Hello once again, all.

Before I get going on another speal about this story and my other book, I would like to give a very big THANK YOU to my editor Mak Hearts. She has put so much time and patients into "Alex's Story", "Dakota's Story", and "Steve's Story" to help me get it to being the perfect version that it is today. It has been a very long year working on the same 4 pieces of work over and over again, and without her I don't think I would have had the courage to continue working on them. So once again, I would like to say thank you to her.

Just wanted to say a few words as to why I wrote this story. As some of you may know, my first completed novel "Ayame's Story" was once written in third person, so it had a whole bunch of different points of view in it. Well as I finally went back to look at it and edit it, I decided to change it to only one person. I changed it so that it was only through Ayame's view. But while I was reading some of the reviews from the original version of "Ayame's Story" I discovered that some of you had wanted to read more about Alex, Steve, and Dakota, so when I was done rewriting "Ayame's Story" so that I was happy with it, I went and wrote three different stories, "Alex's Story", "Dakota's Story", and "Steve's Story". Now they all may be essentially the same story, but their all through someone else's point of view, there for you're not getting "Ayame's Story" through someone else's eyes, but you're also getting their input on what happened. Now while I was writing these three stories, I had an idea, and that idea was to create a book just for these stories and other stories that came into my head that were short stories and all involving my world that I have now introduced you all too. That book essentially became "Missing Pieces" and while I put stories together to create this book, I'll let you all see it. Now, I wont be putting this book into publication for at least 7 years, do to some of the stories being apart of a book that I have already published, and in that contract with that book, I can't publish those stories through anyone else for 7 years, the only difference between the stories I have published-the published book is called "Remorse A Collection of short stories" by the way and it is available to order through Amazon, Publishamerica on line book store, and other sites for those who are interested-and the ones that I am posting in this book is simple, I'm actually going through and fixing some things up in those stories, and I'll tell you all about that process when I post those stories. In the mean time I hope you enjoy "Steve's Story". Don't forget to review when you get to the end.

A warning to all potential thieves, this work is copyright 2011 Kassandra Duric*****Steve's Story is completely the work of Kassandra Duric, to reproduce under any other name is theft!****

Steve's Story

"Welcome back, my Lord. Did you enjoy your hunt?" I asked, walking up to meet the tall handsome man, after descending a set of spiraling stairs. I had been upstairs tending a few of the servants who had made a mess of the bathroom as they tried to bring another "pet" into the house. The poor Tamaharan looked, and smelled, utterly terrified. My Lord was dressed in a formal black suit and tie, though the white dress shirt was stained with blood from his hunt. You could see a few lines of blood running down his chin from where it had dropped from a victim's body and onto the shirt. His long black hair that reached the base of his back, was tied into a ponytail with a red ribbon. It was a little more ruffled up than what it was when he had left at the beginning of the night, but compared to what most Yamashimas look like after a hunt, it still looked quite elegant. His face was long, yet rounded at the same time, with emerald green eyes.

"Of course I did." my lord said, almost insulted. "Now, help me get changed, Steven. Then we shall deal with our new addition."

I looked at the young woman draped over his shoulder. She was in a brown dress covered with blood, and her own long black hair nearly touched the floor. Her feet were bare but for the mud that covered the bottoms of them. I tried to look at her face, but with her head hanging limp against my Lord's back, I couldn't see any of her features.

"Of course, my Lord. We have your pajama bottoms lying on your bed," I said, following him up the spiral stairs towards one of the empty bedrooms. This was one of the many rooms that were used for either a spare room for guests, or a room for additions to the house. "Shall I call the painter and have him prepare for an addition to your wall?"

"Not yet, Steven. We'll do that in the morning," he replied. "Are the bottoms my red silk ones?"

"But of course, my Lord. I laid them out myself."

"Very well. Have one of the girls bathe our new addition. Put her in one of their nightdresses, and be sure to throw out these rags she wears."

"Of course, my Lord. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"After you have the girls take care of her," he dropped the girl on the empty bed, "come see me in my quarters. I have a treat for you."

I bowed low at the waist. "Of course, my Lord. I'll get this taken care of and be right with you."

I watched him leave the room, shutting the door behind him. I turned to a separate door on the other side of the room and opened it to find two young ladies, dressed in long red silk nightdresses. "Get this girl cleaned and bathed. Put her in one of your nightgowns for the night, and then lend her some of your clothes in the morning. My Lord will send you out tomorrow to do some shopping and get the poor girl some clothes of her own."

"Yes, my Lord. Right away, my Lord," the two maids said, overlapping each other, as they rushed to the girl's side.

Being my Lord's favorite, I was entitled to the title of "Lord" from the other servants in the house. I was the one who tended to the house while my Lord was out on business or on his hunts, as had happened this night.

I stayed to watch them dispose of the filthy dress the girl was wearing. Though it was still too early to tell if her body would accept the change, I was still able to see her skin going from a dark tan, to a pearly white as the blood of my Lord took over her body.

I walked down the hall towards a pair of large red double doors. I knocked and waited for my lord to call me in. When he did, I pushed the doors open, walked through, and shut them behind me.

Turning back around, I walked down a long corridor, with paintings of my Lord's victims covering the walls on both sides, and then I walked into his bedroom. It was a very elegant room with a four poster bed up against the wall. There were red curtains mostly surrounding the bed, except for the side that he was sitting on, where they were tied to the bedposts, up against the far wall. The room was filled with a rich lavender and vanilla scent, two of My Lord's favorite scents. The walls were painted deep scarlet, and if you looked at them for a long period of time, it looked as if the walls were actually dripping with blood. Beside the bed sat a night table made of dark oak. Sitting on top of the night table, laid a large golden ring with a red ruby, handed down to him by his creator, naming him his successor to his chair in the council of Elders.

"It took you long enough to get here, Steven," my lord said. He had already thrown on his pajama bottoms, and he had no shirt on.

"My apologies, my Lord," I said with another low bow from the waist.

"Come here, Steven."

I walked over to my lord's bed and sat on the edge. He reached over and put a hand on the back of my head, pulling me into a passionate kiss.

