A/N: This is a bit of a fluffy chapter, enjoy!
Kanato pulled out a little teacup and placed it in front of Teddy, the coaster printed with a pretty pattern of ivy and lavender flowers. Kanato loved lavender, it was the best flower he had ever seen. It even matched his hair, a feature he inherited from his mother. He took pride in it, being the only person who didn't look like he was a weird science experiment within his brothers. His own blood brothers had somehow gotten red hair, and he sure as hell didn't know how. That was a mystery genetics could never answer.
The door creaked a bit, interrupting him. He could make out a bare outline of the girl before she knocked, making him jump. "Can I come in?"
"Get out." Kanato said simply. He didn't want to talk to her at all. Whatever he did... whatever Reiji wanted him to do. It excited him, thinking about her being sacrificed. He didn't know it would end with Shu's death. The human girl had poisoned him and his siblings with her blood. He couldn't be more resentful of her when she introduced him to the feeling he was experiencing right now: guilt, with a strange sense of remorse. His own mother had said when she gained possession of the girl, that boredom is the thing immortals hate the most. How could he be blamed for things he was supposed to do as an immortal, things that were inherent in his nature?
"Kanato kun," Yui forced herself into his room, her hands holding a tray of cookies, freshly baked out of the oven. He looked at her questioningly, before she answered his unspoken query. "I made these for you."
Kanato seemed to consider for a moment. "Are these sweet?"
Yui smiled at him. "I made them sweet enough."
Something seemed to ease in his mind, as he invited her in. "Well, Yui san, I would like to have some. You can sit with me and Teddy if you like."
She placed the little tray over his purple coffee table, his numerous toys scattered around him in different positions, as they attended the tea party. He felt it was obligatory to introduce her to the crowd. "This is Komori Yui, everyone," he said, his voice suddenly calm. The horde of toys looked blankly at her. Her expression was quite comical at this point, she was actually playing into this game, and for once, he did not feel stupid or insignificant while indulging into activities that amused him. The giraffe was sitting next to her, while the plush elephant sat across the table from them. The other toys watched silently, their soulless eyes staring at the activity. He silently took a cookie and held it between his hands, staring intently. It was almost perfectly baked. Golden and brown crusty outside, and when he snapped it in half he was delighted to find that the dough had risen perfectly. He smiled in contentment, and bit into it. The mind numbingly sweet taste left him reeling. This was the best batch she had ever made. His eyes closed automatically in bliss.
"Kanato kun, may I ask you something?"
Kanato raised his head, his frilly collar brushing against his neck. He must have been distracted, because he let her take a cookie from the tray without screaming at her. He bit into the cookie again, the crumbs falling onto his shirt, powdering over his chin. He made some sound, his mouth too full with cookie, that signified her to go ahead with whatever question she had.
Yui twirled her finger into an imaginary thread on her shorts. "Why did Ayato kun rescue me?" Her face was a mixture of confusion and frustration.
Kanato stopped in his tracks. With two sons missing from the family, he didn't want to be the third. "Don't ask such stupid questions."
She must have been impatient. "Do you know anything about it?"
"Yes, now shut up." The last time they had discussed this among themselves, Ayato had tried to drop dead bugs into their dinner. At night, he was met with snakes slithering into his bed. He had cried a lot during that time, but Ayato had merely huffed and said that he deserved it, after talking about him behind his back. He knew the real reason, but was too afraid. He knew Ayato could read minds sometimes during the full moon, and if he even thought about exposing him in front of the girl, he would be met with his scary pranks yet again.
"Then, why did you help Reiji san while he was planning to sacrifice me?"
Kanato looked at her, wide eyed. Then he laughed, rolling on the floor, the cookie falling out of his hands. Yui looked at him in shock as he kept on laughing, tears rolling out of his eyes, his hands banging the floor. "You are really self-centred, aren't you?"
Yui's eyes were doll-like, he noticed. They were the perfect wine red shade, mimicking those in his collection of marble eyes shaped out of pretty rubies. He stopped when they filled up with tears, and her hand swiftly came up to wipe them away.
