Okay, new chapter! I have to say I'm really having fun writing this. Anyway, let's get on with the chapter.
Reiji was quietly seething at the fact that he had to resort to chasing their missing bride all around the mansion because she had somehow been able to leave the parlour without him or any of his brothers noticing. While he was normally above such menial labour, his confidence in the mansion's servants was waning slightly seeing as their butler somehow could not manage to open a door that did not even have a lock on it. Such incompetence was unacceptable.
If you wanted a job done right, Reiji thought, then you would just have to do it yourself.
Deciding to check her designated room, he made his way upstairs and down the long, winding hallways. He would have to locate her soon, seeing as they would be late for school at this point. Luckily, he had already arranged for a female Ryoutei Academy uniform to be brought up to her, which should shave a few minutes off of their now hectic schedule.
Reiji could admit he did not have much experience with unruly brides. The girls brought to them before were always docile and obedient, albeit dimwitted, which he supposed was typical for humans. Still, he could always manage to keep them in line before they were inevitably killed by either him or one of his brothers.
But a bride who would ignore anything he said and just did whatever she pleased, that was something he was not used to. Reiji was not worried though; he would make sure that she fell in line sooner or later.
When he found her room, he saw that the door was slightly ajar with no light coming from the inside. It was possible that she was not there at all, but Reiji had to be sure. He hated leaving things uncertain.
Taking hold of the knob, he pulled the door open to see that Yui was indeed in her new bedroom, seemingly sound asleep on the bed. Her new school uniform was resting on the foot of the bed, while her duffel bag and school bag sat at her side. He was angry to see that she was now looking even more filthy than before, almost as though she had been rolling around in the dirt outside. Now Reiji would have to call the maids to clean the sheets and carpet, which were covered in mud, on top of needing her to bathe once again.
It was like she was making a game out of inconveniencing him, Reiji thought.
Walking over to her side of the bed, he spoke to her in an irritated tone of voice.
"Wake up and clean yourself up. We need to leave soon and I will not tolerate any more delays on your part." He had no intention of repeating himself to her, so if she did not hear him then it was her own fault for not listening.
The instant he finished speaking, her hazel eyes snapped open, turning upwards to look at him. She said nothing as she laid there, not even making a move to get up from the bed. Reiji narrowed his eyes at her, having enough of her lack of cooperation. But before he could lecture and berate her like he usually would, she abruptly sat up from her position and got up from the bed, walking past Reiji to reach the bathroom. She closed the door behind her, not saying a word to the bespectacled vampire or even acknowledging his existence. He frowned at the door, part of him wanting to burst into the bathroom and punish her for her insolence, but the gentleman in him prevailed. It was very impolite to walk in on a lady in the bathroom. If only his brothers would take that lesson to heart…
Hearing the water from the bathtub turn on, he turned away from the door and walked out of the bedroom. He reasoned that if she was not completely dimwitted, she would be able to figure out what to and be ready for the limo to take them to school. There was no need for him to babysit a human.
When the Sakamaki brothers all met back up in the entrance hall to go to school, they were slightly surprised to see Yui waiting for them, uniform on and sitting on the same loveseat that Ayato had been napping on when she first arrived. Her school bag was laying on the couch by her side, and she seemed to be twirling her wet, stringy hair in with her fingers while waiting. Strangely, while she put on the uniform well enough, it looked as though she had completely discarded the long, knee length black socks that came with it, leaving her skinny legs quite barren.
Hearing the six vampires coming her way, she turned to face them with an emotionless expression. Laito's expression brighten up and he waved at her.
"Creepy-chan! There you are! We've been looking all over for you~!" he called to her, cheerful smile lighting up his face. Yui said nothing to him as she continued to stare at the brothers, not moving from her seat. Ayato frowned as he marched towards her and took her wrist into his hand, pulling her up from the loveseat. He glared down at her, acidic green eyes looking into dull hazel.
"Oi, get up. We're going to school." He stated before he dragged her out through the mansion doorways and towards the waiting limousine outside the front gates. Laito chuckled as the rest of the Sakamaki brothers followed them outside.
