Prisoner's Conviction (Yandere Detective x Reader x Yandere Heirs)

Chapter 21: Creeping Hours

Sometime in the middle of the night, when (Y/n) was fast asleep, clinging onto a pillow as though it were a beloved pet, Shota threw his legs over the edge of the bed. He gave an aggravated sigh, rubbing the messed-up red locks resting on his head. As he placed his feet on the wooden floor of the room, he winced, pulling them back up. It was freezing; an unpleasant feeling when he had woken up in the midst of a lovely dream.

Begrudgingly, he huffed and pulled on some slippers, shaking his head with irritation. It was always like that with him. Things plagued him even when nothing was wrong. He could have been experiencing the best day of his life, and his nightmares would haunt him nonetheless. Still, he supposed it could have been worse. He could have woken up by himself, freezing cold, and unable to see anything.

He smiled, if you could call it that. Looking down at the (h/c) haired girl, a grin peeked past his somberness. She was so at peace, a serene expression on her face, her hair sprawled out beneath her on the feather-stuffed pillow. He leaned down to the side of her, standing by the bed. His fingers trailed over her cheeks, the male using the back of his hand to caress her longingly. The male then picked up a singular lock of her hair and placed an affectionate kiss on it, his mood improving just slightly.

However, he felt guilty for doing such a thing, and with a huff of disappointment in himself, he found himself slipping away from her. As her hair fell through his fingers, he frowned, moving further and further away. The door closed behind him quietly, the red-haired male surprised by the presence of Okura. He gave a nod at the ginger-haired man, motioning for him to follow along after him.

"The bodyguard that disappeared has returned, but I didn't want to wake you up."

"Mm, how long were you standing outside of my room?"

"Just fifteen minutes, but if you hadn't woken up, I would have stayed out there for as long as I could have. Or perhaps I would have gone to deal with the situation myself. With your best interests at heart, of course."

The red-haired male nodded his head, walking purposefully towards the southern servant's quarters. Most, if not all residents of the manor, were already asleep, including Nami, whom the male checked up on before leaving. She was just as peaceful as (Y/n) was, her eyes lightly closed and her mind deep in sweet dreams as she clung to her favorite teddy bear. He smiled just barely before keeping himself on task.

The courtyard was empty, quiet, and desolate aside from the chirping crickets. Lights made the path out and allowed the visible marble pathway to be admired, but it seemed painfully lonely to the redhead. As he stared down in front of him, he could not resist frowning heavily, fearful and confused about what lay ahead. Though he could see it, the lanterns beside the path illuminating the area, the same could not be said for his future. It was cloudy, or perhaps it was foggy. Either way, he didn't know what lay ahead and frowned because of it.

The ginger-haired man opened the door to a particular part of the quarters. There, the bodyguard that had disappeared a handful of days prior sat. He was injured, holding his wrist tightly while being bandaged around his shoulder area. With a stone-cold expression, he sat quietly, only looking up when he noticed the red-haired male's presence. His expression did not change.

There was an unkempt appearance about the man, something that prompted both relief and yet ominous discontent within the younger male. He stared at him with intense surveyance, attempting to take in as much as he could in order to figure out the situation. In whatever case, it appeared that there was a very dangerous individual lurking somewhere within the port city; one that even his bodyguards could not handle. Okura was right. They needed to be cautious, especially if the man had no information regarding the event.