Setup #1: Bloodhound Floor

[cutelittlekitty]

(character POV: Suou)

... Ellone... Her precious shadow flows across the alleyway... disappears into the night... just like the owner of that shadow. I reach out to her, but she is gone.... Ellone...

I stretch and yawn as the dream fades slowly from my head. Another evening begun. No matter how much I may wish for time to stop, it always continues. I am cursed to this neverending, soulless existence. At least, I am until I can allow myself to accept the fact that there is only one cure. Until I can bring myself to accept that cure. That is the only salvation, the only hope of reclaiming my soul.

As my eyes lazily creep open I notice the faint light filtering in from the cracks where the heavy black curtains don't quite manage to meet. The sunlight is uncalled for. Yuki sensei could easily have housed us in the basement, but she likely wanted to remind us that we are subject to her whims. Not that we need reminding. We have so often been required to move that I, for one, am grateful to have a home, even if it means doing as Yuki sensei requires.

I rise and dress, running my hand through my hair to make sure there are no tangles. It would be nice if i could check my appearance in a mirror, but there are some things I have learned to do without. Straightening my clothing and making sure that my cross necklace is securely in place around my neck, I wander off into the hallway to see if anyone else is yet awake.

(note from kitty: sorry about the short post, but i gotta go to college now)

[RisuChan]

[Hazard alert: Moegi has got the most cheerfully foulmouthed dialect I've ever seen from any Yuki Kaori character. Trying to keep it somewhat sanitized while still getting the general attitude across...]

[character POV: Moegi]

Sounds like Suou's finally awake, that overgrown slacker. Well, more time for me to take shameless advantage of my apparent youth and cuteness to charm lots of supplies out of the servants a few floors down.

Sakura gave me this wicked cool black and red envelope a few hours ago. It didn't say much I cared about; that ol' lady can take whatever vacations she likes, she doesn't make like Flaming Alaska whenever she sets a foot outdoors, and she gets way too many jollies out of rubbing it in our faces too. But the envelope rocked.

And I got SUCH a bitching idea from it too...

I'm not going to ask the guys; they'd just tell me no. Whereas if I send out all my invitations first, they won't be able to stop me. Somebody said "it's always easier to ask forgiveness than permission." I say "screw that; who needs forgiveness either?"

Suou shuffles out into the hallway, looking all rumpled with that black silk nightshirt open to the navel, like he just stepped out of some high school girl's wet dream. For all I know he might have. He's always aimed too low, I figure. I mean, he doesn't even strip. You get lots more tips shoved in all kinds of interesting places when you strip in front of a crowd than when you waste all your time paying attention to just one of them...

Still, he's not as stupid as he looks, so I hastily shove my pile of blazing yellow paper under the table and grab Suou's black-and-red envelope from the top of it, then flick it at him.

It bounces off his forehead. "He shoots, he scores!" One-zero for the Me Team...

Suou catches it before it flutters to the ground, barely even bothering to glare at me. They must be getting used to me. I'll have to start getting more creative.

He does stare at the contents of the paper, though, and kind of staggers over to lean against the wall.

"She told you too?" I guess. "What's with the long face? This is the chance of a lifetime! Raising as much hell as we want without old sourpuss around to cramp our style? Sign me up!"

Suou gives me one of those looks that says You haven't got clue one, dipshit, only he'd probably say it 'O ye of limited intellectual' something or other fancy I haven't got the vocabulary to fake.

I sigh and stretch elaborately and prop my chin in both hands. "Yeah, yeah, what now?"

"Do you appreciate how precarious our situation here could be without Yuki-sensei's guardianship?"

"Guardianship? More like shackles..."

"We live on the top floor of an apartment building that is certainly tall enough to expose quite a few windows to sunlight. Our presence has gone reasonably well unremarked, but if anyone has suspicions -- if anyone wants to rid the world of the loathsome soulless hellspawn..."

"...Yadda yadda yadda, been there done that how many times over?"

