Shinya’s stomach started to growl the second he smelt the food in the dining room. Kozi walked ahead of him and held the door open for him. At the far end of the room Mana was sitting in a chair that very much resembled a thrown. Behind him there was an enormous fireplace that backlighted him and almost seemed to make him glow. He was leaning back and held a golden goblet in his hand. At his left Yu~ki sat, he had been talking to him as Shinya entered the room. Mana raised his hand to silence him when he saw Shinya enter. Yu~ki frowned at Mana and then glared at Shinya.

"Shin-chan, come sit beside me!"

Shinya sat down opposite of Yu~ki, who again shot daggers from his eyes. Shinya tried to sit as far over on the seat as he could, away from Mana. He raised his hand to his neck again.

Mana smiled. "You are still afraid of me, ne? No reason to be. Yu~ki was like that once. But now look at him." Yu~ki was sitting as close to Mana as he could. He looked like he was about to jump onto Mana’s lap, or pull Mana onto his.

"He can’t get enough of me." He stroked a hand over Yu~ki’s face. He practically purred. "You look radiant." Mana told Shinya. "The maids did a good job."

Shinya didn’t answer. Mana signaled again and a plate of food was set in front of Shinya. "Please, eat." Shinya looked at the food cautiously but hadn’t eaten all day. The food was wild pheasant, never his favorite dish, but he was very hungry.

He noticed that neither Mana nor Yu~ki were eating. Mana merely studied Shinya or Yu~ki and drank from his goblet. In the coldness of the room steam seemed to rise from the drink and when Mana would pull it away from his mouth it always left a dark red residue on his lips. Shinya remembered the night before and knew exactly what it was. Blood.

Shinya stopped eating and stared at Mana’s lips, as the blood seemed to fit perfectly there. Like it was a part of Mana himself. He noticed that Yu~ki looked a bit paler that night...

"What’s the matter, Shin-chan?" Mana asked sweetly. "Would you like a drink?"

Shinya didn’t answer, but looked a little sick at the thought.

"It’s not disgusting, Shinya. We all have blood in us. Some can take having less than others." He stroked Yu~ki’s cheek. "Are you finished eating?"

Shinya felt slightly nauseated, he didn’t want to eat anymore. He nodded.

"Good. Come." He stood and held his hand out to Shinya. When Shinya didn’t hold his hand out to him, Mana clasped his hand tightly. Shinya shivered as he felt the cold.

To Yu~ki, Mana said flatly, "Go to your room. I won’t need your accompaniment tonight."

Yu~ki looked hurt at the rejection and quietly left the room like a dog with it’s tail between it’s legs.

"I want to show you my castle." He took Shinya’s hand and pulled him close to him. Shinya felt very uncomfortable but said nothing.

He started with the highest levels of the castle, the towers, and they wound their way down to each room. Each room was decorated in blue, of course, and let off the same don’t-touch-anything appearance. Finally, Mana took him to the back of the downstairs. Here was a wooden door, which creaked from over-use when Mana opened it. Everything was pitch black as they started down a large staircase. Shinya had no choice but to cling to Mana to keep himself from falling. There was a light at the end of the staircase.

The staircase ended in the basement. It was damp and the air was stale but Mana smiled as they entered the room. From the look on his face Shinya could tell he liked this room very much. It was a "living room" but there were beautiful dolls everywhere. On the furniture, tables, even an entire cabinet overflowed with them. Shinya realized how much like a doll Mana himself looked.

"I spend my days here. The light of the sun hurts me...so I prefer to stay in the shadows."

Shinya did notice for the first time that it was dim in the room. The light came from an oil lamp at the far end of the room and didn’t quite reach the two men so that they were in the shadows.

"Please," Mana motioned to the couch and Shinya obediently sat. He had his hands folded in his lap and little like a little kid about to be scolded by a parent for doing something wrong. Mana sat next to him, playing with Shinya’s hair, then moved closer. Shinya scooted away.

"What’s wrong?" Mana whispered. Shinya didn’t answer.

"I’m not scary, Shin-chan." Shinya tried to move away, pressing against the arm of the couch as Mana started to nibble on his neck. Shinya was trying to press away so hard and frantically that suddenly he ended up falling off the side of the couch.

Mana looked down at him in shock. Shinya looked very afraid as he sat embarrassed on the floor.

He sighed. "Okay, later then..." Mana stood up and helped Shinya to his feet. He led him back up the stairs that they had previously descended.