Ayato closed the door to Yui's room and inhaled deeply. His head hurt bad, and he could really use a drink, but bothering her while she was still recovering felt strangely inappropriate. He clutched his bangs and slumped over the closed door, not understanding what had overcome him. And as well as her.
He felt a jolt of realisation that maybe this time, he would lose her to Ruki, something he had never expected to happen. He'd been the one entitled to her blood. He had been the one to get her out of every trouble she had chanced upon. And now to see that half-blood take her away, it all seemed so surreal. Ayato felt nauseous. His eyes burned with tears. There was nothing he could do except watch the Traveller burn everything he wanted into flames. He felt the heavy footsteps of Yuma approach him even before he saw him at the end of the hallway. Wiping his eyes, he turned towards the humungous being and asked in a low voice, "Is this what the old man wants?"
Yuma looked pretty nonchalant. Standing right next to him, Ayato felt a sense of shame and guilt. The giant spared a look at him, before he plucked out an apple from his pocket. Tossing it towards Ayato, he said in a quiet voice, "I do not speak directly to that person, but maybe what he wants is for her to be happy."
Ayato looked at the apple in his hand, and then back at the half blood. The headache was growing louder inside him. "And the only way for her to be happy is to be with your shitty brother?"
Yuma crossed his eyebrows, and grabbed Ayato by his collar. "Take that back."
"I wasn't the one who exposed her to the danger of those wolves." Ayato shrugged. "Ruki did."
"You let her walk onto a sacrificial altar, and that's probably the worst I can imagine."
Ayato felt something stab hard in his chest, but he knew it was beyond physical pain at this moment. "If I wanted, I could have all your brothers' heads on a plate. I could slice your guts open and feed them to the same lycans you were struggling to fight against. The only difference is that, I will never do it out of pity on your miserable life, you fucking half."
Yuma seemed a bit taken aback, and let go of his collar, stepping back. "If that were the case, you'd have killed that person along with your mother."
Ayato growled. The sound rumbled inside his chest. "You know what happens when you mention that bitch in our house?" He raised his fist at Yuma, ready to strike, but something hit him hard inside his chest. A strange sense of longing over come him, as the apple fell from his other hand, his body collapsing onto the floor.
Yuma held his chin high, looking down on the vampire with distaste. "The awakening is now complete, Ayato." He crossed his hands over his chest, smirking. "Even if you want to hurt me, you can't. This is not what she wants, and now you are reduced to be merely a puppet of hers." He spit on the ground, rubbing his shoe on the marble floor. "Disgusting little shit."
Ayato felt his chest collapsing, the air being sucked out of his lungs, as the rage built up inside him. The awakening? It was already settling in? And this fucking Yuma being so clairvoyant about this...
"Shu's... back." Ayato managed to spit out as Yuma turned his back towards him, and he saw the giant visibly flinch. If he couldn't hurt him physically, he sure as hell wasn't going to let him sleep in peace.
"If that aristocratic sad boy somehow survived, then I know what pathetic level you are on, Ayato." Yuma exhaled, but Ayato was pleased to see him disturbed.
Ayato collapsed upon his chest, as he watched the half-blood disappear in front of his eyes. The slightest sliver of sunlight hit his face, as he felt cold, wet blood drip down his nostrils. A sadistic laugh escaped his throat, which quickly culminated into a silent sob as he contorted his body in pain, his knuckles drenched in blood.
***
Ruki looked at the mansion, his jaw still stinging with pain. The whole house looked threadbare, with no family portraits, no evidence to show that people actually lived in the mansion. It looked like the proverbial haunted house that the Sakamaki Mansion had always been. The whole atmosphere marred by a gloom that refused to budge from the mansion. Ruki felt claustrophobic in the whole setting. A feeling of dread settled in as he tried to lift his head to watch the lewd creep stare intently at him.
"Ruki, your jaw is flowering with a wonderful bruise." Laito's voice was intensely jarring to his ears. The boy was wearing that god awful fedora and his school jacket lined with fur. "Did Ayato kun's punch really hurt you that bad, or was it your ego that was hurt?"
Ruki proceeded to curb the feeling of disgust that made him attack the pure-blood. "I'm so glad that you are somehow concerned about my wellbeing."
Laito chuckled, obviously enjoying the discomfort on Ruki's face. "I apologise on my elder brother's behalf. He gets a bit, you know, worked up when it comes to matters concerning little bitch."
