𝕿𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖌𝖊𝖗
Nene was already halfway through her book, she had taken a break from her sketch to read it.
Yes, she did have to ask Amane what certain words were and what they meant but she was very invested.
At first, Aria hated the vampire she was bought by, Braith, but she was starting to warm up to him.
It felt sort of the same as how she was feeling about Amane but so far, she still didn't know what that feeling was.
She looked up from her book when she heard the door open before seeing the amber-eyed boy walk in.
He had papers in his hand as he walked toward her.
She wondered if those papers were the filled-out information for the checkups.
"I've got your stuff filled out." For some reason, hearing those words stung.
She didn't want to go to checkups. She didn't want to be sent away even if it was for a while.
"But, it's for a different place. Hopefully, they'll be more mindful, especially since the owners come to the check-up too and it's shorter."
Her eyes went wide.
"A-another place?" she questioned.
He nodded. "This is where vampires take their blood slaves to get better checkup service, it's insanely expensive unlike the one you usually go to," he replied.
"Oh..."
"That's better right?"
Nene nodded her head nervously before he raised a brow, prompting her to speak." Y-yes Amane-sa..."
She clearly still wasn't used to not saying Sama anymore.
He never got irritated though, he knew it was a hard adjustment. "We'll have to travel there, which is 10 hours away..."
He walked away and placed the paperwork in a folder. "We're leaving tonight, I'll have Aoi help you pack two days' worth of clothes."
Where they were going had a traditional Japanese market that he was sure Nene would be interested in. Since he suspected that she would still be nervous about the checkups even if it was a different place he thought that taking her out would relax her a little.
"T-tonight?" she stuttered out.
"Yes, we need to get this done quickly. The ball is soon and we need to get your dress fit," he replied. She almost forgot about her going to the ball. She was still shocked she was invited and getting a dress made.
Two strange things for a blood slave to experience.
"O-Ok," she fidgeted with her hands, which caught Amane's attention. She noticed that and stopped.
Amane looked at the clock on Nene's nightstand before sighing deeply. "I've got to go..."
She stared at him confused. He just got there and already had to leave, he'd at least stay an hour.
She didn't know why she felt disappointed and wanted to ask where he had to go...
"You can be curious," he said. It's like he can read her mind.
"W-where do y-you need to go...?" she rubbed her arm nervously. She feared this question was too personal.
From experience, any question would be.
"I have to see Sakura."
She still looked confused. She had no idea who Sakura was. He had never mentioned her in front of her before.
"My now fiancé," he clarified.
Nene didn't know much about that stuff but she did know what it meant to have a fiancé. He was getting married.
She felt a sense of shock and something else she didn't recognize...
"Oh."
"I'd rather stay here but I have no choice but to go," he added.
She had a visible frown on her face that he found himself not liking. "I won't be gone long. If you want, you can go to the garden or library. Just make sure you have your headband."
He paused when the look on her face didn't change. "Do you want to come?" It wouldn't be seen as weird if she did since she is his blood slave. Plus, he assumed it wouldn't take too long since sakura's mother wanted the two to just go out and find outfits for the ball.
She blinked. "C-can I?" She questioned. She wasn't sure how this fiance thing worked besides the two getting married. She felt a sour taste from the idea, she didn't know why.
"Why not? Just find something warm to wear since it's getting cold."
She nodded and stood from her spot before heading toward the closet. She thought that she was already dressed and just put on one of the coats that Amane had bought her.
Amane was sitting on the couch, staring at her sketchbook that she hadn't touched in a while. Well, he hadn't seen her touch before looking up when she exited the closet. "You can not wear that," he said.
She looked at her outfit. She was wearing a white dress gown and just the coat from her closet. "W-Wha.." she trailed off as Amane made his way past her and into the closet.
After about a minute he pulled out a black fluffy long sleeve shirt, and black leggings ten handed them to her. She carefully took it and walked into the bathroom to change.