"Ayato is always so possessive with his toys; he never lets anyone else play with them." He said, looking at Ayato forcing Yui into the limousine before seating himself right beside her. Beside him, Kanato buried his face into his stuffed bear and glared at the human girl. He knew that he would definitely not like the new bride, especially if she kept doing things to make him angry.
"She hasn't been made to suffer for trying to touch Teddy yet…" he grumbled, purple eyes darkening with malicious intent.
"That's enough, you two," Reiji chastised the two triplet brothers, "We're in a hurry, so stop your nonsense." Laito and Kanato gave no outward reaction to Reiji's lecture, they usually just ignored him anyway. With Subaru rolling his eyes and Shuu grumbling about how loud everyone was being, they all filed into the car after Ayato and Yui.
The first few minutes of the drive to Ryoutei Academy were quiet; like they usually were. The brothers never engaged in conversation with each other unless they were arguing, and even then the fighting would be short lived while they were in the limo. Whenever they were given a bride, however, there would always be some sort of activity.
Yui had spent about five minutes just staring out of the window as the darkness of the night sped past her, ignoring the six vampire who were irritated with her to some degree. Ayato decided to break the tension by talking to her, silently hoping he could get a quick bite of her before they arrived at school.
"What's on your mind, Oddball?" he asked her. Not that he really cared about what she thought, he just wanted to get any sort of reaction out of her. He realized he once again failed, however, when she gave no response to his question and just continued to gaze out the car window. Sucking his teeth in annoyance, he grabbed her by the shoulder and whirled her around to face him, green eyes blazing.
"You know, you've got a lot of nerve to defy Yours Truly, Oddball." He growled at her. Yui just stared at him with her dull eyes, seemingly not caring in the slightest that he was angry with her. This only irritated him more, not used to being rebuffed like this by a human.
"Hey! I'm talking to you! Say something!" he growled in frustration. Once again, she said nothing. Deciding he was done with talking to her, he grabbed Yui by her long hair and pulled her head back, exposing her pale neck to him. As he opened his mouth and was about to rip into her skin with his fangs to finally receive his long-awaited meal, he was stopped by the sudden sound of Reiji loudly closing his book. Ayato glared at his older half-brother, once again having been interrupted by the bespectacled vampire.
"Ayato, how many times do I have to tell you before you finally listen? Take such activities to your private room." Reiji scolded, hating to have to explain such simple etiquette to his brothers.
Ayato decided not to dignify his brother with a response, only letting go of Yui and crossing his arms across his chest and pouting. Now free of his grasp, the dull-eyed girl turned her gaze back to the window, acting as if what had just transpired never even happened.
Taking the opportunity, Reiji took out a small box of 100% cranberry juice from his pocket and held it out to Yui.
"This is for you." He said. Yui looked at the drink in his hands for a few seconds before taking it from him, examining the box as though she did not know what to do with it. Reiji inwardly groaned, hoping that she was not so simple-minded that she did not even know what juice boxes were for.
"Cranberry juice is the best cure for weak blood. Given that you already know what we are, I assume you know that you must drink it regularly." Reiji explained, offhandedly letting his brothers know that the bride was aware of their true nature. This caught the attention of the other five vampires in the car, their eyes turning to the sacrifice. Ayato unfolded his arms and looked at his prey with curiosity.
"What? You already know, Oddball?" he asked herm this time not really expecting a response from her. Yui did not disappoint him, ignoring him and staring at the small juice box in her hands. This bit of information did not surprise the youngest Sakamaki son, however, as he remembered his little interaction with her in the rose garden before they left for school. If anything, he had been wondering how long it would be before any of his older half-brothers caught on to the fact that she knew they were vampires.
Well, he supposed that answered his question…
Yui paid no heed to the vampires in the car as she continued to look at the juice box in her hand. When she finally turned her attention away from the small cardboard box, her eyes locked onto Reiji's, catching the attention of the second-born son. Before he could question her about what she wanted, she pressed the button right beside her to roll down the window, cold night air seeping through. To the Sakamaki brother's surprise, she chucked the juice box out of the window before nonchalantly rolling it back up, going back to watching the darkened forest zoom past her.