I awoke as the moon shone through my window. I sat up in my bed, alone, and rubbed my hands over my face and through my short messy hair. I let my hands fall between my legs and sighed. Not much longer now, I thought, throwing my blankets to the side. I swung my legs over the edge of my bed and got up. I went to the closet and pulled out a pair of blue jeans and a white wife beater, then stripped out of my white pajama bottoms.

I quickly got dressed and walked to the washroom as I fastened my studded belt. I looked in the mirror as I brushed my hair back with a small sigh. Sometimes I missed my long hair, but in today's society if a man was caught with hair down to his waist, pulled back in a ponytail, people would think that he was weird, not that I was seen by a lot of people who weren't Yamashimian, it was just me keeping up with the times. I had cut it short in the early fifties, and as the years went on, I learned how to style it in all sorts of different ways. I reached over to the medicine cabinet and pulled out a tube of gel, squirting some on my hand. I rubbed my hands together then started to run my fingers through my hair, gently spiking the ends.

Steve… my Lord called for me in my head.

Yes, my Lord?

I think it's time for you to go wake up my favorite.

Yes, my Lord. Right away. My Lord had access to my mind whenever he felt like intruding. Even after he replaced me with a female as his favorite, I didn't build a barrier around my mind like others around my age usually did.

I clenched my hands into fists and sent one of them through the mirror. "Damn it!" I hissed, shaking my bloody knuckles. I stuck them in my mouth and started to suck the blood so it would scab up faster as I walked out the bathroom to finish getting ready. I didn't want to make him wait too long.

I walked down the hall, strapping my gun in its holster, attached to my belt at the back of my pants, and headed to Ayame's room. Stupid bitch! Why'd I have to wind up being her slave? Couldn't it have been one of the other girls? I thought, pushing people out of my way. The hall was a small area, just wide enough for five people to walk side by side. On either side were doors leading to other rooms where the other servants of my Lord slept during the day. They were slowly appearing for their nightly chores. Where there wasn't a door, there was a painting of either a landscape or of some animal. My Lord loved his paintings. The first thing those who come to the house and take the tour my Lord pushes on his visitors, notice are all the paintings scattered along the walls. There were even a few paintings that hadn't made it to the walls, and were rested carefully on the floor, leaning against the wall it was to go on.

"Ayame? Ayame!" I yelled as I got closer to her room. She should have been up by now.

I knocked on her door as a warning before I opened it and looked around the room. When my eyes finally fell on her, she was sitting on her bed, wrapped up in her blanket. She wasn't the prettiest girl I'd ever seen, but she was one of the better looking ones in the house, that was for sure. She was about five foot seven inches with jet black hair down to her waist. Her skin was a pearly white, making her lips look as if they were stained with bright red lipstick. The dark rings around her eyes, told me she hadn't eaten in a while. Just as a Tamaharan will have black circles and sunken faces from malnutrition, or lack of sleep, a Yamashiman will undergo the same effects, though our death is much more painful when we die from malnutrition. This was the longest time she had gone without food since she'd arrived. I think she was going on something like two months now. It was disturbing, how she could just starve herself like that.

"My Lord is looking for you," I said, once I finally got my thoughts organized. I shut the door as she started to rise from the bed, letting the blanket slide down her body and exposing her flesh to the cool air. I turned my head slightly so I wouldn't be caught staring. No wonder my Lord liked her so much.

"Well, my Master can wait a few more minutes," she said. "Can you be a dear and hand me my underwear from the first drawer in the dresser?"

"I guess…I can," I stuttered, reaching over to open the drawer. Why the hell was I stuttering? I should be used to this by now; this was something she did to me every morning. Stupid bitch. I was still getting over her last fuck up, the one the last time she had gone a long time without feeding. I had cleaned it up just like every other fuck up she'd had. You'd think she would have learned by now she can't go days, let alone weeks or months, without feeding like she does without fucking up. I didn't know why she decided to starve herself, but I wished she wouldn't so I wouldn't have to deal with the consequences.

The most recent time she had wound up in Tamahara territory and murdered a family of five. This wasn't any longer than a year or two ago. She drained their blood and ripped them apart. Heads were literally rolling by the time I had gotten there. I had to call in the help of a friend of mine that lived in the territory to alter the memories of everyone in the neighborhood, even the police, but it seemed the family that Ayame had killed had other family members who lived in other parts of the Tamaharan territory and wouldn't accept that the father of the family Ayame had killed, had brutally murdered his family then committed suicide. That was the verdict of what happened after my friend tampered with the authority's memories.

"Thank you," Ayame said as she slipped into the thong and matching bra, which she had grabbed from the top of a pile of dirty clothes.

I turned my back to her and walked around the room, fingering the little trinkets she treasured. Soon, they'll be no more.

"Can you hurry up, Ayame?" I asked, losing my patience with her carelessness.

"What is the hurry?" she asked as she put her black leather pants on.

"I don't feel like getting yelled at." And that was the truth. Every time she took her sweet ass time, I was the one to get punished. It wasn't fair. I can't wait 'til things are back to normal. I frowned.

"Then I will just have to kill him and carry our plan out faster than scheduled." She put her white spaghetti strap tank top on and turned around to look at me as she pulled the hem of the shirt down to the bottom of her ribcage, making her breasts look larger than they actually were.

I blushed when I found myself looking at her breasts. I hated women that were like that, constantly flaunting their body around. It's as if women like her just want to be raped or something. Why my Lord keeps so many sluts around the house is far beyond me.

A couple of years ago, I agreed to help Ayame start a rebellion against our Lord. I mainly did this to try to get more information on her to give my Lord a reason to kill her. I told her that I was tired of being treated like crap by my Lord, and while that wasn't a lie, if it wasn't for her then I wouldn't be treated this way in the first place. We had discussed how we would go about doing something about this, and determined that we would probably have to kill my Lord to get out of his control. I decided then that if this plan was actually carried out, I would jump in front of her bullet if I had to. His life was very important to me, more important than my own. To get some more time to work out my own plans, I convinced her that it would be best to gather more followers before we tried to do anything. So far she had managed to recruit five more that could be trusted, but I convinced her that that was not enough, and that she should continue looking. She never could get more than five followers. Anytime she came close, I would report the older ones to my Lord for him to dispose of.

