[YUZUKI]
"No servant? I'm from Kurayami. You think you scare me, just because you have power. I am ruled by the devil herself. What makes you think I could be scared of anyone's power?" Yuzuki said boredly.
Kujo chuckled knowingly.
It was almost like she was so sure of what she was saying that she wasn't about to be played like a fiddle by Yuzuki. But then Yuzuki's patience was already thinning.
If this woman kept at it, there was already a high chance that she would be dead by the time the moon came up in the night.
Yuzuki didn't mind. She could simply find some people and compel them into admission. But that wasn't a need right now, because still, she believed that things weren't that bad as she was thinking.
"We both know the truth, Yuzuki... Stay away from Aya, or the entire realm will know your truth, and there will be no hiding. No masks anymore," Kujo said, like she had just made the ultimate threat.
Like that was the one bargain she was so sure Yuzuki would never let known. It was hilarious, even as Yuzuki stared at her, wondering if this was all that Kujo had come with.
It was an insane mission, and yet the mad woman had breached just to say… this? Maybe Kujo was mentally challenged at this point; there was no other valid explanation at this point anyway.
Yuzuki just stared, and for the first time since their interaction, Kujo seemed to pause.
In fact, Kujo took a step back when Yuzuki stepped from the water to walk towards her. It was almost like her reflexes were begging her to make a run for it.
To try and leave this place while she still could.
Maybe she was finally learning, but what use was a lesson at this point when she was up against the one person who could snap her neck and feel nothing, even so?
"You come here and throw accusations at me, and you cost me time with my mate. You played me, Saori. And you think I still care what you think I am?" Yuzuki asked.
Kujo stepped back even more.
Perhaps coming here alone had been the dumbest of ideas.
"You wouldn't dare," Kujo said, and Yuzuki stared at her as if to ask her if she really believed what she was saying.
"If you do, Aya will hate you," Kujo said, still stepping back.
"Do you really want to test that theory?" Yuzuki asked in amusement, and she watched the color slowly drain from Kujo's face. It was comical how all that Yuzuki had wanted was just one kiss for the woman she loved throughout her lifelines.
How life slowly started to sound better, and the cup was here to blend herself in with what was never going to work.
Yuzuki had to give up for Kujo. She had made so much effort. Tried her very best, but did Yuzuki even give a fuck what she was up to at the moment? Was it something she would ever care about?
Or was it just the one part of life she couldn't give three shits about?
"I am not scared of you," Kujo lied.
She was sweating. And Yuki could literally smell her fear.
"You don't tell me who you think I am, though. Can't a servant girl hear words from an enforcer's trusted warrior?" Yuuki mocked as she looked at Kujo, who was still stepping back.
It was getting interesting at this point, really, because regardless of what happened, the conclusion was never going to be definite. The ending was as open as it had always been.
"Not if it's the devil of Kurayami asking," Kujo spat, like that was meant to have Yuzuki taken aback, shocked that Kujo really knew who she was.
It was something that amused her evermore, and maybe because after being brought back to life, Yuzuki couldn't give a fuck about anything other than Matsui.
"So, Kuramitsu, huh? That's your conclusion?" Yuzuki asked in sincere curiosity.
Kujo stared.
Like this was not the reaction she had hoped for.
It almost felt like everything she had been thinking was all just a figment of her illusions. But what were the chances of that being a reality she couldn't phase into with ease?
What were the odds that everything else would not make sense until some did try to make a little bit of sense? Fuck, it was confusing, and nothing about it was getting any better for anyone.
"You know I am right," Kujo insisted.
Yuzuki sighed exaggeratedly before she walked to sit on the shore, her legs dangling in the water, the feel of the flowing river something that she was enjoying.
Perhaps because she was not in the mood to deal with Kujo anymore. And that shocked Kujo because she had been expecting threats. Warnings about identities and what more.
Not this passive reaction.
Not what she was seeing.
Because what the heck was she ever supposed to make of this?
"I came here to meet my mate, and I am not leaving before seeing her. If you think I'm the devil of Kurayami, then perhaps tell Ayami to come to the Kurayami court tomorrow.
"Surely, I will be there if I am who you say I am. But until then, I am not in the mood for a fight. I just want to have a good evening while I wait for my sister now, if you would be so kind as to excuse me.
"Also… never wear my mate's clothes again, or you might have to lose an arm for that," Yuzuki said calmly, playing with the water like she was simply telling Kujo about how good the weather had gotten for them.
This was madness, and Kujo stared skeptically.
She had been so sure, fuck.
She had been so certain that she had unlocked the greatest puzzle of Kurayami. But then wasn't it weird that he wowed the one to figure it out instead of Ayami?
Then again, who was counting at this moment anyway?
She had gotten something that there was no denying.
"You're playing coy, so I don't keep pushing. But I already walked you. Stay away from Aya. Let her do her work well and stop tormenting her. She comes to this border every single day without fail, and you are never here.
"You're torturing her and have her clashing with her people for no reason. If you really care about her, let her be," Kujo said, hoping that she could appeal emotionally to Yuzuki.
And maybe it would work, but was that all Yuzu had worked hard for?
"No, Kujo. I am trying to keep your head on your neck. But if you keep going, I will not only slap your head off your neck and reattach it ever so graciously because my mate cares about you.
"But I will erase all your memories of today and make sure you spend the rest of your life with a phantom pain you will never be able to fix until the end of your life," Yuzuki said calmly.
Kujo stiffened.
She knew she was playing with dangerous information, but what else was she supposed to do when she had managed to unlock the one mystery that the entire realm, except Kurayami, had been begging for for the longest time?
"I was right," Kujo breathed.
It was like she had just discovered the one thought that could decide the fate of all the kingdoms in the realm. But what were the odds that Yuuki would let her go home with a memory of her face?
What were the days when Yuzuki would just let her leave like it was nothing? This was not the best of things for the day, and yet Yuzuki Kuramitsu refused to be left out of a beautiful day.
"I never said you were wrong, Saori. I came here for Ayami, and I will see her. If I don't, those women you love training so much will end up dead in the worst of ways.
"Your stupid king will have irrefutable evidence to prosecute you for turning against your team and betraying the crown. If I were you, I'd be off to find Ayami and lead her here.
"All I came for was my mate. But if you want to know what Yuzuki Kuramitsu can do, then try me, little wolf," Yuzuki said.
Kujo stilled, before she walked in the opposite direction wordlessly, the warning clear in her mind.
She had fucked around.
And she had found out.
But would she stay silent about it?
Would Yuzuki care even then?