Ayato stared at her in shock, her brazen act of defiance making him wonder if his new prey was incredibly stupid or just suicidal. He turned to look at Reiji, seeing his half-brother narrow his eyes at the human menacingly while adjusting his glasses. He had seen that look on the usually well-mannered vampire before; it was always right before he would take whoever had angered him to the dungeons to "teach them a lesson."
Even Ayato knew that it was better to steer clear of Reiji whenever he became that incensed. Oddball had really pissed him off now…
"I won't need it." That was all Yui had to say about her actions, obviously not caring about how her vampiric captors would feel about her complete disregard for their orders. Despite Reiji's building rage, however, he decided against punishing her there and then. Now was not the time, after all.
"If that is your reasoning, then you clearly have not truly realized your place. You are our prey; do not forget that." He said, getting the last word in.
The rest of the drive to Ryoutei Academy was dead silent.
When they finally arrived at school, they all filed out of the limousine and walked to the front entrance. All the other students around them quickly took notice of the odd girl showing up to school with the Sakamaki brothers, wondering if she was a distant relative of theirs. This idea, however, was quickly shot down by most. The Sakamakis' were all exceptionally beautiful and glamourous, easily charming more than half of the female students at Ryoutei. The girl with them, however, was anything but, with her unkempt appearance and eerie gaze. There was something about her presence that just felt off, making the decision to avoid her at all costs easy to make.
When they entered the main hallway, the brothers waited for Reiji to explain the school arrangement to their newest sacrifice.
"You will be in the same class as Ayato and Kanato, so go with them." He said, motioning to the two vampires standing to the side. Responding with only a faint nod, Yui was about to make her way over to them before Reiji stopped her by roughly grabbing her shoulder, gripping it tightly. He leaned down to her level, looking straight into her eyes before warning her,
"Unless you want a whipping, you will not do anything reckless." Before he even finished his warning/thinly-veiled threat, Yui had jerked her shoulder out of his grasp and began to walk down the hall towards the classrooms, acting as though Reiji had not even said anything. The second Sakamaki son sighed deeply in irritation; he was not sure why this bride had made it her duty to go out of her way to annoy him, but he was not going to stand for it. However, now was not the time to act on his anger; there was school to attend to. Without another word, Reiji turned and began to walk towards his own classroom, disregarding his brothers who were giving him strange looks, ranging from amused to confused.
When Yui made it to her classroom, she saw that Ayato and Kanato were the only ones there, both of them sitting at their desks. Ayato seemed to be sleeping on his desk, using his folded arms as a pillow. Kanato was sitting in his chair and looking at his beloved teddy bear, giggling to it as though it had said something humourous. The three paid no mind to each other as Yui walked towards the chalkboard, seeing the instructions written down.
FOOD PREP IN ECONOMICS ~ ASSEMBLE IN THE TRAINING ROOM AT 7:30 pm
"Food… prep…?" Yui asked herself in confusion, as if she did not understand the need for such a class.
"Food prep?" Ayato said, snapping out of his supposed sleep upon hearing his prey's voice. He raised his head to look at the chalkboard with a knowing, excited smirk. He got out of his wooden chair and grabbed Yui's wrist, pulling her closer to him. She looked up at him with her usual emotionless stare, though his smirk did not falter at this.
"I know what you're gonna do to apologize for your attitude!" he said to her, excited at his plan. He then dragged Yui out of the classroom by her wrist, not giving her a chance to respond. Not that she planned to, anyway.
Arriving in one of the school kitchens, Ayato grabbed his human's shoulders and told her what he wanted to her do for him.
"Make me the best takoyaki in the world!" he ordered. Yui tilted her head slightly in response as her eyes furrowed in confusion.
"But…" she began before being rudely cut off by Ayato's demands.
"No back talk! Yours Truly will be eating them for you. Now get cooking!" he barked at her, expecting her to give in and simply do what he wanted. That's what all the other brides did sooner or later. They learned that it was best to just do what he asked of them rather than fight back and risk being punished.
"But… I do not know what that is…" Yui said, breaking Ayato out of his musings and pulling him back into reality.
