You Always Build It Better the Second Time Around

Chapter 31 - Don't (Leave)

I throw my arms up in a cross over my chest. "Nope. Not happening. We're leaving. Come along, Yu. There's nothing for us here-"

"Get your holy ass back here, Mikaela," Yu growls, holding me back from walking away. "He never even told us the offer."

"Coming from him, it's probably not good."

"Seraph wants to know," Yu replies, his voice low and deadpanned.

I sigh very roughly, reluctantly dragging my feet back into place beside Yu and in front of Nikolai, but my expression tells everyone I'm done with this shit. Nikolai gives Ferid's shit-eating grin to us. Well, mostly to Yu. "How is Seraph?" he asks, a sly tilt of his head. "In fact, that's the reason I've come. I want Seraph's part of your soul."

"Denied," I cross my arms again. "That's immediate death for Yu, and a ticking time bomb on my own life. I don't personally care about myself-" Yu jabs me in the ribs "-But anything of Yu's is far more than considered precious. That includes Seraph."

Nikolai chuckles, his feet moving a step forward, only to have a line of fire bursting from his toes of familiar blue and black-streaked flames as a warning before the flames extinguish themselves. Seeing Nikolai must be having old scars being resurfaced of the past not yet buried, unfortunately, meaning Yu's feeling his lost innocence once again. "Keep back, you son of a bitch!" Shinoa and Shiho growl. "Take another step and it'll be straight to the depths of burning Hell and not a single place else."

"Depends on what you want that part of my soul for," Yu speaks up through the thick atmosphere between all of us.

"Something of great importance to me," Nikolai replies, checking his watch.

"Does it have anything to do with Yuvi?" Yu presses, inching in front of me. "Or have you already done to her what you've done to me and the other four innocent people beside you?"

Nikolai has nothing further to say, but it's clear the mention of this Yuvi person has struck a nerve within him. Nikolai's once confident demeanor switches to one of offense being taken. "How do you-"

Yu steps in front of Nikolai and leans in close, though not at all trying to lower his voice so no one else can hear, but for intimidation. "Same way you know things about me even my Lord doesn't know."

...

"Does he really know things about you that even I don't know?" I ask the afternoon after as we sit by the fountain, a change of pace from lying on my bed (with the possibility of me dominating). Yu shrugs, his eyes averting to the ripples in the water he creates by kicking his feet very gently. At least they don't look so bad now that they've had at least a little bit of time to heal properly. But now Yu isn't walking much, thanks to myself who's gotten more strict about this. I only made an exception to come to the fountain today because he mentioned the cold water would be good for his feet. "I'm sorry. I've just been thinking about it, and not even just what you said, but our whole meeting with Nikolai."

Yu doesn't have much to say, or really anything at all, but I know the exchange of words between us and Nikolai are weighing heavily on his conscious, as it is and has been the same for me.

"Why did you want to see Nikolai?" I ask, knowing it wasn't just because of Seraph, as he had said before. Yu still doesn't answer. "At least tell me who Yuvi is."

"Someone he loves," he mutters, barely audible. "Everyone does something for love. Until you, I just loved to hate. Not even anyone else. I loved to hate myself. I loved to hate my life. I loved to hate how I breathed air, and how I had a heart still beating in my chest when sometimes I just wanted to rip it out and throw it in the fucking ocean or something."