Hi, everyone! I present to everyone a new chapter! Chapter 7! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Let's start!
- Kai's POV-
The next few days were pretty eventful, on Aichi's part at least. His club had been struggling to find a fifth member after a fan of his, Shingo Komoi, joined the club. I knew who could be perfect for the club but Tokura just didn't want to join for some reason. Moreover, the Student Council have been trying to stop the club from forming and I found it annoying so I did bring it up to Aichi one night about whether I should scare them a little so that they would leave the club alone, but his response...
" Don't be mean! They're just doing their job! Once they accept our club and see how fun Vanguard is, I'm sure everything will be alright! So, as your Eve, I'm telling you not to do something so mean and reckless, understand?!"
Typical Aichi... He's so naive and cute. Of course I had to take his order seriously since he even used his authority as my Eve to make sure I don't try anything funny while he wasn't looking. We were on his bed right now. He was sitting on my lap and we were reading a book together.
"... Do you know, Kai-kun?" He ask
" What is it?" I ask, nuzzling on his shoulder
" Whenever you drink my blood, your eyes turn into this dark shade of red." He said
" Red?"
" Yeah. I guess it's a sort of sign that you drank my blood for power, but I'm just bringing it up cause I just remembered how cool it looked. It made you look even more handsome as you are now." He said
Heat flushed my cheeks and I buried my face in his shoulder while I feel his body vibrating in a short giggle. I lifted up my head after a few moments and pushed the book closer to his face.
" Continue reading..." I muttered
" Okay, okay."
We continued reading the book, quickly forgetting the topic we were on until Aichi became drowsy and I had to grab the book from him before he would slam headfirst on it since he was holding it. I gave him a goodnight kiss on his forehead and turned off the lights and slept together on the bed.
- The next morning-
We'd done our usual morning routine of getting ready for school and having our breakfast before saying goodbye to his family and walking to school together. It's been only a few days, but it seemed like Aichi had taken a liking to the finger holding we'd done a few days ago and continued to do so.
" If you're not going to be busy today, I was thinking about heading out for a bit of shopping. It's about time that we went for it. My apartment needs to feel welcoming for you since I want to live together with you." I said
" Sure, I don't mind. It's been awhile since I went to the mall." He said
" It's a date then." I said, chuckling at his blushing reaction to my words
We arrived in front of his school and I saw him off before going to my school. As boring as it is, school was really one of the other places where I can find quiet spots for naps. But with all the annoying girls with crushes on me, I find it hard to relax in school now. Maybe I should just sneak into Miyaji and find a spot there to nap and keep watch over Aichi. He would probably be mad and then embarrassed though. The hours went by pretty quickly and I grabbed my bag to leave for Miyaji High, not bothering to tell Miwa where I would be going off to. I met Aichi at the gates and walked with him to the train station and took the train to the city, walking to the mall afterwards. I was browsing through the directory while Aichi called his mother to explain to her on what we were doing.
" Yeah, we'll be careful. See you." He said before hanging up on the call, " She said that it's okay for us to be outside for dinner and to make sure to not stay out too late."
" Sure. Well, let's drop by the furniture stores first." I said
" Okay."
We followed the directory and found a few furniture shops to browse through on the furnitures for the apartment. I allowed Aichi to pick the furnitures while I chose the options of materials, patterns and colors. I found that to be the right decision. Aichi is pretty good at finding the most comfortable sofas and beds at the most affordable prices. He said that we could keep the dining table and chairs since they still suit the apartment pretty well and we could save money too. Next, we browsed more stores varying from selling refridgerators and washing machines to selling bedsheets and comforters.
" Oh, Kai-kun! There's a really warm comforter here! Touch it a little!" He exclaimed
I lightly touched and felt out the comforter, nodding to him.
" This would be good for cold nights during the winter seasons. But let's look for a comforter for the less colder nights too, we wouldn't want to be a sweating mess when we wake up in the morning, in case the air conditioner breaks down or anything in the summer." I said
" Okay!"
I looked at the array of cupboards while he went a little further away from me to look at more comforters. I opened a few cupboards to look through them, noting on which cupboards had enough space for the two of us and to let Aichi have a look at them later too. Once I made my decision on the choices of cupboards, I turned my head to call for him when I found the comforter section void of any people.
