Another Night in the Park

by Umi's Guardian Angel

Companion story to 'A Night in the Park.' Rated mature, for several reasons.

I ran desperately through the midday city, scanning the faces of the crowds. If only I could find her, maybe I could put my fears to rest. The previous night in the alley simply had to have been some sort of nightmare. Even though I had already checked at school and she was absent, I still had hopes of finding her somewhere in the city.

"She must have had some good reason to run away from home…" I muttered quietly to myself as I ran on.

I glanced down at the watch on my wrist. It was now about two in the afternoon. Reluctant though I was, my groaning body forced me to take a rest at a fast food restaurant. I ate quickly, and once again moved on.

Four in the afternoon. I was now having serious doubts as to my searching methods. Running randomly through such a large city was unlikely to yield results, now that I thought about it rationally. However, I could do naught but press on. I scanned the crowds carefully, hoping my eye might fall across her by chance.

"Please… just let me find her…" I prayed quietly to myself as my tired body forged onward.

Night was falling. I didn't want to admit it, but I might only be able to find her once night had completely consumed the city.

"That is, if she really is a vampire…" I stopped myself, and shook my head to clear it of such unnecessary thoughts. I forced myself to feel some sort of small hope, and pressed on with new determination.

I looked at my watch again. Eight in the evening. As I was starting to feel really frantic, I took a rest at a small restaurant to think about my situation. If I wanted to find her, I should be checking the places she frequents the most often.

Unfortunately, I had only started talking to her recently, so I didn't really know anything about her. In that case, I should try to check all the places girls would normally frequent often.

But I didn't really know much about anything like that, either.

"If Arihiko were here, he might have an idea of where girls go. Tch…" I clicked my tongue in annoyance at myself, for thinking to depend on such an unreliable person. My meal arrived, and I chewed on it subconsciously as I mulled over my situation.

"Department stores?" No matter how hard I thought, that was the best conclusion I could come to. Girls frequent department stores. But then, seeing as she had just supposedly run away from home, I doubted she would really be following such a predictable pattern.

I held my head in frustration. "My thoughts are just running around in circles!" If this kept up, all I was going to give myself was a massive headache. Department stores.

I really had no other lead, so for the time being, I decided to check out department stores. I stood up to put my plan into action.

Ten in the evening. I had checked out all the department stores in a large radius around the central main street. I was starting to feel seriously discouraged. "Maybe I should just go home…" My body was more than just a little tired, so going home was sounding extremely appealing. Plus, the killer stalking the streets was probably out and about by now.

But then again, that killer could be her. Trying not to think too deeply about that, I decided to keep trying. My side ached terribly, but I continued onward.

I walked through the park on my way back to the mansion. I glanced up at the park's clock as I walked nearby. The time read midnight.

I had wasted my entire day, and I was about ready to collapse.

"Pant… pant… pant… pant…" I was breathing heavily from the day's exertions, and my bleak mental state did nothing to alleviate the insistent ache in my body.

"Pant… pant… pant… pant…" My dull, rhythmic breathing continued.

"Pant… pant… wheeze… pant…" Did I just hear something other than my own panting?

"Ah…!" I heard a faint gasp of pain from somewhere behind me. I spun instantly around, not daring to hope.

Several meters away I saw a young, brown-haired girl around my age, in my school's uniform, convulsing on the ground while clawing at her throat. All my fatigue vanished at once.

"Yumizuka!!" I yelled and ran quickly to her side to support her.

As soon as I reached her, it quickly became apparent that Yumizuka was not only in obvious pain, but that her body was shivering terribly as well. She must have been out in the chill night air for quite some time, getting colder and colder as time drug by. I reached out to touch her shoulder.

"Huh…?" I wondered aloud. She wasn't cold at all! Suddenly, her eyes opened and she fixed a blood-red gaze on me. I jumped immediately backward, losing my balance and falling on my behind. She was now standing roughly two meters in front of me, and she looked completely fine. She was glaring at me as if I were nothing more than prey to her.

Yumizuka's eyes flashed, and she leapt forward like a cat. I quickly rolled from my sitting position to a standing one, slightly to the right of where I had been sitting. She landed directly in front of me, lowering into a half crouch on the very spot I had vacated moments before. She then wasted no time throwing her left claw in an arc that would have passed right through my body. Luckily, I managed to take a step back quickly enough that Yumizuka's claw only raked across my chest.

But, due to the scar on my chest from eight years ago, I still felt an explosion of pain from the claw wounds Yumizuka left on me. "Ngghh…" I fell to my knees, holding my hand to my chest. She had cut just deep enough to draw blood, so a spot of red was forming on the front of my shirt. I closed my eyes with the pain, and felt a few drops of liquid hit my face. Yumizuka must have flicked my blood off her claws. I then felt Yumizuka's arms drape almost delicately around my body, and I felt her breathing on my neck.

I could feel her fangs closing in on me.

"Stop…." I managed to gasp out. Surprisingly, she did stop. I was still panting in pain, but I managed to open my eyes enough that I could at least get a bearing on my surroundings. Her hands were still on my shoulders, but she was staring into my face with tears slowly rolling from her eyes.

She looked aside. "But… Shiki-kun… I love you…" Tears started flowing more freely down her cheeks, and her face scrunched up in emotional pain.

I felt a sense of sadness. Here was a girl who obviously loved me desperately, and after becoming a vampire, she probably just didn't want to be alone anymore. I couldn't help but be moved by her intense emotions. So, before I quite knew what I was doing, I had put my arms around her shaking shoulders. I did, however, position my own shoulder below her jaw so she wouldn't be able to suddenly bite into my neck so easily. Her whole body began shaking with her sobs as tears flowed down her face. I held her more tightly, and even lowered my guard a bit.

'Kill her,' a voice within my head told me. I felt the weight of the knife engraved 'Seven Nights' in my pocket. But even so; even if she was a vampire, even if she was a brutal killer; I couldn't kill her in return.

I simply cared too much for her. Even though I had only really started interacting with her recently, I had always been watching her. I felt like I saw more than just a class idol; I felt like I saw the real Yumizuka-san, in a way. Perhaps I had always subconsciously been aware of her love for me, as well; but never been confident enough to act on that knowledge consciously.

"Yumizuka…" I tightened my embrace on her warm body.

"Shiki…-kun?" she asked apprehensively. Her broken sobs were starting to calm again. She placed her palms on my chest and carefully pushed away from my body, so she could look into my eyes.

I don't know what Yumizuka saw there, but she looked aside for a moment with a clearly troubled expression. She then stared straight into my eyes with nothing but confidence.

'Kill!!' But I couldn't…

As Yumizuka stared at me, I felt myself entranced by her blood-red gaze. She then bore her fangs again and dove for my neck.

Despite orders surging from my brain, my body wouldn't move at all.

'Kill!! Kill or be killed!!!' The voice was beginning to sound desperate. But even though I understood that the only way to save myself now was to give in to the voice, I still couldn't do it.

Somehow, I had developed feelings for Yumizuka that wouldn't allow me to harm her in any way, even if it meant losing my own life in the process. I relaxed my body and waited for her to take my blood.

Yumizuka's fangs reached my neck, and they began pressing against the soft skin there. But just shy of penetrating the outer skin, they stopped. "Why aren't you struggling, Shiki-kun?" she asked me. "I can feel the killer within you itching to destroy me, yet you don't make a move. Why?"

