Chapter 15

I wake up in my bed, a blanket thrown over my shoulders. When I sit up, my head pounds with a fierce migraine. I can see my glasses folded up and resting on my nightstand. My hair’s sticking up and fraying in all different directions; a far cry from the pristine and proper ponytail I’d left for work with.

The bedroom’s dark, the curtains pulled in to block out the moon’s rays. I press a hand to my forehead with a groan.

How long have I been out?

The door creaks open, a bit of light from the hallway spilling inside. Aku stands there, one gloved hand resting on the doorframe as he pokes his head in.

“…I made food, if you’re hungry.”

I blink. How can he sound so normal after seeing me crash out like a child earlier?

But the promise of food is too tempting to keep me locked up in my room for the rest of the night. So I nod pitifully and slide out of bed with a huff.

The kitchen is a much more comforting place without my brother there. As strange as it is to admit it, Aku seems calmer than any human I’ve ever come across. He waits for me to sit down at the table before bringing out dinner: two bowls of chazuke.

The sight of the rice and vegetables is suddenly too much, and before I know what’s happening there are tears rolling down my cheeks.

Aku winces over his own bowl. “Is it that bad? I tried to follow the recipe card from that box—”

“N-no, it’s perfect.”

He used Mom’s recipe—and it smells and looks just as delicious as ever.

Like she made it herself.

When my eyes are dry, the two of us begin to eat. Aku offers to do the dishes but I insist; it is my turn, after all. So he dries off the dishes and puts them back in their homes.

Afterwards, we sit in silence across from each other on the floor in my bedroom. I’m nestled against the foot of my bed, just below the window, while Aku sits with his back against the wall. The door is closed and the curtains are drawn. Complete darkness floods the room, save for Aku’s soft crimson eyes.

It just feels safer this way. Just the two of us exist, with no one else in the entire world.

I never thought I’d feel so safe alongside a demon.

“…I was nineteen when I found out my dad was cheating on my mom. Not cheated, actively cheating. As in, I saw the texts. The bastard had left his phone in plain sight one day.”

Aku remains silent. I roll onto my side on the floor, tucking my legs up to my chest. I don’t know what else to do, so I just keep talking.

“Back then, I kinda hoped he’d done it on purpose. Maybe someone at work was blackmailing him and he wanted someone to find out and help him out of it. Heh, wishful thinking, huh? But I was desperate. I just couldn’t fathom that my own father could do something so…so stupid.”

So cold, so selfish. I take a deep breath and squeeze my eyes shut.

“But when I brought it up to him, I thought… Oh, who am I kidding? I didn’t know what to think. I was so stupid, confronting him outright like that. I expected him to have an answer, at least. An excuse, maybe? A few lies he’d prepared ahead of time? But all I got was utter silence. Like he wasn’t even hearing me. So I…I thought maybe I’d heard it wrong. Maybe it was just a friend from work, and I was reading too much into it.”

Should’ve just trusted your gut, Ichika.

“Days passed. Then weeks. I started noticing little things here and there. So did Kota, and he had the same suspicions I did. Our father would stay out a lot for overtime at work, but he didn’t bring much extra money into the house. Kota found more incriminating texts on his phone. I found a few paper receipts to restaurants and hotels we’d never even heard of stuffed in the pockets of his briefcase. One day, I smelled a bit of perfume on his suit jacket—and my mother hates wearing any kind of perfume.”

The tears are starting again, so I roll onto my back and stare up at the ceiling to keep them at bay.

“She knew the whole time. Mom knew, and she said she didn’t care anymore. But I think that’s what pushed me into confronting him again. She didn’t stop him, and he didn’t try working things out with her. My parents’ perfect marriage was falling apart right in front of me, and I couldn’t stand around and watch it anymore.”

Maybe I did see myself as some sort of savior or martyr. But at the same time, I was just a stupid kid who didn’t want to see her parents hate each other.

“So I did. But this time I had more proof—and what did I get? The same reaction as last time. No answers, no excuses, no lies. It was like talking to a brick wall! I mean…at least lie to me! Show some effort!”

I can hear Aku shift in the darkness, but I can’t muster the courage to look at him. At least, not yet.

“I couldn’t wait to move out of that house. The rest of the family lives in Kyoto, but once I got a job offer in Tokyo I ran. Yagi-san keeps an eye on me, but he doesn’t tell my parents everything about me. He gives me space, which is something my father never liked to do.”

Compared to Kyoto, Shinagawa City is my little slice of paradise. Far away from the drama of my family home, where I can focus on my own life and passions.

Finally, Aku speaks in the darkness: “Are you hesitant to find someone because of your father’s mistakes?”

Jeez, that’s the first thing he says to me?

I scoff and shift myself over to look at him. He’s lying down with his head beside mine, but with his body pointing in the opposite direction.

“Hitting a little too close to home, aren’t you?”

“Maybe,” he says with a soft smile. “But am I wrong?”

I bite my lip. No matter how much I want to, I can’t tear my eyes away from his gentle crimson gaze.

No, he’s not wrong at all.

I love reading about romance, but I can never bring myself to seek it out in real life. The thought of having a significant other is fun in theory, but I can never find the right person, or I can’t psyche myself up enough to follow through. Plus, I rarely attract men with my wonderful personality as it is. It’s just easier to stay single, so the only one I can rely on is myself.

“Incubi can read human emotions quite easily. We can sense them and even mimic them to match humans’ moods. So even when you try to smile, I can tell you’re in pain.”

“A-Aku, I…”

He reaches out and brushes away a stray tear from my face. The cool leather of his glove sends a shiver down my spine.

“You can trust me, Ichika. With how much you’ve done foe me already, it’s the least I can do. When you need to cry, I’ll give you my shoulder. When you need someone to hold you, just say the word. I’m here for you, and I’ll help you however I can.”

I’ve never told anyone about my family drama, much less my father’s infidelity. Kota was my one and only ally, and now even he’s turned against me. Apart from my brother, I’ve never trusted anyone else enough to confide in them like this. Even now, a part of me feels guilty for burdening Aku with all this information.

But an even larger part of me craves his attention; his gentle touch, his soft words, his crimson eyes upon me… If he offers himself up to me, I’d be an idiot not to accept him.

For the first time since I’ve met him, I wonder what his skin would feel like against mine.

(If a single touch wasn’t enough to kill me.)

“…Thank you, Aku.”

I don’t know how long we stay like that, lying on my bedroom floor in total darkness, staring into each other’s eyes. Eventually he reaches up and threads his gloved fingers through my hair. I inch closer, but he’s careful not to touch my skin directly with his own.

I never would’ve thought the person I would bare my soul to and vent all my frustrations to would be a demon I’d met purely by chance.

But I don’t regret it, nor do I want to change anything about our dynamic.

For better or worse, that red string of fate has tied me and Aku together.

But now I find myself praying it’ll never fray and snap—and never leave me alone in the darkness again.