Chapter Text
It had taken them forever to find a solution after Yui’s death, an ancient spell that would allow them to breach the veil between worlds for a short time. Death had claimed their beloved and they all wanted her back, even if it would be a different version of her. More than that, they wished for that deep, special connection again they had shared with her. Only, they couldn’t just simply rob her from somewhere else. For one, they did not wish to kidnap her and make her unhappy and two, a soul had to be willing to leave, otherwise she would only wither and die to be reborn back in her original world.
Finding a Yui that wanted to leave, that needed them and not their counterparts in her world had been supremely difficult. It had taken them two years to finally get an answer, to finally find a world where a version of their beloved wanted to leave. Desperately leave in fact.
It was this little thing that made Reiji frown as he watched Father prepare the spell. It had been Father’s idea after seeing them all mope around for two years. They had all tried, in their own way, to move on after her fatal accident. After blame had been tossed around and tears spilled and they had sobbed, clinging to each other in the void she had left, they had…tried. Unsuccessfully, but Reiji at least could say he had honestly given it his best. Yui had always pushed them to be better, brighter, to be more. It would have been nothing but a disservice to her to not do his best.
But now that they knew they could have a second chance, cheap and stolen as it might be, not that any of them cared, he hungered for it. For her presence, her laughter, the bright shine her presence brought. To discuss books with her and surprise her with new tea blends for she did not care much for coffee and have her lean against him, trusting and warm and sweet and small enough to tuck himself around her.
Only, so far, in every world they had searched through, Yui had always been wanted and loved and would have never left willingly. What had happened in this one for her to be so terribly unhappy that they could take her? He wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth, don’t get him wrong, but it was in his nature to always take a closer look.
He knew his brothers were a tad leery as well, no matter how much they hid it. Where were their counterparts that Yui was so unhappy? Had something happened to wipe out the vampire race? Or had they simply never been born? There were anomalies in every world and they were never identical. Reiji had seen worlds where he hadn’t existed, where most of his siblings hadn’t existed or where they had been human, where they had lived lives far from the lap of luxury. But they always had found Yui and she had been happy.
Either way, they were going to get their girl.
"You have fifteen minutes," Father said as he laid down the last groundwork of the spell. It was an ancient thing, the last of its kind. As far as Reiji knew, and he liked to pride himself on his intellect, there had only ever been five scrolls of world-traveling spells made. He didn’t know what exactly Father had paid for this or what favor he now owed, but he found he was…reluctantly grateful.
Father hadn’t been a particularly good parental figure, they all agreed on that. Not physically abusive, but neglectful and he hadn’t treated them well whenever they had met. Reiji didn’t know when he had gotten a change of heart - that was a lie, he knew Yui was involved, that she had changed them all for the better - but he had to admit that Father was…trying. In his own way. He would almost call the attempts clumsy, only that Father never did things clumsily.
Well, aside from this maybe.
And the introductions to the Mukami brothers, that could have gone a whole lot smoother and Reiji still found himself irked by the fact that they needed their help now. The more people to find Yui the better, however, especially with such little time.
He hoped his Yui, in heaven where she damn well belonged, was proud of the fact that they finally managed to work together without someone voicing death threats and getting banned from family dinners for a month.
"I’ll drop you off as close to her as possible," Father continued, holding up the egg sized diamond this spell was going to devour. One dug up from the earth, the spell was finicky like that, it wouldn’t have accepted a lab made one. "You need to locate her, convince her to come with you and take her to the spot you arrived in so you can return with her."
"What if we’re not back in time?" Kanato asked, Teddy casually tucked under one arm. Reiji had to admit he did not understand his brother’s attachment to the stuffed toy, but Kanato had grown more independent of it and only dug it back out if he found he needed some sort of emotional support.
It was moments like these when Reiji was reminded, rather starkly, that their family was a mess and he felt strangely helpless to change it. He did not know how to give his brother the support he might need, nor how to voice any offer of aid without offending Kanato’s sensibilities.
"The spell will drag you back, you don’t belong in that world after all," Father said. "It will be painful, however, so be sure to keep an eye on your watches and you hopefully shouldn’t have to wander too far before you find her. Ready?"
