Blood Runs Deeper

Chapter 37 – Confessions and Concerts: Part Two

"...DEVIL'S SPIRE!"

The crowd went wild as Kou sung the chorus to his popular pop song 'devil's spire'. Through some recollection, I realised that I had heard the song on the radio once or twice before.

Catchy.

"Kou-kun is talented!" Yui exclaimed as she danced along to the music, earning frowns from Ayato and I.

Kou was talented. I just wouldn't admit it.

"Talented?" Ayato scoffed. "Yours Truly could sing better than that, Chichinashi!"

I hummed and swayed along to the music to blend into the crowds. I aimed not to look like Ayato who sulked in his seat because Yui was giving another male her attention. I dug my phone out of my bag and checked my messages. I had two. One was from Shu, and it was short.

From: Shu

r u ok

I shook my head. At least he woke up and found the effort to text even if it was monosyllabic and abbreviated.

To: Shu

I'm fine. Ayato is as fine as he will ever be and Yui is happy. Subaru left before it started. My fault.

P.S. I would appreciate it if you also vacated from my bed and returned to your own by the time I return

Mari

The next message was from Subaru.

From: Subaru

I'll be around somewhere. I'll probably find you instead. When I see you we're talking about before. Properly. I can't get it outta my damn head. Stay away from that bastard. Don't even make eye contact

P.S. if you bring those fucking flowers I will kill you

So much for text messages from the love interest, I thought. More like text messages from the stalker-homicide-killer.

But at least he replied to my earlier message. He was around somewhere; he hadn't gone home. I was relieved, but I knew I would have to explain the roses from Kou even though I could foster no explanation for said flowers myself.

I flipped the phone shut and kept it in my hand. Glancing back up to the stage, Kou was still dancing while the backup dancers followed with the same identical choreography. They looked like robots.

Kou looked better on stage. On stage, he advertised a likable normality. Ironic for an idol, perhaps. Maybe it was the environment. To the masses here, he was human and he was a singer they fantasied about. Which was more mundane? A sadistic vampire or a famous idol? I supposed the latter.

My phone buzzed.

From: Shu

He left? Ha ha. 0 date points 4 u ;) Try not to get kidnapped

P.S. no

I sighed and put my phone back into my bag.

The song finished and the stadium erupted into claps, cheers and screams. Mostly screams. High pitched, defending, and most likely lethal-for-my-sensitive-ears screams.

"I loved that song!" Yui bounced on the balls of her feet, glancing down at Ayato who was still pouting. "Ayato-kun?"

"You actually like this sort of girly idol crap? That's so like you, Chichinashi…" Ayato groaned and rested his fist against his cheek.

"Cheer up, Ayato," I poked his head, smirking. "You only have another hour and a half to go."

"Shut up, Pancake," he grumbled, swatting my hand away. "Yours Truly can't even get anymore takoyaki for another hour!"

"-and a half, actually," I corrected. "That's when the break is."

"That damn albino creep has some nerve leaving Yours Truly in a place like this. Fucking bastard." He mumbled to himself, cursing mine and Yui's names in the process.

The opening of the next song started. The screams started again. Unwillingly, I caught Kou's eye on stage and he winked at me. Or was it me? No, it could have been anyone near the front.

'Don't even make eye contact' Subaru had warned via text message. I mentally apologised for possibly making our situation worse.

Instantly, the first section of the audience screeched louder with protests ringing out: 'did you see that?! He winked at me!' and 'no way! That was definitely at me!' I attempted to catch his eye 'again' so I could glare at him with my hands clasped over my ears as if to say thank-you-very-much.

However, the backing track was dimmed and Kou's cheerful speaking voice reached my ears instead.

"How ya all doing?" his microphone exemplified voice greeted as he made a peace sign with his fingers. The audience, of course, offered their many replies in the form of screams. "Hehe~ wow! You guys are so supportive tonight!

"This is a new song, inspired by my Neko-chan~" I gathered the audience members who were wearing cat ears – which basically equated to ninety-percent of the crowd – were over-the-moon.

I sunk into my seat and hurriedly yanked the ears from my head.

