This chapter is gonna be pretty messed up. If you've experienced any past trauma and/or are easily disturbed, I wouldn't recommend reading it. I'll put a brief overview at the end of the chapter so you don't have to read if you won't want to.

"Say [Y/n]. Have you ever killed something before?"

[Y/n] staggered back into the wall, her body beginning to tremble. Rayne walked over to her, the white kitten in his hands, a twisted smirk on his features. He placed the kitten in her arms, watching amusedly as it purred and pressed itself close to her. [Y/n] stroked it soothingly, unbothered by the little claws that kneaded her arm or the little teeth that occasionally nibbled on her fingers. Her eyes filled with tears.

"Don't make me do this..." she whispered, looking up at Rayne, holding the kitten closer to her chest.

"My my, crying already? You're an easy one to upset," Rayne giggled, before walking over to the operating table. "If you want it to die painlessly, you should kill it yourself. Of course I won't make you kill it, but if you can't... I will." Rayne laughed as she pulled it closer to her once more, allowing its little paws to rest just below her neck. "It's funny. If I gave you a bird, reptile or rodent, would you act this way? What is it about kittens and puppies... why do humans love them so much?"

"It hasn't done anything to you," [Y/n] hissed. "They're loving animals. Let it live... you'll see. Please, I'm begging you—"

"Ah-ah," Rayne smiled, tauntingly waving his index finger side to side, "you're in no position to make requests. I've made the situation very clear. Either you kill it," he paused, picking up a pair of pliers from the operating table, "or I will."

"Why are you doing this...?" [Y/n] hissed, slipping down against the wall and falling to her knees. The small creature stared up at her with big blue eyes. She couldn't do it— she couldn't kill such a beautiful, innocent and trusting animal.

"Let's call it... a psychological study."

"This isn't a study," [Y/n] yelled — despite the sound, the kitten didn't seem to react at all. "This is torture!"

"Torture for who? You, or the cat?" Rayne sighed. "Perhaps both if you decide you can't kill it. A quick snap of the neck will cause it no pain. Of course my approach... will be a little more messy," he smiled. "Surely you've seen things die before? Ever seen a cat kill a rabbit?" [Y/n] didn't nod nor shake her head — she only glared at the man in front of her. "Cats kill for pleasure — rarely do they eat all that they hunt. Are you insinuating that I am a monster when a cat is not? They prey on the weak—"

"They hunt because their instinct tells them to. You kill because—"

"Because my instinct tells me to," Rayne interrupted with a smile. "I am a vampire, dear, not a human. Don't lump me in with your cowardly kind. We are, in a fashion, similar to your feline friends... you can tell us not to kill, but you can't stop us unless you rip out our teeth and break our legs." A murderous glare greeted Rayne in response to his words and yet another pitchy chuckle escaped him. "Why don't you use that malice on the cat? Pretend it's me," he shrugged.

"I'm not like you," [Y/n] hissed, "I'm not a killer—"

"Oh, but you are!" Rayne smiled. "You're a human. You may be a coward by nature, but that doesn't change your capacity to kill. As you seem to be trying to draw out that mangy beast's life, I'll give you ten seconds to make up your mind. If you don't kill it, I will."

"Ten, nine, eight, seven," Rayne began, and as he did so [Y/n] grew pale. She hunched around the kitten who didn't seem to mind in the slightest, only letting out a small squeak when [Y/n] held it a little too tight. "Six, five, four," he continued, smirking as [Y/n]'s trembles grew more violent.

"Three."

"Two."

[Y/n] felt a harsh tug on her hair as Rayne pulled her head up to look at him. "One."

"No..." [Y/n] whispered as Rayne plucked the kitten from her grasp. "No— no!" The kitten didn't seem to react to the cacophony once more, simply purring and letting out a small yawn. The yawn quickly turned to a shrill wail. [Y/n] couldn't look. She turned to the wall, guilt, grief, anger, fear and hatred emanating from her, crashing in her system like a tsunami wave on land. Quickly did she begin to feel bilious. Despite her best efforts to ignore the sounds, they rang strong throughout the room. The kitten that she didn't have the courage to save.

