smileyface209: I'm glad you are enjoying Crowley's character! :D Ferid has control over Atsuko, because she is giving him control. :p I figured that Crowley would be objective enough to recognize that! :D I hope that you enjoy this chapter!
Thank you for reading! :D I wanted to add some more humor into the story, so I hope you enjoy the end portion of this chapter! :D Enjoy!
It was nerve wracking to walk the streets of the capital once more. It kept bringing her dream to the front of her mind. She actually had had plenty of time to actually talk to Mika about the dream, but she was worried about sounding stupid. She just kept replaying it over and over in her mind along with what Crowley had said to her. By the time she reaches the throne room, she finds that she can't keep her hands steady. Mika pauses outside the doors to reach out and touch her cheek once again. She leans into the touch, but she doesn't meet his eyes. He finally pulls away from her muttering softly, "It's now or never, Atsuko. I won't leave the room."
She instantly misses his touch, but she just nods. She'd dressed in her city guard outfit before leaving Crowley's domain, much to Chess' disappointment. Chess had whined loudly that Atsuko should stay dressed in attractive clothing, but Atsuko managed to escape when Crowley had distracted her with promises of dressing Atsuko up in a dress of Chess' own design when she returned.
Atsuko wasn't sure she wanted to go back to Crowley's anymore after that threat. Horn had just smiled and given her a small wave as she snuck out beside Mika. Now, she felt as if she was facing her own execution. Did she even want to know the truth anymore? Ferid had told her his version, and it had caused her pain. Would Krul be any different?
Mika opens the door before she feels ready to face her fate. He places a hand on her lower back when she shows no signs of moving and pushes enough to get her walking. She swallows hard as their footsteps echo loudly around the room. She stops at the bottom of the stairs. Krul's eyes had lit up when she had seen the two of them approaching. She had even stood up and proceeded down the stairs till she was eye level with Mika. She stops and smiles at them both. "I don't remember calling for you. What brings you both here?"
Atsuko's throat closes up making words impossible to even make a noise. She feels Mika press his body closer to hers and start talking. She can barely focus enough to hear what he is actually saying. She feels cold hands on her face. She blinks in realization that red eyes are staring into her own. She wants to pull away, but Krul tightens her grip for just a second. She relaxes her hold and says, "You are so stupid."
Atsuko flinches as Krul releases her. She continues to talk as if Atsuko hadn't moved an inch. "You should have came to me with these issues that have been going on with Ferid. Everything that has happened to you has been a direct result of you trying to do too much. You are stupid and deserve the pain that was dealt to you."
She jerks away from Krul, who gives her a stern look. She's at a loss for what say to the queen, but she does know that she can feel the sting of Krul's words. Krul places her hands on her hips and says, "I would not have been able to protect you completely, but some things could have been prevented. The loss of your family was something that I couldn't have prevented. I overlooked the fact that they didn't have guards. I thought you becoming a vampire beneath me would be enough to deter him from using those humans, and, for that, I am incredibly sorry."
Atsuko looks away and mutters, "It should have never happened."
Krul releases a sigh and steps down to Atsuko's level. She reaches up and pats Atsuko's exposed cheek and says softly, "No, it should have never happened, but it did. We can't fix that. Now, everything that has happened to you since can not be rectified either. You are stuck living with those mistakes. However, he will not touch Yuu. That human belongs to me. I will not guarantee the safety of his friends, but I will promise that Yuu will be safe."
Atsuko turns to look back at Krul. She was wearing a guarded expression, though Atsuko could see traces of anger behind it. She leans forward just a little and says, "I will not share my things with that despicable man. Mika told me what he had said to you concerning the seraph project. Do you have the papers you read?"
Atsuko slowly shakes her head. Krul grits her teeth; her anger finally shows through her mask. She snaps, "Of course not. He wouldn't make that sort of oversight!"
She turns on her heel and storms up the stairs looking every bit the child that she resembled. She flops back into her throne and glares down at the two of them. Mika looks away with a guilty look on his face. Atsuko just stares at the ground now feeling like a scolded child. Krul's disappointment settled heavy on her chest. A lot heavier than she thought it would. Maybe it was because Krul was the one who changed her. It's silent for a few minutes before Krul sighs and says, "Yes, Atsuko. I was planning to use you as an experiment for testing the strength of Mika's blood, but Ferid has the details all twisted."
