Ruki waited outside the school, his grey tipped hair soaking wet under the rain while he watched the girl scurry towards him, her blonde hair dripping wet with the rain.
He breathed in her beauty for the longest time as she ran towards him, her uniform now clinging to her body, goosebumps raised on her tender flesh, her white shirt pressed taut against her chest. Ruki blushed, averting his gaze as she halted in front of him, her lips quivering from the cold. Ruki slipped his hands into his pockets, reassuringly feeling the little box, and asked in a hushed voice, "Are you alone?"
Yui wiped the rain off her forehead. "For the time being." She looked around, her wine red eyes darting through the garden, looking intently before an overwhelming emotion overtook Ruki as he grabbed her arm roughly, pulling her towards his body.
"Ruki kun?" she protested as he looked down on her, his finger pressed over her lips. Her warmth comforted him for a while before he was reminded of the purpose of his meeting with her. He hesitantly pulled his finger away from her searing hot flesh, his knuckles softly brushing her chin as he said, "Staying close will be the best for the time being."
Yui's expression changed, and in the faintest light of the moon that cut through a cloud, he saw her skin tinge a bright pink. "Can we please find some shelter from the rain though?" her arms crept up her elbows, creating a gap between his cold body and her. "I'm cold."
Ruki considered for a moment. "Let your scent wash out in the rain for a bit."
Yui did not dare to look up at him. Would that Ayato look at her like this, hold her like this? Would he be able to give her the pain and the pleasure she wanted so desperately? Ruki had known for so long that it was useless to try and become Adam, for the Mukamis were not supposed to fulfil that role. They were only supposed to sway the Yui, and it was nothing more or less than the role of the serpent in the fallacy of the original Eve. Only a conduit, only a segue to something more important, more concrete. Theirs was not a permanent existence.
Yui shivered. "Are we done yet?"
"Shut up," Ruki pinched the bridge of his nose, annoyed. "Livestock should remain subservient. Do not ask questions."
Pure hurt flashed through Yui's eyes, before she became stiff between his arms. Ruki felt his heart being squeezed and his soul burning in agony, as he let go of her, the absence of her warmth creating a vacuum inside his body. He'd grown fond of her.
No, he had grown too fond of her.
The Adam was supposed to develop these feelings. Why was he being so protective of her? Why did he no longer see her as a livestock, but as a friend?
Yui wasn't supposed to be his equal. She shouldn't be.
And yet he had decided to ask her today...
"Ruki kun?" Her voice jolted him out of his thoughts. He stared at her for a while, before grabbing her wrist and tugging her across the field, towards the exit of the school. Yui appeared a bit concerned, but did not ask him what had gotten to him. Her submission to him bothered him a bit, but he pushed that uncertainty at the back of his mind. "We're going out for a bit, just you and me."
"Why now?" What she probably meant was Why do you think going out right now would serve any purpose?
But just like the kind girl she was, she did not want to hurt his poor little dead heart.
"Why not?"
"But I..." She seemed to hesitate, but then her voice seemed to become her usual high pitched self. "Alright."
She did care for him. She did care for him. The phrase kept on ringing, as though his heart was trying to convince him that he wasn't just another vampire in her troubled life.
"We'll just hang around for a bit."
***
The trees swayed leisurely in the breeze around him, as Kino placed his boot on the edge of the roof of the Sakamaki mansion, looking down in contempt. The whole place smelled like rotting flesh and spilt blood. His brother Reiji had been plucked out of the household, and the mansion had now been inherited by Ayato and his pesky little human. Yuuri looked back at him, his shirt stained with wolf blood, his suspenders splashed with holy water, almost burning up at the seams.
"She said she'd come over here, but I do not know why she choose this place," Kino reflected, looking down at his own blood soaked clothes. The rain clouds had gathered around them already, casting a looming shadow over the mansion.
"Perhaps she knows that we were spying on the Sakamakis?" Yuuri suggested, looking at him, his auburn hair ruffling in the wind. His dark circles had exceeded further, making him look more tired than ghoulish.
