Whitney: I'm glad you liked the last chapter! :D Haha, I'm excited to write about how she learns to deal with the boys in her own unique way! (: I hope that you continue to enjoy the story line and the budding romance! :D I hope that you enjoy this chapter! :D
Seasons-in-DL: I'm glad that it keeps getting more engrossing! :D The encounters with Kanato would be absolutely terrifying, though I do like his character haha. I'm glad to hear that I've captured his character! He's more fun to write than I thought he'd be. :p I'm also glad to hear that you are feeling afraid for her! :D It means that I'm achieving my goal, hehe. (: I hope that you enjoy this chapter! :D
So, this chapter gets a little dark in places. I hope you guys still enjoy it though! :D Thank you for reading!
Her body didn't want to wake up. The warm, soft, fluffy bed under her aching body was making it hard to even form a coherent thought. She rolls onto her stomach, buries her face into a pillow, and releases a soft groan into the pillow. It was sad to think about, but the pillow was more comfortable than her entire bed at home. A small tendril of jealousy twists its' way around her stomach. Did all rich people live so comfortably? That train of thought quickly disappears when she feels movement beside her. Her eyes snap open though her face is still buried. She silently hopes that it's Yui, but she vaguely remembers that she had felt someone getting in bed with her, yet she hadn't heard the door opening. She mentally curses herself for letting her guard down. Her body tenses when an arm loosely wraps around her waist. Thankfully, it doesn't try to pull her closer to the body. She closes her eyes tightly and lets out a slow breath that she hadn't even realized that she had been holding. She feels a little movement followed by a deep moaning noise that seems to freeze the blood in her veins. She lifts her head just enough to turn and see who is lying beside her. Her heart stops completely when the sight of Laito's sleeping face fills her vision. She finds herself unable to even move. In fact, she finds herself holding her breath, and she has to remind herself to breathe. She was positive that he was only feigning sleep, but the longer she looked at him, the more she realized that it was more likely that he was actually sleeping. His breath was even, and his face had an almost innocent look.
She hated to admit it, but he looked harmless while he slept. He looked just like any other teenager she'd ever met. She lets her head drop back onto the pillow, but she keeps it turned so that she can observe him silently. He wasn't resting under the blankets with her, which came as a huge relief. Now that actually had the time to really look at him, she found him a lot more attractive than she had thought. It crosses her mind that the most likely cause was the fact that he wasn't talking, which makes her have to bite back a chuckle. He shifts in his sleep, causing a jolt of panic to set her heart racing.
Slowly, she starts to move her body away from his. She had already wasted enough time staring at him, and she needed to make her get away while he was still sleeping. Making sure to keep an eye on him, she manages to slip off of the bed. She tenses when he lets out another strange moaning noise and shifts onto his side so his back was facing her. For the first time since she had discovered he was in bed with her, she pulls her eyes away from him and glances at the door. The room seemed even larger than normal. She turns her attention back to find that he looked like he was still asleep. She reaches down and carefully searches for her phone around the pillow. Her heart races every time that he moves or moans, but she's able to locate the phone without waking him. She shoves it into her pocket, locks her gaze back onto him, and backs toward the door.
She flinches when he moans yet again. Now that she thought about it, it sounded almost like he was moaning in pleasure. Was he was having a dirty dream? The thought brings a blush to her face, and her thoughts begin to run wild. She was acting like she was sneaking away from a one night stand. The thought was only made worse at the fact that she was actually in his house. She sternly reminds herself that she was in her friend's room, and the simple thought of sleeping with someone like Laito was nothing short of disturbing. She sucks in a low breath to keep from gasping loudly when her back bumps into the door. Relief floods through her entire body. It didn't look like Laito had woken up yet, so she felt like she was going to slip away without a problem. Quickly, Mai spins around and grabs the door handle. She slowly turns it in order to keep from making unneeded noise and slowly pulls the door open. Just as she almost has it open enough to slip through, she glances back to make sure Laito was still asleep.
The breath in her lungs rushes out in a quiet, relieved sounding noise. She turns back to the door to leave, but her heart stops. Glaring down at her was a set of cold, red eyes. A chill runs down her spine, and she finds herself rooted to the spot. A soft spoken 'sorry' draws her attention downward. Yui was standing between Mai and Reiji looking guilty. Mait wanted to feel surprised that she hadn't seen Yui, but she couldn't get around the terror that she was feeling. She tenses when she feels Laito lightly pressing against her back. His arm comes to rest against the doorframe just above her head, prompting her to take a small step toward Yui and Reiji. She glances over her shoulder to see Laito giving Reiji a playful smile. It's only silent for a few moments before Reiji says, "Laito, it's rude to do such activities in someone else's room. Do you have even a shred of decency in your body?"
Mai's head snaps back to glare up at Reiji. She opens her mouth to correct him, but a cold hand covers her mouth. She reaches up to grab Laito's wrist, but he responds by pulling her back into his body. He lets out an amused laugh and says playfully. "Is that what you are here about Reiji? If so, I'm terribly sorry to Little Bitch, but she seemed to be otherwise preoccupied."
A look of irritation flashes over Reiji's face, but it's quickly smoothed away into his normal, calm mask. Mai drops her gaze to Yui, who had started to look pale. Reiji's voice seems to fade away as Mai watches Yui slowly reach out and put her hand on the doorframe to brace herself. Mai jerks roughly on Laito's hand interrupting their conversation. She turns the best she can to look up at him with a glare, but he just gives her a grin in response.
"Hey!"
The voice echoes down the hallway, drawing all of their attention in that direction. Mai couldn't see out into the hallway due to Reiji and Yui being in the way, but she didn't need to see him in order to know that Ayato didn't sound happy. She barely notices the cold hand falling to her shoulder, and his other hand comes to rest on her other shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye, Mai notices Yui's eyes widen in apparent panic. The sight sends her heart racing as well. With a sigh, Reiji turns to face his brother when comes to as stop beside him.
Ayato glares up at him. His hand reaches around to grab a hold of Yui's upper arm. A sharp tug has her bumping into Reiji before sliding past him. Yui releases a sharp breath when Ayato pulls her close and possessively wrapping his arm around her waist. Her hands lift to try to put some distance between the two, but she was clearly losing the struggle, since Ayato didn't appear to be trying or even giving her the time of day.
Mai tries to step forward, but a weight presses down on her shoulders, preventing her from moving. She flinches when she feels Laito's hands grip her shoulders to the point that it was starting to hurt. She glances over her shoulder at him in hopes that he would see her pained look and ease up a little. Unfortunately, he wasn't looking at her though. An almost gleeful look was on his face, while he watches the exchange between Reiji and Ayato. Ayato practically growls at Reiji, drawing Mai's gaze back to him. "What right do you have to come into Yours Truly's room and take what belongs to me?!"
Irritation wells up in Mai's chest at the fact that Ayato was treating her friend like an object, but a squeeze from Laito draws her attention back to him for a moment. He glances at her and gives her a playful wink before he turns his attention back to his brothers. Mai frowns at him for a moment before looking back at the two in front of her. Reiji says in a cold, yet calm, tone. "Ayato, she has a guest that she must entertain. It is rude of both of you to just abandon her guest. She must fully perform her duties as a hostess."
"Bullshit!" Ayato snaps.
"I'll entertain her!" Laito says with feigned excitement.
Both had spoken at the same time, but, upon hearing Laito's words, Mai says softly. "Like hell I want you to entertain me. I'm sure that'll be bad for my health."
Everything falls silent, causing every muscle in Mai's body to tense. She drags her gaze from Reiji to Ayato just in time to see the look of pure anger in his eyes. With a jolt, she realizes that he was likely blaming her for Reiji taking Yui away from him. She can see Yui was giving her an apologetic gaze just at the edge of her vision. She didn't even bother looking back at Laito to see how he reacted to her outburst. She turns her attention back to Reiji, who had a look that sent chills down her spine. He was wearing a cold, disapproving look, and she finds herself taking a small step backwards. Her back presses lightly into Laito's chest, which she can feel him chuckling as well as hearing him. It feels like if she tenses anymore, her muscles would snap. Thankfully, Yui breaks the silence. Her voice was barely audible and clearly she was was nervous about saying, "Um, I'm sorry for…"
"Don't apologize!" Ayato snaps, sounding clearly frustrated. He digs his fist into the back of her head, causing her let out a soft squeak of pain. Mai jerks forward to try to help her friend, but an arm wraps around her shoulders, effectively pulling her back against Laito again. She sends a frustrated look over her shoulder at him. His vivid green eyes meet hers, and he casts another wink in her direction. Reiji releases an almost annoyed sounding sigh.
