Reiji looked at the unconscious body of the mortal girl with utter contempt. Though she had been changed into a white bridal gown, washed up and cleaned for the sacrifice, he still couldn't bear her filthy body anywhere around him. He imagined his mother, coming back to him. Her pretty blonde hair and blue yes, those he loved to see, those he never inherited from her. She failed him yet again in genetics, as she always did. Laito witnessed Reiji's turmoil from behind the door, as he hesitated to pick her hollow body in his arms. Vampires were built lean for faster movement yet could lift things without much effort, but Reiji wasn't hating the weight of her solid bones. He hated the fact that he was going through this only to bring back his mother.
"Do it already," Laito complained. Reiji turned to face him, his hands wringing themselves. "Why don't you do it then?"
Laito rolled his eyes. "If you had been less uptight, she might have chosen you instead of Ayato."
Reiji huffed. "You didn't charm her either."
Laito hummed to himself, doubtful. "I didn't want her fragile body to shatter with my lovemaking."
Reiji let out a peal of laughter. "Of course. Of course you didn't, motherfucker." He said the last part in a whisper, and Laito squinted at him, annoyed.
"You do know time is running out right now as we speak right?" Laito said, his hands crossing across his chest. Reiji was accustomed to his brothers swallowing insults before, but this was the first time he had seen Laito become a bit triggered.
"The half-bloods have been procured right?" Reiji said, settling down beside the girl. Her blonde locks framed her head like a halo. Reiji didn't notice it before, but she looked like those angels while she slept.
"Yes," Laito said, adding, "Ruki kun couldn't be bothered to join us because he got skewered by a drain grill. Yuma kun is a bit, how do I put it, out of shape."
Reiji smiled. "Subaru and Ayato?"
"Ayato kun insists we put it off till we understand the magic a bit more." Laito chuckled. "I am surprised he found out about the plan so soon. We had always been excited about putting mother to rest forever, but you beat us to it." A shuffle of bedsheets was heard before Reiji stood before Laito with Yui in her arms. She seemed so serene and at peace, Reiji paused to admire her for a moment. How could humans be so alluring while they slept? And while they were awake they were the least tolerable of all species. How polarising and ironic.
"Ayato should be ready for the things to come," Reiji said, smiling. "I do believe his initial attraction for the girl was genuine."
Laito tilted his head. "He explained to me once that he felt like his body was tearing him apart when he wasn't around her." He came closer towards Reiji, looking at the sleeping hum in his arms. Her cheek had been scraped in the process of her procurement. He gently tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "For all we know, it could have been an aide from of father to increase the chances of getting a new subject for his Eden project."
Reiji nodded, but he wasn't convinced. Why would Ayato feel so obliged to get her out of the Mukami household in the first place? Those unspoken dangers he always saved her from, were those just for amusement, r did the possessive bastard have some ulterior motive in all of this?
"You don't seem to accept the fact that Ayato kun doesn't care for anyone but himself, Reiji," Laito said, his eyebrows knotting up in worry. "Don't forget that it was him who put our mother into eternal sleep. It's not like he didn't love her, he just had a bit of issues with her. It was nothing more than a sport, a hunt for him."
"You are telling me to trust him?" Reiji raised his eyebrows. It wasn't going to be long till they would know who the mole really was. The one planted the idea inside Ruki's mind that the crows were Reiji's familiars. They would have saved hours if only Ruki hadn't fled into the sewers with the girl.
"Only if you want to, Reiji," Laito chuckled. "I've never been closer to anyone other than Ayato. He may be a hothead, but he has proved time and again to be sensible enough to leave you in peace. The last time we did the session with Little Bitch, he shut himself inside his iron maiden."
Reiji made a sound of approval, yet held his suspicions. "He's proven to be an ally of her numerous times."
"You better not expect him to be any more humane than us," Laito said, winking at him. Reiji cringed inside.
A blast resounded in the distance, dividing their attention. From the window, they could see the opposite side of the mansion billowing with smoke. They could see fire from the windows of the first floor. It was slow, gradual, and raw. Reiji looked at Laito as another boom echoed, and now they could see the ground shaking. The gas line must have been lit up.
