I felt my mouth moving open and close as I tried to think of something to say. I couldn't do it. I couldn't kiss her. Now Yumi would be… I swallowed as my eyes met Luna's. A flicker of hurt flashed across her face.

She leaned towards me and stood on her toes. I felt her lips pressing against mine for a brief second before she moved back quickly, turning her head away. Her hair brushed against my face as she dashed towards the door hiding her face. I heard a soft clatter as the knife fell from her grip hitting the cold hard surface of the floor.

"L-Luna…" I called hesitantly raising a hand towards her. She ignored me and the sound of the door closing slammed in my ears. My legs were frozen and I could feel the back of my shirt soaking up in sweat. She was gone.

Accompanying the darkness, an eerie stillness enveloped the house. I could only hear my ragged breathing coming out in puffs. I wondered where Luna was going… then I shook my head. First of all, I had to get Yumi out of here. It was my fault that she had gotten into this mess in the first place.

I tore my eyes away from the door that Luna had disappeared into and looked down at Yumi's unconscious form. My eyes had adjusted to the darkness and my mind seemed to be slowly getting back in track. From the looks of it, it looked like Yumi might have been taken from her bedroom in the middle of the night. She was wearing what I presumed to be girl's nightwear. I really hoped that Luna hadn't hurt her.

I pulled off the layers of plastic wraps that Luna had wound around her and picked her up from the table.

"It's going to be okay..." I breathed softly as I gently pulled Yumi onto my back. I felt my heart skip a beat as her chest pressed against my back and my face reddened instinctively. What the hell was I thinking about at this time? I needed to get her back home safely!

"Come on Ryo, snap out of it." I muttered to myself. I carried her out of the house on my back and squinted up at the round moon illuminating down on us. The night was lit with stars and the sky seemed to shine mysteriously down on us. It was quite a sight.

"… beautiful..." Yumi whispered into my ears and I glanced back at her. Her face was pale and her eyes seemed to gaze into mine with a drained look but I could see a small smile on her face. "Hi Ryo…"

"H-hey." I answered softly. She closed her eyes again and I felt her head lying down on my shoulder. I began walking in the direction of Yumi's house and I glanced back again making sure she was okay. I could make out dark red marks across the front of her neck. It looked like Luna had tried to strangle her. I flinched.

When I finally got to her house, I paused looking up at her unlit house. No one seemed to be awake and I wasn't sure how I was going to sneak Yumi back into her bedroom without looking suspicious. I wonder how Luna did it. I crept silently around the house peering through the windows in a desperate attempt to find Yumi's room. There was a room that seemed to be decorated with girlish objects on the upper floor but I wasn't sure. At this rate I would have to bring her back to my flat... damn it. It will never work, what the hell would her parents do if they found out she had disappeared in the middle of the night?

I clenched my teeth tight. I had to do it somehow. If Luna could do it... I flicked my eyes towards the tree that seemed to extend towards the upper room. That will have to do. I pulled Yumi closer towards me and put on a determined look. I walked towards the tree and studied the surface thoroughly, making notes of the branches sticking out and various dents on the surface. After making a mental image of how I would climb the tree, I took a breath and placed a feet on the surface. Time to do it.

It took a while but I managed to climb on to the upper branch that extended towards her room. All that was left was to go through the window and hope it was unlocked. I kept my balance still as I walked across the branch with Yumi on my back. I could hear her breathing on to my ear and my heart pounded loudly against my chest. God knows what would happen if the branch collapsed and we both fell down from this height.

I breathed a sigh of relief as we reached the end of the branch and I pulled open the window. Unlocked.

"We're here, Yumi." I murmured under my breath. I pushed us through the window and stepped in to the carpet of the room. The strong fragrance of a girl's room instantly filled my nose and I breathed the scent in dreamily, I just wanted to fall down and sleep. Wearily I walked towards her bed and laid Yumi down softly onto the bed, pulling the covers over her. "Goodnight."

I took one last look at her peaceful sleeping face before making my way out through the window and climbing back down the tree. I almost slipped off in the last few steps and the fright jolted me back awake. Don't fall asleep, Ryo. Not yet.

After leaving Yumi's house, I made my long journey back home in a half awake, half asleep state of mind. By the time I reached my place, the sun was beginning to rise and I could see a faint bluish colour etching across the sky as the stars began to clear. What a night. I unlocked the door to my apartment and somehow managed to lock the door behind me before falling onto my bed and slipping instantly to sleep.

