Damn that Laito. I almost couldn't get any sleep last night because of his surprising text message. He had my phone number and that alone is so alarming. I already cannot stand his very presence, and now he has my actual contact information. His harassment will no longer be just physical anymore thats for sure. Unless I change my number, but I didn't want to go through all that when Yui already has my current number, and Dad would probably want to know the reason for me wanting to switch numbers all of a sudden. He'd be even more curious considering the fact that I don't use my phone at all, so why would I need to change the number. I couldn't possibly tell him that it was because of a boy that wouldn't leave me alone. He'd most definitely freak out about something like that. Not to mention, who's to say that Laito won't manage to possess my new number if I did change it. However he got it the first time, getting it the second time wouldn't be so diffcult for him I'm sure.
Laito is constantly putting me into a state of shock and building up so much stress onto me. Honestly though, nothing he does should no longer surprise me anymore. I mean he did somehow break into my home without a single trace of entry whatsoever, so it shouldn't surpise me that he somehow got my phone number.
I laid in bed for a few minutes while staring at my phone. Now when it rang, I'd have to be very careful. Its no longer Yui that's going to be contacting me occasionally, it's now that bothersome Laito.
I groaned and grunted out loudly while stretching in bed, and then slowly got up into sitting position. Dad had already left, so its just me for the morning. After getting up, I opened my curtains to bring a little light into my dim room. It was a bit cloudly today with some sun. That was fine by me, the more the sun hid, the better.
Then it dawned on me, I just remembered that Yui and I were going to hang out today. She said she wanted to take me to a cafe she was familair with. I wonder what time she wanted to go.
I went to pick up my phone to look at our past messages to see if she texted me the time and it said early evening in front of the school. I then began to go through our messages going over our past conversations. There wasn't much history but it still felt nice to have a friend that I could talk to and now hang out with. While looking through the messages, I came across an unknown number and a very annoying text message. The very same message that shocked me to receive last night, to the point where I almost didn't get any sleep.
Sighing, I simply tossed my phone back on the stand and went to leave my room. Dwelling on that sick pervert wasn't going to do me any good this morning, besides, Yui and I are going to have our first day out together and I refuse to have it ruined with the thoughts of Laito the Lecher.
After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I was about to go into the kitchen and whip me up something, until all of a sudden, I heard a chim come from my room. It was my phone.
Going back in my room, I quickly went to pick up my phone and flipped it open.
"Yui? This early?"
I opened the message and read it.
"Hiyori, I hope I didn't wake you. Once you read this, give me a call when you have the time."
My forehead crinkled up in confusion. Why did she want me to contact her so early in the morning. Maybe something happened and we may have to cancel today's plans. If so, that's fine. There's always next time.
I wanted to call her right then and there but I needed to put some food in my belly. With my phone in hand, I went into the kitchen to make breakfast.
After cooking me up some breakfast, which consisted of an omelette and some orange juice, I placed my dirty dishes in the sink and went to sit on the couch. Picking up my phone from the table where I placed it, I got comfortable and called Yui.
After listening to a few rings, I finally got an answer.
"Good morning Hiyori, I wanna apologize if I disturbed you so early in the morning but I needed to talk to you."
I frowned, wondering what she wanted to discuss so early in the morning. Whatever it was, she sure did sound like it was something urgent.
"Is there something wrong? You sound troubled."
I heard Yui let out a half chuckle and a sigh. She seemed as if she was struggling with to come about whatever she was attemtping to say.
"Well...I just wanted to apologize. Again on behalf of Laito's actions yet again."
At first, I had no idea what she could've been referring to, but then I had a quick flashback to last night before I went to bed. That out of the blue text message from Laito. Sighing, I ran my hand over my face.
"Yui, I keep telling you that you don't have to say sorry for that boy's actions. I do admit though, he did...surpise me last night with that stunt he pulled."
"Hiyori I'm so sorry. And I know you said I shouldn't but I feel responsible for him being able to get your number. He got it from my phone afterall."
Of course he did. I should've known. He and Yui live together, of course he'd snoop through her phone and steal my number. I hadn't even thought of that possibility.
"That jerk. To go through your phone without your permission and take my number. I was almost tempted to change it, but it'd be pointless as we both know."
Yui laughed.
"Oh sorry, I suppose I shouldn't be laughing. It was wrong of him, and unfortunately that's just how he is. I just had to call you and explain. Ayato and I were about to enter my room, when I saw Laito sitting on my bed going through my phone. Goodness, it was almost a brawl last night."
My eyebrows rose in curiosity.
"A brawl?"
Yui hummed.
"Ayato hates when his brothers are in my room. He says, and I quote, that he doesn't want their stench anywhere near me."
Lifting a brow, concern filled me.
"Ayato kun is very...possessive don't you think?"
