𝕯𝖎𝖆𝖇𝖔𝖑𝖎𝖐 𝕷𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖘: 𝕯𝖆𝖗𝖐 𝕱𝖆𝖙𝖊

Chapter 28

"I..."

A wave of emotions caught her off-guard. The first sob sent her into Ruki's arms, falling into his embrace. She didn't know what she would expect him to think of her if he was being so considerate. There wasn't anything that could make it easier for any of them. And now that Ayato's intentions had been cleared, there was definitely nothing happy about accepting what was in her heart. She had been fooled and it was her fault, and she should have been angry at Ayato. She should have thought of staking his heart while he slept so that he wouldn't break her heart again.

"But I love him."

She buried her tear soaked face into Ruki's chest, her body trembling as she accepted her folly.

"I love him so much, Ruki kun..." she sobbed. "I want to hate him but I can't."

Ruki's arms came around her, caging her in his embrace. The moon had shifted to the centre, as a crow perched on the window, witnessing everything with its beady eyes. Ruki realised it a bit too late, when the crow flew away, the sound of fluttering feathers resounding in Ayato's room.

Ruki pressed his lips to Yui's ear, and she stood still. The next words sent a chill down her spine.

"We're being watched."

***

The whole place stank like blood. That weird, wet, metallic taste that you cannot get out of your mouth. It invaded his nostrils, his mouth, his senses all at once, making him retch. He wanted to yank the chain off the wall, but he couldn't get to the wall without getting his collar off. He had scratched away most of his skin around his neck, and was left with scabs and claw marks all over. Yuma tried to recall how he had ended up here, in the Sakamaki mansion of all places. He smelled the stench of decay all around him. He did have hazy memories of being on the way to the mansion for the plan of action his brothers had adopted in order to save Yui from her fate. He wasn't sure what to do with those memories though. He couldn't trust his riddled mind for the moment.

He heard a definite sound from above, in the dimly lit dungeons. It was as though someone had kicked a stone in his path. Was it one of the Sakamaki people? Was it one of the founders?

He heard someone step into the shadows, startling pale magenta eyes boring holes into him. Yuma mustered up courage to shout at the figure. "Who's there?"

He heard a chuckle. "Why, what do we have here?" He gasped as the figure stepped outside the shadows, bathed in pale moonlight. Reiji stood there, his hands holding a strange pocket watch. Yuma backed away from him, as much as the chain would let him go. Had he finally caught up with their plans? Was he going to kill them all one by one?

They'd been careful with essentially everything. Ruki had instructed all of them to stay vigilant from Reiji's tricks and deceits, but perhaps they'd been off their calculations. Reiji had been a clever person, but to think that he'd planned so ahead of the Mukamis that they'd just walked right into his trap.

Reiji blinked once. "I don't think you will survive once I release my familiars onto you. You might as well say your last words while I'm here to listen to you, Edgar."

Yuma strained against his chains. "What do you mean by that? And my name is Yuma, not Edgar!"

Reiji broke into maniacal laughter. Yuma felt his breath become shallower as he saw the boy in front of him descend into madness. "The last time I wasn't able to kill you, but this time there will be no mistakes. I will do exactly as my mother told me to. And this time, I will fulfil her wish."

Yuma heard a flutter of wings in the dark. Something perched on his right shoulder. Expecting the worst, he turned towards his right.

Something sharp jabbed into his eye.

***

Ruki shut the windows of Ayato's room, drawing the curtains. He sat Yui down on a chair beside the dresser, as he looked around for a means to escape.

"Ruki kun," Yui said, looking at the iron maiden. Ruki turned towards her, and found her pointing her finger at Ayato's body. They had left the lid open in order to notice if he had started to move. Ruki examined Ayato, and found that his eyes had started to bleed while still shut.

"What's happening?" Yui asked, her body trembling with fear.

Ruki took in a deep breath. "Reiji has used a hallucinogen here. We're seeing things we shouldn't. He's all right, Eve."

Yui stepped closer to inspect. The bloody tears must have disappeared when she came closer towards Ayato's body, as she heaved a sigh of relief.

Ruki looked at her, concerned. "My vampire body can take it very well, but we might need to relocate you before the fumes poison you, Eve."

Yui stood up, and walked towards the wall opposite to her. Ruki stood beside her, observing as she pressed an ear to the wooden wall. Nodding, she said, "This mansion is modelled according to the Gothic-Renaissance style architecture. Most of these houses used to have false walls that made way through the plumbing of the house. If we rip open the wall, we would have access to one of the false walls. If I'm correct, we'd end up in the sewers below the mansion that are connected to the city's supply."

Ruki knotted his eyebrows. "And if you're wrong?"

Yui smiled. "It's worth a shot."

Ruki failed to match her spirit. They'd been cornered by Reiji, after all. Weeks of preparation had led them nowhere, and if they ended up just walking into Reiji's trap, they'd just be doomed. As far as Ruki was aware, Subaru must have been manipulated into attacking Yui under the influence of some drug Reiji had concocted as well. They had to be careful. While Ruki only needed air to speak, Yui needed air as a crucial life sustenance. She'd be more affected by the fumes than he would be.

Nevertheless, Ruki removed a wooden plank with his brute strength.

The hallucinogen in the air was becoming stronger by the moment. Ruki mistook the water dripping for blood, stepping away from the wall. Yui stared at him, concerned a bit. "Are you all right?"

Ruki shook his head. "Never been better."

They stepped into the false wall, as Ruki took out a lighter, igniting it.

Yui snatched it away from him. Ruki could see her face in the dark, her expression worried. "I was thinking whether you'd bump into something. If they can, they would see us anyway."

"There's methane in the sewage pipes. You'd blow the whole mansion up. Plus the mansion is old enough for the gases to be concentrated in odd places, Ruki kun." Yui took the lighter from him. "I'm so glad this dress has pockets for once."

Ruki held her delicate hand in his grasp. "Stay with me, Eve."

Yui nodded at him, as he guided her through the path.

Ruki felt her lean into him, as she whispered, "Is Ayato kun going to be okay?"

Ruki didn't want to hear about that piece of shit. All he wanted right now was to protect her with all his might. Yet, not wanting to hurt her feelings, he complied. "He'd be fine, Eve. Nobody would harm him."

A/N: I am going to take a break from writing as of now. If anybody has any questions or suggestions regarding the story, or if I don't update for a long time, please do drop in on my twitter if possible. I would love to hear your feedback once in a while!