Reiji put the sleeping human back into the bed, ordering Laito, "Hurry, we need to make sure the roof doesn't burn up. The sigil is going to be activated within seconds."
Laito nodded, disappearing into the mist behind him. Reiji took one final look at the girl, smiled in satisfaction, and followed suit, shutting the doors behind him.
Sweat rolled down Yui's forehead, as the flimsy strap holding her dress became blood red, ruby drops leaking from two precisely placed fang marks over her heart.
***
Azuza lifted himself from the grass, limping forward yet again. He had been staked, but in the opposite side of his heart. A stabbing pain in his chest, he dragged on, failing to understand why the priest had left him alive when Azuza could kill him in the snap of a finger. The best thing to do in that situation would have to be killing Azuza at that very moment. And, judging by his reputation, the priest wasn't exactly a novice to begin with.
A car whizzed past him, ignoring the trail of blood he had been leaving behind him. His body craved blood already, his bandages unravelling, his best friends tattooed on his arm. He wanted Eve. He wanted to see his brothers. He wanted to look at Kanato's stupid face. He couldn't just sit back and see Eve being sacrificed, and now that her father had escaped his watchful gaze, he had to get him back to their manor.
Azuza stepped on glass, wincing in pain. Some damn drunk must have thrown their late night booze out of the car. He stepped off from the glass pieces, even though the pain enthralled him, he did not want this feeling at this moment. Nevertheless, he sat down on the road, folding his injured leg towards himself, carefully picking the shards of broken beer bottle from his foot. Great, this was the level he was supposed to be on.
He heard the distinct honk of a car, lights blinding his vision. He hated sudden bright lights especially, but he didn't have enough energy to yell at the driver. As his night vision adjusted, he saw a vintage Ambassador halt in front of him, the driver honking at him a few times. When was the Japanese army when you really needed them?
He heard the door of the car open, and footsteps approaching him. The light mostly shadowed the driver, but judging by his silhouette, it seemed like a boy, about his age. He was built slender, and when the boy reached down towards him to offer him help, Azuza noticed he had very slender, spider-like fingers.
"Hey, are you lost? Your mother threw you out?" the boy asked, as Azuza accepted his hand, being pulled up on his feet. Azuza didn't like the carefree tone of the driver's voice.
"I was walking and a bottle jabbed my foot," Azuza said curtly. In the incandescent glow of the car headlights, he saw the boy in a bit more detail. His eyes must have been a light colour, because they seemed to glow in the dark. He had a strange formal coat with golden shoulder pads with golden accessories to match. In some fashion, the boy reminded him a lot of the hothead of the Sakamaki family.
Somebody shouted from inside the car, "Oi, Kino, does the guy need any help?"
Azuza lit up. "Can you drop me off on the outskirts of the city? I need to reach a friend's mansion."
The boy named Kino smiled at him, though it was a strange, haughty smile. The kind your school bully would give you when he sees you in the mess. Whatever his intentions were, this Kino guy knew how to hide them well, because he simply said, "Why not?" and beamed a brilliant smile at Azuza.
"Thanks," Azuza said as he limped towards the car. He opened the passenger seat, sliding into the far right, his preferred seat. In front of him sat a ghoul. He knew the smell ghouls emanated, and though he had met few, he had engraved that smell in his memory. Ghouls meant no good. They generally regarded demons as perpetrators of evil, and he wondered how the boy had managed to kidnap one.
To think of that... the boy smelt familiar.
It was a scent that was part pure-blood stink mixed with something he never knew. Maybe something Ruki called Rotinberg once, but Azuza wasn't sure.
"Kino," the boy came from his side, surprising him. He extended his spiderlike fingers towards him, and Azuza only stared at his hand, blank faced. "Azuza," he introduced himself.
Kino withdrew his hand without much shame. "The one in the passenger seat is Yuuri, but he rarely talks. I hope you don't mind."
With that, Kino slid into the driver's seat, slamming the door shut. The ghoul had been kidnapped and was being forced to act as a friend for the cruel vampire. How hilarious.