Nene stared at herself in the mirror when she finished getting dressed. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail with a few strands left out.
She decided to pull out her hair tie mainly because Amane seemed to like it better when her hair was down...and because her neck will hopefully stay warmer.
She put on the white fluffy coat that was like a dress with the way it puffed out above her knees. Her hair didn't look very good but she didn't know how to make it look better. Usually, Aoi would straighten or curl it but she wasn't there that time.
She walked out of the bathroom, seeing Amane lean against the desk while staring at something in his hand.
He looked at her and lifted a finger, "Come here." Her face tinted at the sound of his voice. It had a tiredness to it that made his voice deeper. She carefully walked toward him without any sort of eye contact.
He had something in his hand that she had never seen before. It had two big balls of fluff on the ends which were held up by a wire thing.
She stopped a few inches away from him before he gently grabbed her arm and pulled her closer.
He noticed how she stopped flinching as much when he made physical contact with her, but only when he gives a clear sign he was about to touch her.
Sudden actions scared her.
He placed the things over her head to cover her ears. It felt strange and he could tell she didn't get what they were for. "To keep your ears warm," he stated.
"Oh..."
He reached behind him and pulled out a pair of white of mittens before putting them over her hands. She looked at them weirdly but figured they were also to keep her warm.
She didn't get why there were only two parts for her thumb and the rest of her fingers.
He lastly put on her red headband for extra caution. "We can go now," he said. They walked to the door and Amane opened it, allowing her to walk out first before shortly trailing behind her.
He was dreading going with Sakura to find her dress, mainly because he felt like he had no business being there.
Getting ready to turn the corner, Nene stayed walking straight causing him to wrap his hand around her waist which made her flinch before he guided her beside him in the right direction. "Sorry," he mumbled.
Her face heated up almost instantly as he removed his hand from her.
She followed behind him leaving a small gap between the two as he went into the elevator.
Nene was still in awe whenever she'd go inside the elevator. No matter how many times she had been inside of the enormous bulk of metal, she'd never get used to it.
They made it to the main floor of the castle and walked past the throne room where Amane's mother and father sat.
He wanted to avoid them..well just his father. He didn't want him in the same room or space as Nene ever since he forced Amane to feed from her.
Sakura waited inside the limo that was parked in the roundabout in front of the castle. Nene gawked at it, intently as Amane opened the door before gesturing for her to get inside.
She climbed on the side where his fiance wasn't sitting. Keeping her head low, she lifted her eyes to look at the girl in front of her.
She was taken away by her beauty. The whole aura she give Nene was calm almost like the forest of maybe mother nature.
This was Amane's fiance. She felt a tinge of what she recalled as pain...or an ache in her chest at the thought.
Amane slid into the spot next to her which made her confused as to why he wouldn't move to sit next to the green-headed girl.
"You brought a guest," she said plainly, lazily gazing at the cream blonde. Nene's body stiffened at the attention being brought to her.
Amane didn't verbally reply, he just nodded his head before reaching around Nene and buckling the seatbelt over her.
The car started to move once Sakura looked at the driver from the window, giving him a nod before closing the door to it.
The car ride was silent, the only thing they heard was the soft vibrations of the car running.
Nene focused her gaze outside the window, watching everything speed past them.
Amane also looked out the window, but not the one he was next to. He stared out the same one as Nene, closely studying her.
She was nervously fidgeting her fingers while her legs slightly jumped up and down. He knew at this point she was dealing with Anxiety that stemmed from the fear she built after her past owners and vampires in general.
He didn't get as annoyed by it but he doesn't want her to worry about the unknown when he wouldn't let anyone hurt her.
He thought it was best to just get used to having her around. Now that he had her, he couldn't allow anyone to have their way with what's considered his to society.
She, of course, is her own person with her own mind and thoughts but that's not how the people around them saw it.
That's not how she saw it.
But that's how he wanted her to.