"You really think Reiji was a fool, right?" Kanato questioned her. "That he would try to kill some pathetic human like you and have your strange scent around when his mother came from the grave?"
Yui seemed to sit straighter, perhaps getting confident that she will get her answers. Kanato didn't seem to mind her weird behaviour. Food should learn to act like food ought to, but today she baked him nice cookies, so he might as well give her the pass.
"Reiji only used you in order to get to your father."
"How?"
"Of course you would ask me every silly detail, wouldn't you?" He seemed to have been irritated. He continued nevertheless, "Reiji only wanted your father to follow you into his little trap. Him directly approaching your father would have been suspicious, so he decided that it would be better if he simply let Ruki to lead your father in." Kanato kept the teacup on the saucer once again, pouring out imaginary tea, filling his cup again. "Ruki got the idea through Kou, who consulted that weird fake eye of his to see through his intentions. Reiji exposed himself to Ruki so that he would do his dirty work instead."
Yui had a peculiar expression now, her mouth hung open while she stared silently at him.
"And why did you help him?"
The question caught him off guard. "You wouldn't understand."
Yui's stupidly beautiful eyes became somehow bigger, questioning him. "But why?"
Not standing the puppy look, he grabbed her hand, applying force so that she'd feel intense pain without having a fracture for him to worry about. "I said shut up. You've made me hungry."
Yui started sobbing too soon. "I understand Kanato kun, I shouldn't have been so intrusive, please let me go..."
Kanato laughed, and pulled her harshly towards her, letting the cookie tray fall down on the ground. She started hiccupping, so scared of his bite that no coherent words came out of her mouth while she sobbed. Kanato rolled her sleeve up, looking at her pale skin, bringing it closer to his face and licking it, relishing the fear that made her taste delicious. "Thanks for the cookies, they were delicious."
He drove his fangs into the inside of her wrist. A silent whimper escaped her, as her hot blood flooded inside his mouth. That delectable flavour, such a sweet taste that even the sweet cookies seemed to be bland in comparison. He kept her other hand beneath his grip, drinking from her. This should be the only relationship between them. There would be too many complications if he started to care about her.
No, it was because of her.
Because of her they had been attacked by the wolves. Because of her, Reiji could call in that hunter among their premises. Because of her, Shu was killed. She possessed power far more fearsome than he held, she could cause the death of his brother, of course she was a threat to him. Without thinking, Kanato flipped her frail body onto the floor, his hands fastening over her neck, as she struggled beneath his grip.
"Kanato..." she breathed, her eyes rolling into the back of her head, her brain quickly shutting down due to asphyxia. He kept his tight grasp, wanting to end her miserable life right here...
"Oi, Kanato," a heavy voice called out, as Kanato felt his tension swiftly go away. Kanato lifted his gaze from the squirming human beneath him. Ayato stood over the doorway, his hand still on the handle, his face expressionless.
"Reiji is calling you."
Kanato raised his eyebrows, before letting her go, rising on his feet, sparing one pitiful glance at her. She was vermin, she deserved to die.
He pushed Ayato aside and started to walk down to Reiji's room, climbing to the second floor. Would he rather be in his study? He should be. That idiot never gets away from his stupid books. Kanato proceeded towards Reiji's study, before stopping in his tracks, realising something.
Reiji wasn't here.
Ayato had tricked him.
***
Relief washed over Yui as Ayato picked her up in his arms, bridal style, her body flush with his chest. She shouldn't have tried to prod Kanato like that, but she had to find out how and why she was at the centre of this scandal. And Kanato knew most out of the other brothers, apart from Kou, who refused to talk about his involvement with Reiji. She'd been scared that Karlheinz might be out there, manipulating everyone to dance in accordance to his wishes.
Ayato climbed the stairs to her room, his stare straight ahead, unblinking.
"Ayato kun," her small voice called out, her hands holding onto his shoulders for support.
He didn't answer.
"I said I was sorry the other day," Yui gasped as he adjusted her body to hold her easier.
