Chapter 8
His half-lidded emerald green eyes were focused on his youngest half-brother, who gave him the cold shoulder at his question.
Another voice then spoke from behind him. "Laito, move."
The nurse's heart skipped a beat. It was the other male that walked with her.
"Ayato too? Mou, you're both so cruel~" Laito feigned a disappointed sigh, removing himself from the door to move aside.
Ayato entered the room, an unconscious Yui in his arms. He cocked his head at the nurse, his red bangs swayed to brush his cheeks as he pierced her with his intimidating gaze. "Oi, woman. Fix her."
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Subaru raised a brow. "What the hell? 'Fix her'? She's not some sort of object."
"Fufufu, and don't address her so rudely~ Let's see..." Laito paused briefly to examine her name tag. "Doctor Himeko, is it?"
Himeko's blush deepened as she timidly clarified her name.
"Could you fi—tend to her wounds?" Laito asked, still wearing his usual smirk. "She fainted during class, and we wouldn't want her condition to worsen. After all, it would be quite a hassle to deal with~"
"...Place her on the bed please," she said to Ayato, despite not meeting his eyes. The redhead grunted, grudgingly complying. She continued, "Does she have any symptoms that need to be made aware of? Any allergies? Any daily dose that is required for her to take? Sickness?"
"Nope, I don't think so~" Laito responded almost immediately. "She probably lacks sleep though, and her body normally is quite frail. Oh, she also tends to have a weak heart, so she gets scared easily~"
Ayato smirked and walked towards them. "Heh. True. Especially the last part." He then stopped where Subaru stood and peered at him. "The hell's with your deal? You're blushing like crazy and you're creepily less rude than usual. Normally, your ass would have already been out of here by now."
"Ayato's right. You tend to hate these places. Perhaps dear little Subaru is waiting for a hot nurse~?" Laito gave Himeko a wink.
Himeko blushed.
"I would kill you if I hadn't been treated." Subaru diverted his glare from his half-brothers as they tried to invade his personal bubble and focused on the nurse. "Doctor...Himeko. Are you the only nurse on duty today?"
Himeko blinked. "Yes, I believe so, why?"
"J-Just asking..." Subaru turned his head slightly to glare at the bed, where Guinevere last sat. 'Tch! Damn that woman. She must have sneaked her freaking way in here out of boredom. Reiji would nag her for hours if he knew.'
He snapped out of his thoughts when he sensed two pairs of eyes intensely fixated on him. "...What?"
"Ehh? Is Subaru actually paying attention to girls now?" asked Laito. He feigned a sniffle. "Ahh...to realised that you're taking the next step into adulthood, your older brother couldn't be prouder~"
Ayato stared for a moment longer before he spoke. "Seriously, the fuck is wrong with you toda—what smell is that?"
Laito tilted his head in question and leaned in quickly before Subaru backed away. His eyes widened, and he and Ayato exchanged knowing looks.
"That scent...what the—that can't be possible! No way Guinevere would be here..." Ayato stated bewilderedly.
"But...if it were the morning, her scent would have already faded away...fufufu, Subaru..." Laito lifted his head, the shadows from his bangs vanishing to uncover cold, green eyes. "...was Guinevere here?"
Subaru narrowed his eyes. "You already know the answer."
"She was in here, wasn't she?" said Ayato, his voice holding more roughness than usual. His eyes then widened with rage as he stepped in front of Subaru. Their eyes locked as they now stood an arm's length apart. "What the hell were you two doing alone together? Why is her scent all over you?!"
"Ano—" Himeko began.
Subaru made a disgusted face. "Why the fuck would we do it here?! And you're not the only ones that are caught off-guarded, she surprised the shit out me as well! So if you want answers, quit being like those useless drama queens in my class and ask her yourself!" He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he reopened them and spoke, his voice was steady. "Being her, she'll give you an honest answer...cuz I myself still don't know exactly why the hell she would come here, even after she explained her reason."
Laito cocked his head. "Reason? Boredom, maybe?"
"That's what I thought as well, but she told me otherwise. Like I said, ask her yourself. It was really brief, and I was still surprised as hell so most of what she said didn't resister."
Ayato gritted his teeth, but remained silent. Finally, he averted his eyes and released Subaru's collar shirt.
"You're a damn pain as always, jumping to your own conclusions," Subaru said to him. His eyes flickered towards Laito. "You too."
