Reiji put down his book by his side, looking at his brother with contempt. First Laito, then Shu. Both were undoubtedly shrewd and calculating. Had their father not interrupted them during their confrontation with the Tsukinami brothers, they would have killed or at least hurt the Founders. And now Shu, walking in with a proposition like that...
"Why do you think I should follow through?" he asked, as Shu rolled over on his stomach, lounging on the couch in their library. Reiji had just finished filing up their house taxes, and it was almost time for his tea. And here was Shu, walking in on him like he was invited. Reiji slammed the book he was reading on the table in front of him, interlacing his fingers and propping his chin on them. Shu breathed slightly, his hands taking off both the earbuds from his ears, and standing up. "Do you want it or not?"
"Excuse me for being rude," Reiji said, pushing his glasses back, "But I must inquire as to why you are only interested in this issue right now. Mother has been dead for decades. Why now?"
"Because I want to." Shu said, keeping his palms on the table, leaning onto it. "I think you could need some closure."
Reiji looked at him with an amused expression, and laughed heartily. "And who would give me the closure? You? Of all people?"
Shu shut his eyes, and insisted. "Mother wasn't good to any of us."
"What makes you think that?" Reiji barked, his fury reaching another level. "Our mother was the ideal woman, a devoted wife. Lord knows why she favoured you over me. Her only flaw was trusting the wrong people, first our father, then you."
"Reiji!" Shu shouted at him, slamming his fist into the table. A wooden chunk fell off. "Do not forget that I'm the eldest. Talking about me in that tone will not be tolerated."
Reiji smiled, tilting his head. Shu's anger had flared up even more, but he somehow controlled it.
"I hope that you know," Reiji said, his voice laced with poison, "That being the eldest means taking responsibility. Being the eldest does not simply mean that you get to boss people around." He paused, then added, "It does not mean wallowing in your pain and being depressed for decades because a worthless village was burnt down."
That was the last straw, as Shu grabbed Reiji by the collar, smacking him into the table, splitting it in half. Reiji lied still for a moment, then looked up and hissed at Shu. Grabbing onto his shirt, Reiji smashed him once, twice, thrice onto the floor, snarling like a beast, ultimately throwing him into the bookshelves behind them. A landslide of books fell upon Shu, as he met with the shelves. Reiji's shirt was torn, his hair messed up, his glove missing. He had also dropped his glasses in the commotion. Straightening himself up, gathering his bearings, he got down on his knees and started to look for his glasses.
"Reiji san," he heard a thumping of shoes as someone climbed to his library with light steps, and turned to see the mortal woman standing by the door, ready for night school.
"Please excuse me," Reiji said, his hands feeling against cool metal as he finally found his glasses. Pushing them against his nose, he looked into her direction, saying in a composed manner, "You need to give us some privacy."
"But Shu san is..."
"My brother and I are discussing important matters," Reiji said, trying hard to be indifferent and not just pounce on the naive girl for interrupting them. "You may leave us and wait for our arrival in the limousine."
Shu removed the pile of books blocking him, and his glare settled onto Yui. She, for some reason, stumbled back, her breath hitched in her throat. Reiji noticed the apparent awkwardness as she walked backwards, Shu giving her a murderous look. She faced Reiji, stumbling upon her words. "I need to rush, I'm getting late." Her legs must have been fueled on adrenaline, as she was gone in an instant.
Shu moved the mess of books over his fallen body, his cardigan and jacket hanging over his shoulders like a cape. The oaf didn't even bother to slip his arms into the sleeves. Reiji felt another murderous intent boil in his heart, but he decided against acting upon it. He was too well mannered to attack someone from behind. His father, though not a great husband, was his ideal, and he wasn't ready to sink below his expected standards. Picking up his book, he flipped a page open, and started towards his room, his eyes fixed on the words scribbled inside, in the margins. His father's journals were the only thing that reminded him that he had a reputation to hold up. Unlike his useless brother, he wasn't ready to throw it all away for some worthless human life.
"Reiji," Shu called out to him, waiting a few steps behind him. "If you walk out on this, never expect me to revisit you on this issue."
Reiji kept on walking, his eyes glued to the words his father had printed in the margins of the old book, his entire attention focused on those little tiny words.
"Reiji!" Shu said in frustration, "Do you want to resurrect Mother or not?"
Reiji turned sharply, his expression so furious that it betrayed his sophisticated demeanor and posh mannerisms. "Of course I do! You think I do not want her to suffer till death as I initially planned?"
