A/N: I really took a risk with this chapter. I've got writer's block right now and I'm not quite sure how to lead this story. Thus, when you finish this chapter you'll either hate me, love me, I don't know! Hopefully you'll like where I'm going with this (I'm not really satisfied with it). You'll just have to trust me on this one and pray that I have an epiphany and come up with an AMAZING ending later. Let's hope for the best! Haruna and Aido's fate are in my hands now - and let me say, my hands are seriously shaking! Read on!
"Blessed and Cursed"
Haruna stared at the room with shock. Was it even considered a hotel room? It had a kitchen, a large living room and other various ones - it was more like a condo than a hotel room. Yes, it meant it would take a long time to clean.
"You're late," Aido walked in, already feeling unforgiving. Haruna felt like she was facing the wrath of the devil himself. She double checked the clock, seeing that it was 6:30 in the morning. How early did he want her there? "I want you here at five in the morning."
She felt faint already. "You're a vampire; shouldn't you be sleeping right now in the day time?"
"Hm, you're right. Looks like you'll have to change shifts. You'll start working at ten in the night time; that's a little after I wake up. Have fun adjusting your schedule."
Haruna couldn't believe how childish he was being. Aido once changed his schedules for her, yes, so shouldn't he just keep his schedule the same as a human's since he's already used to it? Yet he wanted to go through all the trouble of forcing her to become nocturnal. The smug grin he held already shown he was victorious. "Unfair," she whispered, picking up any obvious trash.
"I'll be headed out to the academy now. I probably won't be back until the end of the day. I've already made a list of what you should do over there." He stopped, debriefing something in his head, "Oh, the laundry. I want them all hand washed."
He left the room. "This is a living hell- kya!" She dropped his underwear which she had mistaken for trash. "This bastard...!"
Seven Hours Later
"Barely washing the dishes?" Aido asked, back from the academy already. Haruna ignored his meaningless comments, releasing her frustration by scrubbing even harder on the plates. Of course, with his foot-long to-do list, it took her forever.
The hardest part was washing his clothes; he purposely threw in clothing that would make her disgusted while washing. He even demanded that she use the hair blower to dry each one! She knew he was just picking on her. This was his revenge - to make her do silly things to lower the little pride she had left. "There, I'm done."
Aido ran one finger across the top of the T.V.; it was absolutely clean. "Hold on there, servant," he called. She felt a nerve twitch. "What is this?" He shoved the finger in her face.
"It's called clean. I thought you were a genius," she squinted her eye with aggravation.
"Oh, I forgot you were just a lowly human. Us vampires can detect the littlest things with our vision, and all I see is dirt," he wiped the 'dirt' on her apron. "Clean this room again. Thoroughly this time."
"I've been working for seven hours; I haven't even eaten yet!" She could feel her intestines shrinking with each passing second. Dusting the whole entire room and mopping the floor again would take another two whole hours.
Aido yawned at her complaints, "Humans. You all really are weak," he kicked off his shoes and threw his jacket to the side, already making the room a mess again. He noticed her glaring at him in disbelief, "Well? Get to it!"
She wondered if this really was the Aido Hanabusa she knew. Back then, he wouldn't even let her lift a finger or starve. Now, he was so cold. Well, she never did expect him to treat her like a princess anymore. "Once I make this floor squeaky clean, I hope you slip on it and hit your head on the corner of this table," she mumbled, slowly cleaning the edge of the table to make sure it stayed nice and sharp.
Aido couldn't help but feel a bit... threatened. "Whatever," he uttered.
Later
Aido's attention left the T.V. and focused on the glass Haruna held out in front of his face. He gave it a long stare until finally Haruna spoke, "Here," she shook it. She wondered why he held such a disgusted expression while he exchanged looks with her a few times. "It's the wa-ter you requested," she slowly spoke after he asked what it was.
She jumped with a swallowed gasp when he snatched the glass out of her hand, throwing it against the wall. Pieces of shard lay across the floor, "Are you blind? The glass was dirty! Clean up this mess and don't do such a simple task so half-assedly next time!" The rage in his voice was obvious, but the shock on Haruna's face was more. He was so cold.
Too stunned to say a word, she began to pick up the fragments of what used to be a glass cup. His gaze burned into her back; she felt uncomfortable. Her hands trembled, still shaking in fear. Was that his true nature? Before he never even raised his voice at her like that, and now... She feared that this new attitude of his was a result of her breaking things off with him.
