on spitting blood on the ground, falling on her knees.

      Izumi fumbled as she raised her head with difficulty, meeting Azusa and Kou. She frowned slightly, wondering where Ruki was, but chose not to ask anything.

      "Ah, you came. I was afraid he was going to hurt me."

      Yuma clenched his fists and, with his teeth showing and his hand raised in her direction, shouted, "She started it all! She brought this on herself!"

      Izumi struggled to her feet, to which Kou approached her and helped her up, "Azusa, go look for-"

      "That won't be necessary," Izumi assured, and turned her face towards the gray-green-haired vampire to give him a bloody smile, "Tell me, Azusa. You too, Kou. The other day your little brothers told me a nice story... tell me, do you also know KarlHeinz?"

      Neither of them answered, but their reactions were enough for her.

      "I thought so," she smiled, "Well, don't be shy now. Tell me, how did you meet him? Was it... Was he the one who transformed you?"

      "Izumi, if you wanted to talk about this, you could have asked me," Yuma interjected, but he kept silent when he received a murderous look.

      "And pray the cat didn't get your tongue?" Izumi scoffed, "Yuma, you're too much of a coward to tell the truth and you know it."

      Yuma frowned, ready to start fighting, but closed his mouth as soon as his eyes glanced over Izumi's shoulder. The pink-haired girl frowned and went to turn her head, but before doing so, the voice gave away who it was.

      "What's going on here?" Reiji asked, suddenly appearing at the end of the hallway along with Kanato and Ayato. The vampiress rolled her eyes and separated from the group of vampires surrounding her.

      "Nothing," she replied, walking past them and continuing on her way without stopping. She wiped the blood off as quickly as she could with the back of her uniform sleeve, just before Reiji grabbed her by the wrist and spun her around.

      "Why do I smell blood, Izumi? You better not have tried again to-"

      "No," the girl interrupted, and bit her tongue when she realized she had interrupted him, "Sorry, Reiji. But I didn't, I just... hurt myself."

      Reiji raised his eyebrow and inspected her eyes. After a moment, he seemed satisfied and walked away. As soon as he walked away, it was Ayato who approached her. But now it was Izumi's turn to disappear.

      "Zum," Ayato called, but the girl didn't stop as she hid the sleeve of her jacket.