"I'm sorry, Yumizuka," I answered. "I just can't bring myself to do it. From a moral standpoint, it would probably be the right thing to do. But," I paused for a moment. "I can't kill you. I think," I paused again. "I think I've fallen in love with you, somehow…"

"Ah…" Yumizuka gasped, and her entire body stiffened. Then, she started shaking. "No…" she whispered. "No… No, Shiki-kun!" she said a bit loudly. "I don't want to be alone anymore!" She buried her face in my shoulder as tears started flowing down her face anew. "I wanted to make you a vampire so we would always be together, but I can't do it either! I just can't do it!!" Her whole body shook with her sobs, and she tightly put her arms around me.

I tightened my embrace, as well. "I wish we could live a happy, normal life together," I mused wistfully. "But you weren't granted that chance, Yumizuka-san. So," I said carefully, "let's go for the next best thing. Make me a vampire."

'NO!!' I willed the voice to silence.

Yumizuka had stopped moving completely. She had even stopped breathing. After staying still for several moments, she finally asked in a very small voice, "Is it really okay, Shiki-kun? You'll be with me forever?" She sounded so scared and uncertain.

Rather than answering, I turned my head and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "Go ahead," I whispered into her ear. "I'm ready." I leaned my head to the side, baring my neck to make it easier for her. I closed my eyes and prepared to bear with the pain.

Then, I felt Yumizuka's powerful jaws sink deep into my neck, and I felt pain far greater than I had imagined as blood flowed between us through that bond. "Aaaahhhh!!!" She released me, and I fell to the ground, desperately convulsing with the all-consuming pain.

Soon, I didn't even know where I was or what I was doing anymore.

All I felt was the pain.

I awoke slowly. The last thing I remembered was intense pain. I didn't even remember passing out, it was so extreme. I was lying on a bed mattress, which was lying on a concrete floor. I sat up and glanced at my watch. It was eleven in the morning. I looked at my surroundings.

I appeared to be in some sort of abandoned factory. Luckily, it was deep inside where the light of day would be unable to penetrate.

I found myself wondering why I had thought that particular thought. It wasn't as if I had any reason to fear the sun… right?

I began carefully examining my surroundings from where I was sitting. Despite the fact that it was pitch black inside the factory, I found that I could still see perfectly.

But why? A normal human shouldn't be able to see anything in dark as deep as this. My scanning eyes fell across a mirror hung on the wall.

My eyes were a deep red, a hue not unlike that of blood. I also saw someone staring intently at my back from right behind me. "Ah…!!" I gasped in surprise and spun around.

"Ah…!!" Yumizuka, too, gasped in surprise and leaned back a bit. She was kneeling on a mattress lying next to mine, and she had been watching me. She put a hand on her chest and let out her held breath. "You scared me, Shiki-kun, spinning around so suddenly." I was slowly starting to remember what I had been through just recently.

"Yumizuka…-san?" My memory was still a bit foggy, and I was still confused.

She smiled at me. "Yes, it's me, Shiki-kun. We're going to be together forever, remember? Though I was worried… you sleep so peacefully it was almost as if you'd passed away!"

"Yumizuka-san…" I said slowly.

"Yes, Shiki-kun?" She continued smiling at me with her blood-red gaze. From what I had seen in the mirror, I now possessed those same eyes…

"Are we both… vampires, Yumizuka-san?" I asked uneasily.

Her smile disappeared and she looked aside, seeming suddenly unsure of herself. "Don't you remember?" she asked, somewhat hesitantly. She looked up at me with worry evident in her crimson eyes. "You said we would be together forever, Shiki-kun."

I looked down, unable to bear that gaze any longer. So it hadn't been a dream, or anything like that. What I was vaguely remembering was what had really occurred.

I was a vampire now. I had thrown my old life away, and I knew I could never go back. Akiha, Hisui, Ciel-senpai, Arihiko. I would never see any of them, or anyone else, ever again. Thinking about it was making me a little sad.

I sighed.

But I had made my choice, and I wasn't about to regret it. There was no point in regretting it now. Besides, it wasn't as if I had made my choice lightly.

Beginning now, I would be starting a new life with someone I loved.

I looked up at Yumizuka's troubled face, and smiled widely at her. "Yeah, I remember, Satsuki-chan."

Her eyes widened in surprise, and her troubled visage slowly grew into a smile. "Oh, Shiki-kun…!" she exclaimed as she suddenly leapt forward into my arms. The force of her hitting me threw me down on the mattress, where she laid atop me, giggling happily.

After a bit, she pushed off the mattress so she could gaze into my face. "I love you, Shiki-kun," she said simply.

I felt my face growing flushed as I gazed into her alluring, crimson eyes. "Satsuki…" I carefully placed my hand on the back of her head, and lowered her lips to mine.

Our lips met briefly in a light kiss, and Satsuki leaned back again to gaze into my face. "Ooh, Shiki…" she spoke wistfully. Our bodies were growing hot as she lowered herself onto me again. Our lips met once more; this time, the kiss lasted longer, and our tongues entwined together in our mouths.

"Mmmm…." We closed our eyes to better enjoy the sensation of the kiss. After a few blissful moments, our lips parted again and we gazed for a bit into each other's flushed faces.

Then, Satsuki moved her lips down to my neck, and she started moving her tongue up and down my neckline. She moved as if entranced, and her hands found their way into my shirt, where she gently caressed my chest with her palms. I simply closed my eyes and enjoyed the sensation.

"Nnnn…." As Satsuki's tongue moved farther and farther down my neck, she slowly rolled my shirt upwards on my body with her hands. Soon, she had rolled my shirt all the way up to my neck, and she started licking a trail of saliva down my chest. "Ah…" I moaned quietly as she licked her way over my nipple, while her hands started carefully unbuttoning my trousers.

Satsuki continued to leave a hot trail down my body with her tongue, as she simultaneously pulled my pants and boxers down my legs. My long-engorged member was now exposed to the open air.

By now, Satsuki had pulled my pants and boxers all the way down to my ankles, and I carefully squirmed out of them the rest of the way, tossing them aside with my feet. Satsuki licked all the way down to my navel, where she stopped. I opened my eyes. Satsuki pushed off the mattress a bit so she could get a good look at me. Resting on her elbows, she delicately put her hands on my inner thighs and gazed lovingly at my erect penis. She looked up at me and smiled with a red face. "It's cute, Shiki," she said simply.

I could feel myself blushing terribly at her awkward statement. I felt extremely embarrassed, and Satsuki giggled lightly to herself as she gazed up at my discomfited face. "Surely you're not embarrassed by just this much, Shiki." She then suddenly moved her hand to my dick and started gently stroking it.

"Nnnn…!!" I felt my face growing ever increasingly flushed as I started to moan with the pleasant sensation of Satsuki's soft hand carefully caressing my cock. I saw her looking mischievously up at me as her caresses grew both faster and rougher. Then, with a devilish glint in her crimson eyes, she suddenly engulfed my member completely in her mouth.

"Ah!" I gasped in surprise as I felt a wet sensation surround my most sensitive area. Satsuki closed her eyes and started passionately licking my cock, paying special attention to the sensitive glans.

"Hah… hah…" I put my arm across my eyes as I began to be unable to control my desperate panting. The pleasant sensation Satsuki was eliciting from my crotch was becoming too much for me to control. By now, my entire dick was inside her mouth, and she was rubbing her tongue quickly up and down the base of my cock.

"Hah…ahnn!!" My panting grew more and more pronounced as Satsuki continued moving her mouth and tongue up and down my dick. Seeing as this was my first time experiencing such sensation, I was quickly approaching climax. But right as I was about to cum, Satsuki's movements on my dick began to get slower and slower. Still panting with the pleasant feeling, I removed my arm from my eyes to see why Satsuki's movements weren't quite as inspired as they were before.