"Human, why are you here?" It took Mai a moment to realize that he was talking to her. She quickly pulls her gaze away from Laito to stare at Reiji. She couldn't help but feel a little offended by the fact that he felt the need to point out that she was human. She clenches one of her fists to keep from pointing out the fact that Reiji was being rude. She didn't want to end up with her hands whipped again. She uses the other hand to reach up and lightly tug on Laito's sleeve.
"It wasn't my choice," Mai says softly. She was trying to keep the anger from her voice, but she flinches when she realizes that she failed. Reiji lets out a soft scoffing sound and narrows his eyes at her a little. It was almost like he was silently daring her to act out.
"Are you saying that we are keeping you here against your will?"
Mai firmly keeps her mouth closed. She couldn't just blurt out the first thing that came to mind, which would have had her answering yes. It felt almost like he was trying to bait her into saying something that she shouldn't. Everything is silent for a few more seconds. Finally, Reiji says coldly. "I would like you to answer my question, human. I have things to do, and you are wasting my time."
Chills race up and down her spine, and she finds that she's not as angry about the fact that he had called her human this time. An almost amused glint had appeared in Reiji's eyes. She stubbornly keeps her mouth closed, but she jumps when a low chuckle rings in her ear. She didn't dare turn her head to look at Laito, since she knew that he was closer than she wanted him to be. His voice is low, almost husky, in her ear when he says. "You better answer him, Sweetheart. He isn't always patient."
Mai closes her eyes and takes a slow breath in an effort to calm her nerves. Unfortunately, it doesn't work, and she can feel her hands shaking. Her thoughts race wildly, and she has no idea what she should say. She had a feeling that if she told him that she was there against her will, it would end badly for her. She couldn't explain what she thought he would do to her, but she couldn't shake the sinking feeling; however, she didn't want to say that she was willingly visiting the Sakamki household either. Tension seems to mount as the silence stretches, so she chooses the best option that she can think of. "I…. I wanted to see Yui."
Ayato lets out a sound of pure irritation. Mai's gaze moves from Reiji's amused face back to Ayato. He gives her a coldly furious look that causes panic to start to swell in her chest. He seems to squeeze Yui even harder, causing a look of pain to flint across her face. Mai tries to step forward, but Laito pulls her back once more. He coos softly in her ear. "Now, now. You don't want to bother dear Ayato anymore than you already have. He's got quite the temper, you know."
Mai casts an annoyed look back at him then turns to say something to Ayato, but the words die in her throat. Reiji had moved closer while she was distracted by Laito. He had his arms crossed and was staring down at her with a calm, almost detached look. His voice seems to echo around the hallway. "You attend a new day school, do you not?"
It feels like a lump forms in her throat. Frustration at herself starts to build in her stomach. It's only made worse when Laito starts to lean more weight onto her. It was getting harder and harder to concentrate. Mai tries to elbow Laito, but it ends up not having enough strength behind it. His breath tickles her neck when he chuckles at her failed attempt. A shiver runs throughout her body, and she tries to focus only on an increasingly impatient Reiji. She flinches at the cold glare he is giving her and quickly says, "I do school online during the day. I can't get into any of the high schools around here."
He doesn't hesitate to jump into questioning her, though he didn't seem particularly interested. "Do your parents know where you are?"
She nods quickly. There was no way that she was going to say that she lied and said that she was with a different friend. That would be like serving herself up on a silver platter, and she wasn't that stupid. Reiji just continues on with his questions. "Who invited you here?"
That question stumps Mai for a moment. She didn't want to say Yui invited her if it got her friend in trouble. She couldn't see Yui's face to gauge her reaction. Reiji reaches forward, causing Mai to flinch back into Laito. She can feel that he was chuckling again. His breath brushes along her jaw, and she considers taking a step forward but quickly pushes the thought away once she sees Reiji's amused look once more, though she wasn't sure which one would be worse. Her mind begins to race wildly, and a perfect excuse pops into her mind. Trying to put as much confidence as she can behind her words, she says. "No one invited me. I came to see Yui and return the clothes she lent me."
Everything is silent for a few moments. Reiji's face was once more a mask of collected calm. It felt almost like he was expecting her to say something more. Slowly, she tries to retain her confidence and says. "I remembered that you asked me to return them, but I was busy trying to adjust to my new life. I finally found the time to make my way over here, and I thought I'd visit her while I was here. I told my parents that I would be staying the night with Yui, so we had time to catch up."
Reiji just calmly stares down at her. The silence drags on so long that worry begins to fill Mai's stomach. Was he going to call her bluff? It's silent for so long that when her stomach growls, it's easily heard. Mai's face flushes in embarrassment at how loud it was. She hadn't had time to really think about how long it had been since she last ate. Laito had taken her the night before, and she was sure that it was nearing nightfall now. She tenses when she hears two different laughs. One is coming from behind her, though it doesn't surprise her that Laito was laughing at her humiliation. Her heart skips a beat when Laito lets his forehead fall onto her shoulder. The other is coming from a very amused Ayato. Her humiliation is only made worse by Reiji letting out a sigh like he was dealing with a small, annoying child. Mai's eyes drop to the ground, though she's not sure why. It wasn't her fault that she was hungry. It was a natural human feeling.
"Yui, you have a couple of hours before school. Tend to your guest's need. Ayato, Laito, leave the two of them be." Reiji turns his gaze back to Mai. He says in a low dangerous voice. "I was not informed that someone was approaching the house. I will let it slip this time, but you would do well to not lie to me in the future."
Mai doesn't get a chance to even say anything to him; he just vanishes before her eyes. Yui's face was pale, but she tried to give Mai a reassuring smile. Mai tried to smile back, but she knows that she fails miserably since it felt more like she was grimacing. She tenses when she feels Laito's body leave hers, and she glances over her shoulder. Relief relaxes the muscles in her body when she finds that he had completely disappeared. Mai turns back to find Ayato's face inches from hers. She opens her mouth to ask him to back away, but she doesn't get a chance. Ayato reaches out and shoves her hard. She stumbles back, but just as she gets her balance. He steps forward to shove her once again. This time she ends up on her butt. She hears Yui gasping, but Mai keeps her gaze on Ayato. He angrily glares down at her. "Stupid bitch. Yui belongs to Yours Truly!"
"She's a person, not an object!" Mai snaps without a second thought. Yui appears from behind Ayato with a frustrated look on her face and reaches out to grab his arm. Mai glances at her friend to see that the frustrated look had melted into a more pleading look.
Her tone matches her face. "Please, Ayato! She didn't do anything! Please don't hurt her!"
A cruel smirk spreads over his face, causing Mai's heart to start racing. Neither of the girls gets a chance to even think about reacting to it. Ayato's arm suddenly wraps around Yui's waist pulling her into his body once again. While he was pulling her close, his other hand moves her hair to the side. His head swoops down just as her skin is revealed. Yui lets out a soft sound of pain that is mixed with a slight hint of pleasure. Ayato makes a muffled chuckling sound.
Mai finds that she was rooted to the spot. She wanted to jump up and help her friend, but she found that shock had completely numbed everything. She hadn't expected Ayato to abruptly bite her friend right in front of her. His green eyes shift to stare into Mai's face with a clearly amused look. Mai's face pales even further when Yui starts to make a soft, almost gurgle of pleasure. It's made even worse when it sounds almost like she moaned his name only seconds later. Mai scrambles to her feet and quickly makes her way toward the door. Her face felt like it was on fire, and she was completely horrified. Her thoughts were in a jumble, but she was sure of one thing. She was thankful that she hadn't seen Yui's face. She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that Yui seemed to be enjoying it. Every time that Laito had bitten her, it had been painful to some degree. Just as she makes it to the still open door, she hears Ayato's amused voice saying. "She is mine. Get it now, bitch?"
