𝕯𝖎𝖆𝖇𝖔𝖑𝖎𝖐 𝕷𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖘: 𝕯𝖆𝖗𝖐 𝕱𝖆𝖙𝖊

Chapter 44

Ruki waited outside the school, his grey tipped hair soaking wet under the rain while he watched the girl scurry towards him, her blonde hair dripping wet with the rain.

He breathed in her beauty for the longest time as she ran towards him, her uniform now clinging to her body, goosebumps raised on her tender flesh, her white shirt pressed taut against her chest. Ruki blushed, averting his gaze as she halted in front of him, her lips quivering from the cold. Ruki slipped his hands into his pockets, reassuringly feeling the little box, and asked in a hushed voice, "Are you alone?"

Yui wiped the rain off her forehead. "For the time being." She looked around, her wine red eyes darting through the garden, looking intently before an overwhelming emotion overtook Ruki as he grabbed her arm roughly, pulling her towards his body.

"Ruki kun?" she protested as he looked down on her, his finger pressed over her lips. Her warmth comforted him for a while before he was reminded of the purpose of his meeting with her. He hesitantly pulled his finger away from her searing hot flesh, his knuckles softly brushing her chin as he said, "Staying close will be the best for the time being."

Yui's expression changed, and in the faintest light of the moon that cut through a cloud, he saw her skin tinge a bright pink. "Can we please find some shelter from the rain though?" her arms crept up her elbows, creating a gap between his cold body and her. "I'm cold."

Ruki considered for a moment. "Let your scent wash out in the rain for a bit."

Yui did not dare to look up at him. Would that Ayato look at her like this, hold her like this? Would he be able to give her the pain and the pleasure she wanted so desperately? Ruki had known for so long that it was useless to try and become Adam, for the Mukamis were not supposed to fulfil that role. They were only supposed to sway the Yui, and it was nothing more or less than the role of the serpent in the fallacy of the original Eve. Only a conduit, only a segue to something more important, more concrete. Theirs was not a permanent existence.

Yui shivered. "Are we done yet?"

"Shut up," Ruki pinched the bridge of his nose, annoyed. "Livestock should remain subservient. Do not ask questions."

Pure hurt flashed through Yui's eyes, before she became stiff between his arms. Ruki felt his heart being squeezed and his soul burning in agony, as he let go of her, the absence of her warmth creating a vacuum inside his body. He'd grown fond of her.

No, he had grown too fond of her.

The Adam was supposed to develop these feelings. Why was he being so protective of her? Why did he no longer see her as a livestock, but as a friend?

Yui wasn't supposed to be his equal. She shouldn't be.

And yet he had decided to ask her today...

"Ruki kun?" Her voice jolted him out of his thoughts. He stared at her for a while, before grabbing her wrist and tugging her across the field, towards the exit of the school. Yui appeared a bit concerned, but did not ask him what had gotten to him. Her submission to him bothered him a bit, but he pushed that uncertainty at the back of his mind. "We're going out for a bit, just you and me."

"Why now?" What she probably meant was Why do you think going out right now would serve any purpose?

But just like the kind girl she was, she did not want to hurt his poor little dead heart.

"Why not?"

"But I..." She seemed to hesitate, but then her voice seemed to become her usual high pitched self. "Alright."

She did care for him. She did care for him. The phrase kept on ringing, as though his heart was trying to convince him that he wasn't just another vampire in her troubled life.