𝐀 𝐕𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬

chapter 8

After Vanitas successfully managed to calm the woman, the group continued walking down the seemingly endless passageways.

Noé felt his curiosity reach full capacity and turned to Vanitas, "What happened between you and Y/n back there? I couldn't turn my head to see anything after she used her ability."

The boy almost choked at the memory of kissing you, "O-oh... Nothing happened, I just muffled her crying."

"I see. If that's all, why is she walking so far ahead of us? Is she embarrassed because she cried in front of you?" Skepticism burned in his violet eyes.

Looking at the men over her shoulder, her gaze fell on Vanitas. Feeling Y/n's eyes on him, the boy stared back with a mischievous smile as he traced his lower lip with his thumb. An action that reminded the two of their little bonding moment and with flushed cheeks, she looked away.

"Yeah, embarrassment." He finally replied.

Confusion flickered briefly in Noé's eyes but he ignored it and raced to the woman's side. Watching her interaction with the vampire upset Vanitas, he didn't realize he had been clenching his teeth and glaring at his companion, but when he finally noticed, he felt confused, more confused than he's ever been. Vanitas didn't like her, he just got swept up in the moment and took things a tad too far. Sure she was beautiful, but he was certain it was just a product of the adrenaline-inducing situation they were in.

The trio came across automatons and other chasseurs, but Vanitas was still caught up in his thoughts and didn't realise until Y/n swept him off his feet, "Snap out of it and help me rewrite the astermite's formula!"

It only took a couple of minutes to deal with everything and continue running through the labyrinth.

"What a pain. I hoped we could reach our goal without having to deal with the chasseurs. Things never go as planned." The human complained.

"Nevermind that now. That Paladin is most likely coming for us and it would be very problematic for you guys." Y/n replied.

"For us? What about you, Miss Y/n?" Noé was puzzled by her words.

The woman shrugged half-heartedly, "I'll just steal the grimoire and run."

"How cruel, you'd abandon me after our ki--" She quickly covered his mouth with the palm of her hand, stopping him from saying another word.

"You're testing my patience, Princess. As I recall, you said you'd do 'it' as many times as I needed, so unless you want to make a spectacle of it, shut up. Got it?" She was bluffing. It was a moment of weakness, a mistake she couldn't repeat if she was planning on succeeding.

Y/n could feel him smiling and she frowned, bewildered that he still had the nerve to continue. That confusion was swiftly cleared up when Vanitas kissed her palm.

She recoiled at the action, mildly appalled at the audacity he had to joke around and her frown only deepened when he nodded in reply to her earlier question.

"Understood." He saluted lazily.

"Noé." Y/n felt her eye twitch.

"Yes, Y/n?" He had a feeling about where this was going.

"I'm going to kill him. Right now."

"Okay, how about we put our knives away?" He suggested while cupping her hands with his. He then wrapped his arm around her shoulders and walked her away from Vanitas who was still snickering and who stuck his tongue out at Y/n whenever she happened to glance his way.

Meanwhile, as the trio walked, Noé became silent, a storm of curiosity and despair brewed inside him. He had a thousand questions to ask but was unsure if he should pry. Why do Vanitas and Y/n know this place so well you can evade chasseurs and navigate the labyrinth with ease? What's the connection between the two of them and Dr Moreau? What's the Doctor hoping to achieve? And why do Vanitas and Y/n sometimes get a look of profound hopelessness in their eyes?