Yui awoke with a gasp, the sun setting behind the couch she laid on.
"Where am I?" she asked herself, looking around for answers.
"You're finally awake." Ruki said.
She turned to Ruki and Yuko with a gasp.
"You sleep so soundly, for livestock." he continued.
"L-Livestock?!" she said. "W-Who are you? And... where am I?"
"Aah~. She slept so soundly that she forgot your names." Yuko followed, behind the eldest of the Mukamis.
"Yuko-san, why did you bring me-"
Yuma appeared, hitting the window and the girl looked at him.
"Shut up!" he barked. "Quit your squealing, you sow!"
A shuddering breath came from her.
"Now, now. After being brought here so suddenly, of course she's gonna be confused." Kou told his younger brother, walking down the stairs. "Right, M Neko-chan?"
"Hey... Do you like... pain?" Azusa asked, appearing taking her hand.
She gasped and fell on the couch with fear.
"Hey, now, Azusa-kun. That's inappropriate to ask a person you just met. You have to introduce yourself first." the idol lectured.
"Again." Yuko said.
"Right. So let's start over." he replied. "I'm Mukami Kou. Nice to meet you, M Neko-chan."
"I'm Mukami Yuma." Yuma said.
"Mukami?" Yui questioned.
"We're all brothers." Kou explained. "And this is..."
"Azusa." the boy who took her hand earlier introduced himself.
The platinum blonde looked over to Ruki, to which he replied to the question in her eyes, "I'm Ruki."
"You already know who I am, but to fit with the atmosphere, I'm Kurosawa Yuko." the witch said. "Your student council president."
"This is the mansion we all live in. You're going to live here with us too, M Neko-chan." the blond told her.
"What? Live here?" she asked, standing up. "I can't do that! I'm going back!"
Ruki shut his book.
"Going back?"
He stood up from his seat, turning to her.
"You want to go back to the Sakamaki mansion?"
"Eh?"
"You were treated as a plaything by the vampires at that mansion, were you not?"
Eve gasped and looked away, what he said, the truth.
"So by being kept as their pet, even your mind degraded to the level of livestock?"
"Th-That's not... B-But you're all vampires too, aren't you? So it'd be the same if I stayed here!"
"I don't appreciate you comparing us to them." Ruki said in calm anger. "Unlike them, we at least have some sense."
"There's no way I can believe that." Yui replied.
"Man, how annoying!" Kou spoke in annoyance. "We really don't care if you're convinced or not!"
"He's right. Our plan requires your... Eve's... blood." the eldest said.
"Eve's blood?" she asked. "Eve is... me? How can that be?"
"You are... definitely... Eve." Azusa answered.
"N-No! I'm not Eve!"
"Quit whining over everything!" Yuma said. "All you need to do is shut up and obey us."
"You're Eve because you have Cordelia's heart. Daughter of the Demon Lord." Yuko explained. "Human blood and vampire blood flows within you, making your blood of finest quality."
Ruki took Yui's chin, making her look up to him, his reflection in her eyes.
"As the one who possesses the blood of Eve, you should be able to find him without error." he said. "You'll find Adam."
"Adam?" she replied.
"From now on, you'll be living here with us." he continued. "Your opinion doesn't matter. As long as you're Eve, you're going to obey our rules. Take some time in here to clear your mind."
And he closed her door.
Yuko scribbled on her homework, and in the middle of it, she sharply turned her eyes to her window. A bat was settled in front of her window.
"Why are you bothering me now?" she asked the bat, still scribbling answers on the worksheet. "Did we already get Eve? Of course we did, easy as cake. Your sons are far too careless, but I'm sure they've noticed that she's missing by now."
Putting her pencil down, she turned her body to the bat, crossing her legs.
"And you? 'Reinhart-sensei'?"
She sneered.
"How am I doing with your other sons? I told you I didn't want to be with them again. Are you just trying to make me suffer of this guilt?"
Narrowed her eyes.
"Begone already. What is the past is the past that forever haunts me. It's my fault those children became like this."
And the bat flew away.
The witch sighed, resting her head on her hand and thinking of what she felt guilty for. Her thoughts were soon interrupted by sensing an escaping Yui.
"Ruki-kun, your livestock is looking for the way out."
"Ugh..." a child Ruki groaned, having been beat up badly by the other orphans in the orphanage.
In his blurred vision he saw an extraordinarily beautiful girl with long light blue hair and deep blue eyes approach him.
"Has god... come to get me...?" he questioned.
The girl in the white dress smiled.
"You're very much still alive, Little Mister."
"... Just another livestock... huh?" the boy said.
"Livestock!? Really, what kind of treatment is that to your grand elder!?" she exclaimed, causing him to straighten up in a jump. "Former aristocrat brats will still retain their old personalities I see..."
"... Eh?"
"Now then, can you walk?" the girl asked, tilting her head. "We should get you patched up."
"I think I can... but why are you helping me?" Ruki asked with confusion.
"Why? Because I care about you, of course."
A small gasp came from him, words he hadn't heard in what seemed like centuries.
"But you called me an aristocrat brat just now."
"Brat or not, you have kindness in you unlike most of these orphans in this terrible orphanage. It hurts to see children beat each other up."
She offered her hand to him.
"Your name?"
He took it.
"... Ruki."
The girl smiled again.
"Yuko."
And she helped him up.
"We're friends now, you hear?"
"Friends?"
"That means I'm going to protect you from now on, and that's a promise. You too."
Ruki looked away.
"I can't guarantee that."
"I know you can, Ruki-kun. I believe in you."
He looked back at her happy smile and she lightly laughed.
"'I don't appreciate you comparing us to them,' huh?" Yuko said, leaning against the doorway of Yui's room.
Ruki, who had just set the unconscious girl on her bed, looked over at her.
"If you ask me, there's not much of a difference." she continued.
"Perhaps that may be true." the vampire replied.
"It is. I've been watching her ever since she arrived at their doorstep."
"Are you going to cut ties with the eldest?"
"Maybe."
The witch walked over to the sleeping Eve, looking up at him.
"I'll get her into her sleepwear. So please leave."
"Yuko, something feels off about you. Did something happen?"
"It's just your imagination. I'm just tired from today."
A simple lie.
"... Then, goodnight."
"Goodnight, Ruki-kun."
The blue-grey eyed young man left, the door closing.
She clenched her sleeve, memories going through her mind.
"I'm too kind..." she said quietly, brushing the guilt off and turning to Yui with an outstretched hand.
Casting a spell, Yuko nearly fell, using the dresser for support.
"He really sucked a lot of blood from you... huh?"
After regaining some strength, she undressed Yui to get her in her nightgown and tucked the girl into bed before weakly walking back to her room.
N/A: I'm surprised you kept reading. Unfortunately that's all I have to say... See you next week.