" Aichi? Aichi?!" I called out
Nervous and confused, I ran over to the section and tried to look for him but he wasn't anywhere nearby. Panicked, I asked the employees nearby to check on whether they'd seen him but all the replies I got were heads shaking or a bunch of 'no'. Now I was really panicking so I decided to use my enhanced sense of smell to look for him. His scent trail led outside so I ran out of the store and continued following his scent. It didn't take a few moments for me to suddenly feel a sharp pain in my head and a voice echoed.
" Kai-kun...! Help me...!"
" Aichi!"
It would be too late if I kept following just his scent. I used our contract's link and followed the invisible chains that connected me and Aichi. It ended near an alley outside the mall and I immediately dashed into the alley after hearing a muffled voice. As soon as I turned into the alley, I finally saw Aichi struggling against a familiar black mist.
" Aichi!"
" Kai-kun...!"
He winced in pain when the black mist around his head started pulsating a red aura. I immediately acted and got my sword out, slashing at the mist as it dispersed immediately upon contact with my blade and I caught Aichi from falling.
" You okay?!" I exclaimed
" I-It's that thing again...! I was just browsing the store when it grabbed me and pulled me out of the mall...! I-I couldn't react in time a-and...!" He stuttered
I hushed him and tried to calm him down, stroking his head and whispering some comforting words into his ear before he managed to stop shaking and let out a shaky breath to calm himself.
" ... You're okay, Aichi." I assured
" It's back... And it was faster and stronger this time. It tried to mess around with my head, tried to take control over me. I could only try to call out to you..." He said
" It's okay. Your physical strength and weapon isn't meant to fight that kind of thing anyway. You couldn't possibly fight back." I said
" ... Thank you... You saved me again..." He muttered
I shook my head and continued to stroke his head. We stayed that way for another few minutes before he finally lifted his head off my chest and looked up at me.
" I-I'm sorry... Today was supposed to be a fun day and I..." He said
" It's okay. That was unexpected after all. While it does worry me that Void came back so quickly, my sword has the power to cut entities like it. I'm sure this has damaged it and it won't try again for awhile. If it does come back again, we'll ask Takuto on what we need to do to stop it again." I said
" O-Okay..."
I nodded and kissed his forehead for more assurance before helping him to stand up.
" Let's go and eat our dinner. You must be hungry from what happened. After that, I have some cupboards to show you from that store we were in. You have the choice to pick it this time too." I said
He nodded and we went off to find a place to eat our dinner. I didn't let him pay for our meal and he pouted, forgetting about the incident completely. Having a meal really took all of that pressure from just now off of him. Now, we were back in the store and browsing through the cupboards that I had picked out to let him look through. My nose twitched at the time as I turned to the entrance to see that Shirota kid.
" Kai-kun?"
He turned to the direction I was looking at as he hummed in small surprise. Shirota spotted us both as Aichi waved to him with a small smile. I sighed at his naiveness to the situation. This was the kid that had attacked him with a broom and he can be so naive enough to forgive him for that. Shirota walked over to us after seeing Aichi's greeting.
" H-Hello..."
" What are you doing here?" I ask, sighing in slight annoyance
" Can we talk again? Just this once?" He ask
" Why should we? I see no reason to. We're busy right now." I said
I heard a small shift in Aichi's movement and looked down to see that in that short conversation, he'd reached out to Shirota's bag that was slung on his shoulder, and scooped Kuro out of the bag to pet him in his arms.
" Aichi...?"
" I don't see why not." He said
I sighed and held my hand up towards my forehead. It was cute sight for sure, but he really is too naive for his own sake.
" Alright. We'll talk, but let's do that while picking out a cupboard. At least it won't make us look suspicious." I said
Shirota nodded as we faced the cupboards again. Aichi started looking through them again while petting Kuro while I stood by.
" So what is it?" I ask
" As I've said before, I want to defeat Tsubaki. My best friend is his Subclass and I promised that I'll find a way to free him from this mess. Now I have another reason to defeat Tsubaki and we need help more than ever." Shirota explained
" It's not in my plans to let Aichi fight Tsubaki. However, we've been approached one too many times by him and I have a feeling he'll get bored of waiting soon. As much as I hate to admit it, we're running out of time before Tsubaki declares us as enemies." I confessed
" Then join us! We can help each other out!" Shirota whispered
" I'll think about it. As we are right now, we're busy with our own lives too. But if Tsubaki does come attacking us, we won't hesitate to turn to you guys." I said
" Great!"
