In one week, the practice match with the vampires went fine and Toma Kira hasn't appeared but suddenly, before the National Tournament, a black, letter envelope is given to Kuran Kaname. He opened it and read;

The Samurai's Girl dies while the Samurai Junior is devoured by me... Protect them all you can tomorrow!

Kaname quickly knew that Echizen Ryoma cannot participate in the Nationals. He told it first to his great grandmother and Yumiko. Later on, the three of them told him that they have to leave Cross Academy and allow himself to stop playing Tennis.

"Do you understand how much danger you are in?" Kaname asked.

"Hai," Echizen said.

"The three of us will live somewhere far away from this place. I can't allow him to kill you!" cried Miyaki.

Echizen hugged his grandmother and after that, he wore his white polo and brown hat. It was painful for him to leave his tennis racket, and Seigaku Clothes in Cross Academy but he knows that his grandma just wanted to protect him.

Chairman Cross quickly contacted Coach Ryuzaki and lied to her that Echizen has been very ill. When the team knew that he won't come, they really felt very sad and prayed he'll soon be fine but after two days, they knew slight of the truth. Echizen and Yumiko are together but they are missing.

Echizen, Miyaki and Yumiko glimpsed at the National Tournament after they have settled inside a hotel full of humans. "Be careful, you understand? Your human friends musn't see you," Miyaki reminded him as he was walking to buy some Ponta.

After he put his coin in the Vendo Machine, two cans of Ponta fell off. He took both of the cans and quickly went to the Finals Court. To hide himself, he only stayed at the very back.

Sakuno is under the Sakura Tree talking with Tomoka. It was obvious in her voice that she is really sad. "I wonder when Ryoma will go back."

She saw Nanako walking while crying. She quickly approached her, "What's the problem?"

Sakuno is still clueless about what the team knows. Nanako quickly told her, "I have to tell his parents he's missing. No one can find him!"

The Seigaku team still focused in winning which made him smile. He doesn't want them to worry or anything and so, when he was already going to return where Miyaki and Yumiko are, he hid behind the tree when he saw Sakuno crying and hugging a box of bento while screaming, "Ryoma-kun!!! You're not missing, right? You'll soon go back, right? RYOMA-KUN!!! I thought you'll be here, now! I want you to taste my bento again!"

People were staring at her confusedly and weirdly. Echizen can even hear murmurs that she may have been crazy.

Ryoma cannot take her tears anymore and so, he showed up to him by giving her a can of soda. "Stop. It's annoying."

Sakuno looked at where the voice is and when she looked up, she saw Ryoma. She dried her tears and knew that the person in front of her is truly Ryoma. "Ryoma-kun!" she happily said.

Ryoma didn't say anything that much but hugged her and told her, "Forgive me."

After ten minutes, Yumiko appeared. She was really surprised to see him hugging another woman and so, when they both saw her, they quickly separated.

Yumiko told her irritatedly, "Your grandma already told you not to show up to anybody!"

"Why?" Sakuno asked. Echizen quickly held Yumiko's hands and told her, "Do my punishment. Let her forget we met each other today, Yumiko-sama."

Yumiko stared at his painful eyes, "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. If ever Toma Kira appears here, she'll be his first target. If he learns that she's lying she saw that we appeared here, he'll torment her."

"No, Ryoma-!" Sakuno shouted but quickly felt dizziness and fell on the ground when there's no other people around anymore. The next time she woke up, she was already lying on her bed at home. She sat up and remembered Ryoma. Miyaki didn't erase that memory but put it like it was just a dream. "Ryoma-kun!" she cried again.

...

After the nationals, Ryoma kept disobeying his grandmother's will not to show up in Seigaku. Eventhough he doesn't study anymore, he kept appearing to his team mates like he was a ghost.

It actually distracts or hurts his team without him knowing and whenever he goes back to the hotel, his grandma will scold him. They may have hid in a place packed with humans but it wasn't enough. Toma Kira smelled Yumiko's blood inside that hotel.

"Ryoma," Miyako said, "Where are you going?".

Ryoma was trying to go to Seigaku again but he was quickly stopped. It was at that same time that the Seigaku went to the hotel where they are living for almost a year now.

Kaidoh's the new captain and Momo's the vice captain. Without him, Seigaku is stuck in prefecturals.

"You can't go outside. The new team of Seigaku is here!" Yumiko said.

Ryoma lowered his hat. "I know."

Miyaki told him, "Ryoma, I will just go buy our food," then turned to Yumiko, "Guard him well, Yumiko-chan!"

Toma Kira grinned. That whole month of crazy traces of Ryoma for months had finally stopped when Miyaki decided to lock him inside the hotel room. "You think he's safe without you?" he quickly killed a waiter and dressed up the waiter's outfit that night. Momo accidentally saw it from his window and because he had recognized the man's face, he followed him.

Ryoma and Yumiko were talking together when Toma Kira and his companion knocked at the door after five minutes. Without warning, after Yumiko opened the door, they quickly recognized that Kira had already found him.

Miyaki had just came back from the shop when she tried to put him away from the room while Ryoma and Yumiko are in fear. She fought him off but her strength wasn't enough. "You're weaker than Kaname!" he said as she fall on the ground.