"The sooner I get out of here, the better." She put on her black knee-high boots and did up the zippers.

That's right. The sooner you're out of here the better, and I'll have my spot by my Lord's side again.

"True."

"I will not get killed, if that is what you think," she said flatly as she strapped her gun holsters to her thighs and strapped the guns in.

I swear my Lord has gone insane. He encouraged all of his servants to carry a weapon of some sort on them and he didn't care what it was or what it was loaded with. If he ever caught one of his servants without a weapon they were soon disposed of. He encouraged this of everyone, even those who openly defied him and wanted him dead. Along with my gun, I carried a couple throwing knives hidden on the sides of my belt, and a hunting knife on the right handed side of my belt, the best way to hide something was out in the open.

"Good. Now let's get going." I forced a smile and turned to walk out the door.

"Okay."

We walked in silence. We were about halfway to my Lord's room before she spoke.

"Steve?"

"Hmmm?" I asked as I came to a stop, looking over my shoulder at her.

"How long…have we known each other?" she asked, stopping where she was before she ran into me, and then returned her gaze to the floor. "How long have we helped each other?" she added quickly. "How long have we been as close as we are now?" she lifted her head and I was surprised to find that her eyes were filled with fear. Why is she so scared?

She must know what's coming. I felt smug. Those were good questions, though. How long had we known each other?

"Well I've been helping you since just after you got here," I started to answer, looking up at the ceiling as I sorted things out in my mind. "We didn't quite get to know each other until you had been here about ten years. We started to become close friends around five years later." I turned to look at her, slightly curious. "Why do you ask?"

"I…do not know. I just…I just do not feel right, right now. I feel as if something bad is going to happen today," she said quietly, lowering her head again.

I gritted my teeth, slowly walked over, and wrapped my arms around her, holding her close. "Everything will be fine. I'll stay with you. I'll stay with you through thick and thin, I promise," I forced out in a calm and soothing tone.

"I know," she replied, wrapping her arms around me, pulling me into a tighter embrace. "Thank you, my friend."

Friend, hah!

I forced another smile and kissed the top of her head. "Now," I said as I moved my head against hers so that I was looking down at her, "let's get going."

She nodded, lifted her head, and let go of me. She wiped away the tears that had fallen from her eyes.

I smiled and took a hold of her hand as we walked down the hall. Soon, very soon it will all be over.

Once we got to my Lord's bedroom door, we stood there in silence. I don't know what she was doing, but I know I was looking at those blood red doors, wishing it was me that was walking through them, down his hall, and towards his bed, and not her.

"Well," she said, breaking the silence, "here I go."

"Call for me if you need me, I'll be right here." I gave her one last hug. Though, I hope she doesn't call me, I hope that my Lord kills her for me.

She nodded and returned the hug. "I am glad I have you as a friend."

I nodded before releasing her. "Get going."

She gave a soft smile and let go. "I will see you later then."

She knocked on the large blood red doors of my Lord's room and started fussing over her clothes.

"You may enter," my Lord bellowed through the door before Ayame opened them.

That should be ME! I thought, clenching my hands into fists.

I leaned back against the wall, beside a green potted hosta, and watched Ayame walk to what I hoped was her inevitable death.

I paced up and down the halls for what seemed like the hundredth time. This is taking too long. I stopped to look at the red doors that Ayame had walked through. Finally I decided to go in.

As I walked down the hall, I looked at the hundreds of pictures that covered the walls. Their frames were only a fraction of an inch apart, barely touching. I stopped at one in particular. It was of my Lord with me in the background. He was dressed in his finest black silk clothing, holding his newest victim. I was in the background, in my cloak, watching to make sure his victim didn't attack like many others had. It was like this for about twenty pictures as my Lord did his best to only change one victim a year. Sometimes it was too much for him and he would change more, like the year I was changed, but it was rare. The last one was of Ayame, but after that it was her in the background, watching, waiting; her, not me.

I felt the hatred for the two surge up again. Sure, there had been many before me however my Lord found reason to dispose of them after I took the position. He hadn't gotten rid of me when Ayame took over. Not anymore. It'll be me in the background again; me, not her.

I continued down the hall until I got to the main chamber. I looked around until I saw my Lord pushing Ayame up against the wall. Her shirt and bra were on the floor, shredded, and his mouth was over one of her breasts, with a hand wrapped tightly around her throat.

What is he doing? Horrified at the sight that I was witnessing, I pulled my gun out from my pants and aimed it at my Lord's back. "My Lord?" I asked, shakily. How could he betray me like this? How could he betray me with this slut?I had, had a small idea on what was going on when My Lord stopped calling me to his room and had started calling her, but I had convinced myself that it wasn't happening. I had convinced myself that it wasn't her that he was with but he had fancied himself with another male. I didn't want to believe that he was sleeping with Ayame instead of me.

He lifted his head and turned to me. Ayame's breast was bleeding. My Lord must have sunk his teeth in deep. Good, I hope she's suffering

"What are you…" I pulled the trigger before he got the chance to finish. The bullet hit him in the back. He let Ayame go before falling to the floor. He burst into flames and turned into a pile of ash. Two tears fell from my eyes, and ran down my cheeks. What have I done?

I turned my attention from the aftermath and towards Ayame. She was on her stomach, one hand around her neck, coughing and gasping desperately for air that she didn't need.

I put my gun away and kneeled next to her. I wanted to take her to the Elders and tell them what she had tried to do. Surely there was some sort of punishment for conspiracy. But in order to do that I would have to tell them about my Lord and his insanity, and by telling them that I would be the one killed for hiding his insanity. I didn't know what to do, so for now I'd just take her to her room. "Ayame, you okay?" She flung her arms around my neck, still gasping for air, and buried her head into my shoulder, crying.

I took off my shirt and put it on her, as best as I could, before I scooped her up into my arms.

