𝕯𝖎𝖆𝖇𝖔𝖑𝖎𝖐 𝕷𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖘: 𝕯𝖆𝖗𝖐 𝕱𝖆𝖙𝖊

Chapter 11

"I actually have an assignment this week," she said, half lying. The assignment wasn't due till the end of the month, so she had plenty of time to squeeze in a little tuition time for him. But she wasn't sure if she really wanted to stay with him for extended periods of time so that he might also have a reason to bite her.

"Are you trying to avoid helping me?" he asked, and Yui felt a little stab in her heart. She didn't like lying, and he was making her sound like a heartless person. "Ayato kun.."

"I'll do anything if you agree to help me, he said, getting up from the chair and making himself comfortable on her bed. She found it a bit intrusive when she didn't allow him to lie down, but she really didn't have any authority over him.

"Anything?" she asked, and she sounded exactly like a little kid who was allowed to pick any sweet from the candy store.

He got up, leaning on his elbows. "Yep."

She got up, her head a mess of thoughts as she knew what she wanted from him, but she didn't know if he would really agree upon it.

Intertwining her fingers together, she said, her voice barely a whisper, "Would you let me call my father once?"

Ayato's face hardened. Obviously, she'd pissed him off. "Ayato kun..."

"You're still worried about your father, who dumped you here only to be fed upon by monsters like us? Who's not tried even once to contact you in months? You show him such loyalty but run off with the Mukamis, sharing your blood with them, letting them violate you..."

"Ayato kun!" she said sharply. She knew he'd never get over the fact that the Mukamis feasted on her and she did nothing about it. He'd barely ignored the fact that every now and then his own brothers would devour her blood. She knew where their conversation was headed, as he grabbed a fistful of her hair, stared into her eyes intently and said, "If you dare raise your volume against Ore sama..."

The rest was implied, however she felt, she could fill the blanks in. As he let his fingers untangle from her hair, she choked on her tears, holding them back. He'd barely interacted with her in the past month, never bothering to even check up on her as she recovered. The others, though still their usual selves, had somewhat softened around her. Save for Ayato. Now she realised he was even a bigger jerk than before, refusing her to hear her father's voice even when he promised her anything.

"Forget about the tutoring," Ayato said. His expression was weirdly stoic, it didn't suit him at all. She was used to seeing his prideful, egotistical smile and his snarky comments. His detachment made him seem more like the stern Reiji. She hung her head in shame, as he exited the room. Her eyes welled up, but she quickly wiped them away, resuming to get ready for the night school.

***

Laito was waiting for Ayato as he exited Yui's room, and judging by Laito's expression, he knew how the "talk" went with her.

"I told you, sucking her blood and then sleeping with her was still the best option."

"Fuck you," Ayato said, desperate to get away from her presence. Laito was dressed for the night school already, so he had plenty of time to waste on Ayato.

"We're brothers," Laito said, sounding indifferent.

"I should never have listened to you." Ayato said, rushing towards his room. "Whatever problem I present to you, you tell me to fuck with it."

"Bet you, she'd have been much more compliant if you just gave her the sweets with your name written on it." Laito started to follow Ayato as he threw open his door, and fished out his night school clothes. Ayato looked at Laito, already comfortable in his coffin, and remembered how Yui must have felt when he intruded upon her privacy. "Just leave me alone."