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I woke up in the afternoon missing school all together. I yawned rubbing my eyes as I pulled myself out of the bed.

After going through the morning ritual, I threw on a shirt and a pair of pants before sitting down on the kotatsu table with a drowsy feeling. I tried to collect my thoughts and think about what to do.

So Luna was missing again after threatening Yumi's life and it was obvious that I had to do something about it. I now knew where she lived… another thought came to mind. Was it really her house? I couldn't remember anything in the house that showed that she actually lived there. The room she had put me in was plain and undecorated. There were no family pictures or personal belongings in the house, and just where the hell were her parents?

Drowned in thoughts, I picked up the television remote and pointed it at the television screen absent-mindedly. A new drama was playing, this must be what Eiji was talking about in class the other day. After the episode finished, I switched off the television and looked up at the time. It was already getting close to sunset. I guess school would have finished by now.

Let's see if Eiji had called. I stood up and was about to walk into my bedroom when I froze. My phone… it was at Luna's house. I remembered she had left it on the counter yesterday. Images of last night flashed in my mind and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. I would have to go to her house and get it back… There was no other choice.

I grabbed my wallet and a coat before leaving my apartment and heading for Luna's place. The walk took only a while and when I arrived the sun was still up. I stopped behind another street and scanned the area thoroughly for anything suspicious before proceeding ahead. It just looked like a normal neighbourhood from here and Luna's house seemed to blend in perfectly with the rest of the houses.

I took a deep breath and walked anxiously into the front steps of her house, stopping at her door to take another breath. The neighbourhood was extremely quiet, there was not even a single insect crying or a bird chirping. I raised a shaky hand and touched the knuckles of my hands against the cold sturdy wood. Too soft. I knocked again, this time, loud enough to make a noise. I waited for a minute straining my ears to hear the sounds of footsteps but there was no response.

"L-Luna," I called shakily, "I left my phone at your house…"

I waited for another minute but again there was no response. I decided to knock one more time before just forgetting about it. When my hand hit the wooden surface of the door, I heard a soft creak and I jumped back startled by the noise. The door had slightly opened and it took me a while before I realised that it had been unlocked the whole time. Maybe she hadn't even gotten back home yet. I couldn't remember if I had locked the door before I left last night.

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"Luna?" I called again as I slowly pushed opened the door, walking in to the darkness. I found the switch on the wall and flicked the lights on, closing the door behind me. I saw my phone on the counter where Luna had placed it and I walked towards the counter.

What happened next took me completely by surprise. I heard the sounds of rapid footsteps coming my way for a split second before someone grabbed me by the throat and slammed me against the wall on the side. The force of my skull hitting against the wall knocked my vision out and all I could see was a hazy red for a good few seconds.

I could hear the person talking to me but I couldn't make out any words, just a loud ringing noise inside my ears. I felt their grip loosening on my throat and I fell down on my knees hitting the floor gasping for air.

"—are you? Where is she?" I heard the voice saying as my vision gradually recovered. I felt blood trickling down from the back of my head and I raised a hand rubbing the sides of my neck. I couldn't think properly and when they pulled me back up to my feet, I saw a girl around Luna's age with light skin and a pair of vividly emerald eyes looking at me. She had light blue hair that went down below her shoulders and she wore a long jumper falling over a short skirt and black stockings.

She was really pretty.

"Who are you?" The girl repeated in an unhappy tone. I could see she was getting frustrated as apparently I wasn't the one she was aiming for but I sort of had an idea who her actual target was.

"I'm… uh…" Quick! Think, Ryo! Think! I opened my mouth and said the first thing that came to mind. "Are you interested in a subscription for the Asahi Shimbun?" The Asahi Shimbun was a newspaper.

I had no idea why I said that. The girl tilted her head slightly to the left and looked at me with a confused look. I felt a sweat roll down my temple.

"Look, uh I'm sorry about intruding into your house like that but the door was unlocked and I was just worried that something was going on…" I drifted off looking into her eyes praying for a miracle. There was no doubt this girl was after Luna and for all I know she could be as strong as Ichiro. I had to buy some time before she came back.

"Aren't you supposed to have a business card?" She asked doubtfully. I noticed the colour of her eyes growing dull as she moved back giving me some space.

"I, uh-"

At that moment, the door flew open and I saw a figure shrouded in a dark tattered cloak walking in. The figure pulled down his hood and I felt my heart drop. It was Ichiro.

"Ichiro." The girl said moving her attention away from me. "What are you doing here?"