Hearing Yui chuckle uncomfortably, I felt myself regretting what I just let slip out my mouth.
"O-oh Yui I'm sorry! It just slipped out! I was thinking it and it just...ya know...came out."
Yui immediately shook off my statement with a small giggle.
"Oh no no, you're right. He is very possessive, yet at the same time protective. He'd never out right say it, but he really worries about me. He doesn't show it in sweet ways, but he shows it in ways only I can understand. I do understand and appreciate your concern though, it shows how much of a good hearted person you are."
Feeling myself be so touched by what she said, I couldn't help but lay my hand on my chest and sigh dramatically.
"No Yui...you're the good hearted person!"
We both laughed loudly at my dramatic response and carried on with causal conversation. We talked about our plans for today, when we'd meet up and so on. We talked for at least an hour, which felt like only a few minutes. So this what it was like to have a nice friendly chat with a good friend. When we did finally hang up, It was pretty clear that neither one of us wanted to end the call. She said sorry once more of course before ending the line.
After hanging up from Yui, I looked at the time and saw that it was still pretty early, so I decided to go in my room and look for something nice to wear for Yui and I's outting. I grabbed my phone and made my way into my room.
After about 40 minutes of rummaging through my dresser and closet, I managed to find something nice to wear. It was a pair of white jean capris and a turquoise thin strap tank top. I wanted to keep it simple yet just right for a nice day out with a friend. I rarely go out, so when it comes to clothes, I don't really have a creative or colorful collection of them. I've gone out shopping for something new each season, but once I do pick something, Its usually just a couple of bottoms and shirts. Not only that, they're always just plain and not all that stylish. At least to me. I'm a simple and causal girl, so I always pick comfortablity over style when it comes to my clothes. I suppose I should start changing that real soon. I want to try and actually "be a girl" I suppose I should say.
Once I laid out my outfit, I went to my bra and panty drawer to find something that'll blend well with my clothes. Dark underwear for my bottoms and dark bra for my light colored shirt. My tank top was kind of transparent, so a black bra would be more than fine.
Now that I think about it, I guess aside for my clothes, my undergarments are something I actually love shopping for the most. They always have so many different kinds of styles and material, be it lace or cotton. I hadn't even noticed how provocative my underclothes were.
Purple suits you...
"Hmmm..."
Purple is a sign of compassion and sensitivity...
Taking a look at my collection of underclothes, I took note that I had a lot of purple and black. I reached into my drawer and pulled out a lace purple and black padded bra set. I had just brought this set a few weeks ago, so I've yet to wear it. Taking a closer look, its surely too lewd for my usual tastes. Why on earth did I purchase it in the first place? The color perhaps? Well the shade of purple and black went very well together.
"It suits me...?"
I grabbed the set, walked over to my mirror and put it up against my body checking to see how it looked.
"Did he...really mean it?"
I pressed it up against my body as close as I could to see if it fitted my figure perfectly and to see if the shade was actually the right color for my tone of skin. Turning left and right, observing the front and back, I was trying to see if something this alluring really deserve to be on someone as plain and simple as me. I'm no model, so why bother buying stuff like this.
"Well...at least purple actually does looks nice on me..."
Sign of compassion and sensitivity...
I sighed thinking about Laito's comment towards my undergarments. Whether he meant it or not, what's his opinion matter to me anyway? Even though I know this, I constantly kept replaying his words in my head, I could practically hear him right next to me in my ear, so close behind me, with his arms wrapped around me. I hadn't even noticed that I brought my fingers up to touch my lips remembering him kissing me so causally and suddenly like that. That's actually the second time he's kissed me. If only he wasn't such a perverted jerk, I might even consider him to be...a little bit...
I shook my head of such thoughts. Realizing that I was actually thinking about Laito in such a way, I gasped in absolute shock at my unexpected thoughts of him and threw my bra and panty set harshly to the floor in disgust.
"What the hell is wrong with me? Thinking those kinds of...of...things about him!"
Frustrated and appalled at my thoughts, I went over to my drawer and slammed it shut. There is no reason whatsoever for me to take Laito's fake compliments seriously. I know for a fact he didn't mean them, he simply said those things to throw me off and catch me off guard again.
I plopped myself down on my bed and laid my arm across my eyes.
"What does his thoughts matter to me. Of course he didn't mean it. I shouldn't be letting myself get worked up over this. That...sick and twisted immoral creature...The nerve of him."
Even though I feel so angry and annoyed by him, my mind refuses to waver from him. Its not interest. I know that for certain, but maybe its because he and his family aren't excatly normal by any means. This is something entirely new to my life, so that might be the reason. Or maybe there's more I need to learn about vampires. I know the gist of things about them, that being that they're bloodsucking lustful creatures. Evidently there's more to them than what I've seen on t.v. and read in books.
