Yui was in a rush. Despite getting no sleep for the day, she was up and running in the afternoon, tending to everyone who had been injured in the aftermath of the full moon. Her heart was constantly jumping from worry to peace to fear, but at the end of the day, they were all safe.
But for one.
Shu's body had been retrieved by the servants, and Ayato had refused to give him a proper burial. He was thrown down into a cold storage, and everyone was ordered to seal the room that housed his body. They couldn't destroy the son of a vampire king by fire, so Subaru suggested the alternative. Subaru had been the most affected by Shu's death. Even though he had his rage moments with the eldest, he still respected him in a way only a Sakamaki could.
Yui had already patched up Azuza, Kanato and Laito. Laito had refused to speak to her despite her pestering him for answers. Why did he do it? What was his motivation? Why was he so eager to see her dead? Kanato had merely growled at her to get out of his room. He did not, however, refuse to be treated. They were fast healing vampires, no doubt, but that only applied to their surface cuts. Anything more than a laceration was taking too much time to heal, so she had to seal up their wounds in order to prevent infection or gangrene.
She proceeded towards Yuma's room, knocking twice.
Ruki was sitting beside him, his throat already bandaged by Yui. The eldest Mukami gave her a sweet smile, and she returned it back. Yuma was looking way better than everyone else now, though he had been through an awful lot.
"Look at you, Yuma kun," her voice was cheerful, and it sort of made Yuma a bit less cautious. "You're already looking so healthy."
"He doesn't need much care, Eve," Ruki looked at his brother slyly, his chin resting in the palm of his hand, his stance was way more relaxed than she had ever witnessed. "He eats the body of his victims and that is enough."
Yui laughed, as Yuma looked on, irritated. Seeing that nobody joined in with her, she asked, "Are you serious, Ruki kun?"
"I don't do jokes, Eve."
Yui stumbled back a bit. "Is it true, Yuma kun?"
"Tch," Yuma was annoyed to the end of his patience. "You sow have nothing better than to pry into people's personal matters, right?"
But he ate people.
Yui shook her head, asking in a low voice, "Now, show me where you need to be patched up."
Yuma rolled his eyes, throwing off his covers. He was mostly naked save for a pair of trousers borrowed from Shu's wardrobe. She gulped as she saw the gaping hole in his torso. It had stopped bleeding since his heart didn't pump blood, but undead blood clotted slower than mortal blood, and hence a bunch of stringy, blackened blood was left polled on his belly. She dunked a cotton cloth into a pot of warm water, and carefully wiped the congealed blood off of his torso.
"Hey, sow," Yuma asked, his tone a bit dejected and sorrowful. Yui looked up from her task, her fingers wrapping around the little cloth. "Yes, Yuma kun?"
"Is it true that the NEET is dead?"
Yui's grip slackened, as the cloth fell on his skin. Her jaw dropped, as Ruki looked on in certain stern concentration. They'd mostly avoided talking about Shu in general. While people were busy recovering and sleeping after the exhausting night, Yui and Ruki were staying awake, on alert for the threats that might jump on them. The Tsukinami attack had left them a bit hazed, and Ruki refused to be less vigilant for the sake of his brothers.
"I'm sorry, Yuma kun," Yui squeezed his shoulder, as he closed his eyes, refusing to accept that he felt sorrowful after losing what seemed to be a person he related to.
"Whatever." He finally said, his eyebrows knotting up. "Who cares."
Ruki just gave a lazy shake of his head.
She finished up cleaning the wound, finally wrapping it up with gauze and scratching Yuma's hair for good measure. He blushed deeply, and snatched at her hand, annoyed. "Oi, sow, what was that for?"
"For being a good boy." Yui giggled as Ruki joined in to laugh.
"Ruki, I will knock off your teeth if you laugh at my misery," Yuma warned.
"I'm only laughing at your coyness," Ruki teased his brother.
Yui raised her eyebrows as she remembered something. Pulling a little vial of blood out of her pocket, she placed it onto his bedside table, pointing at it, "That's supposed to be your medicine, Yuma kun. Don't forget to take it."
Yuma huffed. "Yeah, yeah."
Yui smiled warmly at him, and proceeded to walk out of his room.
Onto the next room.
She knocked softly, her first aid kit in hand, as Subaru uttered an annoyed sound. From one tsundere to another, she was probably blessed with these characters. He had been stabbed a few times and had scratches all over his body, but over all he had healed as well as Yuma, the boy who ate his victims. Which made her wonder if Subaru ate his victims?
"Why are you standing there like a dumb idiot?" Subaru demanded, as Yui pulled out of her thoughts.
"I... no nothing," she pushed the door shut, and sat down beside him. He covered the back of his neck, and muttered something inaudible.