* * *

"Oh, don't look so glum," Rayne groaned as he dragged [Y/n] back through his house. After finishing with the kitten, he forced [Y/n] to clear up the mess; he hadn't so much as changed out of the blood splattered lab coat he wore. She had no idea someone could do something like that with a simple pair of pliers... the thought brought her back to the situation and the girl paled once again. "Try not to be sick again," Rayne sighed. "If you are I'll make you lick it off the floor," he stated rather matter-of-factly. When [Y/n] simply dipped her head, Rayne raised a brow. "You'd better not be broken already. We still have so much to do!" he smiled, pushing on the first door and locking it behind them, walking her down the stairs and shoving her back into the basement.

"You sick bastard," [Y/n] managed, though her voice was wobbling and she couldn't bring herself to yell, no matter how much she wanted to. Rayne raised a brow.

"The only one being sick here is you," he hummed. "And I did that beast a service. It was deaf," he shrugged.

"Of course you're ableist," [Y/n] hissed. Rayne shook his head.

"No, not ableist. That'd be rather ironic, don't you think? I wouldn't claim to be nearly as able as anyone else in the elite's district; there's a reason I'm not an elite, you know," he laughed, "and besides, I don't even have my own eyes." He paused and placed his fingers on either side of his eye, pulling out the fake with ease, revealing an empty hollow where his eye should be (though notably some wire looking things at the very back).

"Wait... you're blind?" [Y/n] questioned. He shook his head, popping the eye back into its socket.

"No, I made functioning replicas," he shrugged, "but it took many attempts. I had to settle for eyes that could hardly see anything the first few tries — making working eyes when you can't see a thing isn't exactly simple." He paused for a moment, walking over to the cage in the corner of the room and unlocking it with a key that he pulled from his pocket. He turned to look at her, a false smile on his face once more. Suddenly [Y/n] noticed something she'd never seen before. His eyes, despite seeming so real, couldn't display any emotion.

"When I put someone in here, I usually don't intend to let them live for very long," he hummed. "You'll be the first human to go in this cage and leave the place alive. Though I make no promises about how many pieces you will be in," he chuckled. [Y/n] subconsciously gripped her right arm, tensing up. "Oh, metaphorically of course. If you leave here with any limbs missing I doubt I'll live very long afterwards."

"You're scared of the boys?" [Y/n] questioned, relaxing a little knowing that she wouldn't be torn apart.

"Very," Rayne chuckled, though [Y/n] knew better than anyone that Rayne didn't fear for his life. Rayne didn't fear anybody. And, despite knowing that there are many people who could kill him at any time; despite knowing that he's perhaps the most hated person in the whole kingdom... he just keeps going. Keeps doing what he does. Keeps killing, keeps experimenting. And somehow, he's still alive.

* * *

"Nyais, wouldja help a man out?!" Rayne hissed, trying to angle a sofa so it would fit through a door, though failing miserably.

"I've got my hands full. Just put your back into it," Nyais returned from his and Leya's bedroom. Rayne let out an irritated huff and was about to release the sofa, though suddenly it seemed to grow lighter. He turned his gaze to the blonde beside him who held up the sofa without so much as breaking a sweat.

"Gosh, you're such a child, Rayne," Leya giggled, brushing Rayne away and moving the sofa herself, pushing it into what would become the living room. Rayne followed after her, shaking his head once she set the sofa down.

"When are you going to do some training?" Leya questioned. "Sorry to be the one to say it but you're weaker than ten day old," she laughed. Rayne shrugged, walking over to the sofa and sitting on it.

