Chapter 20

It’s a miracle I wake up in my own bed after all that. I almost can’t believe it when I open my eyes; for a moment, everything looks relatively normal. There’s a cool damp rag resting across my forehead, and the blankets are thrown over my waist. The morning sun isn’t too harsh today, spilling in warmly through the curtains, leaving splotches of sunlight—

Wait—Aku!

I bolt up in bed, and suddenly Yukari’s beside me, her hands warm against my shoulders. Her voice is soft but strained. Has she been awake all night?

“Easy does it, Ichika. You’re exhausted, you need to rest. The poison’s gone, but you need your strength.”

I reach up to touch my forehead. “Aku…?”

She shakes her head with a bitter smile. “Stubborn idiot is in the closet. He’s far away from the sun, don’t worry. He’s just tired.”

“Oh… And you?”

This time she laughs with a wave of her hand. “I’m fine, thanks for asking! Totally fine, now that those imps are gone.”

Oh, right, those creatures were called imps… And they had come to kill me.

Yukari’s amber eyes soften. “You have questions.”

A lot of them, but I can’t quite verbalize them all yet. So I just nod, and she settles down on the edge of my bed. Her fingertips dance along the bedspread absentmindedly as she recounts the night for me.

Apparently, after she’d begun extracting the poison from my body, she sensed that a hoard of demons were on their way. The kind of poison acted as a tracker, as well—not only to impair the victim and make them weaker, but to draw in other demons to finish the job. Whoever sent those imps—and by extension, that rogue demon—after me were intent on killing me for sure.

Because I’m an unmarked human. Easy prey for demons, huh?

“Aku stayed in here with you,” Yukari continues, “and I held them off outside. But suddenly they just stopped. Like someone had flicked a switch, and they scattered like rats. I looked over, and I could see red flames coming out of your room.”

She crosses one leg over the other, her fingers now jabbing into the mattress. Suddenly she doesn’t look all that tired.

“So I came in here to check up on you—and imagine my shock when I found you two all cuddled up in the closet like a pair of star-crossed lovers—complete with special matching marks on your wrists.”

My eyes widen, and I glance down at my hands—more specifically, at the little crest now imprinted on my left wrist.

It’s small and simple, a basic swirl pattern that matches the marks on his body. It glows a faint red shade, and when I brush it with my fingertip it feels slightly hot. But it doesn’t burn my skin. It’s just there, a silent reminder that last night was not, in fact, a dream from a sick girl.

My cheeks flush with heat. There’s no point in arguing, not when she’s already so agitated.

Who knew Yukari could get so animated when she’s angry?

“Care to explain that little detail?”

No, but I know I have to. I sigh and run my thumb across the little crest; the skin around it is a bit pink, reminding me of a fresh tattoo.

Yukari is silent for a moment, before heaving out a sigh and throwing her head back to look up at the ceiling. “He didn’t feed from you, did he?”

I shake my head. “I wanted him to. I said it was okay, since he needed the energy. But he’s never forced me into anything before. I guess…he figured it was the same thing as just taking like any other demon.”

Even willing to put his own life on the line for my sake.

She shakes her head. “So he gave himself up? You made your bond permanent with a blood seal, is that right?”

I don’t know what else to say, so I just nod. She runs her fingers through her pretty brown hair.

“There are no easy answers when it comes to demons, Ichika. For better or worse, you and that incubus are stuck together, even more now that you’ve both given blood. You’ve shared your life energy, and he’s shared his magic. He answers to you, and only you.”

I find myself gritting my teeth at her words; on instinct I hold my wrist to my chest, as if concealing the mark will protect Aku. “He’s not a servant or anything, so don’t treat him like one. We just agreed to help each other out.”

That gets a smile out of her. “A human and demon being equals? Wishful thinking on your part, love. Although…”

Her voice trails off, and she rests a somewhat comforting hand on my shoulder. The press of her fingers keeps me grounded.

“Demons don’t make these kinds of decisions lightly. Many would kill their bonded humans just for the thrill of the hunt. Not willingly offer their own blood to them, especially of their own volition.”

I wrap my arms around myself, suddenly feeling cold. How many humans could say they had a demon willing to die for them? How many humans in this world had been slain just so their demons could return home? How many humans had been spared the pain of being killed, all because their demons took their feelings into consideration?