Ichiro looked at her for a second with a solemn expression before glancing towards my direction. Oh no, I'm going to die now. He looked back at the girl. "Mayu… I thought I told you, I would take care of Luna."

The girl called Mayu looked at Ichiro with a disbelieving look before laughing. "You don't honestly think that I'm just going to sit back and watch after you've already tried and failed."

"Mayu, you won't defeat Luna." Ichiro said bitterly. He glanced back in my direction. "And that boy—"

"Shut up, Ichiro! I will be the one to bring Luna back!" Mayu pouted angrily clenching her fists. I could see her eyes growing back to the vividly emerald colour I had seen before. "You don't know anything!!"

Her voice exploded on the last note and it echoed in the empty house. I heard the sounds of birds flying away outside. Ichiro waited for complete silence before he slowly took a step forward. I saw him place a hand down on the handle of his katana. "I'll let this go if you leave now."

Oh good, now we could get out of here before Ichiro actually got serious.

Mayu smiled. "I've been waiting to kick your ass for a while now actually."

I couldn't believe it. Was she serious? I turned my head towards Mayu in disbelief and saw her smiling. Ichiro pulled out his blade slowly and the sound of metal scratching against metal pierced the air. Mayu didn't even flinch. When his blade was drawn, Ichiro gave Mayu a stern glare.

"You know I don't go easy on anyone." He said coldly.

"Good…" Mayu said walking across her side, her eyes watching Ichiro. "Cause I don't either!"

She flicked a kitchen knife out of its case from the counter of the table and leaped forwards catching the knife in the air as she did so. Ichiro slashed his blade quickly across his side but Mayu swerved under the blow, throwing the knife up towards his chin. He stepped back and Mayu dashed away from the backslash that followed Ichiro's step. A table on the side was sliced into pieces as his katana collided.

Mayu rolled under another sweeping stroke and managed to get behind Ichiro. She ripped the knife across his shoulder and blood splattered across the floor along with the motion of her knife. She jumped back before Ichiro could retaliate. I could see a short gash across his shoulder but he showed no signs of pain.

I had no idea what I was supposed to do. The door was over to their side and I didn't want to risk becoming sashimi by running across in the middle of their fight. Mayu ran forward, throwing the kitchen knife ahead and pulling out her own knife from behind her skirt. Ichiro stepped to his side avoiding the kitchen knife and Mayu threw herself over his head with a jump, lashing out at his neck as she did so. The kitchen knife she threw bounced off the wall and landed in front of me.

She missed his neck and landed behind him. Her feet slipped on impact and she took a split second to catch herself. "Shit—"

Not missing his chance, Ichiro raced backwards and swung his katana across her legs. She jumped over the blade but fell back down as her left feet got caught in the strike. I heard her petite body crashing into the floor as blood flew into the air. Ichiro towered over her and picked her up by the throat. She tried slashing at his hand but he hurled her across the room before the blade could connect and she slammed into my side of the room with a loud bang.

Mayu pulled herself out of the wall, coughing blood and Ichiro lunged for her. She dived under him just in time and kicked him into the wall before retreating a few steps back clutching her wounded leg. I could see a deep gash where Ichiro's blade had struck, severing her movement greatly.

Ichiro flung away from the wall and towards Mayu posing his katana in front of him. She defended the blow with her knife, tearing herself away from him. A loud piercing noise erupted from Ichiro's katana and I remembered that his blade vibrated with every hit it made. He slashed upwards into the ceiling and the lights were cut off. Darkness instantly filled the room. I heard Mayu let out a sharp cry and something was flung across the room. I could hear objects being thrown around as the two battled it out but my eyes weren't adjusted to the darkness yet. Just what the hell was going on?

The lights flickered on for a second igniting sparks from above and I could see that Ichiro had caught Mayu by the throat again, this time her knife was on the floor. There was a new cut across the side of Ichiro's neck but it wasn't deep enough to cause any serious damage. She was lifted off her feet by just Ichiro's left hand and she struggled desperately in the air to break the grip.

"Almost." Ichiro said emotionlessly touching his neck. He tightened his grip across Mayu's neck and I heard her gasping as saliva dribbled down her chin. This continued on for about a few more seconds before my mind snapped back awake. She was actually going to die! Ichiro wasn't letting go and it seemed there was nothing she could do. I could see the life slipping out of her emerald eyes as they grew duller.

I didn't know what I was thinking. All that I knew was that this girl was about to die if I didn't do anything. I picked up the kitchen knife that she had thrown on to the floor and ran for Ichiro.