While I laid in bed contemplating, I heard the doorbell ring. I sat up really quick wondering who could be visiting. Getting up out of bed, I went to peek out the window to see who it could've been. At first I thought it was Yui, but she would've let me know if she was on her way to my house. To my pleasant surpirse, it was Yusuke. Not waiting another second, I hurried to open the door.
"Yusuke? Hi its good to see you."
He returned my greeting with a handsome smile. I looked down and noticed he had a small plastic bag with him.
"Hey Hiyori. Hope I'm not intruding. I brought you something."
He lifted the bag a bit indictating that it must've been something good.
"Not at all. Come on in."
I moved to the side letting him enter.
He came inside, removed his shoes and went over towards the table to sit the bag down and then took a seat.
"Your Dad's not home?"
I closed the door and followed up behind him.
"No. He's at work. He usually leaves early in the morning. So I've got the place to myself throughout the day. What brings you here? Does it have something to do with that bag?"
Yusuke reached inside the bag and pulled out a carton of fresh healthy looking strawberries.
"My mom planted some strawberries in her garden and had more than plently. I told her about you and she insisted on giving you some of them."
I raised my eyebrows.
"You told your mom about me?"
Yusuke noticed my surprise and laughed.
"Don't worry, I didn't mention you as my girlfriend or anything."
My face turned red and I folded my arms clearly embarrassed.
"I wasn't worried about that! I just wasn't expecting you to mention me to your mother is all."
Yusuke shrugged.
"Well we're friends right? I told her about this nice girl that I helped out and of course as mothers do, she hurled questions at me. She probably got her hopes up."
Laughing, Yusuke scratched the back his head awkwardly. I hadn't even thought about Yusuke and I being friends. I guess I've been so happy to hang out and spend time with Yui, I didn't even consider the thought that Yusuke was also a new addition to my life.
I sat down at the table with him and he handed me the carton of strawberries. I opened it checking out each bright red and healthy looking strawberry.
"Well you're right about that. Parents do tend to get overly curious and full of assumptions. And yeah I suppose we are friends."
Crossing his legs, he gave me a feigned look of hurt on his face.
"You suppose? Oh so we've hung out two times, well now three time, for nothing? Hmmm...what shall I do to get into your good graces Hiyori? Shall I bring more fruit to you?"
I bit a strawberry and then tossed it at him while laughing. He simply bent down to pick it up after it tapped him and fell to the floor.
"Oh ha ha very funny. I didn't mean it in a bad way. Its just...I don't really have that many aquaintances I should say."
Yusuke tossed the half eaten strawberry into the closest trash bin.
"Well, you have one now. So we're friends starting today."
Laughing, I nodded in agreement.
"Well two now. I met this nice girl in school on my first day and we're actually going to hang out today before school starts. I would love for you to meet her one day soon. Oh Yusuke she's so sweet and kind, I swear she was sent to me from the heavens."
Before Yusuke could comment on my description of Yui, I heard a chime come from my room.
"Sorry Yusuke, that was my phone. Its probably her, I'll be right back okay?"
After giving me an okay, I jumped up out my seat and speedwalked towards my room.
I picked up my phone and flipped it open. Sure enough, it was a text from Yui.
"I know I said that we'd meet up in front of the school, but how about I come to your home?"
Not even waiting another second, I gave her a quick reply.
"Sure of course! Just ring the doorbell when you get here."
Yui had perfect timing. Just when I was mentioning her to Yusuke, she texted me saying she wanted to come over. With my phone in tow, I made my way back out to where I left Yusuke.
"So, was that her? Your friend?"
Nodding happily, I sat back down in my seat.
"Yup. Seems you'll be meeting her sooner than I expected because she's on her way over actually. I can't wait for you to meet her."
Yusuke saw how happy I was and only smiled while cupping his hand underneath his chin on the table.
"I know I've only known you for a short while but this is the happiest I think I've seen you."
My face started to get warm as I realized how overly excited I was being. I let out a nervous giggle and looked in Yusuke's direction. I shrugged and started pattering my feet on the floor.
"If I can be a little honest with you right now, I've never had uh...friends before. So please excuse my excitement."
I wasn't sure if I even wanted to tell that to Yusuke at all. I mean usually people my age would have at least one friend, but that was never on my agenda. I mean yeah an aquaintance wouldn't have been bad but to actually have someone to talk and hang out with almost on a daily basis was something that I could never find while in school. So I just stuck to focusing on my studies of course.
Yusuke saw how quiet I had gotten and spoke.
"Oh no, don't misunderstand me here. I didn't mean that your excitement is a bad thing. I mean I've seen you smile before but this time, you're like...beaming and such."
I placed both of my palms on my cheeks.