After a few long minutes, they finally arrived at their destination. Amane opened the door as Sakura climbed out before him and then he went around to let Nene out after.
Sakura stared at his action blankly then tore her gaze away before walking down the strip mall marketplace.
There were many stores there of course which managed to catch Nene's attention as she looked around at the different things.
She had gone out a few times with Amane but she never got used to being out like this. It hadn't been very long anyway since she's only been with him for a month at that point.
The boutique shop was one of the biggest shops there. It looked to be about two stories and had a balcony in the front. The place was covered in flowers that made it look very natural over the white bricks.
Nene knew that inside there would be only vampires unless the humans were a part of the staff. No human can afford expensive things.
They walk inside, Amane making sure that Nene was close in front of him so that he could still guide her even though he was really just following Sakura.
He didn't know where she needs to go nor does he care, but he did notice and didn't like how the human staff in there were staring at Nene.
With looks of disgust.
Which was a look she had received a lot whenever he'd take her out with him.
"My seamstress is in the private room," Sakura said without pausing her steps.
Nene looked around at all the clothes fascinated by the beauty of all of them. They had the most expensive fabric that even vampire civilians probably couldn't afford.
They all walked to an area covered with an emerald green-colored curtain before Skakura pulled it back so they could all walk through.
A woman with a long black gown was sewing while sitting at one of the desks before she looked up and smiled at both Sakura and Amane.
"You're here! And with your fiance," she stood and gave a quick courtesy to the both of them before walking toward the amber-eyed vampire.
"It's very nice to finally meet you," she said to Amane.
She then looked at the cream blonde with a slight look of displeasure. "This is your blood slave...?" She looked between the two with a questioning look.
"She's mine," Amane replied.
The woman eyed her for a while before sighing. "Sorry, but we don't allow blood slaves back here...unless Sakura is fine with it," she looked at her with a questioning look.
Sakura stared at Nene for a few seconds before blinking and just turning to walk toward the vanity.
Amane narrowed his eyes at the emerald not liking her reaction one bit. He did not want Nene outside the private room by herself with all these vampires.
"Then I'll wait outside as well," he said, lightly brushing his hand against Nene's back to exit the room.
"My mother was told by your father to have an outfit styled for you too, you cannot leave," she said blankly.
Nene glanced at the amber-eyed to possibly see his reaction. She wasn't sure what to do or what he was thinking. She would just wait outside he didn't have to come with her.
She was starting to think that if she'd stayed at the castle, it would've made this more easier.
"My father doesn't care what I wear," he replied. "And I don't need your seamstress making my outfit, I can have someone from the palace do it." In truth, he would've just worn a used one from his closet.
There's no point in spending money on stuff you already have.
"Our parents are expecting us to match so she needs your measurements, It won't take long," she said, staring at him through the vanity mirror.
Nene decided to speak up, or well speak strictly to Amane. She was afraid since she never talked unless spoken to, but Amane had been stressing about wanting her to speak her mind.
It was strange but she did have to do what he said.
She took a shaky hand before lightly grabbing the end of Amane's coat and looking at him through her eyelashes. "I-I can w-wait outside..." she stuttered meekly.
Amane looked back at her with an unwilling look on his face. Out of all the times he wanted her to speak out, this was not one of them.
He didn't want her willing to be by herself here.
But this place wasn't classified as dangerous to humans so he thought that she'd be okay for 10 minutes before he'd go outside the room with her.
"5 minutes," he grimaced.
He took Nene outside the room and stopped right beside the curtain. He had mixed emotions about them being in the back.
It was good because no one should go back there, but if someone did she'd be alone with them. "If you feel unsafe come back inside and we'll leave," he told her.
She nodded even though she really didn't want to be alone. Yes, she said she would because she didn't want to be the source of conflict but she wished he would've been more hesitant to let her.
He didn't move and narrowed his eyes at her, prompting her to speak. "Yes Amane-sa.." she looked around unsure of how to address him at that moment.
