Ruki looked at his brothers, settling down into the sofa, as he absorbed what Kou had just said. It was too absolute to imagine. A dread settled in his long dead heart, as he spat out, his ribs aching with a dull pain, "Bullshit."
"But Kou confirmed it," Yuma said, wringing his hands. He'd been the worst to deal with Yui's absence, going on rampages every now and then, terrorising humans, being a general asshole. Ruki used to give up when it came to taking responsibility for his brothers' actions, but he'd been harsh on Yuma this time, knowing he would hurt Yui by not honoring her wishes.
Kou looked at his brother with uncertain eyes, as he waited for a response from Ruki. It had to be false. All this while they were thinking that they treated her harshly, reduced her to a mere livestock, while the Sakamakis played their part well. Ruki felt distaste for them, wondering how low could you stoop, dishonoring your word, and your sacrificial bride.
"Kou," Ruki started, but could not finish his sentence. He'd been too reckless in his decision making, and now that she was attached to them instead...
"Ruki," Kou said, placing a hand over his shoulder, squeezing gently. He knew it would be too much to bear, to see her go. But they had little choice. They weren't powerful enough. And now that they had failed the Eden project, they were useless to Karlheinz. They wouldn't stand a chance. Even if they joined together their forces, there was little hope left for them.
"Eve... will die?" Azuza said, leaning on the fireplace, holding his scarred arm tenderly, eyes widened in disbelief.
Ruki raise from his seat, shouting, "No!" His breath came in wheezing, as the pain amplified, "I will not let it happen."
"She is our Eve, remember?" Yuma said, his voice a bit shaken.
Ruki threw the book he was holding towards the wall. The last thing they had in the form of a hope was to see Yui choose her Adam. And if the Sakamakis were going to hurt her...
"We need to prepare..." Ruki said, as he looked at Kou in desperation.
"I've only been informed of how it will begin," Kou said, his hands shaking at the thought. "I have no idea or control over how it will end."
"If you refuse to help them?"
"They'll come after us, brother. One is enough to annihilate us."
Ruki lost patience. "I cannot just sit and debate here while she's right there, living amongst them!"
Yuma stepped forward, scared at the reckless behaviour Ruki was displaying. "Maybe we should just wait and devise a plan..."
"There is no plan, Yuma." Ruki buried his face in his hands. "We'll just have to watch her die."
***
Two weeks. He'd been burning in agony since two weeks. A dark place had already formed in his heart, reminding him of the chronic pain he always experienced. Swallowing him, letting him fall further and further into the abyss, until he forgot the concept of his existence, his being. Tendrils of dark, swirling fog formed from beneath his skin, as he reached for the surface. He needed to breathe. His throat constricted, forcing him to take in a big gulp of breath.
Instead of sooty fog, water followed into his body, seeping in through every crevices, into the pores of his skin. An burning sensation was left in the wake, his skin sizzling and wet at the same time. He wanted to breathe. He wanted to breathe. His lungs filled up with water, as he coughed up the same black smoke around him, his feet touching the bottom of the fountain, as he heard a quiet voice in his head.
If you are not the best, you are of no use to me.
Ayato jerked his head up, his book open in front of him, drool on the desk as he had nodded off to sleep. He found Mr. Kurosawa towering over him, a palm over his desk, an annoyed expression on his face.
"Sakamaki, you probably know what you have to do."
Ayato smirked, and got up from his chair, not bothering to look at his teacher while he walked out of the class. The dream was too real, but he refused to show any weakness to the demons of his mind. He needed to be strong, not to let the bloodlust drive him crazy yet again. He knelt down on the hard floor, looking up, bored and tired. He didn't know what he was doing. He wanted to just walk away from punishment while that old baldy taught useless math equations. He needed a distraction, and just when he wanted one, he felt a delightful aroma waft towards him.
Yui's steady steps approached him, as he caught her scent. It made him want to simply tear her throat apart. While one part of his mind told him to stay away from her, the other reckless part wanted to see how far he could push without draining her to death.
She caught him staring, a light blush painting her cheeks pink as his eyes followed her body. He knew what she must have been thinking. He knew the humiliation she had endured because of him had pushed her to slap Laito, but he wanted to distance himself from that fiasco. She was the one who made that decision and acted upon it. He'd been holding his obsessive tendencies for her sake, and she'd brought all the suffering upon herself. In his twisted way of thinking, Yui deserved to be punished by Reiji tonight.
She went past him, into the classroom, without much hesitation. He found himself a bit annoyed. She should have at least cast a look upon him. Even though he'd been the one ignoring her. Even though he'd been the one snarling at her. Now, he thought, that he deserved her ignorance.
He heard muffled voices, as she exited the classroom, to stand in front of him. Habit made him try to sneak a peek into her skirt, but she was quick to get away from him before he could get any chance.
"Can you stay serious for one moment?" Yui said, crossing her arms across her chest. Ayato looked at her, the light from the lamp shining above them dizzying his vision.
"Can you mind your own business for one moment?" Ayato retorted. He wanted her to sting from those words, but she stayed adamant, not moving out of his way.
"Come on, we need to go," she said, bending down and tugging at his arm. Ayato rolled his eyes, getting up on his feet. Dusting off his knees, he asked, "What made the old man let me go?"
"I lied."