Momo watched in fear when he saw Ryoma create a magnetic shield but Toma broke it in the center where Ryoma's heart is located.

The whole shield scattered like glass as Ryoma's mouth is covered with his own blood. He can feel how powerful Toma's grip in his heart. "Stop, please!" he cried.

Toma held his heart more making him scream. The people around heard his voice.

Yumiko tried to get him away from Ryoma but he told her, "This is revenge! His grandmother killed my family before and so, I'll do the same thing!" Then, he pushed her off the room.

Yumiko is already panicking now and so, she called her brother, Kuran Kaname that Toma had already found them and he's currently holding Ryoma. Kaname was surprised and so, with Zero and Yuki, they left Cross Academy.

Ryoma had a chance to get away from him for a while. His chest is bleeding tremendously and he coughed out blood. He took the gun Zero gave him, sat near the window and told him, "Get away from me or else I'll shoot this to you!"

Toma just laughed, "You got guts, kid but by the way you are now, it's impossible you can shoot!" He kicked it off and pointed his katana to him, then struck it in Echizen's left shoulder. He screamed harder again. He opened the door to let his human friend see him in pain and helplessness.

Momo tried to save Echizen but Yumiko quickly covered herself. Momo screamed, "Get out of the way!"

"I won't get away! You're going into his trap! Toma Kira will kill you bringing more sadness to Echizen!"

"But..."

"Kaname-oniisan is coming already!"

Toma smirked, "Seems like your master's intelligent!"

"Why won't you stop him?!" shouted Momo.

Yumiko cannot reply but Ryoma told him, "Get the hell out of here. You're more in danger than I am!" Momo was really surprised but when he saw Ryoma's eyes, he knew that the other vampires have come already and he is ordering him to lead them.

Then, after Momo left, he told him before he sink his teeth over Ryoma's neck, "Your blood really smells good." Then, he started drinking Echizen Ryoma's blood. He screamed so hard that made Miyaki wake up, for the Seigaku team to hear and most of all, for the group of vampires to hurry.

"We need to hurry! Echizen's probably being devoured now!" Kaname screamed.

He was right. Echizen had already closed his eyes and he's going weaker and weaker by the minute. He can feel his heart going slower and slower while Toma is holding it. His lips are all going dry already.

"Onegai!!! Yamete kudasai!!! YAMETE!!!!" she screamed. The glass windows were all broken. Rain started to fall tremendously. The wind seemed howling.

"Yamete... Yumiko-sama... I..." after that, his struggling to get away from him was lost. He cannot move anymore making Yumiko cry more.

"I'm his master! I'M HIS MASTER BUT I CAN'T PROTECT HIM! WHY AM I SO WEAK?!!!!" tears were falling painfully in his eyes.

Momo knew they were going too late, now. Miyaki pulled him out of Echizen Ryoma and used his katana to cut him off but it wasn't enough. He was so quick that he held her neck. "Do you also want to be devoured?"

Kaname held his neck away from her and screamed, "You'll pay for what you've done!!!" He pulled out his heart and he turned into ashes.

Yumiko is still holding Echizen while her tears are falling in his face. He is as stiff as stone now and if they let him stay like that, Yumiko knows if she doesn't do anything, he'll die. She did all her best to wake him up. He has to drink her blood, that's the first thing he said but Yuki told her, "He's too weak to drink your blood. I have to make him human again."

Momo is also crying beside Echizen, "You can do it?" He dried his tears.

Yumiko pushed her away from Ryoma, "Oneesan! If there's someone who has to die for him, it's me!"

"Ryoma wouldn't like it!" Yuki said.

"He'll forget about me!" Yumiko answered back. Those words made Momo surprised and suddenly, Echizen touched her face. His eyes are still closed but he told her, "What if someone awakens my vampire instinct? It's better for me to die than lose any of you."

"Don't talk nonesense, Echizen," Yuki started making him human again. Zero tried to stop him but she already turned into shards of glass and disappeared.

"Yuki!!!" all of them screamed while Echizen's wounds were slowly healing and heartbeat going normal. His temperature is also back as a human.

Yuki's last words were, "Protect him at all costs. Everything's not finished yet!"

...

The next day, they knew that he is still very weak and so, Momo called for an ambulance. Miyaki and Yumiko were crying hard now. Coach Ryuzaki is informed that same day while the other old Middle School Regulars knew about it by a newspaper.

"Ne, Tezuka," Oishi said as they were inside the train, "Have you found out about the news about Echizen?"

"He's missing for one whole year," Tezuka said.

"He's been found. When I found out about it, I went to Cross Academy to confirm. It was true that he's been found and staying at a hospital. It seems, he went missing to hide from somebody but... before the end of the year, he was attacked and almost died."

Tezuka looked at him questioningly, "He's human again but by the price of Yuki's life and loss of memory of being a vampire. Yumiko seemed depressed by her decision not to stay close to her. She let Sakuno pour all the love she has for him."
...

Protect him. Everything's not finished yet.

Echizen opened his eyes after he had dreamed about those last words. The first person he saw upon waking up is Sakuno, smiling at her. "Daijobu?" she asked as she was smiling.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"You're in a hospital. You've been asleep for so many months!"
...

... the sweet dream hasn't ended yet....