"Ufu, meanie." Said-male's tone was lighter than before, his flirtatious smirk once again surfacing onto his face. "Can't believe we're being scolded by you...although that is strangely refreshing."
"...Masochist-hentai." Ayato and Subaru said at the same time.
Yui then came back to consciousness, and Himeko immediately rushed over, beyond relief that the tension had settled.
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Guinevere was humming in content as she relaxed in the warm, soapy water. She opened her eyes and tilted her head forward to watch the light ripples scatter the delicate petals, creating fine art on the water surface. She picked one up before hearing a small knock on the bathroom door.
Concentrating on the petal's smoothness against her fingertips, she replied, "Yes?"
"Guinevere-sama, your brothers are on their way," a feminine voice stated.
"Mhm. Thank you for informing me. You are excused."
Guinevere listened as the maid's footsteps faded away. Her eyes then trailed the steam as it rose towards the ceiling, fogging the lights. She dropped the petal and raked her fingers through her hair, allowing a sigh to escape her lips. She stood up soon after, the coldness almost instantly slapping her skin, before wrapping a towel around herself.
She stepped out of the bathtub. Water trickled down her legs, forming a small puddle on the smooth, marble floor. She suddenly halted. 'The brothers are home. I must get—'
Her thoughts were interrupted when Ayato barged into her room. "Guinevere!"
'—dressed...' Guinevere finished her thoughts, deadpanning.
"I know you're in here somewhere! You can't hide from me dammit!"
Her eye twitched.
Steadier footsteps entered the room. "Mou, Ayato, you shouldn't barge in like that...capturing her by surprise would be better, wouldn't it~?"
'Laito,' Guinevere sighed internally.
"Hah?"
"We should have sneaked into her room, dummy~ Now she knows that we're here."
Guinevere pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled a sigh. 'Idiots.' She then went to the door and shoved it aside, the force shaking the walls. She watched as their eyes widened.
"Look, you idiots," Guinevere said. "if you have any questions or concerns, I shall answer my best and try to solve them later. Right now, I am currently busy listing out all the cons of being Shuu's maid in my head. Hopefully, I will be in one piece by the time we see each other again....and close your mouths."
With that, she quickly slid the bathroom door shut, leaving the two surprised, flustered brothers to gather their thoughts.
"...see? Barging in was worth it. Our eyes are damn happy now that we saw Guinevere wearing nothing but her towel." Ayato was the first to break the silence, his blush fading, but not quite fully.
Laito's eyes narrowed in pleasure. "Ayato, you don't know anything~ If we sneaked in, we would have seen more of...that. A freshly showered Guinevere...hair still dripping wet and sticking to her skin...skin smooth and soft and a light, rosy pink as water drops trickles off it...not to mention her bare shoulders and perfect legs...and those moisturized, luscious lips..." He paused to lick his own lips.
Ayato covered his mouth with the side of his hand. Once his blush calmed, he said, "Heh...that wouldn't be a bad sight...not that it'll make much of a difference whether we barge in or not."
"Mm. Guinevere is no woman to be taken lightly~ She'll know that we've entered her room either way."
"Really? Damn, that sucks!"
Laito deadpanned.
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"You're on your bed for once, huh?"
Shuu peeked at her with one eye before both of them snapped open with surprise.
"What? Do you want me to dress up in a maid outfit or what?" Guinevere said, hand on her hip. "Or are you just going to stare like the other two did?"
Shuu blinked before a smirk crept onto his face. He grabbed her wrist and dragged her closer to him. "No, this is fine."
She sighed as his hands slowly, seductively inched up her waist. "Do you plan on letting me catch a cold?"
"Be quiet, woman. Let me enjoy this a little longer." Shuu then nibbled her ear playfully before burying his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling her sweet fragrance.
"Very well, Shuu-sama."
Shuu halted. "I will bite you if you keep tempting me like that. You already look irresistible enough, you lewd woman."
Guinevere raised a brow. "Did you not tell me to address you that way?"
"Not in this position," Shuu growled, voice slightly strained.
Guinevere felt his cool breath on her neck before he moved away from it, towards her shoulders. "But you can do whatever you please, Shuu-sama, for I belong to you for a whole day ...But in reason, mind you—" she was cut off when she felt something warm and damp brush her shoulder.
Shuu retracted his tongue from her fair skin. "...that's why you're so troublesome," And with those last words, he sank his fangs into her shoulder.