Vanitas x Female! Reader ☆ Pure Shores ☆

13. Stem the Tide

“Vanitas, it’s really you!” Sora gently cupped his brother’s face. Blinking back silvery tears, he sniffed hard, then swallowed. “I thought that you might be-“
Vanitas gripped Sora's wrist hard, his face pained. “Don’t, I thought it too.” The two brothers rested their foreheads together, each looking like they were trying their best to hold their powerful emotions inside. Perhaps it was dishonourable for a warrior to show what could be considered weakness, but (Y/N) had to hold her own tears back.
She had seen the desperation that had kept Vanitas awake at night that had put sooty rings around his tired eyes.
It was as much as a relief for her as it was Vanitas, but she allowed him his moment.
Foreheads still pressed together, they murmured phrases in Leviathaiian that
(Y/N) could not make out, but the way they gripped at one another like they feared what would happen should they let go, made the message clear.
Gingerly, she lifted the cloth she held against the throbbing red welts circling her wrist, the ice wrapped inside it helping ease the pain. She glared over at the tall, elfin man standing stony-faced beside the two brothers, blue hair falling in soft layers around his face.
Saix, Vanitas had said. He shared he same golden eyes as Vanitas, but where Vanitas’s eyes ebbed and flowed with every fleeting emotion, Saix had eyes that remained flat and cold. Empty – like a sharks eyes.
She hissed softly, pressing the fabric back against the hot flesh, her lips pulled into a tight line.
“We don’t make it our business to go around injuring the defenceless, you know.”
(Y/N) flicked her eyes upwards towards the voice, before dropping them again. She didn’t appreciate being called defenceless, but knew that in the way he meant it, it was true.
Still, she’d danced with a snarling, hackles raised Leviathai, and lived to tell the tale. In her book, that counted for something.
“Riku, was it?” she asked, straightening up slightly. 
“You got it.” He replied easily, shifting his weight as he regarded her.
(Y/N) met his sharp, aquamarine eyes, and felt a blush immediately bloom across her cheeks. She looked away, wrapping her arms around herself and gripping them tightly.
“I know that…don’t worry.” she looked back at him, giving him a tight smile.
He tilted his head, silver hair flashing like a blade, a delicate eyebrow arching in amusement.
Riku smiled back. “Good. I wouldn’t want to make a bad impression.”
(Y/N) frowned in confusion. “Why would you care if-“
But Riku had already stepped back, allowing a flushed, excited looking Sora to approach her. (Y/N) jumped as he grasped both her hands, the icy cloth slapping wetly to the ground, ice shards scattering in all directions. He simply smiled at her for a few moments, before taking a deep breath. (Y/N)’s gaze flicked to Vanitas, who watched her steadily, his expression unreadable.
“Listen, I know that I’m supposed to scorn you because you turned Vanitas human…but I don’t care!” He began, bumping a fist against his chest as if to punctuate this point. “You saved my brothers life, and kept him safe. You did what you believed was right, even if Leviathai law says it isn’t.”
(Y/N) looked to each of the Leviathai standing before her, unsure of what the appropriate response was.
“I’d do it again,” she answered finally. “Without question. I’m just sorry we couldn’t help you sooner.”
Sora beamed at her, throwing an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. “Don’t sweat it! I’m just flattered you tried to help me at all!”
But Vanitas looked grave. “I need to know what happened to us, Brother.”
Confusion crossed Sora’s face, as his grin slipped away. “You don’t know?” he glanced across at Riku, who shrugged helplessly.
(Y/N) wriggled gently out of Sora’s strong grip, patting his arm apologetically as she hurried to the stack of books and paper on the far end of the counter.
Pushing aside a discarded black cloak, she flicked through reams of hastily scribbled notes. Finally, she slipped a piece out from the stack. “Here, we found a number of local marine flora that is not only toxic, but has memory-loss as an after effect,” she looked to Vanitas for his agreement, and handed the notes over to Sora uncomfortably. “We think that this may be a possibility, in case you survived the attack.”
Sora took the notes with a troubled expression, his mouth forming silent questions he never voiced, instead, his eyes darted over the words, which were a messy jumble of Leviathaiian and Human. Riku leaned over Sora’s shoulder, holding one half as he too quickly scanned the page.
“I don’t recognise any of them as commonly used Leviathai poisons.” Riku said, letting go of the page.
“Vanitas...how much do you remember of what happened?” Sora asked, handing the notes back to (Y/N) with a grateful nod. Vanitas rubbed the nape of his neck, his face screwed up with effort. “...Not much,” he finally said, gesturing at Sora. “I remember we were out hunting together- then, nothing. I woke up here...a human.”
(Y/N) looked away, avoiding meeting his eyes.
Instead she met the caustic, accusatory stare of Saix.
There was a pregnant pause, before Sora spoke up again.
“I remember a lot...not everything.”
Riku looked to (Y/N). “Why does Sora remember more than Vanitas if they were infected by the same poison?”
(Y/N) glanced down at the notes in her hand, her eyes reflective. She looked up, briefly tracing Vanitas’s form. “Vanitas’s wound was-“ she stopped, swallowing down the sudden lump clogging her throat. She had never told another living soul about what had really happened the night she’d found the injured Vanitas. She remembered the smell of blood, the vile green that had stained the beautiful red scales covering his lower half, and how barely conscious, he had gripped her hand weakly as she promised to save him.
She took a shaking breath, embarrassed despite the arguably horrific memory.
She reminded herself that the young men standing before her were warriors, battle hardened and strong in body and mind- she didn’t want to highlight her human nature any more than it already was.
“The wound was deep...with signs that the poison had penetrated deeply,” she sniffed, turning her attention to Sora. “Perhaps your wounds were less severe, less of the poison entered your blood.”
Sora gripped the oversized sleeve of his dress shirt, and began rolling it up. He stopped when he reached the bicep, pointing to a long, thin purple mark.
(Y/N) looked to him, asking for silent permission. Sora nodded, and she ran her finger gently over it, feeling the soft, raised wound.
“This was the only wound you received?” she asked. Sora maintained his silence, clearly struggling with the question as he looked towards the ceiling, before his whole body drooped.
“What happened, Sora?” Vanitas asked quietly.
The younger brother looked uncertain, reluctant even.
Vanitas closed the short distance between them, gripping his brother's shoulder hard. “I need to know, please. There’s nothing but blank spaces.”
Sora visibly sagged, his demeanour becoming uncomfortably serious, evident that this was not something that happened without pushing. He folded his arms, eyes downcast.
“You’re right, we were out hunting....”