"She has been here enough, maybe she does know about us," Kino sat down on the edge, looking tired as well. "With what the Tsukinamis have in store for us, we cannot just spare time for some stupid chitchat, don't you think?"
Yuuri nodded. "That's true, but in this war, we need some allies to back us up."
A faint smell of human blood filled the air, as someone walked towards both of them, their footsteps soft on the hard concrete floor. Kino caught a glimpse of a white billowing dress and dark hair, as she stood right in front of them, smiling. The flower resting on the crown of her head had still not withered. Kino laughed, knowing how predictable the entire exchange would be. "Hello Traveller."
Yuuri let out an incomprehensible sound.
"Tell your servant to wait for us to finish," she glared at Yuuri, her hands clenching the end of her pretty dress, her eyes turning from the deep golden shade into a strange crimson one. He understood that the ancient ones did not take a liking for the ghouls, and in fact even he was sometimes surprised that he was staying with Yuuri of all people. But he had been brought up by Yuuri's father, and this was the least he could do to repay him.
"He stays, Traveller," Kino rejoiced in the fact that he'd made that bitch angry for once. "He's my partner, and he gets to listen every word that falls out of your mouth."
The girl unclenched her fist, not withdrawing her murderous gaze from Yuuri. Yuuri acted just as he was accustomed to; stoic and unfeeling. Ghouls rarely felt anything, even though they were so closely related to humans. Whereas creatures like Kino only lived in an existence full of anger and hatred, and rarely did any other emotion creep up in their life. Maybe jealousy. Maybe the need for a bond, maybe to mate. Never love for the sake of it.
"It's been so long, in my life I used to hate humans and ghouls alike," her voice sounded apologetic. "They smell so similar."
Kino was still suspicious. This woman was known to be manipulative. She had kept his dear little brother wrapped around her finger by using his love for the human girl in the mansion for so long. He had to be careful or else he'd be played by her as well. He was the elder brother after all. He had to be strong for the sake of Ayato.
"Well, you're one to talk." Kino laughed. "You practically smell like a living one now. If it were not for the decaying soul inside of you, I would have mistaken you for a human."
The Traveller smiled. "So you noticed that I got a soul."
Kino crossed his arms across his chest. "You did exchange something precious to gain it."
The Traveller looked at him, her eyes devoid of sentiment. "You do not know what that means, you filthy bastard."
Kino smirked at her, finally being able to see her dwindling emotion. "So you do feel after all. The curse has worked well in your favour."
She pressed her lips in a thin line, blinking away her tears. "You are certainly not interested enough in my history, boy. You need me for a reason, don't you?"
Kino stood up, dusting his hands. "We've been hunting some of the wolves of the First Bloods. And they think that since the only person capable of bearing their children is that girl, they are still determined to take her as a bride instead."
The Traveller's jaw unhinged. "But that girl is the Eve. She is not meant to be messed with. Demon heart or not, hurting her would spell consequences for them."
Kino shrugged. "That is what they don't understand. Which is why Yuuri kills every wolf he encounters around the mansion."
"Are you saying the Sakamakis have not gotten wind of the wolves hanging around their property?"
"The ones that should care about such things are already gone."
The Traveller appeared to be grim. "Reiji and Shu."
Despite how useless they might have seemed; Reiji and Shu were the ones that were responsible to watch out for the threats surrounding the mansion. With them gone, there wasn't anybody that would bother with keeping the property safe. Ayato was too quick to anger and honestly lacked brains, despite his well-meaning intentions. Kanato and Laito refused to ask for forgiveness and were too self-centred to care about the well-being of others. Subaru had withdrawn into his mother's arms like the cry baby he was. This exposed the human girl to some real dangers, and she shouldn't be roaming around if she needed her body intact.
"However much the boys may be deplorable, but the girl should stay alive. The demon heart aside, she's a really good person, from what I've seen."
That was interesting. Now why would the Traveller care whether the girl died or not? Her reasoning was too vague. She couldn't be interested in the girl just because she had a kind heart. "This does involve you after all."
The Traveller appeared annoyed. "Now why would you say that? Don't you know that I'm a human now? I do care about people that have no idea that I exist these days. Have you heard of the phrase 'fangirl'?"
