The words echoed through the halls in an angry and desperate echo. Ruki had restrained and hauled her over his shoulder with ease. Cursed be this weak body! Maybe if she hadn’t been sick, she would have been able to put up more of a fight. She hit him on the back with her fists and kicked her legs around in an attempt to make him let her go.
Where in hell was he taking her?!
After their argument in his room, Ruki had grabbed her violently, pushing her outside into the corridor and down the stairs. Once they reached the basement and the pool, she had started to put up a bigger fight, refusing to properly walk or follow him, which must have really frustrated him – at least she hoped. A small victory, but a victory, nonetheless. That also had been the moment Ruki decided to forcibly pull her over his shoulder and carry her this way.
There was a secret door in the basement with the pool, leading to a very old tunnel. It reminded her of the old castle tunnels in the demon world. She sometimes used to play hide and seek with Shuu in them. Murky water stained most of the ground and the stench was unbearable. Chiyo was sure she was about to throw up.
Then, suddenly Ruki came to a halt. She tried to wiggle out of his grasp and attempted to at least see what was going on. It sounded like a key was being used on a lock, then something creaked – a door? He hauled her onto the floor, and she landed on her backside.
“Ow!” she cried out.
Confused, she looked around. This place was mostly dark, except for some light coming from burning torches, the floor felt dirty and cold.
The door with the iron bars fell shut again, with Ruki standing on the other side of it, locking it again. Chiyo tried to run up to him before it was too late, but she was too slow. When she got up, she flinched. A sharp pain shot through her body, its origin in her ankle. She must have hurt it when he threw her onto the floor.
Her hands grabbed the rusty metal bars once she limped over, and she glared at him.
“What is the meaning of this? Let me out!”
Ruki slid the old rusty key into the pocket of his pants and looked at her with a cold expression on his face.
“Normally I would say beg for it, but not even that will save you now.”
She growled and gave the bars another shake.
“You fucking– I said let me out!”
The last syllables of her cry echoed around them for some time, and she felt the burn in the back of her throat from shouting so loudly. Ruki didn’t flinch.
“Perhaps some time alone in this dungeon will help you clear your head, guineapig,” Ruki said, “Think about your actions and come up with a way of apologizing to your master. I will see you tomorrow.”
Chiyo’s hands tightened around the bars as she watched him go back the way they came here.
“Aaaaaargh!” she screamed like a frustrated caged animal until her throat was sore. But it didn’t change anything. Ruki was gone and she was all alone, trapped here. Your master, what a joke! So, he had finally shown his true colors, huh? Chiyo felt stupid that she still tried to believe he had been genuinely interested in her.
She sighed in frustration and looked around. This cell was huge. There were no windows, but there was another opening with bars on the other end of the wall with the door. She limped over to that place. Unfortunately, she wasn’t thin or small enough to slide through those bars; she clicked her tongue in frustration.
Vision was limited in this space and that one torch that was lit probably wouldn’t last forever either. She looked around the cell once again. Dirt, some puddle that she hoped was water, some more dirt; she sighed again. Hopefully there weren’t any mice living here, although that probably was unlikely. She hated mice. The pain in her foot made her flinch again; it was starting to hurt more now that the adrenaline was slowly ebbing away.
With a disgruntled face she slid down the wall and sat down on the dirty and moist floor, removing her left shoe to inspect her aching foot. Her fingertips traced the ankle through her pantyhose. Even like this she could tell it was starting to swell.
“Shit…”
How much bad luck could a person have? Chiyo was sure she had broken the record some time ago already. She was so exhausted. All she had wanted was to go back home and now look at her! She was trapped in a musty cell like a wounded animal with no way out.
What even were her options? Ruki had said he would come back tomorrow, maybe she could overpower him and escape? Unlikely, with her weak constitution lately and now also her sprained ankle... this would never work.
She could pretend to be docile or maybe even try to seduce him in the hopes he wouldn’t see through her ruse and fall for it. Although, with what has transpired, she wasn’t confident in being able to pretend to like his touches. If she thought about this now, her whole body reacted to it so negatively it made her shiver. He could keep his demon hands far away from her, that much was clear!
There had to be some way for her to escape…
She leaned her head against the cold wall. Really… she was so exhausted. Her eyes were tired and stung from all the dirt in the cell as well as from the tears of rage that had formed in them earlier. The exhaustion was so strong it prowled at her the moment she allowed herself to calm down a little. She didn’t even notice when sleep enveloped her, and she drifted away.
Chiyo gasped when she heard the approaching footsteps.
When did she fall asleep? How long has she been asleep for? There wasn’t much time to gather her thoughts before the footsteps came closer and closer, revealing none other than Ruki carrying a tray of food. Damn it, she didn’t even come up with a proper plan of action yet!
She glared at him from across the cell. Unfortunately, she was too exhausted to lunge at him, but she really, really wanted to slap him hard across the face.
“Have you calmed down today?” he asked after he locked the cell door behind himself. So a whole day has passed.
“What do you think?!”
Chiyo’s usual resolution to keep her composure and never showing anybody her emotions had long been forgotten. Though, who could fault her really? Surely everyone would lose their composure after being thrown into a dirty cell and held there against their will.
He sighed and looked her up and down before setting the food tray down. He was probably analyzing the situation, the mood she was in, how to get her under his control more easily, bend her to his will.
“You should still eat something,” he just said. The way he kept the habit of making her eat enough was laughable under these circumstances.
It felt as if ages passed without any of them saying anything. Chiyo had crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked away pointedly. After a while Ruki bent down in a squat in front of her, grabbing her chin and turning it towards him with force.
“Eat.”
She glared at him and took the porridge bowl from the tray, starting to eat it slowly but unwillingly. It was uncomfortable how he kept on looking at her as she ate. He could at least try to behave like a normal person by looking somewhere else, but no! He just had to keep looking at her as she chewed and swallowed, as if waiting for some sort of reaction from her.
Her brows knit together in confusion; why was she suddenly feeling so hot. Breathing was becoming increasingly harder, and her heart started to race painfully in her chest. Her blood pulsated through her body with need. She stared in shock at the food in her hands, then at the man in front of her. What was most scary was not the loss of control from her body, it was the way he watched her with such an indifference, like he was just watching something completely natural.
“You… what–”
Ruki moved closer, swiftly removing the dish from her hands. It made a sharp clanking sound when he placed it onto the stone floor. Her skin felt hot where his fingers had grazed her shaky hands, and her throat contracted in dryness. What in the world was happening to her?!
“I was wondering whether it would work on you… this medicine was made for vampires, but it has quite a different effect on humans. It was a bit of a gamble, admittedly, since you are a mix of both.”
His hands moved towards the collar of her uniform and removed the red ribbon, allowing him to unbutton the white shirt. Chiyo inhaled sharply, her chest heaving. With panicked eyes she looked at Ruki, who seemed quite unfazed by her reactions. She had already assumed he could be quite ruthless, but she never thought he’d go as far as putting a drug into her food.
“I figured it would be easier to suck your blood if you were a little bit more compliant,” he said as he continued to undo the buttons of her shirt until her chest and bra were revealed. The actions were completely disgusting to her; in her head she hated it, but wherever Ruki’s fingers came in contact with her skin it felt like the spots caught on fire, traveling through her body down, right into her core.
“Haah!”
She already felt like she couldn’t take it anymore, squeezing her thighs together in an attempt to keep the growing need between her legs under control. How unbelievable that he would resort to something like this, he truly had never cared about her! The realization hit her so hard, hot tears started to form in her eyes.
Ruki dragged his palm down her neck, travelling over her collarbone and settling in the valley between her breasts, making her nipples strain painfully against the lace, the touch drawing another whine out of her. Her mind and body were in constant battle.
Make it stop.
But it feels so good.
“Shhh… let me help you. I will make you feel good, alright?”
His voice in her ear felt like thick and dripping hot honey. Too sticky but so sweet. She was like an insect trapped in his sugary nectar, unable to move and get out, forever destined to wait for her demise.
She nodded weakly.
“Yes…”
No!
Her own voice was not recognizable to her anymore, the way it breathily begged for him to give her some sort of release. Which one were her own genuine thoughts and what was caused by the drug? It was too hard to tell. The only thing she knew was that she felt way too hot.
“Your face is flushed... I wish you would always be this docile,” Ruki's voice caressed her ear, his warm breath driving her wild. She shut her eyes tightly.
His mouth traveled down her neck, tongue gliding over the sensitive flesh, making her shiver. The tears streamed down her face when she felt him bare his fangs against that spot. And when he finally sunk them into it, she moaned as if it was the best thing she had ever felt in her entire life.
On the inside she was screaming.