What I saw pushed me over the edge. While supporting herself with one hand, Satsuki had maneuvered her other hand underneath her skirt, and I was able to see that a thrusting motion was taking place beneath the fabric. As Satsuki moved her mouth wetly down onto my dick one last time, I came with a final cry of pure pleasure. "Aaaahhhh!!!! Haaah… Haaah…" My body was extremely hot, and I continued panting with the after-sensation of my orgasm as I stared down at my beloved Satsuki's blushing face.

As for Satsuki, her movements had stopped completely as her face scrunched up from the bitter taste of my cum. She stayed unmoving for several moments, and then, while I was still breathing heavily from my own bygone pleasure, I saw her throat moving as she began swallowing my white, sticky liquid. I felt my body growing hotter and hotter with my own embarrassment.

But then again, if I continued feeling nothing but embarrassment, I was just going to end up leaving Satsuki unsatisfied. I slowly sat up, with my dick still residing within Satsuki's mouth. I noticed Satsuki's sopping wet panties lying atop my own undergarments, and I blushed a little redder. Although my face was still burning, I reached a hand underneath Satsuki's skirt, where she still had an unmoving finger resting within herself. I inserted two of my own fingers into her wet cunt, and started clumsily moving my inexperienced digits in and out of her.

"Mmmm!!" With my dick still in her mouth, Satsuki started making her own sounds of pleasure. As she swallowed the last drops of my cum, she began rubbing her finger against the upper area of her vagina, where she must have been stimulating her clitoris.

"Mmmmm….!!!! Haaaahhh!!!" With an explosive gasp, Satsuki finally released my cock from her mouth, and she collapsed onto my legs, breathing heavily. When I had cum, she must have been hovering just on the verge of orgasm, as it took little of our caresses to push her over the edge. I was mostly recovered by now, so I removed my hand from her pussy and ran my fingers through her beautiful hair as I waited for her heavy breathing to calm again.

When it finally did, Satsuki took her warm, wet tongue, and started licking a hot trail up my body again. By this time, my shirt had settled back onto my body, but as she left a trail of saliva up my chest, she also pulled the shirt over my shoulders. I raised my arms to aid in the now-bothersome shirt's removal, leaving my body completely bare.

Satsuki put her palms on my broad chest, warming me with her touch. She rolled one of my nipples with her tongue, and sucked on it lightly before continuing her hot trail up my torso. She licked all the way up to my neckline, where she paused long enough to suck on the nape of my neck a bit. She then licked up my chin and finally reached my lips, where she kissed me passionately. She was now more or less sitting on my lap, facing me.

"Mmmmm…." We closed our eyes, and our moans synchronized as our tongues met each other, where they rubbed against one another almost fervently. I moved my tongue underneath hers, and began rubbing the underside of her tongue with mine. At the same time, I moved my hand down. I maneuvered my raging hard-on out of the way and reached underneath her skirt, where I started delicately massaging the outside of her vagina.

"Mmmmm…!!" I could feel heat radiating from her body as she became more aroused from my gentle caresses. She put her hands on my shoulders to support herself as she started losing herself in sensation. As I increased the speed of both my tongue and hand, I simultaneously reached my other hand to the front of her uniform top. I carefully pulled out the ribbon tied there, and let it fall slowly to the ground. I moved my tongue around Satsuki's, and started rubbing it quickly across the top. "Nnnn!!" As her moaning grew more fervent, I carefully reached underneath her shirt and started pulling it up off her body.

As I moved my hand upwards, I casually rubbed my hand up against Satsuki's chest while still pulling her shirt off. I cupped her bra with my palm as I moved upwards. "Nn!! Nn!! Nnnnn…" I wrapped Satsuki's tongue with mine, and stimulated the entire length of her tongue. I pulled her shirt off of one of her arms, and carefully pulled apart her pussy lips with my other hand. I started lightly stimulating her clitoris with my forefinger. "Nnnmmm!!!" I quickly unhooked her bra and tossed it aside. I unraveled my tongue from hers, and pulled my face back a bit. I opened my eyes.

"Ahhh…." Satsuki stared at me in rapture; her face flushed a deep crimson that matched her enthralling eyes. I pulled her shirt over her head, and left it hanging on her other arm. She flicked that arm, tossing the shirt aside, leaving her with only her skirt on. "Mmmm…" Satsuki moaned slightly as I removed my fingers, which were coated with her juices, from her pussy. I reached for her skirt with those fingers and quickly removed it, also tossing it aside.

I moved my face near Satsuki's, and lightly brushed my lips against hers. I gently grabbed her legs with my hands, and folded them so Satsuki was kneeling on me, rather than sitting with her legs wrapped around me. I began kissing my way slowly down her neckline. "Nnnnn…" Satsuki started moaning again, as I carefully slid my way out from underneath her. When I had her kneeling on the mattress, I started licking a line across her shoulders, heading for her back. At the same time, I placed my wet hand on her breast, and started rubbing it delicately.

"Aaahhh…." Satsuki closed her eyes and shuddered slightly, as I continued licking a line across her shoulder blade, heading for her other shoulder. This forced me to begin moving my entire body around hers. I continued massaging her breast, and by the time I licked a trail of saliva to her far shoulder, I had my body positioned behind hers. I brought my face up next to Satsuki's. I then held her chin with my free hand, and turned her face so I could press her lips against mine. I started delicately rubbing the inside of her lips with my tongue. I felt her face flush, and she responded by rubbing her tongue across mine. I then carefully pressed my body against her back, forcing her up so her thighs were perpendicular to her lower legs, which were still resting on the mattress. I started carefully rolling her nipple with my palm, while I delicately moved my other hand from her chin and down across her shoulder.

"Nn!! Nnnnnn… Mmmmmm….!!! Mmm!!" As her moaning grew more insistent, I slowly wrapped my legs around her knees, positioning my inflated cock directly beneath her. Her body was flushed a deep red, and I began lightly pinching her nipple between two of my fingers. At the same time, I slowly moved my other hand down her body until it was resting on her hip. I then reached around her and spread her pussy lips again.

"Mmm!!" As she let out a sweet sound, I began carefully lowering her body onto my erect member. "Mmmmmm!!!!" As I slowly entered her, her tongue stopped moving in my mouth, and she let out a cute sound of sensation. I soon encountered a wall within her, which could be none other than the hymen. I thrust quickly upward to break it in one smooth stroke.

"Nnnaaaaahhhh!!!" Her mouth separated from mine with a loud gasp, and she let out a prolonged moan of ecstasy as I began thrusting quickly into her. I looked down to see blood streaking down her legs, but she didn't seem to be feeling any pain from losing her virginity. I guessed that, as a vampire, such a trifling thing wouldn't be enough to wound her. Instead, she only felt pure pleasure.

Also, as a vampire myself, the sight of Satsuki's blood only turned me on all the more.

A warm, wet feeling completely enveloped my dick as her folds massaged my entire length. Satsuki's juices provided more than enough lubricant to facilitate my movements. As I continued thrusting into her, I felt my own body growing hotter and hotter with passion. I dove my face into her neckline, kissing and licking her nape as her sweet moans increased in intensity. I also increased the speed of my hand on her breast.

"Ah… Hah…. Haaannnhhh!!!" Satsuki started moving her knees, pounding her pussy ever harder onto my throbbing cock, increasing the depth of the penetration and both our pleasures. My breathing grew heavy as our lovemaking increased in intensity. With my hand still resting near Satsuki's vagina, I began roughly massaging her clit, causing her to moan even more loudly.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!" With a final cry, Satsuki collapsed heavily onto my body. I felt her juices flowing forcibly over my cock, causing a sensation which pushed me over the edge, as well.