Tearing her house down was something, but throwing a fuss over a dirty glass was something else. "H-here," she stuttered, looking away while handing him another glass, hoping he wouldn't give it a death sentence too. "I washed the glass twice so-"
He smacked her hand away, letting the glass fall to the ground. It didn't shatter this time, but the water still got all over the carpet. "I'm not thirsty anymore," he didn't even look at her while saying that. She knew he was just toying around with her; he wanted to see her miserable. If he wasn't going to hit her or slap her around, he was going to break her down endurance. "After drying my carpet, you may leave. Be here at ten tomorrow, no excuses." He left to his bedroom.
Haruna fell to the floor, drained. However, she got the feeling that Aido was more tired than she was. Even though he managed to bully her all day, he didn't seem one bit satisfied. That emptiness in his eyes before he left didn't seem all too happy. Both of them were at their limits.
Next Day
"Tired?" Aido asked, straightening his tie as he got dressed for school. Haruna yawned, barely conscious. At this time, she should've been sleeping peacefully next to her sisters... However she was stuck here in the lion's den. "I'll be back in the morning and don't even dare closing your eyes for more than a second!" He slammed the door shut.
Haruna in zombie mode was quite the sight. She managed to even do the dishes and dust the furniture while half asleep; she always strived to finish things. "First you wash the clothes... Or do you... dry them?"
Clearly, her mind wasn't functioning.
Later
"Yes father. What is so urgent that you are- eh? Misha's in the hospital? How troublesome-" Aido was cut short at the sight of his room in a mess. The dishes lay out on the floor to dry, the clothes were in the hanging over the furniture with detergent still on them, and the floor became dirtier. "I'll talk to you later father," he hung up. "This girl is going to get it," he rolled up his sleeves. "Servant!" He called out, hearing no response.
It was when he reached the bathroom that he saw her sleeping in the tub. "Really. You are hopeless..." She snoozed away, hugging tightly onto her broomstick. "Seeing you like this," he knelt down, brushing the hair away from her face, "really makes me want to eat you," he parted his lips, letting out a small hiss as he caged in before stopping himself.
He noticed the small blisters on her hands from overworking; he hated feeling guilty over things that he supposedly didn't cause. "Haruna..." He whispered with adoration, yearning for her. Temptation was really hard for him to win over; those rosy lips of hers were luring.
So did he still love her? Or was he out to get her? His intentions are unclear. One thing is clear; she was defenseless and he could attack her any second. "Haruna," his lips nearly touched her ears, "wake up you sloth!" Her eyes shot open, frightened by the beast. "Get up; why is my room a mess? Do you think I'll let you slack off like this?"
He was so angry with her. Was it just a front to hide his feelings, or did he really get upset this time? Aido wasn't going to treat her as nicely as before. "I- I'm sorry, I fell asleep. I'll finish cleaning quickly," she flew into the main room and quickly picked up after herself. Aido grunted, heading straight to bed.
Eventually, hours passed and it was nine in the morning. She had been working for ten hours, excluding her 'break' time. Starving and sleep-deprived, she couldn't be blamed for looking like a walking corpse. "Finally... done," she moaned, feeling fatigue.
"Hey, servant, keep it quiet. Can't you do anything right- Haruna...!" Aido came to check up on her after he heard a loud thump. Haruna lay limp on the floor next to a fresh pool of her own vomit, looking pale and sick. "Hey, wake up!" He panicked; she was sweating and breathing heavily. "Quit kidding around; hunters will really come get my head if you die!" He shook her but gained no response.
Later
"So? Is she alright?" Aido asked, grasping Haruna's hand tightly. He feared that if she died... He felt like dying just thinking about it. While he was waiting for her to get better, he was beating himself up for working her like a dog.
The doctor sighed, shaking his head. "She's fine, just a little starved and tired. What were you thinking making her work like that?" He asked, pitying her. Aido sulked even more. Of course, he was 'out to get' Haruna, yet once her life seemed in danger, he couldn't bear the thought of hurting her any further. "Really though... Young men these days need to learn how to appreciate their women."
"Alright doctor, I get it," Aido sighed, wanting to hide in a hole forever. "It's just... I thought I wanted to get back at her for tearing me apart, but..." He smacked the doctor away as he listened too intently, "You can leave now," he shoo'd him away. "I took away your house and stepped on you like a doormat; I thought it would make me feel better, but I only felt worse," he apologized still-sleeping Haruna.
"Is that so?"