Chiyo wasn’t sure how many days had passed exactly, but Ruki came to suck her blood a few more times since then. Her body was slowly going back to normal, not feeling as if she was going to come undone just from him touching her, she’d rather not think about how heavily her body had reacted to some of it. Her mind was still a haze. She couldn’t quite tell where exactly he had put his hands and fangs, except for the obvious parts. She could feel her neck area pulsate with fresh bitemarks all over, the flesh tender and hurting when she grazed her fingers along it.
Still, finally she got some sense of relief. Groaning, she stood up, using the wall for support. Her ankle still hurt a little, the throbbing sensation never quite leaving her in that area.
This couldn’t go on like this any longer, she needed to get out of here. Once again, she looked around the cell. Not much had changed since the first time she had done that. There still was lots of dirt on the ground, the weird wet spot that she hoped was water and an old brick lying around.
She frowned and approached the brick, picking it up and eyeing it intently. Maybe she could use this? She walked towards the locked door with the bars and examined it. The lock was old and rusty. With some luck she might be able to break it apart.
Chiyo sighed.
She had to try; giving up was not an option. Ruki scared her and she really didn’t want to die from blood loss in this kind of place. Or any place really, but this one definitely was at the bottom of the list. Nodding to herself as if to reassure herself she lifted her hands and rammed down the brick onto the old lock with full force.
Nothing happened.
Chiyo exhaled in frustration. Of course, that would have been too easy.
But she couldn’t give up now. Even if Ruki had already come to suck her blood today, she still didn’t have much time on her hands. There was no way of telling what he would do once he noticed she had come to her senses again, and she really wanted to avoid being drugged a second time. Being forced to relinquish control of her mind and body was scary. It was something she had never paid much thought to, but now that she had experienced it, she dreaded it. She had no idea what time it was, but she couldn’t waste a single minute!
Once again, she rammed the brick against the rusty metal. Then again, and again, almost desperately, biting back the tears that were starting to form in her eyes. Was it fear? Desperation? Exhaustion? She didn’t know. Just when she was starting to get out of breath and close to giving up, she heard a tiny crumbling sound. She gasped and hit the lock with the brick one more time and the hinge fell onto the floor with a loud clank. Dropping the brick to the floor she stood there for a few more seconds, unable to believe that she did what she thought was impossible.
“Oh my God…” she whispered.
She could hardly believe it! Her stupid little plan had worked! The door was open, and she was able to leave… only… where to?
Stepping outside of the cell she looked around. There was still that one torch hanging on the wall. Ruki had re-lit it every time he came visiting. She took it from the wall and moved around a little. Azusa had mentioned there was a hidden passage to the demon world somewhere in the Mukami waterways, she remembered. Seeing as going back was not an option, the only way to go was forward.
With shaking legs and breath, she took one step forward, then another. She could do this; she could find the entrance to the other world.
The only thing she hoped for was that Ruki wouldn’t find her first.
She looked down at her feet as she walked through what seemed to be a forest. Her soles hurt. Why was she barefoot?
Chiyo looked around in hopes of finding some sort of direction. Unfortunately, everything looked too similar to her. Wherever she looked, there were only trees and more trees. Somewhere in the distance she heard a crow. Her life had taught her to navigate long hallways, not dark and creepy woods!
Her hands gripped the white fabric of her gown, and she chewed on her lower lip, worried what she should do now. She really should get out before it got dark, her night vision was barely developed in a normal setting, she would never make it out in one piece through the woods at night. The last thing she wanted was getting mauled by wolves or some other wild animal. Where was this forest located anyway? The human world? The demon world? For once the human world seemed like a much cozier place. At least she would not be mauled by a feral demon, which was arguably much scarier than a human world wolf.
Looking around once again she decided to just pick a random direction and hope that it would lead her… somewhere; preferably out.
She hissed every time her feet stepped on a twig or stone. Really, why was she barefoot? She growled under her breath.
A cold wind blew through the forest, and she hated how eerie it felt. It seemed like there was no sound other than her walking through the thicket. Just when she finished forming that thought, she could hear some sort of commotion from the general direction she was headed in.
“Noooooo!”
A shrill voice cried in the distance and Chiyo sped up despite the soles of her feet feeling as if they were bloody already. She had yet to make sense of what was going on, but something inside her told her that she needed to reach that screaming person.
Finally, she saw the road ahead become lighter, indicating that she was reaching the end of the forest. Her face lit up and she let out a sigh of relief. She didn’t have to spend the night in the woods after all!
She had to get through a bunch of bushes, an opulent mansion right behind them. Their purpose probably being to draw a line between the property and the forest. Although a fence would be a better choice, there not being one was a blessing for the girl. She could not imagine herself climbing over one.
Her gown tangled in the little thorny branches, and she had to use force to get out, tearing the fabric in the process and scraping her shins a little. She hissed.
When she finally entered what seemed to be the mansion’s backyard, she saw a small boy collapsing to his knees. She furrowed her brows.
Black hair and those distinct eyes. A steel grey that seemed out of this world, only that instead of the usual calmness and mysteriousness she could only see a look of pure horror in them.
Ruki. She thought.
She wanted to reach out to him, comfort that small child that seemed so distraught. Why was he so distraught?
She was about to reach out her hand and cry out to him when something dripped onto the white sleeve of her dress.
The dark liquid seeped into the fabric, tainting it a deep shade of red. A crow cawed again.
Chiyo lifted her head slowly. The first thing she saw was a pair of leather shoes dangling in the air. A feeling of dread filling her as she kept looking upwards, upwards until—
“Aaaaaaaaaah!”
Gasping, she rose from the bed. For a moment, she needed to look around to make sure that she was in the room at the Mukami manor. The birds were starting to chirp outside of the window, and she could make out the faintest rays of sunlight.
The images from her dream flooded her mind again, making her nauseous. Her breathing erratic, she stormed out of her room and into the bathroom, heading straight for the toilet.
Someone had hanged themselves in the backyard.
How long had the person been hanging there? The crows had already been gathering around them, picking the pallid skin of the body apart. The eye sockets had been empty!
She couldn’t stop her body from throwing up. The images refused to leave her head, and she coughed, tears pricking her eyes. Acid made her throat burn.
Had Ruki actually seen this in his childhood?
She felt sick again.
“What’s going on?”
She heard a familiar voice coming from the bathroom entrance.
“Chiyo, what happened?”
She looked up and saw Ruki. He sounded calmer than he looked; his eyes having the same look of distress as in the dream.
“I’m sorry I— bad dream… crows… eyes—”
“Do not speak, hold still,” he said and made his way towards the sink, taking a damp cloth and kneeling in front of her.
He cleaned up her face and helped her up.
Her body acted on its own, ignoring her mind which was working way too slowly at the moment anyway. Everything was too much; that dream had felt so real. All of her dreams lately had been like that… would she ever get a break at this rate? She grabbed the man next to her and wrapped her arms so tight around his torso he would have suffocated had he been a human.
“Don’t leave me…”
The last thing she remembered was a pair of arms wrapping themselves around her as well.
When her mind finally reached consciousness again, Chiyo stirred and nuzzled her face into the soft pillow, the slight smell of sandalwood entering her nose.
Sandalwood?
She jerked her head upwards, so fast that it made her feel dizzy, causing her to groan and put a hand to her head.
“You have finally woken up?”
Her attention shifted towards the voice. None other than Ruki was sitting on the edge of the bed. His bed, presumably. She looked around. It was true, she really was laying in Ruki’s bed, in Ruki’s room. She recognized the black duvet and the minimalist interior. The desk and the bookshelf, too.
“I… what—”
“Looks like you had a bad dream last night. I am glad to see you look better at least.”
Chiyo frowned. Right… she did have a bad dream… and Ruki had been in it too. He seemed fine right now. At least more than he looked when he had rushed into the bathroom to see what had been going on with her. But for some reason he wouldn’t look her in the eyes. Usually he would hold eye-contact with her to an unbearably uncomfortable degree, so this felt weird. Maybe… was he upset? Did she do something strange in her sleep?
Reluctantly, she reached out to him, her hand halting right before her fingertips could reach his arm. Somehow, she was afraid of touching him. As far as her understanding went, Ruki didn’t seem to generally be someone that liked being touched, but right now it felt as if he’d snap if she were to do this without permission. Almost as if a dark aura surrounded him, keeping people at bay.
“Scared to touch me?” he raised his eyebrows. “To think you were so eager to throw yourself at me earlier.”
“Excuse me? I don’t throw myself at anybody!”
In truth she really did not remember anything that happened after Ruki came to check on her in the bathroom, so she could not rule it out. However, she was fairly sure she would never actually do that. Or maybe she would? Was this part of why his mood was like this?
