Chapter 20
Mary had had a pleasant evening with Yui, plus Theo and Mark even though they had just watched over them from afar. She had noticed, however, their glancing at each other, frequently, and their worried and hesitant chatting, their uneasiness; the twin hadn't really talked to her telepathically, making her suspicious and quite frustrated.
Certainly, they were hiding something from her and feared revealing it.
On their way back, after the girls had bought each other a gift, Mary mentally sent a call to her brother, asking him if there were any problems; she had turned around after a minute of silence to look at him, scaring Theo, who had turned pale and had looked away nervously, while Mark remained impassive, his blank eyes staring into emptiness; Yui looked at everyone, confused and questioning.
- Don't you have anything to tell me? - the half-witch asked, raising her icy tone; her friend rubbed his neck to appease the panic and stammered that there was nothing important to report to her.
Mary stared at them unconvinced and more severely.
- Or maybe it's not the right time to tell you, yet - Theo tried again to dissuade her from insisting.
- This sounds better. I'll wait.
She ignored their sighs of relief and went on walking, reassuring the blonde with a pat on her shoulder and resuming their conversation about feline breeds.
As soon as they were in front of the entrance door, Shuu, Reiji and Subaru came out, followed by the Mukami brothers.
- Has my mother dismissed you? - the girl asked, teasing a little her mother about her formal way of speaking; she noticed the tension among Yuuma and Karlheinz's two firstborns, taking a note of discovering more later on.
- Mh - Ruki nodded – As for us, we can head back home. Or would you like to stay overnight at our mansion? - he asked Theo and Mark.
The first shook his head, smiling:
- The Glass Lady has clearly decided we would leave at this very night.
- Too bad, have a good journey then - Ruki smiled politely, as Mary raised an eyebrow
- Where are Ayato-kun and the others? - Yui asked to the other Sakamaki brothers; Reiji told her that they had stayed inside with the Glass Lady and, before the blonde could ask why, he specified that he was unaware of the reason behind it.
Mary frowned and curled her lips, intrigued, and thought if her mother had wanted to clarify the conflicted relationship between the triplets' mother and themselves. She confirmed her hypothesis when the very triplets came out with sullen faces; behind them, the snow-coloured curly woman showed off her usual gentle smile and approached the twins and Theo, turning to her daughter.
- My lavender flower - she caressed her cheek with her fingers, with a ghostly touch - we'll see each other very soon.
But didn't you have something to tell me...?, the girl immediately thought, perplexed; her brother resumed their telepathic.
She decided to postpone it to another moment. I know nothing.
But you're also hiding something!
Meh.
When I'll get home I will knot the strings of your instruments.
Nuuuuu.
The Glass Lady called her children, absorbed again in another conversation outside reality, and she bid farewell to the two families, making many recommendations and wishing Yui not to face troubles with her new life as a vampire; at last, she stopped in front of Yuuma, examining him intensely, thus causing the giant's nervousness.
- Forgive me, but I'm sure your features are too particular not to have been inherited by the same relatives as my husband. And so as my children - she smiled, glancing at the twins and focusing particularly on Mark - The cut of your eyes is unique; only the males of my husband's family have it... and only the members of the same family have that green spot in the iris.
Yuuma kept quiet, not knowing how to reply.
Back to the Mukami mansion, having done all her things in the bathroom, changed into her pyjamas, and unwrapped Yui's gift (a complete set of ink nibs; she had given the blonde a very ingenious box with different and hidden compartments), Mary had jumped on the mattress, sinking into it with her back facing upwards, sleepy and exhausted.
If hanging out with Kou meant "unexpected events", at the next proposal she would have probably refuse...
She heard a knock on the door and grunted, annoyed, still letting the person to come in; she was sure it was Yuuma, with those heavy, shuffling footsteps on the floor, and the enormous gap she felt when he threw himself on the bed next to her, grunting, worn out.
- I don't know if I became stupid or whatever, but I think I was told that we could be relatives? - she heard him speak and observed him with a half-opened eye: the giant was lying on his side, facing her, his eyes closed and with a relaxed expression, his head resting on his bent arm; the other arm was resting between them on the blankets.
