Chapter 4

She saw that cold, crazy, smile on that traitor's face, who was holding poison-dripping blades; at her feet, a lifeless body with familiar features laid.

- What, Mary-chan? – she said, her voice piercing and terribly disturbing - Are you still angry with me?


The girl jerked up, slapping her own cheeks with her hands to weaken the post-dream shock, a tip thoughtfully suggested by Yui: it didn't work badly, but it wasn't enough. She put her hand on her forehead, rubbing it as if to consume that nightmare's residues; without realizing the presence of another body under the blankets, until he moved closer, hugging her.

Mary jumped, shifting her eyes to the blond head resting on her thigh: he was sleeping blissfully, breathing deeply.

Two minutes later, Shuu was hurled against the wall.


Reiji seemed to be somewhat happy, though he didn't have any tests where he could show his solicitude in studying; Mary knew that his good mood was due to Shuu's fierce treatment after her awakening, and rather than this, she was more astonished at a group of classmates who were watching him with delight. Certainly, the Sakamaki brothers were handsome young men, but if they thoroughly examined their personalities...

After a few minutes of trying to ignore those not much refined comments, she left the class annoyed and went to the vending machines to get a lukewarm drink; as soon as she was gone, Ruki was already next to her.

- Would you like me to offer you some coffee, Ruki-san? - she asked with sincere courtesy, without looking at him.

- Sure; without sugar – her classmate replied.

In front of the vending machines, neither of them reacted until they had their own drinks in their hands and sat down on a bench, quietly; they weren't even old-time friends.

Mary opened the tin full of lemon tea, thoughtful, then spoke to him:

- What do you know about Izanami and Izanagi?

Ruki smiled:

- They are gods belonging to the Japanese folklore... - he began, interrupting himself to enjoy the sight of her facepalm, muttering that she wasn't referring to the mythological ones, but to those of the prophecy.

The young man's smile took on a mocking appearance.

- Then I know what you know.

Silence fell again between the two, followed by his unnerving nails' ticking on his coffee's can; the girl began to feel a strong sense of uneasiness (as well as an unusual need to slap him countless time), the air seemed to have become heavier, unbreathable, and more oppressive. She drank the last sip of tea, before crumbling the container and throwing it into the trash bin, at two meters from them, nailing it perfectly.

She stood up, quietly uttering that she was returning to class, and hurried to any place that was far from him or his brothers; she felt her wrist being grabbed and heard Ruki's cold and mocking voice blowing on her hair and piercing her ears.

- It's too early to go back to class, don't you think? - he smirked with a glint in his eyes which wasn't promising at all, walking around her to stand in front of her; suddenly, those ten centimetres of difference in height seemed tripled – Let's talk a little bit more.

Despite the silver glares she addressed him, Mary was breaking out in a cold sweat and thinking about what to do: using her demonic powers, besides being exhausting, wasn't a wise idea, as there were still some sporadic students wandering around the school's hallways and courtyards, therefore there was the possible threat of Reiji's whip.

God, please don't abandon me, may some teachers call on him...

- Ah, Mukami-kun!

God, I love you.

Taken aback, Ruki instinctively loosened his grip on Mary's wrist, who took advantage of it to break free and run away, seeking the music room to take shelter. She heard behind her the teacher recommending her not to run in the hallways and joking with the vampire about having make his girlfriend escape; she almost bit her tongue because of that comment's, which upset her.

Huh?! No, no: Shuu forever.

As soon as she reached her destination, she entered the room and closed herself in, leaning against the wall and sliding on the floor, panting, her chest hurting in an enough tolerable way; she rubbed her wrist, where a red and hot bruise was forming, reminder of that cold grip. However, it wasn't that detail that was disturbing her, but the satisfied expression the vampire had shown when his grey-stained blue eyes had met with her silvery ones. What was exactly his goal? And why was her breath taking so long to settle...?

Suddenly she jumped up, interrupting her last thought (the most worrying among the others), and leaned to the wall, examining the room; strange noises had attracted her attention, not the usual creaking that would increase anxiety and fear during sleep, especially after playing a survival horror game; she sniffed the air, hoping to smell that scent of clean that would have appeased the tension.

But Shuu wasn't there.

Mary swallowed, ignoring the lump of concern (or disappointment?) in her throat and stayed in place; when the lights suddenly went out, she sharpened her senses and familiar vibes approached her, making her shift a little in the opposite direction.

- Ne ne~ Neko-chan, what a romantic idea to have a blind... - a chirping voice started, causing her spine to shiver.

- … date! - a more heavier and so damn closer voice behind her finished, followed by a sarcastic giggle; another milder and more timid voice reached directly her ear, touched by the owner's lips.

- Izanami...

Ice-like cold fingers glided along her neck, causing her a slight jolt; Oh, but are all of these vampires the same?!, Mary thought, getting away from them in the shadows, his irises glittering; two strong arms grabbed her waist and she recognized the giant's frame, who blew coldly over her hair.

- Come with us, we'll have fun...

How about no!, was the girl's alarmed thought, trying to get off of her Yuuma's body, which didn't move at all.