"Yes," Reiji said, echoed by his siblings. His heart didn’t beat, but he knew anticipation and excitement and nerves and felt them in the way his skin seemed to prickle, his fangs began to ache and there was this surge of restless energy.
Hunt, his instincts urged and where he usually pushed them down, now he allowed them to rise. Hunt and claim.
***
Yui knew there was something wrong with her, with everything. More so than usual, at least. Her hands were always cold these days and there was this fine trembling deep inside of her, like a shiver that gripped her bones. Fear was a constant, her heart racing and her skin growing clammy. She slept poorly at best and barely managed to choke down food, no matter how delicious it would have been otherwise.
There was an edge of numbness that carried her through most days, something she huddled into when one of the vampires grabbed her, when she was pushed down and bitten and held until she bruised. She sometimes hoped she would not wake again when they drank too much, uncaring of how it left her lightheaded and dizzy. Sometimes she spent days like this, stumbling around on weak legs, their jeers and cruel laughter and insults her only company.
She stared at the mirror in her room and distantly, she thought that she looked nothing like the girl she had been when she had first arrived at the manor. She should have left back then, no matter her curiosity, no matter the curse in her blood, no matter anything. Nothing, absolutely nothing was worth the life she lived now. Hollow and wan and thin and too pale, even for her complexion.
She barely got to be outside anymore. Ever since she graduated half a year ago, she hadn’t been allowed more than a brief stroll through the flowerbeds a handful of times. School was done now and she found herself surprised, sometimes, that they had let her finish at all. Her eighteenth birthday had passed without notice and she hadn’t dared say anything, afraid of what they would offer as 'gifts'.
She was more terrified than anything these days. Terrified and tired and yet there was this last desperate spark in her, something deeply instinctual that made her cling to life. Her sputtering, faulty survival instinct, pushing her through every day, no matter how horrible.
She knew the vampires better by now, at least a little. Knew how to act and what to say to make things a little easier, but she had learned to be careful with that knowledge as well. The moment they realized she was trying to do damage control, the moment they were just a little bit predictable, they got worse.
They wanted her pain to be real and most of them wanted her fear to be real. She saw it when they grinned down at her when she struggled and cried. She saw it in their eyes as blood dripped from their chin to land on her collarbones, her voice hoarse and her noise clogged up and her body trembling like a leaf.
Yui had stopped praying long ago, she no longer believed in God as a savior or that she could run away. She had tried. More than a few times. The last attempt had been right after her graduation and she had planned it meticulously. She had worn a spare set of clothing beneath her ceremonial garb and had slipped away in the crowd of excited students and proud parents, laughter and tears in abundance.
She had gotten rather far, compared to previous attempts. She had sold a bracelet she had been given sometime early in her stay at the mansion and had used the money to buy a train ticket. One that brought her as far away as possible, even if she didn’t have any money left afterwards. But she had her graduation papers with her and those could help her land a job. She could do it. She was determined to do it.
They found her once the sun was gone. It didn’t even seem to take them much effort to track her down to the alley she was huddling into, out of sight and trying to find a little bit of rest.
She did not try to escape again afterwards.
They would not kill her, they loved her blood too much and maybe in some warped, sick way they loved her too, but anything else was fair game. She had carried bruises from their tight grip for days, could barely hold cutlery because her wrists ached so much and was fainting more than she was awake with how viciously they drained her.
They left no holes for her to slip through again.
Sometimes, she wondered if she would just…wither away like this. Like a bird who had known what the sky was like, caught and forced into a cage so small she could not even attempt to stretch her wings. There was no joy left in her life and what remained of her hope was a small, knotted thing she kept tucked beneath her ribs like a wounded thing.
What she hoped for she did not know, but as long as this little, starving seedling of hope still existed she would cling to life with bloodied fingertips.
She heard the creak of wood and suppressed a flinch, shifting her head a tiny bit to see the door in the mirror. It didn’t open. Not yet, at least. They always showed up sooner or later to take a bite or to touch her even though she had begged them countless times to stop.
'No' had no meaning here. 'No' got her snide comments and mocking laughter and hungry grins and hands pressing her down and lips and tongues and teeth on her neck. It got hands that wandered a little too high on her thighs, dipped a bit too much below her clothes, cool fingertips like brands against her skin.
