Chapter One: Unsteady
"Get off me, you dumb oaf."
Nishikino Maki winced even as she snapped back at the unaffected blonde harshly, the latter shrugging nonchalantly and tightening the bandages as a sign of response, drawing a soft yelp out of the usually-tough redhead. "Hold still, or you'll bleed out faster."
"Wow, thanks Doc," She snorted, her voice dripping with venomous sarcasm, but said nothing more as a sign of appreciation that despite still being the untactful asshole she was all the time, Eli was willing to bandage and tend to her wounds while she herself was suffering from serious injuries. There was a deep cut on her left cheek; and she held her shoulder stiffly. "Where's Umi?"
As soon as she spoke of the bluenette's name, a rustling noise startled both of them, and the silhouette of Sonoda Umi emerged from the bushes, holding up what looked like medical supplies and a plastic bag of food. Even in the dim light of the full moon, hidden in the bushes, her sharp amber eyes flashed eerily, looking down at Maki with a stoic expression. Rather, all she could make out in the darkness was a scowl on her face that showed disapproval.
"You shouldn't have been so reckless as to jump in for the kill. Literally."
"I know... But I was really thirsty..." Mumbled the youngest with remorse, looking down with fear and shame.
Eli finally decided to say something comforting, gently pressing a fresh roll of bandage on the bleeding wounds. "What's done is done I suppose. We've all been thirsty lately, so we can't really blame you. Just be more careful in the future."
"Oh~ Maki-chan, you got hurt!?"
A loud, enthusiastic and bright voice howled out loudly. Everyone tensed up and hushed at the familiar source almost simultaneous, the ginger werewolf suddenly standing on hind legs unsteadily and raising its paws in a comical manner. Behind her, a furry, back-haired wolf and a orange one leaped down beside them, landing softly and skillfully. The full moon somehow made them more powerful, more healthy.
The orange-haired wolf crawled over and tried to nuzzle Maki in an effort to comfort her. "Maki-chan, you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine, Rin. Have you gotten used to being a werewolf yet?"
Hoshizora Rin was originally to be one of the last to have had Nekomata blood flowing in her veins, if not for the fact that her Nekomata mother had been injected with the DNA of a werewolf by a sadistic scientist, birthing a crossbreed-namely Rin-that was a werewolf with feline instincts. Fortunately, Rin had escaped from the hands of the scientist, who was soon involved in a fatal accident. The poor, abandoned, and lost baby crossbreed wandered unknowingly into werewolf territory, and was eventually picked up by Honoka, the ginger werewolf, but that is another tale to be told.
Wagging her tail with a sad, concerned pout (Maki had absolutely no idea how a werewolf could pout, but Honoka managed it well), the ginger leaned her furry body against Maki's. "Don't be sad, Maki-chan."
"Vampire hunters and enemies are everywhere nowadays, especially with the weird cults in the modern world. Can't trust no one anymore," The black werewolf gnashed her teeth fiercely, revealing sharp fangs that could rip someone in two easily.
"Nico, you better be careful as well. The last thing you want is for your siblings to be alone. They're still cubs that can't transform fully," Warned Eli. Nico's three siblings depended on her, the oldest, for survival and needs, so there was no possibility of her leaving them behind to fend for themselves.
The six of them sat in silence, the atmosphere heavy with caution and desperation. It wasn't going to be long before starvation caught up with them; even animals couldn't curb their hunger, let alone satisfy them anymore, or the hunters would get to them soon. Only time would tell, Umi thought sorrowfully, before they all eventually went into extinction, leaving nothing but myths and tales behind in the real world.
Nozomi Tojo flipped through her book listlessly, tapping her foot on the floor as the teacher's voice droned on and on. It was like a background noise in her ears, but what they itched to hear was-
Ding-dong, ding-dong~
The familiar ring of the school bell that signaled the end of lessons for the day.
Scrambling out of her seat, she ran down the hallways as fast as possible, careful not to trip over her own shoes or the staircases. But when she finally reached the last step of the stairs that led to the ground floor, they were already there, waiting for her with sinister grins etched on their faces, the tolling school bell now like a signal of her downfall, every ring a step closer to the inevitable.
Everyday, she would fail to escape their grasp.
"..."
The ashen-haired girl was aware of everything.
Despite the plastic smiles they gave her, despite the laughs and giggles they shared, despite the little gifts and conversations exchanged, there was no doubt that she could hear everything that they said behind her back, the fingers pointed at her. They all changed after the bell rang, loud and clear, and she stood up to leave the classroom, shutting the door on the hushed whispers and gossiping girls.
So Kotori Minami made a fake mask herself. She would return the smiles with a radiant, fake one, and hide her knowledge and hurt behind a face of innocence and cute clumsiness. As the daughter of the School Chairman, she was privileged, she was favored.
And she knew everything changed at the hands of the school bell.
The twin-tailed girl stumbled into the pharmacy, trying to disguise her whimpers of pain as she clutched her arms pathetically, her face grimed with dirt and uniform rumpled with creases and tears. The other customers stared for a moment before turning away, not wanting to be involved with someone as pitiful as her.
She ignored the burning stares and empathetic looks, scanning the shelf for a box of bandages when her eyes landed on the last box...
That was snatched away before her hurriedly, and her timid, shaking hand drew back immediately, embarrassed.
"Ah... Excuse me?"
The velvety voice forced her head to jerk up instinctively, to face the owner of this beautiful sound, whom happened to be an attractive, azure-eyed woman with brilliant blond hair. She looked slightly lethargic and lifeless, as if her energy had been drained away in one shot. The eyes were although a beautiful color, were blank and cloudy.
"You can have this is you want..." She thrusted the box into Nozomi's hands before walking away stiffly to another shelf for some gauze instead, making a rushed payment and proceeding to head out swiftly, leaving the confused girl puzzled yet intrigued by this strange but alluring woman.
Nozomi left the bandages back where it was gently, walking out of the store robotically, as if still dazzled by the previous events.
"Eli, did you get any bandages?"
Ayase Eli shook her head and held up the roll of gauze instead. "This was all they had left."
Well, it wasn't really a lie. It would have been what was left since that poor girl took it. But Umi couldn't have known.
"Maki, are you okay?"
"What part of me looks the slightest bit 'okay' to you?" Groaned the redhead weakly. "Dammit, I can't even get up..."
Umi wanted to scream, to cry, or anything that would vent her anger and frustration of her starvation on something. But what good would that do? Would it help Maki? Would it quench their thirst? The youngest among them had always also been the weakest to hunger and thirst. She wouldn't be able to hold out any longer soon. They had to find a way to help her tonight.
Determined to save her friend, Umi got up, ignoring her thirst and parched lips, and grabbed an old coat of the rack of their dusty little rental apartment they had acquired with a little money from their previous preys. Wrapping a scarf around her neck and face, she made preparations for a hunt tonight.
"Where are you going!?" Eli said, alarmed. "It's too risky, Umi!"
"Shut up, Eli," Was all she could say before slamming the door behind her, throwing her vampire cloak onto the couch and over Maki, panting softly.
A/N: I'm back. For now. Updates and new chapters will take awhile with the new school year and stuff. I will try to write more during the weekends, so please be patient and thank you for reading the first chapter of 'Creeping in Your Heart'. I apologize for the inconvenience.