"Huh? You don't know what takoyaki is?" he asked in astonishment. She nodded, and the redhaired vampire resisted the urge to smack his palm against his forehead. What kind of girl was she? She did not know what takoyaki was, let alone how to make it? Ayato had already figured out that this human was… different from the other brides they had been given, but he still did not expect her to be this utterly clueless! Looking around the room, he spotted a cook book in one of the cabinets and took it, flipping through the pages before he found the recipe for his favourite food in the world. He held the open book up to her face, making sure she got a good look at it.
"Here! This is takoyaki! The recipe's right here, now start cooking already!" he shouted, holding the cook book in front of her before she took it from him, looking over the recipe. Ayato crossed his arms and looked down at her with a frown. He hoped now that she had the instructions right in front of her, she would make herself useful and start cooking him the best takoyaki on the world. He did not anticipate that she would look up at him from the book, her hazel eyes narrowing slightly.
"If you want this… takoyaki… so much, why not make it for yourself?" she asked him, her eyes burrowing into his.
"Are you joking or something? I'm above such menial tasks! Besides, I ordered you to do it!" he argued, taken aback at her question. Did she actually expect him, a vampire who was superior to her kind in every way, to do such lowly work? She had to have a few screws loose or something, because she clearly did not know who she was dealing with!
"Oh, I see…" Yui suddenly said in a knowing tone of voice, the corners of her mouth curling slightly upwards into the faintest of smirks, her hazel gaze suddenly taking on a certain sense of antagonism. "You can't make them either, can you?" she practically mocked him.
This accusation made something deep inside Ayato snap. How dare she, a lowly human, say that there was something he could not do! He knew was the best of the best; there was nothing that was beyond him, let alone making a simple snack!
He roughly snatched the recipe book out of her hands and skimmed through the instructions, now firmly intent on proving her wrong.
"I can't believe how stupid you are, even for a human! Yours Truly is number one; there's nothing I can't do!" he exclaimed before he began to gather everything he would need to make takoyaki. After that, he turned to Yui with fire in his green eyes.
"You should be honoured; you're about to taste the best takoyaki ever made! Watch and learn, Oddball!" he said before going right to work, doing his absolute best to make it look like he actually knew what he was doing to. Yui simply took a seat at the table, watching him diligently attempt to cook something he must have eaten regularly but did not have the foggiest idea of how to make, even with the recipe right there in front of him. Her smirk widened for just a moment before her face went back to its usual emotionless state.
When Ayato was done, he presented the takoyaki to her as though it was the pinnacle of culinary success, even though it barely looked like the picture in the cook book. It was unevenly burnt, the shaping was sloppy, and there was even a small tentacle poking out of one of them. Still, the redhaired vampire threw a self-satisfied smirk her way, clearly very proud of his work.
"Well? Aren't you going to eat one?" he said to her, shoving the plate of what was supposed to be takoyaki closer to her. After a moment, Yui used a toothpick to pick up one of the octopus balls and put it in her mouth. After chewing for about five seconds, her face scrunched up in clear dislike, which Ayato took exception to.
"Hey! Why're you making a face like it doesn't taste good?" he asked, offended at her negative reaction to his food. Clearly she was even more dimwitted than he thought, she wouldn't know good food if her life depended on it, he thought.
Intending to show her the error of her ways, he took a piece for himself and eagerly took a bite, which he instantly regretted after tasting it. Still, Oddball did not have to know that, so he still managed to force himself to swallow. He looked to her with a smirk, though he was beginning to feel a bit ill.
"See? It's the best! You just don't know good takoyaki." He said to her. She did not reply, she just stared at him with an unconvinced look before she got up from her seat and picked up the dirty dishes, walking over to the kitchen sink before dropping them in and rinsing them off. Her sleeves became wet since she did not roll them up, but if this did bother her at all she was certainly not showing it.
Ayato lazed around in one of the chairs, using his leg to rock himself back and forth. The sight of her with her back turned and her guard lowered, however, reignited his hunger. It was time to stop playing nice, he thought.
Teleporting himself directly behind her, he hoped to startle her when she turned around. However, when she noticed where he was, she calmly stopped washing the dishes and turned around to face him, looking almost bored. Ayato's irritation returning, he grabbed her by the waist and forced her away from the sink and up against a nearby wall.
"I've been holding back since yesterday..." he growled, taking her chin into his hand, "Now let me suck your blood."