"It's called 'Eve'. I hope you like it!" he finished, waving to the crowd who seemed, if possible, even more ecstatic.

The backstage staff fluttered around the stage in a mad frenzy to rearrange the set while the dancers returned from a costume change. They were all wearing black attire with red leather jackets and accents. Kou shrugged off his own jacket and tossed it aside.

If the first wink wasn't proof of acknowledgement, this surely was. He caught my eye again and winked, a small smirk playing on his lips.

I suddenly felt sick.

The lights dimmed and the animated screen behind them projected thousands of red roses which scattered their petals to the left and right adjacent screens. The music became gradually louder, with spotlights hovering over Kou and the backup dancers.

The song followed the same pop genre as the rest, however the lyrics made me flinch in recognition. After a while of sneaking glances at Yui and Ayato, I decided that they had worked out the connection. Yui sat down for the first time since the concert started and repeatedly shot me confused and concerned glances. Ayato seemed even more pissed off.

"How did ya like it?" Kou asked the crowd as the song strummed to an end. The screams indicated a positive response. "Hehe~ thank you! It will be released on my upcoming album, so make sure you check it out!"

After the cheers and screams had died down, he paced the stage and faked a confused and embarrassed expression. It wasn't possible for him to show any weak emotions. "I wasn't going to say it, but… my special Neko-chan is here tonight. How about we get you up here, hm~?"

My hands viced onto the arm rests.

No.

No. Way.

I was not going onto that stage to face indefinite public humiliation. Kou never had innocent motives. I knew that by now.

The crowds cheered, waving their arms in the air in the hope that Kou meant them. I hoped he meant them, too. But my hopes were soon crushed as I saw Kou wave over a security guard and whisper something in his ear. The tall, burly man nodded and gathered his team made up of four huge men. I gulped. They were making their way to the front row.

No. Way.

I shot a panicked look at Ayato who glanced to the emergency exit. He shook his head. It was still locked.

I gripped tighter onto the arm rests.

Then suddenly, I noticed four pairs of black shoes under my nose. I gulped and lifted my head.

"Sakamaki Mari, you're wanted on stage with Mr. Mukami." A stoic guard addressed my worst fears.

"No," I replied far too quickly. "I-I'm not going on stage. Find someone else."

"We didn't give you a choice, sweetheart," the one with the buzz cut said, giving me a smile which made my skin crawl. "We want our pay checks at the end of the month, not a little rich girl's complaints."

And that's how I found myself thrown over Buzz Cut's shoulder, kicking and screaming my way up to the stage. I shouted for Ayato, but more security was issued to restrain him from attempting anymore punches. I continued my physical protests.

"Jeez, why is the brat so strong?" Buzz Cut said, having to readjust his grip several times.

"Daddy's probably been feeding her protein vitamins." One of the others commented, attempting to be humorous.

"Yeah, man, you're right." Buzz Cut wheezed through husky laughter. "Light as a feather, though. Don't make any sense. Here, c'mon and help me, will you? I don't want her to do a runner."

The other two guards helped by latching onto my legs and arms. I couldn't move. Great.

They went around to the side of the stage and placed – or should I say, dropped me a few feet away from Kou, who nodded in their direction. They nodded back. I spun around, attempting to run once more, but Kou grabbed my hand and my stage fright froze my muscles.

There were thousands upon thousands of twinkling lights in front of me, each one indicating a person. I felt a very strong urge to vomit.

"Quite a fight you gave back there, Neko-chan~" Kou whispered in my ear. "Say, I'm glad Subaru-kun is out of the picture. A handy escape he had back there, wouldn't you say? Hehe~ don't worry, Neko-chan! We're going to have some fun, tonight. I'll make you forget all about him."

I was a stuttering spectacle.

But I expected it.

Kou made some light humour about my nerves and the audience laughed, though I could tell by some of their faces that they were envious. I didn't know why. This was a nightmare.

However, what I didn't expect was for Kou to grab me by the waist, spin me around, tilt me backwards and kiss me in that over-the-top way that they show in movies.