Mai pauses and makes the mistake of glancing back at him. Her eyes widen when she sees that Yui looks limp in his arm. Her face was frighteningly pale, and Mai wasn't even sure that she was breathing. She turns to help her friend, but he makes a scoffing sound. His vivid green eyes tear away from Mai to look down at Yui. For a moment, a soft look spreads over his face, but it's gone before Mai can even be sure. The sight stops her cold and causes her to take a step. She repeatedly tells herself that she had only imagined it. Ayato seems to easily scoop Yui up, turns his back to Mai, and walks toward the bed. Without watching any more, Mai turns and hurries down the hallway without bothering to close the door behind her. Her thoughts kept circling back around to the fact that she felt like she had just intruded on something either very private or very perverted. Maybe it was both. She stop in the middle of the hallway and starts to rub her face, though she's not sure why. Rubbing wouldn't get the sounds out of her head, nor would it erase the image of her friend lying limply in Ayato's arms. She releases a frustrated groan when her stomach growls. She didn't want to eat after what had just happened. In fact, she felt like she was going to be sick. Goosebumps form over her arms, and she lets out a shuddering breath. "Did that just happen? Did he really think that I was trying to take her away?"
She freezes almost instantly. Her skin felt like it was crawling. She was almost positive that someone was watching her. Slowly, she turns her head to look over her shoulder at the seemingly empty hallway. Her eyes search every visible place, but she doesn't find anyone. Still, the feeling was getting stronger by the second. She swallows hard and whispers, "Laito?"
Silence is her only answer. She slowly looks back the way she was headed only to find that no one was there either. A loud growl from her stomach has her flinching. She didn't have a destination in mind when she had left Yui's room, but she was starting to wonder if she should see about getting some food. With a sinking feeling, she reminds herself that the last thing she wanted to do was eat their food without permission. It'd turn into some sort of twisted repayment issue. A scoff from behind her has her spinning around once more. Her heart stops when she finds Subaru glaring down at her. She takes a step back and offers him a smile, which only serves to cause him to stare at her in an even colder manner. He's the first to break the uncomfortable silence. "What the fuck are you doing here?"
Mai quickly licks her lips. Her mouth and throat felt insanely dry, and she flinches when her stomach growls before she has a chance to tell him what she was doing. She could feel her face flushing from pure embarrassment. She tries to keep the smile on her face, but she can feel it slipping already. He had an annoyed look on his face, which was making it harder to keep her resolve. Finally, her gaze drops to the floor between them. His voice sounded rough and full of irritation. "I asked you a question, you damn human!"
Mai's gaze snaps back up to look at Subaru with a glare. A heated look of pure anger settles onto his face. She quickly tries to smooth the irritation off her face and says, "I'm…."
She hesitates, unsure of what to say. A slight flush was starting to take over Subaru's face, and she could see that he was clenching shaking fists. This prompted her to quickly say. "I came to visit Yui, so I told my parents I was staying the night here."
He makes a scoffing sound, which is quickly followed by her stomach growling again. She fixates her gaze on the floor between her again. It's silent for a few minutes. Her stomach growls a couple more times. Each time has her face flushing a deeper red. Finally, she hears a sigh coming from Subaru's direction. She lifts her gaze to find him glancing around. "Where is she?"
It takes Mai a second to realize that he was asking about Yui. She swallows hard for a moment when a question bubbles to the surface. She looks back at the floor trying to ignore the growl that comes from the silver haired vampire before her. She hears him take a step toward her and quickly lifts her gaze to look at him. "Does it always hurt when your blood is sucked?"
She could swear that she saw his entire body stiffen for a second. His eyes widen slightly, then they narrow back down into what she assumed was his normal look of pure anger. She takes a step back, and her heart starts to race. She silently asks herself if she could be any more stupid than she was being right then. Upon seeing the retreating movement, Subaru's anger seems to melt away into cruel amusement. She found that was even more terrifying than his anger. A heart stopping smile spreads over his face, and he takes a long stride toward her. She considered standing her ground, but Subaru's eyes seemed to glow with an unnatural light. It made all the warning bells she possessed go off at once. She had to get away from him, or something bad would happen. Her feet start to retreat backwards down the hallway. A coldly amused smile had taken over his face. His voice is low and dangerous. "Are you really curious?"
Mai quickly shakes her head. "No, it was a stupid question. I'll ask someone else."
She tries to continue her retreat down the hallway, but Subaru's hand lashes out to grab her upper arm. Luckily, she's able to roll her shoulder back in order to avoid his grasp; she twists her body to the side just to be safe. Unfortunately, Subaru doesn't skip a beat. He quickly changes direction and pushes her in just the right direction that her back painfully collides with the wall. Her luck runs out, since she doesn't get a chance to dart away. Subaru had quickly followed after her and was using his arms to cage her in. She gives him a stubborn look and reaches up to put her hands over the sides of her neck. He just gives a laugh before leaning dangerously close to her face. She couldn't help but feel that he was trying to intimidate her. Sadly, it was working perfectly. She quickly says the first thing that pops into her head. "I'm sorry I asked you such a strange question! I shouldn't have! I'm sorry, but it's just that I like you! I know it's foolish, but I thought I could trust you not to lie to me!"
He jerks back with a mixed look of disgust and anger. To her relief, his hands drop from the wall. In response to that, she gives him the best smile she can muster. He lets out a scoffing sound and leans back toward her, causing her smile to melt away. Maybe her plan to flatter him hadn't worked. She bites back a whimper and clenches her fists. If he planned to go through with biting her, she wasn't going to just stand there and take it. He stops inches from her face once more. His voice has a strange undertone that she can't identify. "You don't know me. How can you possibly say that you like me?"
He chuckles darkly and says coldly, "you must be a special kind of stupid."
Mai completely ignores the insult. She takes a moment to carefully consider her words, so she didn't upset him even more. She doesn't get long though. Subaru didn't seem as patient as some of the other brothers. He slams one of his hands into the wall. Mai flinches when the side of her face and neck is peppered with chunks of plaster. Fear rushes through her veins, and she quickly says. "You're right. I don't know you. We haven't had much of a chance to talk, but I have a feeling that you are a good person."
He scoffs, but that mixed look is back on his face. This time it doesn't melt away into anger. Mai feels her heart skip a beat, and she reaches up to lightly pat his forearm. He jerks his arm back with a snarl. She just gives him a weak smile in return, though she was expecting him to tell her not to touch him. Her stomach growls loudly, and she quickly seizes her way out of the awkward situation. "Are you hungry?"
He just stares at her with an almost hateful look on his face, though she could swear that she saw faint traces of pain in his red eyes. She decides not to dwell on it too much. Instead, she says, "Look, I know that you can hear my stomach growling. I haven't eaten in a while, and I am starving. Why don't I make us both some food? Time is ticking, and you'll have to go to school soon."
He makes a sound of disgust in the back of his throat, but he finally steps away from her. Without saying another word, he turns and starts down the hallway. Releasing a sigh of relief, Mai takes the silent hint and quickly follows after him.
He didn't seem interested in telling her what he wanted to eat, nor did he even try to help her. He just leaned against the furthest wall and watched while she tried to fix up something easy and hard to screw up. It took her longer than it should have, since she had to wander around the kitchen and find the ingredients, plates, pans, and other things she needed. Finally, she manages to get the scrambled eggs, bacon, and pancakes onto two different plates. She turns to smile at Subaru, only to jump when vivid green eyes fill her vision. She hears a scoffing sound behind Laito, and Subaru appears to the side of her and takes the fuller plate. Mai glances his way in hopes that he would help her, but he had already disappeared behind Laito. She hears him say. "I brought her here, so this food is mine."
Laito glances over his shoulder with a chuckle. "I wasn't interested in your food, little brother."
"Don't call me that, whore."
Laito lets out another chuckle and turns his attention back to Mai. She twists her body to the side in an effort to hide the other plate from Laito. She gives him a cold glare and says, "This is mine."
She quickly steps around him and starts toward the table. She could hear a sigh from behind her, but it didn't sound like Laito was frustrated or anything. It sounded almost like he was amused, which sent a chill down her spine. She decides to ignore him and sets the plate on the table. She doesn't get a chance to even pull out a chair, since two, cold arms scoop her up, and she finds herself sitting in Laito's lap. Subaru makes a noise of disgust, but he turns his attention back to the already half eaten food. Mai quickly tries to wiggle out of Laito's lap, but he just keeps an arm firmly wrapped around her waist. She continues to wiggle until she sees her fork hovering just in front of her mouth. Disbelief fills her body, and she turns her head enough to glare at Laito out of the corner of her eye. He just gives her a playful smirk and says. "Be careful! I wouldn't want to stab you. Now, say 'ah', Sweetheart."
She immediately starts to struggle even harder to get away. "Like hell I'm letting you feed me!"
