Chapter 29
"Where do we go now?" Yui looked up to Azusa with bright, vibrant eyes and despite their current situation, she was grinning wide as could be. Her ability to smile in such situations puzzled him and though he would never say it, it made him want to smile. But reality was they were stuck. And though they were stuck in a beautiful place, stuck was stuck nonetheless. "I don't know... Yui-san. Hush for now... and let me help you."
Azusa was ultimately perplexed by the state of Yui's wound, for her porcelain skin was suddenly clear from all spots and bruises, and the slice that Ayato had inflicted seemed to be healing more and more by the minute. He had only seen such things on vampire skin, never on that of a mortal. "How... odd," he finally said. Yui was laying across the grass beside the pool, lazily dipping her fingertips against the surface of the water, with Azusa caringly kneeled by her side. She expected his touch to sting but it never did, even as his nail pricked against the inside of her wound and touched her deep inside. "It wasn't just the baby that moved," He said in a soft tone. His voice lowered and he added, "It's you. Your flesh... it's clenching around me. It's healing... stitching itself together..."
Growing increasingly anxious by the poking and prodding, Yui quickly jumped into a straight sitting position and sputtered, "But how is that even possible, A-Azusa-kun? That just isn't normal!" Azusa attempted to remain in his calm nature and pulled his hands away, equally as puzzled by the information before them. "Inside of you... is something growing- something... inhuman. Something that could now be infecting you... with inhumane traits." His thoughts were suddenly cut off by Yui snapping, "Our baby isn't some parasite!" The couples eyes met and the heat radiating between them was impossible to ignore. Yui was practically fuming from the ears and Azusa could feel his cheeks flushing, a delicate pink color that rarely showed on his face. The innocent expression dulled Yui's anger, for she rarely saw him in such a way and his doe eyes brought her back to a simpler time. Suddenly it was like they weren't in the woods, it was them back to the first time he had bitten her. Something inside of him was so soft and his words made her melt, despite his compliments of 'precious' were quickly shaken by the feel of his fangs. She was no longer angry. Yui simply inhaled and said in a gentle exhale, "I don't know what it is. I don't know if it's human like me, or a vampire like you, or maybe something in between. But I do know one thing. It is our baby. And this baby will be the perfect creation, the best of both of us." A smile spread softly across her cheeks as she watched Azusa, who was listening intently and gazed up at her with faultless eyes. "Now. Let's go home."
Azusa hoisted Yui up onto his back effortlessly, despite her petty protests that she was fine to walk, and began walking at human pace along the dirt road that the two had grown accustomed to traveling along side each other. The sun was high in the sky and followed them dauntingly as they walked. Everytime Yui's slim frame began slipping off the ridge of Azusa's back, he would promptly boost her back up and caress her calves underneath his forearms a bit tighter. Though her back was completely exposed to the world, she felt safe with her heart beating against him and her growing belly nudged up to his mid back. And even though she felt content in his grasp, the question still hung over her head. Where exactly was home now?
"How will it be? At home." Yui's voice was gentle and the breeze carried the warmth of her breath all around Azusa as she spoke softly against the base of his exposed neck. His flesh was chilling yet beautiful. "I don't understand... what you mean..." Azusa sighed. His steps had became slower and finally he lowered down for Yui to step down off of his back. She did so willingly and took his hand; the smallest action taking him by surprise and causing him to spin towards her and say "huh". She applied smaller bits of pressure with each impending second and she said, "You do understand what I mean. I don't want to say his name." The gentle exchange of hand squeezes were enough to keep Azusa's newly found temper in line, despite the suggestion of his brother Ruki, and he sighed heavily from his mouth. His eyes would wander aimlessly before finally landing on hers, which were saucer like and waiting. He began to soften and managed to briefly say, "It will be... okay... I promise."
"Aye, Sow! I thought you were a goner for sure."
The couple were greeted by Yuma as they entered from the back door, where Yuma was tending to the rising plants with his watering can. There was something almost endearing about seeing him in such a way, it was an image that Yui had always enjoyed seeing once in a while when no one knew she were watching. "Yuma-kun," Yui said with a slight grin playing on her lips as she walked toward him, hand in hand with Azusa. She felt another assuring squeeze on her fingers as Azusa nodded toward his brother, "Goner... only you would say... such a thing. Yuma." The two looked at each other for a moment in a serious air before Yuma burst out laughing and tossed his watering can to the side, slapping his smaller brother on the shoulder and guiding them inside. "Come on," he said, "I'll make us all something to eat."
After the initial excitement of their return, the dinner table conversation was painfully awkward; not even the delicious vegetables and dumplings that Yuma had prepared could distract from it. Before they had entered the kitchen, Yuma had said to Azusa in a less playful tone, "When I say I'm making us all something to eat, I really do mean all of us." A less than happy Azusa argued endlessly with his brother but to no avail, for they were both starving and he figured his first encounter with Ruki since him looking him up would maybe be worth getting over with among dinner. "I won't do it." Yui was relentless and even had gone as far as to try and hide in the bathroom. After a long bout of teasing from Kou and begging from Yuma, she had finally unlocked the door and agreed to eat 'with the family'. Her heart was pounding at an alarming rate and once she had sat down at the dinner table, she desperately wished she had just dealt with the annoyance outside the bathroom and sulked in the tub for the rest of eternity.
The sight of Ruki was something that the blonde has never wanted to endure ever again in her miserable lifetime. Even if it meant hiding away for the rest of her days, she would have rather than to be sat down at the same table and feel his eyes on her as she was given her plate of food. When she finally dared to look at him, their eyes locked. She felt Azusa's grip on her hand tighten under the table and she uttered a small "ah" when she began to feel just how tight his clutch was on her. It took a popping sensation to erupt from her knuckles before Azusa finally let go, his eyes still not leaving Ruki. He was covered in bruises, his eyes both blackened and sad looking. Ruki was now a shell of what he once was and even quivered as he attempted to hold his food in his right hand. Kou suddenly clapped his hands together, forcing everyone to jump from their seats, and sang, "What a lovely family reunion!"