He turned her head to the side, exposing her delicious, unbitten neck. He could feel his excitement building, his fangs itching to tear themselves into her. A meal always tasted better when you worked for it, and Ayato had definitely worked for it.
It was strange, she was not the type Ayato would usually go for. She was brazen, disobedient, an unkempt slob, and just downright unsettling. But perhaps the fact that she constantly had this air of confidence is what drew him to her. He wanted to be the one to show her how helpless she was, that she was nothing more than a source of blood. He wanted to be the one to break her down, just like he had many times before. Besides, he had been the one to see her first, which meant that she belonged to him; he could do what he wanted with her, and would only let her go when he became bored. But for now, he was dead set on tasting her blood.
"You're mine. I'm going to take all of your first experiences." He said to her, pulling her shirt and school jacket down, revealing her pale shoulder. Yui's face showed no fear or panic, but at this point Ayato did not care; he just wanted to finally take what was rightfully his.
"I wouldn't do it if I were you…" she whispered to him, her tone of voice sounding completely calm. Ayato stopped at this, confused that what should be her plea for him to stop sounded more like a warning. He shook it off, however, believing it was just her way of trying to save herself. Besides, as if she had the right to tell him what to do.
After holding himself back for far too long, the redhaired vampire's fangs pierced the skin on her neck, her blood flowing out of her wounds and into his waiting mouth. He drank deeply as he held her tighter to him, his thirst finally being sated. He was pleasantly surprised that her blood tasted better than it smelled, even if it was still a bit off; she made a good meal.
He pulled away from her, admiring the two holes he had left on her neck. It was his mark, something that told others that this girl was his and his alone.
"Not bad, Oddball. You taste pretty good." He said to her with a smirk, not expecting her to answer him now that he had taken enough blood to render her half-conscious. He buried his face back into the crook of her neck, watching the blood run down from her wound.
"You know what? I actually like you." He said wearing a crazed grin. He reinserted his fangs back into her neck, still holding out hope that she would cry and beg him to stop. She did not however, and even though Ayato could not currently see her face he could tell that she still had that same blank expression. What he did not expect, however, was to feel her hand against his chest push him away with a surprising amount of force, ripping his fangs put of her skin and causing him to stumble back. He noted, however, that she groaned in what he knew was pain when she tore him away from her.
When he regained his footing, he looked back at Yui, her face now conveying annoyance and anger. Ayato was thrilled, however; he had finally gotten her to react to him!
"You've been ignoring and shrugging me off since the beginning. But now that I've finally heard you cry out in pain, I can't wait to see your face twist in fear and agony…!" he said excitedly before he stalked over to her.
"I would advise you to stop." Yui told him firmly.
"Like hell I will." He shrugged her off again, descending upon her to continue feeding. After almost a minute went by, Ayato knew that he had taken so much of her blood that she had lost consciousness. Looking at her face, however, revealed a peaceful expression, a smile gracing her lips. She looked as though she had simply drifted off into sleep, not having been fed on by a vampire. She really knew how to confuse him, Ayato thought to himself.
"You are a disgrace." He heard a familiar voice behind him. Turning around, he saw Reiji standing by the doorway, arms folded and looking very cross with him.
"I never dreamed you would do this at school." The bespectacled vampire scolded his younger half-brother, clearly displeased with him. Ayato sucked his teeth in annoyance.
"Damn it, Reiji. I was just getting to the best part." He said, frowning at his brother. Reiji only sighed and adjusted his glasses.
"At the very least take responsibility and make sure she gets home." He said, looking past Ayato and down at the human girl. He gave a short glare at her before turning around and walking out of the kitchen, turning off the light on his way.
Ayato, glad that his killjoy of a brother was gone, looked down at Yui, who still looked like she was just peacefully sleeping. He took her into his arms, carrying her bridal style out of the room and brushing off the fact that he could feel a headache coming on.
Strange, especially considering he did not notice one of his veins near his temple turn black for only a moment, before going back to it's usual, pale skin tone.
I hoped you liked this chapter. It's a bit more light-hearted than the others, at least in the middle, since I don't just want it to be only horror. It's also a bit longer than usual, which is what I'm trying to do for both of my stories. Anyway, enjoy!