"Ah, why not?" he asks with a feigned hurt tone. She just struggles harder. She flinches when her knee collides hard with the table, jolting it. She hears a snarl from Subaru's direction and stops just long enough to look up into angry, red eyes.
"You two are fucking disgusting." He's gone as soon as he finishes saying that. To Mai's surprise, he had finished all of his food. She flinches when she realizes that she was now alone with Laito.
"Let g-" She doesn't get a chance to even finish the demand. A mouthful of egg and pancake is shoved into her mouth. She coughs around the food, but she manages to start chewing it. After swallowing, she lifts her hand to cover her mouth and snaps. "Let go of me!"
He lets out a cooing sound and leans in so that his cold nose brushes her jaw. She pulls away to glare at him from behind her hand. He sets the fork down and reaches up to grab the rim of his hat. His voice had a teasing hint to it when he says. "I see that you like Subaru. Is that the type you like?"
"What?" She asks feeling dumbfounded. He sounded completely amused, but there was a slight hint in his eyes that suggested otherwise. With a jolt, she realizes that she had seen that look before; it was the night that he had bitten her for the first time. Her heart starts to hammer against her chest, and she lets her hand drop to the table, so she can struggle with renewed vigor. It doesn't seem to make a difference though, since he was easily holding her still with just one arm. She feels him shifting behind her. Her struggling stops when she feels something light land on her head. She glances over her shoulder to see him giving her a cold smile. His hand drops from the side of her head to grab the fork. She didn't pull her gaze away from his face though. He lifts the fork once more, and she stubbornly keeps her mouth shut. To her surprise, he didn't stop once he got near her mouth. Instead, he just continued on to take a bite for himself. She cringes at the fact that he was using her fork, and she silently hoped that he didn't plan to feed her anymore. To distract herself, she reaches up to bump what he had put on her head. He lets out a chuckle, causing her to cringe again. He had put his hat on her head. She grabs the rim to pull it off, but her body freezes at the coldly amused look on his face. It was like he was daring her to take it off. Doubt fills her stomach, and her hand slowly drops back to the table. The fork appears before her mouth, and she keeps her lips sealed shut. He lets out an almost dark sounding chuckle.
"Sweetheart, you have to eat." A chill races down her spine at the terrifying undertone. It clearly wasn't a spoken threat, but she had never felt more threatened in her life. She turns her face away from the food and grabs the rim of his fedora. She pulls it off her head and reaches out to put it onto the table. That's when the unthinkable happens.
The arm that he was using to keep her in his lap moves, but she doesn't get time to escape. His hand had slipped between her legs, sending a shock through her body. She tries to leap up, but his hand grabs her inner thigh in a painful grip. She ends up standing awkwardly against the table with tears of pain in her eyes. She drops the fedora onto the floor and reaches down to grab his wrist to try to pry his hand off, but he just squeezes it tighter. She was positive that she was going to have a bruise in the shape of his hand on her thigh. Trying not to think about it, she sinks back into his lap. To her relief, his grip loosens. He bumps her lips with the fork, but she stubbornly refuses to open her mouth. She flinches when she feels a puff of air right next to her ear. She closes her eyes tightly and reminds herself that she was there for a reason. She could put up with anything that he threw at her. Her body jerks, and she gasps when his fingers move further up her leg. The fork is shoved into her mouth before she has a chance to close it. She slowly opens her eyes as the fork returns to the plate with a soft clinking noise. The thought of sharing silverware with him didn't concern her anymore. The thing that concerned her the most was the fact that he got her to do exactly what he wanted. She slowly chews her food and swallows.
She gives up and just takes bites when he offers them to her. After each bite, his grip on her thigh loosed until his hand is simply resting against her. She keeps her eyes closed while she eats. It was easier than seeing the almost smug smirk on his face. She tenses when he presses his face into her shoulder. His breath was brushing any skin exposed by her tank top. He lets out a soft sounding chuckle. She grits her teeth and opens her eyes to glare at the empty plate. She reaches down to grab his hand when he starts to rub slowly down her thigh toward her knee. She knew it'd be only a matter of time before he moved it back up, and she didn't want him thinking that he could touch her in areas that he had no right touching.
Panic sets in when he does, in fact, start to slowly move back up her leg, despite her efforts to keep his hand still. She releases his wrist and shoves both of her hands between her legs in an effort to block her sensitive area from his roaming hand. She quickly turns her gaze to glare angrily at him. He gives her a playful smile, which she answers with a frown. Her thoughts were racing wildly. She needed to distract him, but she wasn't sure how she could accomplish that. She says the only thing that pops into her head. "Why does Yui let Ayato drink her blood?"
His hand pauses beside hers. She could feel the cold emanating from him, and she barely represses a shiver. Maybe if she kept him talking she could slip away from him. She couldn't help but feel hopeless for a moment. She quickly pushes the feeling away. This wasn't the time to give up. A blood chilling chuckle seems to escape his throat, while he watches her internal struggle. He leans forward to whisper in her ear. "You are wondering if it feels good to be bitten? Would you like me to show you?"
She quickly shakes her head, but he doesn't seem to notice. An uneasy sensation settles in her stomach, which is made worse by him saying. "Close your eyes if you don't want to get sick."
She barely has time to close her eyes, before she feels a rush of movement. To her relief, it doesn't make her sick this time, but the relief is short lived. The second she opens her eyes, she feels herself being pushed forward. She stumbles a couple of steps before her legs collide with something soft. A hand appears between her shoulder blades, and she finds herself being bent awkwardly over a green clad bed. She pushes her hands into the mattress in a panic, but he presses his weight against her from behind. She struggles as hard as she can, but it's all in vain. Her heart was beating so fast that it felt like it was crawling up her throat. She lets out a soft whimper into the mattress and closes her eyes tightly. She silently offers a prayer that he wouldn't do what she thought he was about to do. She forces her body to go limp, tries to focus on her breathing, and starts to count to ten. Her only hope was that he would get bored. Once she silently reaches ten, she goes through a list of what she hoped to find tonight.
It felt like forever had passed. Just as she was hoping that he was in fact bored, she felt his hands on her hips. He leans more weight over the top of her and lets out a soft chuckle directly into her ear. She squeezes her eyes closed tightly, and her breath hitches in her throat. He presses his hips into her from behind, causing her body to tense up even more. She digs her hands into the bedding and tries to keep counting. His voice disrupts her thoughts when he says, "Do you want to play a game?"
She shakes her head the best she can while biting back a sob. He lets out an almost whining sound, causing her body to tense even more. He leans more weight on her and makes a cooing sound in her ear. She shudders at the sound, which earns a chuckle from him. His low, lustful voice seems to echo loudly in her head. "Are you enjoying this?"
"Who would enjoy this?" Her voice is muffled against the mattress, but she didn't care. What did bother her was the fact that it came off as weak and muffled. She twists her body in an attempt to elbow him hard in the side. To her utter relief, she manages to actually elbow him. He lets out a grunt, which sends a thrill of delight through her body. His body shifts just enough that she is able to plant her feet firmly on the ground and kick off. Her hands grip the blanket in an effort to help pull herself away from him. Her body slides out from under him and onto the bed. Intent on not remaining there any longer than needed, she drops from all fours to her stomach and proceeds to roll herself off the bottom of the bed. She hits the floor hard enough to force the air from her lungs in the form of a pained gasp, but she doesn't let that stop her. She rolls to her hands and knees then scrambles to her feet.
Hope fills her chest, and she bolts across his semi empty room. She couldn't believe her luck when her hand grabs the cold door handle. She gets it open a few inches before a hand slams against it just beside her head. She simply lets the door slam shut. The hope shrivels and dies in her chest. She knew something like this would happen, and instantly felt foolish for feeling any sort of hope. She twists her body around to face him and doubles her fist. She swings at his face, but his hand catches her wrist, slamming it back into the door behind her. She releases a hiss of pain. A look of pure amusement appears on his face; it felt almost like he was taunting her. He leans down just enough that his face is inches from hers, cementing the fact that he was taunting her. A cold thought occurs to her, which must of flickered across her face as fear since an amused smirk spreads over his face. Before she can press her legs together, his knee forces it's way between them. She bites back a groan when he lifts it up violently, catching her in the pelvis. He uses the wrist he was holding to help lift her until she is on the tips of her toes. Pain races down her arm, bringing a slight sting of tears to her eyes. If she let herself slip down even a little, his knee would dig into her pelvis, and he would be straining the muscles in her shoulder. She found that she didn't have any choice other than to bear all of her weight uncomfortably on the tips of her toes.