"Nngghhh…" All my movements stopped, and I grunted with the pure pleasure as my cum shot deeply into Satsuki's cunt. I soon felt our mixed juices flowing from her pussy across my member. I buried my face in her nape, enjoying the sensation of her warm, flushed body. We were both breathing heavily from the afterglow of our orgasms, and I put my arms around my beloved Satsuki and held her body close to mine so we could enjoy a bond of closeness between us.

"Hah… Hah…" While we were still breathing a bit heavily, I unhooked my legs from around Satsuki's knees. With a wet sound, my dripping penis slipped out of her vagina. I then kneeled underneath her, and in doing so, pushed Satsuki forward, causing her to reach out to support herself with her arms. "Ah…!!" With a surprised gasp, Satsuki fell forward, ending up on all fours with me kneeling just behind her.

"Shiki?" Satsuki queried, looking back at me with an embarrassed and confused visage. She seemed uncomfortable being down on all fours in front of me. Rather than answering her question, I reached inside her with my fingers. "Aahh!!" She gasped and shook her head a bit. Since she had just reached orgasm a bit ago, her body was still extremely sensitive. I continued exploring her delicate folds with my fingers, causing her entire body to shake with the pleasure. It seemed that her shame at being in such an embarrassing position only increased her pleasure, and she continued making embarrassing noises as I reached deeper and deeper into her body.

"Ah…. Aaahhh!!!" By this time, I was thrusting rather quickly with my fingers, making a wet slopping noise as I continually moved in and out of her. Her sweet moans and erotic position were intoxicating my senses, and I soon felt hard enough to enter her again. I removed my hand from her cunt and reached around her body, stimulating her clitoris while holding her hips with my other hand. I carefully inserted my hot rod into her body again, while I more and more roughly played with her clitoris. "Nggghhaaa!!!!" Satsuki was yelling quite loudly in pure bliss as I continued stimulating her most sensitive areas.

"Ngghhh…." As her folds encompassed my member, I found myself grunting with the pleasure, as well.

"Aaaaaahhhhhh!!!!" Satsuki threw her head back with a particularly loud cry, and her love-juices flowed over my cock. It seemed that my rough caresses had already forced her to climax. Unable to completely support herself, she fell down on her elbows. But I wasn't finished yet.

I was still nowhere near climax. I continued thrusting into her shaking, red-hot body.

"Aaaahhhh….. Shi…. ki…" Satsuki gasped my name as she looked over her shoulder at me, with a face burning in shame and erotic pleasure. I continued rubbing my digits quickly across her clitoris, and pounded myself even harder into her pussy. Her wetness enveloped my entire member over and over again, and erotic noises echoed throughout the room. "Aaaahhhh!!!" Satsuki started yelling uncontrollably again, and she laid her face on the mattress. "Ahh…. Haaahhh…. Aaahhhh….!!!" Her legs were shaking, but I held her body up with my arms.

"Nggghhh…. Ahh….. Haaahhh….!!!" I closed my eyes, and found myself also panting in pleasure. Despite cumming twice already, I was now approaching my third climax. My breathing growing heavier and my panting more uncontrolled, I leaned forward and felt the pleasurable sensation of my cum forcing its way outside my body..

"Aaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!" With a loud yell of pure bliss, Satsuki's body tensed for a few seconds, and then relaxed completely. Her juices were still flowing freely over my cock, and the wet sensation toppled me over the precipice.

"Nggghhhhhaaaaa!!!!" With a strangled cry, I shot my cum deep into Satsuki's body, and felt my own body relax, as well. With me no longer holding us up, both Satsuki and I fell onto the mattress, panting uncontrollably.

After a bit, I opened my eyes to see Satsuki's face directly in front of mine. She was staring lovingly into my flushed face. "Shiki…" She delicately put her arms around me. I responded in kind; our lips met in a brief kiss. We held one another, and as our breathing evened, we slowly fell asleep.

My eyes flashed open. I had had a terrible dream, and my body was drenched in a cold sweat. In my dream, I had forsaken my glasses and knife, and all I saw around me were 'lines' and 'points,' covering everything. I found it hard to focus, but I could see a blurry object lying on the ground in front of me. As my eyes finally focused on the object, I realized it was my beloved Satsuki's dead body, shredded to pieces.

It was truly a terrible nightmare.

After realizing what I was staring at, I involuntarily let out a yell. But no sound came from my throat.

It was then that I realized that, rather than a full body, I was nothing more than a severed head, lying on the cold ground of a dark alleyway. I slowly felt death consume me completely, and it was then that I had awoken.

Being careful not to wake Satsuki, who still had her arms around me and was sleeping peacefully, I slowly disentangled myself from her grasp. After I was free, I sat up and glanced at my watch. It was around five in the afternoon. It would probably be several hours before Satsuki awakened, when we would hunt.

'Kill her. If you do it now, you can still 'kill' the vampirism inside you, and return to a normal life.' I found myself staring at my knife, which I had subconsciously taken out of my coat pocket. I had also removed my glasses involuntarily, and I could see a 'point' on the knife, with a few lines running outwards from it.

I flexed my hand, which grew into a claw. If I wanted to, I could easily destroy the knife, which would remove any power the voice had over me.

But the dream still lingered in my head. If I forsook my knife, and with it the voice, I might be nothing but a severed head by the end of the night.

After all, I felt power in the voice; it might yet be useful to me.

'Kill.'

"No," I said quietly, but confidently. "I won't." I put the knife back in my coat pocket, and put my glasses back on. Thankfully, the voice remained silent. I laid back down, and surrendered myself to sleep. This time, I slept peacefully.

I thrust a claw directly into the young girl's belly, into the 'point' located there. It ended her life instantly; even though I had to kill to survive, I wanted to make it as painless as possible. I put my fangs to her neck and began sucking her blood. It tasted surprisingly good; far better than blood would have tasted as a regular human. I also felt extremely strong after I had gotten my fill from the girl.

It was now about eleven in the evening; Satsuki and I had been hunting for roughly an hour. The girl I had just feasted on was our fourth victim; for some reason, even though I had my fill from just this one girl, Satsuki had required three victims before she was sated. She simply needed more blood to sustain herself, perhaps because she had been a vampire for longer.

I wiped the blood from my lip and took my glasses out of my coat pocket. After donning them, I turned to face Satsuki. She had a trail of blood running from the corner of her mouth to her chin, and she was staring at me with a blood-red gaze of rapture. She walked over to me.

"Shiki…" She stood on her toes and pressed her lips against mine; as her tongue found its way into my mouth, I could taste the sweet flavor of blood in her mouth. "Mmmm…" We shared the enjoyable taste of the blood on our tongues.

'Leave. It isn't safe here.' Was the voice actually being useful? I forced myself to disentangle from Satsuki's alluring body. "If we're done here, Satsuki," I said, "let's go home. Okay?" I held my hand out to her.

Satsuki looked a bit disappointed, but she took my outstretched hand and began walking home with me.

After a bit, Satsuki smiled widely and looked over at me. "What?" I asked, slightly discomfited.

"Oh, nothing," she said happily. "I just never imagined I would actually get to be with you like this." She looked down. "Being a vampire, it's a bit different than I expected…" she looked up to me and smiled again. "But I'm okay, as long as I'm with you, Shiki." She held my hand tightly as we walked through the moonlit streets.

