Ten Days of Yandere

Always There (Yandere!Ruth x Reader)

A/N: This is going to be pretty tame because I love Ruth too much to make him too yandere.;D I do not own The Ancient Magus' Bride, any of its characters, or the picture. Enjoy!^^

Yandere warning: stalking, kidnapping, obsession

You knew you were being followed, could feel it in your bones and the way your instincts screamed at you, but no matter how hard you looked into the surrounding forest, you couldn't make out a thing. 

It was like a scene out of a horror novel, the young woman caught alone in the woods in the middle of the night. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to go for an evening walk, but you'd figured it would be okay. These were your old stomping grounds after all, you're childhood home. Surely you would be able to find your way back...or so you had thought. 

Had the sun always gone down so quickly this time of year? When you'd left your parents' house you thought you had at least a couple more hours of daylight left, but before you knew it the sky had darkened, leaving you unable to see five feet in front of you. You tried not to freak out, to follow your steps back, but no matter how long or far you walked your surroundings remained the same.

Who knew how much time had passed. At this point you weren't sure if it had been minutes or hours. What you were sure of was that something, someone, was following you. No, you hadn't actually seen anyone, but the hair rising on the back of your neck and the strange tingling sensation in the back of your skull screamed danger. 

'Don't panic, (y/n). It's just an animal or something. That's right, an animal. Just an animal. Any moment now you'll see the end of the trail. Don't panic...' 

Something brushed your arm, whispering along your skin and bringing a scream from your lips.  Spinning around, your searched frantically for whatever it was that was following you, but, like all the other times you had looked, there was nothing.

'Screw staying calm.'

Adrenaline pumping through your veins, you gave in to your instincts and ran. Shooting wild looks over your shoulder, you tore through the woods blindly, your clothes catching on bushes as you stumbled over exposed roots. Where had the path gone?

You felt like you were losing your mind. There was something following you. You were certain of it, could feel them on your heels, but whatever it was remained out of sight, slowly driving you crazy. 

What if it was all in your head? What if it had only been the breeze blowing over your arm? That's right, the breeze. That must've been it. What else could it have been?

Gradually, you slowed down, your mind rationalizing as best it could in this abnormal situation. Stopping for a moment, you panted heavily, cold sweat dripping down your temple. You were just being paranoid, the eerie darkness of the woods making you act foolishly. There was no way anyone could actually be following you. Straightening, you took deep breaths in and out, trying to calm your still pounding heart. All you had to do was find your way back to the path and if you couldn't do that than you just had to wait until morning. 

Lost in your thoughts, your senses didn't register the warm presence at your back until it was too late.  

"(Y/n)..." a deep voice murmured in your ear, hot breath fanning against your neck.

For the second time that night, a scream erupted from the depths of your being, your mind blank with terror. All of your rationalizations disappeared, your surety in the fact that you weren't alone painfully reaffirmed.

As a hand ran over your arm you did the only thing your fear permeated mind could think of. Run. Run as fast as you could.

But you didn't make it far.

Claws dug into your back, dragging you down as heavy paws planted themselves into the wet, black soil on either side of your head. The taste of metal and dirt appeared on your tongue, blood filling your mouth from where you had bitten your cheek. Peering up with wide, petrified eyes you froze as a large muzzle blew scorching air in your face, your only movement the rapid rise and fall of your chest. Barely piercing the thick canopy, the moon illuminated the silhouette of your stalker, outlining shaggy ears and accenting the glowing red eyes gazing into your soul.

Was this how you would meet your end? Torn apart by a dog? But hadn't there been a person following you...?

"(Y/n)." 

It was the same voice from before. The shadowy creature above you flickered and shifted, morphing from dog into man as tears pricked your eyes, fear making your throat clench. What sort of monster was this? Dear god, what had you gotten yourself into?

A hand cupped your cheek, smearing something warm and sticky along your skin. "(Y/n), (y/n), (y/n). It is you." Locks of hair brushed your face and the stranger's forehead pressed to yours, his red eyes suddenly a lot closer. "I missed you so much..." As he spoke, his lips just barely brushed yours, making you jolt.

"P-Please, let me go. Don't hurt me." Your voice shook and trembled, hiding nothing.

The stranger blinked. "Hurt you? (Y/n)...don't you remember me? I used to play with you when you were little. I'm Ruth, remember?" His hand slipped to your jaw, his grip harsh. "Remember?"

"T-There's some sort of mistake. I'm not who you think I am. I-I don't know you." You gasped for breath, his heavy presence suffocating you.

"No, no, that's impossible. You are my (y/n). There's no way I'd make a mistake when it comes to my (y/n)." His gaze became frantic, his grip on your jaw continuing to tighten. "You must remember. I've always been there for you. Always, always, always there. I was there until you left home and I've been there since you came back. I've been with you all night and I'm here with you now." He took a shaky breath. "Don't you remember me?"

You shook your head, tears escaping your eyes. Subconsciously, you were beginning to realize you weren't going to get out of this.

"NO!" His grip on your jaw turned painful, making you yelp and grab his hand, struggling helplessly. "It's not supposed to be like this! You have to remember! You're mine! I've been waiting for you and now you've come back and...and..." he trailed off, releasing your jaw. Your relief was short-lived though, the glint in his eyes making a shiver crawl up your spine. 

"You have to remember." The cold resolve in his voice made your blood freeze. "And I know a place where I can make you remember." His lips brushed your cheek, the touch opposite that of his crushing grip only moments ago. "Sorry, you're going to have to take a little nap, but when you wake up we'll be in a much brighter place. You may not be human anymore, but what does that matter if we can be together?" 

The red light in his eyes, Ruth's eyes, filled your vision, blocking out the hopeful silver light of the moon. It felt like you were sinking deeper and deeper into a black abyss, unaware of your body being picked up. You had no idea what you'd gotten yourself into or what was going to happen next, but, like the moon, your hope disappeared, crushed in the face of your captor's sheer abnormality. 

Spiriting you away from the human world, from everything you knew and loved, Ruth didn't feel an ounce of guilt or regret. He'd waited for you long enough, always there, always watching, and now he could finally have you, live a fairy tale with you in the fairy realm...

...but fairy tales don't always end happily for those involved.