I wanted to scream, but I was too shocked to scream. I wanted to push him away, but I was too shocked to move my arms.

I wanted to disappear when I realised thousands of people witnessed the kiss.

Finally coming to my senses, I pushed my arms against his chest, but I found myself weaker than usual. Nerves and surprise were not a good combination. Kou broke the kiss but kept his hand around my waist, jerking my body close once more and placing his lips against my ear.

"Fallen in love with me yet, Neko-chan?" was all he said before I willed my legs to get me as far away from the scene as possible.

I was lost in the maze of the backstage corridors, but I didn't stop. People yelled to inform me that I wasn't allowed back here, but I ignored them and carried on running, searching desperately for an exit. More security guards were on my tail, but luckily, they weren't as skilled in running as they were in their strength, and I managed to teleport myself out of their grasps several times.

But once I reached the exit and flung open the doors, my long sought for an escape was not welcomed.

Instead, swarms of paparazzi were there to welcome me with their blinding, flashing cameras and rambling, intrusive questions.

'Who are you to Kou Mukami?'

'Is this all just a set up?'

'Are you two dating?'

Startled, my hand clutched my chest to regain control of my breathing after the sprinting marathon, using the other to shield my eyes from the erratic white flashes of the cameras.

"Please, get away from me!" I attempted to push past them, but they wouldn't budge. They cornered me so my back brushed up against the door. "I told you to leave me alone!"

Mood souring from tonight's events, I pushed past them harder, and some toppled onto the ground. I smelt blood. One had hit their head.

"Ow! You bitch!"

"L-Listen to me next time!" I weaved my way through the gap that they had created and bolted down the street.

I had no idea what I was going to do now. I had left my phone, bag and jacket in the stadium. Even so, there was no way I was going back inside that building. While I was out, I decided to look for Subaru. But after the recent events, seeing him seemed like an even scarier prospect.

All of a sudden, my head collided with something hard. I felt someone steady me, gripping tightly onto my upper arms. "Ow…" I mumbled. Averting my eyes upwards, I saw Subaru, looking down at me with furrowed eyebrows.

"…Mari?"

"Subaru!"

I didn't know what came over me, but in the next moment, my arms were locked around his waist and my face buried in the material of his shirt. "Never leave me like that again!"

"A-Alright! Fuck… What's with this sudden attack, hah?"

I opened my mouth to spill out everything that had gone wrong in Subaru's absence, but held my tongue. If he was annoyed about the flowers, how would he react if I told him about the unwilling kiss? We were finally talking again and I didn't want to argue and make things worse. I couldn't imagine not speaking to him again.

"You… you missed how awful the concert was," I muffled into his shirt. My words weren't exactly a lie. "How could you leave me alone in that place? I think my eardrums are permanently scarred."

"I told you events like this are bullshit. Tch… what a fucking waste of time." He placed his hands on my shoulders and pushed me back, studying my face. He narrowed his eyes. "What were you running from?"

"I… I came out of the wrong exit and ran into some reporters." Again, it was partly the truth. "They startled me and I just started running. Then I ran into you. Literally."

"And those… those fucking flowers?"

"I have no idea," I darted my eyes away nervously. I could tell his mood was turning south. "Kou probably did it to annoy you. I supposed it worked."

"That bastard," he grumbled, straightening up, fists at his side.

My eyes traveled over his shoulder, searching for a distraction from this troubling conversation topic. I spotted a small ice-cream parlour a few yards away with outdoor seating. That would do, I decided. We still needed to wait for Ayato and Yui before we fetched the car. I gathered they would come out in the break, which, I estimated was in an hour.

"Should we go and get some ice cream?"

He looked at me like I suggested we travel to mars.

"Hah? Ice… ice what? Why would you wanna go and eat stupid shit like that?!"

I shrugged. "It's nice. Besides, we need to kill some time before Ayato and Yui come out."

Somehow, I managed to get Subaru to follow me into the ice-cream parlour. It was a cute, vintage little shop, styled in yellow and white. Subaru pulled a face at the interior and muttered about it being a waste of time.

"I'll have mint, please," I told the elderly lady at the counter. "Subaru, what do you want?"

