Mahiru was angry.
Angry at a certain vampire who was, well, incredibly lazy.
The least the Servamp could do was to do something helpful at least once a month. Or rather at all.
Most of the time Kuro was just lying on the couch, on the ground or in his bed, playing games or watching TV.

Today was no difference.

When Mahiru came home from his trip to the grocery store next door, Kuro was lying on the couch, watching TV and a few empty noodle cups were scattered on the ground in front of him him.
The laundry he asked the vampire to do was still lying in front of the washing machine, the plates from their breakfast were still on the table.

He stepped in front of his Servamp, trying to catch the other's gaze.

"Kuro, I was gone for 30 minutes and you didn't only ignore the things I told you to do, you even made an even bigger mess!"

The Servamp looked at the brunet for a second before returning his gaze to the television.

"Mahiru, you're blocking the view."

Kuro's apathetic response made Mahiru's anger increase even further. He turned around and pulled some of the removable cables out of the TV, before facing the perplexed vampire, eyes blazing wity fury.

"Kuro, I swear that I won't let you watch TV for the next month if you don't do something here! You're making everything so difficult! Why can't you just help me a bit?!"

The blue-haired vampire was staring perplexed and shocked back at his Eve.
Eyeing him warily, he got up from the couch and stood in front of the brunet.
Mahiru usually never shouted at him like this. Sure he got angry at him for not doing anything, but he never threatened him before.
Kuro leaned back when his Eve took a step forward and jabbed a finger at his chest.

"Geez, Mahiru. What's bitten you?" He murmured and averted his gaze.
When he looked back, Mahiru was giving him a look that could kill.

"Nothing. Literally nothing. Because that's all you ever do!"

He pressed his finger more forcefully against Kuro's chest, making the blue-haired boy lose his balance and fall down onto the couch.

"You never help me out, you didn't even want to go to the store today because you were too damn lazy!"

Mahiru was glaring down at Kuro angrily, fists stammed into his hips.
He leaned forward, going down on eye level with Kuro.

"You are so useless!"

The moment the words left his mouth Mahiru wished he could take them back. He took a step backwards, looking shocked.

"I... Kuro, I didn't mean-"

Kuro ignored him and stood up and made his way towards the door, his face hidden by the hood of his jacket.
Incredible guilt rushed over Mahiru.
How could he have said that?!
It wasn't even true, he was just tired from fighting and being in a constant war with Tsubaki and the vampires laziness had just been the last straw.
He didn't have to take all of his frustration out on Kuro.

He watched his Servamp head for the door and what he heard when Kuro was passing him made his heart clench.

"I know I'm useless... I'm sorry, Mahiru..."

He wanted to tell Kuro that he was wrong, but the vampire was already outside and the door fell shut.
Mahiru just stood in the middle of the room for a couple of seconds before he caught himself and ran after Kuro.
He checked the other's bedroom and found it empty.
So were the kitchen, the bath and every other room in the apartment.
Did Kuro leave? Surely he couldn't have, with the bond as Servamp and Eve they shared. When they were too far apart they'd both feel it, so there was no way that...

At the same moment Mahiru felt a weird feeling urging him to go in one specific direction.
He cursed silently as he rushed out of his apartment and down the stairs.

"Kuro, don't be an idiot... You'll hurt us both!"

If the Servamp would go away even farther and Mahiru couldn't catch up with him, they'd both experience immense pain and later they would die. Or at least Mahiru would.

Mahiru had been running around the city for quite some time when suddenly his body began to tremble and he could feel pain spreading slowly, but surely throughout his body.
He stopped to catch his breath and try to think of a simple and effective way to find Kuro. The situation was similar to when C3 captured them, the main differences being that Mahiru was the only one searching and he didn't only feel pain upon being separated from his Servamp, he could also feel vaguely where the other was.
That was a huge help, but Mahiru was just too slow, even when running as fast as he could.
When he had slowed down his breathing he turned towards the direction Kuro was and started running again.
Mahiru couldn't come up with any other way to find his Servamp and friend, so he just hoped he'd be able to make it in time.

After he ran for a few more minutes he could feel the pain that had gotten gradually worse slowly subsiding.
When he took in his surroundings, the brunet realized that he was currently at the northern edge of the town which used to be a industrial district until most of the factories had to close down.
He noticed one of the old factories at the end of the street that had some parts of the ceiling missing and some of the walls were crumbling.
When the feeling urged him into that direction, Mahiru sighed in relief and jogged towards the tall building.
The closer he got the more the pain faded away and when he stopped in front of the big metal doors, it was gone completely.

The doors and their angles were completely rusted so Mahiru had quite a hard time in opening them. When he finally got them open wide enough for him to fit through, he quickly slipped inside.
In the dim light of the setting sun, he could only make out the vague shapes of some crates on the other end of the hall and stones from the ceiling and wall lying everywhere.

"Kuro?" he called out quietly, although he knew that the vampire had to be somewhere in the factory hall, but probably wouldn't answer him.

"Kuro, I'm really sorry! I... I was just... frustrated, I guess. I didn't mean it..."

Mahiru's voice had gotten gradually lower until it was only barely a whisper. He felt really guilty about telling his Servamp that he was useless. Especially after learning about Kuro's past, saying something like this was awful.
He raised his voice again and called for the Kuro.
Mahiru had to find the blue-haired vampire quick because he was already feeling the exhaustion from the day kick in. Running through town for hours and the added strain from the contract had worn the brunet out and he could feel his knees buckle.
He collapsed on his knees, his whole body feeling like it was made of iron.
Mahiru was pretty sure that he wouldn't be able to get up again or go home for that matter. He was just tired. Tired of running, tired of searching and tired of feeling guilty.

"Kuro, please... I'm sorry. Really sorry. Just, please don't hate me... I... I couldn't live with that... Don't leave..."

His body slumped down even further and he sat down on the hard ground, drawing his numb legs towards his chest. He encircled them with his arms and rested his forehead on his knees.
He couldn't do this anymore. He felt week and pathetic, sitting inside some old factory and having a breakdown while his Servamp probably watched him from somewhere in the shadows.

That was the point where suddenly all his built up anger, frustration and guilt poured out of him.
Mahiru didn't know what would have happened if he hadn't been this exhausted, but at the moment all he could do was cry. He wasn't a crybaby, he hadn't cried at all since the accident, but the tears just started to flow.
He was too jaded to even wipe them away. Mahiru just sat there and the tears continued to stream down his face.
After a while he could feel his eyelids starting to get heavy, his eyes slowly closing. The part of his mind that tried to warned him that falling asleep somewhere in an abandoned factory was dangerous and stupid, was simply overpowered by his need to finally rest and relax.

Mahiru's eyes closed completely and he was almost asleep when he felt warm arms picking him up from the cold ground.
He wasn't completely sure, but he thought he heard something just before he fell asleep in the warm embrace. Something that brought a smile to his face, even in sleep.

"I could never hate you, Mahiru. Remember that. And leaving you now would be too much of a hassle for me anyway."