Yui felt the world halt to a stop as Ruki uttered those words. The way her hands trembled as they picked up the handkerchief, stained with Ayato's blood, and tossed it aside, her eyes focused on Ayato's body, hating herself more every passing second. She had been used and cast aside by Ayato.
In a weird, twisted way, she did deserve it. She had been too careful with all the others when it came to her feelings and emotions, but with Ayato, her guard slipped, and it allowed him to encroach upon her heart. She deserved to be betrayed, with how she had been careless with Ayato, of all people. All those red herrings that warned her not to fall for the sadistic brute were, after all, true.
"Ruki kun." She didn't know how to take this information. Although she had the sinking feeling of rage inside her heart, mostly angry at herself, her anger slowly morphing into sadness and fear, but she just wanted to be a bit collected if Reiji was thinking of using her body as a vessel for his mother. She needed to push all her insecurities at the back of her mind in order to survive the night.
"I need to know what you guys had planned up until now," Yui said, her hands putting pressure over her open wound. Scabs were starting to form over the injury, and she needed to pull herself together if she was thinking of doing the Houdini act.
Ruki squared his shoulders, looking at her neck, his eyebrows knotted. Yui's heart sank as she realised that she was partnering up with a vampire herself, and there was no guarantee that he wouldn't corner her for a sip of her blood. She needed to be considerate enough to offer her blood, in the very least, or else Ruki would act like everybody else in the mansion and jump at the opportunity to suck her dry. Yui slammed the lid of the iron maiden, turning towards Ruki, her hands retracting from her shoulder. "I can… I can bear with you, Ruki kun. The least I can give you is my blood."
Ruki laughed. Yui leaned over the iron maiden, her elbow resting on the lid, her chin supported in the palm of her hand. "Did I say something wrong?"
"How can you forget what all he has done to you last month?" Ruki's voice was low, dangerous and demanding. Yui was scared out of her wits. Although she was positive that Ruki wouldn't hurt her for his own pleasure, she wasn't sure if he would take her answer in good sport.
"I need to focus on getting out of this hellhole, Ruki kun." Yui started to walk away from him, but halted when his iron grip caught her by the elbow. She wasn't prepared for this. She had expected Ruki to go along with her, since he had grown a soft spot for her. But Ruki was demanding her something even she refused to admit to herself. And if it had to be spoken by someone, it had to be Yui herself, not anybody else. She let out a breath, as she turned towards Ruki, his hair blown by the night wind, the grey tips of his locks appearing almost silvery in the bright moonlight. She didn't want to appear weak and stupid. She didn't want to be naïve and innocent. But it all drove her to that dilemma she refused to pay heed to, and it literally made her insanely hateful of herself.
"Admitting it will make the next few hours easier," Ruki suggested.
Would it, though?
"Ruki kun," Yui started, her elbow trying to wiggle out of his grasp, her eyes rimming up with tears. "I don't want to be the cause anybody hurts themselves for. I just want to get out of this. I don't want to cause any trouble for any of the families. I just…" she wanted to ramble on, trying to find some sick explanation that would suffice her means. She would only walk back into a corner with all her poor excuses, but she didn't want to accept the truth.
"What do you feel for Ayato?" Ruki asked, his voice barely above a whisper. She heard his heart break and snap in those words, and however she might have lied to him in the moment, she couldn't have done anything to mend it back into place.
"I…"
A wave of emotions caught her off-guard. The first sob sent her into Ruki's arms, falling into his embrace. She didn't know what she would expect him to think of her if he was being so considerate. There wasn't anything that could make it easier for any of them. And now that Ayato's intentions had been cleared, there was definitely nothing happy about accepting what was in her heart. She had been fooled and it was her fault, and she should have been angry at Ayato. She should have thought of staking his heart while he slept so that he wouldn't break her heart again.
"But I love him."
She buried her tear soaked face into Ruki's chest, her body trembling as she accepted her folly.
"I love him so much, Ruki kun…" she sobbed. "I want to hate him but I can't."