"Thank…you…Steve…" she wheezed before passing out in my arms. My Lord must have done more damage to her innards than what was being seen to cause her to pass out. A Yamashima didn't need to breathe in order to survive.

I carried Ayame to her room, laid her on the bed, and then took her jacket off. I didn't want to wake her yet so I moved her as gently as possible. I took the wash basin off her dresser and grabbed a cloth. I wanted her to be in perfect health when I took her to the Elders, just in case they gave her the ultimate punishment, torture, and kept her alive, locked up in a cell for all to see. I thought I heard her whimper when I dabbed the wet cloth against her bleeding breast, but it must have just been either the wind or my imagination.

"I didn't think he'd try to kill you," I whispered, dropping the bloody rag back in the basin. Who am I kidding? Of course he would have tried to kill her. He hasn't been himself lately and I've been telling him about the conspiracy for a while now. The rag turned the water pink. I scanned her body. "Never noticed how beautiful you are." Too bad I have to kill you.

She groaned, and this time I was sure it wasn't my imagination.

Such a sweet sound, I thought, running my hand along her bare arm. She shifted under my touch.

I closed my eyes, remembering the first time I met her. I was fine with her at first; she showed no intentions of stealing my place. I gladly showed her the ropes, but after a year things started to change. Whether it was her fault or not, she still started to take my place, and eventually put me where I am today; her fucking slave.

She looked so peaceful, lying there on her bed, sleeping. I could kill her now, I thought, rummaging through her closet. I kept some spare clothes in there. I grabbed one of my black t-shirts and pulled it over my head before I tucked it into my pants.

I propped a hand on my hip, using the other to rub my face, my back still to her. "I could always take her away from here," I thought out loud before I realized I was vocalizing my thoughts. Take her far away and dispose of her prove to the others that I am still loyal to my Lord. I turned back around. She's heavier than she… When I looked at Ayame, I realized her eyes were wide open and she was smiling. I hadn't been expecting that. "Hi," was all I could think to say as I tried to remember when I had stopped talking out loud.

"You'd really take me away right now?"

Damn. How long has she been awake?"Of course, for your safety. They'll find the Lord dead and hunt you down." Not that that would be a problem, it'll make my job a lot easier. "If you're feeling up to it, maybe you should get dressed while I go get a few things."

I took a step towards the door, and as I opened the door I heard a scream. "The Master…He…He's dead!"

"Best hurry, Ayame!" I said as I ran out the door.

I ran down the hall. Just need to grab more weapons and a few blankets. I thought as I ran to my own room. I was almost packed when I heard rapid and frantic gunshots from down the hall.

I ran down the halls towards Ayame's room, Damn it! Can't anyone just give me a minute's rest? Sure, I knew it was going to look bad on my account for trying to protect her, but I liked the thrill of the hunt. Once I killed her, I'd just bring back the remains and prove to the household that I had killed her, gaining back my respect. What the Elders would do once they found our Lord dead was up in the air, though. It would all depend on our level of control. Those with little to no control would most likely be split up and sent to other higher level creators. Those with a high level of control would get to go off on their own, assuming they knew the rules. Of course, as a higher level, I would try my hardest to keep the weaker ones under my care, even if it was just to gain more respect and control over the household.

When I arrived at Ayame's room I was out of breath, and what I saw pissed me off. There was nothing but ash all over, though I still looked around for her body, hoping to find it. We both used bullets made with UV energy which was why there was so much ash. Ayame and I were the only ones to use them in the house, even if I used them illegally. Where is she? I thought angrily after seeing nothing of her in the room. I stormed out of her room and back down the hall towards the backdoor and headed for the forest on the other side of the fence. I'll find that stupid bitch if it's the last thing I do. I shut the gate behind me and continued walking. I knew I would only have a few hours to find her before I had to find shelter.

I few hours later found a cave I could take shelter in, not caring if it was already spoken for. By the time I reached the back, everything on my body that wasn't covered was badly blistered from the sun. I sat down and started to pop the blisters that I could reach to remove any liquid inside so they would heal faster, a trait that I received from my Lord when he first changed me.

I looked out the entrance of the cave for a long time, just sitting there with my head resting against the cave wall. My left leg was stretched out in front of me and my right arm was rested on my propped up right leg.

I don't know how long I sat there before I fell asleep, but when I woke up, it was to someone kicking me in the shin. I opened my eyes and looked up at a tall muscular guy, wearing all black, including a black trench coat with removable sleeves. His arms were crossed over his chest. His dark brown hair went down to his shoulders, and from what I could see, his shirt was tight and clung to his muscles. It was tucked into his black jeans that were held up with a black felt military belt with a silver clasp in the middle. On his feet was a pair of black cowboy boots.

I looked back up to his face after scanning his nice body. "Who are you?"

"I'll ask the questions around here," he said, pulling a small dagger out from the sleeve of his trench coat. "And when I'm satisfied and choose not to kill you, then you may have your chance to speak."

I nodded my head, keeping my eyes on the silver blade. The blade was silver all the way down to the ricasso where it turned to a white gold. The guard was a yellow gold. From what I could see of the grip, it was wrapped in some sort of black material; what was beneath the material was beyond me, and the pommel was a red ruby. He must have stolen that from an Elder. Any other Yamashimian would have assumed that he was either an Elder himself or someone in line to become an Elder, but I knew otherwise. My Lord had been in line to become an Elder, and I had met others, including a few Elders directly, and none of them smelled of animal blood, or lived in a cave, they all had giant mansions or castles. All the Elders had something distinct that signified their position. I didn't know how it was determined what they got when they were appointed, but what they get was a display of their strength. The shinier and more expensive the object, the stronger the elder was. The more dangerous the object was, the weaker the elder was. I was surprised that the Elders hadn't caught up with him already. If he had killed an Elder instead of being killed by one, then he would have automatically taken that Elder's spot for being the stronger of the two.

"Now, who are you?" he asked.