" But know this, the only reason I accepted this alliance is to keep Aichi safe. Once Tsubaki becomes a lesser threat, we're calling the alliance off." I said
" Of course."
I nodded and noticed Aichi walking over to us. He'd picked out a cupboard and was waiting for me to get my opinion on it too. I told him about how I'd already got to take a look at them thoroughly. So we just went ahead and bought the cupboard, setting the date and time of delivery before leaving the store.
" We should really get a new fridge." I said
" Your current fridge is already big enough for the two of us. Besides, I think we've spent enough for today. We got whatever your apartment needed for the both of us so I don't see the need to get more." Aichi reasoned
" ... Then let's get some bowls, plates, utensils and cups. I want us to match and I don't have any at home for us to match." I said
He blushed before turning back to Kuro to continue petting him.
" Where do you even have the money to buy so many things...?" Shirota ask
" Tournament money." I replied
" Huh?"
We were near a magazine store so I picked out the exact issue to show him. It was an Ultra Rare cover but the contents inside were what's important. I quickly flipped through the issue and showed him a page, almost shoving the magazine on his face before quickly leaving with Aichi in order to avoid attention, just in case anyone in the store would recognize us.
" WHAT?!"
Yeah, it was a really good thing we left as quickly as we could. People would turn heads when they hear that kind of yell. Shirota immediately ran to keep up with us, panting after finally finding us in another store.
" Are you serious?! How?!" Shirota exclaimed
" Clam up. I don't want to draw attention." I said
" Mahiru is just like that." Kuro yawned
We quickly purchased what we needed and made our way out of the store. Aichi handed Kuro back to Shirota after we exited the mall.
" Thank you, Mahiru-kun. Sorry I took him for so long." Aichi said
" It's okay. Kuro likes it anyway." Shirota said
" Let's head home. It's getting late and your mother might get worried." I said
" Okay. See you guys next time." Aichi waved
" Okay!"
Aichi waved to him as we took our leave from the mall and headed back to the Sendou residence.
" So the dates and time for delivery have been set?" Aichi ask
" Yeah. All we have to do now is wait. Before they arrive, I was thinking to put a few things aside while everything's being moved around. At the very least, those things will be lesser of a hassle to clean since the place will get dusty during the move." I said
" That's true. I'll help out too." He said
" Thanks, Aichi."
He smiled and I suppressed a blush crawling up my cheeks, turning to the road in front of us again.
" So what did the both of you talk about just now?" Aichi ask
" Oh. It was about Tsubaki and his Subclasses. Seems like they're making their move and attacking others now. He was trying to persuade us to join them again. I accepted anyway, I know you'll do that too, but on the condition that we'll only join if we start getting attacked by him too." I explained
" I see."
" I know you hate the thought of it, but... fighting has became out reality the moment Tsubaki came around." I said
" I don't mind that. I just want to make sure that nothing happens to you or anyone around us. If being an Eve would protect everyone, then I don't mind fighting." He said
" Then I'll do everything in my power to protect you." I said
" But don't go too far. I don't want you to get hurt too badly." He said
" I'm a vampire. I'll heal easily." I said
" Still..."
" As for you, you must have the motivation to fight or I won't be able to fight." I said
" Are we that connected?" He ask
" Yeah. It's just like that time when Shirota and his other friend came after us. You didn't have any motivation to fight so I was sluggish." I said
" I see..."
" It's fine. You know what's going to happen now so I'm sure you'll be fine." I said
I looked up at the sky. By the time we'd got our shopping done, it was already night. We should hurry back to his house or we'd risk any potential attacks.
" Come on, let's pick up the pace. The last thing I want to happen is a real attack." I said
" Okay."
I glanced down again to see him now looking at the mark from his weapon.
" You know, your weapon can change according to your imagination. It doesn't have to stay as one shape. I heard that the stronger your imagination is, the stronger your weapon can become." I explained
" Is that so? Then I won't be lacking on that." He said
" Of course not. Your imagination is booming, especially with Vanguard." I said
" Yeah."
" Even so, I'll still protect you with everything I've got." I said
" I know, but I don't want to leave that kind of burden on just you. I want this burden to be shared between both of us. That way, we can ensure that both of our wishes will come true." Aichi smiled
I stayed silent and smiled a little. I released our forefingers and hooked my pinky with his. A silent promise. He seemed to get the message too, so he didn't say much more than he was going to. One thing's for sure though, I don't especially mind spending this eternal life with him until...