She had wondered, the first few days after her initial arrival, why her room hadn’t had a key. Now she knew they hadn’t wanted to deal with the hassle, wanted easy access to whatever they wanted, no matter if she wished to give it or not.
A tremor suddenly ran through the room, her now dusty makeup rattling ever so slightly and she felt it hum in her bones, the curtains of her stupid, far too big bed shivering. All the hairs on her body seemed to stand on end, a rush of goose bumps covering her skin. Blinking in confusion she twisted around, steading herself when she felt a little dizzy with the movement and looked towards the window.
It was dark outside, a new moon night and the sky was clear. Yui had grown very, very leery of any and all things supernatural since coming here and she felt grim and resigned at the idea of something happening again. Something, inevitably, hurting her again.
She wished she had run away that first night after her arrival. She would have rather worked herself to the bone to afford a room to stay in and go to school if it meant she was still free.
The door was thrown open by none other than Ayato, who stalked in with a little more aggression than she had expected. Usually he strode in, commanding and imperious and she did her best to please him in whatever way ensured he left as quickly as possible.
"Do not leave your room," he ordered, a subtle tension to his jaw she had last seen after her escape attempt. "Something happened. You’d only be in the way."
"I understand," she said, voice soft because that was how they all liked her. Soft and meek and helpless and terrified.
His eyes narrowed a little, his gaze pinning her in place, but he seemed to believe her and a call from down the hall, too far for her human ears to hear in detail, made him leave again. She exhaled a soft breath of relief and pressed her hands against her chest. Her fingers trembled faintly and her heart had started to pound a little.
Still, after a moment that damnable curiosity of hers won out and she got up. Or maybe she could pretend it was her survival instinct and that she could prepare for whatever force was going to cause trouble. As if she’d ever be more than a rag doll, dragged along by beings more powerful than she.
Peering out into the dark she thought, for a moment, that she saw movement along the far away fence, a shadow too fast to track swiftly disappearing between trees. But then she blinked and those impressions felt more like figments of her imagination. Only, she knew better. Her figments of imagination were usually true and always bad news.
She warily stepped back, pulling at the cords to ensure the curtains fell into place. Her room might be dimly lit, but she wasn’t dumb enough to think whatever supernatural bullshit was happening now wouldn’t still spot her. Or hadn’t still spotted her.
It left her hovering anxiously by her bed, feeling tiny and weak and useless. A small part of her, so quiet she almost didn’t hear it, weakly spoke up and suggested running away now. To wait until mayhem unfolded and to just…go into the night. Run, as if that would help. As if they wouldn’t find her again through whatever means. As if the Mukami brothers wouldn’t get her if the Sakamaki family didn’t.
Still, her hand twitched towards her closet, the coat she knew was in there, the expensive clothes she could throw on to sell at some second hand shop to buy a different disguise or if she was very, very lucky, a plane ticket out of the country.
Then she remembered all the hallways she had to get through in order to run away, the grounds of the mansion between the front door and the gate and all the vampires who’d catch her before she was even down the first flight of stairs.
Her hand fell back against her side and she slowly sat down on the bed, the numbness she felt at times rising to cushion her, making the despair a little easier to swallow. She wanted to go home, more than anything else. It didn’t even matter anymore that her father had done this to her, that everything had been a lie, she just…she wanted to go back in time. Go to a time when her only worry had been how to put the flowers in her hair or if she looked cute enough and how to help her father out as much as possible.
These days she wished she could be the most gray, unremarkable thing in the world, nothing more but a shadow, a bit of dust to be brushed aside and forgotten. She tried, in her own way, no longer using makeup and she always tried to pick the most boring clothing possible, even if that was hard with the wardrobe the vampires had gotten for her.
A knock at the door startled her straight out of the dulling numbness and the tears that started to blur her vision. Immediately her heart was in her throat as she stumbled to her feet, flinching away from the door.
No one knocked. Absolutely no one. Her door might as well not exist for how little regard it got. Another knock, though this one held a slightly more urgent edge. Or an impatient one.
"Yui?" Reiji’s voice made her twitch, though she felt rather bewildered as well. He was one of the few ones to rarely visit her room, he preferred to order her to his study where no one interrupted. "May I enter? I fear it’s rather urgent."