"Eh?" Aido stared into the eyes of the Soul Reaper himself, "Ha-Haruna! How long were you awake?" She cracked her knuckles, only holding a crooked grin. He wept silently as she tapped his cheek with her backhand, "I understand my mistakes now," he begged for mercy, "but if anyone's to blame, it's you!" He could feel himself slowly dying.
"My fault?" He nodded to her question, saying it was her who broke up with him, which ultimately led to his immature actions. "I only left because-..." She fell silent. Should she bring up the past? It was too late; he was ready to press questions.
"Because what?" It was his turn to corner her.
"Because you still loved her," her voice fell low. How could she explain her side of the story without feeling like an idiot? "Misha showed me a picture of you and her at the ball on the night we first met... It looked like you still loved her-..." She felt silly for being so jumpy at seeing his eyes only on her.
Aido didn't hate her for leaving him for such an idiotic reason, instead he felt guilty. Without him knowing, he caused her distress, "It's true; I lied to you when I said I stopped loving her a long time ago. However, I only did that because I feared you would hate me if I told you the truth."
"And what's that?"
"Misha... She really is a nice girl, at least, before she went crazy. See, she was a lot like you; you both are fragile and insecure, but she became rebellious." Haruna could see the lingering feelings he still had for the old her; it hurt, but she accepted it. "She started seeing different people and we became distant. That night, I saw you and felt you resembled her a lot. That's why I fell for you - please don't get angry for my reasons.."
Haruna shook her head. He'd been kind to her all this time; how could she hate him? "I eventually learned that you weren't so similar to her; you had life so much harder. Maybe that's why I love you so much more," he turned red from saying such mushy words; Haruna didn't mind. "Don't think that I approached you to use you as her replacement," he pleaded almost desperately.
"I hate this part about you the most," she couldn't help but laugh at her weakness, "you always know the right things to say. Well, enough with the lies, neh?" She clutched the bed sheets, trying to stop herself from shaking. "Earlier, when the doctor said I was fine... I actually told him to tell you that, but truth be told, I-"
Aido groaned at the sound of his phone ringing, "Sorry Haruna, it's my father. Hello?" He picked up, listening quietly. Meanwhile, Haruna was nervous on how he would react to her diagnosis. Things should be fine from there on, right? He would be there with her the whole way- "P-pregnant?" The phone fell out of his hand and onto the floor.
"Who is?" Haruna asked, seeing the cold sweat build on Aido's face. "One of your sisters? Look a little happier won't you-"
"It's... Misha."
Haruna paused, slapping him on the back. "She had an affair with a different guy while married to you? Well, I guess you can't blame her since the marriage is a lie. Cheer up; not all girls will line up for you, you know!" She grinned, happy to hear that Misha was able to find her own joy. However, Aido didn't seem too pleased; his facial expression clearly showed it. "The baby... it's yours isn't it?" She finally realized when Aido wouldn't react.
Emotions overflowed her: jealousy, rage, hurt... But she couldn't say a single mean thing to him. "I don't blame you for sleeping with her while we were apart. You did it out of anger, right? I mean, you are a man after all and it's my fault for-"
"How could you try to comfort me like this?" He shouted, frustrated that she could act like such a saint. "Haruna, let's end this." A tear fell from her eye though she continued to smile for his sake, "Honestly, I want to be with you but-"
"I understand. You're having a family now and clearly it wouldn't be healthy to raise a baby with two wives. Congratulations," she nodded, "I'm happy for you, really." She backed away from his touch, "You should leave." It was impossible that she'd be happy; Aido knew there was no way to comfort her - words would have no effect to heal a broken heart.
"You can expect your mother to be out of jail and a new home waiting for you at the end of the day... Truly, I'm sorry. I hate to depart with you like this and," he sighed, "farewell." When finally he was gone, she buried her face into her knees, completely helpless.
"Really unfair," she murmured in slurs, "I hate this feeling."
The doctor came back in, unsure of how to make out the scene. "E-erm... I'm guessing you're going to face this by yourself," he pretended to not see her cry as he wasn't good at dealing with young hearts. "I'll need to perform an endoscopy to get some of your stomach cells. This way, I can get a greater sense of your stomach cancer-"
"No need; I'll manage. I'll let nature run its course, thank you." The entire time, she hated herself for being so greedy. She cursed at herself whenever she'd ask, 'why is she blessed with a child when I am cursed with cancer?' She was so scared to see her own life spiral down in chaos.