~Episode 9~
Rini walked aimlessly down the paths of her Garden, watching the roses flutter in the wind. It would've been beautiful had she cared enough to appreciate it. At that moment all that was going through her mind was how horrible the night had been so far.
She'd just gotten back from school, the classes surprisingly not being the worst part about her night. No, that had been the drive to and from school... Subaru had refused to even look at her the entire way, ignoring her every time she tried to catch his eye. She hadn't sat beside him in the car, instead choosing to sit between Laito and Shu which earned many confused and concerned glances from the others...
When they'd arrived at school he'd left the group before she even got a chance to hug him like she usually would. She cringed at the thought of it, and at the memory of the Triplets glaring at him as they noticed her heartbroken gaze. They'd all given her extra-long hugs that day which she supposed was nice.
Not only that but school itself hadn't been nearly as bad as it usually was so that was good. Akari hadn't been in school so the rest of her group had all left her alone pretty much. Plus she'd gotten to spend some more time with Jun, which was fun.
Walking to class together had become a daily thing for them now, they met outside the building- just by the door- and then walked up to class together. Neither had to wait for very long usually, considering a lot of the time they got to school around the same time.
It was nice to have a friend to talk to now. They didn't talk too much out of class which was sad but he was usually being bombarded by a horde of girls who made it their jobs to follow him around everywhere so she understood. Still, she found those girls ridiculous, even if she was starting to see why so many people liked him.
Another good thing about Jun was that he always knew when something was wrong and he was always willing to hug her if she was upset. She liked hugging him, it made her feel safe. It was different from Subaru's hugs though. Yes, both made her feel safe and yes, both made her feel happier. But it was still different. She wasn't sure if it was a good different or a bad different though...
She hadn't told him what had happened between her and Subaru, even though he'd pestered her about it endlessly in class. She'd just told him that she'd had an argument with someone and that it wasn't important because she was totally fine. A lie, yes. But a necessary one. If Subaru- or any of her brothers for that matter- found out that she was confiding about family issues to Jun they'd kill her.
She cringed at the thought, shaking her head to rid it from her mind.
"Chipmunk? What are you doing out here?" Shu asked suddenly, making Rini jump.
"Hey, Shu-Shu... I'm just walking around the garden. Why, am I not allowed to?" She asked, peering up at him as he leaned against a nearby tree.
"Course you are, even if you weren't I wouldn't stop you. I was just wondering if this walk of yours had something to do with why you sat next to me and Laito in the car instead of Subaru," He stared at her expectantly, either waiting for her to say whether he was correct or to tell him what had happened between them.
She'd do no such thing.
"No... I just wanted to walk. I love it out here, it's pretty! What are you doing out here anyways? You never really come out here..." She asked, quickly changing the subject.
He huffed a laugh, instantly catching the switch. Thankfully he didn't comment and actually answered her question.
"I was sleeping over there-" he pointed to the nearby stone structure, "- when Yui interrupted me. She had questions that I wasn't bothered to answer so I left her with Richter."
"You what?!" She exclaimed half prepared to rush down to them to save Yui.
"Don't bother trying to stop them, he won't kill her. He's a little more focused on other things right now. Anyway, you should be getting to your room. Do you not have work to be doing right now?"
"But... But..." She groaned, "Fine. I'll leave them alone, but I don't wanna go back to my room right now," She pouted despite knowing his eyes were closed.
He sighed, clearly hearing the pout in her words, then appeared behind her, wrapping his arms around her and carrying her to the tree where he dropped to the floor, cuddling her all the way.
"Is this better?" He drawled.
She smiled slightly, nuzzling her cheek against his chest.
"Much better," She mumbled.
"Good, you can only stay for a little while because you have to work. But you can still stay so quit complaining," He huffed, end of conversation.