"Of course," she answered, because no matter how strange his behavior was, she knew better than to say no. For one, he did not often appreciated her getting 'feisty' and two, he’d ignore her anyway.
The door was opened and the second Reiji stepped inside she knew she had made a big mistake. This was not the Reiji she knew.
Oh, he looked like him, from the glasses to the eyes and hair down to the prim and proper way he was dressed, but there was something about him that was very different. He seemed…a little bigger, a little taller, as though he was a fully grown adult a few years older than the Reiji she knew. There was an edge to him, something not even her Reiji managed at his most frightening. Something solid and powerful and calculatingly dangerous.
His eyes were fixed unerringly upon her and she didn’t know what was lurking in his eyes, only that it made her shrink back. He blinked and the expression was gone, but she knew it had been there.
"Yui," he said and she had never heard her name spoken in this tone before. There was a touch of reverent softness to it, like she was precious. It made her skin crawl.
"Who are you?" she managed to ask, gathering the scraps of her tattered courage close. She at least wanted to know who this person was before she got kidnapped or hurt or tossed out the window or something of the sort.
A touch of a smile made his lips twitch. "You have always been bright," he said which was honestly more bewildering than anything else the stranger had said or done before. "I am Sakamaki Reiji, but I am not from this world."
If he said he had come from the underworld or other such nonsense, she really was going to go through with one of her idle thoughts about suicide. She was so, so tired of being chewed up and spit out by things she couldn’t fight.
The stranger briefly glanced over his shoulder to the hallway beyond the door he hadn’t closed yet. "I know how it must sound," he said in an unexpected calming tone. "Allow me to explain and then you can decide if you wish to come with me."
This entire situation was so strange she found herself inclining her head. It wasn’t like she could run away anyway. She had never managed to get away from anyone or anything.
The new Reiji slightly dipped his head. "Much appreciated. I am from another world and an ancient, powerful spell allowed us to cross over into this plane of existence for a few short minutes to find you." Ah. Of course. She was getting kidnapped again and this time, it seemed, across dimensions.
New Reiji took a slightly deeper breath and straightened, suddenly looking as though he was ready to defend a thesis of his no one else really cared about. "We know you are unhappy here and you wish to leave, otherwise the spell would not have worked." His hands flexed before he stretched one out towards her. "Come with me, I promise you a better life and a brighter future than you have now."
Yui had no idea how to react for the longest moment. Was this some kind of cruel joke? Or had she snapped and was hallucinating? Only, why would she hallucinate a strange Reiji? One who almost seemed…respectful? It was very odd.
He seemed to sense her confusion and hesitance, since he tacked on, "I understand this is very sudden and I wish I had more time to explain everything, but we have only a few minutes left before the spell ends and this will never be possible again."
She didn’t question his claims of a strange spell and being from somewhere else, she had seen far too much freaky nonsense for that to surprise her. Yui wasn’t as dumb anymore, however. Not as naive. Nothing good would come from this, even if this Reiji was speaking honestly, she’d still trade one prison for another.
New Reiji slowly let his hand sink and her heart sank into her stomach with it. Truly trying to refuse these vampires anything was…not good.
"Are you truly happy here?" he asked, face grim and voice solemn now. "If you can honestly say you are I will leave without another word and none of my siblings or the Mukami brothers will attempt to convince you to come with us."
Now, see, this was a lie. If Yui knew one thing then it was that each and every one of these vampires would do exactly what they wanted and nothing less, no matter if they pissed each other off in the process.
Her tongue felt heavy, however and she couldn’t make her libs part. She was unhappy, very much so. And scared, her cold hands clutching onto her cardigan, of course with a loose enough neckline so anyone hungry had easy access. All her clothes were like this now.
Reiji seemed to mull over his words for a moment, his gaze falling down to the watch at his wrist. There was a tense tick at his jaw, one she had learned to watch out for and when he looked up again, she felt that sense of grim resignation settle over her again.
"Please," he said, taking a step closer and offering his hand again. "Come with me. If you truly end up hating that decision, we’ll…figure something out. Our world is not so bad, I promise. You’ll be happy there."
Yui wasn’t sure what exactly made her move forward, slow step by slow step, her feet feeling as though they were lined with lead. Maybe it was the helpful numbness that found her at another hopeless situation, maybe it was the fact that it didn’t matter what she said, it would be ignored anyway in the end, maybe it was the fact that it honestly didn’t matter which vampires had her. Maybe it was that desperate little seedling of hope that made her cling to his empty words one last time.