"Really?"
Yusuke nodded.
"Yes really. Of course from what you just told me, you have every right to be happy right now. So don't worry about not having friends before, you've got your friend and I now. Thats all that matters right now am I right?"
I suddenly could feel some weight lift off my heart after he said that to me. He's right. What does it matter if I didn't have friends before. As of right now, he and Yui are now currently in my life and they are truly the blessings that I am very much grateful for.
"Thank you Yusuke. That means a lot to me more than you think."
Yusuke and I talked for a few minutes longer waiting on Yui to arrive. Of course not long after that...
Ding dong
I didn't want to wait a second longer after I heard the bell. I almost knocked over my chair once I hopped up out my seat. Luckly, Yusuke grabbed my chair before it hit the floor. I turned around thanking him while I ran towards the door. Not bothering to peek out the window, I opened the door and there stood Yui looking utterly adorable in her outfit. She was wearing a causal yet very cute baby pink flaring sundress with white sandels. Her hair was even up in a ponytail. I couldn't contain myself and sighed as I took in her adorableness.
"Yui! You look so cute!."
Yui smiled while giving herself a once over and blushed modestly.
"Oh this isn't anything special, but thank you Hiyori."
I moved to the side inviting her inside. As she removed her shoes, I made my way back over to Yusuke.
"Yui, I'd like you to meet someone."
Once Yui removed her shoes, she came towards Yusuke and I. Excitedly, I introduced the two of them.
"Yusuke, this is my friend that I was telling you about. Her name's Yui."
Yusuke stood from his seat and gave a light bow of his head in her direction.
"Nice to meet you Yui...?"
Yui then bowed, deeply, in his direction as well.
"Komori. Yui Komori. Its very nice to meet you as well. Yusuke right?"
Yusuke smiled charmingly and nodded.
"Nanaba. Yusuke Nanaba. Hiyori says that you two are heading out today?"
With her hands cupped in front of her, Yui seemed just as excited about our outting than me.
"That's right. There's this nice little cafe that I love so much. We're going there. You're welcomed to join us if you want to."
I hadn't even thought of inviting Yusuke out with us and I wholeheartedly agreed with Yui's idea.
"That's actually a good idea. Yusuke kun, you should come with us. It'll be fun."
One look at Yusuke's face already told us his answer. He gave a half smile and put his hands together apologeticly.
"Sorry but I can't, my mom needs me today. Perhaps some other time maybe. Besides, Hiyori seemed quite cheery to go out with just you today. I doubt she'd want me there."
I pushed Yusuke's shoulder and felt myself getting all embarrassed again.
"Nevermind, you can't go out with us anyways. Girls only."
After sharing a few more laughs with each other, Yusuke was getting ready to head back home. I told Yui to make herself comfortable while I saw Yusuke to the door.
"Thanks again for the Strawberries Yusuke. I'll be able to make something real nice with those."
Yusuke laid his hand on his stomach and nodded.
"Well whatever it is, be sure to leave me some. It'd be an honor to taste your cooking."
Getting all flustered at his compliment, I simply turned away from him.
"W-well you should get going. Your mother's waiting."
Yusuke bent to slip on his shoes and then stood back up straight to reach for the door knob. After he turned it and opened the door, before he stepped out, he turned to look back me.
"Hiyori? Be careful okay?"
I stared at him with a confused expression on my face. He seemed genuinely worried about me, as if he was afriad something would happen to me. I then I broke out into a wide smile.
"Oh don't worry, I'll be back before its too late. Good thing its still early, we could actually take our time."
I simply thought that Yusuke was just worrying about me going out and wishing me a safe outting, but by the look on his face, I couldn't help but get the feeling that there was something more behind his tame warning.
Yusuke only exhaled as he was about to walk out the door.
"Yeah, Good thing it is. I'll see you later okay?"
He then left with quite a somber looking look on his face. I wondered what was bothering him. He seemed fine not too long ago while chatting with Yui and I. Whatever was the matter, I'll be sure to ask him about it next time I see him.
Making my way back in the room where Yui was, I noticed that she had been sitting down quietly waiting patiently for me to return.
Seeing her politely waiting for me, I instantly felt bad.
"Oh Yui I'm sorry. I should've at least made you some tea or got you a snack or something."
Shaking her head, Yui stood up from her seat.
"No its okay. That's what the cafe is for afterall. We've got a few hours to hang out before school, let's take advantage of it."
I looked at the time and saw that it was fifteen after eleven. We really did have a lot of time. I felt myself getting all giddy again, but that didn't last long because I then looked down at my clothes and freaked out.
"Gah! I'm not dressed yet! I'm still in my sleeping clothes! I didn't even realize I had been dressed this way in front of company."
