Tekeshi could never sleep without a gigantic down comforter. Many vampires had a problem wherein their body temperatures would drop drastically when they slept. No one really knew why it happened, but it rarely proved fatal, just annoying. If he tried to sleep without one, he might as well be naked out in the snow. He literally had a single piece of luggage that was dedicated to one whenever he had to sleep somewhere besides his own bed.
Thankfully his parents had made sure that he had one waiting when they arrived. It had to have weighed fifty pounds, and he was loving it. Not only did it keep him perfectly warm, but the pressure on his body seemed to reassure him for some reason. He never got sweaty from it, not even if he slept in the middle of the day with outside temps reaching 112°F like it did during the dry season in the Sonoran Desert. As long as he had his down comforter he would always get a good nights sleep.
Granted this also meant that he was very aware of changes in temperature while he slept. As in he was able to notice even one or two degrees, let alone the severe drop caused by a yuki-onna sliding under with him. It made him open his eyes slowly, irritated beyond belief. Looking to his left he saw Yusa, and to his right Asusa was strangely absent.
"Yusa, get out of my bed. You know I can't stand it. It's like trying to sleep in a freezer," he grumbled as he worked a slight stiffness out of his joints.
"NO, sleepy. Want Onii-san," the half asleep snow fairy mumbled out.
"Oh for the love of, Yusa, you know I can't sleep if I am cold. Do you want Onii-san to die of sleep deprivation," it was dirty pool, but he had only gone to sleep a couple of hours earlier.
"NO, don't die, Onii-san. Yusa loves Onii-san," the words he used failed to wake her.
'She is adorable like this, but this is Hell. Looks like I am carrying her. Wait, did she say a full sentence by herself? Nah, must have imagined it,' he pulled himself out of his bed.
Pulling the comforter back he was glad that she was wearing pajamas instead of less. He picked her up gently out of the bed. Yusa, to him, weighed nothing. Tekeshi wasn't in the habit of bridal carrying girls, it did occur though. It surprised him every time how fragile non-vampires were. In a way it scared him, knowing that whether he intended to or not, he could easily end their existence. It didn't just scare him, it outright terrified him.
Maybe it was from how he was raised, among humans and his cousins. Being taught that he wasn't above anyone, even being the child of the most powerful vampires alive. True, you couldn't necessarily call him the most humble person in the world, but he was better than so many others from how he treated the people around him.
Reaching the room that the tfour yuki-onna were staying in he tapped on the door. He knew his aunt was a light sleeper so he wasn't worried about whether she would answer the door or not. All he had to worry about was if she was going to be wearing a bare minimum of clothing. Surprisingly it wasn't Mizore who opened the door.
"Onii-san, what are you doing with Yusa," Asusa opened the door, holding onto it to keep from falling over from sleep.
Stepping into the room around her he replied, "I am actually surprised you weren't with her. She crawled into bed with me, and I couldn't get her to wake up enough to shoo her out."
"You can't sleep cold, she knows that. She is being childish again. I will tie her up so she leaves you alone for the rest of the night," Asusa yawned as she motioned him to Yusa's futon.
"You don't have to go that far. Your mom and grandma haven't gone to bed yet? I thought Great Aunt Tsurara was obsessed with proper sleep schedules," he said as he tucked the girl into bed.
Leaning against her cousin Asusa said, "All the family adults were having some sort of big meeting about something. I don't know when they will get to bed. I remember when you would let us sleep with you. I miss those days, you always seemed so warm to us, it made it easy to sleep."
"One, I was feverish pretty often back then. Two, you two didn't have boobs. I won't say I don't miss them myself, but it was one of the casualties of growing up. I don't know if you can understand how happy it makes me to have all of you back in my everyday life," he said as he reached over and petted the girl on the top of her head.
"Time can go screw itself. I'm sorry," the unexpected apology caught Tekeshi off guard.
"What about? You aren't one to apologize for things, even if you are at fault for them," he wrapped his other arm around her.
"I know how much it disturbed you, Yusa and me pursuing you like we have. I know you don't see us like that. I know that nothing can make you see us like that. I know that I don't want to continue like that and end up pushing you out of our lives."
