Shudders

Chapter 33 - The Confession

    By the time the group exited the mall through the back entrance again, it was already close to evening.

    After walking the streets to find a suitable place to stay, Akai came across small apartment buildings, each only having two stories and seeming to be devoid of any life. This place is good enough to stay in for the night. Then tomorrow, they'll continue with the plan of leaving the city.

    Unlike the last apartment building that had obvious signs of being expensive, this one was more humble. There was only one bedroom and it was connected directly to the rest of the apartment. No doors or walls to separate the room off. (Y/N) was given the bed by Ki, Tuca claimed the recliner before Akai could, and the only place left to sleep was the couch but it was beyond destroyed. Upon entering the apartment, there were signs of a past fight occurring. The wallpaper was torn and shredded, furniture was either knocked over or broken, and the couch was sliced right down the middle. Whoever was fighting must've had something sharp to perform such a clean cut.

    With no other options, the two were left with sleeping on the floor.

    While Akai was preparing to go on watch for the night, he stared at the newly aged up demon boy who was laid out on the recliner with his legs hanging over the armrest and his arm over his head. He hasn't said anything since they left the mall to Akai's relief but it was still strange how Tuca has had such a dramatic personality flip. "So you're just gonna be silent from now on?"

    Tuca lifted his arm a bit to peek at Akai before closing his eyes again and shrugging.

"Why act like a child then? It's creepy as fuck." Akai questioned. He narrowed his eyes when Tuca didn't answer his first question, but his second one got the boy to speak.

"It attracts others."

    (Y/N) was on the bed carving her initials into the wooden bedside table when she heard the deep voice coming from Tuca. Her eyes flashed over to the demon on the recliner. She remembers hearing that voice while she worked with Mr. Khan when she asked a question that broke his child persona.

    Ki and Akai looked at each other with the same thoughts, 'What does he mean by attract?'

"Care to explain? Or are you gonna be silent about that?"

"Why so many questions?"

    The blond huffed. "Just answer before I get mad."

    Tuca wasn't fazed by the threat but went along with it. "I used to do it so I can hunt other demons and those Capturer people. They would see a crying child in need and decide to approach, that's when I got the jump on them."

'He pretended to be a child to kill others?!' (Y/N) thought as she listened. She should've known Tuca would have some sort of darker side but how could she think of him like that when he's been an innocent child for majority of the time that she's known him?

"I guess after a while, I started to enjoy being a kid a little too much because I get to feel emotions in that form." Tuca peeked at Akai again after his explanation. "Can I go back to falling asleep now?"

    Akai looked at him strangely but waved his hand at him. "I don't care."

    With that, Tuca closed his eyes and stayed silent for the rest of the evening. (Y/N) thought about what he said, his quiet demeanor and drastic difference from his child self became more understandable. He doesn't feel emotions in his true form but he does as a child. She wondered about the science behind that. Maybe when he ages down, his brain gets undeveloped?

    Akai left to go on watch soon after the conversation ended, leaving Ki alone with (Y/N) and the sleeping demon.

    With nothing else to do, the Keeper kicked her boots off and laid back on the bed with the knife in her hands. She observed the weapon and gently tapped a finger on the sharp points. Hopefully, she's never in a situation where she'll have to use it but that's not a guarantee when you're in an area surrounded by demons.

    She felt the mattress to her side compress then felt a head lay down on her stomach. She lifted her head up to see Ki laying down on his back and using her stomach as a pillow. He had his eyes closed and his arms crossed while his tail slowly waved around his legs. He seemed to be falling asleep.

    He hasn't slept much the last couple of days and it must be wearing him down. (Y/N) decided to ignore him and go back to fiddling with her knife. Where did Akai even find it? It still looked brand new even after a century.

"Are you still mad at us...?"

'What?' She could feel his hand move up and his fingers play around with the fabric of her shirt. His voice was slow and he seemed tired but made the effort to stay awake. She sighed, "Yes."

"We did what we did for your own safety. I know you don't want to be here... but I'm not sorry for bringing you with us."

"Sure." She dryly replied. They didn't just take her for her own safety, but because of their own selfish feelings. How they even managed to escape, she's not sure of. But she missed her room in the lab, having chats with her sister, and not having to look over her shoulder every so often. She never would've thought that her first two demons would end up like this. How did she even get in this situation with them to begin with...?

"I love you..." Ki whispered as he reached for her hand and brought it to his lips, planting a soft kiss on it before his body relaxed and he started drifting off to sleep. "You're mine... and no else's..."

    He let go of her hand but she didn't make a move to pull it back. Her eyes were wide in shock.

...She knew their feelings for her but... to hear a confession was different.

    They both love her. This worried her greatly for many reasons. She doesn't return their feelings, which makes things bad for her. And because they love her, there's a chance they won't be willing to let her go. She wants to go home but what are the chances that they'll take her back?

    She looked at the demon sleeping on her stomach who had just confessed his love to her. But if they both love her... wouldn't that cause some tension between them?

'Oh no...' She shrunk back into the old pillow she rested her head on.

This might not be good in the long run...