Chereads / Altier; The Triology / Chapter 8 - Dazai - Distrust

Chapter 8 - Dazai - Distrust

A Day In The Fated Future

Location - Unknown

(Dazai Crowley's POV)

As Blair stood by the window side, gazing off into unknown space outside, I noticed several things about her.

No, if anything, it was more like a cruel yet pleasant reminder. A reminder that would later shape my perspective about this situation and even alter my personal feelings towards her specifically. 

From outside, the cosmic rays acted as a makeshift form of sunlight that bounced off Blair's skin in a way that emphasized the fairness of her skin. 

Though due to the modesty of her attire, only a portion of her skin like her arms, segments of her thighs and some cleavage were revealed. However, those parts of her skin absorbed the radiation peering through the window before giving off this subtle yet mesmerizing luster like a crystal. 

No doubt about it, she truly was a beautiful woman.

If we were to talk about something less superficial then I suppose the "aura" she was projecting was a good start.

I don't know, but ever since I took the time to get to know her, the first few things I noticed was this sense of grace and elegance she gave off.

It was part of the reason why I described her as a holy maiden from earlier. 

But if you want me to be truthful, this pristine condition that she kept herself in was part of the reason as to why I kept her at arm's length. In fact, the more I watched her closely, the more I noticed something even more odd about her. 

I can't exactly place my finger on it but there was some sort of contradiction that lied beneath the lines of her noble grace and her cheerful optimism.

At first glance, it was pretty difficult to notice, but as the minutes went by, the subtle "difference" between those two aspects had barely become striking enough for me to grow suspicious of. 

When I thought about it some more, it made me wonder if Blair was wearing some sort of fac…No, nevermind me. It's probably too soon to get ahead of myself with those types of thoughts. 

"Not everything that glitters is gold", huh. Such fitting advice.

Getting back on topic, every person carries this invisible presence called an "aura". They are perceived by a person's subconscious and are affected by many factors.

Those auras are mainly determined by two main components; impressions and actions.

And if I was judging her correctly, Blair was a well defined lady in more respects then one. 

Perhaps she learned some form of royal etiquette?

Well, whatever it was, there was something about her that told me she was more than some mere commoner.

Though at this point of time, I wasn't exactly sure why…

"Darling? You've been staring at me for the past minute now with this face. Are you by chance, undressing me with your eyes?~" 

"What? Don't be stupid. I won't deny I was indeed looking at you, but not out of perversion." 

Any normal man in this situation would have been blushing and stumbling all over their words, but honestly I could only see it for what it was; a plain joke to make me flustered. Therefore, my reaction was plain, devoid of any emotion. 

Wait, I'm sorry, but did I just avert my gaze and scratch my left cheek out of reflex? 

I totally did, didn't I….

Curse you, unintentional reflexes....

"Hehe, Darling's a pervert isn't he?~" She replied with a light hearted chuckle. She saw right through my response and laughed at my face… 

Even if she used her palms to hide her mouth, she couldn't hide her smug expression.

Ugh, I could practically feel her condescending tone ripping me apart. God, just kill me now....

Knowing there was nothing more to be done, I couldn't help but sigh while rubbing the back of my neck out of annoyance. 

"I told you already, I'm not a pervert. But I'll admit, your body is definitely attractive." 

Believe it or not, that was an accidental confession of my true feelings to some degree.

"Uwah!~ My husband complimented me!" Blair exclaimed, misunderstanding the context of why I said that. Of course trying to correct her now at this stage would be even more of a hassle. 

"Well, what part do you like about me the most!?"

Wait, what? What type of question is that?

That's practically one hell of a bombshell to drop especially considering how it hasn't been half an hour since we first met. In that context, I guess I only see you as a stranger for right now.

Wait, hold on. Putting that aside, why are you so close to me? What happened to my personal space I thought you were being mindful about? 

While I unintentionally became aware of something else about myself, Blair had somehow slipped through my blind spots before reappearing in front of me so quickly, you would think she teleported. 

How the hell?

She was literally standing a few meters in front of me and yet I barely noticed her walking towards me. Her movements were so stealthy, it made me wonder if she was skilled in assassinations as well.

Well, even if she wasn't, with moves like that, I can't let my guard down, not even once, lest she probably could kill me without me realizing it.

"Is it my hips? My butt? Perhaps my breasts!?" 

I'm sorry but is she seriously going through with this tangent? If she was playing around, surely you know that the joke was getting stale by now.

Speaking of which, hasn't this cutesy "darling/wife" niche getting a little old by now? You would think she would have dropped the joke by now, because there's no way an actual couple would act like this. 

Hell, even if it was later revealed, on the unlikely occasion, that we were legitimately married, I'll still get annoyed by her antics, and even more so from this point forward. 

Of course you do have to take into account that neither of us have wedding rings on either hand.

"Don't tell me. Is Darling perhaps into thighs?" 

Well, yes. But I'm not going to say that out loud because that's not the main point right now.