A cold numbing shock settles over her chest and stomach. She couldn't believe that it was true. Krul closes her eyes as Atsuko and Mika look back up at her. Krul says softly, "I don't plan to ever trigger Mika's seraph form if he should have one, but I was curious if he had blood that was similar to Yuu's. You satisfied that curiosity when you tried Yuu's blood. I was wanting to research more on the human experiments to see the effects of drinking a seraph host's blood, but I couldn't find anything. It was nothing more than a simple curiosity on if Mika could supply you blood so you didn't have to drink human blood."
She flicks her hand outward lazily. "It wasn't as if I planned to hide this from you. You didn't seem interested. I have no interest past what his blood will do for you as far as nutrition goes. I doubt Mika's blood will ever have any sort of affect on you or your abilities. You'll grow into them as you age."
She smiles cruelly as she says, "And I doubt anyone could keep Mika in one spot long enough to drink more than a little of his blood. I'm sure you even have that difficulty when you start to drink from him. I don't see him holding still and letting you have all the fun. Stamina training and all, you know."
Atsuko suddenly feels light headed as all the blood rushes to her face. The cold, numb feeling slowly eases away as she realizes that Krul hadn't actually meant her any harm. She wasn't sure she could trust the queen either, but she had always been more honest with Atsuko than Ferid had been. She looks away catching the curious look on Mika's face as he looks down at her. She quickly turns the other way. It was so embarrassing when Krul was so blunt about their life. She shifts a little making Krul laugh at her expense. It just makes the feeling of embarrassment worse. Mika growls softly and asks, "So, you are experimenting on her?"
Krul's laughter dies out as she turns to focus on Mika. She looks thoughtful for a moment. She says softly. "I suppose I am, if you look at it that way. I was just wanting to see the value of your blood. There is no need to feed it to my troops or attempt to take over the world. You are simply not strong enough for me to extract enough blood to supply my troops. It'll take far too long to do. We'd have better luck training to crush the Demon Army than supplying a supplement that may not have any affect. Ferid drank your blood when you were a human child, and it didn't have any sort of affect on him. Your blood is now tainted with vampire DNA. What good is it to us now? Besides, I have said before that you, Atsuko, and Yuu are all like my children. I don't see a point in harming any of you."
She smiles as she leans forward a little. "She's safe, Mika. I have no intentions on doing the experiments that Ferid mentioned."
He doesn't look like that was reassuring to him at all. In fact, he looked even more tense than before. This seems to amuse Krul. She turns her attention back to Atsuko. "I will be honest with you, Atsuko. You are stuck in a power struggle between Ferid and I. You'll endure more pain due this power struggle that I won't be able to save you from. I will try to help you the best I can, but it depends on your choices when it comes to him. You have made some interesting friends out of Crowley's group. He's powerful, as is Mika. They will be there for you to lean on, since I can't protect you from everything. Ferid would have a hard time dealing with all three nobles and Mika at once. He'd likely not want to have to dirty his hands. You are the piece he is aiming for at the moment. He knows that he can't wiggle his way into Mika's heart, and it'd be a crippling blow to have you taken from me."
She suddenly feels overwhelmed, so she blurts out. "You two sound like children fighting over a couple of your favorite toys."
Mika makes a strange coughing noise that sounds suspiciously like a stifled laugh as Krul leaps to her feet. Atsuko backs up a couple steps, but she doesn't escape. Krul's hand fists in the cloak dragging Atsuko close to her face. Atsuko hadn't even seen her descend the stairs. Though she had a frightening snarl on her face, Atsuko couldn't help but find amusement in her reaction. She snarls much like a wild animal and snaps, "Do not put me on the same level as that annoyingly, childish man. I am leagues above him in so many different areas."
Atsuko looks away with a guilty look, though she couldn't stop the smile on her face. "You sound like you might have a crush."
Mika actually does let a couple laughs slip out before he manages to stop them. Krul lets out a cry of frustration and shoves Atsuko away. "Like I'd fall for such a pompous ass! He's not good for anything! Get out of my sight, both of you! Before I kill you both!"
Atsuko doesn't need to be told twice as she quickly escapes the throne room still stifling laughter as she leaves. She hadn't intended to upset the queen. Krul had looked genuinely upset at the teasing, and Atsuko felt a little bad. It was obvious how much the two vampires didn't like each other, but it was a little easier to deal with her situation by joking about it. Mika was right behind her when it came to leaving. It was clear he was fighting his laughter as well. He says softly, "It's nice to see her get a taste of her own medicine when it comes to teasing."