"I'm a doctor, I don't need psychical strength," he shrugged. Leya followed after him, also seating herself on the sofa. She leaned back and rested her head against the wall, shutting her eyes. Rayne stared at her in confusion. "Are you feeling sick?" he questioned.

"No, not sick," she hummed. "I'm thankful." Rayne was yet again confused, though he bit his tongue to stop himself saying anything that might make him look like an idiot. "I mean, look where we are... look how far we've come. Nyais now runs that thing with the carers, you've finally been recognised as an actual doctor and I... get to live," she laughed, rubbing the back of her neck. "We have a house in the elite's district, Nyais is on very good terms with the king and we aren't wondering who's gonna come knocking on our door to try and rob us," she grinned.

"I suppose," Rayne said simply as he deliberated on Leya's words. Living where they lived before had been quite difficult for him — he couldn't defend himself like Leya and Nyais could, so he gained a reputation for being quite the pushover. As vampires go, he was weak. Almost as weak as they come. He could try to train himself to overcome his weakness, but did he have any need to? He was a doctor, not a killer... to a degree. Snapped out of his thoughts by a presence in the doorframe, Rayne glanced up at the slightly tired looking brunette.

"While you guys moved that sofa and loafed around, I put all those boxes in their respective rooms," Nyais laughed, "so get off your asses and give me a hand in unpacking. I'm relying on you guys to know how to lay stuff out because I haven't the first idea." Rayne stared at Nyais for a moment before standing up and walking over to one of the boxes in the corner of the room, picking up a couple books - one in each hand - and holding them out in front of him.

"I've got my hands full. Just put your back into it," Rayne said blankly to Nyais, who rolled his eyes and took the book out of Rayne's hands.

"Wow, look at that, not so full anymore are they?" Nyais hummed amusedly. Rayne huffed and wandered off to the doorway, casting a glance back. Leya had followed after him.

"Nyais, can you start unpacking our room? I doubt Rayne will be able to put his bed together alone," she teased; the subject of her joke flushed a little in embarrassment, though also let out a self-deprecating chuckle. Nyais nodded his head and left the living room — Leya followed Rayne to the room that they'd selected as his.

"Rayne, what's up?" Leya asked quietly when they got to his room. He turned to look at her and raised a brow.

"What do you mean?" Rayne responded, lifting a box (with evident difficulty) and moving it from the path of where they would place his bed. Leya let out a soft huff.

"You've been out of sorts lately. Oddly quiet," she hummed, "and really sad." Rayne shrugged, picking up some of the dismantled pieces of the bed and inspecting them. "Hey, answer me," Leya huffed.

"Say Leya... have you ever killed something before?" Rayne questioned quietly, though his tone shook slightly and he was visibly unsure. Leya's eyes widened a little at the question, though not out of fear — more out of surprise at how out of character the question was for her friend.

"No, why?" she asked.

"I'm a doctor... I'm supposed to heal people. I'm supposed to look after people, but..." he paused, looking away. "Actually no, don't worry," he gave her a slightly unsure smile. Leya watched him in worry, taking a couple steps closer to him. She placed her hands on his shoulders (though due to their difference in height it was slightly difficult for her).

"Rayne, no matter what you do, Nyais and I will always be here for you," she said softly. "Do you want to talk to Nyais about—"

"No!" Rayne quickly cut in, before looking down with a nervous smile. "S-sorry, I mean, thank you but it's alright. I don't want to worry him— he's busy with his new job," Rayne dipped his head. Leya was visibly unsure, though she nodded in acceptance of his words regardless.

"Well then, let's get your room sorted out," she grinned.

Chapter brief for those who didn't want to read: ~ by the way, there's nothing disturbing after the first asterisk break, but here's a whole summary just in case ~ - Rayne kills the kitten himself after [Y/n] is too scared to, though not forgivingly. They go back to his place and he reveals that he doesn't have real eyes. There's then a flashback to Nyais, Leya and Rayne moving into their second house and Rayne seems slightly disturbed which, for the time, was strange for him.