He took her hand when she raised it and offered a small smile, but she couldn’t bring herself to return it.
"Allow me to pick you up," he said and it was the gentlest her hand had ever been held by a vampire. "I am rather a bit faster than you."
Oh, she knew. She knew that very, very well. She must have nodded, or maybe she hadn’t, because it didn’t matter what she said, for she found herself scooped up. Not bridal style, but she was sitting on one of his arms, her hands braced against one shoulder and she blinked as she stared past his head.
He felt different beneath her. Stronger and a little bigger. On second thought, she should have at least tried to say no and fight back. A bigger, stronger and more dangerous Reiji must be worse than the one she currently lived with.
But it was too late to say anything and she closed her eyes with a soft yelp as air rushed past them, their surroundings blurring a little. A big hand came up to her lower back to brace her, tucking her a little more against him. It made that cold fear-shiver run through her bones again and Yui couldn’t help but think that her stupidity and foolish hope had gotten her into a worse situation than before yet again.
There was no way for her to fight off Reiji, however, especially not one who was clearly stronger and seemingly a little older. She heard some strange noise, but they passed by too quickly for her to catch it in full. She did, however, clearly hear the strange sort of call this Reiji made, something that hummed in in his chest and the air around them.
They were outside the very next second, the air smelling of roses and trees and Yui found herself gripped by a fierce, horrible longing. To finally be outside again for more than just a few moments, to walk across grass and wander through forests and leave to meander into the city to…to just live.
Tears filled her eyes and she ducked her head down, not wishing to let this Reiji or anyone else see how she felt.
"You have her?" Subaru’s sudden voice made her flinch and dread crawled down her spine anew. "Shit, why the fuck is she so thin?"
"Later," Reiji answered, clipped and clear and to her surprise, Subaru subsided, but she could sense him close by and it made her back feel far too vulnerable. Not that she wouldn’t have felt vulnerable when facing him, there was no armor she could hope to wear to ever be safe.
They stopped and she didn’t know where they were and her curiosity was for once silent as she chose to keep her face hidden away, fighting to contain her tears. There was no telling if this Reiji would lose his temper if she 'soiled' his clothing or if he’d merely scoff at her.
"Oh, she said yes?" Laito spoke up out of nowhere and she felt her back tense further. "How lovely."
She didn’t know what to say or do so she held still and this Reiji wasn’t trying to set her down or otherwise get rid of her, so she was going to just…stay here. Very swiftly the other vampires arrived and she heard shouts and yells rising from further away.
"We really pissed off ourselves," Laito said with lazy amusement. "I can’t believe we once looked like such babies."
"Is something wrong with her?" Kanato’s voice made her resist the urge to hunch in further. He seemed to be right by her hip. "Yui?"
"Later, the spell’s taking effect again," Reiji said and for a brief, wild second, she thought about trying to get away. About throwing herself against his hold, as if she’d ever stand a chance of breaking it and run away. Or scream.
The urge died down as soon as it had risen and she squeezed her eyes shut. There was no getting away and she knew that. Had learned that the hard way over and over again. She just hoped they would wait with biting her, she’d been a little dizzy all day and she just wanted a break. Just a little one.
Reiji’s hand rose from her back to her head, keeping her face tucked against his shoulder. "It’s best you don’t look," he said. "It is rather disorientating."
Yui felt a sudden tear at the world around her, the approaching shouts of the vampires she had lived with for far too long suddenly cutting off. All that was left was this new Reiji and the others around her, more hands briefly steadying her against the sudden shift and tilt of the world, nausea rising and falling within her.
Her ears popped and for a moment she got so dizzy she was sure she blacked out and then it was over.
"It worked," the satisfied voice of Karlheinz said nearby, making her flinch hard. "How lovely. I shall leave you to your reunion, just remember to inform me of everything later."
Some agreeing hums and murmurs, more distracted than anything, rose around her. She didn’t know how to feel or what to think, her sudden motivation to take a strange Reiji’s hand dwindling to nothing as dread started to claw up instead.