Ruki's arms came around her, caging her in his embrace. The moon had shifted to the centre, as a crow perched on the window, witnessing everything with its beady eyes. Ruki realised it a bit too late, when the crow flew away, the sound of fluttering feathers resounding in Ayato's room.
Ruki pressed his lips to Yui's ear, and she stood still. The next words sent a chill down her spine.
"We're being watched."
The whole place stank like blood. That weird, wet, metallic taste that you cannot get out of your mouth. It invaded his nostrils, his mouth, his senses all at once, making him retch. He wanted to yank the chain off the wall, but he couldn't get to the wall without getting his collar off. He had scratched away most of his skin around his neck, and was left with scabs and claw marks all over. Yuma tried to recall how he had ended up here, in the Sakamaki mansion of all places. He smelled the stench of decay all around him. He did have hazy memories of being on the way to the mansion for the plan of action his brothers had adopted in order to save Yui from her fate. He wasn't sure what to do with those memories though. He couldn't trust his riddled mind for the moment.
He heard a definite sound from above, in the dimly lit dungeons. It was as though someone had kicked a stone in his path. Was it one of the Sakamaki people? Was it one of the founders?
He heard someone step into the shadows, startling pale magenta eyes boring holes into him. Yuma mustered up courage to shout at the figure. "Who's there?"
He heard a chuckle. "Why, what do we have here?" He gasped as the figure stepped outside the shadows, bathed in pale moonlight. Reiji stood there, his hands holding a strange pocket watch. Yuma backed away from him, as much as the chain would let him go. Had he finally caught up with their plans? Was he going to kill them all one by one?
They'd been careful with essentially everything. Ruki had instructed all of them to stay vigilant from Reiji's tricks and deceits, but perhaps they'd been off their calculations. Reiji had been a clever person, but to think that he'd planned so ahead of the Mukamis that they'd just walked right into his trap.
Reiji blinked once. "I don't think you will survive once I release my familiars onto you. You might as well say your last words while I'm here to listen to you, Edgar."
Yuma strained against his chains. "What do you mean by that? And my name is Yuma, not Edgar!"
Reiji broke into maniacal laughter. Yuma felt his breath become shallower as he saw the boy in front of him descend into madness. "The last time I wasn't able to kill you, but this time there will be no mistakes. I will do exactly as my mother told me to. And this time, I will fulfil her wish."
Yuma heard a flutter of wings in the dark. Something perched on his right shoulder. Expecting the worst, he turned towards his right.
Something sharp jabbed into his eye.
Ruki shut the windows of Ayato's room, drawing the curtains. He sat Yui down on a chair beside the dresser, as he looked around for a means to escape.
"Ruki kun," Yui said, looking at the iron maiden. Ruki turned towards her, and found her pointing her finger at Ayato's body. They had left the lid open in order to notice if he had started to move. Ruki examined Ayato, and found that his eyes had started to bleed while still shut.
"What's happening?" Yui asked, her body trembling with fear.
Ruki took in a deep breath. "Reiji has used a hallucinogen here. We're seeing things we shouldn't. He's all right, Eve."
Yui stepped closer to inspect. The bloody tears must have disappeared when she came closer towards Ayato's body, as she heaved a sigh of relief.
Ruki looked at her, concerned. "My vampire body can take it very well, but we might need to relocate you before the fumes poison you, Eve."
Yui stood up, and walked towards the wall opposite to her. Ruki stood beside her, observing as she pressed an ear to the wooden wall. Nodding, she said, "This mansion is modelled according to the Gothic-Renaissance style architecture. Most of these houses used to have false walls that made way through the plumbing of the house. If we rip open the wall, we would have access to one of the false walls. If I'm correct, we'd end up in the sewers below the mansion that are connected to the city's supply."
Ruki knotted his eyebrows. "And if you're wrong?"
Yui smiled. "It's worth a shot."