I smiled back at her. However, I still felt slightly uncomfortable; it felt as if a gaze of intense hatred was focused on me. It felt as if someone was watching us, and they were clearly hostile.

'So you felt it, after all. Be on guard.' For now, it felt like the one watching us was not taking action, so I continued carefully walking, without letting Satsuki know of my nervousness. If possible, I wanted to make sure she was safely home before I dealt with this threat personally.

Unfortunately, our stalker was not going to grant that chance. When we were only a block away from the factory, they struck. I roughly shoved Satsuki to the side, and leapt backwards. Two swords pierced the ground where we had been standing moments before. I looked quickly up to where the swords had originated from.

There, standing on a streetlight, was a figure I was actually quite familiar with. "Ciel-senpai?" I couldn't keep the confusion from my voice. She was dressed in some strange, black robes with swords held between her fingers, but it was definitely her.

"At first, I thought you were Roa, Tohno-kun," she responded mysteriously. "It seems that wasn't true. However," she said, her gaze narrowing, "even though I've already dealt with him, I still have to clean up his mess. It's too bad you and Yumizuka-san got mixed up in this." She then seemed to disappear; I jumped quickly to the left, and she landed right where I had been just before. We were now several meters apart; it seemed that, as a vampire, both my reflexes and power had already greatly increased.

Ciel wasted no time before attacking again. I jumped to the side, avoiding the swords she threw in my direction. She then flashed towards me again. I found myself able to barely trace her movements, so I was able to narrowly dodge her fist. I jumped back a few more meters.

She then flashed again, only more quickly this time. Before I could react, she struck a solid blow to my face. I reeled backwards a few steps, and she stepped in and kicked me in the gut. I fell forward, landing on my hands and knees directly in front of her. Her heel hit the top of my head; although I managed to keep my face from hitting the ground, my glasses fell off.

I knew I had to quickly make a move. I looked up, ready to counterattack.

But it proved unnecessary. Satsuki appeared behind Ciel, and wrapped her arms around Ciel's shoulders. She then placed her feet within Ciel's instep, and moved her feet outwards, spreading Ciel's legs and further restricting her movements. Ciel attempted to struggle, but she was unable to break from Satsuki's strong hold. I stood up and looked over the network of 'lines' running across her body.

"Go ahead and kill me," Ciel-senpai spat out. "I'll still come back and finish you off." I didn't know what she meant by that, but I knew that my form of 'death' was absolute. I sunk a claw into the 'point' on her neck.

Satsuki released Ciel's body, which slumped lifelessly to the ground. She would never stand again. "Never underestimate your opponent, Ciel-senpai," I told the dead girl.

"You know her, Shiki?" Satsuki asked me curiously.

"You don't recognize her? She was an upperclassman at our school," I answered. "I cared for her once, but it's obvious now that she was our enemy." I glared at the corpse at my feet. "So I dealt with her appropriately." I bent down for my glasses, and put them back on. I stood up, and gazed into Satsuki's face. I smiled, and held my hand out to her again. "Well," I said happily, "let's go home."

'At least take care of the body first,' the voice reproached me.

"Shouldn't we take care of the body first?" Satsuki asked me.

I lowered my hand and nodded. "I suppose you're right," I answered seriously. "We should probably burn it, I suppose."

Satsuki nodded. I carried the body home with us, and using some of Satsuki's supplies she had been gathering the past few nights, we started a fire big enough to burn Ciel-senpai's cooling corpse. We snuggled up together next to the warm fire, and the comforting heat slowly lulled us into sleep.

We slept until it was already dark the next day, when we left to go hunt again. At first, we decided there were too many people around, since it was still only about eight in the evening. We walked around for a while, chatting idly about unimportant things. We saw some of our old classmates once, but we were careful not to let them spot us.

After about a half an hour, Satsuki stopped walking. I turned around to see her staring straight into my eyes. "Something wrong, Satsuki?" I asked her.

"Shiki…" she paused as she looked down. She then looked up at me, and blushed slightly. "Let's go on a date, Shiki!"

I was a bit taken aback, at first. I suppose that, as vampires, I had just figured we weren't really allowed to go on dates like a normal couple. But after I thought about it for a bit, I realized that there was really no reason not to.

I felt myself blushing a little as I held my hand out. "Sure," I said. "Let's go."

But where should we go? I had never been on a date before, so I was actually pretty clueless.

"Let's go there!" Satsuki said, pointing. I looked over. She wanted to go to a video arcade? I didn't think most girls liked video arcades. But then again, I didn't really know anything about girls.

"Sure." I smiled and led her inside.

This time, I would win. We'd been playing racing games for the past half hour. And for some reason, Satsuki was really good at each and every one.

But this time, I had been in the lead the whole race. There were several boost pads on this track, and thus far I had hit every single one. "Ah, the finish line," I told myself when I spotted it in the distance on the screen. I made a line straight for the finish. I noticed too late that, off to the side, there was one more boost pad.

Oh, well. Satsuki would have had to have been pretty much perfect the whole race to beat me now. Even she wasn't that good.

I then saw Satsuki's car shoot past me, and it crossed the finish line a full second before mine.

"Yes!!" Satsuki said exultingly from her seat beside mine. "I thought you had me there, Shiki!" She looked over to me and smiled. I simply stared and shook my head.

"What?" Satsuki asked. "You're the one who got too confident and missed that last boost." She continued smiling widely.

"Let's not play racing games anymore, Satsuki-chan," I begged.

Satsuki put on a pouting face. "That won't do, Shiki," she reproached me. "Just call me Satsuki, ok?" She stared pointedly at me.

"Ok," I sighed in resignation. "Please, Satsuki, let's play something else."

She put her hands on her hips. "Well," she said, "what do you wanna play? The crane game?" She quirked a brow at me.

"Hey," I told her, "the crane game is fun. It's really difficult and expensive, though." I sighed.

"Well," she smiled, "let's go. I've got plenty of money."

I was a little surprised. "Where did you get so much?" I asked.

Satsuki looked aside, the smile vanishing from her face. "Well," she said slowly, "I get it from people who, kind of, don't need it, anymore." She looked a little sad.

"Oh…" I felt a bit uncomfortable. "Well, let's forget about that!!" I waved my arms a bit. "C'mon," I told her, "let's have fun for now, ok?" I smiled a small smile at her.

She looked up at me again, and also smiled slightly. "Yeah, let's go." She stood up.

I also stood up, and we walked over to the crane game just outside the arcade. I slipped a few coins into the machine, and started maneuvering the crane. Satsuki held onto my arm and pointed at a cute stuffed cat. "Get that one for me, Shiki!" she said happily.

"Alright!" I said confidently. "Let's do this!" I hit the button to lower the crane.

I had been trying for a half an hour, but I still couldn't get that cat. "Wow, Shiki," Satsuki finally said, "you really suck at this."

I hung my head. "I'm sorry…" I muttered.

"Ah, don't worry about it," Satsuki reassured me. "C'mon, if we hurry we can still catch a late movie." She pulled on my arm.

"Ok, ok," I responded, "just don't pull my arm off." I let her lead me to the movie theatre.

I let Satsuki pick the movie we were going to see. When we got our tickets, the lady at the counter looked a bit uncomfortable; probably because of our blood-red eyes. She didn't say anything, though.

We sat at the back of the small theatre our movie was showing in. Since it was late, and rumors about a killer still ran from people's tongues, there were only about ten people watching this movie, besides us.