That breaks the dam holding back Atsuko's laughter, and she doubles over holding her stomach. Mika's quiet laughter joins hers. It's accompanied by the sounds of things breaking in the throne room. It only makes Atsuko laugh harder. She finally makes it out into the streets of the capital to escape the wrath of the queen. She had finally calmed down. She walks away from the vampire castle and toward the exit, but she pauses and looks toward the sound of laughter. Her heart throbs as she watches the human children playing. She gets the urge to see her old home. She takes a few steps before she feels someone's hand wrap around her upper arm. She turns and looks up at Mika's serious yet sad face.
"Don't. It's not yours anymore. It's been long enough that it's likely occupied already. Don't cause yourself more pain," he says softly. Her heart starts to break all over again as she turns to look at the children once more. It had been so long that she couldn't believe that she had been human once. It didn't seem real anymore. She feels Mika's chest press against her back, and his arms wrap around her gently. His eyes follow the same children as hers do. They seem to notice and quickly scatter making Atsuko let out a small breath. Mika's cheek presses against hers, and he says softly, "It doesn't get any easier to see the live children. I still see my family in my dreams. It makes me stop and wonder what they'd be doing right now. What we would all be doing."
His arms pull her closer, and she closes her eyes listening to him. He continues though its in a whisper, "I imagine what they'd look like at this age. I would have loved to seen them grown like Yuu, but it will never happen. Sometimes, I wonder if it would have been easier to join them."
She stiffens, and her eyes snap open. She tries to pull away, but his arms only tighten. Worry floods her chest at his admission of dark thoughts. He buries his face in her neck. She stops moving and just listens to him breathe for a moment before he says, "They are gone, Atsuko. We can't change that. We can miss them and imagine how they'd look all grown up, but we will never see them again."
It makes her body feel numb as she stares where the kids were. She swallows and says softly, "I dreamed of Izumo. He..."
Mika doesn't move. He just remains completely still as he seems to listen. She continues on after a moment of collecting her thoughts. She proceeds to tell him as much of the dream as she can remember. He doesn't move at all. Once she is silent for a few minutes, he says, "Do you believe they are watching over us? That we could possibly see them again one day?"
She thinks about it for a minute or two then she says, "Yes, I believe that one day we will see them again. Until then, they still live in our hearts and memories."
She feels him pull away. She turns to look at him. He looks incredibly sad. She wants to reach out and touch his cheek, but he pulls away from her touch. Hurt swells in her chest, so she pulls her hand back to her side and just watches him. He looks thoughtful as he turns and starts to walk away. She follows after a moment.
They make it out of the city before he stops and says, "I don't think I will ever see my family again. I am the one who got them killed. I don't deserve to see them again. You just had a dream nothing more."
She flinches at his words and reaches out grabbing his arm. He tries to pull away, but she only tightens her grip on him. She says softly, "Mika, Yuu doesn't look like he blames you."
"Yuu is naive." He sounded so sad that it made her chest ache. She steps forward wrapping her arms around him just underneath his and presses her face into his back. He stiffens in her embrace, but he doesn't push her away. She just squeezes him tighter.
"Yuu loves you, Mika. I love you too. What happened was an accident. You were a child. Children's plans never actually work out. You can't blame yourself," she says as gently as she can. He starts to tremble. They stand there in silence for a few minutes before she loosens her grip and steps around him. She looks up at his sad face. He looks away from her the second he notices her staring at him. She just smiles and reaches up running her fingers through his hair. His head tilts into her touch just a little. She chuckles trying to shove the sad feelings and thoughts away. "How about we go find Yuu, huh? You need to get to know his friends to make our escape easier. We still have a few days that Crowley afforded us."
Mika finally looks down at her. His eyes still shine with sadness, but she can see appreciation building up. She pulls her hand from his hair and smiles. She turns and bounces down the ruined city street looking back at Mika with a huge smile on her face. She sees him cringe at her behavior since she was mimicking Chess. He finally follows after her.
