Everlasting Spark ~DARK 08~
“Good grief, wherever could he be?” Reiji said, tapping his fingers on the open textbook at their table. Chiyo was fidgeting in her chair nervously. She hated it when Shuu bailed on their shared lessons and left her alone with Reiji. The boy was only a little bit older than her but never failed to scold her for everything. According to him all she did was wrong, her posture during lunch, the way she dressed, the way she spoke. Her whole existence was wrong.
The only thing she had an upper hand in was their German studies. She had spent a good chunk of her childhood in that country. Apparently, that was where her mother was from. She picked up on the language way faster than Reiji and she knew it made him livid. As long as he was better than Shuu, he still was in somewhat of a good mood though and with Shuu skipping on his lessons more and more, chances were he would get the worst grade out of the three of them.
Chiyo looked at Lady Beatrix, who was peacefully embroidering a piece of cloth a good distance away in the garden. No matter what, she would always compliment Shuu on his work, treating Reiji and her more as an afterthought. But still the girl could not help but admire the woman. She oozed elegance every second of the day. From her long hair and her delicate face to her stern but feminine demeanor, to Chiyo it screamed authority. She hoped one day she would be as beautiful as Lady Beatrix. Already, she had started to grow out her own hair, asking her maid every day if it was long enough already to put it in a similar style as the King’s second wife.
Chiyo’s own hair was curly and difficult to tame. And of course, not long enough still, she sighed.
“Will you stop spacing out like that already? I can’t believe I have to deal with Shuu and you on top of that…”
“Shuu…” she muttered.
“Yes, Shuu, who else would I be – “
Across the garden they could see Shuu running towards them. His clothes, while still intact, were terribly dirty. Chiyo wasn’t sure what it was. Soil maybe.
The boy was completely out of breath once he arrived at their table. Reiji let out a mocking laugh.
“And what are you trying to be? Dressing up as a farmer boy?”
Chiyo looked closer at Shuu. He was sweating, had a scratched knee and completely messed up clothes. His hair clung to his forehead and looked even more tousled than usually.
“Sorry I’m late I– “
“Shuu.”
The children all turned around, to see Lady Beatrix stand right behind them.
“Mother, I…”
She didn’t let him explain and took him with her. Chiyo could only make out a bit of their conversation.
“What are you doing, running around like this? This is not how an heir should behave.”
“I know mother, I… I apologize.”
“You’re dismissed from the lessons today, go and change out of those clothes. And make sure you catch up with the missed study materials.”
“Understood.”
Chiyo heard Reiji sigh and say what a good-for-nothing his older brother was.
“Say, don’t you think it’s annoying, the way he keeps on sneaking out to that human village?”
Chiyo looked up at the boy.
“What do you mean?”
“He doesn’t care about anything else other than this human boy. Edgar this, Edgar that. He doesn’t care that he keeps us waiting, he doesn’t care about making mother angry, he doesn’t even care about you anymore.”
Reiji was looking her straight into the eyes when he said that last part. A devious glint in his own. Chiyo frowned at him.
“That’s not true!” she said.
“Oh really?” Reiji asked, eyebrows raised, and amusement audible in his voice, “I guess we will see about that.”
Chiyo was walking across the campus in search for something, or rather someone. Reiji sent her on a quest to fetch Yui, who was uncharacteristically late after class. She usually would be one of the first people by the car, ready to go home, but today she didn’t show up.
Ever since her encounter with Ruki Chiyo made a point of avoiding the library, although no other room was as good at cancelling out the student noise as that one. She feared if she went back there, he would take it as a direct invitation for… for what? She wasn’t sure what exactly.
He couldn’t possibly show real interest in her, could he? Her bet was more on him messing with her on purpose.
She shook her head in hopes of getting rid of that man. The last thing she needed were intrusive thoughts about this Vampire. Or his strange cold eyes that seemed to dig right into her soul. Or–
Chiyo groaned. That was exactly what she wanted to avoid.
Focus. She needed to focus.
Yui.
Yes.
She was searching for Yui.
Maybe the girl was somewhere outside? Chiyo decided to take a look at the school’s backyard. Sure enough there was some sort of commotion coming from the incinerators.
“Yuma-kun, please let me go, I really got to get back to the others!”
“The others? Yer gonna tell me ya go back to that redhaired loser on yer own volition?!”
While Chiyo found redhaired loser to be a nice description of what she assumed was Ayato, she still decided to intervene with whatever was going on. She could see a bit of Yui, standing next to the incinerator, most of her frame covered by a huge guy that she has never seen around before.
“Chiyo-san!” the girl shouted in relief.
It must have taken the guy by surprise, because Yui broke free and ducked behind her.
“Hey! Come back here – huh?!”
Chiyo’s eyes widened in horror. Was this the divine punishment that believers would talk about? Or was she simply starting to go crazy?
Why in the world was a dead man standing in front of her?!
“The hell are ya looking at with that stupid face, huh?!” the dead person asked.
Chiyo couldn’t get out a single word. Heart hammering in her chest like never before, she wasn’t able to breathe properly.
A single word repeating inside her head.
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Finally, Yui shook her out of her state and made her snap out of it.
“Chiyo-san? Let’s just go home, okay?”
“The fuck? Get back here!” the dead person shouted after them.
Everything that happened after, felt like a blur to Chiyo. She succeeded a bit at calming herself down enough to keep herself composed during the ride home, although she got a few comments about her even paler than usual complexion. Most of the others were content with Yui’s explanation that they were held up by one of the Mukamis. However, Reiji seemed to keep his gaze trained on her for some reason.
Back at the mansion Chiyo immediately collapsed onto her bed. A quiet whimper finally escaped her lips when she was all alone.
Why was he alive?
Why was Edgar alive?
He was supposed to be dead!
Reiji said he died!
That everyone in that cursed village died!
Chiyo’s trembling hands reached up and she grabbed her own hair, rocking back and forth on the bed. Hot tears were streaming down her face.
Her past seemed to finally catch up to her.