"My name is Steven, loyal servant of my deceased Lord, Lord Michael Alexander," I recited. Not all Yamashimas were required to recite such a phrase. Usually it's the older Yamashima, like me, who recite something along those lines. Lord Alexander had been a Lord in both Tamaharan and Yamashiman years. He was in line to inherit his creator's position as Elder, until he killed his creator. He got lucky and was only given a warning from the Elders. If a Yamashima gains enough power, they may challenge their creator for control over their own actions, and if they win, their creator releases them from their hold and the young one can go off on his or her own. Because My Lord was at this point, the Elders agreed to mask the murder as a challenge instead. He was warned at the time if he were to do anything else that was of a severe matter, he would be disposed of without hesitation. They told him his household would be destroyed, and any young ones with enough power to challenge any high ranking Yamashima, would also be properly disposed of. The other young ones would be dispersed throughout the lands to other Yamashimians who would keep them properly under control.

"Where did you come from?"

"Lord Michael Alexander's house, just on the edge of the forest, not too far from here."

"Why did you come?"

"I needed a place for shelter from the sun, while I hunted down the Yamashima who killed my Lord."

"Very well," he said, sheathing his dagger, leaving the ruby pommel just barely visible.

"Who are you?"

"My name's Dakota. I belong to no one," he said, sitting down against the wall.

"Is that why you're out here?"

"I have nowhere else to go."

I nodded in understanding. I didn't know if I would be able to return to my home now that my Lord had been killed. For all I knew, the Elders could already know about my Lord's death and would be splitting the household up.

"Rest; the day is still young and if you can't go out into the sun then you have nothing better to do. I'll find us something to eat later."

He was right, I needed rest. My burns had still not healed fully.

I rested my head back against the wall again, closed my eyes, and allowed sleep to take me once more.

When I woke again, the sun was down, the moon was up, and there was a mountain lion and a fully grown grizzly bear dead, lying in front of the cave. Dakota sat beside them, using a bone as a toothpick. "Eat up."

"Are you sure?" I asked, walking hesitantly out of the cave towards the two beasts.

"I've already eaten my fill for the night. You look like you had a rough time yesterday, with all those wounds."

"These are nothing. I've had worse," I mumbled, thinking back to the only Tamaharan memory I had left, the time my Lord changed me, saving my life and giving me a second chance to live.

"If you say so," Dakota replied with a shrug.

"I know so," I whispered.

"Talk after you eat."

I chose to drink the mountain lion first. It was already dead so I didn't bother stopping after one pint; I continued to drink until there was nothing left. Then I did the same to the bear. Once that was done the moon was getting ready to go down, it wasn't low enough for the sun to even breach the horizon though. Most of my burns were now healed, though that wasn't a surprise. The more I drank when I'm injured like this, the faster I healed.

"Well, now that's something new. Tell me, how'd you heal so fast?" Dakota asked, leaning against one of the cave walls.

"A gift, from my Lord," I whispered. "The more I feed, the faster I heal." I looked at Dakota again. "So, you're young. How did you come to be one of us? A Yamashima, I mean."

"That's a story for another time," Dakota said. "How 'bout you? We have all night, share."

"It isn't something I have looked back on in a long time," I said, closing my eyes and looking back to the last memory I had from my Tamaharan life. "When I was born, a Tamahara, I couldn't be myself."

"What do you mean you couldn't be yourself?" Dakota asked, sounding as and looking confused.

"I mean, I had to be with women," I grumbled. "I had many wives, but none I ever loved."

Dakota stood up straight and looked at me funny.

"I was accused of being the son of the devil himself -one of the devil spawns- and was thrown in jail. The more I denied it, the more I was tortured. The first night I was tied upside down so all my blood flowed to my head. The next night they poured ice water down my throat through a rag. It felt as though they were stabbing daggers into my throat while laying something heavy on my chest, making it almost impossible to breathe. The next night I was tied to a table and stretched until my shoulders were dislocated." As I told the story, I could see it all happening again. Tears began to build up in my eyes as I felt the pain surging through me once more.

"The next night they put a hose down my throat with a funnel at the end and they poured boiling oil down into my stomach, burning my throat, but I still denied being the devil spawn they accused me of being. After the fifth night of me denying it, the fifth night of me…crying…" I mumbled.

"What was that last bit?" Dakota asked.

"Showing my pain," I hissed. "I overheard the guards talking outside of my cell one night. They said that the priests of the Catholic Church had decided they would just burn me at the stake with the next set of burnings. The night before I was put to the stake, I kneeled in the moonlight, my arms tied behind my head in one of their wooden contraptions, praying. One of the guards came up to my cell and told me he could get me out of the burning. I asked him how. He asked me if I wanted help, so of course I agreed. He said he would meet me at the stake and help me there.

"The next night came and they led me out in chains along with ten other prisoners. You see, in my village they only did burnings once a month, so we usually had a few people to burn. I used to help out with a few of the burnings myself until they caught me in the act, adulterated activity with a male, in the back of my shop. But they led us out in a parade, the rest of the villagers shouted things like, "Demon", "Devil", "Abomination", and other slanders along with throwing rotten food." I closed my eyes, clenching my hands into fists again.

"Wait, they threw food at you?" he asked. I responded only with a nod.

"They tied us all to one big stake in the center of town. I was between a woman who was accused of witchcraft -holding her baby who had no father- and a man who had questioned the bible. The man I was caught with claimed I had raped him and forced him down on his knees so he was not there with me. The church told him to go confess to God and he would be forgiven. I looked around for the guard who said he would save me, but I couldn't find him. I started to pray that he would come, even though I knew deep down inside he wasn't going to.

"Sticks were piled up to our hips and even though my hands were tied down, I reached over and took a hold of the hand of the man who had questioned the bible and held on tight as they started throwing torches into the piles of sticks. Once those started to burn, a few of the palace guards came down with barrels of gunpowder and started to make circles around the pole we were being burned on. They also grabbed handfuls of the black powder and threw it at us. I heard things like "Don't use that, they'll burn too fast," and "May you rest in peace, I hope the Lord Almighty takes pity on your soul." The baby in the woman's arms was the first to start screaming, followed by her mother and the other woman on the stake. I don't know what that woman was there for and I really didn't have the time to care. I could feel my skin melting and blistering. I held off screaming as long as I could. I held my breath as long as I could so I wouldn't breathe in the smoke. In the end, I couldn't hold back the screams.