“You even begged me to stay with you. How else did you think you ended up here?”
Chiyo’s eyes widened, and she could feel a blush creep onto her face. She’d say he was messing with her if the situation had been different. Something was off, she thought. Ruki did not sound like himself. He certainly tried to… but he sounded… tired?
Pictures from last night’s dream flooded her mind again, and she had to hold back to not let them mess with her again. She’d give a lot to get rid of that horrible imagery. Chewing on her bottom lip she wondered whether to bring it up or not.
“So, about that dream—”
“Let’s not speak of it.”
Chiyo turned towards him. Ruki’s voice was strained and firm, as if he was struggling with something.
“So, I was right, you had the same one!”
Ruki turned away.
Silence.
They remained like this for a while, Chiyo nibbling on the inside of her lips and picking at the skin at her fingernails.
“I sometimes dream about my old life,” Ruki then said suddenly, “but it is the first time I see you in it…”
Old life? She wondered what he meant by that. But it confirmed that the child she saw was Ruki. Who was the hanging man? A relative? Either way, seeing this scene in a dream already traumatized her as an adult. How badly must it have traumatized him if he had seen this as a child? And then seeing it replayed over and over again in his dreams? That must be horrible.
“I wonder why I was shown this dream,” she muttered.
“Who knows,” Ruki said.
Another round of silence.
“Do you feel better at the least?” he then asked her.
It took her a bit by surprise. The way he showed concern for her sometimes truly did not make it very easy for her to hate him. And she felt like she should hate him, but she somehow could not bring herself to. A warm and fuzzy feeling spread through her when she nodded in response.
Ruki stood up with a sigh, stretching his body a little. “You are welcome to stay here for a while longer until you feel like you can get up, I shall be in the study.”
Now she was sure her cheeks were flaring up. She looked at him sheepishly through her lashes and bangs, biting her lip slightly.
“Thank you…”
It seemed this matter did not want to leave Chiyo’s mind just yet. She was sitting on a couch in the living room, lost in thoughts. Her fingernails still scratching the skin on her thumb.
She sighed.
How has it been possible to be able to see his dream at all? And how has it been possible for him to see her in his dream as well? This must have been connected to her other weird dream visitor; she could feel it. She just didn’t know what use it had to show her this dream.
Should she be feeling compassion for the other Vampire? If that was the intention, she kind of did. Apparently, she was a Vampire with a human heart, maybe this served to prove the point.
As she was so lost in thought she didn’t notice the other figure that entered the room as well.
“Ah… I knew it… Lilith… you are the same as me after all…”
Chiyo jerked her head upwards, a smiling Azusa standing in front of her. He gestured to her hands, the sides of both her thumbs red and fresh drops of blood forming in the little tears in her skin. She’d done it again. A sigh escaped her; lately she had caught herself scratching her fingers and biting her lips more often – a clear sign of her nervousness.
Azusa took a seat next to her – he seemed excited for some reason.
“Fufu… from the moment you came here… I could feel it…” he said.
Slowly, he began taking off the bandage that was usually wrapped around his arm, revealing dark scar wounds. From the look of it they must have been re-opened repeatedly before being able to fully heal.
Chiyo frowned. Why was he showing her this?
“See? I keep… Justin, Christina and Melissa… here at all times… with me… You can… say hi… if you want.”
“I don’t underst– “
Azusa yanked one of her arms towards him and looked at her fingers. One of his own fingernails digging into one of the fresh wounds she had there.
“Ow! Stop it!”
“Fufu… you must really… like pain… right? Hurting yourself… like that…”
She yanked her hand back and soothed the sting by tracing her tongue over it. Not that it did much, her saliva did not have the same healing abilities as other Vampires.
“That’s not it…” she frowned.
Azusa tilted his head to the side.
“Lilith... Are you mad…?”
“No, I… ugh, just forget it okay? Don’t touch me like this again.”
Azusa hummed but nodded eventually and wrapped his bandages around his arm again. He seemed a bit dejected and lost in thought before he turned towards her again.
“I thought… this was why you are seeking out… Ruki. I could smell your sweet blood in the corridor last night,” Azusa mused.
“Eh? I mean… no,” she said.
“I don’t like pain,” she added. Yes, she realized she was sounding like a fool, saying this while she hurt her fingers in such a macabre way.
Did he think she liked being punished by Ruki until she bled? She could think of a few other things she’d rather do in her free time. But maybe she could use this encounter to her advantage.
“Say… speaking of Ruki. Do you know anything about how he used to be as a child?” she asked.
Azusa raised his eyebrows at her question. He probably found her asking suspicious, but if anybody was going to answer something like that it would be him. She hadn’t been very successful when she tried with Yuma, and Kou just chewed her ears off about other stuff that she had no interest in.
“Hm? Ruki… he doesn’t like to… talk about his past… but we met at the orphanage, before King Karlheinz… saved us. If you want to know… about him… you should ask him… yourself.”
Chiyo’s eyes widened in shock. Orphanage? So, was the man who hanged himself in the dream… his father? She pressed her lips into a thin line. She didn’t get much information from Azusa, but the information she did acquire was quite useful indeed.
“I see. Thank you for telling me, Azusa.”
He smiled sweetly at her, and she felt bad a little from using him like that.
“Would you… like to see my… knife collection?” he asked.
“Maybe another time, I need to go take care of something,” she said and stood up, before rushing out of the room.
It was time to poke Ruki about a few things concerning the past.
Ruki was preparing food in the kitchen when she found him. Admittedly, he was a very good cook; the kitchen smelled delicious. But she had no time to marvel at a man’s cooking skills, nor was she about to stroke his ego with that admission.
“Ruki, I need a word with you,” she said.
“Not now. Guineapig, you see that I am busy, yes?”
He did not look up from where his eyes were trained on the stovetop, stirring the liquid in the pot with a black ladle. Guineapig. There it was again, that hateful nickname. She found that Ruki seemed to always use it when he wanted to preserve a special kind of distance between them.
Chiyo grumbled and came closer, stepping right next to him, hands stemmed into her hips. She liked to think that she could be quite persuasive if she put her mind to it. There was no way she would back down now.
Ruki let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes for a few seconds. She could practically feel him counting to ten before he turned his head and looked down at her.
“I am not in a good mood, be quick.”
The girl was taken aback by his statement, wondering whether bringing up his past right now would be a good idea. Unfortunately, her mouth was quicker to ask the question than her brain was in preventing her from doing it. Before she knew, the words just slipped out one after another.
“Were you ever going to tell me about the orphanage?”
Ruki’s hand stilled. He turned completely towards her now and slammed his hands on the counter on either side of her. She jumped. Yes, she really should work on her timing more.
“Do you need me to put you in your place again, guineapig?”
The emphasis on his demeaning nickname for her made her gulp. Apparently, she had pissed him off for real this time.
“No, I just wanted to know– “
“Oh, you wanted to know…” he growled, “Seems like I have been too lenient with you after all.”
“I’m just trying to understand you!”
Both their eyes widened at her outburst. Ruki was speechless, looking at her with a rare, dumbfounded expression. The air was tense as they stared at each other in silence, the only sound coming from the soup that kept on bubbling on the stove.
“Haaa, I am beat! Oi, Ruki! How long until dinner’s rea– am I interruptin’ somethin’ here?”
Suddenly, Yuma appeared in the doorway, hands and face full of dirt from working in the garden. He crooked his eyebrow at the scene, eyeing them suspiciously.
Chiyo blushed and Ruki cleared his throat, taking a step back, but his eyes still looking at her suspiciously.
“No. Dinner should be ready in about ten minutes. But make sure to clean up before sitting down at the table.”
“Yeah, yeah…” Yuma said before taking off towards the bathroom, but not without staring at the two of them once more.
While Ruki turned back towards the soup, Chiyo remained stood there, biting her lip. It felt as if she messed up everything she tried to work towards.
“Ruki…”
“As I said, dinner will be ready in 10 minutes.”
He didn’t even raise his gaze from the soup anymore. Chiyo’s shoulders sank down in disappointment. This conversation was over for him.
The atmosphere at the dining table was cold. Not even Kou and Yuma dared to bicker today. Chiyo was moving a piece of potato with her spoon; her portion wasn’t big to begin with, yet she didn’t think she could stomach it.
This silence was unbearable, she couldn’t take it!
Suddenly, she stood up, the chair creaking when she pushed it back.
“I’m going to bed,” she said.
Whatever protest came from the table, Chiyo drowned it out.
The four brothers followed her with their eyes.