She swore she saw the corner of his mouth slightly lift in amusement before he just turned around and walked back into the room.
Nene stood there, looking around the room. There were many clothing racks for people to look through, but they looked to be mainly for older people.
Maybe that's why nobody came back there.
She leaned against the wall, staring at the shoes on her feet before turning her gaze to something from the corner of her eyes.
It was a teal floral dress that seemed to look very old school. Accessories hung from its hanger. Nene thought its design was pretty. It was long like it reached your ankles.
She thought it would be nice to try on but knew that she couldn't, plus it had to belong to someone else with how old-fashioned it was.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Nene jumped at the sound of an unknown voice. Turning her head, an old man came into view and she instantly looked away.
Amane may have liked eye contact but she knew other vampires hated it. Especially with humans.
She didn't answer which seemed to anger him. "Speak!" he shouted but not in a voice that would disturb everyone in the building.
She didn't know what to say. She wasn't doing anything besides standing there so she wasn't sure what he was mad for.
"Why are you back here? And why are you staring at that dress?" he got closer to her which caused her to press herself against the cream-colored brick wall behind her.
She was considering running back into the room Amane was in but didn't want to be impulsive. "Can you not speak?!"
When Nene still didn't reply, the anger showing on his face increased. He looked over at her, taking in all of the pricey outfits she had on. Too pricey for a human to have. "Who'd you steal that from?"
She looked at her clothes and a new type of fear formed on her face.
Panic swarmed inside her like a spark starting a forest fire as she continued to look down. This was all starting to feel familiar.
Like nothing from her past owners had changed, everything was back to normal...Like her time with Amane was just a dream that she woke up from.
Amane heard slight commotion from outside the curtain and narrowed his eyes. The seamstress was almost finished with his measurements but he was already over it and had a bad feeling.
"Are you done yet?" he asked with an annoyed expression. "Mhm," she hummed in response. Sakura sat in the vanity, touching up her makeup while waiting for it to be her turn.
Normally she would've gone first but he demanded that he'd get this over with.
Amane's eyes suddenly thinned out before going back to normal at the sound of a loud whimper. It was high-pitched like it came from a girl and right outside the room which made him know for a fact that it was Nene.
Without a second thought, he walked away from the seamstress and rushed to open the curtain to see what happened.
What he saw made his eyes instantly thin out as he stared at the scene with a blank face. He was pretty good at masking his feelings but he found it pretty hard to do it this time.
Nene was curled up on the floor, her body shaking as she quietly whimpered as if she was trying to hold back her cries.
Amane could smell her blood instantly which caused his fangs to hurt, from the fact that he hadn't been feeding.
And her blood had the sweetest smell and taste.
But he completely ignored his urges and made eye contact with the vampire who had put her in this state.
An old vampire was there which shocked him. He hardly ever saw old vampires, not even his parents are as old as him by the way he looked.
But he had to think carefully before he figured that this man wasn't a vampire all his life.
Vampires have certain distinct features that this man did not have.
He was a human who turned into a vampire, which was rare. It was rare for a human to survive.
"What the hell did you do?" Amane nearly growled out.
He felt the predatory rumble forming in his chest but he had to fight to suppress it.
The man stared at him, not sure how to reply. "I'm sorry for bothering you..I just had to teach her a lesson for her bad behavior."
Amane's brows furrowed. "Bad behavior?"
Sakura and the headmistress both stepped out of the room. The headmistress was suprised at the sight.
"Who let you in here? if you were a regular customer you'd know this is not allowed," She told the man.
"You're getting mad at me?!" He exclaimed. "This- thing was the one causing trou-"
He didn't finish his sentence when Amane pushed him against the wall at great speed.
Nenes eyes were full of tears so she couldn't see much but she did know that Amane wasn't acting like himself.
What she considered himself
She held on to her cheek that the vampire had attacked with his extended nails as she tried to look away from them.