It takes them a few days, but they finally manage to track Yuu's group down. They were unable to approach the group at first since they were with another squad of humans. They were also incredibly close to a military human outpost, and Mika was a against approaching them at all, but Atsuko assured him that everything would be fine. They ended up following Yuu's group out when they started to move. Luckily, it was away from the other humans, so Mika and Atsuko was going to be able to approach them.
They had been following silently at a distance waiting for the right moment. They planned to talk to them when they set up camp. The moment finally came, and they slowly entered the human camp hoping to not startled them. It worked since Yoichi was on his feet within seconds of seeing them.
"Atsuko!" He shouts, as he launches himself at her. She instinctively reaches out catching him. Her arms wrap around him as his weight drives them both into the ground. He squeezes her tightly, though it doesn't compare to Chess' hugs. Atsuko can't help the laughter as Yoichi pops his head up to smile at her. A mixed look of fear and surprise settles on his face as he's lifted off Atsuko by the back of his shirt. Mika's look of irritation has him wiggling uncomfortably in the vampire's hold. He gives Mika a shy smile as Mika sets him down. By that time, Atsuko is on her feet dusting herself off.
Shinoa doesn't miss the opportunity to tease Mika. "I would be careful about touching Atsuko, Yoichi. It seems that someone is jealous of a simple hug."
She smiles when Mika casts her a dark look. Yuu had approached, but he was ignoring Shinoa. A jolt of fear races down Atsuko's spine upon seeing Yuu again. She unconsciously takes a few steps back drawing Yuu and Mika's attention. Yuu gives her a confused look as the rest of the group shifts uncomfortably. Yuu looks toward Mika. Mika doesn't even look at Yuu though. He's watching Atsuko with sadness mixed into his cold look. Atsuko turns her face away as Yuu looks back at her one more time before she steps around the brothers and walks over to sit between Mitsuba and Yoichi. The atmosphere gets more tense as she does. She flinches at the groups smell and realizes that she should have talked to Mika about their hunger before they joined the humans. She could feel the burning in her throat, and it was making it hard to concentrate. Shinoa had tried talking to her a few times, but she just didn't respond. She was trying to focus on not harming any of her friends.
She feels a hand on her shoulder and assumes that it's Yoichi. She turns to look at him, but she finds that he had scooted away from her to make room for Yuu. Her heart feels like it's stopped since she could remember the way he looked in his seraph form. His green eyes weren't cold though. In fact, they held a hint of worry, but it still startled her to have him so close and touching her. She flinches back hitting Mitsuba hard. Mitsuba lets out a noise of irritation and elbows Atsuko hard in the ribs as Yuu rips his hand away from her. Guilt gnaws at her chest as she abruptly stands up. Her mouth felt dry all of a sudden as everyone turns to look at her. She didn't understand why she was so afraid of being touched by Yuu. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, but seeing him again made it hard to forget the look on his face as he tried to kill Yoichi.
"I...I... I need..." She shakes her head and quickly steps away from the camp. Her whole body was shaking horribly as she weaves around the rubble of the ruined city. A hand catches her and spins her around. For a nerve wracking second, she thought Yuu had followed her, but, to her relief, it was Mika. She lunges forward burying her face in his chest. He wraps his arms around her. It's silent for a few minutes before she says miserably, "I'm sorry. He..."
"He frightens you. It's not a pleasant sight to see him transformed like he was, but it wasn't Yuu either," Mika says softly as he runs his fingers along the back of her neck. She knew it wasn't Yuu, but it still frightened her. Yuu had looked like a monster. She thought that she could handle it, but it was different seeing him though. She can feel Mika's face buried into her hair. It takes a few minutes, but Atsuko finally manages to calm down.
"Mika, I... Their blood is a problem. I think before we go back that we should..." She feels her face flush. It was always embarrassing for her to ask outright if she could feed off of him. She feels him chuckle against her, and she pulls back looking up at him. A look of amusement has his features softened. Her face turns even more red as she gives him a glare. His fingers come up to run along her jaw as he leans down and gently kisses her.