“Geez, what’s with her?” Kou said and looked at her plate. “She always eats so little but this time she didn’t touch it like, at all…”
Azusa hummed. “Maybe… she’s upset… because I told her… about the orphanage…”
Ruki pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. Somehow his brothers really had trouble keeping their mouth shut about matters this woman really had no business knowing.
“Hah? Why’d ya do that?” Yuma asked while dipping a piece of bread into his soup before eating it.
“She said she was… curious about Ruki…”
“Eeeeeh? Don’t tell me the little kitten is actually falling for you? Hey, what will you do? Will you make her yours?”
Kou was way too interested in this matter; with the way he leaned forward on his lower arms.
“Do not be ridiculous,” Ruki said, “we are simply doing what Karlheinz-sama asked of us.”
This was just because of the Lilith plan, was it not? The power to doom the world, which was slumbering inside that girl should be awakening soon. Then their part in this matter would be done, right?
Why then were his thoughts constantly occupied with this woman? He doubted any kind of training would be enough to discipline her into behaving in a way to his liking. He would be a fool to try and keep Lilith on a leash, even though the thought of it was tempting indeed.
Of course, there was also the matter of her suddenly invading his own cursed dreams. What was he supposed to make of this?
He exhaled.
“In any case, how is it going with the other part of the plan? Anything new about Eve?” he asked the others.
Kou grumbled and took out his smartphone, mindlessly scrolling through it. “Well, I can’t tell you much, Ayato is swarming her, making it really hard to get close to her.”
Ruki nodded. Maybe he will be her Adam in that case. They just needed them both to awaken for the plan to go to the next stage. He would do it himself were he not so preoccupied with Chiyo. She truly was a handful. Additionally, playing the snake in two gardens might put the plan at risk as a whole.
“We could kidnap her, make him save her or somethin’… that oughta work, right?” Yuma said.
“Let us not be too rash, having one of them here is work enough.”
“Whatever then.”
Azusa, who had been silent for the most time spoke up again.
“I will… try to get a sip… of Eve’s blood. This should… make him jealous.”
Ruki nodded. Jealousy seemed to be the way to go here. Either way they had to act and make the redhead realize his potential feelings for the Komori girl if they wanted to be successful. For some reason, Ruki felt as if they had to hurry up soon. As if something was about to happen.
That being said, it had been a while since he had sucked Chiyo’s blood properly. He needed to make sure that it was changing. Lately it had seemed to go well, but he needed to keep her away from Sakamaki Shuu for a bit longer if it was supposed to work.
“We can try this. Let me know how it goes once you manage to.”
He looked at Chiyo’s abandoned bowl of soup and stood up.
“I will check on our guineapig now. Kou, take care of the dishes, please.”
“Aye, aye sir…”
Once he had made his way upstairs, he could smell her, a distinct note mixing with her usual half-blood smell. She was upset.
Something stirred in him, and he knocked on her door.
She laid under him; cheeks flushed so red it brought out the green of her eyes perfectly. Her face matching her hair that clung to her forehead. She looked so beautiful.
The way she arched her back was inviting him to touch her more. Please her more. Make her sing with pleasure.
He kissed her neck, oh how he loved that pale neck of hers. There was no need for him to bite it, he could make her moan by simply putting his lips there, just like he did now.
The sounds coming from her must have been the most beautiful thing he has heard in his entire life, and he would make sure to coax these sounds out of her over and over again. The pleading look she gave him; her eyes were wet and sparkly, like real gems, and it made him feel like he was going to lose his mind, if he didn’t act soon.
“Tell me what you want,” he said seductively into her ear. However, it was more of a plea in the end.
The girl let out a loud whine.
“Shuu! Please…more!”
He let out a low chuckle. That was something he could give to her easily and gladly.
And just as he was about to kiss her-
He woke up.
Letting out a long breath he slowly sat up. Why was this happening to him now? Was it that stupid full moon, which was on its way? He would have liked to believe that.
How troublesome. Shuu sighed and rested his head against the wall.
“Damn it…”
Her head hurt like crazy when she woke up. She thought that surely this was how one felt when they got too drunk. Ever since she drank Yui’s blood, she’s been waking up with horrible headaches every day. At first, she had felt great, like an actual Vampire. Her abilities had reached their peak, it was beautiful. She thought she had never felt so alive in her entire life. However, after that initial high subsided, she started feeling weaker and weaker each day. Paired with the impending full moon she felt like a parched person looking for water in the desert, like an addict in search for another fix. She was still able to control herself though. She wasn’t sure she was going to trade this for one or two days of feeling like a full Vampire.
She didn’t think it was worth it and frankly, she wanted to just get a full night’s rest again and not throw up like she had eaten rotten fruit. She was not able to sleep uninterrupted for three days now. Every time she woke up, her throat felt like it was burning up from the inside. Swallowing anything felt like eating sandpaper and even drinking gallons of water did not help her. She did suspect, however, that feeding on Yui would alleviate the pain she was in. The last thing she wanted was to be dependent on that girl.
Chiyo felt like eating food, real food. Something sweet preferably. She glared at the curtains; it was still light outside and way too early to get up. She’d have to roll around in frustration for some more until the moon showed up in the sky.
Even with the moon out, the whole household was visibly on edge. It wasn’t a pleasurable experience, even if Laito’s face would have you believe otherwise.
Groaning, she slumped down in the limousine, throwing her head back and putting her arm over her face. Why was it so bright in here?
The headache hadn’t gone away yet, even after eating a bunch of sweet pancakes. What Chiyo didn’t notice though was, that she accidentally sat down next to Shuu and her left hand brushed against his right leg.
Shuu tensed. Laito noticed it.
“Oh Chirin, are you trying to rekindle an old flame by giving us a taste of your most embarrassing sounds?”
Without even looking up or moving her arm from her face she replied to him:
“I swear to God if I hear you say one more word, I am going to strangle you with your stupid tie!”
Laito snorted at that.
“Too bad God doesn’t exist right?”
Chiyo tried to kick him, but her legs weren’t long enough.
“You two will stop this this instant!” Reiji raised his voice, “You are a disgrace to the Sakamaki name.”
Everybody already agreed to that though. Somehow it worked anyway as Laito just laughed it off and kept his mouth shut for the rest of the ride.
To her dismay, she ended up having to feed on some of the human students. The thirst was just too strong, even though she hated almost all of the act. She had no choice. Lucky for her, nobody would be dumb enough to believe that "the new girl is a blood-sucking monster". Or at least she hoped; you could never be sure with humans.
She let out a deep breath when she was done draping the collapsed student over the piano. It now looked as if he simply fell asleep in the music room.
Her thirst now temporarily quenched; she made her way back to class. Shuu was there as well, looking a bit under the weather. That was to be expected.
She could feel his eyes on her again and it made her nervous. Chiyo did not dare to look his way once she was seated in her chair.
Since this lesson was simply study hall, Chiyo decided to use her time for reading a book she brought with her from home. Literature was actually something she could enjoy these days. Still, she felt like Shuu tried to pierce her with his gaze.
She cleared her throat and tried to focus harder on her book.
“Is it fun?”
Chiyo turned her head to her right side, where the question came from. Clearly, he was not asking about the book.
“Pardon?”
“Is it fun, walking around like a harlot, drinking the blood from any guy you can find?” Shuu asked.
Chiyo slapped the book shut before standing up. She imagined it was Shuu’s face instead. But making a scene here would be disadvantageous and troublesome.
“I am leaving.”
There was a coffee shop near the Academy. Luckily for her it apparently catered to the students attending the school, as it was open during the late-night hours.
Even though she knew coffee was bad for her as it numbed her senses, she decided to go in anyway and ordered a White Chocolate Mocha – a bad decision.
She blamed the full moon.
There was a cozy corner seat that she found, where she could read her book in peace. Or so she thought. The bell chimed, indicating that someone else had entered the shop. Chiyo tried blocking out the sounds, it did not concern her, until it did. The person stood in front of her table.
“Perfume: Story of a Murderer. Interesting choice,” a young man’s voice said.
Chiyo looked up. He was tall with dark hair, wearing a variation of the Ryotei uniform. He was handsome, and Chiyo was sure he turned the heads of multiple girls. What was curious was that she hadn’t heard anything about him yet, seeing as rumors of attractive people spread like wildfire here. Maybe she skipped out on school too often to hear anything of importance.
She gave him a confused look.
“Oh, I thought we fellow book lovers could keep each other a little company,” he waved a black book in front of Chiyo, demonstrating that he, indeed, spoke the truth.
“Do you mind if I sit here?” he asked.
“Why? There are a lot of empty seats here.”
The boy chuckled. Apparently, this was very amusing to him.
“You’re not much of a people person, are you?” he stated more than asked, “I would love to hear your opinion about the book you’re reading, though.”