"...Or control us with that knowledge held over us..."

I look a few centuries younger than him, but I'm not; for all either of us know, I might be older, and he forgets it too often when he goes into that pompous Suou-knows-best routine. I let him catch a glimpse of fangs when I grin as wide as I can with a still-mostly-human mouth.

"Control US?"

"Don't do that in public," he says, irritably, clearly writing me off as a lost cause. "You have no comprehension of the nature of some of the other ...things... sharing this building."

"Yeah, and you have no comprehension of the sound of opportunity knocking!" I reply, blithely grinning with a fourteen-year-old's face again.

He turns away sharply, running a hand through his hair. "Where is Sakura?"

Translation: What we have here is a phphffailure to communicate. Gotta love Daffy Duck.

"He's probably in the stockroom polishing the booze or something," I shrug.

"If you see him, tell him we need to talk."

"Sure, whatever."

I wait until the door closes behind him before digging out my pile of envelopes again and starting to apply the Special Stickers I created all by myself with the assistance of the Krankenhaus color printer and a quick sneak-trip to the mailroom's supply cabinet.

My particular favorite is my Hello Rambokitty. Decked out in full Green Beret gear with a smoldering cigar and a smoking AK-47 and those creepy blank Hello Kitty eyes. But I've also got a soft spot for the Doraemononoke I drew up. Blue fuzzy tentacled eldrich horror with a smirk that says he knows exactly what to do with those tentacles... gotta love Photoshop. Ain't modern technology grand...

[RisuChan]

[previous post in this sequence: sakuracrisis.proboards22.com/index.cgi?board=yukiverse&action=display&thread=1065278287&start=18]

[character POV: Sakura]

I hang up the phone and return to hanging the freshly-cleaned wineglasses in their stem-holder above the bar.

The only thing that surprised me about that conversation was how long it took him to get around to thinking of calling me.

Of course Yuki-sensei instructed me to volunteer my assistance.

Of course I damn well refuse to do that woman any favors at all. She lodges a nest of vampires on the topmost level of a building with a perfectly good basement and then expects us not to have a grudge? I don't think so.

Riff, on the other hand, could use a few favors. When he asks, I'll agree to it. When she orders me, no.

Fortunately, he did finally get around to calling, or else I would have had to bend my pride and go and slap him upside the head a few times until he thought of it. He takes the reenactment of Victorian-butler a little too far sometimes. It's like he forgets that phones exist.

I can see why that woman left him in charge of this mess. He knows how to keep things organized, inasmuch as any human being can, and he's compassionate enough not to go and make a preemptive strike against any of the nasties who are likely to make his life a particular hell this year.

In other words, he's too damned nice to survive without someone like me to back him up. Riff is too good a servant. He doesn't have it in him to kill a man for the potential trouble that might be made, and he probably doesn't have it in him to kill a man who's in the process of making trouble.

Fortunately, I have no such reservations whatsoever.

He's made me the night supervisor. That's both logical and convenient. In deference to his somewhat naively misguided wishes to try to keep as many people as possible both alive and reasonably undamaged, I won't interfere too much through the days.

If someone puts a foot out of line after dark, then they get to find out exactly how bad an idea that was.

I think I'll let this be known among some of the less pleasant elements. It may prevent trouble. Or it may draw some trouble toward myself. That's fine with me. Riff's human. Humans are too damned fragile anyway. How that woman ever thought a human could possibly control this place, let alone twenty-four hours a day...

One of the wineglasses' stems snaps between my fingers; I bite off a curse, and sweep the shards into the wastebasket, then pick a bit of glass out of my finger and lick at the blood.

I've been wanting an excuse to shake down this place for a while. I've always wondered what would happen in a face-off between an angel and a vampire. And what an angel's blood tastes like.

Oh, I won't go actively picking any fights. I owe that courtesy to Riff, not to that woman. But if anything happens to go too suspiciously and conveniently wrong while the humans are indulging their human need for rest, it'll be fascinating to see what happens when you pit the wrath of God against the wrath of the godless.