Kino was pretty knowledgeable about modern lingo. His smartphone was pretty much consuming all of his free time. "Yeah, I think I have."
The Traveller's eyes twinkled. "So I heard a couple of songs from this band called BTS, and I think they're cool for some reason." Her voice darkened, showing her obvious irritation. "These human emotions have me so conflicted. I sometimes want to write scenarios about them, sometimes I want to build a shrine for them. They do not know me, mind you. And sometimes I really want to buy their merchandise. I really have no use for a hoodie, but for the sole purpose of being associated with them, I bought five hoodies with their sigil printed in front of it. Do you think that's normal for an ancient one to do that?"
Kino laughed again. "I understand your conflict."
"Well then. The same goes for the girl. She's never even talked to me, and yet... I feel like I need to protect her. Most humans are corrupted by greed and selfishness and hence do not act upon such feelings, but humankind is propelled by the instinct of kindness. Very much in contrast to undead like us. We only know how to conquer and to rule, never how to help or to feel."
Kino bit the inside of his cheek. Was that how humans feel? Was that really the mankind that had waged countless wars on their own species for the silliest reasons? It was too haunting for Kino to dwell upon the fact. He'd learned very early on in his life that people most desperately seek the things that they don't have, and if he finally realised the weight of absence of emotions like love and kindness, he'd seek them too, eventually becoming like the Mukamis. Relentlessly searching for the Eve's love while they couldn't ever be human enough for it.
The Traveller sensed his discomfort. "If you think that's scary, let me tell you about existentialism..."
"I don't give two shits about your rambling about human emotions." Kino glared at her. Yuuri let out a sigh.
"I said get out of here!" The traveller screamed at Yuuri. The ghoul looked at her, his expression blank. "I have no obligation to obey your command. The only one I obey is Kino."
"I thought you said he wasn't your servant?" The Traveller now faced Kino who had a sly smile on his face. He shrugged, sounding almost nonchalant. "He's loyal to me."
"Is he any good though?" The Traveller spared a mean glance towards him. The ghoul responded to her gesture with his own blank stare.
"How do you think I gave you all the information about the Sakamakis and the Mukamis?" Kino looked at his friend proudly. "He's infiltrated into the Sakamaki household numerous times to obtain valuable data about both the Sakamakis themselves and by extension, the Mukamis as well."
The Traveller cracked up a laugh. "I had forgotten how resourceful the ghouls are."
Getting his cue, Yuuri transformed into a crow, fluttering his wings and flying off into the night. Kino knotted his eyebrows, appearing concerned. Yuuri was never this eager to take flight. Which only meant...
He grabbed the woman's arm, forcing her to look directly at him. The Traveller shrieked, saying, "What the..."
"I cannot reveal myself as of now, so you follow Yuuri." Kino looked dead serious, the vein below his jaw pulsing. The Traveller trembled in his grip, and Kino noticed the mole below her lower lip. Shaking himself, he forced his voice to be a bit more commanding. "Follow the ghoul and you would reach the human girl."
"But... but why?" The Traveller freed herself from his death grip, wiping her wrist against her white dress as though to get rid of his touch.
Kino grumbled in fury. "What the hell don't you understand!" Kino gripped her by her chin. "We miscalculated. She's in danger."
***
Yui felt so happy after such a long time. Her hands were occupied with a cotton candy and a balloon each. The widest smile spread across her face as Ruki asked her, "Did you have fun?"
They were coming back from an evening well spent at the pier. Ruki was taking her home through the mossy forest that led to the Sakamaki mansion. She rarely took this route; it was infamous for wild animals roaming around and attacking people, but having Ruki by her side reassured her. The trees swayed gently with the wind, the rain halting to a stop. Her uniform had mostly dried out, but her shirt still clung to her like a second skin. She covered it helplessly with her school jacket to avoid being embarrassed by Ruki, of all people.
"I loved it!" Yui cried out. "Ruki kun is so kind to me."
