"Little bitch" Laito grumbled as he shoved open the doors to the sitting room. He'd been happily enjoying the silence of the upstairs music room when the eldest of his new sisters had appeared from nowhere. She'd been adamant in her quest to annoy him, a goal in which she'd succeeded. His fury grew as he came to realize the sitting room was occupied by his brothers, all of which seemed to be irate themselves.
"Whose the bitch now?" Ayato grumbled as he slumped in his chair.
"Yes, I thought you reserved that particular name for Yui" Reiji's voice was cooler than usual as he scoured over a book near a desk lamp in the corner.
"The eldest of those little brats of our lovely new stepmother's" Laito snapped as he gripped the back of a sofa angrily. Kanato looked up from his bear long enough to blink at his brother before returning to the toy.
"What has Kira done now" Reiji closed his book, giving Laito a hard stare.
"She's constantly lurking around the mansion" Laito complained. "Acting as if she owns the place. It's like she's a little leech sent to suck us dry"
"Now Now" The room fell silent as a new voice joined them. "That isn't any way to talk about our dear sister"
Laito spun around, furious to find yet another one of his sisters perched on the reading desk behind him. Azuka was flanked by the eerily silent twins, both of them watching with cold violet eyes. Their hands were linked together as they stood just in front of their older sister. The oldest of the three sisters leaned forward dangerously, her lavender colored hair falling over her shoulders. "You never know who might hear"
"What are you doing here?" Ayato snapped, his eyes turning on Azuka and the twins.
"Isari and Isami thought something was wrong. So we came to check on our darling brothers" Azuka shrugged, touching the shoulders of the girls in front of her. "Isn't that right girls?"
Laito's lip curled into a sneer as the twins nodded as one. They turned their eyes on him as he let out a furious breath.
"Don't you know it's rude to barge in without knocking" Reiji said sourly.
"Didn't your mother teach you that it's rude to talk behind someone's back?" Azuka returned Reiji's scowl with an even smile of her own. "Oops. Sorry. I forgot that Beatrix saved those lessons for her dearest Shu"
The book in Reiji's lap fell to the floor as he stood, glaring at the offender. It was a rare moment of loss for Karlheinz's second son. He and Azuka stared each other down from across the room as silence filled it.
"Care to tell us what the three of you really want?" Subaru broke the tension, turning his eyes on the sisters.
'Well you see, Subaru." Azuka smiled. "It seems Isari and Isami were eager to see you" Her smile widened as his eyes widened for a brief moment. "I know I know. I was surprised as well. See, the twins hardly ever find someone they see as suitable for themselves. And even then they both have to agree on it. The last one came along six hundred years ago. Poor Isari here...He was human though, so it woul-umf!"
Azuka was cut off as a thin layer of frost dusted over her lips. She turned her eyes toward one of the twins. The one on the right, the girl Laito assumed was Isari, had turned her own eyes toward her sister. Her stare was icy, cold enough to freeze blood in the vein. For the first time, Laito realized that the twins were not truly identical. Isari's eyes were just a shade darker than her sister's. Her hair was parted slightly more to the left than Isami's and her white, long-sleeved, dress was just a hair longer than her sister's; ending just above her knees rather than her calves. Finally the little gems accenting the top hem of the dress were light purple rather than the magenta of Isami's.
"I see I touched a nerve" Azuka wiped away the frost with a handkerchief she pulled from between her breasts. Laito traced her delicate fingers with his eyes as she drew the cloth purposefully across her mouth. Not a hint of lipstick showed against its whiteness as she drew it away. "Isari is usually such a sweet girl. But she and Isami have their secrets"
Laito tore his eyes away from Azuka, choosing to instead focus on the twins. The two of them had intertwined their fingers again, holding on tightly. Both had taken their focus off of Azuka and had instead trained their eyes on Subaru. Laito could even detect the slightest hint of color in their cheeks as they watched his younger brother.