- Mum said you should be a brother of my grand-and-something-father, Abel...
Yuuma frowned and seemed to think deeply, repeating that name; he sighed.
- It doesn't ring a bell...
He fell silent, opening his eyes and assuming a troubled expression; he looked at her.
- Did you know... that I and that Neet had known each other in the past, as children?
This time it was Mary who fell silent for a moment, before answering.
- I suspected it. I knew he had lost a dear human friend in a fire... and then, when you appeared...
- … I see.
The vampire turned on his back and crossed his arms behind his head, staring at ceiling; Mary imitated him, just putting her hands on her stomach and closing her eyes. She heard him mumble that it looked like it was Reiji who had started the fire in the village where he had lived, according to Kou's eye; after a long pause, he added that he couldn't understand why the blond had made himself guilty, unfairly. According to him, Shuu had overthought too much; and more importantly he didn't react in the right way.
The girl cracked a smile, agreeing with his last words.
Yuuma, a few minutes before falling asleep, asked her if she was still in love with him.
- Oh, yes. I miss him…
And they both fell into the realm of dreams.
Mary was suffering from an indescribable headache since waking up: during the break, she decided to head quickly to the infirmary, hopeful that a brief rest would ease the pain even a little.
Of course, she had never met the ocean-eyed blond every time she had thought of seeing him; this time, having forgotten the possibility that he might have been there to sleep as usual, she froze at staring at him as soon as she closed the door behind her.
The vampire looked back in surprise (or horrified?), eyes wide open, before grumbling and sighing out of annoyance.
Happy to see you again, too, she thought ironically.
The situation turned out to be rather embarrassing: the girl was still standing in place and looked around nervously, looking for any possible way to escape, at the same time finding none or foolish ones; Shuu rubbed the back of his neck, grumbling, undecided on what to do.
And somewhat annoyed by her strong scent, so close to him after being apart for so long, just watching over her from afar (often risking a broken neck because of Yuuma).
Then, Mary had an idea. Not that brilliant...
- Shuu-san... – she called him, making him turn towards her against his will, forced to see her figure which attracted him to the point of making him feel a certain itch in his hands - What happened yesterday evening between you, Reiji-san and Yuu-kun?
At first the blond raised an eyebrow at the last name, then connecting it to Yuuma and misunderstanding about a possible relationship, jealous; then, he thought about the question and grunted annoyed.
- It's none of your business. All of this belong to the past and shouldn't have been brought up... - he hissed, grinding his teeth; Reiji's behaviour had deeply irritated him, though he didn't blame him for the cause that had led him to act that way in the past: after all, his mother had neglected him unjustly, with all the hard work he had done to make her proud of him.
- But Yuu-kun wants to know... I'm sure of it, he feels he's missing someth-...
- HE DOESN'T NEED TO KNOW!
Mary jumped, eyes widening: Shuu had never raised his voice against her and remembered never having heard him shout at other people...
- Edgar died because of me! - Shuu went on, slightly lowering his tone but still furious - I was the one who kept on meeting with him, even though I knew that vampires and humans can't stay together if not one at the expense of the other! Reiji started the fire? It's still my fault! - his voice began to crack and he spoke faster, unloosing all the thoughts that had tormented him for many, long years - If I hadn't kept on meeting with him, Reiji would have never done that! If that time I hadn't taken him to that dance party, he wouldn't have been humiliated! It's a good thing that he forgot! He has a new life now, it's better this way...
- HE'S NOT OKAY AT ALL AND YOU ARE A HUGE CODARD!
Shuu's eyes widened, taken aback by her unexpected burst.
- Yuuma has suffered since he woke up without memories, because he didn't have an identity and also because, albeit his new life, he still had to face other painful difficulties! If he had some answers about his past, at least he would have something to hold on to! Everyone needs something to hold on to in their life, Shuu! - she stated exasperated, as some tears slipped down her cheeks - You did nothing, you let yourself drown in a sea of bitterness, you didn't even try to find a safe anchor in something! You don't want Yuuma to know because you don't want to face it, not because you think Yuuma will get hurt!