He remained silent, not bothering to even look at her. As she squinted at him, she could see his hard expression, obviously something hurt inside him. She didn't know whether it was the fact that she was defenceless against Kanato and had her blood sucked by him, or because of the fact that she herself refused to speak to him after he forcibly sucked her in the kitchen.
But he was trying to do things she didn't like! His hands were getting too busy with her nowadays.
"I didn't mean to get bitten," she said as Ayato opened her bedroom, the soft light of the lamp from her bathroom filling her room with a strange, cosy feeling. She looked up at him. He didn't.
He walked wordlessly to her bed, placing her gently down, and methodically turning, before Yui reached out her hand to catch his, her grip weakened by anaemia.
"Stop," Yui said, on the edge of her tears.
"I don't care, Chichinashi!" Ayato screamed at her, turning to face her. Yanking her grip off of him, he squared her shoulders, roughly handling her already broken body. "I don't care how you feel. I don't care if you get your blood sucked till the bone by Kanato. I won't give you the answers you need." He started to push her down the bed, pinning her entire weight under him, his hands lifting her rams up and behind her, as he studied her for a reaction.
She was definitely scared, she knew. She knew that he was speaking the truth. He was the worst choice, and yet...
Yui's breaths were shallow and sudden, but she commanded herself to be a bit more submissive, fighting against her primal urge to save herself. She let him settle his body in between her legs, turning her head to present her neck to him.
Ayato's surprised voice made her look back. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"
Yui cowered as far back as her pillow allowed her. "Drink from me if you want."
Ayato considered her words, studying her. She hoped against hope that he would rather try to bite her than start another meaningless fight with her, before she felt her heart jump inside her chest as he placed his ear on it, closing his eyes.
She wanted to close her eyes and focus on his cold body pressed against her trembling body as well, but the excitement made her stay alert, and her eyes fell upon the peaceful face of Ayato, pressed up against her breast, his mouth slightly hanging open. She freed her arm from his loosening grip, and ran her hand through his bangs. He crossed his eyebrows, irritated. "Let me stay here before I start to get angry at you again."
"You don't have to stay mad at me."
Ayato refused to open his eyes. "How do you get over your anger over someone, then?"
Yui thought hard, but she seldom got angry. If anything, she got sad and miserable more, blaming herself more than anyone. She did remember being angry at Karlheinz for manipulating his sons so much. She hadn't changed her views about him, he still was some to be hated. Something inside her wanted to take advantage of the situation, despite her heart knowing it was bad to profit off of Ayato's inner conflict.
"I usually get better when I tell the person I am angry with the reason why I'm feeling that way," she felt that pang of guilt inside her grow, and she shook it off. She'd make it up to him somehow.
Ayato sighed, his cold breath making her shiver yet again. "I hate you for thinking you don't belong to me." The sheer honesty made her feel nauseous; she knew it was unhealthy to think like that, this was the sole reason such an animosity had started amongst the brothers, but she allowed him to speak first. Perhaps this could be therapeutic.
"I hate you for being with that bastard Ruki instead of me, making me feel miserable while you frolicked around with him. I hate how you still reek of him, and still my body remains dependent on you."
"Being with him, in what way?"
"Whichever way," Ayato's voice was impatient. "That night of sacrifice..."
Yui withdrew her hand from his cheek.
He looked up at her, his chin brushing the sensitive spot on her breast. "What happened? You're not supposed to be angry at me, I am."
He's so full of himself.
"Why did you tell Ruki kun that you..." Yui choked on her words. She couldn't say it out loud. It was too much for her tiny heart to bear.
Ayato spoke again, a bit worried. "What did I say..."
"Don't pretend that you don't know." Yui's eyes burned with tears. "That day you told Ruki kun that you... did those things to me... because you wanted to have my first?"
Ayato raised his eyebrows, questioning her. "That day I fingered you?"
"Geez, Ayato kun," Yui cringed. Despite the absolute awkwardness between them, Yui couldn't help but melt against his tender touch as he slid his hand inside her shirt. "Don't put it like that." Her voice came out softer than she had expected.
He smiled, and playfully nipped against her skin. Yui should have felt shame, but a breathy moan escaped her lips. Her hands threaded through his hair, as she arched against him, craving more contact.
