Those eyes. My eyes.

Those are the demon eyes of the Risen.

I am a demon child. The world loathes my existence, yet I continue to exist. To put it in the simplest form possible, my parents are both Shiki, humans who have been bitten by other Shiki that died. However, Shiki don't remain dead. They awaken, or rise, as the humans say, with one condition. They need to ingest human blood as nourishment. Food that normal humans eat no longer satisfy their hunger. You could go as far as to say they hate it, even. It only makes them sick, and reminds them of the final days before their lives humans came to an end and their lives as Shiki began.

"Mammon!"

I am named after one of the seven princes of Hell. The prince of avarice. Rightfully so, I suppose. In order for me to live, I must take the life away from somebody else. I greedily suck the life out of their veins and into my cold, already dead body.

"Coming, Mother!"

I ran to my mother. My mother looks like she is younger than I am. She transformed into a Shiki shortly before her 14th birthday, so her body never ages, but in reality, she is over a hundred years old.

"Yes, Mother?"

"Mammon, night is about to fall. Don't forget to feed yourself tonight, okay? You forgot last night, and I wouldn't want you to get sick," my mother said softly. Her voice was still that of a child's.

"Sunako," my father interrupted, "She is a Werewolf after all. She could feed at any time of day, unlike the two of us."

"Yes, but it's safer at night."

"I suppose you're right."

My mother's full name is Sunako Kirishiki. My father's full name is Seishin Muroi. They were never married, but they fell in love after they were both Shiki. Out of fear, they never go into town, so getting married there was out of the question. My parents get their blood from me, as I am a special type of Risen.

I am not a Shiki like my parents are. The minute I was born, I was what my mother called a Werewolf. It's funny. Because my parents were both Risen, they passed that onto me, so I've never had the chance to "live" like most Risen have. I can't imagine what it's like.

Anyway, I digress.

"Well guys, I'm going to town. I'm going to pick up a few things in town for the house while I'm out. Is that okay?"

"Yes, Dear," my father replied.

"Okay then. I'm off!"

I walked out of the house and closed the door. My father built our house on the outskirts of an old, abandoned town called Sotoba before I was born. Because he's a Shiki, he couldn't go out in the daylight without being severely burned. He had to steal the boards from a home improvement store at nighttime. He once told me that even if he was able to go out into daylight, he would be killed anyway. Those in town despised him. I never asked why, because something about his face when he said that told me not to ask anymore. It was something he didn't want to talk about, so I never questioned it.

Despite my mother and father not being able to come to town, I still found a place for myself there. I didn't go to school there as my mother and father feared that I may lose control and suck the blood from one of my classmates, but I visited many places in town. I've made friends with some of the kids in town against my parent's wishes.

"Good evening, Mammon!" Mr. Inoue called out to me as I passed his house. He lived outside of town, but he still lived closer to town than we did.

"Good evening, Mr. Inoue! Coming home from work, I presume?"

"That's right. Man, am I tired."
"Please tell your wife and daughter that I said hello for me!"

"I'm sure they'd be delighted to hear that."

"I have to go now. I'll visit Nanami-chan tomorrow, okay? Bye!"

Nanami Inoue was one of my closer friends. It didn't take as much effort to get to her house and back, so I hung out with her a lot.

Whenever I walk into town, my first stop is always a convenience store. I usually buy small gifts, teddy bears, candy, cards, for those in the local hospital. I have to have a reason to go there, after all. After I buy those, I head to the hospital and as for Miss Ritsuko. I don't know her last name, but she appreciates my gifts to the patients and lets me drop them off any time.

My sucking blood is a necessity for me and my parents. If I didn't, we would all die. At the hospital, I usually try to take the blood of the suffering. The terminal. The suffering. Those in vegetative states. That way it's not as hard. I know I am still killing those that have a chance of living. I know in my heart that I am not doing something that is considered morally correct or good for the human population as a whole, but I'm trying my best to meet them halfway.

Honestly, it's much easier to just not think about it at all.

I finished what I came to do. I pressed one of the patient's buttons, knowing the nurses would come running in. Then I go behind the nurses desk and into the back room where they occasionally store blood for patients who need them. They only bring them up whenever the patient requires it, and when they do bring it up, they usually use it right away, so I only get to snag a bag when I'm lucky.

Looks like I can grab a bag today! How lucky!

I stuffed it in my jacket and walked out of the hospital. I was so full from that last feeding, but I have to stuff myself everyday, for my parents' sake.

I decided not to do some shopping in town after all. I managed to get a bag of blood, and I didn't want to push my luck by taking it all over town.

I ran to the front door of my house, very happy with myself.

"Papa, I got you a bag of blood!"

Neither my mother nor my father liked stealing the blood from living humans, so whenever I could get a bag from the hospital, it was a happy day for all.

"Thank you very much, Mammon," my father said after giving my forehead a 'welcome home' kiss. He (quite literally) dug his teeth into the bag and sucked out the blood.

I walked into my mother's room. She was wide awake, unlike she was when I left the house. Both of my parent are like owls. Something about being a Shiki makes you fall into a deep sleep during the daytime, so they're much more awake once the moon rises.

"Sorry, Mama. You have to get your blood from me again today," I told her as I approached her on the couch. I pulled up my sleeve so my arm was exposed. My arm was covered in scars and bite marks. I didn't mind being the blood source for my parents. It only hurt as much as getting your blood drawn from the doctor's office, or so I'm told by my father. It doesn't affect me at all as long as I have plenty of blood in my system. That's why I must always stuff myself until I feel like I'm going to burst. I'm already one of the Risen, so it's not like it will kill me. All that matters is that my body is satisfied.

All that matters is that my family exists.