I covered my face in shame and whined into my hands. I could hear Yui giggling at my current state of distress and she walked over to me and patted my shoulder to comfort me.
"Its okay, its okay. Let's head to your room so you can get dressed."
Once I got dressed, Yui and I were on our way out the door. I made sure that I had my little purse and my house key, then we were off.
On on way there, we talked about this and that but of course, I couldn't wait to ask some of my curious questions. Like one thing I notcied in particular.
"Yui? Um, I don't want to sound like I'm being...ridiculous here but if you're a vampire, then how are you able to be out in the sun? I mean most people know vampires to be not too fond of the sun, so how?"
Yui gazed down at her feet and seemed to be thinking of a proper way to explain it simply to me.
"Of course the stories goes that vampires can die by being exposed to sunlight, but turns out that's not completely the case. At least with us. I asked Ayato the same question and not to my surpise, he didn't really give me an answer. I did ask Reji san though."
I nodded urging her to continue on with her explanation.
"Reji stated that Vampires from a high lineage are able to withstand quite a lot despite what the old stories say."
I folded my arms and frowned. Withstand quite a lot? Thats interesting.
"So like from crosses, churches, holy water and so on? Are vampire hunters real as well? If so have you encountered any at all?"
Laughing at my rush of questions, Yui held up her hand gesturing me to calm down a bit.
"Hiyori you seem very curious. I'll tell you what I can when we get to the cafe alright?"
I nodded excitedly and Yui let out another laugh at me.
This all seems so surreal. I mean, I am now associated with seven vampires and one of them happens to be a very good friend of mine. Of course I'm feeling a rush of curiosity and excitement. These are things only one reads about in books or imagining these kinds of things happening to them. I would have never dreamed of going to a night school and getting acquainted with vampires. I mean, how it came about wasn't exactly all peaches and cream but I don't find myself regretting going through it because I met Yui. With this new experience, I don't think I'm gonna be bored for a while.
We finally make it to the cafe within only a few minutes. I now see why she wanted to meet me at my house instead of in front of the school. It wasn't too far from the school nor my home. I bet she wanted us to walk together on the way there. If that is what she wanted, then thats more than fine by me.
Entering the cafe first, Yui looked around and pointed us to a table by the window. We both sat down and picked up our menus looking at every delicious looking item. I noticed that it wasn't that many people inside and wondered if this place is so popular, why is it almost empty.
Yui must've noticed me looking around the almost empty cafe and giggled.
"I know what you're thinking. You should be happy that its this empty because in the mornings and evenings, this place gets quite lively."
I scratched my chin and chuckled a bit while looking back at my menu. One item caught my attention and I let out a happy gasp. Yui heard me and looked up back at me again.
"I'm guessing you found something really good?"
I lifted my menu and eagerly pointed to the picture on the menu. It was a cupcake that had the appearance of a cute kitten crawling up out of the cupcake and a frosting tail sticking out of the end of it onto the small plate.
"This is too cute to even eat Yui. Awww, the ears and the nose. Who would even dare to eat this adoable creation."
Yui stared at the picture and let out a few awes as well.
"That is cute. Hiyori, you seem to like cute things I see."
I arched my eyebrow at her statement.
"I do?"
Yui tilted her head and frowned at me. As if she was wondering why I hadn't notice my own likeness for cute things.
"Well yes. You get all ecstatic and delighted at the mere sight of something precious. Its adorable. I'm honestly amazed that I didn't see any stuffed animals in your room with how you behave."
I hadn't even noticed my fondness for cute things until now. Looking back on it, I suppose I do have a very high affection for things that are adorable.
"Heh, I guess you do have a point."
Yui and I had suddenly gone quiet, so I figure now would be a good time to bring up some of my thoughts and questions. Right as I was about to open my mouth, a waitress came over to our table.
"Hello. What can I get you two today? Do you want tea or coffee to start off?"
We put down our menus and placed our orders. Yui had gotten a green tea and I got a nice fruit juice for our starter. For food, Yui and I both got similar orders, both of us getting a mixed berry crepe plate. Only hers had mostly strawberries and mine had mostly blueberries. Once the nice waitress wrote down our order, she walked off.
I sighed as if I was relieved to have the waitress leave. As nice as she was, I really was eager for her to walk off because I really wanted Yui and me to talk. Yui saw my face and already knew what was the matter. So she took the initiative.
"Let's talk now Hiyori."
I must've been very obvious for Yui to start the topic. Now I wasn't even sure if questions was something I should be asking. I had plently of other things that I wanted to share with her and those things were about Laito. I want to tell her about Laito's and I supposed deal with one another.
I exhaled and laid my hands on top of the table.
"Okay then. I know I had a lot of questions about...you know what, but I have something else I wanna talk to you about. Its about Laito."
Yui's face grew with much concern and she leaned in waiting for me to continue with what I had to say.