"But just as I thought all hope was lost, a man dressed in fine clothing appeared in front of me with an already burnt body under his arm. He untied me and tied the dead body to where I had been and took a hold of me before we disappeared out of the audience's view. I don't know how he did it. I don't even know if he injured himself in the process, all I know is that he got me out of there and managed to be seen by no one but myself. I don't know where he took me or how long we traveled, but he waited until we were days away from the village before he stopped traveling, carrying me the whole time. He stopped and sat me down on the ground, leaning me against a tree. He told me that if he didn't bite me, I would die, so I agreed to it. After he bit me I passed out, the pain from my burns and him biting into my cooked flesh was too much. When I finally came to I was lying in a bed of fine red silk, the only thing that showed I had been in the fire was my back. He apologized but the healing gift he gave me after he changed me into a Yamashima couldn't fix everything, and my back would be permanently scarred."

Dakota blinked. "Well damn, and here I thought I had it bad." He looked up to the sky. "Well we better get back in before you burn again."

I looked up to see what he was talking about, and saw that the sky was a dark orange and red as the sun came over the horizon. I pushed off the tree I was leaning against and walked back into the cave.

I went all the way back so that I would be able to sit against the far wall again. I sat down, rested my head against the wall and sighed with exhaustion. My eyelids fell, and I was soon asleep.

I dreamed of people burning and people screaming. I dreamed of my Lord before he went mad, and I dreamed about a time before Ayame came around. So naturally I didn't sleep very long. When I awoke again, Dakota was sitting against the wall to my left, picking his nails with his blade. From the way the shadows loomed around the cave, the sun must have been nearly right above us.

I screamed with frustration. "If only there was a way to destroy the sun, then I'd be able to look around faster."

"Well I know a way that you can go out in the sun without getting burned by it," Dakota said with a shrug.

"How! Tell me, Dakota, I need to know!" I lunged up to my feet and held my fists out in front of me, but close to my body. If there is a way for someone like me to get in the sun, then I'd be able to find and kill Ayame faster.

"Calm down, Steve. I'll explain everything to you," he said, holding his hands out in front of him. He probably would have told me if we didn't hear someone walking in. Dakota shoved me behind a rock to the left of the cave, while he jumped behind a large rock on the opposite side of the cave.

The person ran all the way to the back of the cave. At first all I could see was their silhouette, but when she got in front of Dakota's rock I realized who it was.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" Ayame yelled through the cave as she slowed to a walking pace.

I let out a quick chuckle. Ask and you shall receive, I thought, looking over at Dakota. He scowled at me and put a finger to his lips, signaling me to be quiet, and then he ran a finger along his throat, signaling that he would kill me if I didn't. I swallowed and looked back at Ayame. But how is she walking in the sun? She was turned by the same creator as me.

She gave a sigh. "I guess I'm hearing things, maybe I'm going insane," she said after neither of us answered her.

She turned her back to the rock and started to walk back towards the exit of the cave when Dakota jumped out from behind his rock and wrapped his left arm around her body, immobilizing her arms. Then he forced her head back against his shoulder, with his right arm while he held his dagger against her throat. "Who the hell are you?" he asked roughly.

She started to tremble, and didn't respond.

He put pressure on the dagger, digging the blade into her skin, causing the first drops of blood to fall. "I asked you a question. Now answer!"

"You know who I am, Dakota!" she responded.

"Yeah, I know. It's just more fun to watch you suffer, like I had to suffer," Dakota growled.

How does he know her? I was confused.

"You're as stupid as ever, Dakota," she hissed. "You were not paying attention."

How is he not paying attention? He has her pinned. I looked down just in time to see her shoot her gun which was aimed at the floor near his feet.

Dakota instantly let go of Ayame after the gun was shot off, pushing her even further into the cave. When she landed, the cave started to fall in, and I jumped from my hiding spot.

"Run!" Dakota yelled as he did just that.

I ran to Ayame's side. The cave had collapsed so fast that there was already a pile of rocks pinning her legs down. "Ayame, I thought…I thought you were dead," I said as I bent down in front of her.

"Come on, Steve! Leave the bitch before you get crushed!" I heard Dakota yell from where he stood, safely outside of the cave.

"No! I'm not leaving without her!" I yelled, before saying in a quieter voice, "Besides, I can't go out in the sunlight." It wouldn't be the same if she was crushed by her own actions. I had to be the one to kill her. It just had to be me! She had to pay for what she did to my Lord!

Ayame had thrown her arms over her head to protect it from the falling rocks. "Steve?"

"Yeah?"

She lifted her arms around my neck and wasted no time in biting me. My eyes widened with shock as she started to suck out most of my blood. Suddenly she let go and bit down on her own wrist and stuck the wounded wrist in my open mouth for me to lap it up.

I froze in place in front of her, thinking she had lost her mind. "Now run, I will be fine," she said, letting me go.

When I didn't run, she pushed me as hard as she could, causing me to land on my ass. "I promise you, I will be fine!" she yelled at me. "Go! It will take you a while to get me out since Dakota is most likely not going to help you! I will be fine!"

"You better be fine," I hissed and stumbled out of the cave. I'm only running because I don't need to die in here with you.

"Hurry!" she commanded just as I got out of the cave, which was mere seconds before the entrance was completely covered with rocks.

"Let's start digging," I said as I walked back to the cave entrance and started to pull rocks away from the blocked entrance. Adrenalin was pumping through my veins. I hadn't even noticed that whatever Ayame had done to me, made it so the sun didn't bother me.

"Why? It's not like she deserves it," Dakota said as he walked over to a nearby tree and sat under it. "Let her suffocate to death, or let her get crushed."

I just ignored him and continued to dig my way through the pile of rubble that stood between me and Ayame. I wanted to be the one to kill her. I wanted to kill her with my bare hands, not let some cave in suffocate her.

The sun was set and the moon was high when I got the first small hole open so I could see Ayame.

"Ayame, can you hear me?" I yelled through the hole.