Amane wrapped his hand around the vampire's throat, his nails sharply extended so blood would draw.
Nene's eyes widened. She wasn't sure if it was the pain or the dark look Amane had in his thinned eyes.
"Sir, you can't do that-" she stopped mid-sentence when Amane threw the old man across the room before stepping away.
Sakura looked to be unphased as the seamstress gasped.
Amane walked toward Nene before kneeling in front of her only for her to try and bury her head in her arms. She was afraid and he understood why.
"We're leaving now," Is all he said as he reached under the cream blonde to lift her bridal style.
He stared at Sakura as if he was telling her that they had to leave with his eyes. She was their ride there so she had to take them back.
Sakura let out a quiet sigh. "I guess we'll finish this later," she said to the seamstress. "O-oh, alright..."
They exited the building before Amane easily opened the door with one hand holding Nene with the other.
Nene's body shook terribly with her hand over her throbbing cheek. Amane let out a sigh as he pulled her closer to him as if he wanted to hide her from everyone.
He sort of did. Having her wait outside showed to be the worst thing he had ever allowed. He didn't want her to relive any trauma for the good of both of them but she did because of his decision.
Sakura took her time sliding into her seat before the car pulled out onto the paved road ahead. She studied Amane subconsciously brushing through Nene's hair as he stared out the window with a nonchalant look.
When she was certain that Nene had fallen asleep, probably due to the pain and her crying all mixed with shock and possibly trauma, Sakura decided to speak.
"You must care for your blood slave," she said.
Amane didn't reply but did side-eye the green-haired girl. "I don't like people touching what belongs to me..." he cringed at his choice of words. She doesn't belong to him, she was her own person but he had to be careful about what he said around other vampires.
He started to wonder if the driver was driving slowly on purpose. It felt a lot quicker to arrive at the boutique than it did going back to the castle.
"I've never seen someone react so violently to their blood slave getting injured...I was told by your father that you didn't like owning one."
"My brother bought her for our birthday, why does my father seem to tell you everything..." he grumbled the last part.
Sakura lightly chuckled but it sounded and felt fake. "I ask about you. We are getting married, it's only natural for me to want to know who I'm being forced into marrying."
"You shouldn't care about me." She lifted a brow, "When did I say I did?"
Amane just rolled his eyes and focused his gaze on Nene. Her eyes were tightly shut. Even in her sleep, she felt all the pain.
"For someone who doesn't care about a lot of things and doesn't like blood slaves, you seem to really like her."
At that point, Amane was just trying to ignore her. He could feel her suspicion even if she held a blank stare.
"How do you feel about this girl?" she asked. He felt his body hesitate at her question, unsure of what she meant.
"If she was a vampire and you were forced to marry her would you be more okay with it?" She asked again in a more understanding way.
His eyes slightly widened as he stared out the window before slowly turning his gaze to Sakura. "What...?"
"We're here," she said.
Amane looked at her with shock on his face before he quickly looked away and got out of the car.
It wasn't long until the sounds of Nene's whimpering re-entered his ears which thankfully distracted him from his loud mind.
He hurried back to his room and immediately went into the bathroom before sitting Nene on the sink.
She held her lip between her teeth as she whimpered to prevent herself from crying but it also made a dent in her lip that would bleed if she keeps biting.
Normally he would tell her to stop but he was too busy staring at the huge scratch marks across Nene's left cheek.
He opened the small cabinet by the sink and took out a bottle of alcohol to clean the open wound that was still sort of bleeding.
Taking a cotton ball he soaked it with the alcohol before raising it to Nene's cheek and pausing. "This will sting..." he warned.
She didn't pay much attention as she rubbed her nose with her shaky hand.
He sighed and began to gently dab the cotton ball against her cheek, earning a fragile whimper and slight flinch from her.
A single tear slipped from her eye as she stared down at the floor. Amane took out a creamer that would make the wound heal faster.