"Perhaps you'd leave the two of them in our care then" Laito's words snapped the twin's attention back to him. Azuka's own eyes widened for a split second before they narrowed into suspicious slits.
"And why would I be so inclined to leave my sweet little sisters in the hands of men I don't know?" Azuka's voice had darkened as she glared at Laito.
"Because they're family after all" Laito reached out, gently touching Isari's cheek. To his surprise she didn't recoil as he'd expected. Instead she titled her head into his touch, violet eyes looking up at him with interest. It seemed the silent twins weren't as emotionless as he'd first perceived. "It's only natural that we offer them a little affection."
"And if they should choose to remain with me?" Azuka challenged. Her fingers dug into her sister's shoulders.
"Then that is their-"
"No sister" Laito was cut off by Isami's quiet voice.
"We choose to stay" Isari finished her sister's sentence.
Azuka stared as the twins stepped away from her, allowing Laito to lay a hand on each of their shoulders. He smiled at Azuka. She hissed in displeasure.
"Fine. Isari. Isami" Azuka addressed her sister's curtly as she lifted herself off the desk and stormed out of the sitting room.
"What are you doing, Laito" Reiji asked, sighing as Azuka left the room.
"Merely collecting Subaru's little admirers." Laito looked toward his brother, finding Subaru sitting calmly on the same couch he'd been occupying the entire time. He sensed the twins peeking around him, their eyes returning to his youngest brother. "Aren't you even going to spare them a glance, Subaru?" Laito ignored the confused expression on Ayato's face and the displeased one on Reiji's. "They're quite pretty after all. And there are two of them"
"I don't care" Subaru turned his head away from Laito, focusing on the bookshelf adorning the wall behind the couch.
"Are you sure?" Laito knew just how to tempt Subaru as he bent his head, positioning his nose at the base of Isari's throat. "I'm sure they're delicious. She smells absolutely sinful-gah!"
Laito froze as he felt a cold prickle of air cross his neck. Frost had formed around his throat, a spike of it aimed directly at his jugular vein.
"You're wrong, brother" Isami's voice was eerily sweet as her fingers dusted across his cheek.
"You're the one who smells delicious" Laito's eyes narrowed as Isari moved, her own fangs barely glancing across his skin. A trickle of warm blood escaped from the tear she'd left, followed by the sensation of her tongue across his throat.
"You could be right, Isari" He forced a smile, though he couldn't help but feel shaken. No one had bitten him since the nights his mother took advantage of him. The girl's fangs felt lovely as they grazed him, and he couldn't help the twinge of jealousy that accompanied the thought of their eyes focused on Subaru. He brought his fingers up to rest against Isari's cheek. "It seems Subaru doesn't appreciate you"
The twins didn't respond, though Laito could feel Ayato's eyes flickering from him to Subaru and back again. He righted himself, ignoring the blood that remained on his neck and shoulder. A spot of the liquid remained on Isari's mouth, though the girl seemed to be content in ignoring it.
"I suppose the two of you came here for something other than Subaru" Reiji's voice filled the now silent room. "And I suspect it's not pleasant" His eyes met those of the twins. "Your mother wants Yui dead. And so do you"
The girls smiled to themselves. "We won't deny it, Reiji" Isari said. Her fingers unlaced from her sister's, moving up to cup Laito's neck. He nearly flinched as she touched the mark her fangs had left, leaning up to draw her tongue purposefully through the remaining blood.
"We do want the little Cordelia dead" Isami agreed, drawing in close to Isari once more. Ayato turned a glare on the two of them.
No one moved as the twins stood on their toes, arms going around Laito's neck as they looked at Reiji over his shoulders.
"But there's someone we want dead more" Isari said, nuzzling her cheek against Laito's throat.
"And who might that be?" Even Shu turned to watch as Reiji spoke.
The twins shared a glance, smiles crossing their faces as they looked back at Reiji.
"Our Mother"