Chapter Twenty-One: Woman Behind Her Wall:

I can�t let anyone else I love get hurt. The way things look now, Kaoru won�t let me go so easily. He has even proved to go as far as to kill anyone close to me. With that in mind, I fear for my family�s safety. I needed to get as far from them as I could.

My best bet was our old studio in Kyoto. That place was only used for storage at the time anyway. Behind it sat an abandoned house. I went out there shortly after Kiku�s death. The manager of the land didn�t understand my motives.

�Setsuna-sama,� he said. �Why would you need to move out here?�

�It�s only for a short time,� I said. �I just wanted a break from the city.�

�But why here?� he asked.

�It�s a quiet place to get away,� I said.

�If you say so,� the manager replied.

�I do, actually,� I mumbled to myself. So in the night, I packed up the things I needed and moved into that abandoned house behind the storage building. I didn�t my best to avoid my family in the process. I�m so sorry; I can�t drag you into this. Please understand.

I left them a note before I walked out the door. �I�ve gone away for a little while, don�t look for me,� I wrote. It still hurt to act on my plan. Yet, it was a measure was I willing to take to keep them safe. Only thing left was to wait for Kaoru to show up while I dealt with a way to end this mess once and for all.

The day after I moved in, I checked out books on how to kill a vampire. I spend days buried in my research. I�m done with running away. The only time I left my desk was to get something to eat.

Six days later, a knock came on my door. I didn�t get up from my desk. �Who�s there?� I asked.

�Only me,� the manager said.

�What do you want?� I asked.

�I came to check up on you.�

I waved him off. �I�m fine, thank you.�

�You sure?�

�Yeah!�

�Okay then.�

I looked up at the door. �How much for rent here?�

�Please! You owe me nothing.�

I shook my head, frowning. �But I feel that I owe you something for boarding me here.�

�Oh, no! Please, I�m happy to help you out, Setsuna-sama. You can stay here as long as you like.�

I shifted a bit in my chair. �Are you sure about that?�

�Yes, it�s fine!� he insisted. �You have a good night.�

I did my fine to sound okay with the whole arrangement. �You too.� I listened as he walked away, supposedly to go home for the night. I breathed out once I was sure that he had gone. I�m sorry involve with me, I thought. I hoped this arrangement wouldn�t last long. I stiffened up and went back to research.

I worked well into the hours with my books and notes. I tried to find off sleep. I felt like I wouldn�t sleep properly until I avenged Akio and Kiku�s deaths. However, the later it got, the more I began to nod off. A felt a heavy hand on the top of my head, stroking my hair. The touch made my spine freeze.

�Who�s there?� I whispered. No answer came in return. The sensation on my hand didn�t let up.

�Kaoru?� I asked. Silence only filled my ears. The stroking grew heavier on my head. Nails started to sink into my scalp. I gritted my teeth. I will not give into fear! I must fight him back! The stroking grew rough with the nails. I buried myself deeper in the book.

�I see what you are doing,� a voice behind my head whispered, �You will not win!� The stroking got to the point where the nails started to scratch my scalp, causing me pain. Shut up. Shut up! I am not afraid of you!

I reached over to pen on my desk and grabbed it so tight that I could feel it pressing into the skin on my fingers. I shut my eyes to keep up my sanity. I reached up and stabbed the �arm� in the wrist. I opened my eyes when all I heard was silence. I turned around to realize only I sat at my desk in the darkness. I reached up ahead my head to feel for anything. Nothing, not a single thing there at all. I shut my eyes and rubbed my temples. I really needed to sleep. I looked over at my books and notes. I think I have it down for tonight.

I didn�t really trust Kaoru and I already what he was capable of just to have me all to himself. With that in mind, I locked up my research in a box underneath my bed. For an extra measure, I slept with a knife at my side. I needed my strength to do another round of research to put an end to this nightmare that monster continued to drag through.