Despite her longing, Ayato pulled away a bit to lie down beside her, his hand moving upwards inside her shirt. "Ruki barged in the house looking murderous that day," Ayato's voice was low and deep. "He started barking accusations that I didn't understand, so I just went with it. It wasn't the first time someone had claimed that I was acting selfishly though, so I didn't hold anything against him. Then he started hammering me with my fist..." Ayato closed his eyes, pain written on his face. "Everything after that is a blur."
"Is that so?" It made sense. Ayato would rather let someone form false notions about him rather than explain himself. She'd gotten him to share his feelings by manipulating him herself. It made sense, but it didn't seem right.
"That really makes me feel more awful now." Ayato finally placed his hand flush against her breast, rolling and kneading so hard her mind went blank for a second.
"Aya... Ayato kun," Yui panted as she felt his weight on her yet again, his other hand now disappearing within her shorts. A tinge of pleasure ran through her whole body as he pressed his fangs ever so slightly against her skin. "This time you decide," his voice came out husky and needy. "Tell me if you want this."
Regardless of whether they do anything, they'd end up with Yui being drained of her blood. Even though Yui was heady with desire, she was sensible enough to not tread that dangerous line. Especially after Kanato had sucked her before. "I'm sorry, Ayato kun."
Ayato sighed, then hesitantly removed his eager hands away from her skin, leaving her hot and wanting. "Your loss, Chichinashi."
Her body moved on its own accord to seek his embrace, but she stayed put, crossing her arms across her chest. "You're too hard to read."
Ayato laughed heartily. "In contrast, you're transparent. Your disappointment is written all over your face."
"I'm not disappointed."
"You are." His finger came up and threaded through her silky hair, rolling a lock around itself.
"Am not." Yui pouted.
"Then let's see how long you last," Ayato gave her a mischievous grin before coming in closer, snuggling against her. His welcoming chill made her curl up in his embrace, before she realised what he was doing. He suddenly started laughing.
"What happened?"
"Your expression," Ayato hovered over her, repositioning himself over her weakened body. "It's the best. You're the best, Chichinashi."
Yui felt a bit less tense as the proximity gave way to loss of inhibitions. What little shame Yui felt was now gone, as she cuddled in closer to him. "Thank you for telling me how you feel."
Ayato made an arrogant sound. "Hmph. It wasn't for you. I wouldn't care much whether you think that I'm a bad person. It's not false, and I would deserve it, but well, I'm not obliged to explain anything to you."
Well, that was how Ayato's mind worked. And how he actually behaved. He'd just keep piling his real emotions behind that competitive exterior, preferring to let people assume what he was rather than explaining what he was. Because, just like Yui thought about herself, he owed nothing to nobody.
"Ayato kun, one last question," Yui said, and Ayato sighed in frustration. And he said she was transparent. "Okay, but you let me feel you up."
"What... wait, what kind of request is that?"
"It's banter, you ought to be a bit more educated than I am."
"Ayato kun, it's barter."
"Yeah, whatever."
"I'm not doing any bartering with you." She couldn't help but touch his bicep tenderly, he looked so handsome in the faint light of her bathroom, almost like an angel. "Tell me why you agreed to work with Reiji san."
His expression stiffened. She knew talking about other people made him feel insecure and inadequate, and soon he'd be furious at her for still caring about his own brother. "Why do you think about that shichisan megane? You should only be thinking about me."
The only thing that would pull her out of this sticky situation would be to stroke his ego. "It's hard not to think about you, Ayato kun."
His smile returned. "Well, obviously, I'm charismatic."
Yui mirrored his smile. "I'm glad you didn't mess up that word." She almost felt motherly pride while he uttered it.
He pouted. "Don't make fun of Oresama."
"Okay, I won't." Yui withdrew her hand, knowing Ayato's volatile nature, he'd just misunderstand her caressing him for something else. "Why did you help Reiji san?"
Ayato rolled his eyes, and Yui just felt stupid for liking whenever he acted immaturely. "Are you going to let me squeeze your boob?"
Yui groaned in frustration.
"They're not big anyway, out of both of us, you'd like it the most."