Tekeshi took a breath, "Asusa. You two are my little sisters, I don't care whether it is by blood or not. I will never push you out of my life. I hope that you never push me out of yours. Even Harumi and Machiko are so precious to me. You are going to be a beautiful woman, and whatever man you can find that can stand up to me long enough to marry you, he is going to be so lucky to have your love."
"It seems so hard to imagine that you are such a romantic," she pushed Tekeshi over to the bed so they could sit down, "Has 'Suki gotten to see this side of you?"
"Is she what caused this change in you?"
She nodded, "Yeah. I know you like her. I do too, though not in that way. Get your head out of the sewers. Have you told her how you feel about her yet?"
"I'm not even sure exactly how I feel about her. I, have never felt this confused about things before in the past. I mean, I knew how I felt about Lizzie when I first met her, of course you know how that has turned out now."
"Yeah, the little pervert filled Harumi and us in when we arrived. I know you really loved her back then, at least as much as a kid could. So, seeing her like that killed all of those feelings away?"
Tekeshi sighed, "Yeah. I feel, nothing when I think about her now. It's bothering me. I don't understand how I could just lose all of those feelings. The love, the depression from losing her, and the momentary joy from finding her again. It doesn't even hurt. I could have taken her head right then, and it would have meant nothing. Have you ever wondered why exactly all five of us have been raised as fighters?"
"Yeah, I try not to think about it though. I think you should try to get with 'Suki. Even if it bothers Yusa and Harumi," she looked up at the boy.
"Wha... That is a surprise. I, just don't know. I don't even know if she sees me in that way. I, wouldn't hate it though. She is really beautiful, and her smile is infectious. But, I... I don't want to take the chance of ruining our friendship as it is now. If I see that she is starting to feel the same, I will ask her to go out with me. I don't want any of you interfering one way or the other though. Ok Frostpop," he hugged her again.
"That is your dad's nickname for me, it doesn't sound right hearing you say it. He is weird with the nicknames for us kids," she didn't fight too hard against it though.
Tekeshi had returned to his bed, a little lighter mentally after talking with Asusa. It was funny that she was the one that always seemed to be the strongest in her affections, just more controlled than Harumi was. Out of all, she was the one he missed the most in America.
One under the comforter he fell back asleep quickly. He could still feel the slight chill from where Yusa had been laying, and it didn't bother him right then. In fact it was strangely comforting in that moment. The peace of his usual dreamless sleep covered him. It didn't last as long as he would have liked though.
Adjusting his position in his sleep he felt something. Something that felt vaguely humanoid. It wasn't cold so he processed that it couldn't be Yusa returned. It wouldn't have been Harumi, she would have had him in a death grip. Machiko didn't like sleeping with other people, she was a really actively sleeper and hated getting yelled at for hitting people in her sleep. Turning his head he opened one eye to a surprise.
"Utsuki? What are you doing here," his voice was weak and unsure.
"Warm," the girl was fast asleep.
"This is, uh, ummm, weird. 'Suki, wake up, this isn't your bed," it probably should have bothered him more than it did.
"Lemme sleep, nice here. Feels safe. Feels warm," Tekeshi wasn't as clear as he had been when dealing with Yusa, so he wasn't quite sure what to do.
"Come on, 'Suki, you have your own room. Go back to the demon. WHA," the last sound didn't wake her, unlike her sudden clinging onto his arm.
"The bad dreams aren't coming," he heard this as he woke fully.
"Bad dreams. What do you mean 'Suki," he asked as he started processing things fully.
"The shadow isn't haunting me right now. Daddy isn't running away. Mommy still loves me," the words she was saying were starting to make sense to him.
'Was she being haunted by the memories of when her uncle unsealed whatever was in that sealed nodachi? I can't even begin to imagine how long she has suffered, especially considering that she was suffering from that curse. God she is beautiful, I don't deserve her. I don't want her to go through growing old and having to suffer thinking that she will die long before me, and leave me alone," he was starting to feel things that he didn't truly understand at that moment.
"Tekehsi, prtet m," she was deep enough in sleep that she was starting to slur her words.
