Chapter 3

Yui couldn't still figure out what had happened and what was happening.

She had gone to the bathroom, innocently, to make sure it was that time of the month (she would have had peace for a few days and no anaemia, or at least she was hoping for it); Ayato would have never left her alone, so he had escorted her like a good boyfriend a bodyguard would do, waiting for her as a sentry beside the door of the girls' services, under the curious looks of the female students who had exited in the meantime.

Then, all of a sudden, after exiting with a peaceful smile which was concealing a malignantly victorious note, he wasn't anymore at the same place she had expected him to be; puff!, he had disappeared.

She had gone around in the nearby corridors, but she couldn't see any trace of the vampire; however she had sensed the bad feeling of having four pairs of eyes staring at her figure: eyes which were not pleasant.

As soon as her doubts had been confirmed by the cheerful voice behind her ("Ne, Ruki-kun, shall we approach her?") she had accelerated her pace; it was a pity that at one juncture the giant from the class next to hers had prevented her from moving forward, followed by the guy with a lost and possibly more gloomy expression than Kanato's.

She had just stepped back, ending up against a wall, and soon a vampires' wall had surrounded her, threatening.

- He! Look at how much she's trembling ... – the tallest one commented with a grin, only worsening the panic attack that was growing within her; the blond giggled, crossing his arms behind the back of his head and leaning towards Yui:

- Yada~ M-neko-chan, don't be afraid~ we're just here to get to know each other better - he explained, with a not very convincing look; the young man who had been distracted with the bandages wrapped around his arms until then murmured:

- Eve, what do you think about pain? - he tilted his head as the blond man shrugged and scolded him not to be so tragic; the girl paused over the name she had been called, repeating it.

- "Eve"? M-My name is Yui! – she stated, confused, trying to appear less frightened than she was.

Finally, the young man who seemed to be the group's boss spoke with his monotonous and sharp voice, not after giving her an enigmatic and somewhat ironic smirk:

- We know your name is Komori Yui... but, to us, you're Eve. And, now, you'll have to pick an Adam.

The poor girl wasn't comprehending anymore, and her anxiety was doing nothing but depriving her of the necessary strength to keep standing and being lucid; she felt her soul was about to abandon her to herself. The blond giggled again, commenting that she was really cute with her face tensed with shock and he raised his hand with the intention of poking her cheek, or so it seemed.

Suddenly a stone darted in front of him, scratching his hand, and halting everything for two seconds.

- Get away from her, now.

That voice overflowed in Yui the hope and joy of being saved, despite the gloomy and cold tone that could have turned pale the angel of death; the four vampires stiffened, then turned slowly and eyed Mary's determined and intimidating figure, who approached them with a firm yet elegant step. They let her pass through them, and it was at that moment that she felt inexpressible vibes, caused in particular by her classmate's insistent gaze; she stopped in front of Yui, raising an arm, as if to raise a protective barrier.

- Yui-chan, head to the left, quickly - she whispered gently, with a slight serious tone in her voice; her friend nodded, swallowing, and went away, casting worried and afraid glances at her.

Mary turned to the boys, crossing her arms to the chest, and glared at each one of them with her dark irises, partly hidden by the hair falling on her face: Kou was quite irritated and was looking at the small wound on the back of his hand; Ruki was smiling enigmatically, composed, with his eyes as piercing as diamond blades; Yuma had tilted back his head, looking at her surly; Azusa silently stared at her with those lavender eyes and seemed... passionate about her presence.

- I don't know what your goal is, but I'd rather have you not approach my friend like this: you're scaring her.

The blond burst out laughing, approaching her by a step and moving some locks away from her face, behind her ear with a swift and soft gesture of his hand:

- Gomen, gomen, Neko-chan! We didn't do it on purpose, really~ - he said, raising his hands as if he wanted to swear solemnly.

I don't like this guy, Mary thought, he seems somewhat fake, she frowned before looking at his classmate: an unknown entity had suggested that he wanted to speak to her.

- It wasn't our intention to frighten her... or at least it wasn't our main goal - he smiled mysteriously; Mary saw another grin appear on the tallest vampire's face as Ruki went on - We just wanted to chat, that's all.

- You could always invite her for a coffee at the school bar, don't you think so? - she bit back, hearing the bell's sound - See you in class - she turned and headed towards the stairs, but stopped immediately as soon as she heard her classmate's voice.

- Izanami...

A vague memory took hold of her thoughts: her mother's figure smiling sadly at her, after she had taken her by the river, and the twin tightened to her in search of comfort, discouraged by all the noises only he could hear; she recalled some of her mother's indefinite recommendations and then the abandonment, while her father held his little children's hands, as he watched his wife walk away hesitantly.

Mary turned around, tilting her eyes and staring at the four vampires for a long time, more confused than stupefied; she leaned back and staggered.

- You... how... - she murmured. It was as if an explosion was to take place, it was a countdown before a mental breakdown; and Ruki's enigmatic and "I know it all" smile did nothing more than make her feel sicker and sicker.

