Diabolik Lovers: Shattered Masks

01 ; the better of two evils

WARNING: THIS IS LAITO'S ROUTE! THAT IN ITSELF SHOULD MAKE YOU WARY, SO BE WARY. READER!! DIGRESSION!! IS!! ADVICED!!

A day goes by without even a flicker of the boys, much to your surprise. You leave your room once - only to get something from the kitchen to eat, before scampering back upstairs.

It's kind of pathetic - you know you're not any safer in your atrociously pink room than you are sleeping in the hallway, yet your anxiety still gets the best of you. Because at least in the room they've given you, you have something to call your own.

At some poin, Reiji comes knocking on your door with a bundle of clothing folded neatly over his arm. There's something malicious in his alarmingly bright eyes when you invite him in, something that you must have missed before, and you resist the urge to cower.

You have enough common sense to know that showing weakness could be the biggest mistake of your life.

Reiji starts talking moments after you've gathered your wits. "It's been decided that you'll be joining my brothers and I at our school under the cover of a nurse. Naturally, you're not expected to do much, so I doubt the job is outside your capability."

He prattles on for a little longer, laying down the law of what you're expected to do while in this house. Your new clothes are handed to you via long, gloved hands, and you do everything in your power to avoid making contact with them.

If Reiji notices your aversion, he doesn't comment on it, seizing you up behind eyes like slits. "I expect you to be downstairs before eight. I'm extremely prone to poor attendance."

With those words lingering in his wake, he leaves - disappearing into the shadows like a flame that's been blown out by the wind. Every muscle in your body unlocks, and you move to the bathroom to get changed despite the fact that you feel chilled to the bone.

As you shuffle into the clothes that have been bought to you, you can't shake the feeling that you've somehow survived a storm.

You exit your room dressed in a surprisingly comfortable combination of pale colours, finally plucking the courage to wait for whatever time is left to pass elsewhere, rather than being cooped up in your room.

You find yourself at the entrance of the house, twisting at the knob of the front door and stilling when it opens easily underneath your touch. You step out of the mansion with squinted eyes, breath held in suspiciously.

Escaping couldn't be this easy. You're not that naïve.

There's a limousine parked on the stranded road, large windows tinted dark. It's the same model as the vehicle that brought you here, ironically. You approach the car after a moment of hesitation, noting how nobody is stopping and faltering with your hand on the door handle.

Six bright eyes flick the moment you swing it open, plucking a breath straight from your lungs. For reasons you can't decipher, all you can do is stare back like a deer caught in the headlights for a moment, the gears in your mind freezing.

It's the brash red-head, Ayato, who startles you out of your temporary state of shock, yelling loudly enough that his voice seems to be projected through speakers. "What the hell are you making Yours Truly wait for? Get in here, prey!"

He pulls you by the arm, and you swear that you feel the bone groan underneath his grip as he forces you down onto the space beside him. You sit without a hassle, trying not to make a scene of rubbing your arm when he releases it.

The one with the teddy laughs like something about your pain funny.

You hear the engine start and lean back on your seat, trying to tune out the hours for the duration of the ride. They're not trying to hide what they are - in fact, they sound quite proud of it, jabbing at you with sharp teeth and gritty comments that make you feel physically sick.