For tonight, it seems that his master's headstrong little sister is planning some Goth music video shoot on the rooftop. I assured him I am quite capable of supervising that. I won't damage the little minx, but she is not going to be able to run roughshod over me nearly as easily as she thinks.

Months of life around Rion has inspired me to think up several coping mechanisms for handling teenaged girls. Some of them aren't even fatal.

I wonder precisely how many of them it will take to get the message across to this one.

[next post in sequence: sakuracrisis.proboards22.com/index.cgi?board=yukiverse&action=display&thread=1065278287&start=24]

[RisuChan]

The music video group arrives on this floor from the Hargreaves conservatory:

sakuracrisis.proboards22.com/index.cgi?board=yukiverse&thread=1065278287&action=display&start=30

Anybody can jump in here from either of the groups involved - Suou, Rion, Moegi, or anyone else from this floor; Luccia, Martin, Kaine, Die, Merry, Sakura from Cain's floor...

[Crystallyne]

[Character POV: Luccia]

Wow!! I blink and stare in amazement at the main room in the top floor. I've just gotten used to the luxury of my own home, and Merry's, but this is..

This is..

Words fail me. It looks like some sultan's pleasure room, all draped in velvet, and there are crucifixes everywhere. Hanging on the wall, stitched into the design of the furniture, pictures, the list keeps going and going... Not to mention the pitch-black window tapestries. At first glance they seem almost dull compared to the rest of the room, but then I notice that they have slight glimmering crosses stitched into them with fine silver thread.

Maybe they just like the design. Or maybe Yuki-sensei "helped" them decorate. She probably loves it in here.

The noise of unloading all the equipment off the elevator into this main room has attracted various others, who must also be residents of this floor. There's two men who look just like Kaine and Die standing around watching, while a young boy close to my age, maybe 14 or 15 years old, is poking his nose into all the crates, garnering plenty of comments from Mr. Sakura. He looks like he could be a lot of fun, and I wonder how long it will take for him and Merry to get together and plot more mischief. I can tell from his eyes that he has no problems with making mischief.

I glance over at Mr. Sakura again, hearing his voice directing the tech crew. They had stopped working in order to gawk at the decor, just as I was doing. I had wanted to help unload boxes, but Martin wouldn't hear of it. Mr. Sakura had no such problems with Merry, however. He had no compunction about putting her to work with some of the lighter items. I could tell that she wasn't too pleased about it, but something stopped her from unloading the full force of her wit on Mr. Sakura. She seems wary of him.

I don't know why, Mr. Sakura seems most capable to me. A little abrupt in speech, maybe, but very capable and organized. And strong. Why, he can lift those crates with only one hand! It must be practice from unloading supplies for his lounge downstairs.

A loud thud catches my attention, and I look over just in time to see Die rip into one of the tech crew for dropping a box. I manage not to laugh as Die has to keep repeating himself, because the poor tech is just staring slack-jawed at this incredible room. My energy, which was fading so rapidly earlier, is now returning. Martin continues to be a stabilizing presence in my life, and now that he'll be here with me all night, I know I can handle this.

Catching sight of the young boy once more, the thought briefly flits through my mind that Martin and Mr. Sakura have their work cut out for them, trying to ride herd on this group.

[Crystallyne]

[Character POV: Martin]

Good God, these things weigh a ton!

It has been such a hassle, getting all that equipment up here from the first floor. And that was with the assistance of an elevator. All these crates are so heavy. What's in them, anyway, solid metal?

There is no way I would be doing this if it weren't for three things. Reason Number One: Doing Riff a favor while being able to plot murderous thoughts about Kaine. Reason Number Two: Watching Sakura in action and learning more about the "night-time" manager. It's already been an educational evening. The man is insanely strong. He can lift these crates as if they were paper, and believe me, they aren't. And Reason Number Three: Protect my sister from all the things in this building.

