Shut your mouth! [Yata Misaki x Reader]

Chapter 12: Shock

           They say there is nothing more painful than losing a loved one to an unnatural cause. At least that was what Yata had heard, and just thinking about what [Y/N] was suffering at that moment broke his heart. If he was so hurt by the mere fact that she was suffering, how great would [Y/N]'s pain not be?

          Carefully, Yata set [Y/N] down on the ground, holding her until she could stand up on her own. She hadn't said a word the whole way, and she had a blank stare, as if she were miles away instead of in that room with him.

          The boy stood by her side, not knowing what to do. He was already missing arguing with her. He preferred it a thousand times to seeing her like that, standing there staring at nothing and with her dress stained with blood.

          "You should take a shower", he said kindly, in an attempt to get her to react.

          However, [Y/N] merely shrugged her shoulders. What did it matter that it was covered in blood? Ryu was dead.

          Yata ran a hand over his head in frustration. Why had he been tasked with taking care of her? He wasn't good at these kinds of things.

          "Come on", he said, taking her by the hand, and leading her to the bathroom, ashamed. "I'll heat the water for you".

          After regulating the water so that the young woman would not scald herself and letting the bath fill up, Yata looked at her again and saw that she was still standing in the doorframe, not having moved an inch from where he had left her. He hoped that a bath with hot water would do her some good.

          "Mmh... y-you know... you have to t-take off your clothes and get in the bathtub, o-okay? I-I'll wait for you outside", Yata couldn't believe he was telling her that when, a few hours earlier, he had been angry because Chitose had suggested she take off her dress and stay in a bikini.

          [Y/N] looked at him for a few seconds and, with unsteady movements, began to tug at the dress as if trying to take it off before the boy came out of the bathroom. Yata looked at her sadly as he realized that she was not able to take it off by herself because her hands were shaking too much. She didn't seem to react properly due to the shock. He only hoped that she would recover soon and, for that, he promised himself that he would stay with her until she was back to her old self.

          With his cheeks red beyond belief, Yata stood next to [Y/N] and pulled out her dress for her, immediately looking away even though she was not completely naked.

          "Come on, get in the water", he said, offering her his hand to lean on.

          [Y/N], after looking at the bikini she was still wearing in confusion, hesitantly accepted the redhead's hand and slowly stepped into the bathtub.

          Yata could hear his own heart pounding. Despite the circumstances, he couldn't help but feel nervous in this situation. He was aware that the young woman was trusting him, and that flattered him although he didn't know if it was just due to shock. He would prefer to think it wasn't. [Y/N] looked so vulnerable that all he wanted to do was hug her and reassure her that everything was going to be alright, that he was not going to let them hurt her ever again, until he could make her feel safe.

          With trembling hands, he picked up the sponge and began to wipe the bloodstains from the young woman's face. At least he had the relief that there was no one there to witness the embarrassment he was going through having to help her bathe.

          When he finished with the stains on her face, Yata shifted position to access her back and [Y/N] closed her eyes, feeling her body gradually relax under the redhead's care. The small part of her that was aware that what he was doing was something very intimate, befitting a couple, tried to protest but was immediately silenced. She liked Yata, that was a fact, and she didn't want to deny it anymore. At that moment, she didn't have the strength to continue pretending that she was indifferent to the redhead, and, besides, the way he was taking care of her made her rethink her belief that he hated her. Yata's attitude showed an affection towards her that she had not noticed so far, although she did not know if it could be called love.

          "I'm sorry I was such an asshole", whispered Yata behind her back and sleepily, [Y/N] smiled almost unnoticeably at hearing him, though she didn't answer because tiredness had finally taken its toll and she felt like she was going to fall asleep at any moment.

-   -   -   -   -

          Yata arranged [Y/N] on the bed carefully and asked Anna to help her put on pajamas, as the bikini was soaking wet and he was not going to put her underwear on her. That would be too embarrassing already. After a quick glance at the redhead's worried face, Anna had him leave the room and told him to go put on something comfortable while she put [Y/N]'s clothes on.

          The albino looked in the closet for something for [Y/N] to sleep in and smiled as she found an almost unworn pair of pajamas next to a pair of Mikoto's t-shirts. Apparently, [Y/N] felt more comfortable in a baggy t-shirt and that suited Anna just fine at the moment, as it would be easier to put a t-shirt on her than the full pajamas.

          Once the T-shirt and underwear were on, Anna placed a kiss on the young girl's forehead and left the room, finding Yata leaning against the wall, waiting. The red-eyed girl gave a sincere smile at the sight of him. She was glad that he was no longer trying to pretend that he didn't care about [Y/N].

          "She's still asleep", she said.

          "I-I know", answered Yata, trying to avoid the little girl's inquisitive gaze. "I just wanted to make sure s-she's okay."

         Anna was sure that wasn't the only thing, but she said nothing. Something was better than nothing, and, in a way, Yata was already making a breakthrough regarding his feelings.

          "You should stay with her tonight", she suggested matter-of-factly, walking off to her own room. "I don't think she wants to be alone"

         By the time Yata finished figuring out what the albino girl had said, she was no longer in the hallway. 

-   -   -   -   -

          [Y/N] half-opened her eyes when she heard the door open again. Yata was approaching her, trying not to make any noise. Being curious to see what he would do next, [Y/N] pretended to be asleep and waited.

          When he managed to reach the bed, Yata stared at the young woman. In her sleep, her features were more relaxed and she almost seemed happy. Careful not to wake her, he bent down to be at her level and gently caressed her cheek. Perhaps if they had known each other in another way, they would not have spent so many months arguing and everything would have been different between them.

          "I'm going to make them pay for this, [Y/N], I promise. You just... you just go back to your old self", he whispered as he continued to caress her.

         [Y/N] bit the inside of her lip to keep from saying anything that would give away that she was awake. Her eyes felt watery again, but she was afraid Yata would leave if she said anything, and she didn't want to be alone.

          After a couple of minutes, Yata sighed and kissed [Y/N]'s forehead as Anna had done before, and then he stood up. He didn't want to leave, but he couldn't stay there forever either. If [Y/N] woke up and saw him, he didn't know how she would react. Maybe she would take him for a stalker, or even worse. He had just turned over, when a hand grabbed his wrist and the red-haired man looked at [Y/N] who seemed to be still asleep despite holding him.

          "Yata-chan...", she mumbled. "Please, don't leave me alone."

          The redheaded boy smiled as he blushed again. Even if she was half asleep, she had unconsciously asked him to stay, so she couldn't accuse him of stalking her later. Besides, Anna had suggested the same thing, so he let go of the girl's tenuous grip and rounded the bed to lie down next to her. 

          Soon, [Y/N] rolled over and snuggled against him. She knew she was probably acting strangely, but that didn't matter to her. Her eyes stung, her throat hurt, and she felt like nothing made sense if Ryu wasn't there. It all seemed horrible. However, being near Yata made her feel a little better.

          Glad that he had stayed for a second time with her, [Y/N] gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before continuing to pretend she was asleep. Yata was surprised by the gesture but assumed it would have been a sleepwalking act and, wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her closer to him and —though he himself was not convinced of his words— assured her that everything would be alright from then on. Or at least, he would try his best to make it so.