She huffed back at him, a sound which was ignored but still made her feel better. She didn't want to go back inside. Inside the house had the risk of running into Subaru and she didn't want to do that because he was still mad at her. Why else would he have ignored her in the car? So she had to stay out of his way until he wasn't mad at her anymore because otherwise, he'd just get madder at her. She didn't want that. He'd never been mad at her before, not really. Maybe he'd gotten a little bit annoyed sometimes but he'd never yelled at her like that...
She clung to Shu a little tighter, suddenly craving his warmth. Not that he was actually warm considering he was a vampire, neither of them were actually warm, but it was the thought that counted.
He didn't comment on it, though he did tighten his grip on her just a little bit. She didn't need to ask to know that he likely understood what she was thinking about. Though he rarely showed it anymore, Shu usually did understand quite a lot. And he definitely cared about Rini a lot. They all did, even if sometimes they didn't show it...
A few minutes passed in silence before Shu spoke again.
"Alright that's enough of that, you need to get on with your work," He drawled, gently shoving her away.
She whined, trying to pull back into his arms.
"I don't wanna go..." She whimpered, gripping his arms.
He peered down at her, examining her teary eyes and flushed cheeks, and sighed.
"I can walk you to your room if you're that miserable..." He grumbled.
She frowned. On the one hand that'd be great because she'd have company and maybe get more cuddles which was always a good thing. On the other hand that'd be bad because what if they ran into Subaru and he got upset because she always walked around the house with him and now that he's mad at her she's walking with someone else? She didn't want him to be sad.
"I'd hate to interrupt your nap..." She murmured, hoping he'd take the hint.
He simply nodded, lowering his arms so she could get up. She stood but quickly knelt back down to give him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving.
Thankfully she made it to her room with no incidents, though that was mainly because she'd teleported from alcove to alcove in the house, hiding in the shadows whenever she heard a noise.
She slumped down at her desk, cringing at the work that she'd haplessly strewn across it. That was a really stupid idea, even if it was only a few sheets she should keep them organized so it was less of a hassle to do them.
She was about to start on the work when she heard two sets of footsteps passing by her door. One lighter footed and the other heavier footed- likely one of her brothers and Yui. Ordinarily, she would've passed it off as one of them trying to bite her or something but... Something seemed off.
Rini rushed to her door, popping her head out to see Richter walking beside Yui... Very off.
"Miss Yui!" She called out, not caring that her Uncle now turned to glare at her.
Yui didn't respond, only continued to stare blankly ahead of her.
"Yui...?" She tried again, stepping around to look at her. Her eyes were glazed, not focused on anything ahead of her. Her face was void of any expression, not even a flicker of recognition when Rini came into view. What on Earth was going on here?
Rini turned to her Uncle, glaring daggers at him.
"What did you to her?" She asked, trying her best to mimic Subaru's angry-growly voice. It usually worked for him whenever he asked something so it should work for her too.
Richter huffed a laugh, amused at her attempt to sound tough.
"Relax child, this has little to do with you at all. Just go back to whatever trivial thing you were doing and leave us be," He said, his tone condescending and overly nice.
Her glare only worsened, if looks could kill then this would be overkill.
"Yui's my friend so it most definitely does have to do with me. What did you do?" She asked again, this time dropping the growl. It clearly wasn't working, maybe it'd work better when she was a little older.
He sighed, the only sign of irritation he'd show.
"Did your Brothers not tell you of the Awakening?" He asked, continuing at the swift shake of her head. "Talk to them, it's not my job to educate you on these topics, it's theirs. Now leave, I have business to attend to," He said dismissively, turning and walking away, followed by the nigh-on zombified Yui.
She fought the urge to follow them, know that that would only end in more trouble which was not something that she wanted. Still, she couldn't just go back to her work and there was no point in asking any of her brothers what 'The Awakening' was because there was no way they'd actually answer her.
Still, there was no point in just sitting there doing nothing so she may as well try... Maybe she'd ask Ayato, he might tell her if she used her puppy eyes... He could very rarely resist her puppy eyes, very few people could.
She began her walk down to Ayato's room. If he wasn't there then she'd check the entry hall and then maybe the kitchen if she had to. For all she knew he could be making takoyaki.