"I agree. The smell was overpowering," he says softly. He moves so that more of his neck is exposed and glances at her. Her eyes lock onto his skin, and she swallows a little. She reaches up brushing her fingers over the skin. She feels the muscles flex under her fingers and can't stop the smile as she leans up. She kisses him gently before she closes her eyes. Her fangs sink into his flesh causing him to flinch slightly, but the taste of his blood causes her to moan softly. Heat flushes through her body as she presses against him harder. The taste never seemed to get old to her. She wraps her arms around him pulling him as tight as she can against herself. Her eyes squeeze closed as the warmth spreads all over her body making even her fingertips, toes and scalp tingle. She feels him tugging on her hair lightly to let her know that she needed to let go. She didn't want to, but she finally manages to pull her fangs from his skin. His face is flushed a light red as he looks at her. He's panting softly as she licks her lips a few times. She reaches up to kiss him. He returns it, though he does so without much excitement. She moves to expose her neck to him, but he gives her a small shake of his head. She frowns and gets her breathing under control before turning to return to camp. She'd apologize to Yuu for her behavior. The heat leaves her body at the thought. Cold fear takes its' place as she manages to get a few steps away from Mika.
His arms suddenly wrap around her waist pulling her back in him. She turns her head slightly to look at him, but he had already put his forehead against her shoulder. He just holds her gently. She couldn't tell what he was thinking due to not being able to see his face. One of his hands catches the clasp supporting her cloak and releases it. She feels him tug the material away. He tosses it to the ground, and she tries to turn to face him once more, but he tightens his grip on her waist with his arm. She pauses curious as to what he wants. He doesn't say or do anything for what feels like ever. He finally says in a low voice, "Don't hate Yuu. Please."
She reaches up and touches the top of his head just as he shifts to breath on her neck. Guilt gnaws at her once more. "I won't. In fact, I planned to apologize to him. Mika, are you alright?"
His nose brushes along her neck chasing all other thoughts from her head. She feels shivers race down her spine as he places light kisses along her neck. It felt as if his lips were barely brushing her skin. The hand that had pulled her cloak from her shoulders was suddenly at the top buttons on her uniform. She reaches up to grab at his hand, but he brushes it away and says softly, "I am thirstier than I thought I was."
She blushes hard as she tries to look back at him. His hand pulls the material to the side exposing her shoulder. She closes her eyes as she feels his fangs slowly sink into the newly exposed skin. She flinches slightly, but the pain is over in a second as he starts to drink from her. Her head feels lighter and every nerve feels as if it's come alive. She feels him pull her back into his body tighter. She hears a soft noise that could have been a groan or a growl, she wasn't sure. Her body starts to surge with arousal that makes her press her thighs tightly together. She didn't understand how he could feed off her at times and there would be minimum reaction. Then, he'd feed off he other times, and it'd be like an instant arousal. She clenches her eyes closed as she tenses every muscle trying to ignore the warming sensation between her legs.
It gets worse when she feels Mika's hand move. It tugs the material of her uniform over more as she squirms. Rubbing her thighs together wasn't helping like she had hoped. His hand moves down into her shirt past all clothing barriers to lightly grab her breast. His fingers brush over the nipple not actually showing any attention to it. Her mind starts to fog over as she wiggles in his grip. He starts to massage her breast gently still touching the nipple enough to drive her insane, but he doesn't do anything more than that. She could feel his arousal pressing into her from behind. It makes even more heat flood her system. She presses her legs tighter together and finally forces out, "They are waiting for us, Mika. I think you've drank enough. We can't do this right now."
To her relief, and disappointment, he pulls his fangs out of her skin. His tongue runs over the bite mark gently. He always licked whatever wound he gave her while drinking from her. It was like his way of apologizing for hurting her. She relaxes a little. His hand is still inside her shirt, but it isn't moving like it was before. She could feel him panting against her skin. She lets out a shudder as she starts to move a little. The arm around her waist moves suddenly. His nose brushes along the skin of her neck. She blushes and pauses to see what his plan was. She didn't think he'd bite her again, but she couldn't see his face to judge his reactions. A hand slips down the front of her pants. Her whole body stiffens then jerks as he runs a finger along the outside of her underwear. Her head rolls back onto his shoulder as she mutters, "Mika."
It was meant to come out as a warning, but it came out as more of a whine. He chuckles huskily in her ear as his hand stops stroking her underwear. For a moment, she feels nothing but disappointment, but she feels his hand slide past her underwear. Her eyes roll upward and then close as his fingers playfully stroke at her opening. He is clearly avoiding her clit on purpose. She barely suppresses a growl of frustration. She knew they shouldn't be doing this so close to the others, but Mika's fingers were starting to pull lightly at her nipple as the other hand was getting closer and closer to dipping inside her. She was starting to shake and found herself wanting so much more. Every nerve was on fire. She could feel his lips traveling up and down her neck. His fangs would brush her skin every once in a while.
