Chapter 4

"Aye, Masochistic kitten!"

Yui churned in her bed and was face to face with Kou. She learned not to be surprised by such things and simply curled into herself, ashamed of the blood soaked gown she had slept in and hiding her shame behind the covers. Kou shuffled beside her on the bed, grinning as his head fell to the pillow beside hers. He playfully pinched her cheek and said with a smile, "It's dinner time, M Neko-Chan! Unless you rather stay here with me - you smell wonderful." Yui cringed as Kou drew in closer and sniffed her hair. He let out a gentle sigh and opened his mouth to pierce the skin of her neck. She wanted to say no but no words came out. He suddenly burst out laughing, leaping from the bed and saying, "Ah, the look on your face! I will never get over it." He smiled down at her warmly, pretending not to notice the blood stained blanket. He currently wasn't interested in her monthly womanhood issues. "Now get dressed and be downstairs in two minutes. And try to look pretty, alright? Your hair's a mess."

Avoiding the mirror, Yui crawled out of bed and stripped herself of the filthy clothing. She felt so dirty and just wanted to bathe, allowing the water to soak away the memories of the past day. As she sat on the edge of the bed and tugged on her shorts followed by her knee socks, she wondered if any of the boys knew what happened last night. Before slipping on her sweater, she stared down at the cut printed across her lower stomach. Blood had crusted across the wound and it hurt to the touch. He had cut her deeply, mercilessly. Tears began swelling in her eyes and she cursed herself for being so sensitive. Despite everything she had been through, she rarely cried but suddenly in the past twenty four hours or so, it seemed that it was all she did. Unable to stand looking at the cut for another moment, she yanked on her pink sweater and darted down the hallway to the dining area. She would wash the blood off afterwards - if one of the boys wouldn't try to lick it off that is.

The Mukami manner was surprisingly quiet for the majority of the dinner. A small "thank you" broke the silence as Ruki passed down a bowl of noodles to Yui. She had sat as far away from Azusa as possible and claimed a seat between Yuma and Kou. Yui's words was enough to spin the atmosphere into an entirely new vibe. Out of nowhere, Yuma patted Yui hard on the back and smirked. "Enjoy yourself last night, Sow?" He sneered, "I didn't realize how much of a whore you really are, certainly not for Azusa-" Yuma's words were suddenly cut off by Ruki thrusting his fist to the table. "Enough," he said in a hard tone. Despite her attempt to keep her eyes away from Azusa, Yui peered down the table to the silent boy at the opposite end of the table who was staring down at his plate. He was completely unaffected by Yuma's taunting and the following giggles of Kou. Yui sulked uncomfortably in her chair and realized her fingers with shaking as she clutched onto the edge of the table. A searing pain was striking against her lower abdomen where Azusa had struck her. The pain flowed throughout her body and she began to feel faint. The noodles in front of her were no longer appealing and the longer she stared at Azusa, the less present she felt in her own body. "Eve," she heard Ruki say. She fell to the floor and suddenly the world had gone black.

For the first time in a long time, Yui felt safe. Water was caressing her fragile body and she was being touched with the gentlest of hands. She didn't feel any urge to open her eyes but instead hummed to herself, her head still spinning as she sunk down further into the water. It felt like she had been sleeping for days. "Eve," a soft voice said. Yui's eyelids fluttered open slowly and she found herself staring into the deep eyes of Ruki. The light of the room was dim and comforting, and all she could focus on was him. "Ruki-kun," she whispered. The dull aching of her wound was still present and when Ruki touched it, she cringed. She was fully undressed and the water in the tub was stained red. On any other day, she would have screamed and ran away. But today, she had no energy. The feeling of Ruki's touch was surprisingly gentle, comforting even. "Did Azusa do this?" He said. He drew the once-white cloth from the water and squeezed it out, draining the pinkish water into a bucket on his side. It was strange to see Ruki kneeling over the tub and caring for her like this. Yui nodded and closed her eyes. Tears were burning her sockets but she refused to cry again in front of Ruki. He said nothing and touched the wound again with the facecloth, causing her body to clench up tightly. He continued to dab the cut until she finally decided to break the silence. "Ruki-kun-" she began before he interrupted her. "He cut you deep. You shouldn't be putting yourself into situations like that. What made you think that was a good idea?" Under his breath, he muttered. "Stupid." Her ability to hold back her tears began to shake and she ultimately failed. A few tears rolled down the side of her face and she finally opened her eyes. Ruki was staring back at her. "I don't know," she said in a quiet voice, "I thought maybe... I don't know." She shut her eyes again tightly as tears began streaming steadily down her cheeks. She could tell that Ruki was waiting for her to speak again but her voice was suddenly lost somewhere in the murky water. I thought maybe he could love me, she wanted to say. Maybe he had figured out another way he feel alive. But that was foolish and Ruki surely would point that out. But it was as if he knew what she were thinking, because he stayed quiet and stopped pressing the issue. His hands treated her body and though the pain of him touching her cut was present, Yui ignored it and instead allowed him to care for her.