She coughed a bit and lifted her head. "Steve," she managed to wheeze out.

"I'm gonna get you out of there. I promise," I hollered.

"No hurry, I'm not going anywhere," she yelled back, attempting sarcasm.

I was refusing to give up. I had gotten quite a few cuts and bruises from rocks sliding down on top of me when I was clearing them away. I was getting quite tired, but I wouldn't stop until I had Ayame out of that cave. Dakota hadn't stopped spouting bullshit since I had started digging and he was really irritating me. So I climbed down from the pile of rocks and punched him in the face. He didn't really react other than falling to the ground and staring up at me in shock. I didn't really think about it, though as I was trying to figure out the best way to tie him to the tree he had been standing under since we got out. I finally decided using the ropey branches of the willow tree would work so I cut them and shoved him up against the tree as he was just standing. I tied him to the tree quickly as he just stood there dumbly and just let me do it. Then I took off my sweaty shirt and shoved it in his mouth to finally shut him up. I would probably let him go when I got Ayame out of the cave, but I was pretty annoyed with him so it was possible that I would just leave him there. Dakota, of course, didn't like this situation one bit once he realized what was going on. I just smirked and went back to work, but I was so tired now. It was about five minutes later, I think, when things around me started to fade. Then everything went black.

I'm not sure how long I was out for but I suddenly came to when the cave started to collapse in again. Two rocks hit me before I really noticed what was going on. I guess I was lucky to have woken up when I did because it could have been a lot worse.

"Fuck!" I yelled at the top of my lungs before I jumped out of the way of the falling rocks.

I fell to my knees as I watched the cave close me off from Ayame again. I slammed my fists against the ground out of anger. "Fuck! God damn it! Mother fucker!" It was so unfair; I was supposed to be the one to kill her. She had made me kill my Lord and so I needed to kill her for my pay back.

I jumped back up, ran to the top of the rock wall, and started digging through the small rocks again. When I came to a rock that I was able to pick up, I threw it as far away as I could manage. When I came to a rock that was too big for me to throw, I would push and push until it fell out of the way and then I would return to digging. I kept working even though I was tired, hungry, and my body was so worn out it kept trying to make me stop. I just remembered everything that, that bitch had done to me. She had taken my place, seduced my Lord, and above all else, pushed me to the breaking point of killing him. It was as if the gun had been in her hands.

One of the rocks I was trying to push out of my way was a large and sharp. It wound up cutting my arm from my shoulder to my elbow, my biggest cut by far. "Mother…" I yelled, wincing from the pain, but I didn't let that stop me. I kept working to move the rock even though the wound was bleeding down my arm and dripping onto the rocks below me. I kept pushing myself. I was determined to not quit until I was either dead or until Ayame was dead in my hands.

The adrenaline started to pump through my veins again, nothing but having Ayame's dead body in my hands mattered to me. I managed to push the big rock out of the way. I still had a lot of digging to do to get to Ayame, and I still had the rubble to move off of her once I got through. I almost fell over from exhaustion right then, but I regained my balance again and moved to the next big rock that I would have to push.

I was struggling with this rock, when I saw an extra pair of hands come onto the other side of the rock I was working on.

"You look like you could use a hand," Dakota said as he started to push with me.

I don't know how he did it -I could have sworn I took all his blades away from him- but somehow he had managed to get free of the tree I had tied him to. I chuckled. "A hand...would be nice."

It only took me a short time to get enough rock and debris away from the entrance with Dakota's help.

"Ayame, are you okay?" I called in after her.

This time Ayame didn't answer.

"Ayame," I called again.

Dakota put a hand on my shoulder. "Yelling's not going to help right now. It'll just cause another cave in, and then what? You could hurt her even more."

"It'll be faster and easier if you worked over there," Dakota said pointing to one side of the rock wall, "and I work here." He pointed to the other side of the wall. "Then we'll work our way to the middle where we'll meet up and work out to our respective sides. We'll keep doing that 'til we get her out of here."

I nodded and went over to my side of the wall.

By the time the sun came up, Dakota and I had the entrance almost completely cleared. I couldn't wait a moment longer, so I climbed over what was left of the rocks and ran to Ayame. I envisioned myself with my hands around her throat while she was in such a vulnerable state, but I couldn't truly do it with Dakota watching. I didn't know if he'd report it to the elders or not.

"Yeah. Sure I'll finish all this work on my own, Steve. I'll finish all this work on my own while you go talk to someone who can't fucking hear you!" Dakota mumbled in an increasingly annoyed voice.

I just ignored him. When I got to Ayame's side, I dropped to my knees, and looked her over to make sure she was still alive. The only injuries that I was able to see in the end were her legs which had rock piled very high on them and a bump on her head that had stopped bleeding, though it had left a rather impressive pool of blood around her head.

Good. You're still alive. Good to know you didn't die in here. Now I still get the chance to kill you with my own hands. I focused on the pile of rocks on top of her legs. Some of the rocks had pierced her legs and there was blood coming out of them. I wasn't sure if her legs were broken or not all I knew is that she'd at least have trouble walking.

"Wow. She doesn't look too good," Dakota said as he walked up behind me and disturbed my train of thought.

"Well, neither would you if you had about a thousand pounds of rock piled on your legs," I said sarcastically.

"True enough," Dakota said with a nod. "She still alive?"

"Yeah. She's alive. She's just thrown herself into her own little world. The pain was too much for her to handle," I said quietly as I started to unbury her legs. "See," I nodded to her face, "she's still crying." I winced, pulling a muscle as I threw the rock out of the cave.

I watched Dakota bend down beside Ayame and run his hand gently across the side of her face, wiping away a few tears that had just fallen from her eyes. "Why won't you just let go and let all the pain and suffering of this world go?" he asked her quietly, thinking I couldn't hear, I guess. "Just let go so you don't have to suffer any more."

I continued to work, looking over at Dakota every now and then as I walked past him. "So, how do you know her?" I asked as I lifted another rock.

"Back when we were mortals, I courted her," Dakota answered.

"What happened?"

"What do you mean what happened?" Dakota asked as he got up and started to lift rocks off Ayame's legs.