As if descending into a cycle of her delusions, she made yet another dramatic yet quite impressive one eighty in her emotions. This time she twisted her around so she was no longer facing me, while hiding a portion of her flustered cheeks beneath the thick strands of her hair she clutched. 

"Don't tell me you're into hands, Darling!? Listen, I don't mind fulfilling your wildest dreams but I don't think I'm ready for hand holding yet... That's just too lewd, even for me~...!" 

After everything she just said, including the fact how she admitted her willingness for sex, does she seriously think she has the right to be shy...

Knowing that I seriously don't have time for these damn games, I would've tried speaking up by now but with the way she's talking so much, she isn't giving me any opening to verbally interject. 

*Sigh*.

As much as I hate to say it, she's leaving me no other choice but to get a little forceful.

Although there are definitely worse, the last thing I want is to be labeled as in a situation, is a "pervert" of all things. I guess I'm too conscious of my reputation for that to happen.

Becoming irritated by her incisive teasing, I grabbed Blair's shoulders and forced her back around.

I only did so simply to get her attention and render her silent for a second or three, but a little to my surprise, she responded a little differently then I expected.

"Awoh?~" She yelped in surprise, obviously being a little thrown off guard by my sudden gesture.

God, even her surprised reactions were adorable.

But then again, was these types of reactions even geniuine? I don't know how to say it but there was something odd I also noticed about her personality.

Her emotions feels rather, "forced"....

Eh, I'll just forget about it for now and continue talking to her so I can correct a certain mistake.

In this world, reputation is a very important thing.

I say this because I, of all the people that exists in the world, would know more on just how important first impressions are.

Although I don't know the true extent of that knowledge, I am aware of the fact I can no longer allow Blair to place any more unfortunate labels on me.

"I wasn't talking about your breasts, hips or anything like that. It was your skin in general that I was trying to compliment. Nothing more, nothing less...." As I was talking, I made sure to maintain proper eye contact.

Given our distance and the fact how my hands were still on her shoulders, I won't deny the fact that this was a little embarrassing. 

There was also this pleasant fragance that tickled my nose just by standing here. I'm not too sure if it was either perfume or some sort of shampoo she was using, but she smelled like heaven itself.

"You know I'm not mad at you or anything right? It's perfectly natural for a husband to want to throw some…"sideways glances" at his wife~"

Goddamn it.

This is exactly what I was trying to avoid....

Emphasizing a certain phrase in the last half of her sentence with a muffled naughty whisper, she implied that I was too embarrassed to admit my faults. 

...However, Blair couldn't be further from the truth. 

"Don't make me laugh."

"Huh?"

Hearing something like that completely out of the blue, she was left a little perplexed.

Without a shadow of a doubt, her puzzled expression told me that I was going to break the jovial atmosphere she was trying to build. 

But to be frank, I simply couldn't care less. I was getting tired of a certain misunderstanding, or rather a mistake she was intentionally making on her part.   

"Sideways glances", she says.

I'll admit, I have been keeping a very close eye on these past few minutes, especially since she was able to stand out the most in this rather bleak and incomplete environment.

And I wouldn't be even more surprised if she was able to pick up on my subtle glances.

Her problem however is that she is mistaking the emotion and even the context behind those stares for something else entirely.

And this is where the misunderstanding starts.

Something that I want to immediately correct before we got know each other some more.

Of course, if I find out she isn't some sort of potential threat to my life...

"You can say what you will about the things that a "husband" and "wife" does or should do, but not once do I want you to mistake my gazes for love or lust. You're beautiful, but I don't see you that way." 

When I said that, Blair observed me very closely with wide eyes and raised eyebrows as if doing a bit of a double take. But when she confirmed that my tone was indeed a little on the apathetic side, her face descended further into confusion.

"What are you talking about, Darling? Don't you think that's a little too harsh to say to your wife?~" 

And there she goes again with that....

God, can't you understand that I'm seeing through your obvious lies? Surprisingly though, she didn't seem to be on any verge of crying or even tearing up.

In fact, if anything, even her confused expression felt rather textbook and almost unnatural.

She just straight up looked at me as if I was speaking a different language she didn't understand. There was no other emotion besides that of confusion.

Which was absolutely odd because for somebody, who you claim to be your husband, to have straight up said he doesn't like you beyond your physical appearance, thats not a normal response.

I couldn't help but sigh internally and push forward.

Don't get me wrong, I seriously didn't want to explain myself anymore then I should have and try to speed past this topic, but she really is insistent.

Guess I got no other choice but to break a heart.

"From the moment you kissed me to even now, not once have I considered you as a love interest."

"Up until now, you have been nothing but a stranger to me. I don't know you, and you most definitely don't know me."  Such were my thoughts, true and honest.

But I had no other choice but to be a little blunt.

Because after carefully observing Blair under this situation, I had gathered most of the main pieces of information I needed to know something else important about her specifically.

No, in fact, I think I knew about this alarming fact since the moment I first woke up.

All the factors I noticed up until this point were simply nothing more but a reinforcement of that reminder.

"Don't trust Blair."