His voice is low, almost dangerous sounding. "Now, now, sweetheart. We are having a good time! Why are you trying to leave? I had something important I wanted to show you."
She quickly shakes her head. "No, I don't want to know."
He gives her a playful smile and leans forward to run his tongue up the side of her neck, leaving a cold trail of saliva behind. She closes her eyes and tries to lean away. Unfortunately, she leans right into the arm that he had used to close the door. He says in a barely audible voice. "For the question you asked Subaru, yes. It can feel good. I could almost call it addicting."
She flinches when he shifts his knee, causing it to brush lightly along her sensitive area. She draws a breath in and holds it while closing her eyes. It was all she could do to repress the shudder that threatened to race down her spine. She lets out a strangled gasp when she feels him lightly dragging his fangs along the skin of her neck and opens her eyes. It was stupid to take them off of the predator before her. He releases a chuckle and pulls his head away from her, allowing her to give him a cold glare. He gives her a mocking look of love in return. She finds herself panting softly. She takes a moment to look his face over. With a jolt, she realizes that it wasn't even an attempt at mocking a loving look. It was closer to a lustful look than a loving one. He was just better at acting than she thought he was. It made her heart sink. She would have to try harder than she wanted to in order to get the information she wanted from him. The hand on the door suddenly moves to grab the collar of her tank top. She reaches up with her free hand to grab his wrist tightly. Without meaning to, she gives him a pleading look. He visibly shudders and lets out a moan. His voice is husky when he leans to one side in order to whisper in her ear. "You are making it difficult to concentrate right now. You look almost like you want me to do something… fun….."
His voice trails off suggestively. She barely manages to whisper. "No, I just… I was just curious. Yui… Yui… seemed to enjoy being bitten, but it's only hurt me."
She closes her eyes tightly when he shifts his leg again, rubbing against her once again. She forcibly swallows and lets out a shuddering breath. He huskily chuckles against the skin of her throat. Before she has a chance to really think about what he might be planning, a sharp pain just above her collarbone has her gasping. The pain disappears just as fast as it had appeared. Her entire body tenses when the next sensation takes over her body. Her head falls back against the door with a thump that she barely hears, and she tries to keep her head clear.
Her body throbs pleasantly with each gulp he takes. It felt completely different from every other time he had bitten her. She still could feel a slight sting between his gulps, but an overwhelming sense of pleasure kept rushing through her veins. She finally gives in and closes her eyes. Her teeth find her bottom lip, and she bites it hard. A metallic taste fills her mouth. The taste and pain help to clear her mind a little. She releases her lips and slowly opens her eyes. She manages to let out a slow breath. She feels him move away from her body, though she's faintly aware of the fact that he had taken a moment to lick where he had bitten her. A husky chuckle seems to echo loudly in her ears. He kisses further down her chest, stopping just at the top of her breast. Thankfully, her pulls back, and she found that she was once again holding her breath. She reaches out with her free hand to push weakly on his chest. She mutters softly. "Laito… Stop…."
He lets out a dangerous sounding chuckle. A lustful look takes over his face, and he leans forward. "Now, now, Sweetheart. Bad girls need to be punished."
Her mind couldn't make sense of his words. What could he possibly be talking about? She doesn't get a chance to really think about the deeper meaning to his words. He looked like he was about to lick her mouth this time. She jerks her head back and turns her face away. It was like cold water had been thrown over her. Her collarbone wasn't throbbing, which didn't seem normal. She flinches when his hand grabs her chin and settles for glaring at him, which doesn't bother him. He turns her face to look at him, and horror runs through her body when his face approaches hers. She puts her hand against his chest and pushes awkwardly. It doesn't come as a surprise to her that it doesn't do anything to help. When she wiggles, he shifts his knee. A shiver runs down her spine at the sensation. Everything felt like it was hypersensitive at the moment, and it prompts her to stop wiggling instantly.
She didn't want to close her eyes, which she instantly regretted the very next moment. She thought that he was going to kiss her, but she was sorely wrong. She flinches when she feels his tongue run along her bottom lip. He presses his body against hers, allowing her to feel just how excited he had become. She considers telling him to get off her again, but the thought of opening her mouth while his tongue was still licking her bottom lip chased the thought away. She settles for trying to shift again. He releases a loud moan when her thigh brushes against his bulge. She flinches and forces herself to remain very still. He lets out a soft moan this time and presses his lips against hers in an almost uncharastically gentle kiss.
She tried to keep her lips firmly closed, but his hand falls from her wrist. She presses harder against the door to keep him from grabbing her butt, but he does something she didn't expect. His fingers find their way between her body and his knee. Her body jerks violently the second he lightly rubs the apex of her thighs, and she ends up opening her mouth just enough to gasp. She didn't think it was a lot, but it was enough that he managed to wiggle his tongue in, which wasn't completely unexpected. The gentleness of the kiss seems to disappear the second he invades, making her believe that it was nothing more than a ploy to get her to lower her guard. It seemed like he was planning to lazily explore her mouth. She lets out a few noisy breaths through her nose, but she felt like she was starting to suffocate. He moves his fingers again, causing her body to jerk, but her gasp is muffled by his tongue.
She wasn't sure what made her do it. She just knew that she wanted his tongue out of her mouth so she could breathe properly again. She bites down hard onto his tongue. Just as she bites down, he strokes her through her shorts, causing another jolt. She hears him make a noise of pain and pulls his face away from her. A nasty metallic taste fills her mouth, setting her heart racing. She proceeds to put her hands on whatever part of his body that she can and shoves as hard as she can. She drops to her knees and proceeds to spit the blood out of her mouth. She ignores the chuckle coming from him, and she reaches up to childishly wipe her tongue clean. Her gaze jerks up to glare at Laito when he squats before her. An almost elated look was on his face, sending a strange shiver down her spine. She couldn't help but wonder if he got off on the fact that she had just bitten his tongue rather hard. He reaches out toward her face, making her flinch away. It doesn't deter him though. His fingers still brush along her jawline, and his voice sounds genuinely husky when he whispers to her. "Did you enjoy tasting me?"
She makes a show out of wiping her mouth off with the back of her hand. She doesn't get a chance to verbally reply though, since there was a soft knock on the door behind her. Her heart skips a beat, and it starts to race again when she hears a very welcome voice drifting through the door. "Laito? I was wondering if you know where Mai went? Subaru says he saw the two of you together in the kitchen, but I didn't see either of you there."
Relief floods through her body. She wouldn't fool herself into thinking that she had been saved, but she still felt a nagging hope in the pit of her stomach that Yui would be able to help her. She twists her body and climbs to her feet. She tenses when she feels a breath moving the hair on the back of her head. She hesitates to glance over her shoulder, but she finally manages to. Laito was too close for comfort and gives her an almost cheeky smirk. There is another knock on the door, and, without taking her eyes off Laito, Mai reaches out and grabs the handle.
She pauses for a moment, as if daring him to try to stop her. In fact, she expected him to, but he doesn't move a single muscle. It sent a shiver down her spine, and every warning bell starts to ring. Still, the temptation of being free was too much for her to pass up. With a quick twist of her wrist, the door opens. She turns her attention forward and lunges out, slamming into Yui. She regrets it seconds later when she hears Yui let out a soft squeal of surprise, which is followed by a loud curse from Ayato. It feels like her heart stops when two, thin arms wrap around her body. She feels weightless for a moment before they come to a sudden stop when they hit the ground. She ended up on top of Yui, who was on top of Ayato. Yui had been the one to grab a hold of her, which had kept her steady as they fell. She doesn't get a second to recuperate though. A hand grabs a fist full of her shirt and jerks hard. She rolls with it, but she feels her face pale when she hears a terrible ripping sound.
She quickly pulls away from Ayato's grip and reaches around to feel the damage done to her shirt. To her relief, it was a small tear along the hem on the bottom of her shirt. She looks up the second someone appears before her, and her heart stops when she sees that it's Ayato. She jerks back when he reaches down to grab her. He pauses for only a moment, but an amused look flicker over his face before it settles back into a look of anger. Thankfully, he doesn't ever actually manage to get his hands on her. Yui appears between them with a worried look on her face. She seemed to be looking Mai over for wounds, but she doesn't actually approach her. Laito says with feigned hurt in his voice. "I would never hurt her, Little Bitch. She looked tired, so I brought her to my room. I figured that the two of you would be busy, so she would rest better here."