Yuki-san, don't think I hadn't noticed that barely half the people in this building fall under the "human" category, and even then a lot of them are monsters hiding behind a human face. I'll play your little game, but don't expect me to like it.

Luccia is still staring at the main room. I wouldn't let her touch one of those boxes, much less help unload them. Apparently Sakura had the bright idea of "inducing" Merryweather to help, in order to keep her under some kind of handle while he had to concentrate on equipment.

Judging from the look on her face, it's going to be a very long night.

I finally look around, finished with the crates for now, and for one second, it looks like I'm seeing double.

Kaine's over there and... over here too?

Apparently there are some people I need to meet, and quick. I can't go torturing the wrong Kaine, now can I?

Sakura is arguing with a seemingly-young boy about the music video. Apparently he wants to be in it too.

Wonderful. Just what we need tonight.

Just from looking at his expression, I can see that he's an adult version of Merry, with a far greater capacity at stirring up trouble. If those two get together, who knows what will happen tonight?

I head in their direction, determined to at least find out who the Kaine clone is before we make it to the roof. I don't want to think about handing all these boxes up a complete flight of stairs right now. Maybe Sakura can get some of his friends to help out, and one can only hope that they're as strong as he is.

[RisuChan]

[Character POV: Moegi]

Great! More victims! Just when I've finished applying the last set of stickers to the final batch of my Ultra Special Invitations too. They all say the same thing, so it doesn't really matter who gets which one, other than that there are eight different sticker designs and I'm proud of every last one of the little monsters.

And if enough of them get handed out to people who've read them before Sakura twigs to what's going on, he can't stop me no matter how much he growls and snarls and fumes.

I need a new T-shirt. "No I won't beg your pardon." It'd save a lot of explaining my life's philosophy if people had forewarning up front.

The little blonde from the first floor is watching me stuff people's pockets without their knowledge. She does a pretty good attempt at the narrow-eyed disapproving look; she'll make somebody a great lecturing-teacher one of these days, in about twenty years or so. In the meantime nobody's told her how hilarious it is when she's tryng so hard to be intimidating and completely not getting there because it's just impossible for anyone to be intimidating when they're that congenitally short and cute. (I should know. I gave up on 'intimidating' centuries ago. Now I mostly go for freaking the hell out of people who didn't expect cute li'l me to sprout fangs, of course, but that's another story.)

The envelope I was about to try to stash in Kaine's back pocket -- and with my background, I know quite a lot about ways of getting anything even approximately resembling currency into unexpected places in people's clothing -- gets plucked out of my hand.

The girl's glaring at me from about two feet away. I just grin at her.

"What do you think you're doing disturbing people in the middle of our video shoot?"

"Passing out invitations!" I reply, and, since she's holding one already, I tuck the next one into Kaine's waistband in its place. "Halloween costume pool party Saturday night on the rooftop! Wear a costume that's designed to come off."

Her eyes get very very wide. I'm just about to pat myself on the back for an idea that's good enough to startle a semiprofessional mischief-maker when I realize that that's not entirely why her eyes got so big.

"What did you just say?" Sakura snarls approximately half an inch from my ear.

Damned if I'll give him the satisfaction of seeing me flinch. Besides, I gave a big ol' stack of 'em to Tienlan to put in the mailboxes when he went downstairs to get today's shipments, and even if Sakura rips my head off here and now, he won't be able to stop all the invitations. ...Good ol' Tienlan. He's such a fundamentally nice guy he never stops to worry about why I'm asking him things until after it's far, far too late.

Still, I'm having a hard time keeping my teeth from chattering as I paste a somewhat sickly grin on my face and try for the bold-as-brass march-right-on-through-and-pray-he-doesn't-want-to-get-into-bloodshed-in-front-of-witnesses method of dealing with Sakura.

"Costume pool party," I tell him. "Saturday night. Sunset to whenever. Come in a costume that's meant to come off, and it's up to you what's under it for the pool..."

