Chapter 36
Supper time this night was nothing like it had been like every other night of the past. Though she sat in the same seat, with the same food, surrounded by the same people - plus one; everything seemed different, looked different, smelled different. There had never been a time that Yui had turned down food at the Mukami manner, whether it be because of Ruki's exceptional cooking skills or just the fact that full meals weren't easy to come by, but today she was contemplating it. It was Yuma's turn to hold the baby, though Yui had insisted that the she could Noah herself (and would prefer the highchair over Yuma's questionable grip anyway), so the only thing between her and the food was the fork she was holding in a balled fist. "Go on with it," Kou giggled, "we all know you're hungry. Just try it." It was obvious that he was awaiting an amusing reaction from her which only made Yui even more fearful of the dumplings in front of her. Normally just the scent of Ruki's dumplings were enough to send her off her feet in delight, they were always so plump and juicy, but now the smell invading her nostrils was something she would equate to ashes. "He didn't make all of this for you to snub it," Yuma huffed. It was so strange to see such a large man such as Yuma, with such a deep and angry voice, carress a baby with the ultimate delicate touch to his firm chest. "Eat it." Tired of the badgering, Yui suddenly jabbed into one of the dumplings, slicing it down the middle with the side of her fork before stabbing it with the points, and then shoved the food into her mouth.
"Ecckk!"
The troublemakers of the bunch burst into another fit of laughter as the girl spat out their eldest brother's food, watching his face churn into disgust as she jumped to her feet and coughed hard. "Don't be so dramatic," Ruki said in a snide tone before taking a full dumpling into his mouth and swallowing. All eyes were on Yui and even her beloved Azusa couldn't help but crack as smile as she struggled to contain herself, cringing with her hand over her mouth before she cried, "That was terrible! How could you possibly eat that with a straight face?" She would have continued her whining if she hadn't noticed Kou, whose eyes were darting over to Ruki, and earlier she would have apologized but instead silenced herself. "What are we supposed to do?" Yuma said angrily, "Even with you around, we don't have the resources nor the luxury to feed on blood every day. It's not like we can go out and kill dumb schoolgirls every single day." His words struck her like a knife and slowly, Yui lowered herself back to her seat and hung her head down in shame. She thought of her feeding time earlier that same day, at that time she wouldn't dare think or even care as to where that blood had come from. "It just tastes so awful though," Yui said in a small voice, "how do you do it?" A hand laid down onto her shoulder and she jumped. Azusa was gazing back at her with serious eyes and said in his soothing voice, "Practice..."
Breathlessly, Yui slumped down into her chair and stared up at her lover with sad eyes. "Do we need to keep trying, Azusa-kun?" She whined quietly, "I'm not even hungry anymore." Two hours had passed since the first dumpling and now two dumplings, and three boys, later- Yui could barely keep her own stomach at ease. "No. But we should try... with him..." His soft eyes danced over to the baby, who was snoozing in his newborn high chair soundlessly. "He can't eat this!" Yui scoffed. The moments the words left her mouth, she immediately understood what Azusa was trying to say. Though she was focused, she couldn't help but notice that he hadn't said his name yet. Noah. In fact, this was the first time he had referred to him at all. Azusa stayed silently in his seat as Yui tended to the baby and slowly lifted him from the high chair, awkwardly holding him to her chest with one arm and fiddling at her shirt's top button with the other. She looked up at Azusa and felt the heat rising to her cheeks. "Don't look, please." She said in a quiet voice. Azusa simply smiled at her and slowly lifted his hand to his face, shielding his eyes but keeping his grin revealed. Yui couldn't help but smile herself as she looked at him, until she finally began fully unbuttoning her shirt to reveal her left breast. During her short termed pregnancy, she had never considered or thought of what it would be like to breastfeed. Would it hurt? Would Noah even take to it? She wasn't sure but the mother in her wouldn't allow her to hesitate, for she raised the sleepy baby to her breast and guided him to her now perked up nipple. After a few moments of waiting, Yui was slightly relieved to see that Noah seemed to have no interest in breastfeeding. However, when she tried to pull him away, she felt a sudden yet dull pain pierce into her breast. "Aah!" She squeaked before attempting to pull him away for a second time, but this time she felt her skin being tugged as well. He had bitten her. The moment the sound left her lips, Azusa quickly dropped his hand from his face and stood from his seat, only to be confronted by a horrified Yui. Her eyes were wide with concern and though the two remained silent, they could both hear the suckling as the baby sucked the blood from the flesh of his mother.