A mixture of horror and disgust fills Mai's chest, but she doesn't get a chance to correct him.
"Laito!" Yui gasps. She turns to look over her shoulder, preventing Mai from seeing the look on her face. Though, she could see the widening smirk on Laito's face at Yui's apparent horror.
"I didn't say that you were two were having sex, but it is nice to know that I guessed right," Laito teases. Ayato lets out a grunt, but he doesn't seem like he was going to deny it. In fact, he looked almost smug about the whole affair. Mai's skin begins to crawl. She hadn't honestly thought about what could have happened in the bed before she had slept there. Her eyes drift closed, and she finds herself hoping that if Ayato and Yui did sleep together it wasn't in Yui's bed. Laito clicks his tongue dragging attention back to himself. He sounded thoughtful this time. "Though I suppose it's more comfortable to do it in a bed than your iron maiden, hmm?"
Disbelief fills Mai's chest, and her eyes open to look up at Ayato, who was giving his brother a blank look. Mai quickly scrambles to her feet, and she spares a glance toward her friend. Yui's face was a deep red color, and a sense of pity wells up in Mai's chest. She reaches out to try to comfort the poor girl, but Yui slaps her hand away and quickly retreats down the hallway. Mai sends a cold look at the two boys, spins on her heel and rushes after her friend.
She barely makes it to Yui's room before the door is slammed in her face. She stares at it for a few minutes, wondering if she should knock or just let herself in. She jumps when a hand appears over her shoulder to loudly knock on the door. She twists her body to find Reiji standing behind her. His eyes are fixated on the door just behind her. Without much regard to Mai's presence, he says, "The car is out front. You have ten minutes."
Mai watches him move down the hallway and knock on another door before repeating the same thing. Mai quickly lets herself into Yui's room. She was already dressed in her school uniform, but she was laying face down on her bed. Cautiously, Mai makes her way over to her friend and almost sits on the bed, but she freezes midway down. She flinches at the thought of what might have occurred, so she settles for standing beside the bed. She reaches out to awkwardly pat Yui on the shoulder a few times. It startles her to feel her friend shaking under her hand. She squats down a little and says in the best reassuring voice she can. "Hey, it's ok. That guy is a pervert and a freak. So, I don't think you need to worry about what he says."
Yui mutters something into her pillow that Mai can't quite make out. She rocks back to a sitting position and lets herself fall back to look up at the ceiling. Her arms fall out to her sides, and she says in an unsure tone, "I think you are free to choose what you want to do with your body."
Yui doesn't answer her. Silence seems to easily slip by before Yui suddenly bolts upright with a gasp. She says softly. "Oh no! I'm going to be late!"
Before Mai can protest, Yui is out the door with her book bag. Mai ends up just sitting in the middle of the room awkwardly for a few seconds before she takes a deep breath. This was her chance! She had been hoping that Yui would have stayed and helped her, but Mai had a feeling that Yui would hinder more than help. Guilt fills Mai's chest when she remembers the looks she had caught Yui giving Ayato, and the soft look he had given her. A quick shake of her head helps to quell it. She scrambles to her feet and hurries out the door. The house felt eerie when she knew that none of the brothers were actually home anymore. She makes her way to the living and picks a random direction to start in.
It felt like she was wasting her time. The Sakamaki house was huge, but she hadn't found a single library. She was starting to wonder if she should have gone to the room with all the books that Reiji had made her clean before. She quickly pushes the thought away. Her luck would be that he was such a neat freak that he'd instantly notice that his books had been touched.
She had come across a couple of rooms filled with games like darts, a pool table, a room with a tv and movies. Others seemed to be a setting room, even a couple of empty rooms that didn't have a shred of furniture in them, but she hadn't found anything that would help her with her search to figure out how the brides were chosen, or how to help Yui. She takes a deep breath when she stops before a door and stares at it silently. She was sure that this was the last door on the ground floor. With a sigh, she reaches out and opens it. Her eyes widen upon meeting something that she should have suspected but didn't.
The water in the pool was still, making it almost appear empty, but she could hear a faint lapping as the pumps kept it clean. A thrill runs through her body, and she glances over her shoulder just to be sure that she was truly alone. Once she is sure that she is, a guilty sense of excitement that Yui had gone to school rushes through her body. She was embarrassed by what she was about to do. Turning her excited gaze back to the pool, Mai lets out an excited squeal and hurries to the edge of the pool.
"Damn rich kids! They really have it all!" Once she gets close to the pool's edge, she slows to a walk. She kneels down and reaches her hand into the water. It was pleasantly cool, but it wasn't cold. She lets a shiver run through her body while she watches the ripples even out. "Oh my god. I'm so jealous of Yui right now! Why didn't she tell me they had a pool? This is almost worth dealing with Laito, or even with Kanato!"
She laughs, which echoes back to her eerily. It doesn't bother her though. She was too absorbed in the water before her. She twists so that she is sitting beside the edge and dangles her feet and calves in. She releases a soft groan. "I wish I'd brought my swimming suit."
"Who needs one?" Her heart stops, but she doesn't get a chance to turn around to confront him. A hand appears in the middle of her back, and, before she can brace herself, she is pushed into the pool. She barely has enough time to suck in oxygen before her entire body is engulfed in the water. Despite knowing how to swim, a sense of panic spreads throughout her body, and she quickly kicks to the surface. Once her head is free, she gasps for breath and twists to glare up at Latio while she treads water. The pool was deeper than she originally thought.
"What is wrong with you?! What if I had sucked in water and drowned?!" Mai snaps at him. She turns to swim toward the opposite side of the pool. There was no way that she was going to climb out of the pool right in front of him. Her luck is he would shove her head under the water and hold her there until she really did drown. She cringes when she hears Laito's laugh echoing over the sound of her own voice. "Why aren't you in school?!"
"I'm suspended, remember?" Laito coos at her. She glances over her shoulder the best she can to see that he was practically stalking around the pool to the side that she was aiming for. She instantly stops trying to reach the other side and settles for treading water while glaring at him. She takes a moment to spare a glance around the pool in hopes of seeing a ladder, but her heart sinks upon not actually seeing one. How could she be so stupid as to forget that he was suspended? It was the reason she was there. It felt like she had successfully walked right into his trap.
He squats down on the edge of the pool and rests an elbow on his knee. His chin is nestled in the palm of his hand, and he gives her a cruel smile. It's silent for a few minutes before Mai snaps. "What do you want?"
She wouldn't admit it, but she was already getting tired. It felt like it had been forever since she had gone swimming. Laito's eyes glow for a moment, as if he knew that she was getting tired. He straightens up and starts to pull off the top layer of his clothes. Mai's heart skips a beat, and she's sure that her face is flushing. She tries to backpedal in the pool, but she exerts more energy doing that. She finally settles for snapping, "What do you think you are doing?"
He gives her an almost innocent look before a smile spreads over his face. "Oh, I'm not like you, Sweetheart. I'm not going to swim in my clothes!"
She barely manages to keep from informing him that she wasn't willingly swimming. She settles for quickly turning and retreating the way she had came from. Just as she reaches the edge, hope fills her chest. It's crushed the second that she almost lifts herself out only to have two arms wrap around her waist. She doesn't manage to get any air this time when she is dragged underwater. She immediately begins to thrash feeling like she was drowning already due to the fact she didn't have any air in her lungs. She could feels Laito pressing lightly against her back. His face presses into the muscle that joins her neck and shoulder, but she doesn't give it much thought. She was too preoccupied with wanting to breathe again. She had closed her eyes when she went under, but she opened them now. Her hands push on his arms, and she casts a panicked gaze toward the surface. Nothing mattered to her more than the fact that she was seeing black spots at this point. Her body starts to slow, but she still tries to bring her heel back into his shin, but he just tangles his legs with hers.
She couldn't help but feel like he was trying to drown her. Just as she feels like she's about to give up and suck in water, he detangles his legs from her and pulls her to the surface. Once her head is clear of water, she greedily sucks in air. She blinks rapidly and reaches for the edge of the pool. Thankfully, he lets her latch onto it like it was a lifeline. She coughs a few times, but she mostly pants heavily while half pulling, half dragging part of herself out of the water. She found she didn't have the strength to get her lower half all the way out, but she didn't care. The black spots were easing away, and the ache in her lungs had lessened.