Ruki failed to match her spirit. They'd been cornered by Reiji, after all. Weeks of preparation had led them nowhere, and if they ended up just walking into Reiji's trap, they'd just be doomed. As far as Ruki was aware, Subaru must have been manipulated into attacking Yui under the influence of some drug Reiji had concocted as well. They had to be careful. While Ruki only needed air to speak, Yui needed air as a crucial life sustenance. She'd be more affected by the fumes than he would be.
Nevertheless, Ruki removed a wooden plank with his brute strength.
The hallucinogen in the air was becoming stronger by the moment. Ruki mistook the water dripping for blood, stepping away from the wall. Yui stared at him, concerned a bit. "Are you all right?"
Ruki shook his head. "Never been better."
They stepped into the false wall, as Ruki took out a lighter, igniting it.
Yui snatched it away from him. Ruki could see her face in the dark, her expression worried. "I was thinking whether you'd bump into something. If they can, they would see us anyway."
"There's methane in the sewage pipes. You'd blow the whole mansion up. Plus the mansion is old enough for the gases to be concentrated in odd places, Ruki kun." Yui took the lighter from him. "I'm so glad this dress has pockets for once."
Ruki held her delicate hand in his grasp. "Stay with me, Eve."
Yui nodded at him, as he guided her through the path.
Ruki felt her lean into him, as she whispered, "Is Ayato kun going to be okay?"
Ruki didn't want to hear about that piece of shit. All he wanted right now was to protect her with all his might. Yet, not wanting to hurt her feelings, he complied. "He'd be fine, Eve. Nobody would harm him."
A/N: Hey guys, this arc is swiftly coming to an end and it has been a roller coaster ride for me. Please understand that this was all planned beforehand and not just added for shock value. Some of you have contacted me and said that you didn't like how Ayato's motivation was merely obtaining Yui's heart, literally. I did drop hints since the first chapter because I didn't want to just hand you an empty plot twist without giving it proper explanation. I feel it as a shortcoming from my part that I did not plant the hints as often (╯︵╰,). Some of you have even praised me for it and told me that you had predicted it somewhat but didn't want to spoil in the reviews. Thanks Leila, I really appreciate your passion for this little tale of mine ~(◠ω◕✿).
To Animeadict2020, yours was one of the first comments I received on this fic. I can't express in words how elated I felt when I saw your comment, after slogging through close to 15 chapters with no engagement and seeing someone actually take time to respond. I'm glad I was able to keep you through all these chapters, for I thought my writing was too slow to keep someone engaged in the story. You provided your views in every chapter, keeping up with the narrative and being the absolute sunshine that you are. (◕ω◕✿)
To lisabann, you were also one of my first reviewers and added to the conversation and discussion enough to make me think of new plot points and spicing up new details. Your love for anti heroes reflects my inclination for grey characters as well. Your passion for this fic was so wholesome for me, every time I got your review notification I knew I would come across a diamond comment that would make my day. I love how you drop in your own conclusions and bring in ppoints that most readers would overlook, even I would gloss over those tiny details. You're the best! (◠︿◠✿)
To Son Ceci, ¡Gracias! Tu comentario me alegró el día. Disculpe mi español, estoy usando el traductor de Google. ヽ(〃＾▽＾〃)ﾉ
To Claugz, thanks for noting the time I put into Ayato's character. I wanted to flesh him out as much as possible. ╰(◡‿◡✿╰)
To all you guest reviewers, I must admit, your comments had me rolling in laughter sometimes. (੭ ˃̣̣̥ ω˂̣̣̥)੭ु⁾⁾ Yes, Ruki has been reduced to a mere third wheel, but now he's gaining power! I'd leave it up to you if you consider this equation a love triangle or not.
Sorry for the huge author's note, I usually avoid them unless absolutely necessary. Also, someone asked why I post daily. Well, I write this story almost on a daily basis, with the quarantine and my recent relaxation from COVID duties(I'm a 7th semester med student, my country had started recruiting undergrads for some hours, and after that my schedule was mostly empty). I just like writing this story more than anything else I've written, and each chapter takes me about one hour each, so why not?
Hope you have a great day and stay safe. ⊂( ・ ̫・)⊃