"I don't want to drag into it, so I'm just gonna say it. Laito invited me to come over to his, well to your home, for dinner."
Yui sat up straight and then looked at me with confusion.
"Why would he invite you over for dinner?"
I wasn't sure if I could tell Yui about our ridiculous deal or not. I mean, I know Yui isn't one to judge but I felt that once I told her, I would feel very stupid. I should've walked away, I shouldn't have never went to that music room.
Yui saw me hesitating on my answer and just nodded.
"Say no more Hiyori. Knowing Laito's character, I'm sure he made some kind of deal with you. Am I right?"
Looking down at my lap, I somberly nodded. Well she was sorta right. Except I'm the one who proposed that we make a deal, but I wasn't the one who came up with the details of said deal.
"Yeah. Pretty much. He said he'd go easy on my blood if I accompanied him to dinner at his home. I was thinking of just not going."
Yui openly agreed.
"Then don't. You don't have to if you don't want to Hiyori."
I picked my head up quickly and gawked at Yui's sugestion.
"No way. If I don't, then he'll...chances are he'll do something far worse to me as punishment or something. I'll just go. I mean, its just dinner right?"
Yui looked off to the side and had a look of uncertainty on her face.
"Well its more like a family gathering every now and then. Its just all of us having dinner, but it isn't exactly a nice atmosphere to be into. The brothers loathe the dinners."
After she said that, I felt myself getting chills all over my body for some reason. I mean I don't expect anything less from the Sakamaki's when it comes to making someone uncomfortable and terrifying them, but is dinner with them really such a difficult scenario?
"So why have these dinners if they despise them so much? I'm sure its not like someone is forcing them."
Her face, after my question, seemed to look upset. Her eyes were downcast and her face fully gave away her downhearted appearance. Maybe I asked something that I shouldn't have and thats why she was hesitating on answering me. Right when I was about to say something, the waitress arrived with our food.
"Here you are. If there's anything else you need, please don't hesitate to ask."
The waitress bowed and walked away, leaving Yui and I alone. I don't even think Yui acknowledged the waitress who had just left our table. Whatever was heavy on her mind after my question, I was very worried.
I leaned over with my fork and stole a bite from her plate. The clinking of my fork on her plate brought her back to reality almost immediately.
"Come on Yui. Let's just dig in. We came out to have fun, let's take full advantage of it."
After eating a piece of her food, I gave her a cheery smile. I decided to change the subject and have us move on with our time.
"Sorry about that Hiyori. For spacing out like that. I just thought of something very unpleasant. I didn't mean to ruin our mood."
I shook my head.
"You didn't ruin it. If I asked something or said something that I shouldn't have then I'm sorry. If you want, you can steal a bite from my plate."
At first I thought Yui wasn't going to take me up on my offer, but to my surpirse, she snagged a good looking berry from my plate. After both of her cheeks were puffed like a chipmunk's, I couldn't contain my laughter.
After we were done eating, we sat in the cafe a little bit longer, sipping on our drinks.
"So Yui, being vampires aside, what's it like living with them? I just have a feeling that they may be a bit different at home than at school."
Taking a sip of her tea, Yui's eyebrows furrowed as she tried to find the right words.
"At home? They sure do cause a lot of unnecessary ruckus, especially when it comes to food and such."
Right after Yui said that, she found herself laughing behind her hand as if she had an inside joke going on.
Of course I was curious and asked her what was so funny.
"Oh I'm sorry Hiyori, its just that I was thinking of the first night I moved in with them."
Curious, I raised my eyebrows eager to hear more.
"Well don't hold back on me. I gotta know what they did to make you laugh so much like that."
Yui, still smiling, gathered herself together to tell me.
"Well on my first night, while I was getting ready for bed, I could hear Ayato yelling at his brothers about who ate his Takoyaki. He is just crazy about his favorite food."
My eyes widened in surpirse at the thought of someone like Ayato having a favorite food and acting like a little kid if someone touched it. I haven't even heard the rest from Yui and yet I couldn't contain my smile.
"I got curious about all the yelling and left my room to see what was going on. As soon as I made my way down to the kitchen, I saw Ayato yelling at Kanato saying, "I know you ate it you crazy brat!", then out of nowhere, Ayato goes to the fridge and pulls out a pudding cup."
Yui almost couldn't get it out, but she pulled herself together and went on with the tale.
"Then he just gorges himself with Kanato's pudding cup. Chugging it down like his life depended on it. It wasn't funny at first because the aftermath wasn't too nice but looking back, seeing the brothers act like actual brothers, is pretty funny. They have their moments where you forget that they're vampires."
With a smile still on her face, Yui took a sip of her tea.