"Sorry, Subaru kun, I didn't hear you."
"Great because that was not meant for you." He snatched away the first aid kit from her hand, furious. "Do whatever you want to do and leave me alone."
She sighed, and held out her hand.
"What?"
"Well, I need the first aid box in order to do my work, don't I?" Yui spoke with a certain authority now, and Subaru just didn't want her to become afraid of him, perhaps. His mouth pressed into a thin line, before he passed her the little white box. She smiled at him, and rolled up his sleeve to expose the gash on his bicep. It was jagged and deep, but nothing good old gauze and antiseptic couldn't solve. She had already washed it in warm water, and put a little peroxide on it. He winced, grabbing her hand on instinct, squeezing it.
She squeezed back, reassuring him.
"That hurts like a bitch," Subaru bit down on his words, hissing. She gently caressed his arm, wrapping the gauze around it carefully. "It's okay, Subaru kun. It'll get over."
He ran his thumb in circles on the inside of her wrist, his hair flopping over his forehead as he bobbed his head. "Reiji was taken away by that man."
Yui nodded. She knew the rest that had been left were anxious as to what punishment would be meted out by Karlheinz for Reiji, but just knowing that he had been caught by the vampire king was a terrifying thought in itself. She'd accepted that he had tried to hurt not only her, but his own brothers and the Mukamis, and had maimed her father. She harboured a certain hate for him that nothing else matched right now. Not Shu's abhorrent actions, not Laito's torture, not even Ruki's confinement. Nothing was as hurtful as seeing people who had power over her abuse her own father.
"Did.. you talk to your father, then?" Yui thought the dreams had been a fabrication of her broken mind, but she had been corrected when she had given Ayato the fruit of life. It was real, at least the dream where Karlheinz told her about the Garden of Eden and gave her the fruit. The least she could make of the situation was to understand what role she had to play in all this. And why Karlheinz thought that his sons were so dispensable.
"I didn't talk much," Subaru said, triggered almost immediately. Yui brought her hand against her lips, afraid of whether he would hurt her.
Instead, he pulled his hand away from her firm grasp. "He had a message for you though," Subaru acted nonchalant, but Yui could tell by the reddening of his ears that he was embarrassed. "He said that you were powerful, and that he believed in you."
"Oh," she gasped, her fingers interlacing, her chin now resting on her knuckles. "Is that all?"
"He kept referring to you as Eve," Subaru squared his shoulders. "Did you choose yet?"
Yui blinked, unsure of what he was asking.
His nose reddened, and he flushed with colour so fast, Yui scooted a bit away from him. "Don't look at me like that! I'm just asking if you have your sights set on somebody to fill the role as Adam."
Yui tilted her head slightly, a giggle escaping out of her as soon as she uttered, "Yes, actually-"
"HUH?" The look on Subaru's face was incredible. It was a weird mixture of disappointment, hope, embarrassment and anger. "Who is it? Is it that half-blood?"
The eagerness in his voice made her a bit worried. "I... I was joking, Subaru kun. I think we're both bad at communicating."
Subaru laughed, the sound making her wake up from her daze. "No, the plot is just confusing us."
Yui smiled, knowing that breaking the fourth wall at this point would be unnecessary. "There," she fastened the gauze with a knot on her bicep. Subaru muttered something under his breath, yet again.
"Sorry? I didn't hear you, Subaru kun," Yui said, picking up her first aid box.
"Nothing." Subaru gave her an impatient wave. "Go, that Oresama is waiting for you."
Yui smiled slightly as she closed the door softly behind her.
***
Ayato's little hands felt insufficient to hold on to anything.
He swung his sword, as he was told to do by his master, and diligently did so. From a distance, he could see Reiji in the shading area in the garden, bent into his books, his glasses pushed back on his nose. Shu had been busy with his music lessons, Kanato was playing with his stupid dolls as usual. Laito was being sulky and playing the piano on his own. He had been told to stay away from Subaru, as that boy could corrupt him. Cordelia never failed to remind him that the fair haired boy had been a product of incest, and that he had been the reason his mother had gone cuckoo.
Ayato didn't particularly like his brothers, but he never had any reason to hate them either.
His chubby hands were lugging the huge sword behind as he heard the chatter of his mother, obviously going on about herself. Ayato had inherited her boastful nature as well, but hidden behind the brash exterior was the little insecure child who just wanted to make his mother happy. He'd never admit it, though. He considered showing his true feelings as a sure sign of weakness, and he wanted to be nothing but strong. His cape fluttered behind him, as he dragged his sword behind him.