She rolled her eyes. She wasn’t really sure if she was enjoying the read, and she didn’t feel like baring her thoughts to this stranger.
“Fine,” she said. Maybe it was the coffee making her give in faster than usual.
He looked intently at her while she gave him her opinion on the book. She kept her answer short though.
The way he looked at her made her feel quite exposed. There was something in his eyes that caused a chill run down Chiyo’s spine. She was unsure whether she liked that or not, but the caffeine was messing with her, so she didn’t trust a single thought she was having.
“Is everything alright? You look a little dazed,” he said.
“It’s just…my head hurts.”
Had her head been clear and not pulsating so loudly she would have found it strange how he came closer to her, putting his hand over hers and making her put her book away.
“How about we get out of here? Some fresh air might help you,” he said.
He tugged on her arm, and she just followed him, her mind all foggy. She was led out of the café and didn’t even notice when he managed to bring her into a back alley, pressing her against the cold wall with a rough force.
“You know, I wanted to see what exactly made you so special, but you do seem rather weak,” the guy said as he leaned in.
“What are you– “
She tried pushing him away, but she hardly had any strength left in her arms. She felt so weak.
“Don’t worry, it will all be over soon,” he said, as he put a leg between hers to prevent her from escaping. Why was it so hard to get out of the grip of a regular guy?
Then it dawned on her.
This wasn’t a regular guy. It was a Vampire!
Even in her state it should have been possible to push away a human.
“Now, be a good girl and stay quiet,” he said in a low voice, dangerously close to her ear and neck.
“Stop!”
She tried scratching at him and hitting him with her fists, but to no avail. He didn’t budge. Chiyo could feel him baring his fangs at her neck. She shut her eyes tightly, bracing herself for what was to come. But the pain never came. Her attacker didn’t have the chance to sink his fangs into her neck because someone yanked her out of his grip. She collided with a broad chest and two arms held her firmly, almost protectively. When she looked up, she saw no other than Shuu. How did he get here so suddenly and why did he care enough to help her?
“You…who are you?” he asked the other man.
The dark-haired male let out a low chuckle, quickly regaining his composure after being taken aback initially.
“If that isn’t the Sakamaki heir,” he said.
How did he know about Shuu?
“The name is Ruki Mukami. I hope you didn’t mind me playing with your little toy.”
Rage engulfed Chiyo and she had the urge to lunge at him. She wasn’t anybody’s toy! She tried moving but Shuu held her in place. She could feel him tense a little.
“Heh… So you feel the need to take somebody else’s leftovers? How pathetic,” he said with a smirk.
Ruki laughed, looking Shuu in the eyes.
“If that’s what you want to call it, so be it. I will take my leave now, but I’m sure we’ll run into each other again at some point.”
Shuu and Chiyo both watched Ruki leave. Her heart was racing, beating so loudly in her chest that she could feel it in her ears. The whole situation made no sense to her. Even though she now knew his name, she wondered who he was and what his intentions were.
He must have approached her knowing her identity already if he also knew who Shuu was. But she has never seen or heard of him over in the demon world. So, who in hell was he?!
Shuu didn’t make any effort to go after him. There really was no point in it anyway, what was he gonna do if he followed him? Kill him? What for?
Once Ruki was out of their sight Shuu relaxed, but his arms were still wrapped protectively around her. Once he noticed that, he let go of her, pushing her away a little.
“Wow, you’re really like a prostitute,” he said with fake astonishment in his voice, “and not even a high class one.”
“Excuse me?!”
“Letting yourself being touched by so many men, you really must be desperate.”
That belittling look in his eyes. Why was he mocking her?
“That’s not—"
“Ah, don’t make me listen to your petty excuses,” he said. Clearly, he had no intentions on having a real conversation or listen to any of her explanations.
He looked at her once more before turning on his heel and leaving her standing in the street all alone.
She stood there for a while longer, not quite sure what to do. It’s been a while since she had felt this miserable. Before, she was able to ignore everything. Now she truly felt like she was all alone. And somehow this thought made tears form in her eyes that she wasn’t able to stop from flowing anymore.
There have been growling noises coming from up in the sky all night already. First it started out to be a light drizzling rain, but it quickly turned into a heavy storm. The large windows in the living room of the Sakamaki mansion vibrated with the heavy rain pounding against the glass; the howling wind being heard in the corridors.
Most of the household had gone home directly after school, already safe and sound at home. Since neither Shuu nor Chiyo arrived at the car at the end of the school day, they went ahead without them. The majority of the family seemed quite unbothered by the two missing people. Yui was seemingly the only one being a little nervous about it.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t send anybody to look for them? It’s pouring so horribly, maybe they got into an accident…”
Ayato looked up from the sports magazine he was reading and looked at the girl that was walking up and down the living room.
“It’s just rain, Chichinashi, I’m sure they’re able to deal with it, now stop doing that, it’s really irritating!”
Yui stopped pacing around to argue with him when suddenly the front door of the mansion flung open, the banging sound making Yui jump in surprise. In came a fully drenched Shuu, he did not seem too thrilled. At least Reiji was not downstairs, so he would be spared the tirade of lectures about wetting the floor and expensive carpet.
“Shuu-san! Are you alright? Is Chiyo-san with you?”
Shuu rolled his eyes at the girl. Did she have to bombard him with a dozen questions the second he came in? She could be so annoying sometimes.
Ayato scrunched his nose and audibly sniffed around.
“Hey, Shuu! Where have you been that you smell so funny?” he asked.
Shuu sighed.
“Stop being so annoying. If you really need to know, ask that woman whenever she comes back.”
He went upstairs leaving a trail of rain stains behind.
About half an hour later Chiyo also came home, luckily for her nobody could tell the difference between the rain and the tears on her face. At least she was spared this much humiliation. She also did not end up answering the question of whatever had happened to the two of them and went upstairs after listening to the lecture that had evaded Shuu.
Chiyo hurried back into her room and discarded the wet clothes onto the floor, before crawling into her bed naked. She just wanted to disappear from this earth.
Since disappearing wasn’t something, she was able to actually do, she did the next best thing and fell asleep. Her body couldn’t disappear but her consciousness sure could drift away blissfully. Soon she felt nothing but the comforting darkness of the blanket above her head before she fell asleep.
When Chiyo woke up again, she was still naked, and it was the middle of the day, but she felt weirdly rested. She decided to get up and close the curtains, so the sun wouldn’t bother her too much. There was a robe laying around somewhere on her bed that she could use to cover up. Tonight, the full moon would finally be out, and she felt it. She would definitely take the night off from school and she was sure the others would too. Who knew what they were capable of doing on a night like that? Their father might be influential even in the human world, but it still would be hard to cover up the disappearance of several students because they have been sucked dry at school.
Either way, she needed a bath and the clothing she left on the floor last night would need a thorough cleaning; she picked it up and put it in the designated spot for dirty clothes. Her hair was also a mess since it had been wet when she fell asleep. Chiyo took her time while cleaning up, knowing that she would not be bothered by anyone at this hour. By the time she was done, the sun was setting.
Dressed in her bathrobe she made her way back into her room, not really knowing what to do with herself. She tried going back to sleep for a while but that didn’t work, so she decided to get dressed.
The sun had disappeared from the sky completely, making way for the big and glowing full moon. It was so beautiful at those times, Chiyo thought to herself. It was funny how she couldn’t tear her eyes away. Vampires were like those mindless moths, driven to the majestic and dangerous glow of the moon.
The best thing to do on a night like this would be to lock oneself in a room and try to sleep the night away or occupy oneself with something that made you forget about the glowing object in the sky. It would be the reasonable thing to do and yet Chiyo decided to do the opposite and go for a walk.
If you went further south from the mansion you would reach a forest. Chiyo wasn’t sure if it was still Sakamaki property or not, but she had never seen anybody else around the area. There was a pretty little lake nearby too. It reminded her of a similar spot that was not far from the Sakamaki castle in the demon world. She remembered how Shuu and she had snuck out of the castle at dusk on a summer day and how Shuu had played his violin for her. Soon enough they had been drenched by the sudden summer rain but all they had been able to do was laugh at the situation even though they were forced to seek shelter somewhere under a big tree. She remembered the wet grass and her feet being covered in dirt and mud, because she was running around barefoot. She remembered Shuu’s wet hand holding hers as he rushed her across the forest to a big tree. She remembered how he had pushed her against the broad stem of it and she also remembered how she could taste the rain on his lips when he had kissed her for the very first time.
They had been so inexperienced and innocent back then; it made a strange feeling of melancholy swell up in her chest.