So even they have their moments where they are vulnerable. Yeah they may be vampires, but I'm sure they do still feel emotion and such. Not on Yui's level of emotion or behavior of course, but I'm sure those boys have their moments where they act human. But still...
"Then you remember that they are vampires and that they can hurt you without even trying."
Realizing that I had just let my inner thoughts escape my mouth, I slapped my hand over my lips. I didn't mean to say it outloud like that, but I didn't want to apologize for it. So instead I put my hand down and looked at Yui.
"What you see in them Yui, is what I don't see. I only know them based on the first impressions they've shown me. Most of them have been rude, vulgar, insulting and violent."
Yui's face looked saddend at my thoughts on the brothers. For her to look so upset at my description of them, actually told me something. Someone this polite, considerate, and patient is actually living with these guys. She's living with them and doesn't appear to be frightened, or concerned with her safety. She doesn't even appear like an emotionless doll anymore. When I first saw Yui, she didn't seem to have any emotion on her face. She seemed expressionless and empty, but ever since she met me, she's been smiling and laughing non-stop. I don't think she dislikes living with them at all, maybe she dislikes the idea of not having any other company other than the brothers.
Seeing as I've figured it out, I nodded my head.
"But those are only first impressions. There's no telling how I'll see them the longer I know them. If someone like you are able to live with those boys, someone like you to get so sad at me saying such things about them, then maybe...just maybe, they can't be so bad. I'm sure the longer I stick around, I'll start to see what you see. So don't worry, I'm not having second thoughts or anything, its just I'm starting to look at the full picture. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want to see what you see. I'm sure its gonna take a while but I'm not gonna leave my friend."
Watching all of her worry melt off of her face, I offered her a smile, and she happily returned it in kind.
"Hiyori..."
She cares about them and loves Ayato very much but I'm sure that Yui just wanted someone else to confide in, talk with and most of all, have fun with. Just like me.
We spent a while eating and talking about this and that in the cafe. As soon as we were finished, I offered to pay for both of our food. Of course Yui wasn't too keen on letting me do such a thing but I insisted.
Yui then wanted to take me to a clothing store. She said since I liked her outfit, maybe I could try shopping where she shops. Yui was most definitely right about that. These clothes were very cute and pretty but I didn't think that something this stylish would be fitting on me.
While I was going through the racks of clothes, I heard Yui calling my name from behind.
"Hiyori, look at this. I think this'll look very nice on you."
She held up an outfit which entailed blue jean shorts and a mint green blouse. Green isn't a favorite color of mine, but that mint was a nice shade of green.
"You think so? I'm not really too good with getting all dressy. I like to keep my clothes quite causal."
Yui pushed the outfit to me and began pushing me in the direction where the changing rooms were.
"Its not dressy, its very cute yet causal. Just give it a try. I'll come with you, let's go."
Yui began helping me put on the clothes she picked out for me. She even used one of her pins to hold my hair up in a nice bun with a few strands hanging down. It was a messy bun and, by my surprise, it looked very good on me. Yui stood back and let me look at myself in the mirror. I stood facing the mirror and was amazed. I didn't look half bad.
"Wow...I look quite alright."
Shaking her head, Yui laid her hands on my shoulders.
"Not just alright, you look pretty. Very mature too. I don't think I could wear something like this without people thinking I was a kid."
Yui did have a point. She was quite small and petite, so I could definitely see people seeing her as a little younger.
"But I think you'd look cute in almost anything Yui. You're like a doll that some people would be eager to dress up."
Yui blushed and waved her hands in complete modesty.
"No way...I think I'm average at best."
I covered my mouth trying not to laugh too loudly. That's surely another thing Yui and I have in common.
"I think we both should give ourselves a pat on the back every once in a while."
Understanding what I meant, Yui nodded while laughing along with me.
We tried on more clothes after a while. Dresses, shoes and even bathing suits had somehow got into our pile. It was fun trying on everything and making funny poses in the mirror. Once finshed being models, we rounded up the things we were gonna buy. As I said, I don't really care too much of shopping for actual clothes but with Yui, she made it fun for me. If this what its like having a friend, then I don't ever want to let Yui go.
By the time we left the store, the sun was already beginning to set. We went back to my house so that Yui can get picked up from there. As we were walking up towards my house, I saw a small black thing perched on one of the windowsills. This is the same thing that happened when the Sakamaki car came to take me to school. Do bats follow them or something.
Before I could bring up the bat issue, Yui sighed and put her hand on her forehead while shaking her head.
"Sorry about the bat Hiyori. Its just Ayato's familiar."
I turned to Yui with my mouth gaped wide open.
"His what?"
Yui scratched her chin and let out an awkward chuckle.
"Well, the brothers all have bats which are basically like little spys for them. They use their familiars for quite a few things. Like spying, doing certain activities and even driving them to school."