After he put a bandage on her cheek before focusing his gaze on her eyes. They glistened with water and he couldn't hold it in anymore. "You can cry."
She blinked to make eye contact with him, causing another tear to drop from her eyes. "Huh?" her voice cracked.
"You're hurt... you're scared. He reminded you of your past and I showed you a side of me you haven't seen. Stop trying to hold in your pain, you're allowed to cry in front of me."
She felt her heart somehow skip a beat from his gentle words and the way he removed her lip from her teeth.
"I'm sorry for putting you through that...I promise not to leave you alone again," he said.
There it was. He was sorry. He said he was sorry and that was something Nene would never get used to.
Her owner apologizing to her.
She felt her shoulders slump as her tears began to fall. Everything from her past owners was coming back to her but the thing triggering her the most was Amane.
He was different and she didn't understand.
She didn't understand the way he made her feel.
Not sure what to do, Amane got closer, wrapping one arm around her and using the other to wipe away the tears from her uninjured cheek.
She kept her eyes shut as tears squeezed out of them before clutching his shirt unintentionally.
She placed her head in the crook of his neck as she began to sob. It at first made him uncomfortable because he had never been this close to anyone.
No girl other than his mother
No human.
No Vampire.
This was his first time embracing anyone like this. He hesitated before taking his other arm around her and pulling her close.
He ran his finger through her hair as her cries echoed throughout the room. This was odd for her too, no vampire had ever held her like this.
They've only abused her.
She allowed her body to melt in his cold embrace as her tears rolled down her cheeks and she started to hiccup with whimpers in between.
Once she quieted down Amane gently pulled away keeping his hand on her waist. He could see the tiredness her eyes held as she blinked the last few tears she had in a daze.
She still held on to him and surprisingly made weak eye contact with him while trying to rest her head against him again.
"Yashiro..." he whispered.
He unbuttoned her coat, revealing her long shirt before helping her off the counter and grabbing her hand to walk back into the bedroom.
All her night clothes were in her room but he wanted her to stay in his for the night so he just took out one of his plain white t-shirts and handed it to her.
"You can wear this," he said as she took it from him.
She walked back into the bathroom to get changed and he took it as an opportunity to reach in his nightstand and pull out painkillers before pouring water from the pitcher one of the maids left earlier that day while they were gone.
Nene soon came out with the shirt on and her clothes folding in her arms, as she rubbed her tired eyes.
He told her to come toward him with just the motion of his finger.
"Take this then I want you to sleep for the rest of the day."
She stared at the pill nervously. "It'll make your cheek hurt less," he added.
He took her clothes from her before dropping two tablets in her hand, making the purple bruises noticeable on her arm.
He stared at them while she threw the pills in her mouth before drinking the water to help them travel down her throat.
"He did that?" he asked, lightly touching her wrist.
She tried to hide it behind her back knowing it was no use.
Before she could say anything he went back into the bathroom before exiting it just as quickly.
Just like earlier, he rubbed some cream into her wrist before wrapping a bandage around it after.
"Sleep," he guided her to his bed.
She was surprised by how soft it was which made her know that she'd have no trouble falling asleep.
Staying asleep on the other hand...
Amane knew she had nightmares often because she always seemed to be in one when he'd check up on her at night.
He hoped she'd just have one restful sleep even though after today he wasn't confident about it.
"Thank you...A-Amane," she said softly as she rested her head against the pillow.
He sat beside her against the edge of the bed, smoothly moving her hair away from her face.
She stared at him, blinking slowly each time longer than the last until they remained shut and she fell asleep.
Amane stood to get Aoi to prepare the outfits Nene would need for tonight's trip and for tomorrow as well.
As he did so, he looked back at the sleeping cream blonde in his bed as his mind went back to earlier.
To Sakura's question.
He wasn't sure what to think or to even take it seriously.
No...he knew he shouldn't take that question seriously.
But he was.
𝕭𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖉𝖑𝖎𝖓𝖊