There was a similar big tree in this forest as well, nothing unusual, she was sure there were plenty old trees everywhere. She touched the stem and sighed.
She was shaken from her thoughts by a shuffle in the grass behind her. Hadn’t it been for the full moon that heightened her senses she might have missed it.
“Ah, you…”
His voice sounded calm, but she knew him too well to miss the slight irritation in his voice.
“Shuu…”
She should probably go. Being in the same area as him would be a bad idea, especially on a night like this. She turned around in an attempt to leave but the older vampire stopped her.
“Why are you leaving?” he asked.
She looked at him in confusion. Why would she stay when he always made it a point to show her how her presence wasn’t wanted. But this night was different; he walked straight towards her. And just as in the past, she found herself so mesmerized by this man that she couldn’t move away. She could only stand there and watch him come closer, as if in trance. Shuu was now so close to her she could feel his breath on her face. He was so much taller than her, forcing her to strain her neck to look up at him. She could hear her blood pulsating up to her ears, the vampiric senses calling out for the person before her.
When she looked up at him and they made eye contact, she saw him staring at her with those dark blue eyes of his. Eyes she knew so well and that seemed so foreign now, so different. Mixed with the full moon’s bloodlust was something else. Something she couldn’t quite place.
Something in the back of her head told her to run. She could never be sure what he was thinking or what he wanted to do to her. He could always kill her. Just like that.
She managed to move one of her feet backwards but just as she was about to move away further, Shuu shoved her against the tree they were standing under, crashing his lips violently against hers, grazing his fangs against the puffy flesh and drawing out a pathetic whimper from the girl. She grabbed his shoulders tightly for balance, trying to push away from the tree bark that was hurting her back already. It was nothing like the kiss she was remembering just a few moments ago. Truly ironic.
Her head was spinning. Nothing made sense to her because she wanted him gone and closer at the same time. Did she want this or not? Her body sure felt like it wanted his, but she could not trust it at this moment. If she was being honest, she wanted him really badly. Secretly she probably never stopped wanting him, but she didn’t want it to be like this.
Clearly, he was not doing it to give her any pleasure. He was doing it purely to satisfy his own needs and predatory instincts. He didn’t love her.
She felt so pathetic, and she knew she should hate this. And she still found herself pulling him closer, wanting him, even though she knew he didn’t really want her.
Shuu wasn’t being gentle at all when his lips moved across her neck. She could feel the trail of saliva that he left on it along the way. When his hands grabbed her breasts firmly, she let out another whine. She arched her back for some more friction.
“Hah, you really are a whore,” he groaned against her neck, his hands moving down her body to the hem of her dress. Oh, how truly degrading the position she was in felt. What was wrong with her, drawing pleasure from a comment of this nature?
“What—"
He ripped her dress open before inserting himself inside of her. Her eyes shot open in shock.
“You let me of all people touch you like this. And you’re only getting wetter and wetter by the second,” he scoffed, looking down on her.
Her body felt good, rejoicing at the fact that it had him back. Except that she didn’t really have him back at all.
“Stop–" she tried to plead but the effects of the full moon made her moan loudly in pleasure anyway. Shuu groaned burying his head in the crook of her neck for a second before baring his fangs and sinking them into that spot.
Pain and pleasure mixed together for Chiyo, making her head spin and making her cry out loudly at every thrust from him. Every time he moved inside her; she could feel his fangs sucking her dry more, making her feel dizzy and lightheaded.
She could feel him tightening his grip on her, pushing her leg up and around him while he kept sucking her blood. Slowly the blood loss got to her and the last thing she felt was Shuu reaching his climax inside of her before her consciousness slipped away.
The girl’s body fell limp against his and he barely managed to catch her in time. What on earth was he doing?! His body had acted on his own, not that he was very surprised about it; only a moron would be. He shouldn’t have gone outside today. Though how was he supposed to know that this woman was just as stupid as he was? Granted, considering their shared past, maybe he should have known.
He fixed up his own clothes before taking a look at his past lover. Chiyo’s dress was ruined. There was a significant tear and blood had stained it. Either way it was a candidate for the trash bin. He felt little remorse for ruining her clothes.
Shuu looked at the girl; she was passed out cold for real. He could just leave her here. For a second, he considered this option, but then thought it would be too troublesome if her body was found by wild animals in that state. With a sigh he picked her up and made his way back to the mansion.
The sounds grew louder when they descended the stairs. Chiyo could hear the agitated voice of a woman, probably Edith.
“Someone’s died. I can smell blood,” Shuu said and his hold on her hand tightened. That would make this a good time to leave, for sure. Whoever it was, the commotion meant it was an intruder.
“There is another exit from the kitchen,” she said, “Let’s leave like that. We can always figure out where to go after that.”
Shuu nodded and turned the corner at the end of the staircase, tugging her behind him to keep her close.
Then, suddenly a dull pain shot through her, starting at the back of her head. The last thing she saw was the panic in Shuu’s eyes, when he turned around.
Everything went dark after that.
The pain came first, then a groan. Her eyelids felt heavy as lead when she tried to open her eyes.
Drip, drip, drip.
The sound of water rang in her ears like an echo. She was barely able to take in her surroundings. Her wrists felt heavy; she could barely move them like that. When she looked closer, she realized her hands were cuffed. Ah… another cell…
“Hey…” a voice rasped from a nearby wall. Her senses were so dulled, she hadn’t even noticed there was another person in the cell. But she made out the blond locks that she always had loved to run her hands through.
“Shuu…?” her own voice came out strained.
The gasp that he let out sounded more like sob, but she couldn’t see enough to know for sure.
“Can you… come closer…?” he asked. He was breathing heavily and sounded like he was in much pain. It broke her heart all over again.
Luckily for her, the metal chains that secured her cuffs to the wall behind her were long enough. Her whole body screamed at her, begged for relief, some sort of respite. But getting to him was more important.
With heavy breathing, she finally slumped against him. His own shackles rattled against the wall, but to no avail. They were too short, suspending his arms above his head.
“I’m… sorry…” he whispered. His head rolled to the side, trying to at least reach her like this. She could see the tears glistening in his eyes. “I couldn’t… protect you…”
She just shook her head. “Don’t say that–”
Her hands reached around his torso as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. The side of his shirt was wet and sticky with something.
“What happened to you…?” she asked, as if the answer was not obvious from the way his breathing was ragged and the way he winced in pain while speaking.
“I fell… into the muddy water…” he lied.
She sobbed into his skin.
“Don’t cry…” he rasped. “I dislike that sound. I wanted to hear you… say something nice… before–”
His eyelids grew heavy, fluttering against his cheeks.
“Don’t…” she sobbed. “Don’t close your eyes.” There was still so much she wanted to say. So much they needed to talk about.
She ran her lips over his jaw, his cheek, his browbone. “I love you…” she whimpered quietly.
Shuu’s lips quirked just slightly, but his eyes remained closed.
“You finally… said it back…”
His head slumped further into her, and then his body went limp. Chiyo swallowed the lump in her throat, letting her tears fall silently, her hands never letting go of him, even when he was gone.
She had no idea how long she stayed like that, but her fingers were starting to cramp, and she could barely hold herself up when she started hearing the clack of shoes against cobblestone. Two voices mingled together down the hall.
This was Ruki’s doing. Ruki killed the person she loved most in this world. And she swore, if she was going to die next, she would haunt him everywhere she could. In his dreams, in his nightmares, when he was awake. She would not find rest before she completely destroyed him.
Two pairs of polished shoes came into view.
“You will be pleased to see that I succeeded in capturing both,” Ruki said.
She felt the immense and oppressive aura enter the cell, white waves of hair cascading down and almost reaching the dirty stone on the ground. There was a low hum.
“You disappoint me, Ruki. They are both useless now.”
Ruki went down quickly. Dead before he even managed to cry out in pain. Why was death merciful on him like that? How unfair.
The white haired man stepped towards her and easily ripped her away from Shuu.
“No—” she tried to protest before a hand gripped her chin and forced her head upwards. Golden eyes, completely devoid of emotion, stared into hers and suddenly there was only quiet in her head. All of her previous thoughts have stilled.
The man sighed. “It is too bad things have spun like this… maybe next time…”
It was the last thing she heard before her own eyes slipped shut and darkness engulfed her.
The commotion died down as fast as it began. When they walked down the stairs, everything was eerily quiet.
“Something is not right,” Shuu said. “It smells like blood outside…”
Chiyo’s eyes widened before she frowned. Nobody ever came to these parts, so what could have caused it?
“Let’s take the back door then,” she said. “I just want to get out of here.”
She was about to lead the way when Shuu cried out in pain behind her. When she turned around all she saw at first were his blue eyes wide with shock. Only after did she see the end of a dagger sticking out of the front of his throat. A familiar tuft of dark hair came into view behind him.