After a while she turned over and released his arm. He started to move, and he heard her start whimpering, so he stopped. He felt her scoot over to press her back against him to make contact with him. Her breathing became smooth with the contact, so he lay there sleeplessly. He didn't know how long he lay there until she moved off on her own. He managed to slip out and leave the room without her waking
He decided to wander around the house while he tried to decide what to do. In the three weeks they had been at the manor, with everything that had happened, this was the first time she had done this. He didn't think she had used the toilet and just gone back to the wrong room, the nearest one was actually on the other side of where her room was compared to his. He doubted that Deesseedra had done it as a prank, it would have been more work than she would have been willing to put in. It was, conflicting, for him.
"A farthing for your thoughts," his grandmother materialized in a chair he was walking past.
"Nobody wants a farthing. Grandma, you haven't shown up in a while, what warrants this visit," he asked as he stopped.
"I know that you aren't entirely comfortable with me. I can't blame you on that, and so I decided that I would just come in when you need someone to talk to that can't reveal what your thoughts are. Besides the sword."
"Well then do you mind walking with me," she stood and they started walking, "I, am troubled right now."
"What is troubling you?"
"I don't know what is going on in my head right now. I see the girlfriend that I thought was gone forever, lose everything that I ever felt for her, and nearly die within just minutes. I got drug off to who knows where, am confronted with hundreds of naked women, and nearly ended up slaughtering them for 'Suki's sake. Take your pick, if you can imagine it, I am probably troubled by it right now. I don't even know which way to turn right now to have a clear path."
"I see. That is a lot for one mind to consider. I take it you are also trying to make sense of your feelings for young Utsuki," she was perceptive.
"Yeah, that is in there too. It may be the one that is causing me so much trouble. God dammit, why can't I make sense of it? It isn't like I haven't ever had a romance to my name. It wasn't this hard then, I knew precisely what I felt for Lizzie, I loved her, and I had no trouble telling her. I don't know if I love 'Suki, if I am just lusting after her somehow, or I have found the best friend I have ever had."
"Hmhhmhmhm," the light chuckle was warm, "You sound like I did when I first met your grandfather. All of that, is part of the same. Yet, at the same time is so different. It is hard to make sense of the heart. Oh we are back in front of your room, what are those sounds?"
Tekeshi went in and saw Utsuki still lying in his bed. She was curled up, and seemed like she was shivering and making sounds that gave a hint of fear in them. He slipped back under the covers, and slid over to make contact with her. When she felt his touch she seemed to relax and stretch back out.
"Whatever you feel for her, she feels a great deal of trust for you. To be afraid, and be able to relax at just a touch. Whatever you decide that you feel, never let her go, for her sake. With how she has lived up to now, not many people would be able to find even just one person they feel they can let their guard down with," Akasha faded out of view as Tekeshi started to fall asleep, probably one of the most peaceful sleeps he had ever had.
"I am so sorry Tekeshi-kun," Utsuki was so embarassed, "I don't even know how I ended up in bed with you. I am so sorry. This is so embarrassing. I didn't try coming on to you did I?"
"No, you didn't try anything. It seemed like you were having some bad dreams, and you may have sleep walked in here. You didn't particularly bother me, in fact I slept better than I have in a long time," he said to the wall.
He really had slept better than he could remember. Had he known that Utsuki slept in her underwear, he probably wouldn't have. He also wasn't going to deny he had enjoyed the sight of her waking up and stretching, her long black hair wild.
"I can't go out in the hall like this. This is terrible, what are your parents going to say?"
"Mom already wants to start wedding plans. Dad, might be, harder. I am more worried about Harumi. Thankfully she didn't try to climb in bed with me. That could have ended with bloodshed. Just don't worry about it. If you feel like you need to again before we go back to the school, it is fine with me, just try to have more in the way of clothes on. At the least a nightgown. Thank God for the camisole."
"You mean it?"
Tekeshi nodded, "Yeah, like I said, I also slept really well with you here. I can't hear anyone moving about, so you should be safe to..."
Asusa poked her head in the door and tossed a robe to Utsuki, "I approve, and have your back 'Suki."