The last words were like thousands of stabs on Shuu's chest, who backed away from that buried consciousness, unable to accept it; he snapped his tongue, frustrated, and retorted, taking her by her shoulders in a rush of aggressive emotion.
- How can you say something like this? You can't understand me!
- I do understand you! Because I'm making the same mistake, too!
- Eh...? - the blond looked at her confused, as she looked down with shame, sobbing.
- I've never accepted my powers! I've never accepted I had killed Claire's parents... and Rose-senpai... even if it was for a "right" cause, in truth it was for my selfish desire to get rid of them, given all the hatred I had towards them. So I ran away because I didn't want to cope with it, to forget about it, but it kept on tormenting me... through nightmares of the past, and I can't face them because I am also a coward! - she admitted painfully, crying, while the vampire stared at her speechlessly, upset - And I don't want to be Izanami, I've never accepted it... I think it's a huge responsibility, too much for me...!
Silence fell on them.
After that sudden and uncontrolled confession, Mary frantically wiped her eyes with the sleeves of her uniform, turning back and preparing to get out of the infirmary.
Slowly, sobbing, her head sadly bowed: Shuu saw her move away from him, still wide-eyed and mouth agape from the shock caused by the explosion of her suppressed and hidden feelings, full of suffering and anguish; perhaps, also because of those sharp remark which had awakened in him the sense of guilt about the attitude he had carried on for years, a cowardly one.
A sense of disappointment, despair, and mortification ran through every cell of his body, making him tremble with indignation, and fear was painted in his eyes as they rested on her hand on the door handle, ready to pull it down.
No. He wouldn't have let her out.
He wouldn't have let her get away from him, again.
Mary suddenly felt two strong arms wrapping around her waist and that scent of clean so dear and familiar reaching her nostrils; soon she found herself lying on one of the beds and stiffened when, leaning on an elbow and stammering, he straddled her.
- Sh-Shuu... ?! - the girl blushed, crawling back on the mattress until she slammed her back against the head of the bed.
The vampire approached her on all fours, sat on her thighs and grabbed her wrists, preventing her from escaping; their faces were only a centimetre apart, the blue irises staring intensely into the dark ones.
The ocean finding its abyss.
- Mary... - the blond's lips approached her ear – Don't leave me again...
The girl didn't hear anything more and her eyes widened, losing a few beats; her expression softened as she was embraced by the vampire, and she smiled, melancholy.
- It was you who left me, baka – she snorted, sardonic, wrapping her hands behind his back and sinking her face between his shoulder and his neck, inhaling his scent and recovering in her memory every tactile, olfactory, auditory and visual perception to match them with those she was feeling at the moment.
After a few minutes, she was lying on the mattress with her arms resting rigidly on his chest, trying to keep him from exchanging more passionate acts of affection, with a nervous grimace on her face.
- We're at school, Shuu-san - she muttered embarrassed, feeling her limbs weaken under the pressure of the vampire's chest, who he muttered in annoyance.
- For you it's Shuu, remove that suffix... and I'd like to remind you that it's been nearly a month without you – he gnashed his teeth, irritated, raising the blankets over them and thinking that she was probably taking advantage of the demon force to counteract his; sooner or later she would have given in, right?
Over her limit, the half-witch's arms collapsed, but also the young man dropped himself on her, because of the fatigue.
- Brat - he mocked her, snickering, and wrapped his arms around her waist, placing his head in the most comfortable position between her shoulder and her chest.
- Koala - Mary replied a little offended, and then smiled, before slipping her fingers in his hair, stroking it, and resting the other hand on his arm.
- Wasn't it sloth? - Shuu asked, raising his face a little towards her neck, kissing it.
She shrugged, blushing at his touch; the blond looked thoughtful, and then frowned in annoyance.
- How many times did they bite you? - he asked, evidently jealous and possessive.
- Do you think I'm counting? I don't remember. Surely Ki-kun drank several times...
- Why did that guy drink more than... no wait, "Ki-kun"? - the vampire began in a threatening tone, then making a strange face to that nickname.
- Then there is Koucchi, Azucchi and Yuu-kun~.
After several seconds of silence, Shuu began to giggle uninterruptedly.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, thanks for reading! ^^