Sakura's eyes aren't focused anywhere in this room at the moment, and he's flexing his fingers like he wants to have my throat between them. 'Blind with outrage' is never a good sign, except for when it gives me a five-second window to sprint for the door and pray I get into the stairwell before he comes after me.

I can jump straight down at least seven floors without breaking anything too major. This might be a night much resembling the circumstances under which I discovered that ability in the first place. Ah, nostalgia.

"Later!" I tell the girl hastily, and dash for the doorway.

[Crystallyne]

[Character POV: Luccia]

Oh, dear. It looks like Mr. Sakura is getting, hmmm, upset is too mild a term. He looks very, very mad. I didn't know that Merry could make someone that mad that fast, so it must also be the boy that's with her.

I head in that general direction, since apparently Merry is about to be in trouble again, when the boy turns and dashes for the door. It barely crosses my mind how fast he is when he barrels straight into me.

Ooof!!

The impact knocks the breath out of me, and I go flying backwards (which is impressive in itself, because it's not easy to get these skirts off the ground sometimes).

Before I even know what's happening, I feel someone catch me, and I blink up at him, startled. It's that boy.

How...? Wasn't he just in front of me?

"Um, hi. My name is Luccia, and you are?" Even though he's holding me at an absurd angle, and I can't really decide how he managed to catch me, it is only ladylike to know the name of the person holding you, even if he is my age.

He's looking back behind me a little wildly, and I glance over to see Mr. Sakura and Martin both heading in our direction.

It's horrible, but I can feel my lips trembling. The laughter is bubbling up inside me, and I cover my mouth to try and keep it from escaping. The whole situation just seems hilarious to me, and as he feels me giggling, the boy looks down at me again, and a little spark of devilment lights in his eyes.

That can't be good, can it?

[RisuChan]

[Character POV: Moegi]

Oh shit, there's a human in the way... they break too easy, I'd better catch it before it hits the floor...

It's a she, and she seems bizarrely amused by the fact that Sakura is storming down on us with the wrath of the godless ready for wreaking. Better laughing than crying anyway.

She's asking something too, but right now I'm a hell of a lot more interested in my survival prospects for the next ten seconds. Gotta think of a distraction...

...distraction...

thank you, lady...

I whistle on two fingers and holler, "Yo, Sakura! Total babe alert! --Incoming!"

She doesn't have time to look too puzzled at this before I pick her up and fling her bodily at Sakura.

Then I take off headlong for the stairwell again.

I trust his reflexes to catch her, which ought to give me at least another twenty seconds of sprint time while he's busy figuring out how to get her right-side-up amid all the ruffles and skirts and stuff.

Sorry, lady -- but thanks for making yourself so convenient...

[cutelittlekitty]

The hallway is thronged with a multitude of milling people. However, they aren't milling for long. They begin pulling boxes and crates from the elevator, pressing people into the service of helping them. Not in the mood to engage in physical labor, i decide it best to make myself scarce. Since my door is only a few feet away, it is not terribly difficult to slip away unnoticed.

once in the safety of my room, i look about for something to occupy my time, and take my mind off the din from the hallway that seems to seep into my mind. The note i had read earlier from yuki-sensei had mentioned not only the fact that the woman would be abesent for some time, but also that i was to keep the others of my family out of mischif. It also promised a reward, should i manage to comply with her reqest... information about Ellone. Thinking about the letter reminds me that i haven't yet said anything to the others, though Moegi is likely to have. Still, it would be prudent to speak with Sakura about the matter. And, as he is currently in the hallway observing the commotion, now would be as good a time as any to do just that. I open the door, stepping into the hallway...