There was a certain tang in the air, a smell so overpowering that he felt tremors run through his body. Through the huge iron gates, he could see somebody skipping through the stepping stones that led to the garden and towards the mansion. He'd only drunk from old bottles and blood bags, but this was a heady smell, making him swoon almost instantaneously. It was a girl, barely a few years older than him, perhaps only thirteen. Her dress was a sober black gown that pooled at her feet, which she held up by her hands, lifting enough in order to be able to walk properly.
There had been blood bags for him, fresh for his taking, but they were mere slaves, fed rarely and drained frequently. This, on the other hand, made him drool with the anticipation of a nice meal. His fangs had recently started growing, nowadays he could simply bite into the blood bags rather than cutting them with a blade. A few bats flew at him, and he swatted them away, annoyed. "Not.. right now!" he became angry at his familiars. "I just finished practising; do you want me to just play with you all the time? Shitty bats."
One of them flopped onto its back in front of him, widening its eyes and seeking his attention. The rest started to squeak, and Ayato flopped his sword back. "Shut up!"
He started to run away from his familiars, but collided smack into someone.
"Ow!" he cried out, rubbing his head. What the hell? He looked up at the teenager who smelled weird. She was giving him a worried look right now, her hand pressed into her mouth. After an eternity of staring at him, she said, in a whisper, "Are you alright?"
He rubbed his shoulder to ease out the pain. "Look where you go! You almost made Oresama loose his balance!"
She got down on her knees, rubbing his head. "Does it hurt- Ow!"
Ayato slapped her hand away. "What are you doing?" He scowled at her. "Shitty human. Touching Oresama like that?"
"Ah, Mary," Ayato turned at the sound of his mother's voice. She clutched her rich purple gown in her grip, and Ayato saw her lick her lips. "Richter told me you would be arriving today."
The girl squared up her shoulders, and bowed. "I am honoured to meet you, your highness."
Ayato looked at his mother, a questioning stare as she lowered her lashes, looking at him with a quaint smile.
Ayato smiled back, and turned towards the girl. "Then, you are my possession now."
The girl screamed as the young vampire pounced at her.
***
Yui leaned back in her seat, looking at her father sleep soundly in her bed. She'd tucked him in a few hours ago, but couldn't get sleep in the adjacent room. Her head lolled as she tried to stay awake, watching her father. He'd been a bit shaken up with the loss of a limb and his ear, but she'd seen him practically recover with ease. The night was still young, as she had instructed the others to rest as much as possible. The Mukamis had returned home, and the only ones that were left were Subaru, Kanato, Laito and Ayato. She'd told them to rest as well, but she knew it was futile telling anyone here what they ought to do. Subaru was back at his mother's cell, probably sad and angry about something yet again. Kanato was playing with his dolls the last time she visited him before he barked at her to get out of his room, and Laito had stolen Ayato's magazines and was making weird noises inside his room.
She had certainly stopped the bleeding, but she doubted that he would come back to being normal. She was a bit unsure as to why he had dumped her in this place, and why he had come back running for her.
"Oi," she heard a gruff tone call her out from the dark, as she turned towards the door. Her father stirred in his sleep, disturbed by the commotion but not woken up.
She felt a breath over her shoulder as Ayato came in her proximity, chuckling intently. "Your old man is sleeping."
"Ayat kun," she shushed him. "Don't be loud."
"Don't tell me to be quiet, you..." he yelled at her, and she put a gentle hand over his arm, tugging him out of the room. The dim hallway lamps illuminated his face, his emerald green eyes glowing brilliantly in the dark.
"What do you want?" she asked, still patient to hear him out.
"You aren't angry at me for dragging you out of your father's room?" Ayato raise an eyebrow at her.
Of course, she should be angry. But why that anger hadn't yet taken hold of her was beyond her.
"I don't know," she simply replied.
He stared at her for a few moments, before his lips pressed themselves into a thin line, and his hand grabbed her wrist, pulling her towards the kitchen downstairs. She knew he was taking her to the kitchen because it had happened many times before, only that this time, he had the urgency she had never seen inside him before. Something stirred inside her as well, as she tried not to stumble and fall into his arms. Despite whatever had happened, he had saved her from throwing away her life, though he had no good intentions regarding her own life.
He'd dismissed his fight with Ruki as being "immature" and that he didn't approve of what he had done. Ayato never took responsibility of his actions, and this was the first time that Yui saw him change his ways for the better. He still wouldn't tell her much, though. He intended to keep secrets from her as long as he could be able to do it.
***
The darkness swallowed everything around him.
Seiji rested back on the bed, staring down at his stump. Yui had stitched and bandaged it well, and he wondered how she had gotten so skilled with such things. He didn't teach her these things. It only meant that she was learning something here in this haunted mansion.
He rolled off on his back, a pulse of bright light invading his senses.