"Did she pass out?" Ayato asked and she flinched when a hand suddenly brushed her side. "Ah, she didn’t. Yui, look at me."
The weirdest thing, aside from the fact that he spoke so plainly of himself, was probably that his words weren’t a demand.
"Too damn thin," she heard Ruki mutter, which surprised her enough to hesitantly lift her head. "I’ll get some food."
Those were the vampires she knew, but they also weren’t. They were all a little older than the ones she had been with, stronger and solid, as if they had left behind any and all hints of teenage gangliness and instead had filled in with muscle and flesh and a last bit of growth. And they all carried that same subtle, unshakable danger as Reiji did, something that made her feel on edge just from looking at them.
Dangerous, her faulty, useless survival instinct finally piped up. They were far more dangerous than the vampires she had left behind and suddenly she felt like the dumb bitch Laito always said she was. Of course she had managed to make things worse for herself.
"She seems a little younger," Shu murmured, easily peering past his brother’s head, a faint furrow between his brows. Otherwise he seemed as calm as ever. "How old are you?"
"Eighteen," she answered, voice barely above a whisper. This new Reiji hadn’t set her down yet and she was only vaguely aware of the fact that she was clinging to his jacket.
The vampires around her seemed a tad surprised at her words and she had no idea what to think about the fact that the Mukami brothers were casually mingling with the Sakamaki brothers.
"We’re a little older," Reiji spoke up and she moved her head enough to watch his face from the corner of her eye. "We’re all around twenty-five, more or less."
Kanato stepped forward then and he was definitely the one with the biggest change. Gone was the thin, almost frail looking boy she had known previously and instead he was taller and looked far steadier. Still lanky, but where he had seemed far younger than his brothers now he looked to be about twenty. The fact that Teddy was tucked beneath one arm the way others might carry a blanket was another strange thing. The shadows beneath his eyes weren’t as pronounced either.
He smiled and Yui felt like a deer caught in the gaze of a lion. "You know us all already, but it’s still nice to meet you."
"L-Likewise," she whispered and at this Kanato’s smile slid away to a frown and she bit back a wince. She was messing up already simply by opening her mouth.
"It’s been a long night I’m sure," Reiji spoke up, drawing everyone’s attention and Yui exhaled softly with relief. "How about we have a late dinner and let Yui retire. We can answer any and all questions tomorrow after a night’s rest."
There were some heavily pronounced, unhappy expressions, but to her surprise, no one actually protested. Ruki walked off with Yuma on his heels and Yui found herself carried out of the room they had appeared in.
This place looked like the manor at first glance, but as they walked down hallways to reach a dining room, she realized that it was not quite the same house. The style was slightly different, different colors had been picked for drapes and carpets and the paintings on the walls were actually nice instead of just old and a little dreary.
She was carefully set down on a chair Laito of all people pulled out for her and gently pushed in and she resisted the urge to tuck up her shoulders, as if that would stop him from taking a bite. Nothing ever stopped them.
A moment of heavy, unexpectedly awkward silence settled and just as Subaru opened his mouth, looking weirdly like he might be a little anxious, the door opened. Ruki entered with Yuma, bringing platters of food with him. It was mostly sandwiches and finger food and finally some deserts.
"Why am I here?" she couldn’t help but ask when Ruki offered her the food first, looking like he expected her to chose what she wanted. He blinked, frowned a little and they all collectively glanced at Reiji, who visibly sat up a little straighter. At his gesture the platters were set down and Ruki and Yuma took a seat.
"We lost our Yui a bit over two years ago," he said, a stiffness to his words that told her he was purposefully keeping his emotions out of his voice. "And we were hoping to find another." He seemed to pause for a moment in thought, then said, "Lover."
"You’re not a replacement," Subaru added, a hardness to his words that made her grow very still where she sat. He faltered unexpectedly, looking briefly surprised before he continued, "No matter how it may look, we’re not expecting you to be a carbon copy of our Yui."
"You are tied to us," Ruki added and she glanced at him. He nudged the plate with sandwiches towards her. "And we are bound to you. If there was a way to find that kind of connection again, we were willing to take it."
"We couldn’t just take you, of course," Laito said and when she glanced at him, for all his laidback easy going, near lazy demeanor there was something altogether far too sharp in his gaze. "The only way to make this work was to find a Yui that wanted to leave her world. Your soul answered that call."