Her mind snaps back to the present when she hears a noise that sounded like something between a yelp and a strangled cry. Her eyes fly open as Mika stiffens behind her. She lifts her head from Mika's shoulder with a sinking feeling. Humiliation at their situation floods her system as she stares into wide, panicked green eyes. She felt like she could just die right then. All thoughts of fear of him were gone.
She still didn't want to face him. Not now. He takes a few steps back stuttering a couple syllables. His face was pale instead of the red she thought he would have upon walking in on such a scene. Mika's hands slowly extract themselves from her clothing as she struggles to right the clothing. She couldn't look Yuu in the eye. She hears Mika say in a slightly panicked voice, "Yuu, wait!"
She looks up in time to see Yuu turning too abruptly to see an overhanging piece of a building. His head collides painfully with the piece of metal knocking Yuu off his feet. He sprawls out on the ground completely motionless. She panics for a moment wondering if he'd knocked himself out. She feels Mika brush past her to check on him. She quickly finishes fixing her clothes and pulls on her cloak as she follows Mika. She peers over Mika's shoulder and feels her face flush an even deeper red color. He wasn't out cold like she was secretly hoping. Instead, he was staring straight up at the sky. His face finally turns a deep red when Mika leans into his line of vision.
"Yuu?"
He abruptly rolls to his side so he is showing them his back and pulls his knees up just a little. Atsuko would have found the scene hilarious if she wasn't part of the reason as to why he was taking the fetal position. Yuu was starting to shake as he attempts to apologize to them.
"I'm...sorry. I just... I wanted... I was going to see... I just wanted to check on..." His voice is shaking as he tries to talk. Mika reaches out to touch Yuu's shoulder. Yuu flinches away and looks back at Mika. His green eyes then drift to Atsuko and widen just as hers do. They both immediately look away from each other. She wraps her arms around her stomach. The only thing she could think was that she knew they shouldn't have been doing that. It was like asking for trouble. She could hear movement, but she didn't dare look.
"It's ok, Yuu. You didn't know," Mika says gently.
"Was you two...doing that?" Yuu asks in a slightly higher voice. It made Atsuko feel even worse. Her heart felt like it was going to explode since it was beating so fast. She silently prayed Mika wouldn't answer the question. It'd only bring more humiliation. She sees Mika stiffen out of the corner of her eye. For a few seconds, relief floods her whole body. Mika wasn't going to answer.
"Well, yes, but no. You interrupted us before we got very far," Mika says softly. Atsuko feels like she's going to die all over again. She could hear the hesitation in Mika's voice, but he still tries to explain it to Yuu. "I was just..."
"I don't want to know!" Yuu says once again in his higher pitched tone. She hears movement and turns to see Yuu scrambling to get up.
"Ah, Yuu! Watch out!" She tries to warn him. He flinches at the sound of her voice. The top of his head once again collides with the piece of metal knocking him back to the ground. He gets a dazed look in his eyes. Mika's body is shaking as he represses his laughter.
"You are so innocent, Yuu," he says softly as he reaches out pulling Yuu to the side away from the piece of metal. He checks over Yuu's head. Luckily, there is no blood. It takes a few minutes, but Mika manages to help Yuu up. Yuu had kept pulling away from Mika every time Mika tried to touch him. He finally gives in though. They find themselves walking back to camp. Yuu is out front his head down. Mika is right behind him keeping him from walking into things, while Atsuko follows up the rear dreading seeing Shinoa.
Her fears were right as the girl smiles at the three of them as they re-enter the camp. The girl's rose colored eyes flick around inspecting each of them. Even Mika shifts uncomfortably under her gaze. She finally focuses on Yuu and says, "Did you walk in on something you shouldn't have?"
It was clear that she was joking, but all three shift uncomfortably at once. Her eyes widen a little before a positively cruel smile spreads over her face. "Getting a front row seat, huh? I never pegged you as the type to watch Mika make love to Atsuko."
Her face explodes into a deep red that she's sure would rival Crowley's hair if he were there. She shuffles away from the two boys. She wanted nothing more than to just hide. She planned to scoot away and sit by Kimizuki, who was sitting at the edge of camp. She could see that his face was red as well. He was staring intently at the fire.