He tried to shield his eyes, but it pained so much. He knew who would be so theatrical and dramatic while entering a room.
"Karlheinz?" the priest kept himself from being dazzled. The pale light illuminated the room, as the vampire stood before him, imposing. The old vampire king had changed little in the twenty years since the priest had last seen him. But then, the vampire king didn't really have any physical form. He could appear to you as whatever he wished to be. This time, instead of the piercing magenta eyes Seiji had last seen him use, he had a brilliant pair of golden eyes that glowed in the dark.
Karlheinz's cape fluttered as he pushed the door gently. They were left in a dim glow of pale light. Something in the kitchen clanged loudly.
The vampire king shook his head. "Young uns in love."
Seiji looked down at the ground, embarrassed.
"Why even feel such shame, hunter? She isn't even your daughter."
The sharp remark made Seiji look at the vampire in disgust. "I've brought her up with my own hands. For seventeen years."
"I wouldn't know much about paternal love, Seiji." The remark was offhanded. It was meant to make Seiji infuriated. During the long period of the vampire presiding as the vampire king in the demon world, he had made sure the destined Eve was being treated well. He made sure the church was treating her well despite her controversial roots. And why not? She was the queen of his little game. When immortals were bored, they'd craft stupid games for themselves. Making the struggle of mortals more difficult only for their own amusement. Sure, his real motive was to find somebody to kill him and take over the throne, but he didn't mind playing with their emotions to see which scenario played out better.
"Of course, considering you regard you sons little more than experiments," Seiji replied. A little shadow of rage crossed Karlheinz's expression, before he quickly reverted to his smug self. He wasn't disturbed by the fact that he didn't care about his sons, but because Seiji was being bold enough to try and hit him with spicy retorts.
"Your daughter is a tough nut to crack, Seiji," Karlheinz tried to switch the attention towards Yui. "I don't know what you fed her as part of your hazing ritual, but it's working. Definitely. She was having doubts about choosing her Adam, but now that she has..."
"You still think Ayato is worthy of it? Being Adam?" Seiji still held his doubts. Sakamaki Ayato was the last person he would think was made for the role. He was possessive, had a huge inferiority complex that he hid by being aggressive and pushy, was extremely needy and let emotions rule his mind.
"Oh, no... Ayato has surprised me, for sure." The vampire king motioned Seiji to sit down. He did so, fearing the immortal being's anger. "I just wanted to be sure that the Eve was making the right choice. But Ayato was making even better choices, in my opinion."
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, you know everything by now," the vampire stalked the hunter close, his tongue darting out to lick his lips. Seiji was unfazed by these tactics by now. Karlheinz crossed his hands across his chest, a satisfied smile on his lips. "You tell me, how many times have I rewound time by now?"
Seiji huffed. "Based on what I have observed, at least six times."
"And how do you know that?"
"You are not the only one spying on your children, Karl," the priest let out a shaking exhale of breath. "I didn't know much about the state in which my daughter was in, but through Ruki I determined at least three times when you fiddled with the time dimension."
"Is that right?" Karlheinz put a finger under his chin, feigning a thoughtful look. "I remember only thirteen. I stopped counting after that."
"Not to mention how you made Shu evacuate his room in the middle of the night in order to force him to attack my daughter, just so she would go running into Cordelia's first born's arms. You have been awfully biased in this game."
Karlheinz laughed, the sound grating against the silence around them. "I also made her lose her inhibitions so that she would be more perceptive to Ayato's advances at school. All it took was a little grey bunny to cast a spell on her. It was crucial to change her views about him."
"You're a horrible person."
"The pleasure is all mine," Karlheinz gave a mock curtsey to Seiji. "I rewound time when she was drowning in the pool to make Ayato save her. I made the boy appear to save her from Kanato while the hysteric tried to kill her. I made him care enough for her so that he would rise up against the resurrected Cordelia and Richter. You should be aware of it by now, Seiji, wouldn't you? Yui has died numerous times in this game. It is only due to my grace that she was able to live for so long, otherwise even her friend Ruki would have drained her out in her captivity."
Seiji shook his head, hiding his face into his hands. The sheer power Karlheinz had over his daughter was baffling. "One last question."
"Ask ahead," Karlheinz said, sounding peaceful.
"Why did your third born save Yui?" Seiji's words came out hesitant. He was sure he didn't want to hear the explanation, he sure as hell didn't want to know more than he ought to. Knowledge for him was dangerous. It was the same knowledge that had forced him into the role of Eve's caretaker. Whether he liked it or not, he was now bound by love for the innocent girl, and there was nothing he could do to change that.
The ghost of a smile came upon Karlheinz's lips. "Ah, of course, my dearest hunter, asking the relevant questions."
A/N: Early update!
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