Chapter 7
When Mary opened her eyes, her first sarcastic thought was: I'm sleeping in the room "kindly" offered by the Mukami's; such happiness...
As soon as she looked at the clock hanging on the wall, showing that it was half past twelve (in the noon, of course), the second thought was: I wish three months of dysentery to all those who can sleep so decently than even Sleeping Beauty is envious of them.
The poor girl had woken up six hours before the usual time, but at least the usual nightmares had not persecuted her; grumbling, she turned around her blankets, clutching herself in the aquamarine sweatshirt she thought being really comfortable, until she heard a choked laugh, followed by rumpling of cloths and noises of moving objects.
She jerked up, turning her gaze to the closet.
- Yuuma-kun?
Ah right, Ruki had assigned him the task of recovering my "personal belongings", as he says... but why at this hour?, she pondered in her head and raised an eyebrow, puzzled.
- Ah, mesubuta! – the tall guy exclaimed, turning to her with a mischievous grin on his face, not very promising: Mary blushed, trembling with shame and anger in seeing which particular garments those huge hands were holding.
And who would be the pig, here?
The girl got up in a hurry and went towards the vampire, who was trying not to laugh too loudly until he was near to swear when she hit him in the shin with a powerful kick.
- ARGH, what the fuck?! - he shouted, trying to keep the volume as low as possible while she was tearing her underwear off his fingers and quickly placing it in one of the cabinet's inner drawers - What's wrong with you, mesubuta?! - he hissed, gritting his teeth, grabbing her arm and pulling it.
The girl looked at him surly, and before she could talk back, the young man had already changed topic as he noticed something:
- And why is your hair still white? - He murmured, perplexed.
She blinked, rewinding the tape and listening carefully to the question; she raised her free hand to grab a lock of hers; it was still as white as snow, indeed. Mary let out a tired sigh and explained that probably her powers hadn't yet been completely restored; she noticed the vampire's questioning look who had frowned and she bit her lips in search of the simplest words to make it clearer.
- When I use too much of my powers or special abilities, I can't use it anymore for some time... because they have limits... and also side effects, sometimes - she murmured, interrupting herself several times to be exhaustive.
Yuuma stared at her for a long time, before shrugging and rubbing his neck.
- Huff, nothing important - he frowned, bending his head closer to her face - Rather, didn't we have a sip on hold? - He said, grinning as he clutched her wrist.
The girl gave him a confused look before blinking and recalling what he meant, and nodded quietly; the vampire tilted his head, astonished, saying that she had accepted it without too much trouble. Mary replied that she was there for that purpose, after all.
- Eeeh, iiko(1), iiko - the giant smirked, ruffling her hair; in his heart he was a little disappointed, because a rebellious attitude excited him and made things more lively.
The girl puckered her lips slightly annoyed: she didn't really like the contact between that still foreign hand and her hair, so she grabbed it to move it away.
Then, she stared at the young man seriously and a bit threateningly:
- Let's make it clear: I won't hesitate to stop you in my own way, in case I'll feel I'm in danger or in a bad mood.
Facing such determination, Yuuma fell silent for a few seconds, before bursting into a loud laughter. Suddenly he lifted her on his shoulder, almost ignoring the intimidation, and the girl squealed; ignoring her complaints, the vampire walked over to the desk next to the bed, and let her sit a little abruptly on the wooden surface.
Mary whined because of the impact on the furniture and the wall, and looked up at the vampire: her eyes widened, realizing how huge and intimidating he was up close and, hadn't it been for the grin printed on his face, she would have willingly mistaken him for a giant plush bear to snuggle (how adorable); however, she returned to reality as soon as the young man put his hands to each side of her to prevent her from escaping.
He approached his nose to her neck, breathing deeply, and let out an embarrassing groan of appreciation and, after tasting her skin with his tongue (it is still unknown the purpose of this attitude: just the smell is enough to a vampire to have a taste...), he aggressively sank his teeth into her flesh.
Mary muffled her mouth, choking a scream of pain just in time.
Shuu, I've found you a worthy rival for "Mr More Painful Bite"... Sigh...
Thinking about the handsome blond distracted her: with melancholy she wondered how he had reacted to her absence, at the Sakamaki's mansion; indeed, knowing him... he was worried about her, right? The doubt demoralized her a little, considering how unfortunate she was in romantic relationships and how much unfortunate were also those who were involved (with a dead womanizer and an irascible friendzoned vampire...): another weight of depression to torment her.
Maybe she should have stopped thinking so much.
- Oi, mesubuta.
The young man drew her attention, getting off her shoulder (when did he bite it?) and loosening the grip on her hips (when did his arms move there?); a bit of blood dripped from his chin, and his brown eyes reflected in her darker ones: he seemed somewhat absorbed.
- Ano Niito(2)... - he hesitated a moment, as she reasoned that he was probably referring to the blond (what a coincidence); the girl was sure he had just changed the question to ask her, judging by his sudden ironic grimace - Hahaha, is he your lover?
Mary's eye twitched and she blushed violently, stammering nonsense.
- E-EH?! - she squealed, only to have her mouth muffled by his big hand.
- Don't scream, baka(3)! When I went to pick up your stuff, that guy was sleeping in your bed...
Mary facepalmed, watched by the amused vampire: she didn't know whether to be more embarrassed or irritated.