Her body flops onto the hard concrete beneath her, and she continues to gasp for breath. She didn't even have the strength to tense when she hears Laito laughing behind her. She manages to glance over her shoulder to give him a tired glare though. She tries to pull herself up again, but her arms shake from the effort. They begin to shake so much that she's sure her face is about to meet the concrete, but two hands appear under her butt. Laito gives her a push, effectively shoving her out of the water. She flinches when one of her elbows scrapes the rough concrete, and she's sure that some of her skin had been ripped off, but she found that she was still too numb to care. She simply rolls onto her side, silently grateful that she was no longer panting. She briefly wonders what she had done to deserve such treatment from Laito, but she doesn't have long to wonder. The sound of Laito lightly splashing around as he swam nearby draws her from her thoughts. Everything seems to stop the second that she hears him playfully say, "I thought you knew how to swim! I wouldn't have pushed you in if I thought you'd drown! You know it's not good to lie, Sweetheart. It'll get you killed some day!"
Anger ignites in her stomach, which is only made worse by the fact that she was still feeling small tendrils of fear in her stomach. She abruptly sits up and fixates a heated glare on him. "How dare you! You tried to drown me! I can swim just fine! If you hadn't grabbed me like you did, then I wouldn't have been dragged under to die!"
He gives her an almost shocked look, which just served to anger her even more. She could feel her body shaking with anger at this point. He gives her an almost pout and says softly "I saved your life."
She couldn't believe the fact that he had said that! She scrambles to her feet, careful not to slip back into the pool and snaps. "You're the reason I was in danger in the first place! Stay the hell away from me, you freak!"
She spins on her heel and storms toward door. She doesn't make it more than a few steps before she feels an arm wrap around her neck from behind. She doesn't get a chance to react before Laito gives her a violent tug backward into his body. Her bare shoulders press against the cold skin of his bare chest. She reaches up to grab his arm, but the water makes it hard to keep a decent grip on him. He didn't full cut her oxygen off, but he was making it difficult to breath. Panic at the fact that she couldn't breath starts to cloud her thoughts. She didn't want to die. His lips appear close to her ear, and he mutters dangerously. "That is not the way you thank someone, Mai."
Her entire body goes rigid. She wasn't sure of the last time that he had used her name, or if he had at all. Everything around her suddenly felt cold, and she could feel pure terror in the pit of her stomach. He didn't sound mad, but she had a feeling that he was frustrated, though she couldn't figure out why. He tightens his arm for a moment, completely robbing her of the ability to breathe, but he loosens it before it's truly a problem. He hums softly in her ear, and she's sure that his tongue had gently ran along the rim of it. She could feel her body starting to shake in fear. His voice still has a dangerous undertone, but it had also gained a lustful hint. "We didn't get to finish what we started earlier, did we?"
Her heart starts to race painfully in her chest. She wanted to fight like she always did, but she found herself rooted to the spot. This was just another cold reminder that Laito was much more powerful than her, and he could do whatever he wanted. Sure she fought against him, but she wouldn't ever actually overpower him. She takes a deep breath to try to calm her completely frazzled nerves. It would be best to just give him what he wanted. She silently shakes her head to answer her question. Panic that she made the wrong choice fills her stomach when she feels a puff of air against her ear. He starts to laugh. "Shall we continue?"
Her heart feels like it completely stopped. Tears well up in her eyes when she feels his free hand reach around her and come to lightly rest on her upper thigh. She fights the panic rising in her body. The last thing she needed was to react badly and anger him further. If she struggled, she worried that it would make him take that final step. She tries to make herself relax, but she finds that impossible, so she settles for simply counting to ten silently in her head. His hand gives her thigh a squeeze right around five. She flinches, and he chuckles once again. She says softly, "What if I say no?"
His laughter echoes off the walls, wearing at the last of her nerves. She closes her eyes and focuses on her breathing. His voice seems to echo loudly in her ears. "Do you think you have a choice? You certainly are conceited for a human."
A frantic feeling takes over her body when she feels his hand moving up her thigh, dragging the wet material across her skin. It makes her feel sick to her stomach, and she does the first thing she can think of. "Let's play a game!"
His body freezes for a moment before he leans down to press light kisses to her shoulder. A small shiver runs through her body, and she finds herself shaking again. What would she do if he refused? To her utter relief, he pulls away and says. "Fine, we'll play billiards."
Her heart sinks. If she remembered right, Subaru had said that Laito was really good. Just as she considers asking for a different game, he whispers softly in a sing song voice. "If we don't play, then I can think of something else we can do."
With a defeated sigh, she nods her head. He lets out a sound of excitement. Both arms wrap around her body, pulling her back into him. Panic makes it hard to breath for a second, and she instinctively closes her eyes. Just like she suspected, there was a rush of movement. She slowly opens one eye to find herself standing in his room. She twists to find him standing inches behind her. She quickly backs away from him, and it comes as a relief that he doesn't follow her. She frowns at the almost cruel smile on his face. Before she has a chance to ask him what he wanted, he reaches down and unbuttons his pants. Her jaw drops, unable to immediately pull her eyes away from him. She doesn't manage to turn away before he pulls his pants and underwear down. Her face burns brightly, and she finally adverts her eyes. Her hands come up to cover her face, and she lets out a shuddering breath. It was like the image was burned into her mind. She tried not to think about it, but it just kept surfacing. She cringes when she hears him laughing in apparent delight. Disgust fills her body at the fact that he could even find the situation hilarious.
His playful tone just angers her even more. "I don't mind you looking. I can show you all the tricks you need to know, if you'd like."
Mai closes her eyes tightly and fights the images that threaten to surface in her mind's eye. "Aren't we supposed to be playing billiards? Why aren't we in the game room?"
She flinches away when a hand brushes her arm. Her hand drops away, and her eyes snap open without a second thought. Thankfully, he's fully dressed this time, but she still felt herself flush simply by looking at him. He was only wearing a button down white shirt that looked like it belonged to his uniform. He also was wearing dark pants, though he was shoeless. She glances away once she realizes that she was inspecting him closer than she wanted to. She flushes an even deeper red when she hears him chuckling. Unfortunately, it seemed like he had noticed as well. She clears her throat to ask once again why they weren't in one of the gaming halls, but he cuts her off. "We can't play while wet, can we? We'll ruin the pool table, then Reiji will ban you from the house. We don't want that, do we?"
She stubbornly keeps her mouth closed. That was exactly what she wanted. She never wanted to return. She flinches when she realizes that's what she had said the last few times she had been to their house. With a slow, shuddering breath, she asks. "Ok, fine. Why did you take me to your room? You should have taken me to mine."
A wide smile spreads over his face, which causes her heart to sink and warning bells to violently ring. He smoothes the amused smile away and leans forward with a curious look. "Are you planning to play naked?"
She finds herself speechless, though she wasn't sure why. She figured that she should be used to his antics at that point. Once she manages to regain her wits, she quickly shakes her head and says. "Like hell I would play naked!"
He draws back for a moment with a feigned frown, as if he was actually thinking the problem through. He snaps his fingers and gestures to his bed that was directly behind her. She doesn't bother turning to look at it though. It felt like a trap, and she wasn't about to fall even further into it. He watches her patiently. He tilt his head and reaches up as if he were going to grab the rim of his hat, only he wasn't wearing it at the moment. For a moment, it strikes her that he looked a little different without his fedora. Her thoughts are dragged back to the danger before her when he starts toward her with a playful, yet predatory, look in his eyes. She feels every muscle tense in her body when her flight instinct kick in. She barely manages to suppress the feeling, but she can't stop the shaking. He steps around her, and she twists in order to keep him in her line of sight. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see some clothes sitting on the edge of his bed. She swallows hard when her mind puts the pieces together. She slowly starts to shake her head. "No."
He makes a tsking noise, sits on the edge of his bed, and gives her a playful grin. He gestures to the clothes beside him. "You can borrow some of mine!"
He sounded almost pleased with himself. Mai quickly shakes her head again. "No, I'll borrow Yui's."
A hurt look spreads over his face, and, for once, she's unsure if he was actually hurt or not. He leans back and prompts himself up on one elbow. Even his voice has a hurt edge to it. "It's rude to riffle through other people's clothing when they are clearly not home. Unless you swing that way! I'll help you raid her panty drawer!"
Trying to ignore her disbelief at how excited he sounded, Mai shakes her head. "No, I don't swing that way! I just… I can't wear your clothes. Why don't I just use mine?"
