Eriya opened her eyes slowly. For a moment, she couldn’t place where she was. Then, it hit her, that she was back at the lab, chained up and awaiting the next operation to her body. Fear and panic rose in her, quickening her breathing and sending shudders through her slender frame. Gods, don’t let me be here...not again....
But her eyes fell upon him then. The sleeping mazoku, Zei. It all came back to her, and she was scarcely amazed at how similar the situations were. She’d been tricked, kidnapped, and chained up, awaiting a drastic change to her body and mind. Although he feelings of panic didn’t change, she was too exhasted to keep struggling and writhing. Weakly, she pulled a little on her wrists and let out a long breath. She’d been struggling for two days straight now, and if she hasn’t been held up by her wrists, she would have collapsed to the floor. Even now, she didn’t hold herself up, which created a lot of strain on her arms, but there was nothing more she could do to support her legs, so they just bent limply, resting a little on the floor. She must have passed out earlier in the day and not woken up till now. It was night now, and very late, she could tell. Everything was silent except for the slow, deep breaths of the mazoku.
Zei. There was no way she could ever express how much she hated him. It was so strong, much too strong to ever let out, so it slowly boiled up and filled her, spreading throughout her. She couldn’t even look at him. Keeping her head lowered, she breathed heavily, her hair falling around her white face. He....he was /exactly/ like them...the men that had taken Cojin and I. She was just a creature to him, not a life, just some experiment, something to be used. Eriya gritted her teeth, closing her eyes and feeling the hatred slowly absord through her. In a way, she was glad he that she’d confined him to a bed, so he couldn’t touch her or get near her, but she knew if he could get closer, she could at least try to hurt him, try to take out her hatred on him.
And the wingboy. Eriya didn’t know his name, and she didn’t care. She hated him too, hated him for taking advantage of her love for her brother, for fooling her to think he was on her side. He’d betrayed her. And then he’d expected her to just sit and “relax” as he and the mazoku discussed how they were going to destroy her life. He’d shown pity for her once hearing how Zei planned to trap her in a demon’s existence, but in the end, he couldn’t stand up to Zei and left her alone with the source of her hatred. She would never forgive him, as she would never forgive anyone here. Never done anything to them. Eirya would have let out a soft, mocking sound if she had a voice. They’d only now pushed her--forced her--back into the hell of her past, sat to watch her sudder under chains, sneered at her futile attempts to free herself.
She knew Cojin would kill anyone who tried to hurt her, and he would surely kill Zei and the wingboy upon finding out what they had done to her. But, in a way, she didn’t want him to know. He’d warned her, told her to stay away from them, and to be careful. And she hadn’t. Foolishly, she’d let down her guard, allowed that idiotic wingboy to threaten her. But...she couldn’t let Cojin be hurt. It was true, what the wingboy said, that Cojin was liable to get hurt if he went after Zei without the light blade. And so I had to go and get it myself, she thought bitterly, remembering how in that split second that she’d turned her back, the wingboy had attacked her and rendered her unconsious. Letting Cojin down, disappointing him, she was more afraid of that then whatever hell the mazoku could put her through. If he was angry with her.....Shudders ran through Eriya’s frame. I have to get out, and I have to get out on my own. She swallowed, feeling helpless because she knew she’d been trying to two days straight to “get out on her own” and she was still here. She hated feeling helpless, she’d felt helpless for too long in that lab. I’ve finally escaped....and I’ve finally found him, only to lose him again. Tears began to well up in Eriya’s eyes. All my life....I’ve just wanted peace. I wanted a warm, peaceful, loving place to stay and lie in Cojin’s arms. Even now, after finding her true love, fate had decided they weren’t done fucking with her yet and delivered her back into the hands of someone set to destroy her. A tear slipped down her cheek, perhaps with the faintest light blue tint to it, and she let out a silent sob. I’m so scared....Trembling and weeping without any sound, Eriya realized just how scared she was. Turning me into a mazoku....that change is so incredibly drastic. Her whole body would change, but not only that: her mind. Her emotions would change, and she would develop an involuntary adoration for....Zei. Shuddering deeply, she didn’t care how much she cried. Please...Cojin.....promise you won’t hate me after I’m forced to undergo this....promise you won’t leave me....
There was a soft sound from the sleeping mazoku, and in the dark, Eriya could see the outline of his lean body as he sat up. Swallowing her tears, she tried to appear asleep, but her soft sniffles gave her away.
“Too tired to fight it anymore, hmm?”
Zei’s low voice came through the darkness, from the darkened silouette across the room. She shut her eyes tightly, trying so hard to block him out.
“You’re crying. You’re scared.”
She hated him so much, so much she could taste it. She hoped he could taste it too.
“Don’t worry. Once you’re mine, you’ll never feel scared again. You’ll find comfort in my embrace, and not Cojin’s.”
Shudders ran through her as she bit her lip hard, trying to distract herself, feeling the pain and the skin break. Please stop talking....
There was a soft sigh. “I so wish we could talk, but I’m not about to give you your voice back, gomen.”
The mazoku settled back into a lying position, gazing up at the dark ceiling. Eriya, shuddering and pushing down more tears, swallowed and mouthed her brother’s name. Zei wouldn’t be able to see it, he wasn’t watching her. She mouthed Cojin’s name over and over again, her eyes shut, and just tried to take herself away from this place. She was in a warm, calm place in Cojin’s arms, and it was just the two of them...the two of them forever and ever, for they were the only beautiful souls in the whole world, and nothing would tear them apart now.