just in time to catch a bundle of cloth. As the layers of lace and frills settle, I realize I seem to have caught a young woman. She seems slightly flustered and embarassed and so, of course, I do my best to put her at ease. Raising her hand and pressing my lips softly againts its back, I comment "I had not expected to find such a rose beyond my doorway, floating through the hallway like petals on a summer wind. I trust you are undamaged?". She gives a slight nod and I set her gently on her feet, keeping an arm around her shoulders to make sure she stays that way. Looking around the teeming hallway, i note the chaos that seems to be adding to the confusion of flying bodies and equipment being moved. Moegi is sprinting towards the elevator, and Sakura is coming towards me, apparently trying to close the gap between himself and Moegi before the boy reaches the safety of the elevator. I step back, pulling the girl with me, leaving a clear path between Sakura and Moegi. I decide to wait until Sakura has dealt with the unruly youth before attempting to decipher exactly what the commotion is.

(edited... i hope. sorry for the mix up on this post, but i've tried to fix it... really sorry)

[RisuChan]

[Character POV: Sakura]

That little BASTARD--

"Yo, Sakura! Total babe alert! --INCOMING!"

My legs are long, but she's already in his hands, and yes, the little imbecile picks her up and throws her towards me--

--just in time to miss Suou's opening door and hit him full in the face with a mess of flying velvet and petticoats.

Suou with women is like fish with water; I don't spare a second thought for whether or not he'll catch her as I dodge around the pair of them and lunge for Moegi--

--who slams the fire door in my face; I skid to a stop two inches from planting my head through the door, and through the wire-laced shatter-resistant glass I can see him jump straight down the stairwell, cackling.

If I hadn't bothered to stop, I'd have torn the door straight off its hinges when I hit it, and I'm not about to do that in front of a room full of witnesses no matter how badly I want to rip the little punk's head off his neck and scour out the obviously empty skull and turn it into the ugliest brandy snifter ever devised. Unlike some people, I make a concerted effort to try to pass for human around this many witnesses.

And besides, I know where the little bastard sleeps. I have hours and hours to decide how best to make him suffer. Sooner or later, he has to come back here. If he still has three brain cells to rub together, he ought to know after this many centuries what a bad idea it is to give me time to plan my vengeance.

I lean my forehead against the door very, very carefully, resisting the urge to drive a fist straight through the reinforced steel, putting a palm very delicately against the chill of the doorframe, and no I am not going to leave scratch marks in the paint, let alone the steel.

This is NOT the time for the little blonde banshee to be pushing her luck. I smell her standing behind me. But for once, she doesn't say a word.

I never doubted she was bright. Civilized, I doubted; in possession of enough common sense to stay alive in this building I more than doubted; but I never doubted her intelligence. It takes a specialized form of near-genius to get oneself into that much mischief that unerringly...

She's still standing there. She's not saying anything, which is good for my frayed nerves, but just listening to her breathe and smelling the lavender her maid scented her cedar chest with is an obscure irritation in itself.

"What?" I snarl, without fangs, because really, they just get in the road of proper vocal expression of outrage when you need to form coherent words.

"Never mind," she says hastily, and makes a beeline back into the suite. Something knocks against the doorframe, and she yelps a little; great, another bit of trim to replace...

...something she was carrying...

...because I told her to help...

...and here I am standing in front of the door to the stairwell, since the elevator doesn't go all the way up.

With a silent snarl, I resist the urge to tear the door off its hinges anyway. I am QUITE careful to leave all major hardware intact and unwarped when I open the door and shove a doorstop into it to keep it open.

Sooner or later, the little bastard is GOING to set foot across the threshold of that door again, and he is going to regret the day he decided not to die. In the meantime, there's a farce to be held...

[Crystallyne]

[Character POV: Martin]

Who does that boy think he is? That little hellspawn had instantly placed himself on my list of "People-Who-Need-To-Be-Tortured" as soon as he placed his hands on my sister, but he has served a purpose. I have now seen what Sakura looks like in a killing rage. He may have thought that he hid his reaction, but I have had far too many years of observing people to miss the unmistakeable signs of anger.

How very, very interesting.