It was a hand on her shoulder to distract her from everything, pulling her back with strength and at the same time with care; her eyes shifted to Subaru's annoyed face, staring at the four vampires before them; she sensed another presence behind her, and the scent of clean soothed her, but for a short time: when he came to her side, Mary noticed Shuu's lost and thoughtful look, directed to the giant who was glancing at him with a confused expression, which could have been interpreted as a "What are you looking at, do we know each other?".

- Let's go - the albino grunted, after giving the Mukami brothers a dirty look, mentally slapping the blond one in particular; at last, they left.


- Shuu-san - Mary knocked gently at the vampire's door, sincerely worried; from the time when he had escorted her in the classroom with Subaru, the blond's ocean-blue eyes seemed exhausted, tired and dead; a dead ocean is an ocean that has greeted the tomb of life in its depths.

Not receiving an answer, she refrained from resorting to the usual method she used with the albino and chose to open it cautiously, looking at the interior from the slit: darkness.

- Shuu-san? - she called again, before jumping at feeling a hand on her shoulder for the second time in the evening.

- What are you doing? - Reiji asked, scrutinizing her with a grimace of disapproval – Shouldn't you be in Laito's room?

Ah, this shithead. You don't care at all about your brother, but use him as an excuse for get rid of me, to get me away from Shuu. Disgusting opportunist, Mary thought, narrowing her eyes and holding back the growing dislike towards the spectacled vampire.

- It's a good thing that I, unlike you uncaring brothers, I do worry about every single member of this family! If I know someone is in trouble or depressed, I do not think twice about helping him!

The two kept silent and exchanged hostile glances until the bedroom's door opened completely: Shuu ran his fingers through his hair, messing them up and muttering sleepily; he was wearing comfortable greenish cotton trousers and a large knitted sweater, and they were both crumpled, sign that until a few moments ago he was backing in the blankets. Nothing to wonder if it hadn't been for a certain detail: he had changed, the same person who wouldn't lift a finger to undress and would drift directly into the bathtub with the clothes still on.

- What's with all this racket, I was sleeping... - he complained, still mumbling irritably and yawning; Reiji raised an eyebrow and addressed a grin to Mary.

- He seems perfectly fine to me. You have no reason to worry about him - he said, hatefully; the girl's silver eyes blinked, turning back to their natural colour rapidly.

- ...Eh? Were you worried about me? - the vampire behind her spoke with a low voice, while she felt flushing with embarrassment and tension.

In a split second she was pulled into the room, immersed in total darkness; she heard Reiji's displeasure comment from the other side of the door, then his frantic and irate steps that slowly faded away. It was obvious that he would have never teleported to interfere between them, even though he disliked them being together.

- Uuuhm, Shuu-san? - Mary murmured; of course, saying that she was infatuated with the blond was quite an euphemism, but despite this she didn't like that situation: alone, in the dark, in a locked bedroom. Where did she read or heard about such a setting...?

She felt his cold breath on her neck and his arms wrapping around her waist, holding her in a sharp grasp; his cheek leaned on hers, tickling her with his locks.

- Heee~ you're hot, you've got a fever? Do you want me to worry about you, now? – Shuu blew on her skin, his voice low and husky; Mary flinched, grabbing his wrists with her trembling hands, and struggled, wishing to get away as soon as possible from that grip: her heart had just rang the alarm bell, in view of an imminent failure.

- S-Shuu-san... please, let me go... - she stammered, trying to ignore the little kisses he was printing on her jaw.

- Nh~? Don't be shy, you're the one who came looking for me... at last - he stressed in a frustrated tone, confirming how much he had been jealous of the attentions given to his brother in coma, lately; Mary widened her eyes and forgot everything, releasing a slight laugh.

The vampire stopped, probably looking at her questioningly, and asked her why she had just laughed.

- It seems I wasn't the only one looking for you... You were also waiting for me - she said, looking for his cheek and pinching it with her fingers, while her sweet smile almost seemed to light up their faces and allow them to see each other in the dark; Shuu pouted and pulled away from the girl, sighing.

- So? Why were you worried about me? - he asked, moving away; Mary tried to calm herself down and, as she answered, she felt a thud: Shuu had flopped on the bed, surely.

- This morning, with the Mukami... I noticed that you were estranged, especially, I think, because of the tallest one...

Silence. An endless, heavy, suffocating silence; the girl stepped back carefully, colliding with the door, and she slowly looked for the key with her hands, to leave him alone: it was obvious he didn't want to talk about it to her, thus she wasn't going to insist.

- Whenever you want, I'm here for you, Shuu-san - she just said, before leaving and closing the door.

She stood motionless for a few seconds, distractedly staring at the floor, and then, pulling back the tears of frustration, she headed for Laito's room, to fulfil that daily task.


Thanks for reading~ I hope you enjoyed the new chapter!