"S...shut up, Shinoa!" Yuu says trying to muster as much anger into his voice as he could, but it came out more pathetic sounding. Shinoa releases a laugh. Mika's face was red too, but he doesn't retreat like Atsuko was doing. The movement apparently draws Shinoa's attention just as Atsuko sits beside Kimizuki.
"Get away from me. I don't want to be her next target," Kimizuki hisses at her upon seeing the look Shinoa is giving them. Atsuko flinches and scoots away from the human as Shinoa covers her mouth with her hand.
"Ah, Kimizuki. Are you jealous? Or are you just imagining what it would have looked like?"
He abruptly stands up turns and leaves the camp. Shinoa laughs loudly saying in a loud shout. "Don't worry, Atsuko. Your friend is just going to rub one out!"
She hears Kimizuki trip over something. She wanted to laugh, but the situation was still just too humiliating for her. She pulls her knees up and buries her face in her knees. She could hear Mitsuba's laugh joining Shinoa's. She hears someone sit beside her, and an arm wraps around her pulling her close. She could smell Mika's scent. She lifts her head to look at him. His face is red as he stares intently at the fire. Yuu was yelling at Shinoa about something she had said, but she just kept responding with chanting 'cherry boy' at him.
"We can leave them behind," she mutters to Mika. He nods a little. A small smile spreads over his face. "Or at least Shinoa."
He glances at her finally. The red starts to disappear as he smiles a little at her. She feels her own humiliation melting away. He leans down and kisses her. The camp goes silent for a moment before Shinoa coos at them, "Aren't they just adorable?"
Mika finally fixes a cold look on her. She turns her face away feigning an innocent look. She clearly wasn't concerned about Mika's anger. Atsuko hears movement on the other side of Mika and looks up. Her eyes meet startled green ones. Red covers Yuu's face as he flops down beside Mika. Mika just leans into Atsuko after Shinoa turns to have a whispered conversation with Mitsuba. Mika's cheek rests on the top of her head as she leans back into him to avoid falling over. It's silent before she hears a shuffling noise to her side. She pulls her head away from Mika ignoring the soft noise of irritation he gives her ear. She turns to smile at Yoichi. He gives her a shy smile and looks nervously at Mika. Mika must have been giving him a cold look. Yoichi focuses on Atsuko once more.
"Shinoa means well. Don't take what she says to heart," he says in a soft voice. Atsuko can't help the smile on her face. She just nods as she feels Mika lean into her once more, but he doesn't lean his head against hers. Yoichi glances back where Kimizuki had disappeared. "I wonder if he is ok. It sounded like he hit pretty hard."
She chuckles softly. The humiliation was still there, but it wasn't as horrible now. She finds it easy to talk to Yoichi. They fall into a conversation regarding food.
"What was your favorite food as a human?" Yoichi asks. He glances behind him as they hear Kimizuki finally return. He smiles at Kimizuki and waves. Kimizuki glowers at Shinoa, but he returns Yoichi's wave with a small one of his own. He sits beside Yoichi due to the evil look the other two girls are giving him. Yoichi turns his gaze back on Atsuko. She looks up as she thinks about.
"I don't really remember. I know that I loved sweet food. Candy probably," she says sticking her tongue out at him. He laughs then smiles at her excitedly.
"What was your favorite drink? What about your favorite color? What about your favorite thing to do? Wh-" He flinches when Kimizuki's fist presses into the top of Yoichi's head making the shorter male whine.
"One question at a time, or she won't be able to remember them to answer," he says softly. She can't help her laughter as she answers Yoichi.
"I didn't really get a huge variety of drinks being in a vampire city. I guess water was my favorite. I don't know about the color. I guess blue like the sky I could vaguely remember. It always seemed to represent freedom. Reading was my favorite way to pass time. Or spending time with my family playing in the streets."
"Is that what attracted you to Mika in the first place?" Mitsuba asks with a sly smile on her face. Atsuko wasn't sure that she wanted to answer the blonde haired human. She was sure it was a trap. The smile on Shinoa's face just seemed to solidify her train of thoughts. She hears movement and looks around Mika. Yuu was leaning to see her better too. His eyes widen, and a look of humiliation spreads over his face, but he still tries to talk to her.
