𝕴𝖘𝖊𝖐𝖆𝖎 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚇 𝚃𝙱𝙷𝙺: ˢᵗᵒⁱᶜ

8.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ betrayals

!Warning!
Depictions of violence.

•

Ps: I've changed the cover, I'll probably be keeping it like that for a while now.

I'm not very good at sticking to one tense, so if you notice my writing to sound a bit strange, it's on me.

You were in front of the door to the Minamoto's house. Without Teru.

He had felt some sort of supernatural presence near the arcade, so he had dashed away. Very gentlemanly of him. Very.

You knocked on the door, ready to hear Tiara asking about your progress on her dress, the sounds of Kou cooking busily. But none of those sounds were heard. Instead, there was a deafening silence for too long until-

-The door slowly opened, revealing a nervous looking Kou. He met your eyes and clumsily moved a few steps back from you.

"O-Oh! Y/n! Come in!" Kou was pacing around the place, still avoiding eye contact with you. You felt uneasy and eyed him wearily.

"...Kou."

He stopped in his tracks, now looking at the ground. He was sweating heavily, eyes spinning.

"You're hiding something." Kou's nervousness changed to panic. "Teru told you something. Right?" Your theory was proven to be true when his baby blue eyes darted to the floor. You felt your blood boiling.

"Haah. An ass from the start." Your voice sounded monotonous, but behind your tone was raw anger. Kou could feel it.

'What did I expect...? He couldn't have possible changed. That ass has been manipulating me from the very beginning.'

Luring you into his house. You were like a bird locked in it's cage. Others looking at your every move.

Just another possible threat. A lousy supernatural you were. Ha.

"I-I'm sorry, Y/n! Teru-nii asked me to keep it a secret. Especially from you." He looked at the ground bashfully. You shifted your feet, clutching onto your bag even tighter than before. "C-come in. Tiara's sleeping."

You saw Tiara on the sofa, sleeping peacefully was a small pillow in her hands. The anger you had felt faded away in an instant.

Kou sat down on the ground, you second. You could hear the quiet whirring of the house and the howling of the wind outside. Kou's hands were resting in his lap as he tried calming himself down.

After what felt like twenty heartbeats, Kou spoke.

"Teru-nii told me to stay away from you, and to protect Tiara. He told me I would be one step closer to being an exorcist if I did-"

"-Because I might be a supernatural, right?" Your blood was boiling even more now, trying to fight how you felt with clenched fists. You felt moodier today, it could have been from the adrenaline you had back at the arcade.

You air between you and Kou tensed. You used to see him as family, but you felt yourself drifting away from those close to you. Once again.

Perhaps it was karma. Maybe you weren't given a second chance after all.

"D-Don't say that! Not all supernaturals are bad..." His voice was frantic. He was now looking into your eyes.

They were so much like Teru's. Except there was life still burning in them.

"Teru-nii still cares about you. I know it!" Kou blurted out. You let out a small laugh.

He looked sincere, so sincere that you couldn't help but do it. It was a laugh of pure astonishment, not happiness or relief. "You look like Teru. But you're still so different..." You stared out the window.