Ruki felt another wave of disgust as he heard that rude nickname addressed to his Eve. "Can't believe the Sakamakis can feel remorseful on behalf of others." Ruki cocked his head in a callous manner, knowing he was walking on thin ice. "The only thing you can feel is hate and disgust."
"Says a lot about you as well, Ruki kun." Laito chuckled again, and disappeared, only to materialise upon the couch beside Ruki. "The only thing that distinguishes us from you is that we are more honest about our feelings. We do not walk around pretending to be protectors when it's in our nature to kill."
Ruki exhaled slowly, knowing that this conversation was going nowhere. "I'll be off, thank you." He stood up, facing away from Laito, until the pervert's voice called out to him. "Ruki kun?"
Ruki muttered a slow hum.
"What do you think you'd get out of this after you save the little bitch?" Laito said, his voice laced with poison. "You think she would run back to you after being linked with Ayato?"
The statement made him turn on his heels. "Linked?"
Laito was already staring at him with a dumbfounded expression. "You don't feel it yet?"
Ruki was anxious and furious at the same time. "Feel what?"
Laito's shoulders dropped, as he shook his head, as though unable to believe him. "The awakening is complete. Their fates have intertwined."
***
Yui's body felt so small in the presence of the old vampire, the one that looked so young nevertheless. Yui was not blessed with Ayato's sense of smell, but her human instincts were sharp. She knew that Berawecka wasn't just your run of the mill vampire. She was old, older than perhaps Karlheinz himself. If the woman had a legend named after her, it was deemed to be a scary affair to sit right next to her. Yui's body was on alert, as she felt the hair on the nape of her neck stand erect, while the lady stood beside the window, looking at the moon.
"Why are you here?" Yui asked. Berawecka turned, her eyes shining against the dark of the night, pale moonlight forming a majestic halo around her. Her stark white skin and contrasting black hair made her resemble one of Kanato's dolls. The vampire laughed, and stepped closer to Yui, kneeling down to her level.
"I have a lot to gain by keeping your outcome favourable." Berawecka said, crawling towards Yui, lifting a stray strand of hair away from her face. Yui was frozen in place, a cold feeling settling into her heart as Berawecka leaned against the edge of the bed, a cold smirk settled on her lips.
Yui turned towards her. "Favourable outcomes? This is my life we are talking about, not some silly little game." Yui felt stupid talking down to her, but something inside her made her feel a bit more confident. "What do you have to gain by these favourable outcomes?"
Berawecka merely smiled. "Is there anything you'd give your life up for?"
Yui looked at her, baffled. "You're the one who killed her lover's fiancée, right?"
The girl shook her head. "She was not supposed to come in between us-"
Yui stood up, disgusted. "You immortals play with our lives as you see fit. Use us as blood containers, exploit our bodies, hurt our feelings." Yui heaved in a breath. "But you have no right over our lives. That man was supposed to be with his love, not with you, Berawecka."
"Says the girl who's blind in love with the sadistic vampire."
A shiver ran through Yui's body, as she looked down upon the vampire. Her voice was shaking with indecision. "I am not in love with anyone."
The vampire stared at her, dumbfounded for a moment. Then she let out a roaring laugh, shattering Yui's eardrums.
Yui tried to stand taller, asserting her dominance. "It's not funny! I don't love anyone here."
"Do I look stupid?" Berawecka said, still laughing. "If that was not the case, how do you explain your awakening with Ayato?"
His name instilled an involuntary shudder through her fragile body. "The... awakening?" She felt something coil inside her stomach. "What do you mean? He's... awakened?"
Berawecka rolled her eyes. "Both of you have. Your fates have intertwined. It must be pretty obvious by this time, you idiot girl."
"How would it be obvious?"
"Oh, silly mortals." Berawecka brushed her fingers on her pretty white dress. "I can't explain how the Gaussian field changes around immortals. You need at least sixteen senses to detect that."
Yui opened her mouth to say something, but Berawecka motioned her to be quiet by pressing her finger to her lips. "Shut up your mortal logic right now. Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it's not true."
Yui knelt down beside her, her legs feeling weak. She couldn't make sense of whatever this woman was saying, but she knew that she had mentioned their fates intertwining. "Wait, if both of us have awakened, then what happens next?"
Berawecka rolled her eyes. "It's some cheesy shit you'll never understand, mortal." She twirled a lock of her jet black hair on her forefinger. "It might not mean much to you, but in the demon world, it means a lot. That's all you need to know."