"Well, well, that's it." Ruki appeared to be flattered. "I figured after such a stressful month, you must be needing a break."
Yui stuffed her mouth full of cotton candy, too excited to talk. "Unf. I meebeb fome peefe."
"Eat properly, or you'll choke."
"Unf omf cofs." She smiled at him and gulped down the cotton candy, her mouth stained with blue dye. "I'm so surprised you bothered to come at all."
"Yui."
"And I really wanted to tell you about my plans henceforth," she stalled the conversation he was about to have with her. She knew deep inside her heart that he would not be comfortable with the thought of her going away from him, and she knew he'd bring that up in the very moment she needed to be at peace. "I'm planning to return to overseas with my father. I've heard he has gained a position in the Vatican now. Hopefully his superiors allow me to stay with him."
"Yui." He warned her, and she went quiet. Never had he ever raised his voice like that in front of her. But then, maybe his nature was shining through now. Maybe she should have expected him to get angry at her decision after all.
"Ruki kun..." Yui shook her head. "You do not understand..."
Her eyes widened as Ruki bent down on one knee, pulling out a box from his pockets. "You really are something."
He opened the box, and right in front of her was a pretty diamond sparkling beneath the moonlight filtered by the rainclouds. She gasped, her feet trembling as she heard him say something.
Please don't let it be what I think he's about to say.
"Huh?" Yui's voice trembled with fear.
Ruki sighed. "Let's try this again, you Livestock." Even while he spouted insults at her, his voice remained gentle, caring. "I have fallen in love with you, Komori Yui. Will you marry me?"
Yui felt tears brimming at the edge of her eyes. What was she supposed to do now? Say yes? While she was aware of the fact that Ruki and she were miles apart. Ruki would live on to see a thousand years, while she would wither away into old age. And what about Ayato kun? She doubted that he'd have any regard for her, but he'd definitely try to hurt either of them if they tried to do something like this. And what about her own feelings? She'd finally come to terms with her love for Ayato, no matter how terrifying it was. It would be tragic either way. This was why she wanted to leave.
But why didn't she leave as soon as possible? She'd tricked herself into agreeing that it was to make sure everyone was stable when she left, but it was selfishness. Her own selfishness at work, refusing to part with her captors. She felt a pity for herself, and laughed, feeling the tears finally roll down her cheeks.
"Aren't you taking a really long time to say yes?"
"Ruki kun..."It tore her heart apart to reject him. She shouldn't have even thought of it. Out of all of them, Ruki was the only person that stood with her through the thick and thin. It would be cruel on her part to choose Ayato instead of him. The Ayato who had, in essence, betrayed her trust. The Ayato who didn't think of anybody other than himself. Everything about Ayato should have repulsed her... and yet...
"I know what you're thinking, Eve." Ruki cocked his head, a sad smile on his face. "You're thinking that you love Ayato more than you would ever love me, right?"
Yui swallowed a sob. "I... I..."
Ruki shook his head. "What does it matter? He never considered your feelings ever in the amount of time you spent with that moron. Do you think he'd change his ways now?"
"I don't want him to change either."
Ruki was taken aback by her statement. As was she.
"What do you mean?"
Yui gulped, noticing the sting in his voice. "I did not love him to change him, Ruki kun." Yui was shocked at whatever started to escape her mouth. "If he were the demonic person you suppose him to be, I would never have loved him."
Ruki looked revolted. "You're wrong! This is wrong. This is absolutely not acceptable." Getting up on his feet, he grabbed her by the shoulders, as she flinched away from him. He curled his fingers into fists, thundered at her. "You just seek love from whoever would throw it at you, don't you? I risked everything for your safety, and you pay me with this."
"Ruki kun," Yui breathed, her eyebrows knotting up in concern. "I do not owe you anything."
Ruki was about to say something, as a gust of wind knocked her away from him. Her eyes registered brown fur and golden shining eyes as claws dung into her body, a searing pain burning in her flesh.
"Ruki kun!" She called out, as the wolf carried her on its back, as she saw him scream back, being pounced upon another wolf. She was soon flung upon the wet grass, as shining claws ended on the back of her throat.