About a half-hour had passed. As for the movie itself, it was a love story. It wasn't really my kind of movie, but it wasn't so bad. Satsuki, on the other hand, seemed enthralled. I looked down from the screen, and was surprised to see a couple a few rows ahead of us energetically making out. I blushed and looked at Satsuki's face from the corner of my eye. She hadn't seemed to take notice, and simply continued watching the movie. Still blushing, I carefully reached over to hold her hand.

When I placed my hand over hers, she looked up at me, a little surprised. Then, she smiled, and held tightly onto my hand. I embarrassedly smiled back. Then, while still firmly holding my hand, she returned her attention to the screen. I did likewise, trying my best to ignore the couple in front of us.

Another half-hour passed. For some reason, my throat was burning and my stomach seemed unsettled. I disentangled my fingers from Satsuki's, and stood up. Satsuki looked up at me.

"Are you okay?" she whispered with a worried expression. "You don't look well."

"I'm fine," I whispered back. "I'll be back in a bit." I tried to smile reassuringly, but my face must have looked a little pained, and my voice was scratchy.

"Ok," she whispered, a bit uneasily. She turned her attention back to the movie screen as I walked out of the theatre. I made my way to the restroom. I stood in front of the mirror, clutching my throat as the pain there slowly intensified.

Blood. I had an undeniable thirst for some bright, red blood. I clawed at my throat as my body grew hotter and hotter. I felt like I was really becoming some sort of inhuman monster.

'That's because you are,' the voice told me ominously. 'But you can still stop it, if you would just listen to me.'

"Shut up!!" I yelled, slamming my fist down on the sink.

"Ah…" I heard a gasp of surprise from directly behind me, and I spun instantly around. A man was standing there, with a slightly frightened expression on his face. But at that point, I didn't care who he was or how scared he was.

Before I even quite knew what I was doing, the man was dead and my fangs were sunk deeply into his neck. The pain I had been feeling subsided quickly as the sweet blood ran down my throat.

After I had sucked the man dry, I let his body fall to the floor. I licked some blood from the corner of my mouth. I carefully told myself that I had only killed him because I had to, and I returned to watch the final half-hour of the movie with my beloved Satsuki.

Satsuki stood and stretched as the ending credits rolled down the screen. "That was such a good movie, wasn't it, Shiki?" she asked, looking down at me.

"Well," I said, standing and putting my hands in my pockets, "it wasn't bad."

"That's the best you've got to say?" Satsuki pouted as we made our way out of the theatre. Luckily, Satsuki was only paying attention to me, so she didn't notice the commotion over by the men's restroom.

"Well, it wasn't really my type of movie," I explained as I quickly led us out into the street. Satsuki looked up at me curiously, but didn't comment further.

When we had returned to the main street, it was already around eleven at night. The crowds had thinned considerably. At this time, there was almost nobody out in the city. They were all too afraid of the killings which had been occurring recently.

And for good reason. I could see Satsuki was already scanning the streets for potential victims. "There," she said confidently as she spotted a group of three girls heading into an alleyway. Bad luck for them, I supposed as I followed Satsuki after the three.

Upon entering the alley, Satsuki wasted no time cutting down the group with her claws. She then put her mouth to one of their necks and began drinking. Despite the face that I did not feel particularly hungry before I saw them killed, the sight of their blood fueled my thirst. I also chose a victim to drink from.

After I'd had my fill, and Satsuki was now feasting on the final victim, I looked around at the alleyway we were in. I instantly felt uneasy.

This alley looked exactly like the one in my dream from two nights before. This is where we had both been killed in that horrible nightmare.

'It would be wise to leave as soon as possible.' I didn't need to be told twice.

I grabbed Satsuki's arm and gently tugged on her. "Let's go home, Satsuki. I'm full already, and I don't like it here."

She looked over at me with a slightly displeased expression. "I guess I don't need any more blood tonight, but why are you being so insistent, Shiki? Can't you let me enjoy my meal?" A line of blood was running from the corner of her lip.

"I'm sorry. I just really want to get home, ok?" The uncomfortable feeling grew stronger. I tugged on her arm a bit harder.

"Ok, I get it already." She didn't sound happy. "Let's go, Shiki." She shook my hand from her arm and stomped out of the alleyway, muttering something under her breath about still being hungry. I guessed that even though she didn't really need it, she still would have preferred to feast on three or four people, like last night.

But I wanted to get home as soon as possible. I felt like it would be safe there.

'But don't let your guard down.' The voice only made me feel even more uneasy.

After walking for a while, we finally reached the factory again. I began walking inside, with Satsuki following me. It was now around midnight.

Once we were several meters inside, I heard a voice coming from my right. "Well, well, well." Satsuki and I both spun instantly to where the voice had originated, where we saw a woman with shoulder-length golden hair, wearing a white shirt and a long, purple skirt.

She also had eyes of a blood-red hue, not unlike our own.

"Even after Ciel dealt with Roa, murders still happened," the woman mused, "so I'm here to clean up the mess. It was quite a time finding you," she said as her gaze narrowed, "since I kept losing your trail. So I followed Ciel's instead, but even that trail ended about a block away from here. So I looked around to find the places a vampire would most likely make his nest." She smiled. "I never expected to find two of you."

"Who are you and what do you want?" I demanded.

"My name is Arcueid Brunestud, and I'm here to kill you." Her eyes then flashed a golden hue, and I felt an extreme intent to kill there. However, because of my own 'killing' ability, I refused to be daunted.

"Ah…" I heard a gasp from beside me, and turned to see Satsuki shaking in place. It appeared that she was unable to move.

"Interesting," Arcueid said in an amused tone. "My Mystic Eyes don't work on you, eh?" I turned back to face my quarry, while simultaneously stepping away from Satsuki's immobilized form. "You could be dangerous. I'll have to be careful when I kill you." Then, she flashed towards me with insane speed.

She landed a solid blow to my chest with her fist, which sent me flying across the large room we were in. I found it hard to believe that she was being as careful as she had said. I hit the wall, and fell to the ground with a thud.

As a vampire, though, I didn't feel much pain. I instinctively rolled to the side and stood up. Arcueid's fist left a hole in the pavement where my head had just been, but she was already standing again, and she made another swing at me. This time, I managed to jump back just in time, avoiding a blow to the head. She then flashed forward with the same speed as before, but I sidestepped, and she flashed right past me. She narrowed her gaze, and came at me again. I jumped, turning to the side in midair. When I landed I had turned about ninety degrees to the side, and I then jumped backwards again. Arcueid flashed through the space I had just occupied, and turned to face me.

"…Interesting," she said, staring at me with a predator's gaze. "You're easily twice as fast as the first time." I quickly glanced around at my surroundings. I had already maneuvered us far from Satsuki, who still appeared to be struggling with unseen bonds. I then felt a heavy thud hit my chest.

At least I was flying even farther from Satsuki, and I knew Arcueid would opt to deal with me first, as I was far more of a threat than an unmoving target.

I managed to shift my body weight while in the air, and kicked off the wall when I hit it. I jumped through a doorway to another large chamber. There was plenty of room here for me to dodge and attempt to defeat the obviously powerful Arcueid. Also, Satsuki would be safe as long as she couldn't move. If I could just defeat this mysterious woman, all would be well. I removed my glasses and tossed them in a corner as Arcueid walked through the doorway.

I started examining her carefully. Perhaps I wasn't close enough? There wasn't a 'line' or 'point' to be found on her body. I began walking forward.

But then again, I clearly saw a network of 'lines' and 'points' running across the wall right behind her. Which simply meant there was not a 'line' or 'point' to be found on her, anywhere.