Yui was surprised how she didn't yet have the urge to murder him. "Let it be."
It was Ayato's turn to groan. "The way you can resist Oresama is strange."
"I have a better self-restraint." Yui shouldn't have said that. As she got up from her bed, Ayato fell into a strange silence as he asked, "You're still bitter that I bit you in the kitchen?"
"Ayato kun..." Yui turned towards him to see him sulking, his thumbs twiddling with the edge of her duvet. "I'm sorry if you feel bad about it."
"Stop saying sorry," Ayato's voice was tainted with a strange hoarseness. "I don't care if you feel sorry or not."
But you do, Ayato kun, she wanted to say, but her lips remained sealed.
"If you promise not to tease me about it, I might tell you."
Yui lied down alongside him, eager to know what he had to say. "I've never teased you about anything."
Ayato's eyes widened. "Is that true?"
"I don't remember a time when I made fun of you... but I can't be so sure. I promise I won't make fun of you ever again."
He smiled contently, before slinking back against her. Straining himself, he started, "You'd been nursing everybody and taking care of everybody, and I felt kind of unwanted. Subaru had refused to speak to me, and Laito wasn't acting like himself, so I felt jealous when you wouldn't come to my room instead. I wanted to punish you for ignoring me like that."
Yui felt him shift back against her chest as he tried to listen to her heartbeat, closing his eyes and concentrating. Of course he was jealous. "But I patched you up. I did visit you."
Ayato pouted. "You think Oresama will be satisfied with just that measly amount of time? Not to mention you didn't even make eye contact with me."
"I was scared!" Yui breathed in exasperation. "I thought you might be angry at me."
Ayato breathed against her skin. "Now why would I be angry at you?"
"Do you really need a reason to?" Yui realised she was making fun of him. "I thought you would be mad at me for helping out the Mukamis."
"Oh, then I made an excellent choice. I should have punished you a bit more for being so friendly with those shitty idiots."
Yui slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. "What do you want me to do then?"
Ayato shrugged. "Accept you are mine and be done with it."
Yeah, in the human world it is called slavery.
"And if you're thinking about slavery, well, I don't have any use for your manual labour. Just accept that your body belongs to me and I get to do whatever I want with it." He could really read her well. Yui felt his hands come up and grip either side of her head, forcing her to look at him. "These eyes, these lips, this mortal body of yours belongs to me, and you better accept it. Never show this fearful expression to anyone else." He gripped her chin slightly and planted a quick peck on her lips. "If you even think about giving your blood to anyone else, I will kill that person."
Yui felt her heart beat rapidly as he gently pressed his lips to her neck, feeling her carotid vibrate pleasantly against his soft skin. "And me?"
"You'll get what you deserve," he raised his feline eyes to look at her, challenging her. Yui didn't want to take him on. "I won't let you forget that you are mine and mine alone."
Yui gulped. "I need some time to think about that." She needed to know whether her dad was involved in this mess way more than she suspected, and perhaps find out what the Eden project meant for Karlheinz. She pushed him out of her bed. "Now go, I'm tempted to do things I shouldn't right now."
Ayato rolled his eyes at her yet again. "Just tell me I am irresistible."
Yui kept her chin resting on the palm of her hand. "You might be, but I'm not giving Ayato kun any ideas."
Ayato smiled at her warmly. "Some other time?" He sounded oddly hopeful.
Yui nodded. "You can touch me wherever you want, Ayato kun. I'll remain yours."
Ayato's expression changed, and she could see a blush creep up on his face.
Yui pulled herself together and asked, concerned. "Are you okay, Ayato kun? You look like you choked on something."
Ayato crossed his eyebrows in confusion, then said in a hushed voice, "You're painfully oblivious." He gently pressed his lips to her forehead, her heart fluttering inside her chest. When he pulled away, he shivered. Yui couldn't accept that she made him behave like that.
"Good night, Ayato kun," Yui managed to make her voice sound as sweet as possible.
Ayato turned towards her, his face still beet red. "Night."
A/N: Who knew Yui would miss the Persephone-Hades reference. ;)