Yui's multiple attempts to convince Ruki she was fine to dress herself were proven to be useless, for Ruki had dried her, bandaged her, and dressed her in a new silk nightgown from the large dresser. She started to walk toward the bed but he said, "Come," and snatched her hand, guiding her out of the room and down the hall to the common room. "Yuma prepared a spot for you. Eat." Yui's eyes drifted to the couch. It was expensive and seeing it covered in comforters and pillows seemed so different. Inviting. She looked to Ruki and then back to the couch, quickly shuffling over to it and allowing her body to collapse into the comfort of the blankets. Her body was so exhausted, she could barely keep her eyes open. "I said eat. You'll feel better," Ruki ordered. He sat in the father chair across a few feet away from the couch, facing her and watching her closely. Yui lifted her head from the pillows and lazily turned herself to face the side table where biscuits and tea were waiting. A few sugar cubes sat on a napkin to the side and Yui quickly grabbed one, popping it into her mouth and swallowing it in a single bite. The sugar sliding down her throat was refreshing. She turned back over and cocooned herself into the comforters. "Ruki-kun," she said softly. He had brought a book onto his lap and was just opening it when she decided to speak. He peered up from the pages and she whispered, "thank you." He nodded once and went back to his reading. "It's my duty to care for you. We can't have you bleeding out at the dinner table," he said. "Not until we've accomplished what we have set out to do for him. Now rest."

Yui turned away from Ruki and listened to the rustling of the pages turning every few minutes. She couldn't help but think about Azusa. She wondered if he enjoyed being at school or if he had rather stay home with her. She was thankful that Ruki had chosen to stay behind tonight but a small part of her still wished it was Azusa. The moments they had shared before he sliced her, when he was caressed between her thighs, was something that she would cherish. It was a special bond that nothing could compare to, not even Ruki caring for her in the tub. She began to question whether or not he felt the connection between them as well. She pulled the covers up over her face and wept silently. Her gentle sniffles were muffled by the blankets and the turning of the book pages. Hours passed and she still hadn't fallen asleep, and Ruki hadn't left his spot. She heard the book close and wondered if he had already finished it in one night. Moments later, the front door swung open and she heard Kou call out, "M Neko-Chan! We're hooooome!"

Yui refused to look up, even as she heard the footsteps of the three boys enter the common room. "Welcome home," Ruki said. Yui could hear Yuma huff, "Eh? Sow, so rude. I was kind to leave out that food." She curled herself into a ball underneath the blankets and suddenly screamed as someone yanked them away. Kou plopped down to her side and turned her over to face him, grinning as he said, "I'm parched. I'm sure you won't mind if I have a bite." He scooped the small of her back and leaned over her to nuzzle his face into the crook of her neck, lifting her back from the couch and pinning her in a tight lock. Before his fangs penetrated her skin, she babbled, "Kou-kun, I've been feeling faint. Please don't." She struggled in his arms and positioned his fangs to sink into her flesh. She desperately hoped that Ruki would stop him after seeing her in the condition she was just hours previous but no protest came from him. Instead, another voice perked up. "That's enough..." Azusa said. Kou paused and suddenly dropped Yui back down to the couch, turning to Azusa and smirking. "Oh, Azusa-kun! How cute- you don't want to share." Azusa stared at him from the doorway and clutched onto his own hand. He was stroking over the scar on the back of his fist. "Kou-kun... she needs to rest. Let her." Yui looked up from the couch and stared at Azusa. His gaze shifted from Kou to her and their eyes stayed in a daring lock. Kou continued to speak as he left the room, taunting Azusa the whole way, but their gaze never left each other. Yui opened her mouth to say thank you before she felt a dull ache on her stomach. Tears began to fill her eyes again and she narrowed them, gritting her teeth and mumbling, "Leave me be." She stood from the couch uneasily and found her footing slowly. Azusa stared at her as she rushed past him and disappeared into the Mukami mansion.