- What's your prob-...

- Shh~, don't shout, you wouldn't like to be in the limelight, would you, Neko-chan~? –the blond whispered in a sugary tone, clinging to her left arm and muffling her mouth with his right hand. Another pair of arms clutched her free one and Azusa's chin leaned on her shoulder, almost affectionately, seeking attention; it was likely that the lavender-eyed young man was staring at her intensely, waiting for her to notice him.

- Azusa-kun~ you're too clingy! – the blond scolded him jokingly, then turned to her again murmured to forgive his little brother; No problem, Mary thought sarcastically, with a nerve throbbing on her forehead, why should I get angry with this puppy while YOU are preventing me from talking?! Take that hand off, you idiot!

- Kou, let her go.

Oh God, the boss has arrived...

Mary winced as she felt a hand touching her neck, almost on her cleavage, as if Ruki wanted to perceive her breath; his face approached hers and whispered, talking to himself, that there was something strange in her breath: as if it was forced, not natural. Finally his voice stroked her face like a blade, assuring her that the Sakamaki brothers wouldn't have come and save her.

It was true; but they were not to blame: they had met with a person they would have never liked to meet, as far as possible.

The girl clicked her tongue, annoyed, murmuring if it wouldn't have been easier to ask her what they were interested in without performing a kidnapping worthy of a dark comedy; Ruki chuckled with sarcasm, and his hand slid to caress her jaw, replying that it would have been useless to act that way: no one gives anything without something in return or without retaliation on himself.

- There's no harm in trying - Mary sighed. What was so illicit in what they were looking for? And what was she going to lose if she had provided it? By now she had already lost (almost) everything that she had close to her heart.

The girl perceived a bizarre movement coming from the blond, as if he had been alarmed by something; in fact, a second later, he turned to Ruki to report something that he couldn't believe himself.

- Ruki-kun... she's...

The bell's ringing interrupted him; Yuuma mumbled something, leaning his chin on the girl's head still clutched in his grasp, and, ignoring her complaints, warned his brothers:

- One of them is approaching.

They disappeared, not without leaving some mementos: Kou kissed her cheek, Ruki gave her one of his usual enigmatic smiles, Yuuma ruffled her hair and Azusa squeezed her hands in his morbidly, teleporting a few seconds later than the others.

The lights were finally on; Shuu stumbled into the room with a long sigh of irritation, recalling the encounter he had before and stopped in sensing Mary's presence in his music room. A bit hesitant, he informed her that Reiji was looking for her from the beginning of the break and that he was pretty nervous; the girl rubbed her hand on her arm, nodding and quickly heading towards the door.

The blond grabbed her wrist, the one which Ruki had been holding, and lifted it to examine it in silence; she also fell silent, letting him do it, and she blushed a little when he got closer with his nose smelling her hair.

- You love to get yourself in trouble, don't you? - he said gloomily, frowning and leaning his forehead against hers.

I'm dead, Mary thought; she fainted.


She opened her eyes slowly, catching sight of unclear shapes: as she distinguished the colours, she felt a sense of joy mixed with uncertainty in seeing the reddish-haired person who was staring at her from above; as soon as she recognized his features, she suppressed everything she was starting to feel to leave room for fatigue and dizziness.

She raised her numb torso and, as a light body sat on the bed's edge beside her, she heard Yui's voice speak with anxious tone; she shifted her eyes from the girl to Ayato, who was observing his girlfriend with crossed arms, sulking.

The two bickered a little, with him being moody and her displeased; Mary couldn't discern the sounds and wondered if she didn't suddenly become deaf or whatever.

Unfortunately, it was just an effect caused by her awakening, because Reiji's irritated clear and sharp voice reached her ears, and it wasn't cheerful and promising for sure.


- Markucchi?

Theo approached his friend, putting a hand on his shoulder.

- I see you're quite worried, are you ok? - he asked, flaunting his smile as ever, while in the kitchen their senpai Morten and kohai Anna were busying themselves in their usual night time quarrels.

- I'm not the one who's worried, it's Aneki the one who's worried.

Theo fell silent and sat next to him, who went on.

- She has too many burdens and feelings of guilt on her heart...

- How's Laito-san? - the other asked after five minutes of silence, remembering that vampire with the hat who was with Mary the first time he had visited her.

- No improvement - Mark said, raising his emotionless face upwards.

Theo sighed bitterly, even if he continued to smile; they heard a loud noise coming from the kitchen.

- Anna dropped the fridge again - Mark murmured, completely disinterested.

- She can destroy anything, at any rate Morten-senpai is the supervisor. Oh, of course, nobody must touch Cho-hime's motorbike - Theo said, shuddering.


Of course no one is allowed to touch MY motorcycle, Mary thought, after bidding goodnight to her brother; she turned around on her bed, thinking of what Reiji had told her about the pleasing meeting with their father at school. She wondered what business did Karlheinz have at school; did he have nothing else to do, like dedicating himself to the political life behind which he was hiding under the name of Tougo Sakamaki?

She jerked up, frowning.

- Shuu-san, get out.


Thanks for reading~ I hope you enjoyed the new chapter!