It all seems surreal, so out of reach. I take a deep breath and meet her eyes evenly.

“I want to see him.”

She doesn’t protest, even when I stumble out of bed and nearly topple over. The walk to the closet is long and almost unbearable, until Yukari takes pity on me and takes my hand to help me the rest of the way.

Aku stirs from his sleep as I push the door open. Yukari mutters something under her breath before leaving the bedroom altogether. Part of me appreciates the privacy, but I know I’m not in my right mind to face Aku on my own.

He sits up, dragging a hand down his face with a groan. My heart sinks when I see an identical swirl burned into the inside of his right wrist. The bitemarks are gone, leaving the crest in its place. But instead of red like mine, his is a stark black shade.

“Aku…”

He sees me looking and offers a soft, albeit awkward smile. “It doesn’t hurt, not really.”

I sink down onto the blankets across from him, my knees still wobbly from sleep. His gloved hands are there to steady me, guiding me against the floor. I reach over and grab his hand, baring his new crest to the glow of the string lights. Slowly, I bring my own to show him. The only thing different about them is the color of each one.

“…So what now?”

He huffs, running his hand through his messy black hair. “Truthfully, I can’t say. Blood pacts are infinitely more difficult to break than normal contracts, so I can’t say the witch is too happy with us for making her job harder.”

Ah, that explains why she was so annoyed earlier. I follow the lines on his skin, watching as the swirls vanish into one another, glowing black instead of red.

“Is that all?”

He shakes his head, then looks me dead in the eye. I can feel a chill run up my spine at those intense crimson eyes.

“Our bond is sealed with blood, meaning you and I are tied together. But it’s your choice, Ichika. Say the word and I’ll leave. If you want me to stay, I’ll stay. You have my blood, Ichika. No matter what, I follow your orders.”

My nose scrunches up at that; I have half a mind to smack him upside the head just for that alone. “You know I hate it when you treat me like some kind of master. You’re not some kind of servant to me, Aku. You’re my…well, uh…”

My bottom lip quivers between my teeth. I drop my head down, brushing the fabric of the blankets below with my fingers. Slowly, his gloved hand comes to rest around my marked wrist.

“…You’re my friend.”

Such a foreign word on my tongue. Ichika Aikawa has never had friends before. Acquaintances, co-workers, people who regularly tolerate her (by some miracle). But I’ve never consciously called another living being my friend before—especially not to their face.

My fingers find their way to the front of his shirt, careful not to touch his skin directly. Even the briefest touch could kill me…

And yet he didn’t, when he held my hand last night. My body couldn’t handle the strain, but I’m still alive. Maybe there is hope for the two of us.

“I want you to stay, Aku. I don’t want to be your master, I never did. Even when you first arrived, I never wanted to order you around. I want to be your friend.”

To my shock, the tears are already running down my cheeks, hot and insistent against my skin. I’m starting to worry whether or not I’ll have another breakdown in front of him again when I feel his glove against my cheek. Cool to the touch and surprisingly gentle as he wipes them away.

“You…sure? You really mean it?”

There’s a faint dusting of pink on his freckled cheeks. I offer a weak smile and manage to nod.

“I mean it all, Aku. You’re my friend, so please, stay as my friend. Not my servant or special demon to answer to. Just my friend, that’s all I want.”

His eyes glow brighter, but so does the blush on his face. He seems to notice it, because he quickly inches away and clears his throat.

“But you like living alone—”

That gets a real laugh out of me. “Aku, let’s be honest, after meeting you I don’t think I could ever go back to living alone. Or at least, I don’t think there’s another person on this earth who I could handle living with.”

That makes his cheeks go scarlet. He scoots away from me on the floor, his back pressed against the wall and his knees tucked against his chest. The extra space seems to calm him down and clear his mind, as he stumbles over his words.

“Y-yeah… Friends it is…”

It’s hard not to smile, despite my own blush. Ever the shy, awkward introvert, I guess. Not that’ll ever hold it against him.

Friends is okay—friends is safe. Neither of us have to be anything more than that to each other.

I reach out for his hand, and after a moment he takes it, gloved fingers sliding against my own. Somewhere in the distance, I can hear Yukari groaning into her hands.