Anger, hah! If that was anger, then you could describe Merry as docile. Definitely something to keep in mind about Sakura, especially since he'll be in charge of the night shift. Certain actions need the cover of darkness, and I'll have to add him to my permanent "People-To-Be-Wary-Of" list now. Not that he'll stop me. I just have to keep a watch for him.

I hurry over to Luccia as fast as I can without shedding my dignity, and it seems as if she's okay. The man who looks just like Kaine had caught her, and now she's standing next to him.

"Miss Luccia? Are you all right?" Looking at her, she doesn't seem to be injured or upset. Her face is red, but that's easily attributed to being thrown across the room. It makes my blood boil just to think about it, but now is not the time to fly off the handle. They will all get retribution eventually, and the thought of planning and executing certain punishments is enough to ease my rage sufficiently for now.

Luccia nods, still slightly dazed. I look at the man standing next to her, and note how easily he poses, as if he doesn't even realize he's posing for her.

As much as it galls me to do so, I bow slightly to him before speaking.

"Thank you. I truly appreciate your care of Miss Luccia. I am Martin, and I serve Miss Luccia and her brother Master Julian as butler. May I inquire as to who you are?"

Very good, none of my emotions are present in my voice. Besides, as of yet, this man has done nothing more than keep Luccia from being hurt, so I must have a name to differentiate him from that insolent cad of a singer.

[Crystallyne]

Character POV [Luccia]

"Yo, Sakura! Total babe alert! --Incoming!" What? Is this boy calling me a 'babe'?

Whoa!

One second I'm on the ground, staring up at him, and the next second, I'm flying through the air! The room seems to blur around me, all the colors blending together into a single whole. Before I can even really grasp what has happened -he couldn't have really just THROWN me across the room, could he?- I suddenly slam against another person, who actually manages to catch me. My skirts and all the various layers of cloth on my body have fluttered all over the place, and it takes a second for the person holding me to actually find me among my clothing. I glance up at the man just in time to feel a gentle brush of contact against my hand.

Oh, dear. I know I'm blushing, I can feel the heat rise up onto my cheeks. The man who caught me looks up at me as he kisses my hand, and I can't help but notice how strikingly he resembles Kaine. I still feel dazed and slightly dizzy from my flight across the room, and I hear his first words through a slight buzzing in my ears.

"I had not expected to find such a rose beyond my doorway, floating through the hallway like petals on a summer wind. I trust you are undamaged?"

Wow. What a line, and combined with the intense look in his eyes, I almost believe that he truly finds my safety to be of utmost concern. Almost. And that kiss on my hand was a truly effective gesture, but I can't help but compare his kiss to Cain's and find it lacking. I'm dizzy from being thrown across the room, whereas Cain's kiss was what made me faint previously. I'm still embarrassed to think of that, though. I can't seem to form words right now, so I nod to the gentleman, and he sets me down. I feel like my knees are going to buckle and give out on me at any second, but fortunately for me, the man keeps an arm around my shoulders to support me. He pulls me back a step, and I look up to see two interesting sights. Mr. Sakura is chasing the boy who had thrown me, and Martin is doing his utmost to run over to me without actually running. I still feel slightly weak, so I lean against my rescuer, and the arm that's on my shoulders slides down to encircle my waist, still supporting me.

"Miss Luccia? Are you all right?" I can tell, Martin is angry. Of course, I was just thrown across the room. It was definitely an interesting experience. I nod to Martin, hoping he'll be civil. I need him to get through the video shoot, which hasn't really even started yet.

Martin looks me over, and I find it very interesting that the man standing next to me moves his arm from around my waist before Martin notices it. It's funny, really. Maybe he has a lot of experience in dealing with angry, protective older brothers. Martin bows slightly to him, then asks him the question I haven't got around to voicing yet.

"Thank you. I truly appreciate your care of Miss Luccia. I am Martin, and I serve Miss Luccia and her brother Master Julian as butler. May I inquire as to who you are?"

I smile slightly at Martin. His tone is even, his manners perfect. No one but me can tell that he's angry. And that anger could very well be directed towards the young boy, not the man at my side. A soft, richly toned voice interrupts my thoughts.