Shu shut his eyes, possibly due to exhaustion, as he said, "You're clearly not in a great mood." Pushing past him, he said, "I'll meet you tonight with my prospective. See you, little brother." Reiji huffed, as he saw his elder brother walk away with whatever he wanted again; and this time, it was his agreement.
***
Yui sat in the limousine, silently staring into nothingness as she grabbed the cranberry juice from the cup holder and stabbed the straw mechanically, bringing it to her lips and taking in a long gulp. She felt a shudder down her spine, as the rest of the brothers stared at her in silence. Subaru was, however, staring outside his window, lost in some thoughts. Laito was staring pointedly at her, his eyes scrutinising her every move as she slurped the liquid down her throat. She tolerated her perverted gaze, until she realised what he might be imagining in his mind to look at her like that.
She threw the drink on the floor, staining the red carpet with dull crimson as the tetrapack spilled its contents over, pooling into a shallow puddle. She hacked into her fist, as she heard Laito click her tongue at her. "Poor bitch chan, you want me to give you a mouth to mouth, don't you?"
She felt her throat raw as she coughed into her fist, glancing towards Ayato, sitting beside her with a blank expression. He was probably still angry at her, so she didn't push him any further by asking him why he was still holding her responsible for his anger. The red haired vampire withdrew his gaze from her, choosing to stare at the the ground beneath his feet instead, his eyebrows still knotted as if in annoyance.
She thought better than answer Laito's question. Whatever route she took, she was bound to end up bleeding. Why even bother wasting energy on saying and answering to things when you could just bear it with keeping your mouth clamped shut while they ravaged her body and drained her blood.
"Look at the mess you've created!" Kanato screamed at her, his temper reaching its paramount as he threw the pack lying near him at Yui, who shielded herself against the attack by outstretching her arms and holding out her palms. Subaru, who was done with all this nonsense, shouted above the commotion Kanato was creating. "You heretic! Keep it down!"
"Who are you calling a heretic, you albino mouse?" Kanato demanded hoarsely, his fingers digging into the leather seat beneath him.
"Now that's new," Laito said, whistling. "Why is Subaru a mouse?"
"Because only mice attack and seek attention at the same time." Kanato looked at the white haired brother and said in a harsh tone. "Nobody else could be as bipolar as Subaru."
Subaru turned his head towards Kanato, a sneer adorning his face. "At least I have the power to stop weird half blooded masochists when they try to burn my teddy into ash."
Kanato stared at him in anger, before bursting into sobs. He shouted incomprehensible accusations on Subaru, who didn't bother to either listen or understand.
"Now, now, Kanato kun," Laito said, his voice sympathetic, "Don't shed tears over Subaru's words. After all, his teddy was saved by our father, and he hasn't experienced the loss of a toy as you have."
Yui's attention perked as Laito uttered those words. She understood the subtext in which Laito mentioned that sentence, and she leaned forward and asked, her voice frail and unsure, "Laito kun, what did you say? Your father saved me?"
Among the racket Kanato was creating, Yui didn't notice as Reiji and Shu climbed the limousine in silence. Until she repeated again, noticing Laito become uncomfortable at her words, "Laito kun, who saved me?"
"I would appreciate if we proceeded to the school in silence, Miss Komori." Reiji was acting weird. He never addressed Yui using her last name. He didn't believe in naming his blood source and giving it any dignity. Everybody was acting weird, everybody was keeping secrets from her, and it made her paranoid. What else could she not know that could potentially save or endanger her life? Because she didn't know anything about Cordelia and her relationship with her sons and step sons, she had almost brushed shoulders with death itself. Keeping secrets, she realised, would be the worst thing that could possibly happen to her.
Raising her voice by a decibel, she said, "I want to know what happened the night I was unconscious."
"I would like you to die in silence," Shu said, his baritone surpassing her frail voice. She felt a dread settle in her stomach as she noticed Shu's gaze trained over her, and she beat down all hopes of uncovering the mystery of her miraculous healing. She tried to repress the sudden image that invaded her mind, of Shu, feeding on her blood like a hungry animal, invading her personal space, touching her in places she did not want to be touched. She saw Reiji notice her panicked expression and lowered her eyes.
Beside her, Ayato seethed with frustration, knowing full well what was bothering her, and devising a plan to take his own sweet revenge from Shu for daring to touch Yui. He couldn't let that attack on his property slide off, though he was an elder brother, yet he deserved to be taught a lesson.