Kino put the car into gear, accelerating. "By the way, Azuza kun, where do you wanna go?"
Azuza stroked the scar on his forearm. He didn't like being interrogated. "Just drop me in front of the Sakamaki mansion."
Yuuri groaned a bit. Kino jumped with joy, as he said, "Oh, what a coincidence! We're both going there as well!"
Azuza nodded absentmindedly. "What are you going there for?"
Kino smiled at the vampire. "Well, I've heard it's a brilliant mansion. We just wanted to do some sightseeing first."
Azuza didn't know what first meant in that context. Not at that moment, at least.
But he did look at Kino with contempt, before shifting his gaze back towards the scars on his arm.
***
Kanato kicked the blonde idol to the ground, hissing at him. Kou was whimpering and cowering in front of him, chains restraining his movements. Yuma's battered form was beside him, unchained because there was practically nothing left to chain. Reiji's familiars had had a nice feast tonight.
Subaru yelled at his older brother. "Don't hurt him!"
Kanato glared at him. "Or what? You'll cry?"
The look on Subaru's face was absolutely shocking. He glared back at Kanato, blood dripping from one of his eye. His teeth were already stained with Yui's blood, making him look like a literal monster. As he was.
Kou crawled back towards the wall where his chains had been hanged. Kanato leaned back, satisfied. Wait till Ayato gets to know this. He was the one who pulled everyone's leg, and Kanato would love to see the reaction when Subaru got angry in front of his brother.
Kou coughed up blood. "Why are you doing this, Kanato kun? You stand to gain nothing from this."
Kanato chuckled. "I get to be entertained from this."
Subaru barked out a loud laugh. "Your mother also sought to entertained after her death, look where it landed her."
Back in the distance, Kanato could even hear Shu chuckle. They were acting disrespectfully towards him and his mother. He brought his boot upon Kou's cheek, relishing the pained voice that escaped Kou when he slammed him with his foot.
Subaru gasped, suddenly reaching a realisation. Kanato looked at him, confused, while he stared at Shu in the distance. Shu noticed him glaring, and casually walked towards them, his cardigan fluttering in the wind. The moon rose beyond the horizon, overshadowing Shu's lean figure as he stood in front of Subaru, crossing his arms. "Yes, Subaru?"
"Reiji visited my mother to instigate her," Subaru struggled against his chains, his anger bubbling slowly into his blood. Kanato looked back at Shu, and the accusation was confirmed with a smile from the oldest.
"He used her to lure Yui during the full moon into an unsafe place," Subaru spat out, seething with rage. "He poisoned the air to make me attack her."
Shu shrugged. "I wouldn't know much."
"It was him; it was definitely him," Subaru twisted in his place. "That bastard dare to use my mother for his fucked up plans to corner us! He knew all along Kou was acting as the double agent! He saw through Kou's use of his truth seeking eye. He made me attack Yui with his damn dissolvable potions, so that she'd never trust me even if I got down to save her at some point this evening."
They heard a loud blast, coming from the floors below them. Shu's eyes flew open, looking at Kanato. Kanato looked back at him, and they rushed towards the balcony of the roof. Kanato could see smoke escaping from the first floor windows, the curtains on fire. Kanato had a really bad thought, and he pushed it to the back of his mind.
"Ayato said he was going to the first floor to attend some business," Shu said in a flat tone. Nothing of much concern, but it made Kanato sweat bullets. Not his own brother. Shu backed away a bit from the billowing flames, and Kanato was reminded of his fear of fire.
"He must be stuck in the fire. I must go and get him," Kanato said, jumping off from the balcony, landing on the first floor balcony on his feet like a cat. The only thing he saw through the smoke was the charred furniture, books flaming.
Kanato's heart kicked into action. His worst fears were coming to life, as he whispered to himself, "Dammit, Ayato, you will never learn from your mistakes."
A/N: I think there might be confusion because of probably varying time zones, but the day I posted this was a Sunday. Another update comes on Monday, so you guys get two back to back updates.