Now there are plently types of familiars in movies and tv shows and so on. I also know that they come in many different creatures, even creatures that don't exist. Familiars even have certain things that they do for their masters, but a bat familiar driving a limo is just too hard to believe.
Yui saw me trying to process what she had just told me and nodded her.
"Yeah I know its hard to believe but its true. There's more to it, but it would take a while to explain."
I felt my questions building up all over again but instead of asking, I just swallowed them down with a sigh.
"So does that mean that his familiar has been watching us this whole time while we were out?"
Nodding, Yui looked at me apologetically.
"I'm almost certain he has. I did tell him that I was going out today while everyone rested."
"Wait a minute, It didn't even cross my mind again, but you guys aren't suppose to be exposed to sunlight right? You said Reji said something about lineage?"
As I asked my question, I unlocked the door to the house and we made our way inside.
"That's what I thought too, that is until I saw Shu san laying out on the balcony listening to music in the Afternoon. There are some things that aren't exactly true, and I found that out bit by bit. Reji knows quite a bit, but he isn't one to just answer loads of questions."
I wonder what else wasn't true about vampires. From what I've seen and heard from Yui, they can eat actual food and now I find out that they actually can survive out in the sun. Even though they can go out into sunlight, I'm assuming that they choose to sleep during the day. I suppose they kinda do stick to some vampric stereotypes.
Yui and I made our way inside and got comfortable. While Yui sat down somewhere, I went to my room to put all of the things that I bought on my bed. When I walked back out, Yui was looking at something on the tv. As she was flipping through the channels, she turned her head in my direction as I entered the room.
"Would you believe me if I told you that its been a long time since I last looked at t.v.?"
"Actually yes. With a household like yours, I doubt you would even need television. I don't think that there would be a single dull moment with them right?"
Yui was more than happy to agree with that.
"That's certainly true. I had to get use to sleeping through their usual antics almost everyday."
Yui sat the remote down, leaving it on some animated show. She definitely seemed like the type to watch something that was for kids. I'm not knocking her for that at all of course, because I love a good animation as myself. Its just that it seems Yui doesn't want to lose her kid heart, so she keeps it by watching shows like that, shopping for cute clothing and even eating adorable little sweets. I'm starting to feel that Yui is more than a friend, more like the little sister that I wish I had.
After a while, Yui and I turned our heads towards the window hearing a car pull up in front of the house.
"Unfortunately your ride is here Yui."
Yui got up from her seat, and I walked her to the door.
"Its been real fun today Hiyori. Hopefully we will have more great days like the one we had today."
I gave a single nod with a smile.
"Same here. I honestly wouldn't mind a sleepover, but then I think of how Ayato wouldn't like that."
Both of us let out a light chuckle at my spoken truth.
"A sleepover would be nice, but as you said, its pretty much wishful thinking. We can always hope though. Well I'll be on my way now, I'll see you at school tonight."
I saw Yui off making sure she made her way safely to the car and then we gave each other one last wave.
I closed the door and went to the television to shut it off. I felt so tired, but not in a bad way at all. For the first time in like, ever, I was exhausted from having fun with a friend. We talked, laughed, and shopped, things that I would never thought I'd be doing. Oh Dad would be thrilled to hear how my day went with Yui. I still wanted him to meet her.
I practically skipped to my room to get changed out of my current clothes and into my school uniform. While laying my clothes out for school, I felt myself hesitating on just throwing them on. I've been out all day and didn't even get in the shower. All I did was wash up real good.
I turned my head towards my clock and saw that I still had plently of time to get myself together properly.
I hurried to my closet to grab myself a some towels. Despite having time, I still didn't want to just take my time dilly dallying. I rushed into the bathroom and started my shower.
Feeling absolutely refreshed, I sighed and laid down on my back, on my bed. I turned my head to see the clock and I was good on time. Holding my towel close to my body, I sat up slowly off my bed and stood up. I looked on my bed and saw that I forgot to grab a pair of underwear and a bra. I walked over to my dresser and opened the drawer. There was a specific bra and a pair of underwear that I was looking for, but it wasn't in my pile. I'm pretty sure that I hadn't worn them yet, so I kept digging as deep as I could.
As I was rummaging through my collection of underclothes, there was a voice from behind me. A voice that I did not want to hear at all in that moment.
"My oh my, it seems that I've come at the right time."
I froze in my spot with my eyes wide open and my mouth slightly gaped opened. I couldn't bring myself to turn around to face him right away. As I gripped my towel closer to my body, I slowly turned my head to take a look behind me. There sat Laito, comfortably perched in the middle of my bed. Our eyes met and the moment they did, I felt as if he could see right through my towel. It seems that I can't hang on to a good mood, because as long as he's around, that's going to be impossible.