Ruki was preparing tea in the kitchen, pondering in his head about the words he would have used to scold Yuuma and the witch as soon as they got there: anyone would have woken up with all the fuss they had caused after midday; he thought he had even heard Kou's muffled laughs (actually, maybe he would have also lectured the young idol).
And, furthermore, his brown-haired brother shouldn't have bitten her.
Rather, half witch, the vampire corrected himself, looking from the kitchen's window the vast garden; usually, the giant would have never allowed anyone to touch his precious and sacred garden, or at least not without his vigilant eyes and having first taught how to cure the planted vegetables.
Yet there he was with her, as they were handling some stuff in front of the pumpkins' corner.
I hope she doesn't plan to come to school with that hair, Ruki thought seriously, exhaling; it wouldn't have been easy to explain how dark hair had become white and, in a short while, had returned to its original colour. Hair dye? Forbidden by the school's rules; it was already a miracle that they hadn't questioned Kou's hair (obviously those insects of the Sakamaki brothers had avoided it for their father's influence, of course).
He was arranging the tea service on a tray, when Azusa suddenly spoke to him:
- Ne, Ruki...
The greyish blue-eyed vampire swallowed; at this point he was used to the unexpected appearances of his youngest brother, or at least managed to maintain his composure: Kou and Yuuma would still get a fright and jump.
- It's not fair... that Yuuma has already drank from Izanami...
Ruki sighed, resting a hand on his hip, and with the other brushing his hair off his forehead, and nodded that he agreed; Azusa smiled happily and grabbed the tray to take it to the living room, not after having touched the hot pot to check if it was really hot (the best excuse to cover the need to get burnt pleasantly, good boy Azusa).
At the same time, from the door leading to the garden, Mary and Yuuma entered, the first holding a basket with tomatoes and the latter a pumpkin.
- Ah, Ruki - the giant turned to him with nonchalance, putting the vegetable on the table - this is ripe, you can make the soup for dinner - he said as he caressed its surface with a certain affection. The girl looked at him arching an eyebrow, before greeting the other.
- Good evening, Ruki-san. I hope you have rested well.
- Not exactly; I wanted to talk to you about this very matter - Ruki said, smiling glacially; Yuuma scratched his head, very tense, and the girl took on an impassive expression to cover the goosebumps - About this morning...
The vampire raised his eyebrows, staring at a spot on her shoulder.
- What is that, exactly?
- It's a sprite - she said quietly, without getting agitated.
- In the shape of a hamster? - the vampire crossed his arms.
- Certainly - she confirmed; as if, it's daily routine finding a rodent comfortably seated on the shoulder of a girl who has just moved to your place, she thought sarcastically in her head.
- Ah, th-that's right! - Yuuma broke in, obviously agitated – Do you remember there were demonic entities where I planted the pumpkins? Mesubuta told me that they're usually attracted by the presence of spirits that have to be "purified"! Right? - he nodded to Mary after rubbing his neck in panic.
She nodded, adding that, once "purified", the sprite was to assume a certain aspect, capable of removing malignant entities or negative influences; actually, she had used very simple terms, having realized how much the giant struggled in understanding big words.
The girl touched with her index finger the small creature's ear, which emitted a faint happy sound.
- Mh... it's cute...
Mary made a jump like she had never done during physical education lessons, bumping into the table, and the hamster hided in her shirt; the basket full of tomatoes threatened to fall to the ground, but was promptly held by a no less frightened Yuuma.
- A-Azusa, since when are you here!? - he screeched, looking at the girl, motionless, white as a blanket and with wide eyes; Ruki sighed for the umpteenth time, massaging his forehead and wondering if he was nearing the day when he would have exceed the limit of his patience.
- I've always been here ... - his younger brother simply answered, as he moved his finger to his mouth, deep in thought; his gaze immediately returned to the girl and he smiled, then approached her worried - Izanami... did I... scared you...? I'm sorry...
Yuuma snapped his fingers in front of the girl's face after thirty seconds, during which Azusa had slipped his arms around hers, and finally the witch shook her head, recovering from the shock; she glanced at the young man in front of her.
- Why didn't I perceive your presence...? - she murmured, talking to herself.
The vampire tilted his head, questioningly, and the giant raised an eyebrow, puzzled, before grasping the basket with the tomatoes and putting them next to the sink to rinse them, muttering to himself that he had seen too much strange things: he had a point, with what had happened the evening before and the conversation held with her hours before and the process by which she had freed the sprite from his "impure" condition. Yeah, for that day it was enough.
- For example, I know there's Kou-kun in the kitchen, behind me...
- EH! Neko-chan, how did you see me?
Ruki narrowed his eyes, holding his fist in front of his lips, and curiously watched the girl being surrounded by his brothers, Azusa evidently attracted by her person, Yuuma grumbling for all the things he was discovering, Kou pestering her with lots of questions (and only a few of them were appropriate and smart).
Izanami was quite interesting, being a hybrid; she was polite and clever, rational (or at least he realized that her thoughts were well-founded, albeit weird) and quiet: a quality that he appreciated a lot.
They weren't going to have too much troubles. Right?
Thanks for reading~ I hope you enjoyed the new chapter!
(1) Iiko: Good girl
(2) Ano Niito: That Neet
(3) Baka: stupid
