Captivated » Yandere Stepbrothers x Reader

Chapter 8

| Your P.O.V |

Thursday.. May 27, 20XX..

[A/N: please play and loop the YouTube video right next to the photo for better reading experience!]

You didn't go to school today due to yesterday's incident, and you just got your body measured for the wedding, you got nothing else left for you to do, thus which made you decide to go outside to get some fresh air.

You trudged along the stone path at a sedate pace, walking slowly through the garden. In the silence you could hear the breeze which had tousled your hair and kissed your skin. The grass flattened under the wind in beautiful shimmering waves, each blade turned momentarily to reflect the sunlight that came from the setting sun.

Your mind was focused on the gentle footsteps that seemed to echo throughout the desolate garden, until you saw Kazuki in tears, sitting under the cherry blossom at the center. You approached him and sat by his side as you kept your eyes on the garden, then you asked him "Are you alright?" In a soft voice, even though you knew the answer. But he didn't reply.

Kazuki just watched the sunset with his knees up, hugging them. He seemed lost in the rhythmic percussion of the sky changing color. His teary eyes were steady to the horizon, face aglow with the last orange rays before twilight beckoned the stars.

His eyes bore the semblance of a smile, just enough to show that he was enjoying the scene, yet it was also engulfed by sadness. You silently moved closer so that you felt his presence, allowing him to stay lost in the moment a while longer.

"Is it okay for me to ask what's troubling you? I'm worried about you.. I mean, you don't have to tell me if you want to keep it to yourself- I just don't want to see a family member cry.. It reminds me of back then.." you asked, almost inaudible, your eyes, hardening as you tried to rest your eyes on what was ahead of you. But instead of looking at the breathtaking garden, your gaze fell upon him instead. The state he was in was heart breaking.

Kazuki's eyes shifted to the side and became glazed with a glassy layer of tears. As he blinked, they dripped from his eyelids and slid down his cheeks. He bit his lip tightly in attempt to hide any sound that wanted to escape from his mouth; your heart sank. As he cried his bottom lip quivered, the same as a baby pushed past endurance as words slowly made their way out of his mouth.

"Can you please stay with me? Even if it's just for a while?" Kazuki asked. You looked up at him. Really looked up at him as if just noticing him for the first time. You noticed the way his eyebrows raised a centimetre or two, lined with something between anguish and regret and his eyes, his eyes twinkled in guilt as if he found something he shouldn't have.

"It's alright. I'll stay here with you blondie" you immediately answered mockingly, smiling weakly at him. Kazuki then turned his head to the horizon, watching the garden closely as a few tears escaped from his cold-blue orbs. You couldn't stop him from crying, you didn't know why and you wouldn't even know what words to use to comfort him if you knew.

His eyes got fixated at the desolate garden, and breathed in before speaking "I probably won't last long since I'm the only sane person among my brothers" Kazuki laughed nervously, as he slowly turned to face you. Then silence hung in the air for a few moments. Soon after, Kazuki began again.

"Hey [y/n], do you think being different is bad?" He questioned, in a tone so curious.

Your gaze dropped before speaking, looking at your own feet "No, being unique is what defines a person. Nobody is born perfect, everyone has their own mistakes and flaws, and that's what makes them beautiful" you stated, looking back at him and into his sapphire-glass eyes.

"Even if they hate themselves for being different, there's at least one or two people who love them for who they are. The only problem about that is they're just too blind to realize that somebody cares for them" with your statement, Kazuki was in tears once again.

Behind the masked smile he wore on his face there was sadness and shock. Kazuki poured out his tears to the stars, begging them with his tear-soaked eyes to understand his misery, even though he had wiped his tears away. He would only cry more than before, and because of that you didn't notice you were crying with him. Why? Was it because you pity him? Or you could also feel his pain?

"I guess I'll just tell you the reason why I'm crying" he insisted, chuckling as a tear ran down his cheek. It took him a few minutes to speak once again, and he was trembling. "I was adopted by their mother and I just found out earlier.. I was playing pranks on Kou, but he snapped all of a sudden and shouted at me, telling me I was found in the streets and I was never part of the family" his head turned to the other side, and the wind got stronger than before, blowing the petals off the tree you were under.

You didn't blame him for being unreasonably afraid, and you could see how terrified he'd be as the memory came back and play on his mind over and over again like a broken record. It would only repeat. You could almost feel the sorrow he was having and his face was different than the calm and bright Kazuki you knew. His dark blue eyes looked as if an ocean had been encased inside of small glass marbles.

"Kou can't control his temper sometimes, so it took him a few minutes to realize what he just told me. He tried to apologize, and I tried to forgive him-" then Kazuki stopped for a moment to cry.

"I tried to forgive him- but I couldn't.. " his eyes became glacier blue under the sheen of water, constant, yet allowing the tears to flow without pause. In that moment, in seeing his own reflection he understood the depth of pain that had been sitting below his skin.

"Kazuki, I know it's hard for you, but you have no other choice but to accept it and move on. That's just how reality works. But I think I understand how you feel. You must be in pain right now, the feeling in your chest that won't just go away and you have to deal wi-" he suddenly wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close, cutting you off in the process.

"Kazuki..?" You said in a low voice. In his embrace the world stopped still on it's axis. It felt as if there was no time, no wind, no sound. Your mind was at peace. Despite the heaviness in your stomach, it fluttered at the feeling of your body pressed against his.

"I know it's selfish of me to do this, but please, let me hug you" Kazuki pleaded, sinking into the warmth of your side, appreciative of the simple gesture. His touch made the place warmer somehow. You were glad you chose to stay with him. But then you saw someone standing in the corner, it was dark and you couldn't see who it was, and it just stood there, watching you.