Thus far, I had managed to stay fairly calm and collected throughout the entire fight. But I was beginning to feel seriously unsettled, now. Arcueid saw me lower my guard, and I flew into the wall behind me.

'Concentrate!' the voice berated me. 'She seems invincible now, but a chance must present itself eventually.' I subconsciously jumped aside as another attack came. I found myself wondering why the attacks were coming so slowly, at least compared to how quickly this strange woman could move. I carefully followed her with my eyes, and found myself increasingly able to avoid her assaults.

Then it hit me. I remembered her words. "I'll have to be careful when I kill you." She was constantly on guard, which hindered her ability to attack me at full force. That was why even though she had struck me several times, none of the blows were enough to cause me any real damage.

This simply meant that I must continue avoiding her, while also carefully watching her. I had to keep my guard up as well, and wait for some sort of opportunity, just as the voice had suggested. The fact that there appeared to be no 'death' on Arcueid's body still bothered me, but my only option for now was to bide my time. I put aside my worries, and prepared for a long, grueling battle.

And a long, grueling battle it was proving to be; so much so that I was reaching my limit. I was utterly exhausted, but I had to continue dodging. I had no idea how many hours I had been bouncing around this room, narrowly avoiding each and every strike. Arcueid had sped up her movements several times, almost as if she was simply playing with me. She had also left more than one mark of her powerful strikes around the chamber, testament to the pain I would incur if I began failing to avoid her.

I'd gotten much quicker myself, but I still felt that if I were to enter into close-quarter combat with this woman, she could end my life so quickly I would be unable to even think about it. Though she wasn't doing so because she was so damn busy fucking with me.

I shook my head to clear it of these dark thoughts, and paid for it by taking my first hit in quite a while. I hit the wall again, and narrowly jumped out of the way as she came after me again. I knew I had to protect Satsuki, and I might miss my chance to end this if I didn't watch Arcueid carefully. I forced myself past my limits, and continued dodging, ever awaiting my chance.

I had long since lost track of time. Time seemed to stretch on indefinitely; in other words, it seemed as if my whole life had been consumed by this one battle. As the battle drug on, I forgot everything else; I forgot that I had ever had another life. I kept a close eye on her, she kept a close eye on me; we both bided our time, waiting for the other's weaknesses to present themselves.

Or rather, I waited for weakness to appear in an invincible form, while Arcueid only hesitated because she hadn't seen my strengths.

Finally, Arcueid stopped moving. I was confused, but also grateful for the rest from our constant dance of attack and avoid. I was still a bit discomfited, however; especially when I noticed the fact that although I was breathing heavily, she still seemed just as she had when the fight began.

"The sun is coming up now, you know." I resisted the urge to look down at my watch, opting instead to keep my eyes focused solely on the opponent before me. "When it rises, we'll both be weakened." She smiled. "I'm going to finish you off now, while I'm still at full strength." I saw her hands extend into claws. I slipped my hands into my outer coat pockets as I carefully pushed my feelings of fatigue to the corner of my mind.

She was finally going to come for a finishing blow. If I was going to have a chance, it would be the instant she attempted the kill. I readied myself, and kept my eyes riveted on Arcueid's body as she flashed forward again.

I dodged easily. Compared to her speed only minutes before, she was moving slowly. She was probably attempting to lure me into lowering my own guard. I dodged a few more swipes of her claws. With my hands still in my coat pockets, I continued deftly dodging; carefully retreating backwards while keeping my eyes on Arcueid's every movement.

All too soon, I felt my back hit a wall. Arcueid's eyes flashed, and her body suddenly moved far faster than I had ever seen it move before. But I hadn't missed it.

She had lowered her guard.

'Kill!!' Without a single instant of hesitation, I surrendered my body to the voice. My left hand flew out of my coat pocket, and maneuvered itself in between my head and the claw Arcueid had aimed at my face. The claw pierced my hand, but it was far better than my face being shredded, as Arcueid had intended.

Wasting no time, I moved that hand to the left, clearing the way so I could step in and strike. My other hand flashed out of its pocket, and in that instant, I saw something unbelievable.

What I saw was a single 'point,' located on the mysterious Arcueid's chest. My hand rocketed towards that 'point.'

Arcueid stepped back just far enough to avoid my claw by a hair's width.

However, the knife I was holding proved to have just enough reach.

From the moment I had felt my back hit the wall, until the moment I finally hit Arcueid's 'point,' barely a second had passed.

As I saw a network of 'lines' and 'points' explode from the single 'point' I had struck, I quickly wrenched complete control of my body back again and made another step forward. Even if it meant completely accepting the murderous, vampiric side of me, I refused to be controlled by this voice, which would undoubtedly force me to kill Satsuki, as well.

Just as the 'lines' representing Arcueid's impending death began writhing around her head, I sunk my fangs into her neck. At the same time, I felt her claws sink into my belly. I began drinking her blood.

Simultaneously, I felt an explosion of pain from both my head and my gut.

The pain, not unlike from when Satsuki had made me a vampire, was so intense my world went black.

"Shiki-sama. Won't you wake up now, Shiki-sama?" I heard a young girl's voice.

"Ngh…" I groaned lightly with grogginess. I told you not to call me that, Hisui. I slowly opened my eyes.

It took my vision several seconds to adjust to the light of the sun streaming in through my window. Once it had, I donned my glasses and gazed up at Hisui's expressionless face. I sat up. "Good morning, Hisui," I greeted her.

She bowed slightly to me. "Good morning." She was always so polite. "I've laid your clothes out for you, Shiki-sama. Please change now and join Akiha-sama down in the sitting room." I nodded once to indicate my assent. "Then, if you'll excuse me." Hisui bowed once more, and politely backed out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her. After she had left, I got out of my bed and changed into the fresh clothes Hisui had left. I exited my room.

I stopped for a bit to inspect myself in a mirror hung on the hallway wall. I felt satisfied as I gazed into my dark eyes. I was no longer even consciously willing it, but there wasn't a hint of red showing through my irises.

I continued on down the hallway. I tapped down the stairs and through the lobby, heading for the sitting room. When I got there, there was already a cup of tea conveniently placed on the table in front of my seat. "Would you like a Japanese style or Western style breakfast today, Shiki-san?" Kohaku-san kindly asked me as I sat down.

"Japanese, please." I answered the same as I always did, and Kohaku bowed slightly once and walked into the kitchen.

"It wouldn't hurt to vary your taste once in a while, Nii-san," Akiha said from her seat across the table. "Kohaku makes some excellent Western dishes, as well." She carefully sipped her tea.

"I guess I'm just too Japanese at heart, Akiha," I answered her. "Besides, I do vary my taste from time to time."

"Oh?" Akiha said, looking up at me with a sarcastic glare. "Like the time you went missing without explanation for several days? I shudder to think what you must have eaten then, seeing as you barely even had any money on you." While she continued glaring scathingly at me, she took another sip of her tea.

Rather than answering, I simply followed her lead and took a sip of my own tea. To be truthful, I myself shuddered to think about what I had consumed those few days. I never wanted to go through that again. Killing people and drinking their blood… it was all simply too horrible. I had been forced to do it to survive, but I was far from proud of it. I was just glad that it was all over now, and I would never have to kill anyone ever again. Not since my final victim.

After that battle in the factory, I had blacked out. But even when I was unconscious, my body had moved involuntarily, drinking up all of the mysterious Arcueid's blood. I knew this, because when I had awoken, there was nothing left.