It made her head spin and yet, strangely enough, she didn’t feel overly surprised. The supernatural had done nothing but put all her expectations on its head and the very fact that they were sitting in front of her at all was proof enough.
"I see," she answered softly and when this time Kanato nudged the plate at her with a frown she made herself reach out and grab what was nearest. She was not hungry in the slightest, but if they insisted, she was going to comply.
"Any other questions?" Reiji asked and while he did not sound impatient or annoyed, her mouth suddenly felt glued shut. She knew better by now than to push her luck. "If you find you have any later, don’t hesitate to ask us."
She nodded and watched as the vampires around her reach for the food as well. Another bout of silence followed, only for Laito to poke Kou in the side and start a conversation. This, she decided, was by far the weirdest thing. While there was some arguing and the occasional glare, for the most part they all seemed to get along. More or less.
She especially had no idea what to do about the insult contest Laito and Yuma got into halfway through the meal, but considering the grins on their faces, they were absolutely not serious about the increasingly vulgar and creative words they tossed at each other.
She managed to get some food down and once the platters were empty, Reiji cleared his throat. Somehow he seemed to be the one in charge of whatever was currently going on. For now. She did not see that lasting, not with how headstrong all those vampires were.
"I think it’s grown quite late," he said, as if they weren’t all largely nocturnal. Even Yui had been forced to adjust so she was available. "Yui, we’ll show you to your room, please follow me."
He got up and she scrambled to follow. As did all the other vampires. It made her tense and her heart beat a little too fast and this shiver-tremble was back in her bones, but she said nothing as they all escorted her. It was honestly a little ridiculous, there was no need for the entire group to accompany her, but maybe they wanted to make sure they knew where she was.
Maybe she’d wake up to one or two or even three of them in her bed, hands on her skin and fangs flashing before they sank in. They usually waited for her to wake up and she suspected it was because they enjoyed watching her confused scramble, followed by paralyzing fear. Their grins were certainly delighted.
"Your room is here," Reiji said, stopping in front of an utterly nondescript door. "It’s one of our guest bedrooms, please let me know if you’d rather chose another one. Once you know what arrangement you would prefer with us we can get you situated in a suite of your own."
"Alright," she answered, feeling a little confused. Why bother with a suite when a single bedroom had been enough so far?
Silence stretched until she realized they were all going to stick around until she entered. Reaching for the door handle, she found the door opened soundlessly and beyond it laid a nice guest bedroom. There were some flowers and nice paintings and a dresser and a most likely empty wardrobe. Fancy but nothing over the top. Comfortable but not personal.
"It’s lovely, thank you," she said softly and strangely enough the vampires collectively seemed to ease a little. "Um, good night."
She hesitantly closed the door, then stood and stared at it. There was a key. She had never had a key. Her hand was on it before she could stop herself, the lock clicking in place and suddenly her heart was racing.
Surely locking the door was forbidden. What if they took the key away? She quickly unlocked the door again and pulled the key out, clutching it in her palm. She’d hide it. She would hide it until she really, absolutely needed it. Not that the vampires couldn’t break through doors if necessary, but if she needed to buy a little time for whatever reason, she could use this.
She quickly hid the key below the mattress and nervously wrung her cold hands. They felt a little clammy now. Slowly, she sank down onto the bed, somehow finding it even softer than the one she had slept in before.
The still healing bite marks ached a little, but she was glad to feel a little less dizzy than previously.
She sat and waited for the door to open, for someone to enter like the room and she belonged to them. Which, in their eyes, she did. Just a pretty little doll to play with and bruise and bite and ruin as much or as little as they liked.
She still, stupidly and foolishly, hoped for a little break. Just one night without getting her blood drained and hands gripping her where she didn’t want them.
***
Laito lounged on the sofa, watching his siblings and their frenemies as the spread out through the living room, some finding places to sit, others pacing and Subaru was skulking over by the windows as if he had never left his sullen teenager phase behind.
"Something is wrong," Azusa of all people said, but Laito found he had to agree.
The Yui Reiji had brought to them had been a tad younger, yes, but mostly she seemed washed out. Tiny and too thin and too pale and altogether far too frightened. He knew they all knew it. They could hear her heart and this close to her they could smell her emotions a little too, the fear that clung to her.