"I'm sorry about..." he trails off. Atsuko could hear snickering and quickly shakes her head. The cold hint of fear starts to gnaw at her once more.
"It's alright, Yuu. You couldn't have known. I just was... uh..." She feels a hand wrap around her wrist. It's warm and soft. She turns her head to look at Yoichi, who gives her a reassuring smile. She feels Mika shift slightly. His body felt tense against hers. She chuckles softly and pats his outer thigh before focusing on Yuu trying to get a serious look on her face. It was so hard to keep the look of fear off her face. "I should be the one apologizing for running away from you."
He looks away. Mika shifts a little before Atsuko finds herself pulled away from Yoichi. To her embarrassment, she finds that Mika had pulled her right between his legs. She was now closer to Yuu than she had been for a while. She feels a mixture of humiliation and fear run though her. Mika's arms wrap around her stomach, and he whispers to her, "Just talk to him."
She nods a little, but she can't find anything to say to him. It's silent for a few minutes before Yuu finally says, "They told me what happened. Yoichi did at least."
She flinches as she tries to push the images out of her mind. He flinches as well and says softly, "Thank you for stopping me from hurting him."
She just nods. It's silent between the two of them before she says, "I didn't want you to hurt like I did."
She feels a lump form in her throat. His green eyes soften as they watch her. She turns her reddish brown eyes to stare at the dirt in front of her. She says softly, "Ferid had me accidentally kill one of my family members. It's... it's painful. I can't describe it. I didn't want you to feel the same pain. I don't want anyone to ever feel that. I know you care about Yoichi, and I do to. He's an amazing friend."
She looks up to see the pain in his eyes. Her heart feels like it is stopping once more. She says softly. "Ferid told me about Sora."
The whole group tenses. None of them would look her in the face. Mika tightens his hold on her. She looks at the ground once more. It's a few minutes before Yuu says, "I'm so sorry, Atsuko. I didn't mean to hurt him. I was aiming for the vampire in front of you."
She just nods numbly. It's silent again before he asks softly, "Do you blame me?"
She searches her thoughts and finally closes her eyes. "Yes, I do."
Yuu flinches out of the corner of her eye. She turns to look at him. He stares at the ground intently with a sad look in his eyes. She feels Mika bury his face into her shoulder hard. She reaches out, pauses, then touches Yuu's forearm. He flinches and looks up at her, but he doesn't pull his arm away from her. She says softly, "I blame your recklessness, but it was also not your fault directly. You had no intention on... hurting him. You couldn't have seen us behind Ferid. For a while, I hated you. It hurt so bad that I didn't want to accept anything else."
Yuu flinches and nods, but he doesn't say anything.
"I don't hate you now though. It was a mistake. I understand that now. You have to live with the fact that you killed a human. A child. It's just as painful as what I went through. You are a kind person, so I figured it must eat at you."
She forces a smile on her face as he lifts his eyes to look into her eyes. She says softly still touching his forearm, "So, I discovered that I didn't truly ever hate you."
He looks up at her with a grateful look. He opens his mouth to say something, but Shinoa interrupts, "Did you wash your hands, Atsuko?"
Confusion settles over her as she turns to look at the purple haired girl. The girl had a cruel smile on her face as she gestures to Atsuko's hand. Both Atsuko and Yuu look down at it. Mika was chuckling into her shoulder, though she was scrambling to understand what Shinoa was hinting at. She says softly, "No, why would I need to wash my hands?"
Mitsuba bursts out laughing as Shinoa chuckles saying, "So you and Mika were engaged in sex when he found you. You've likely touched Mika. Now, you are touching his brother's arm. Does that not bother you, Yuu?"
Yuu rips his arm away from Atsuko with a horrified look on his face. He childishly tries to bat at his sleeve like that'd get rid of the germs, as Mika stifles his laughter using Atsuko's shoulder. She just sits there staring at Shinoa with a look of humiliation that she was trying to morph into a cold glare. The attempts just make Shinoa laugh louder. She eventually just covers her face with her hands. She was seriously second guessing bringing Shinoa with them. They had yet to talk to the group about their plans.
The rest of the group starts to laugh at the awkwardness between Yuu and Atsuko. Mika didn't seem as embarrassed anymore. She didn't really want to admit it, but Shinoa had helped lift the cold, heavy atmosphere from the group.
To some degree, Atsuko was incredibly grateful to her for doing that.