Chapter 18
Yui awoke to the overwhelming smell of food, something that she had long forgotten waking to since her days at home, and slowly rose in the foreign bed. She rubbed her eyes, which felt heavy and tired, and slowly began to realize that she was in Yuma's bedroom. The walls were a deep burgundy color with black color such as a leather couch, dark cabinets, and hauntingly tall wardrobe. She felt entirely out of place in the dark setting but something about it was almost comforting; perhaps it was the smell of breakfast invading her nose, or maybe that the dark made her feel like she was in her own personal cave. Within a moment or so, there was a gentle knocking at the door that she immediately recognized to be the familiar touch of Azusa. "My precious Yui..." He said through the crack of the door, "it's safe to come out. Join us for breakfast."
It was strange to walk into the dining room with a table full of food where none of it had been cooked by Ruki. Yui tip toed into the room and peered her head through the doorway, peeking at the bountiful dishes and staring in awe. She gazed over Yuma and Kou's heads, who were already shoveling food into their moves, before meeting eyes with Azusa. He gently grinned at her and said, "Come... sit beside me." It seemed that with Ruki gone, the tension had been cut and welcome was able to shine through among the Mukami table. Yui took the opportunity quickly and smiled wide as she pranced into the door and took her seat beside Azusa. "Azusa-kun, did you cook all of this?" She giggled. Before Azusa had the chance to respond, Yuma grabbed a plate of various types of breakfast cakes and tossed them onto her plate. He said to her, "He helped- barely. You can thank me." Kou added on gleefully, "And me!" And with that said, the two boys went back to their usual squabbling about Kou's unusual amount of food consumption and lack of help in the kitchen. Yui looked over at Azusa, who was bringing his fork to his lips, and smiled wide. It felt like home.
"M Neko-chan, something about you seems different." Kou snatched the final piece of bacon from the dining table, beating Yuma to it is less than a moment, and said before popping it into his mouth, "I know! You're gaining weight." He winked at her before crunching down onto the last piece of bacon and Yui's cheeks flushed a bright crimson color. "Of course she is," Yuma grumbled, "Have you noticed how much she's eaten today? She could give you a run for your money, Kou." Their cruel, truthful words caused Yui to drop her head down and stare at her now empty plate. She had eaten pancakes, eggs, bacon, and too many pieces of toast to count and somehow, she still felt like her belly was hardly full. She placed a single hand onto her stomach and rubbed it slightly, earning a twitch from within her, and at that moment she began to accept that there truly was something growing inside of her. The brothers continued to tease at her new found eating habits before Azusa chimed in a soft, "Enough," but her mind was in a completely different head space. Yui could careless about their taunting, but it did bring to her attention what was going on inside of her own being. Pregnancy was something that mortified her enough, let alone colliding the worlds of vampires and humans. Surely it had to have been done before and she thought to herself what she had learned in school about dominant genes. Surely, vampirism would be the dominant trait, how could humanism possibly compare?
"How long have you all been this way?" Yui said quietly. The boys all stopped their squawking and immediately eyed Yui with raised brows; even Azusa had been taken off guard by the sudden question. "Been this way?" Yuma scoffed, "I assume you mean when we turned. Is that right, sow?" His voice was weirdly heavy and aggressive once the subject was raised, but Yui looked him in the eye and muttered, "Yes." The air took on a strange thickness and it seemed that none of the boys wanted to answer. Finally Yuma spat, "Long enough." Her eyes scanned across all the boys and that's what they were, boys. Not men. Despite being what she expected to be far older than her, they all looked to be her age and sometimes even acted that way. The answer was good enough for her and she stopped pressing the issue despite feeling Azusa's eyes glued onto her as if he were waiting for an explanation or at least a continuation of the random subject change. But it didn't come. She instead focused on her swelling belly and thought to herself, If this baby is a vampire, will it grow? It seems to be growing already but when will it stop. If it is a vampire - will it tear me apart? Lost in thought, Yui leaned forward and spewed breakfast chunks across the table.
"Eekk!" Kou squealed as he jumped up from his seat and scrambled away from the table. Yuma didn't budge a single inch but instead glared across the table with hateful eyes and a sweater coated with vomit. Yui's head was spinning but she managed to burp out, "Y-yuma-kun, I'm so sorry-" before being scooped out of her chair by Azusa. He used the lower sleeve of his shirt to dab the spittle off of her pale lips and he said in a low tone, "Yui-san... Are you okay..?" As the human girl began to regain her composure, she found herself to be completely mortified and quickly pushed away from the table, snatching up the napkin that had fallen from her lap and attempting to clean up Yuma's shirt. Her cheeks were permanently blushed as she cried, "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! I didn't mean to-" but before she could finish, Yuma slapped her hand away and snapped, "I don't need your help, sow." He popped up from his chair and walked out of the room, followed by a disgusted Kou, and left the pitiful blonde alone with the smallest brother. "So," Azusa said softly, "this is what a human pregnancy looks like." When Yui turned to face him, he was smiling warmly and they both began to laugh quiet enough to hide their amusement from the other boys.
The two lovers walked hand in hand to the bathroom, only letting go of each other when the vampire leaned over the tub to run the bath. He smiled at Yui gently and said, "I'll help you," as she began to strip off her soiled clothing. He tended to his girl very gently as he lifted the shirt from her chest and exposed her severely wounded skin. Yui sucked in a sharp breath through her nostrils but tried to ignore the pain as the dark haired boy stripped off her remaining clothing and lifted her into the bath. The water was neither too hot nor cold, for the temperature was just right and cradled her body in the ultimate comfort. She sighed as she sank down in the water, playfully blowing the water from her nose when it tipped against the water, and the two teens both giggled a bit. "They are right," Azusa said as he slowly lifted the girl's arm and began washing her with a white cloth, "you are beginning to gain weight... Not minding the scars, you are starting to look healthier." Yui peeked down at the thin frame which was now sporting a small bulging tummy and she smiled to herself. She had never liked her body and, despite the wounds that Ruki had inflicted, now it was starting to look different to her now that Azusa spoke of it. He rarely complimented her but when he did, it helped her see herself in a better light - a light she had never been exposed to before. "Ah," Azusa hummed to himself as he scrubbed a bit of spit from her chin, "your heads are always in the clouds... how I wish I could be inside there and see it your way."
Azusa continued to bath Yui and they sat in the quietness, aside from Azusa's comforting humming, and drained the dirty water only to kill it up once again. Yui thought that he had finished and was somehow saddened by it; she enjoyed being pampered by her love. Much to her surprise, Azusa began scrubbing her skin again and washed her until her skin began to wrinkle in the water. When the humming ended, the two sat in what Yui viewed as an awkward silence and she finally broke it with, "Is Ruki-kun gone?" Gone in the terms of not here or gone in the way of dead, she did not know which she meant herself but she hoped it was one of the two. "He is here... but he shall not bother us for now," Azusa said gently, "Don't worry. He will be gone soon." And with those parting words, he gently kissed the girl on her mouth and sank her away from the worries that haunted her.