"I mean, what happened to the two of you? She never talked about you, and whenever I asked her about the men from when she was a mortal, she'd change the subject."

Dakota sighed and continued to work. "Long story."

"Well get telling. We're going to be here for a while."

"Why do you want to know anyway?" Dakota asked sounding a little annoyed.

"'Cause I do. Anyway I wanna know why she tries to stay away from men and why she's so upset about men," I said with a grin on my face as I continued to work.

"Yeah, well I want an even better excuse before I tell you. That excuse just screams I wanna dig up info on her. And anyway, that part of her life is none of your concern, especially if she didn't want to tell you," Dakota shot back sounding a little pissed off.

"Well at least tell me why she's pissed off at you and why you're so pissed off at her that you'd try to kill her."

"I felt abandoned and alone after she was reported missing and her family members were found slaughtered," Dakota replied quietly. "Now shut up."

I just stared at him. Obviously there was more to this story and I was hoping that if I was patient, he'd start talking again.

Dakota rolled his eyes. "I saw her outside of my window two days after the report about her dead family and her missing was made, but I had a friend over at the time. She was helping me get over the news, even though she wasn't too interested in finding Ayame with me. I mean, I was gonna ask Ayame to marry me the night she went missing and the authorities weren't doing a damn thing to help find her! But Alex, my friend, forced herself on me, and Ayame saw it.

"By the time I got Alex off of me, I ran to the window but it was too late, Ayame had already gone. I was about to jump out of the window and try to find her when I felt a prick on my neck. I looked to see what it was, and only caught a glimpse of Alex's face. By the time I woke up, Alex was gone and I never saw Ayame again. And now she has the nerve to just appear after over a hundred years of being gone!" I frowned. I can't use that for anything. That was crap! I needed to find out more. "Sounds like you really loved her."

"I did. I really did love her, and seeing her like this only makes me realize how much I still love her."

I threw a rock out of the cave and turned to Dakota.

Dakota continued to work for a few minutes, then stopped and looked at me with a smirk. "But in the end, you're the one who won." He thinks I'm WITH Ayame? He threw another rock out of the cave before he stopped and looked me in the eyes. "But...if you ever hurt her, I will kill you without hesitation."

We stood there, staring each other down for a few minutes before we heard some crumbling.

"Can somebody please get me out of here?" Ayame begged. She sounded like she was in even more pain now than she had been before. "I'm tired, in a lot of pain, hungry, and could use a bath." She sounded tired, though she tried to hide it.

Dakota ran over to her side after a short pause. Dakota ran his hand over Ayame's wings. "You have wings?" he asked in a surprised voice.

Ayame gave a small chuckle. "Yeah. I have wings. I brought them out to see if I could get myself out," she said while flapping her wings again, making another attempt to get out. This time she moved a little bit and then winced. "But obviously I am not having much success."

Dakota sighed and put a hand on her shoulder, preventing her from trying again. "You shouldn't have done that. You need to save your strength and you're just hurting yourself."

I stood there looking even more pissed off. She's everyone's favourite. Even my Lord replaced me for her. That bitch will learn who's better than the other. As for Dakota, I'll have to deal with him too.

"Why would you care? It's not like you ever cared about me!" Ayame responded quietly.

"I do care about you. I really do," Dakota said, just as quietly. "I've always cared about you."

"Like heck you did! If you really cared about me, you would have searched for me the second you heard that I had gone missing!" Ayame shouted, only stopping to catch her breath. "And you would not have been with that witch two days after I disappeared!"

"I did look for you, Ayame. I did. As for Alex, she forced herself on me. I wanted to get back out there and look for you, but she insisted on me taking a break and resting for the night," Dakota said in an upset voice as he slowly moved the hair that was now in her face behind her ear.

God damn it! Why am I standing here and listening to this? I gotta stop it now! I pulled a knife from my back pocket, and threw it at Dakota, intentionally missing the man. "Get away from her," I hissed.

Dakota slowly got up while making eye contact with me. "What the fuck man! What's gotten into you?"

I pulled out another knife from below my belt and got ready to throw it at Dakota. "I said get away from her."

"Steve! He's just trying to help!" Ayame yelled, sounding a little scared as well.

"You shut up, bitch!" I growled.

Ayame went silent and her eyes started to brim with tears. "What has gotten into you all of a sudden?" she asked, frightened.

"You wanna know? You wanna know so bad? I'll tell you. After you, little Ayame, came to that house, everyone started ignoring me and you became the favourite. You replaced me, Ayame. At first I thought it was all fine and dandy, and things would go back to normal after a while. But after years of everyone ignoring me and then me becoming your servant, I realized that I wasn't fine and dandy with it, and that things weren't going back to the way they were.

"I started to gain your trust. After I had your full trust, I started to plan a way to get you in shit. Hence why I joined your little party to kill the boss, but something went wrong the other day in the master's quarters and you forced me to kill him instead of you! I was never your friend! I can't believe you actually fell for that act I was pulling on you. I've always..." Suddenly there was a gunshot and a searing pain in my chest that radiated through my body. I looked down at the wound, then over to Ayame who was pointing a gun at me with a steady hand from her position on the floor. My hands started to shake, and blood started to spill from my mouth.

"I don't want to hear any more." The gun started to shake in Ayame's hand.

"I trusted you," she said quietly through clenched teeth. She then shot another bullet that went through my stomach sending another sharp pain through my body, before everything started to slowly go numb. "I actually thought we were friends."

I heard her shoot the gun and remembered falling down onto the hard rocks below me. I closed my eyes, but when I opened them, there was no cave above me. I had fallen on rock floor not a lush field of grass, but I was definitely in a field now. I sat up and looked around. Trees surrounded the field after about ten feet. Over on the far end of the field stood a man in a black dress suit, he had his hands in his pockets, pushing the jacket of the suit back slightly. His hair was long and black, tied back with a red silk ribbon. My Lord? I thought as I stood up, utterly confused by where I was, and why I was looking at my dead Lord. He turned slightly to the right and looked at me. My eyes widened and tears of joy streamed down my face.