During the fight, it had been painfully obvious that Arcueid had been extremely powerful. I still don't know what sort of creature she was, but after drinking her blood, I found that I was the one who had become extremely powerful in her place. Not only had all my wounds healed by the time I had awoken, but I also had found myself able to walk around in the daytime sun.

And, most importantly in my mind, I no longer seemed to require blood. There was still something of a primal urge to drink blood as a vampire, but it was easily controlled, especially when I had the power of the voice within me backing me up. I still needed to consume something to survive, but normal food had once again become sufficient. I was also able to suppress the color of my eyes, willing them back to their original hue.

All of these things combined were able to produce a single, very important effect; even though I was still technically a vampire, I was able to return to my life as a normal human being. I was able to be with everyone I had never dreamed of seeing again; that is, everyone save one person.

Ciel-senpai. I had already asked all around the school, but nobody seemed to remember her. I had even pored over the school records of the time when she should have been enrolled, but there was no information pertaining to her anywhere. Even Arihiko, who had talked with her and about her at every opportunity, had no memory of her.

It seemed that Ciel-senpai only lived on in my own memory. She certainly no longer lived on in a physical form, seeing as how I had ended her life personally. I sighed to myself.

"Shiki-san!" I heard Kohaku-san's voice from the kitchen. "Breakfast is ready!" I broke myself from my reverie and stood up. Doing my best to ignore Akiha's annoyed gaze, I walked briskly into the dining room to enjoy my meal.

As I walked in and sat down, Kohaku-san expertly set my meal in front of me. The meal consisted of green tea, grilled fish, a bowl of rice, miso soup, and a few assorted vegetables. I carefully partook of each dish, and after I had sampled each one, I looked up to the attentive Kohaku. "Delicious, as always," I told her. She smiled widely. "If you require anything more, simply call for me," she said happily. "I'll be tidying up in the kitchen." I nodded and smiled at her, and she then gracefully swept out of the dining room. I took my time enjoying my breakfast.

After I had finished eating, I still had a bit of time before I had to be off to school. I thought for a few moments about rejoining the displeased Akiha in the sitting room.

Every once in a while, it didn't hurt to go to school a bit early.

"I'm leaving!" I yelled behind me as I walked into the lobby. I turned to see Hisui standing right in front of me.

She bowed. "Allow me to get your bag for you, Shiki-sama."

"Wait, Hisui, you don't have to…" My request fell on deaf ears, however, as Hisui was already halfway up the stairs.

After a bit, she came back down, carrying my school bag. "Thank you, Hisui," I told her as I began walking out the door. Hisui, naturally, insisted on walking me to the gate.

She told me it was her duty, but I always felt like such a bother to her.

When we reached the gate, Hisui bowed deeply to me. "Have a good day at school, Shiki-sama," she said politely.

"Thanks, Hisui," I told her as I inclined my head. "I'll see you after school." She nodded, and I turned my back and began walking down the familiar streets.

After I had walked for several minutes, I heard a feminine voice behind me. "Shiki!" I turned and saw a young girl with brown hair running to catch up with me. She was holding a school bag not unlike my own, and was also clothed in the female version of our school's uniform.

"Satsuki-san!" I called as I waved to her. She stopped in front of me and crossed her arms with a reproachful glare. I sighed and shook my head. "Sorry, Satsuki." She hated it whenever I called her by anything other than only her first name.

She smiled at me again, and walked up and gave me a light kiss. We then started walking side by side on our way to school.

"Any luck with your eyes today?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "It's getting easier, but I still have to really concentrate on it. So, I have the contacts in again today."

I was referring to her eye color. As she was also still a vampire, her eyes remained a blood-red. She was practicing suppressing that color and returning her eyes to their natural brown, but it was much more difficult for her than it had been for me. So for now, we had acquired colored contact lenses for her. They had no magnification, but they created the illusion that Satsuki's eyes were still the same as they had always been.

As for her other vampiric qualities, she had not been quite as fortunate as I had. Satsuki still possessed a powerful bloodlust.

So I had decided that the only blood Satsuki would drink would be mine. She had been against this plan at first, but after I had explained to her the power I felt surging through my veins, I had been able to convince her to reconsider.

And all in all, it had worked out well. My blood was quite potent, so Satsuki was able to mostly lead a normal life again, with the exception that every few days she needed to drink some more of my blood. Drinking my blood also allowed her to walk around out in the sun again; although she was still more sensitive to the sun than most, and prolonged exposure seemed to cause her some degree of pain.

But even though she had faced, and was still facing, much greater hardships than I had, she never let it get her down. When I had expressed my concern on the issue, she had simply told me, "I'm happier now than I have ever been. Because I'm together with you, Shiki." She had then smiled widely at me, with an expression that told me everything would be all right.

"Shiki." Satsuki's voice broke me from my thoughts. By this time we were nearing the school, and groups of students dressed in the school uniform were becoming more frequent. "It's boring walking all this way without saying anything," Satsuki complained.

"Oh?" I quirked my brow. "What did you wanna talk about?"

Satsuki stopped walking. "Well…" she said quietly.

"What is it?" I asked curiously. She motioned for me to lean in more closely, which I did.

When our faces were only a few inches apart, she leaned forward and planted her lips on mine, mischievously slipping her tongue into my mouth. I was surprised, but not totally displeased.

"Hey, you two!" I heard a brash, male voice from several meters behind us. "Stop making out so early in the morning, I'm getting jealous!" We broke our kiss and turned to face our friend, Inui Arihiko. Satsuki hadn't been comfortable around Arihiko at first, but ever since we had come back after being gone for those few days, she had been able to deal with him much more easily than before. I attributed this to the fact that Satsuki seemed much surer of herself these days.

"So, what's a chronically-late night-owl like yourself doing coming to school this early, Arihiko?" I asked him.

"Well, you know, that murderer might still be out there." I suddenly regretted asking a question I had really already known the answer to.

"But there hasn't been a murder for a while," I told him. I felt uncomfortable, and I was starting to break out in a sweat.

"Yeah, I hear ya," Arihiko responded, scratching his head. "I'm starting to think, the hell with it; the murders have stopped, case unsolved. That's good enough for me." He smiled.

"Uh, yeah." I could do naught but agree with him. Luckily, it seemed as if the police were also beginning to agree with him. The 'vampire murders' of our city had ended, and they were already fading away from people's memories as an unsolved mystery. Fortunately for Satsuki and me, none of the murders had been linked to us or anyone connected to us.

It seemed our secret was safe.

"But enough of that drab talk!" Arihiko said loudly as he slapped me on the back. "It'd be embarrassing to be late after I woke up so early, so let's get to class, already!" He looked over at me expectantly.

I looked over to Satsuki, who nodded once and smiled. "All right," I said, also smiling. "Let's go!" I then walked the rest of the way to school, accompanied by my closest friends. At that moment, I felt happier than I ever had before.

And I knew that as I walked into my future with my beloved Satsuki, there would be nothing but happiness in the coming years, as well.

'Teach me, Ciel-Sensei!'

"Well, Tohno-kun. I'm glad that you get to live happily ever after, but I'm also a bit distressed at some of the things you did this time around."

"You're just mad you didn't put up a very good fight, fatty-Ciel," Neco-Arc taunted.

Whack!! "Ow! No violence, Ciel-Sensei!"

"I don't need any pity from someone who still only died anyway," Ciel-Sensei asserted. "At least Tohno-kun is still thinking kindly of me. Anyway! Congratulations, Tohno-kun, on reaching Satsuki-san's Good Ending! If you haven't already done so, please also read 'A Night in the Park.' That will be the True End! If you'd like, let's meet again sometime! Goodbye for now, Tohno-kun!"