Yui hated the way Berawecka explained it. It felt like Yui was just being dismissed from knowing about something important. Something a parent might say to a curious child. "Is Ayato kun going to be okay?"
Berawecka giggled. "You still care about that douchebag after what he did to you?" She cocked her head, clearly amused. "He's a fucking self-centred prick. Why do you even bother with him. Let him burn in the pits of hell with the rest of us."
Yui felt a stab of guilt in her heart. "Oh, please don't say that."
Berawecka's expression changed suddenly. "Why, you think he deserves better?"
Yui looked down at her lap, a bit ashamed. "None of you asked to be born this way. A snake never wished for its venom. It's just how nature is."
"Well, according to your God, heathens like us shouldn't exist."
Yui appeared to redden even more. "Yeah, but even fallen angels were on His side once."
Berawecka smirked at her. "I like you, kid. That ass doesn't deserve a pretty girl like you."
Yui stayed silent.
"Why does it feel like you both too much tension in your relationship?" Berawecka asked, concerned. "Oh, don't tell me you are thinking of accepting Ruki's offer."
"I... what? How do you know about that?" Yui whispered, afraid that Ayato might hear them.
"I don't know about it." Berawecka tried to play dumb. "Ayato does though."
Yui felt a sudden lurch in her stomach. "I think I'm going to be sick..." she cupped a hand over her mouth.
Berawecka crossed her arms across her chest. "I don't care. Just tell me who you're going to choose."
Yui stared at her with a deadpan expression. "This isn't a joke."
Berawecka tried to mimic her. "And I'm not joking."
Yui blew out a sigh. "This isn't about me picking between Ayato kun or Ruki kun. I've never been privileged enough to have a say in what entails my future."
"This time you do."
Yui crossed her eyebrows and looked at the ground. "I don't believe you."
Berawecka got up, leaning on the French window, tracing her fingers on the silk screen. "Time doesn't flow in a streamline manner. You mortals never get to witness how majestic the ways of the universe are. Different stories, different people, different worlds, all merge and diverge, some realities never being realised, others growing and flourishing. You only get to see the outcomes you make in your reality, but there are so many different possibilities, and I get to experience them all at once." Her voice had a strange, nostalgic tone to it.
Yui stared ahead in the distance. "You... saw all outcomes of your own fate?"
"Yeah." Her answer was short and curt.
Yui hesitated. "Did... did you and your lover ever live happily in any of your possibilities?"
She let out a shaky breath. "It doesn't matter. I might be able to visualise my possibilities but I will never live any other life except for this one."
Yui paused. "There was one world where you did live with him, right?"
Berawecka smiled. "What do you think?"
Yui looked at her, unsure. "Berawecka, are you trying to revive your lover?"
***
Ayato looked at the mirror, a thin sliver of light hitting the glass in a fascinating manner. He had too much on his mind to bother about that though. He lifted a lock of hair behind his ear.
His red locks were turning a bright silver behind his ear.
A trickle of blood dropped from his nose, and he rushed to stuff a tissue into his nose. "The fuck is this?" He wondered out loud.
He patted his hair with a handful of gel, still wiping the blood spilled in front of the dresser. Yui was going to kill him if she got to know that it was him who had bled all over her room. Stupid bloody nose of his had been flowing with blood all night. Though her bed was uncomfortable compared to his cosy coffin, her scent calmed him a bit. He'd hugged her pillow and imagined sleeping next to her, her little body pressed against him, warmth emanating from her and sizzling against his cold skin. He imagined running his hands through her golden hair, burying his face into the crook of her shoulder and nipping her delicate, pale skin.
He was losing touch with himself.
"Hello, broody boy," that annoying idol and his annoying voice greeted him from the doorway. "I heard you smashed Ruki's face."
"Get lost, Kou." Ayato threw the bloody tissue into the trash can. "Go fuck somewhere else."
"I would, but I'm not into sexual perversions like your sleazy brother."
Kou switched on the lights, blinding his vision.
Ayato clutched the side of his head. "For fuck's sake..."
Kou snatched at his hand, materialising before Ayato could make sense of the situation. "Ooh, Ayato kun," he sounded confused. "I think you are experiencing what humans call premature ageing."
"I'm an immortal, I don't do ageing, you dickhead." Kou was getting on Ayato's nerves now.
Kou stilled as he heard Ayato talk about his immortality. "Or maybe..."
They both gasped together.
Ayato slapped his forehead. "It's the damn awakening, right?"