"I want to fucking leave."

I ignored his comment and ordered for him. "He'll have the lemon sorbet."

Reaching for my bag, my hands clutched onto nothing. My stomach dropped. My bag and purse were still at the concert. How could I have forgotten? I was mortified.

"Oh... oh, no."

"Hah?"

"I... I left my purse back at the concert."

"Tch. You're such a fucking piece of work." He rolled his eyes and grumbled something along the lines of me being an idiot before he rummaged in his pocket and slammed some coins down onto the counter. I didn't know if that was enough, but the woman smiled nonetheless and handed us our ice-creams.

"You're such a gentleman, Subaru. Not making the lady pay," I smirked, poking his arm. He scowled. "Don't worry, I'll pay you back later."

"I don't care," he mumbled as he glowered down at the pot of sorbet with discontent.

We sat on one of the tables outside. Subaru kicked his feet up onto one of the empty chairs. He took small spoonful's of his lemon sorbet as his eyes watched passers-by without interest.

"Not too sour?" I asked as I licked my own mint ice-cream. It was sweet.

"Can't tell."

"What do you mean?"

"Can't taste anything. All human food tastes the same." Finally had enough of the sorbet, he flunked it down onto the table and crossed his arms. "All of it tastes like fucking shit."

"Are your taste buds that dead?" I laughed.

He shrugged, peeling his eyes away from the busy city street. "Most likely. That bastard–"

"Who? Please clarify. There are many."

"Ayato, obviously."

"Oh, right. Go on then."

"He thought it would be fucking funny to give me some sweet that had gone off or something," he began with a wry smile on his lips.

"Think he was expecting me to have some weird reaction, but I couldn't tell the difference. What was the fucking difference between that and this stupid ice thing? Nothing. It all tastes like shit. The bastard got really creeped out, though. Suppose it was worth it to see his face. He was looking at me like he was looking at those freaky fucking cat ears you were wearing."

"Amazing," I laughed, shaking my head. "Where are those cat ears that I oh-so-generously bought for you, anyway? I'll be heartbroken if you tell me you threw them away."

He cursed and rolled his eyes, pointing to his jacket pocket where the subject of the conversation hung. I was surprised he willingly put them in his pocket. I thought he would have thrown them away at the earliest opportunity.

I smiled. "That's so cute, Subaru." I thought I heard him mumble something along the lines of 'shut up, look who's talking' but with the loud chatter of the streets, it was hard to be sure. "I can't believe you kept them! But I'm glad you did. My heart was really hanging on the line."

"What, like my fucking dignity?"

"Pretty much."

I finished off my ice cream and stood to put Subaru's abandoned sorbet into the bin. When I returned, he was on his phone.

"Texting anyone special?"

He glanced up and settled his features into a scowl. "If by that you mean a self-obsessed, red-headed bastard, then yeah. Fucking special."

"Oh," I chuckled, "what did he want?"

"He was asking if I was with you. That's it."

I was surprised Ayato hadn't mentioned the reason why I fled the concert, but I mentally thanked him. Subaru's anger had been non-existent for the majority of the evening, which was rare in itself.

"Speaking of Ayato, could you text him and ask how long he and Yui will be? Oh, and also tell him to pick up my jacket and purse. I forgot my phone, remember?"

He grunted in acknowledgement. After he sent the text, he flipped his phone shut and stuffed it into his pocket.

"C'mon. I'm fed of sitting in this bullshit place." Standing abruptly, he got caught in the flow of pedestrians on the street. I hurried to catch up with him.

"Idiot, hold my hand so you don't get lost." Flustered by the sudden demand, I glanced up to him. His cheeks were red. "N-Not that I would want to hold your hand for any other reason...! Tch."

I took his hand. "Where are we going?"

He shrugged. "A walk."

Night time in the city attracted an abundance of rowdy, noisy, drunk people. Daytime stores had their shutters down while the bars and clubs were buzzing, with their neon lights and blasting music echoing around the streets. After the concert, my ears begged for some place devoid of noise.

We had walked around in a circle, I noticed, as we passed the now closed ice-cream parlour.