If his nose was to be believed, it did more than simply cling. It had seeped into her, she had never once stopped smelling like it. Was it because they were still strangers to her, even if she had known a version of them in her world? Laito hadn’t met his counterpart, but from the scents in that manor everyone but the Mukami brothers had been present.
It did not paint a pretty picture, if he was being honest.
"We need to give her some time," Reiji said, ever the reasonable and levelheaded one. Laito saw the expression in his eyes, however. The darkness that lurked in all of them, instinct and power that had gotten honed finely over the years.
He ran his tongue over his teeth to stop them from aching. He wasn’t hungry, not really, not with how much blood they got on the daily from Father, who paid humans for donations. It was simple, clean and easy and wouldn’t cause trouble in the long run like draining people in alleys would have.
Of course he would have loved to have a drop or two of Yui’s blood. It had made his entire week when she had been willing to share and he could mix the taste of her into his regular blood, turning it sweet and decadent. Or the times she had allowed him to drink directly from her. No pleasure compared to that heavenly taste. Well, one other did, but he highly doubted he was going to taste either anytime soon.
If he were a better person than he was, he would be worried and scandalized and affronted at the very idea what their counterparts in that other world had anything to do with how frightened Yui was. He knew better, however. Knew that the only reason he wasn’t a complete piece of shit was luck, his brothers, his father coming around, as loathe as he was to admit it. And Yui, of course, she had played the biggest part of all. He missed her fiercely in this moment. Missed her laughter and her gentle heart and how much better she had made them all.
"What do we do?" Kanato asked and for all the growth he had undergone he was still, somehow, the youngest of them all. The one who still clung to an imaginary, stuffed friend and sometimes struggled the hardest out of all of them to figure out how to keep his mind as healthy as was possible.
"Nothing, for now," Laito found himself saying, every gaze falling to him. He smirked at them, all languid grace, but he knew his eyes gave him away. There was a part of him that was furious and wished to go back to that world and drag all the answers from their broken counterparts. Another part, more instinct than rational mind, wanted nothing more than to hover around and guard Yui. As if lurking in her bedroom and staring at her while she slept would make anything better.
"She’ll need time," he continued. "Give it to her."
A moment of silence was broken by Yuma, "Since when are you the smart one?"
"Excuse you," Laito drawled back. "I am a gentleman and I know when to keep my mouth shut." He heard some muffled laughter and not so muffled snorts and lazily flipped them off. "Besides, anyone looks smart beside your peanut brain."
The ensuing arguing was a nice distraction for them all and Laito knew by now Yuma wasn’t really out for his blood anymore. Well, most days. They all had bad days when the past was clawing their insides to ribbons, when he watched Reiji obsess relentlessly over being perfect and Kanato clung to Teddy like a little child. When Shu said not one word and seemed to flee so deeply into his music nothing could draw him back out and Subaru and Ayato’s nerves were so frayed they were at each other’s throats within seconds.
Strangely enough, Yui had never been the broken one amongst them. She had been gentle but strong, not taking anyone’s shit without belittling them. Laito and his brothers, everyone really, had bloomed in her light. She had brought healing and laughter and love to them and now it looked like they were going to return the favor.
He hated the scent of Yui’s fear and the entire dinner he had had to resist the urge to reach out and rub his own scent on her. It would have soothed another vampire, the promise of support and protection, but it would have scared her worse.
He rolled onto his back as his siblings bickered and the Mukami brothers snarked and Azusa slinked over to an armchair to curl up in. Kanato left with a sudden murmur of 'Oh, I entirely forgot about this.' clearly talking to Teddy.
Staring up at the ceiling he couldn’t help but think back to the way Yui had flinched when she had heard their voices, how she had hidden away in Reiji’s shoulder. How Reiji had shown a mixture of fierce protectiveness and restrained worry. Laito himself had to keep from tugging her against him, offering the shelter of his body and his strength as protection.
At least Yui was with them now, he decided after a long moment, tipping his hat so he could pretend to take a nap as he thought. She was safe now, whether she believed it or not.
He still wished to go back and spill some blood, maybe teach his other self a lesson on getting his head out of his ass and learn to give a shit before he ruined everything he touched.