" Kai-kun?"
I snapped out of my thoughts after hearing my name being called.
" What is it?" I ask
" You suddenly stopped moving." He said
" Oh, sorry... I was too deep in my own thoughts. It's nothing much though. Let's go, we need to hurry back before your mother becomes worried." I said
" Oh, okay."
We continued our walk back to his house while I made sure to keep a lookout for anything that might suddenly come at us this night.
" Relax, Kai-kun. There's a scowl on your face." Aichi mentioned
" I don't want you to be in danger again." I said
" You're here, aren't you? We'll be fine." He assured
" I'm more sensitive to this danger thing now. When you became my Eve, everything became even more hectic. You're an attraction to danger, so I have to make sure." I said
" You're such a worrywart." He sighed
" For you, at least." I added
He smiled and we finally arrived back at the Sendou household after another few more minutes of walking. We each took turns to take a shower at his request and drifted off to sleep on his bed as usual.
It had taken another few days but Aichi's club had finally been established officially in his school. I was honestly glad nothing bad or dangerous had happened while this was happening, since creating the club was so important to him. I had hoped I could fight him but I had to take on the newbie, Naoki Ishida, instead. He was alright, but he still needed to learn a lot more than this. When Aichi found out about his club having to face my club in order to make his club officially accepted, he had become a little angry at me. That led to a cold shoulder for a few hours upon our return back to his house, and me having to sleep on the futon for the night... At least, until he realized that the bed was a little empty without me and called me up again to his side. This side of him, I surely found really cute and endearing.
" What are you smiling about...?" He ask
I snapped out of my thoughts, almost forgetting about Aichi sitting on my lap to read another book.
" Nothing. Continue reading, or if you're tired, we can sleep for the night." I replied
" You must be thinking about something if you're just smiling to yourself." He said, eyeing me with suspicion
" I'm not." I replied, before remembering something important, " Right, it was tomorrow... The things we'd ordered are going to be organized in the apartment tomorrow. We have a free day, so let's head over to watch."
" Okay."
" Are you excited to move in with me?" I ask
" It's a little early and I'm going to miss this room, but I am also looking forward to living life together with you." He replied
" I'm happy to hear that." I said
He smiled at me before turning back to the book to continue reading.
" I never asked this, but you always seem to not mind whatever I'm reading. Don't you have something you like to read too?" He suddenly asked
" None. I just like it when you look so serious when reading. Besides, the books you choose are interesting sometimes so it wouldn't hurt to read what you prefer." I replied
" You're always like this. You can't always be trying to spoil me. I want to know what you like to read too." He said
" Well..." I muttered, thinking about the type of books that I came across in my life but I guess if I were to mention a type of book I liked before... " Maybe fairytale books?"
" Fairytales?"
" Yeah. I guess some stories were pretty interesting. My mother reads different books to me before bedtime, but I guess the ones with fairytales stuck out to me." I explained
" Then which fairytale do you like?" He ask, closing his book
" I... I'm not sure. After the accident, I tend to block out past memories so that I wouldn't remember the times I had with my parents. I only remember some details about my past now." I explained
" ... I'm sorry..."
" It's not your fault. You were just curious. I said too much anyway." I said before he got off the bed to stand up, " Where are you going? You're not done reading your book yet."
" I'm just a little tired now. Let's just sleep." He said
" ... Okay."
He flipped the light switch and the light went out in the room as I heard his feet shuffling towards the bed. There was some rustling noise on the bed as he climbed back onto the bed and we laid down.
" It's okay, Aichi. You didn't do anything wrong." I assured
" I asked too much..." He said
" You didn't. In fact, it was a way for you to learn more about me. So don't beat yourself over it. You mean a lot to me, especially after I lost my parents. Miwa aside, you're the next closest person I have left. While he's my best friend, I usually don't confide in him like I do to you. That's how important you are to me." I said
" Kai-kun..."
" You're alright, Aichi. I'm not angry or anything, I'm actually happy I got to talk about this with you. It lifted something off my chest. So, thank you." I said
I held his hand and kissed his forehead before moving onto wrapping my arms around him. He gripped my shirt and got closer to me and not a few moments later, he'd fallen asleep. I smiled a little before closing my eyes as well.
" Goodnight, Aichi."
And that's the end of this chapter! Thank you for reading! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and I'll see everyone in the next chapter!