Ruki.
Blood gushed out of the wound when he retracted the silver blade and Shuu went down, clawing at his throat with a gurgling, gut wrenching sound.
Chiyo was frozen on the spot. There was no way. How did Ruki find her house? He did not really just stab the love of her life, did he?
“Shuuu!” she shrieked.
The blood kept gushing out of his wound, creating a puddle underneath him on the floor.
“Ru… n…” was the last thing he managed to say.
Her feet moved as if on command and she made for the kitchen and servant quarters, where the back entrance to the house was located.
No!
She crashed into a dresser while running, bruising her hip.
No!
Ruki’s footsteps echoed behind her. Closer and closer.
No!
He was faster than her, stronger.
“No!” she cried out when he pinned her against the stone wall of the kitchen.
Suddenly she was back in the cold, dark cell.
Drip, drip, drip. The water from the waterway made. Only now, it wasn’t the water, it was Shuu’s blood instead. It would trickle into the wooden boards in the hallway, forever sealing his life in it.
The silver blade tipped her chin up, forcing her to look into the cold eyes of his murderer. Lifeless black stared into her.
“It is incredible how easily a silver knife can kill a pureblood. I had no idea it worked so well against witches, too…” he mused.
“But now that they are all gone, I can finally have you to myself. I killed. Them. All.”
Chiyo’s eyes widened in shock and Ruki all but snickered. This man before her… was that even Ruki anymore? Or had he been like this from the very beginning, only hiding this mania incredibly well?
He pressed closer, his lips against her neck, and she stiffened.
“I will turn you into Lilith. And then Karlheinz-sama will be grateful to me and only me. No more Leonhard, no more Shuu. I will have you all to myself…”
He killed her father too?!
Hot anger flashed in her, and before he was able to sink his fangs into the column of her neck, she lunged at him with her own. She used the momentum she gained from that to knock the dagger out of his hands.
Ruki cried out. In pain or surprise, she wasn’t sure. It wasn’t important. Her own high pitched cry rang in her ears, throat burning from overuse. There was a metallic scent on her tongue; she was sure she had ripped out a piece of flesh from his throat.
Everything was a blur, and when she finally took a conscious breath, she was above him, hands bloody and shaking. The silver dagger was stuck directly in Ruki’s lifeless heart. Though, she supposed whoever the man once had been had died long before this moment anyway.
She pulled the silver dagger out of the corpse and, with heavy legs, made her way back to the hallway.
He was still lying there, hand outstretched, now smeared with blood all over. Her lips quivered as she stood before the scene she had fled earlier.
Dead.
He was dead.
He died before she could even tell him how she loved him. How she never really stopped loving him.
Her knees hit the ground, and a pained wail came out of her. It felt like her heart was stabbed to pieces. Bloody and shaky fingers were still clutching the silver blade she had stolen from Ruki.
She was still sitting there once her pained cries had stopped and her eyes had no more tears to shed. Who knew how long that had taken. It didn’t matter anyway. Not anymore.
Shuu’s hand was cold as ice, starting to get rigid when she twined her fingers in his. Her other hand gripped the blade, pointing the sharp end towards herself.
She squeezed the dead hand one last time. A last goodbye.
Ruki looked at the phial in his hand before setting it back down onto the counter. It has been a few days since he had put this inside Chiyo’s food initially.
He was not sure whether it was the dosage or her constitution that made the effect last for so long, but when it did not subside after the first two days, he had grown slightly worried. Yesterday, though, it seemed like she was getting back to normal again.
Sucking her blood like this was not very polite nor was it chivalrous, but under these circumstances he had no other choice, right? The young woman had been overstepping the line for a while already, and her sneaking into his room, touching his priced notebook, his memento… that had been the point which had him snap. All things considered; he still had been quite forthcoming towards her. Besides, he had also never thought himself as someone with great chivalry. A demon did not possess such. That was what he believed.
He sighed. Last night, he had received a letter from Karlheinz-sama that he would be waiting for them in the Pharmaceutical Department, meaning the time to bring Lilith home was nigh. The world shall be reborn on the last lunar eclipse of the year – such was the plan.
He did not think she would put up much of a fight now, since she has been down there by herself for a while. Even before things escalated, she had been weak. Despite that, maybe he should still put a drop of this medicine into her water, just to make sure.
There was this unfamiliar voice in the back of his head, though. One that was nagging him, saying that taking away her autonomy like this betrayed her trust. But had she not done the exact same thing to him? Just as he finally let himself think that maybe, just maybe, she could be his after they pleased Karlheinz-sama. Just then she had ruined everything! Maybe all women were the same after all. Eye for an eye.
Focus.
He should focus on the task at hand, which was getting the guineapig to Eden. He wondered what exactly the King wanted to see, but it was none of his concerns in the end. It was a great honor to even be allowed to help with this; he should not question such generosity. Whatever the details of the plan entailed, Ruki was convinced none of them would be able to wrap their minds around it. Such was the great intellect of the King.
Carefully, he mixed exactly one drop of the tincture into a glass of water and made his way downstairs, into the dungeon.
The sound of his own footsteps was the only thing audible in that underground waterway as he walked. He could not sense her either, which was strange indeed, but maybe his own senses were dulled due to the moon’s phases again. It was so quiet as he approached her cell, too. Was she asleep? It was possible that the events of the last few days had left her drained, though, the past few times he came down here, he at least could hear her groan quietly. He halted and frowned. It really was too quiet. Picking up his pace, he rounded the corner.
The cell was empty.
How? How did this happen?!
As if on autopilot, Ruki walked into the empty cell. How did she manage to get out? And how did nobody notice?! His whole body was shaking in anger, fists clenching in frustration. It was only when he felt something wet on his hand and heard the shrill sound of glass pieces falling to the ground, that he came back to his senses.
His hand had gripped the glass of water so tightly it ended up breaking. With a frustrated sigh he shook the liquid off his palm and dried it a little against the fabric of his pants. Luckily, the cuts were not deep; they would heal in a matter of seconds most likely. Best retrace her steps, so that he could find her sooner rather than later. Just the thought of standing before King Karlheinz and having to tell him that he had failed, that he had disappointed him, made him shiver. He had one job, and he still managed to fail!
A low growl slipped past Ruki’s lips as he turned around and scanned the surroundings. It was obvious she had left through the door; it was wide open after all. Did she pick the lock? He should have searched her for any bobby pins and jewelry beforehand, how careless of him. Or even better: he should have restrained her arms and legs properly. Next time he will not be this negligent. Even rodents had claws after all.
Making his way back towards the bars, he traced the frame with his finger and frowned. The lock was completely busted. There was no way she had been able to break it with her hands alone, ah—
There was a brick lying not too far away from the metal bars. So that was how she had done it. Had it not made him so furious he would have been impressed. He had always thought she was a smart girl. In other circumstances, he would have loved to probe her mind. To read his favorite authors to her underneath a starry sky. Teach her so much more. In a different world, maybe she was more docile.
Ruki looked down the corridor that led upstairs. Since she did not walk past them at any point she most likely went deeper into the waterway. With some luck she was still wandering around here somewhere. Maybe she took the wrong turn and ended up scared and helpless at a barred dead end. If she was still on drugs, it would be easy to scoop her up and make her think it was for her own good that he was keeping her locked up here. However, she had been lucid enough to break the lock. Maybe he had underestimated her regenerative power. The reports never went in-depth on how much less she was likely to recover from ailments, as opposed to purebloods or even turned vampires.
Should he go after her now? But who knew how long ago she had escaped? If he acted recklessly now, he would end up lost in the forest that the waterway led to while attempting to locate her. He dug his fingers into the stone wall.
“Fuck!”
The coach was going at a peaceful pace early this morning. If the familiar noticed anything from the previous night... well, they didn’t comment on it. That was not what they were made for. Shuu was sitting opposite of her, leaning against the carriage wall as he dozed off.
Chiyo rested her legs on the puffy cushioned bench and wrapped her blanket tighter around her body. It really was chilly out here in the early hours; she had never liked this area.
The closer they got to her house, the more worried she became. The sides of her thumbs were bleeding already from her scratching them without a pause ever since she woke up. Her teeth were increasingly chewing on her lower lip as well.
“Hey…”
She was shaken from her thoughts by Shuu.
“Stop doing that,” he said.
“Doing what?” She looked at him in confusion.
“Hurting yourself. Stop.”
He frowned and looked down on her hands, before getting up, grabbing one of them and bringing her fingers to his lips. Chiyo’s reaction was to try and flinch away; she didn’t want him to touch or see her ugly wounds.