He lets out a low sigh and looks down at the green bedding below him. She couldn't decide what he was playing at this time. She watches him pick at the comforter like it was more amusing than their conversation. With a deep, dark voice that she had never heard before, he says, "Shall we just get this over with quickly?"
He doesn't give her a chance to respond, nor does he look up. "I'll tell you that we'll run into the same problem as Little Bitch, and you'll tell me that I should just take you. I'll tell you that I can't; you'll ask why. Blah blah blah."
When he finally looks up at her, his eyes are glowing a bright green, which makes her take a step back. He gives her a cruel smile and playfully says, "I'll save us some time, Sweetheart. I'm not taking you home. You are here to stay the night, right? You promised that we could be friends, and friends hang out. You'll scream if I take you home, or you'll try to run. I'm not interested in expending energy on something so stupid. So, why don't you just change into my clothes, and we can have some fun in the gaming hall?"
Speechless, Mai finds herself just staring at him. Finally, a sense of defeat washes over her, and she just nods and starts toward the bed. Cautiously, she grabs the clothes and backs away. It felt like he was watching her every move like some sort of predator. Once she is close to the door, a playful smile spreads over his face. Her heart starts to race at the sight, since it hadn't boded well for her lately. Her body goes rigid just out of arm's reach of the door. He tilts his head and asks playfully. "Are you going somewhere?"
She frowns at him and forcibly nods. She says as calmly as she can. "I'm going to go change."
She flinches when she hears the tremor in her own voice. As a response, his smile widens, and he releases a loud sigh. "Why not do it here?"
She clenches the clothes in her hand tightly, but she manages to not pull them close to her body. She didn't want to get them wet and have to listen to him complain about it. She clears her throat and says confidently. "I'm not your toy, regardless to what you think. I'm not about to change in front of you."
He chuckles darkly this time and says in an almost irritated tone. "I was nice enough to save you, and I even borrowed you clothes. I offered to let you experiment with my body, and this is how you thank me? How ungrateful can one human get."
She feels a growl bubbling up her throat, but she's cut off once again when his cold, vivid green eyes meet hers. He says in an equally cold voice. "You have two minutes to change."
He's gone the second that she blinks. For a moment, she stares at the spot in complete shock. What was happening to her life? She closes her eyes and shakes her head, before she mentally berates herself for wasting time. She silently hopes that he's really not around and strips as quickly as she can. Unsure of what to do about her wet clothes, she simply drops them on the floor. To her humiliation, she finds some of her underwear and a bra among his clothes. She makes a mental note to ask him about it later.
She was just pulling the pants the rest of the way up when he reappears directly in front of her. She flinches back, but his pants were a lot longer than she liked. He casually steps onto the end of them, which causes her to fall back onto her butt. She lets out a hiss of pain and glares up at him. She felt incredibly stupid at that moment. His pants weren't huge, but they still drowned her. Thankfully, his shirt was long and hid it to some degree.
He lets out a laugh and squats before her. She flinches back, but he catches her leg. With a quick jerk, he pulls her close to his body. She lifts her other foot to kick him, but she instantly freezes. He was expertly rolling up both the pant legs until they reach just under her knees in neat, flat folds. She finds herself watching him with a sense of wonder. He quickly wraps a belt around her and fixes the sleeves of the long sleeved shirt he had borrowed her. He does it all in what feels like a matter of seconds, causing her heart to skip a beat. Once he's done, he give her a cheeky smile and asks, "Ready to play?"
Still feeling the sense of wonder, she nods without a sound. He chuckles at the look on her face and scoops her up. She barely has time to close her eyes before the rush of movement. When she opens her eyes, she finds herself standing before a pool table. He steps away from her, allowing her to finally relax. A glance at the table reveals that he had set up for what she assumed was eight ball. She jumps when something hard pokes her side and glances in that direction to find a pool cue within reach. She grabs it feeling every warning bell ringing loudly in her head. Laito was being….nice to her for lack of a better word. He gives her an almost pleasant smile and gestures for her to break.
She finds herself nervously licking her bottom lip and sets herself up to strike the cue ball. Her thoughts wildly race around her head. Something was different, but she couldn't figure out what was going on in his head. He had been so cruel to her not even an hour ago, and now he was playing nice. Thankfully, pool is a good excuse to stare right at him without raising undue suspicion. A few more turns slip by, with him clearly and easily winning. Finally, Mai can't stand the silence anymore and breaks it with a question. "So, I was wondering if I could ask you something?"
He doesn't answer, but she takes it as a go ahead to ask. It wasn't like he had told her no either. She takes a deep breath to try to get the nerve to start asking the questions. After a couple of deep breaths, she finally asks one that she found to be the most important. "Is there something special about Yui?"
Laito's eyes flick up for a moment, and a smirk spreads over his face before he turns back to the game. After a few more shots, he wins the game. Mai releases a soft sigh, and he taps the table with his pool cue. "Set it back up."
Disappointment fills her chest. Was he seriously going to dodge her questions? What was the point of her wasting time playing this stupid game with him? She frowns after a second and sets her cue down along the edge of the table and moves to gather the balls. Laito watches her with an eerily amused glint in his eyes. She sets the balls up the best she could remember, but he stops her halfway through to tell her that she was doing it wrong. After a few failed attempts, Mai snaps at him. "Why don't you set them up then?"
To her dismay, he appears behind her, though his body doesn't touch hers. His hand gently grabs her wrist, causing a chill runs down her spine. Something was definitely wrong. He was planning something, but she couldn't figure out what it was that he was planning. She watches him guide her hands around to help her set up the balls. The second they are done, he pulls away and moves around the table to shoot without making any more physical contact with her. Mai finds herself watching him cautiously. She was so distracted that she didn't realizes that she was gripping the bumper on the pool table just behind the balls. Pain races up her arm when one of the balls strikes her two of her fingers. She jerks them back and lets out a surprised cry of pain. Without a second thought, she lifts the hurt fingers to her mouth. She looks up from the table and instantly freezes. Laito was watching her with a clearly predatory gaze. He was still leaned down like he was shooting, but the cue ball was nowhere near him. She takes a step back just as he flicks his gaze back down to the table. His tone is light and playful when he says, "Answers will come at a price."
Mai almost agrees, but she manages to bite her tongue. A shiver runs through her body at the thought of the numerous things he could ask for if she didn't set guidelines. She pulls her fingers from her mouth and says "I won't do anything dirty with or for you."
He lets out an amused scoff and says. "Fine. I just want to be able to drink your blood without you fighting."
She frowns and mulls over his words. The last time he had drank her blood, it hadn't hurt, but she didn't want to sell her blood so easily. Still, it was better than selling her body. She takes a deep breath and says. "Fine, answer my questions, and you can drink my blood."
The chilling look of triumph spreads over his face, and he straightens up. Mai's heart starts to sink. It felt like she was making a deal with the devil. She tries to remind herself that it was only blood, and her body would make more. This way would be faster and easier than blindly searching such a large house. Her heart stops completely when he says. "For each question you ask, I get one time of drinking your blood without you fighting, and I can drink to my heart's content."
She stiffens and slowly shakes her head. Her tone is strained when she says, "Not to your heart's content. You'll kill me or something. Only enough to fill your stomach."
He gives her a playful, yet knowing, smile. He shrugs his shoulders and gives her an affirmative noise. There was something that she was missing; she just knew it. Her mind mulls over the conversation, but it didn't seem to matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't figure it out. He was leaning on the table again and was watching her with an almost smug look on his face. Finally, it clicks in her mind. She leans forward with a sense of triumph and says softly, "I have a few more conditions. You can't lie to me, and you can't try to take my blood from private areas. If you promise that, then I agree to your terms."
A look of delight spreads over his face, and he readily agrees. She wanted nothing more than to keep feeling that sense of triumph, but she felt a sense of dread instead. It looked like she had just lost the gamble, but she couldn't figure out why. She was positive that she had covered everything.
He turns his attention back to the pool table and takes another shot. She jumps at the sound of the balls hitting each other. It effectively drew her from her worries. His voice easily cuts through the noise though. "Little Bitch is indeed special."
Mai's heart sinks. He had already accumulated one freebie, and she hadn't really gotten that much information that wasn't already obvious. She takes a deep breath and takes her turn to shoot while she considers her next question. She had to make it meaningful, or she would just wrack up a huge feeding bill. The thought made her feel sick, but she forces herself to focus on her questions. She would worry about what came after when the problem arose.
Now, what would be the best question to ask to get the most information?
