Suicide Girl (A Diabolik Lovers Story)

Chapter 13: Questions and Answers

"Ahh, feels nice," Ren whispered as she slipped into a hot bath late one evening. She exhaled a sigh and soaked while thinking of everything she had experienced so far. For the first time in a while, she felt content with the state of things. Though Shu was as passive as ever, he seemed to have warmed up to at least conversing with her, when he was wasn't just interested in drinking her blood.

She soaked for a good while before getting out and drying herself off with a towel. She slid on a pair of pajamas that she had bought with the money she had saved up when she ran away. They were comfortably functional.

As she finished drying her messy hair off as best as she could, her stomach growled. She laughed at the volume of it before leaving the bathroom. She glanced at Shu, who was asleep in his bed. He seemed to be pretty peaceful, so she decided to make her way towards the kitchen by herself for a quick snack.

Peeking around the corner of the kitchen entry way, she checked to see if anyone else was around. Seeing no one, she sighed a breath of relief before approaching the refrigerator and reaching for the handle.

But as she touched the handle, all of a sudden, a gloved hand grabbed her wrist, startling the daylights out of her as she looked to see who it was. To her surprise, it was Reiji, who appeared to be wearing a very disappointed expression as he calmly announced, "Late night snacking is said to be damaging for a woman's skin, don't you know?"

Ren was still shocked from his sudden presence and said nothing as he continued on to say rather sarcastically, "We wouldn't want Shu's house guest to lack in quality, after all."

Ren pulled her wrist from Reiji's grip as he smirked and asked, "What do you see in that good for nothing anyway? All he does is sleep and complain about his responsibilities."

At this, Ren's expression turned somewhat concerned as she answered with a question. "Why don't you and Shu get along? Out of all the brothers, you guys seem to have the biggest strain on your relationship."

Reiji grinned as if he saw an opportunity as he asked, "Do you wish to know more about Shu? I suppose I could fill you on some things if you wish to join me for tea in my room. It's not as if that lazy person would ever take the time to explain it to you in detail."

Ren stared at the floor nervously, wondering to herself if she should trust his word but decided that learning more about her personal benefactor was something she heavily desired. She met Reiji's gaze and said forwardly, "Please tell me more about who he is."

With that agreement, Reiji led the way as Ren followed bravely behind him. As he led her through the corridors of the mansion, she passed by Shu's room. Hopefully, he was still sleeping, she thought to herself.

Reiji finally stopped in front of his room and opened the door , holding it open for Ren. She looked around sheepishly before going inside, with him following in suit closing the door behind them.

From around the corner of the hallway, Shu stood watching with a dead expression as he scoffed and walked off.

---

Once inside Reiji's room, Ren sat down on a chair surrounding a small table. Reiji was standing by tea set, as he poured hot water into two cups.

A pleasant sweet yet herbal smell filled the room as placed a cup in front of her. She watches him take a sip of the tea before inquiring, "What would you like to know first?"

Swallowing a sip of her own tea, she began by asking, "What made Shu the way he is now? Surely, he hasn't always been so evasive of others..."

"You'd be correct in that assumption," Reiji states as he takes in another sip of his tea, "You see, Shu has only become the way he is due to some circumstances. Did you know Shu is the eldest son?"

"He's mentioned it before...what does that mean in your family?" Ren asked dilligently, proceeding with caution not to delve too deeply into their affairs.

"It means he's the next in line to becoming head of the family, as well as king of the vampires," he explained broodingly while adding, "Though you would never know it judging by how he acts."

Ren stared at Reiji in slight disbelief that Shu's burden was something as huge as that. She proceeded to question, "Does Shu not take the role seriously?"

Reiji almost choked on his tea before scoffing, "He completely ignores it altogether. He doesn't take it or anything involving the family seriously."

"Hmm," Ren hummed as she felt like Reiji was leaving out something very important regarding Shu's change.

"Shu always had all the attention. Every little thing in his life was in preperation for his succceeding our father. It was quite competitive as well, with the other wives children being involved as well."

"Other wives?"

"Yes," Reiji enlightened, "Our father married and had children with three wives. My mother, Beatrix, giving birth to Shu and I. Cordelia giving birth to the triplets, Ayato, Laito, and Kanato. And Christa, who gave birth to Subaru. "

"It was very competative because Cordelia wished to make Ayato the head of the family. Our mother was relentless on Shu's studies. However, he was a simple child who wanted to play outside more than he wished to have our fathers approval. Something I could never even dream of," Reiji sighed, his stoic expression replaced with slight hurt.

"Shu never wanted that kind of life. So he ran away and met a human child in a nearby village. It was his first friend. However, our mother could never approve of her prestigious son to be fraternizing with a human. Unfortunately, tragedy befell that child when his village burned mysteriously to the ground. Shu lost all motivation after that," Reiji trailed off as his eyes gleamed eerily.

"Shu lost his only friend?" Ren's eyes grew large as she felt a heavy weight on her shoulders. Perhaps, she shouldn't have invaded Shu's privacy like this. This was something major in his life that she had just exploited. But it all made sense to why he was so distant. How he must have felt....letting somebody inside his heart only to have them taken from him. It hurt him so much that he shut himself away for over a hundred years with nothing but his music to comfort him.

"I-I need to go," she stood up abruptly before leaving the room swiftly.