Unfortunately, as she was walking along she wasn't being nearly as careful as she was being on the way to her room and consequently bumped head first into Subaru. This wasn't going to be fun...
"Sorry, Subaru..." She mumbled, trying to just walk past him and avoid any conflict but he caught her by the shoulder, stopping her in her tracks.
"Wait... Can we talk..." He said miserably.
She turned, looking up at his face which looked just as miserable as his voice sounded. She frowned slightly, unsure of what to do.
"Are you still mad at me?" She asked carefully.
For a brief moment, all he could do was stare at her in shock. Finally, he sighed and spoke.
"No Rini... Of course not, I was never mad at you," He said, kneeling so the two were now eye level.
"But then why did you yell?" She whimpered, her voice breaking slightly as tears formed in the corner of her eyes.
Subaru quickly pulled her into a crushing hug, muttering over and over how sorry he was as he gently stroked her hair. She clung to his shirt, now crying quietly into his shoulder.
"I love you Suba-Kun..." She mumbled, her words muffled as she kept her head nestled in his shoulder.
"Love you too Sakurasou," He said, still petting her hair.
The two stayed in silence for a few minutes before Subaru gently pulled away, kissing the top of Rini's head and smiling at her lovingly.
"Come on, let's get you back to your room," He said, standing and taking her hand to guide her away.
She didn't object though really she should try asking him about 'The Awakening' but she could do that later. Right now she just wanted to stick with her brother.
Once in her room, Subaru sat on her window ledge, pulling her into his lap and holding her tight. She snuggled close to him, closing her eyes as if she were going to sleep. She wasn't of course, instead, she had to find the courage to ask about whatever 'The Awakening' was...
"Suba-Kun...?" She mumbled, waiting for his wordless reply before continuing. "What's 'The Awakening'?" She asked, pulling away to peer up at him, her eyes full of an innocent curiosity.
His brows narrowed, "Who told you about that?" He asked firmly.
She cringed slightly, knowing he wouldn't like the answer. Still, she had to be honest with him...
"Uncle Richter mentioned it just now..." She mumbled.
"He's in the house right now?" He growled out.
She nodded, now strongly regretting her decision.
"Please don't try and do anything to him, it's not worth all the trouble... Just please tell me what 'The Awakening' is," She said, now using her infamous puppy eyes.
He sighed, knowing he'd have to explain; she'd never stop bugging him if he didn't. Besides, how could he possibly say no that adorable little face?
He quickly explained everything to her, watching as her eyes widened with shock.
"But... But won't that hurt Yui?" She asked, fighting to keep her voice from shaking.
"I honestly don't know, no one's ever survived long enough to go through this so we don't actually have any real stories to base it on..." He said, frowning down at her frightened expression. "Don't worry, I'm sure everything will be fine..." He added, gently pulling her close again.
She sighed and closed her eyes again, trying to steady her nerves.
"I hope you're right..." She mumbled.
Rini was close to drifting off to sleep when she felt a sudden strange feeling. It felt... Off.
She peered up, only to see a bright, blood-red moon gazing down at her.
This wasn't going to end well...
Hey Guys!!!
So... Sad start, adorable middle-ish part and then an ominous ending... We love that. Subaru and Rini made up after he yelled at her, not that there was much of a bad...ness... (I can't think of a good word, I'm sorry, I'm writing this at 00:06 and yh) between them but you know... Can't complain about cute shtuff.
Omg omg omg I almost forgot. What'd you guys think about the little Jun + Rini cuteness that I threw in there as well? Adorable right? Just to let y'alls know their ship name (yes, they have a ship name, my friend and came up with it when we first created these guys) is PureBunny. Cos Jun means Pure and Rini means Little Bunny! Cute huh? Feel free to use something else if you want, Ik some ships have multiple different names (like Destiel is also called DeanCas (yes I'm a SPN fan and I'm here writing a vampire fic... We love that))
Anyways, I'mma go sleep so...
Byeeee!!