DISTANCE

The boys had somehow come to the agreement to disperse from now; neither seeing the point in fighting at the moment. While the Sakamaki brothers each went off into their own directions, by Ruki's word, the Mukami family had concluded it best to stick together. According to him, Yui's protection was their highest priority during their stay at the Carnival.

Once they were out of sight, Ruki heaved a heavy sigh.

"Yuma, must you agitate them? We weren't invited here for a fight." Ruki said, his fierce gaze fixed upon him.

"Eh, yeah I got it. I got it." Yuma retorted, clenching his fist.

"Seeing their stupid faces just pisses me off."

"Hmm~?" Kou chimed in.

"But did ya hear what the little brat said about our Masokitty? Maybe you shoulda punched him anyway!"

Ruki merely shook his head in response. "I said enough. Focus on enjoying yourselves here, understood?" He paused to look them in the eye, confirming he held their utmost attention. "No more talk of the Sakamaki Family."

The two merely shrugged, their nonchalant action soon corrected by Ruki's sharp glare. Turning his attention from the troublemakers, he turned to Yui. Without a word, he motioned to her. Instantly she understood and soon stood by his side, nervously looking up to his displeased countenance. Yuma frowned, as he watched Yui go. Kou giggled and muttered something to him, causing him to raise his fist in frustration. With a sigh, Ruki ordered them to get a move on. Easily they complied.

Upon walking off Ruki froze. He took a quick glance behind him. One of their party was missing. Yui nearly ran into him as he'd abruptly stopped. "Is something wrong Ruki..?" She spoke timidly. Her only reply was.

"Azusa."

The smallest Mukami had stayed behind, his eyes focused upon a single distant spot. All the commotion from earlier had hardly registered. He looked on, as if expecting something significant to happen. It took a while before the others had even noticed Ruki and Yui had even stopped. Kou happened to look behind him and saw their still forms. He tapped Yuma's arm. He growled at him before taking a quick look back, curious to find the reason for Kou's rare silence. As soon as he noticed it his younger brother off in a daze, he called out to him. "Ey, Azusa! The Carnival's this way."

He slowly turned his head towards Yuma's voice. The only reply he got was a slight nod and a thoughtful murmur as Azusa looked away. The others looked at each other. Yuma shrugged and Kou made a passing comment of Azusa being problematic again.

A light touch was laid upon Azusa's shoulder. He looked up to see Ruki beside him, staring off in the same direction. "What is it Azusa?" He said, scanning the area. Azusa looked back one last time before shaking his head. "It's...nothing." He murmured, his hand covering his lips as he spoke. Ruki sighed and asked if he was certain. "Let's go...then" Azusa began to trail off on his own towards the others. With a distinct sense of displeasure, Ruki took his last look back before he too went off to join the group.

None of them thought it best to bother Azusa further about it. This was supposed to be a time of celebration within the Daemon world. They all vowed to do their best to do just that. The Mukami family had plenty cause to rejoice after all. Not only were they allowed to attend the renowned Vandead Carnival but also they'd recently were able to secure Eve. Thus, with Karheinz's blessing, they were able to continue on with pride.

It didn't take much for the boys to enjoy themselves. One would suppose that living a previous life of poverty would cause them all to harbour a deeper sense of gratitude than those born into luxury. Even if they all didn't openly admit it, they were content.

~ To a certain extent ~

While Azusa did manage to smile a few times, Ruki still felt concern for him. He knew Azusa had been depressed. Ever since their mission to awaken Adam had been put into effect, he hadn't been himself. Ruki supposed that the pressure to succeed had gotten to him as well as he. However, Azusa seemed to have almost completely shut down. After a while, he hardly even looked at Yui. He had hardly been talking to the family lately. At the dinner table, Azusa wouldn't eat a bite. He'd merely stare off down into the plate before him. The only time he'd even make a movement towards the food was that one time when Yuma got fed up and accidently dumped the entire bottle of chili powder onto it.

They all knew why he'd act this way, but this would only make them all more uneasy. Azusa is painfully aware of himself, but he can't help it. Every time he noticed even the slightest amount of discomfort upon Yui's face, he'd excuse himself abruptly and trudge out the door. There really wasn't much the brothers could do. The others figured this phase would pass, but Ruki knew better. While Ruki didn't want to see his brother as competition, he still harboured powerful ambition. Of course he'd be proud of his brothers if one of them became Adam instead, but nonetheless Ruki was determined to be the one. At this point, chances of Azusa even achieving this had faded into nothingness on account of his recent behaviour.

For Azusa's sake, Ruki had instructed the others not to feed on Eve while their brother was present. They outwardly complied but he had no concrete way of enforcing it. With this thought in mind, he sighed.

Running his fingers through his hair, he slowly looked about. The others had all gathered around a single game. Yuma had been aggressively smashing at the little plastic priests that reared their heads from the machine. Kou was on the sidelines egging him on. Yui was quite uncomfortable with the imagery but still cheered him on with uncertainty. A small smile came upon Ruki's lips upon viewing the scene.
Seeing his brothers so content brought him a sense of pride.

He cared deeply for all of them, despite the fact he'd never say such a thing aloud. Ruki's eyes now drifted to Azusa. He'd been standing at Yuma's side, admittedly a bit too close. His gaze was fixed upon the game. Once Ruki noticed the twisted glee Azusa displayed with each priest pummeled with the mallet, he frowned. 'Why must he do this to himself?' He thought, shaking his head. 'He is not a poor beggar anymore...we're not his abusers, so why?'

Ruki found himself lost deep in thought. With furrowed brow, he held his hand to his face. "No, we're here to enjoy ourselves..such matters can be sorted out later." He muttered to himself. In an attempt to relax, Ruki decided to take in the world around him. The lights, the decorations, all painting the Carnival with its cheery aurora. The shops were all perfectly lit. Their interiors' delicately arranged with the finest pieces one could find. The dedication to such refined taste cause Ruki's smile to faintly return. With a sigh he returned his gaze to his brothers. Insistent he keep an eye on them lest they begin their petty squabbles again. But as soon as he smile came, it left.

Where is Azusa?

He shot up from his seat. Ruki was able to feel some relief upon seeing Yui still remained by Yuma's side. He really hated to think of his brother like that but even so. In Azusa's current state, he could become desperate. His eyes looked about the area in vain. Ruki could find no traces of the boy.

"Heeeey~ I wanna play now Yuma! You've been hogging the game this entire time." Whined Kou.

"Ha-? No way. I'm racking up a shit-ton of tokens. Go play some other game." Yuma huffed as he raised the mallet for another go.

"Aaaw but Yuma! There's plenty of other games for you to smash shit. Come on, I just want to play it for five seconds." Kou shot back, grabbing hold of Yuma's arm.

"Ey, Lemme go! What did I just tell ya? If you aren't gonna watch then scram!" Yuma snarled, jerking his arm back.

Yui was situated directly behind the quarreling pair. She attempted to quietly propose a compromise. Yuma flatly declined, causing Kou to whine even more. This carried on until they noticed Ruki's heavy footsteps approaching them. They froze, all sensing the gravity of his demeanour.

"Have you all been so dense not to notice?" Ruki spoke, fangs bared.

They exchanged glances with each other, entirely clueless. A light gasp was heard from Yui once she'd finally realized. Yuma eyed her, brow raised. With a frown Ruki spoke.

"Azusa is gone."

Diabolik Lovers, the setting nor characters belong to me. I'm simply crafting a story based upon such.

Nor do I own the title, I have MEJIBRAY to thank for that