“Just… let me do this for once,” he said and kept her in place. His arm sneaked tightly around her waist, his tongue tracing the spots on her fingers that she had scratched open.
Her face felt hot, and she looked away in shame. This habit was one of the things that betrayed her lies of composure. She could pretend to be tough as much as she wished, but the second a Vampire caught a whiff of her bleeding fingers, they would know. Know that underneath that she was a scared little girl that couldn’t help but hurt herself from how scared she was!
“You don’t have to do that, you know…” she muttered. Look away, was what she really meant. He was not supposed to see this side of her. Ugly.
Shuu gently sucked on her thumb and hummed. “I want to, though. Besides, the scent of your blood keeps me from sleeping.”
The healing process was already beginning to close up the evidence of her own incompetence as she looked at her hands and frowned. Another reminder of the fact that she was an incomplete being. She couldn’t even do such a simple thing as closing a small wound like this on her own.
A finger gently pressed her chin up, forcing her to gaze into the deep azure of Shuu’s eyes. He eyed her calmly while his thumb traced her lower lip.
“You are hurting yourself here too,” he said.
She evaded his gaze. “I can’t stop it, it’s a habit…” Defeated.
His breath was cold against her face when he sighed. He dipped his face down and his lips brushed against hers. She was so sick of fighting back against this. This was fine, right?
The cold tongue brushed against the tender, slightly bloody flesh. The way he sucked on her lower lip made her moan. Shuu smirked.
“I’m only trying to help you, and you get so needy?” Shuu’s arms snaked around Chiyo’s waist, pulling her into his lap. She felt the necklace under her dress press into the skin between her breasts. He had kept it all this time and she had almost forgotten about it. Didn’t that show that Shuu really still cared?
“I can’t help this either... it feels good when you do that...” she whispered against his lips.
“Well...” he purred. “Looks like we still have some more hours until we arrive at your doorstep. I’m sure we can kill some time like this.”
The sun was already setting when they arrived at the gates of her house. Somehow it felt bigger from the outside than she remembered. Also, more daunting. The setting rays made the facade of the manor seem more orange than its original pale yellow. The decorative statues in the garden had an uncanny glow to them as well.
The only good thing about arriving here that she could convince herself of was that like this they at least made it before all the nocturnal demons in the forests woke up. Being mauled by a wendigo or banshee still did not seem like a desirable fate no matter how one looked at it.
Chiyo grabbed Shuu’s hand tighter and pressed onto his side.
“What, you don’t want to go in?” he asked.
She sighed.
“I don’t know? I guess there is no use…”
“We troubled ourselves with the whole way here already, don’t tell me you want to quit now,” he said.
Chiyo sighed and walked on, reluctantly climbing the stairs, only making a halt once they arrived at the main entrance.
She took the heavy door handle and knocked a few times. Nothing happened for a while and she was about to say ‘Too bad, let’s head back’ when the heavy wooden door creaked and an old woman peeked her head out.
It was none other than Edith, the housekeeper.
“My! I did not expect you to be back so soon, Miss Klara. And with company too!”
The old woman opened the door wider, hushing them inside.
“Come in, come in. We’ve been having an annoying plague of Specters; they tend to try and get in whenever the doors are open.”
“Edith, I told you not to call me that. Especially not in front of others…” Chiyo complained to the elderly woman. How many times did she have to tell her this?
“Yes, yes… let me take a look at you, child.”
Edith took hold of Chiyo and eyed her up and down. Like a grandmother who was assessing her grandchild. Her hands seemed to measure her wrists and patted her hips. Chiyo had no other choice than to let her as she stood there rigidly, like a frozen pillar.
“Miss Klara, you look thin like a skeleton. Have you been eating properly? I told your father I did not trust anybody else with your meals, but he would not listen to me!” fussed Edith.
She could hear Shuu let out an amused chuckle next to her.
“And I see you brought a dashing young man with you as well, Miss Klara, you should have introduced him to me first,” Edith did not seem to care at all about Chiyo’s disdain for any of her actions. Everyone else in the house had somehow gotten the memo but not housekeeper Edith, no. Sometimes Chiyo wondered whether she should just give up on it after all.
“Right, Klara, why aren’t you introducing us?” Shuu teased her. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes when he said that. She frowned at him, feeling her cheeks burn with embarrassment.
With an eyeroll she ended up introducing them to each other.
“So, you are the infamous young master Shuu,” Edit mused, “Aaah I remember it so well when the young Miss Klara would not shut up about you.”
“Is that so?” Shuu raised his brows, clearly amused by the whole scene.
“Oh yes, yes!” Edith ushered them into the living area and told them to sit down. “Why don’t I tell you all about it after I prepare some tea?”
“Edith!”
Shuu looked at Chiyo with an amused expression. Seeing him this carefree made her stop in her tracks and blush. She could make out the faint hint of a soft smile on his lips before he turned around to the housekeeper again.
“Oh, I’d love to.”
“Wonderful! I shall prepare some Assam tea at once!”
With that she hurried out of the room and towards the kitchen, leaving the two of them alone.
Chiyo averted her gaze, pretending to be deeply interested in tracing her fingernail over the glittery embroidery of the couch she was sitting on. After a few minutes Shuu, who was sitting on the other couch, shifted and rested his elbow on one of the pillows.
“So, when were you going to tell me that you had a secret name, too?”
Chiyo scoffed. Secret name. More like something she had buried together with her human side centuries ago. When she found that being different did not make you special. But that instead everybody hated you and wanted you gone. That name was like a brand. Kick me and destroy me; I am not like you, it screamed.
“I was hoping on ‘never’. I hate the name; it reminds me of being human.”
He was about to say something when he was interrupted by Edith coming back with a tray full of tea and small biscuits. The aroma wafted into the room, creating a cozy atmosphere for the unsuspecting.
“Now, now. It is not proper to look down upon one’s own heritage like that. This name was carefully chosen by no one other than your own mother. You should treasure it.”
Chiyo balled her hands into fists. She didn’t want to hear about taking pride in her heritage, when that was what has been getting her in trouble ever since she was born. It was the reason she ended up going through hell right now! It would follow her around like a shadow until the day she turned to dust!
However, she knew that arguing now would change nothing. Instead, she took one of the black and white cookies from the tray and bit into it reluctantly. She could almost feel the bile forming on her tongue when she did so, so she ended up putting the cookie away.
Shuu watched her as Edith filled the filigree cups with black tea before he spoke up.
“So is the Master of the house not here?” he asked as if he didn’t already know.
According to the familiar he left some time ago and wasn’t scheduled to be back at least a week. It should give them enough time to search the place for anything of interest. Now that they were here, Chiyo wondered why she had ever wanted to come back do desperately. She must have forgotten how oppressive this place felt. But would a caged bird know it was held a prisoner before it soared into the sky freely? Well… she was far from being truly free yet. Comparing herself would be a disservice to the birds.
“Master Leonhard? No, I am afraid he left a few days ago to meet the King at Eden. Some kind of important business, you see?” Edith said. “I’m terribly sorry, I’m sure he would have loved to talk to you, now that you’re all grown up.”
Edith was right about one thing at least. Her connection to Shuu was what her father was at least slightly interested in. He encouraged the two of them spending time. Arranged the joint tutoring and all. Though, she had always assumed that it had been easier to ship her off to the strict Lady Beatrix than tutor her at home. Not that Shuu’s mother had paid her much attention. Her focus had usually been on her first-born.
She had approved of her at the very least, had even said once that Chiyo’s manners and piano skills were a good fit for the future. She wasn’t sure whether that meant she had plans to bring her and Shuu together; not that it mattered now that she had tragically passed a lifetime ago.
Meanwhile, Edith took a plate and loaded a bunch of different biscuits onto it before forcing it into Shuu’s hands, saying he should eat up since he must be tired from the trip. Not like Vampires needed sustenance outside of blood, but that one had been scarce too, since he did not suck from her.
Edith was an individual that loved to talk, being able to chew off someone's ear that way. In between her ramblings, she inquired why they suddenly visited and how long they would stay, so Shuu made up the excuse that he had always wanted to see how his girlfriend lived.
“That is wonderful news! You see, I have been worried about the young miss, when I heard you had a fight. The past few years were rough for her...”
Chiyo pressed her lips into a thin line and looked away. She could feel his eyes on her, and it was the most degrading feeling in a while. She had never admitted to Shuu how much their fight affected her; how miserable she used to feel all on her own.
Sensing the growing tension, Edith cleared her throat.
“Well, I am happy to see the two of you found each other again. I am going to let the staff know to prepare an additional room.”
Chiyo looked at the elderly woman as she shuffled back outside.