Ayato whipped his head towards her, giving her a bewildered look. Yui clutched a folder in her arms, and as she watched him look at her, he saw her digging her nails into the folder, as if that will save her from him. Grabbing her by the elbow, he forced her to walk through the corridor with him. If Reiji saw them cutting class together again, he'd skin both of them alive. This was totally reckless of her. It's not like they could get back to the class and tell Kurosawa that there had been some mistake and Yui did need to attend class. And the irrational part of Ayato's brain jumped at the opportunity to isolate Yui.
Once they were both outside of the corridor, into the same garden where Ayato had unsuccessfully tried to drink from her, he turned her towards him, hands on her shoulders, as he barked, "Explain."
She winced from the pain, and he let go. He needed to hold his reins back. One little mistake and it could cost him.
"I just needed for you to lighten up for a moment," she said, stepping back, creating distance between them.
Ayato rolled his eyes. "Since when do you care about my mood, Pancake." He kicked the grass beneath him. "Stooopid."
"Don't call me stupid, you went with the escape plan anyway."
"What am I supposed to do then? Waltz back into class?"
"You weren't in class anyway, Ayato kun. The teacher would have kicked you out anyway."
"Huh?"
Yui was silenced when she noticed his sudden indifference.
"Well... that was the last class..." He looked at the corridor behind them. "Do you, maybe want to go back home?"
"There's time for that," she suggested.
"Look, Pancake, I can't take you to the church."
"I don't want to go to church."
There were times, when Yui will act like that in front of him. Usually because of blood loss. Or maybe she was feeling a bit feisty. He could smell that change inside her, as her honeysuckle was overpowered by a deep, tangy scent of blood.
Then...
"What would you rather do?" Ayato asked, his head looking at the inky black sky, the stars looking like raindrops suspended in air. Maybe they will drench them today.
"I don't know," Yui said, her bag in her arm. "What do you think?"
Ayato was already walking when he decided upon it. He'd grown out of it, and maybe she would too.
"Ayato kun..." Yui sprinted towards him, catching up and slipping her arm into his, as they continued to walk together.
"You're an idiot, you know that?"
***
Kanato sat, lost in his thoughts as he looked at the little dolls, repairing them with wax. He slowly dipped a brush into the wax, wiping it on the edge of the container, then coating a generous amount on the doll's fingers. This one was called Ada before he made her beautiful. She had pretty blue eyes, and he had already replaced them with much brighter, pastel blue eyes. Her golden locks hung in loose curls around her face. He raised his hand to untangle them with his nimble fingers. The smell had become a bit unbearable, which is probably why it was smelling like death when Reiji and Shu came into his room. He brought a lavender spray and spritzed it all over the doll, breathing in the sweet aroma. He wished she could also smell this, but he knew that she was dead.
Turning her around, he picked up a brush by his side on the dresser, and started combing her hair. his hands started to twist her hair into pigtails, as he started humming his favourite song. He could see the part where he stitched up her skull after taking her brain out, and smoothed the hair, patting gently.
Laito's footsteps interrupted him, and he looked up from his task. Laito stood by his door, opposite to him, a grin on his face.
"You're actually a bigger piece of shit that you were before," Kanato stated, being blunt about it. His hand went towards the jar that held little blue hair clips, and started clipping them into the dead girl's hair. Laito leaned leisurely on the door, his eyes fixed on the carpet of Kanato's room.
"And what makes you say that?" Laito invited himself in, sitting down on his bed. Kanato wasn't like Ayato. He didn't like it when people came into his room unannounced. He still, beared through Laito's cockiness, and continued to braid the girl's hair, painstakingly so.
"Because you cannot handle not being the center of the attention."
Laito smiled still, but it was a bit less friendlier than before. Kanato had spoken the truth. It stung him alright, but Kanato never saw the truth hurting him so much.
"Why do you care about her not giving you her affection?" Kanato said, a bit baffled. "She's not on the same wavelength as we are. She doesn't understand our emotions. The most use we will get out of her is as a blood container."
Laito crossed his legs, his new posture a bit intimidating for Kanato. He felt a bit weirded out by his stance. He was sure that Laito wouldn't hurt him, yet...
"Are you not going to love when she's torn limb by limb?" Laito said, licking his lips, his legs unfolding, as his heart started pounding. "Ah, how enticing that would be!"
"If you are done fantasizing, get out." Kanato was blunt yet again, but his words were different in the manner that they weren't indifferent. Laito had pushed Kanato into a corner with his perverted talk, a corner from where Kanato could neither defend himself nor Yui. Because he would have garnered contentment realising that she had been punished. Whether or not she deserved the said punishment was secondary to the satisfaction he would get from her misery.
"Schadenfreude." He uttered the word Reiji was so fond of. The happiness acquired through the misery of others. It was as prevalent in the demon world as it was in the human one. The way people would watch acts of violence, unable to control themselves because they wonder what will happen next.
"Precisely why little bitch would not hesitate to banish us to hell, you know," Laito said, getting up from the bed and standing beside the door of Kanato's room. His hands had deftly placed a worn out diary on the dresser for Kanato to pick up. "See ya, Kanato kun."
Laito disappeared, but left Kanato wondering about the weird diary that was left on his dresser, as an old photograph jutted out from its pages. Pulling it out, he saw a person in a catholic priest attire, holding a baby with shocking blond hair in his arms. On the back of the photo were two words scrawled in black ink: Memento mori.