"I hate the city," Subaru frowned, grip tightening around my hand as we swerved yet another drunk person. "People are fucking idiots. The noise is fucking annoying, too."

"I know, but count yourself lucky. You haven't had to endure high pitched screams for the last few hours."

"Hah? Sure I have. I've lived with Kanato's fucking hysterics longer than you have."

"Touché," I laughed, glancing at the clock tower for the time. "Hey, don't you think we should be heading back to the stadium building? Ayato and Yui should be out soon."

"Whatever," he mumbled. "But they can wait. I want to talk."

My mind spiralled to the worst conclusions possible. Did he know about Kou? Was he waiting for me to tell him all this time? I thought about my confession earlier; my cheeks reddened. Was it about that? For the second time that night, I felt a very strong urge to vomit.

He pulled me to the side so we wouldn't be obstructing the path.

"What is it?" I asked, but he wasn't looking at me. His eyebrows were creased and red eyes dazed like he was trying to rearrange his thoughts. His face grew redder under the flickering street light.

He began fidgeting.

Was he nervous?

My eyes narrowed in concern. "Subaru, are you… alright? You look like you're burning up. You might have a fever–"

"Idiot," he gets out in a hurried, irritated breath. "Shut up."

"I'm sorry, I just…" I trailed off, not knowing where my speech was heading.

Subaru sighed and tugged at strands of white hair. "W-What I'm trying to say is… shit… is that I–" he stopped abruptly as his gaze fixed on something above my head. Confused, I swiveled on my heels and saw a TV the same size as a billboard replaying the scene where Kou dragged me onto the stage and kissed me.

Stamped across the screen in large, bold writing was:

Kou Mukami's mystery girl? Or just another crazed fan?

My face twisted in horror. The clip continued to be replayed with a voice over commentary of the events of the concert. I let out a small cry as I realised that it appeared as though I was kissing him back. I knew that my arms were attempting to push him away, but with the misleading camera angles, it looked like I was pulling him closer instead.

"S-Subaru, it's not what it looks like! He dragged me up there–"

He let out a bitter, humourless laugh. "I… I can't fucking believe this." His fists and jaw were tight.

"I was trying to push him away!" I attempted my protests again and reached out to grab his hand, but he flinched away.

"I'd be surprised if that's all you and that bastard have done. You probably got pretty fucking friendly over at that place, right?"

"No, of course not!"

"And to think I was fucking going to…" He shook his head and cornered me against the wall, smashing his fist into a spot a few inches away from my head. "You say that you fucking love me and you go and do that… shit! How much truth is in your words? Or is it all just bullshit, Mari?"

"Subaru, I am telling the truth! I didn't–"

"Like I give a shit about your bullshit excuses anymore."

He pushed his weight from the wall and turned his back to me.

"You're just like your bitch of a mother."

He said those words so quietly that I was almost sure I missed them. But once I registered the venom in his voice, it was hard not to hear them. I couldn't believe he had stooped this low. I felt like I had been punched in the face; no, that would have been better.

I didn't know what to say.

So I didn't say anything.

"Pancake."

I whipped my head around and spotted Ayato. He had his hands in his pockets and was glaring past me towards Subaru.

"…Ayato? Did you–"

"Yours Truly heard enough."

My eyes stung. "And you believe him too, don't you?"

He gave me an odd look. "Pancake, you really think Yours Truly would let you live if I did, huh?" I didn't say anything, but glanced back at Subaru who looked like he was trying not to destroy something. "You wouldn't have survived any longer than when you woke me from that damn couch."

He flashed me a quick, crooked smile before yelling over to Yui who was buying a drink from a stand.

"Chichinashi! C'mon, we're leaving!"

Yui, who looked slightly confused, grabbed her drink and hurried over. Maybe she sensed the mood, because she didn't say anything but shoot us wary glances.

Ayato frowned as his attention drifted to Subaru. "Oi, you albino bastard! Get in the car. Yours Truly has had enough of this shit."

Subaru tilted his head. "Fuck off. I'm not going back."

I caught a final glimpse of white hair before the car door slammed shut.