"My name is Suou, and it was truly a pleasure to catch such a delicate blossom as Miss Luccia. I must apologize for Moegi's behavior. He hasn't yet learned that women are fragile and meant to be treasured."

Wow. What an incredible voice! I was too disoriented to really notice it a moment ago, but now that the world isn't spinning rapidly around me, I can hear Mr. Suou clearly. And he certainly has a way with words.

"Moegi? Oh, is that the boy who- um, who-" I don't know how to gracefully finish that question, but Mr. Suou immediately takes my hand again and smoothly interrupts.

"Yes, dear Lady Luccia. Moegi is the one who was holding you, but unfortunately he suffered a temporary loss of sense in letting you go. Any sane man would hold on to an exquisite example of beauty once he has it in his arms, however undeserving those arms may be."

Wow, again. Mr. Suou can certainly compliment a lady very well. If I wasn't already in love, it might have actually had an effect on me. Martin looks askance at him for a moment, then apparently accepts Mr. Suou's brazen flattery as a matter of course. He clears his throat, then bows again before speaking.

"I also apologize for my rudeness. I was slightly confused, and for a moment mistook you for a member of the band currently setting up for their music video right now. His name is Kaine, and you two look very similar." Martin smiles briefly at Suou as he continues, "I wouldn't want to mistakenly bring you up to the rooftop instead of the lead singer, now would I?"

I catch sight of Merry passing behind Martin at that very second, and it's just my bad luck that she happens to hear that joking comment. She stops abruptly and turns to piercingly inspect Mr. Suou, a calculating look on her face. I can hear the thoughts tumbling rapidly about in her head. Oh, no. This is not good. I need a distration.

"Merry! Are you still helping unload all those heavy boxes? I thought Mr. Sakura had taken care of that." Even as I speak, I can tell it's too late. Her eyes light up, and I just sigh and wait for the next idea drop down on us.

"Mr. Sakura seems rather busy right now, and I don't want to disturb him. This box is really heavy, but I told him I'd help..." Merry lets her arms tremble slightly, and of course, turns an angelic face towards Martin and Mr. Suou. Mr. Suou immediately strides over to her side and takes the box from her, setting it lightly on the floor.

"How can I resist a damsel in distress? Such heavy labor is not intended for ladies, especially beautiful ladies such as yourself. May I have the honor of learning your name?"

Merry is such a schemer. I can tell she's planning something, and of course, Mr. Suou isn't helping me out at all. He's far too chivalrous for his own good.

"My name is Merryweather Hargraeves. Very pleased to meet you, Mr.- ?"

"Where are my manners? Merry, this is Mr. Suou, he lives up here also. He was kind enough to catch me earlier." If I was hoping for that distraction to actually work, I was just setting myself up for disappointment. Merry definitely has another idea.

"Wonderful! Mr. Suou, thank you so much for offering to carry that box for me. Would you like to come up to the rooftop with us too? I'm sure we can find a suitable part for you in the video as well! It'll be great, I can see it now. You could be a stunt double for Kaine! You could even-" Merry's voice trails away as she almost drags Mr. Suou towards the door. I just watch in bemusement as Mr. Sakura and Mr. Suou have a whispered conversation, and it looks as if Mr. Sakura is angry about something. Obviously, Mr. Suou wins, and Mr. Sakura starts getting everyone moving up the stairs to the roof, all loaded down with equipment.

"Luccia? Are you alright?" Martin whispers softly to me in the confusion, and I smile at him reassuringly.

"Yes, Martin, I'm fine. Don't you think you better help Mr. Sakura before Merry gets it into her head to drag everyone in the whole building into this video?" I finally get a smile out of Martin, even if it's only a rueful one, and he joins in the group, carrying boxes up the stairs. As I follow the technicians, hearing Merry's excited chatter ahead of me, I can only wonder what else she'll think up.