Setting: random world, take your pick. Characters: Fai & Kurogane. Time: soon after Fai was turned into a vampire.
Just so you know, I don't really know all about what happens to Fai when he's a vampire. I haven't gotten very far in the manga and the anime wasn't too clear for me (or maybe I just missed it) but I have the thirst being somewhat resembling that of Vampire Knight (Zero ftw! lol) so… Again, don't know for sure if it fits in Tsubasa. And I put a little thing about how his nails kinda turn into claws if he's under stress. I can't remember if that was actually in Tsubasa (probably not) or if it was one of the many other vampire things I've watched recently. They're all jumbling together now. Just wanted to clarify that quickly.
Lastly, Fai's tears of blood are just theoretical. Happy reading!
Fai drifted easily between sleep and consciousness. He just couldn't relax long enough to make it into the REM cycle of sleep. It was because he could taste it. The thirst. This was the only part of being a vampire he hated. He could handle relying on Kurogane for life. He could handle the freakish claws that sprung from his fingers when he was angry or stressed. He could handle the yellow eyes and the reduced aging. He could even handle the heightened senses and reflexes.
But that taste.
The blood.
He wanted to say that it tasted disgusting. He wanted to say that surviving off of someone else's blood was repulsing.
But the truth was it was the most delicious thing Fai had tasted in his life. It seemed like each time he drank, it tasted more and more succulent and mouthwatering. The anticipation of the next drink only fueled the thirst more. That was why he hated it. He hated craving something as precious as someone's blood. Blood was vital to life and people only had so much of it in their bodies.
He knew it must have disgusted Kurogane to have to be the one to give him blood, especially when a sudden attack on their group followed soon after; Kurogane would be drained and lightheaded, making it extremely difficult to focus in a fight.
Kurogane didn't like Fai helping in the fights unless he was absolutely needed. Fai had no idea why. Kurogane used to complain about him not helping at all when he had magic at his disposal. Maybe he didn't want to bring it up, however indirectly it may be.
Fai felt a little pang as the thirst increased and decided he needed some fresh air. As quietly as he could, he got out of his sleeping bag and headed to the door. He looked at Syaoran and Sakura. Their sleeping bags were practically overlapping and Syaoran held Sakura's hand, their foreheads touching lightly. He really was exactly like the clone Syaoran used to be. But that made sense.
He came to Kurogane next. He was sitting against the wall, head bowed in sleep. Fai just watched him for a while, wondering what he was dreaming. The one thing that puzzled Fai the most was why Kurogane had been so willing to change him; to save him. Any sane person would have looked at Fai in his position and given up, collapsing in tears if they really cared about him. But Kurogane had gotten angry and thought quickly when it was important to Fai's life. He'd almost sounded (Fai never opened his eyes through the whole time leading up to his damned salvation) desperate….
Fai continued out onto the front porch of the little abandoned cottage they'd been lucky enough to land in so that he could relieve some of his stress without chancing the others seeing him. He was surrounded by trees. He could hear a stream nearby, though with his newly heightened senses, it could be farther away. He could smell it too, and the animals that lived in the surrounding woods. It was interesting, being able to detect these things. He could smell the individual trees. He stopped at one, looking at its little white flowers. It smelled really sweet, almost like honey. He liked that smell and focused on it to try and calm his thirst.
It was really getting annoying by now.
Fai leaned his forehead against a post in the railing, fighting the urge to whimper like a kicked puppy (or kitty?). He hated to have to wake Kurogane in the middle of the night. He hated having to go to him at all.
He hated it.
I will not go to Kurogane tonight, Fai told himself. I will not. It hasn't been long enough. I can go longer.
It seemed the more he willed his thirst to subside, the more it began to drown him—devour him. It hit him so hard he lost consciousness for five seconds. His vision was blurry when he came to and it made him sway.
He quickly yanked the bandana from his face and pushed his hair out of his face. It was getting hot. He knew in his heart that it was the thirst and that he should do something about it as quickly as possible. But he didn't. He clawed angrily at his throat through his neck. He could feel his nails dully scraping his skin. He'd have to explain the red scratches in the morning.
"Ah!" he gasped in pain. Now he'd have to explain the gashes along his neck. His claws had emerged and cut through his skin. He didn't stop his scratching, finding some sort of masochistic relief in the pain and dripping blood.
He sniffed rather loudly and surrendered under the pressure of the oncoming flood of tears. It was rather odd. His empty eye socket still wept. He could feel it dripping down the left side of his face, almost sticky as it bled out his sorrows.
Fai suffered in solitude.
Or so he thought.