A Layman's Guide to Feeding a Vampire

AN: I've browsed the site enough to see plenty of vampire stories in this section, but I haven't read any of them. I'm just going to assume no one else has done it in this way. Vampires are an accepted part of society in this "universe".

It was a bit uncomfortable to come to school now, but once the original shock had worn off, the girls of Lillian seemed to adjust to Yumi's new…constitution pretty well. Unfortunately for her, they seemed to adjust too well.

"Yumi-sama! Are you hungry?" Three girls stood clutching their bags with hopeful expressions on their faces.

Yumi turned from the Virgin Mary statue and tried to hold a smile as she declined as gracefully as possible. Also unfortunate for her, every single high school girl looked like a lovely—very willing—snack now.

"A bunch of hussy sluts," Touko grumbled beside her.

"Touko-chan!" Yumi gasped, horrified.

"Oh, come on. They're basically propositioning to you. All three of them. In front of the Virgin Mary."

Yumi groaned, trying not to remember their faces and bodies and the smell of the blood that pumped beneath their skin. "You're not helping."

"I can help, if that's what you want."

"Can I call you a hussy slut?"

Touko held a sultry expression for about three seconds before she broke into laughter and buried her head in her bag to muffle herself. "Okay, no. But if you do need…a meal, just let me know."

"I appreciate it, but I don't actually have to, you know, drink from person." It was embarrassing to say.

"Is the bottled fake blood good?"

Yumi shrugged. "A necessary part of life."

Touko took her elbow and tugged gently. "Come on. We'll be late to the party."

They were actually quite early when they arrived at the Ogasawara mansion. Sachiko's mother took one look at Yumi's now glowing eyes and sighed. "That explains things," she said simply. "Welcome, girls. Sachiko is…in the workout room." All three of them reflected that those words sounded strange for several reasons.

Yumi and Touko exchanged shocked expressions as Sachiko's mother turned her back to lead them through the maze of hallways to where Sachiko apparently was. Where she definitely was, jogging on a treadmill, looking like she was going to pass out. Yumi had never even seen Sachiko break a sweat, and right now she was dripping and gasping for breath. She was also wearing shorts and a tank-top. Touko whispered, "Have we entered an alternate dimension or something?"

Sachiko saw them and slowed the treadmill. A servant stepped close and handed her a towel and a sludgy brown drink in a glass. Sachiko chugged it—chugged it with a grimace and then used the towel to wipe her face. She didn't look very cool or collected right then. She was covered in sweat and red in the face, clutching the treadmill's support bar, trying to catch her breath to talk.

"Hello, Yumi, Touko."

"Hi," Touko replied, as wide-eyed as Yumi was.

She pushed herself to standing and approached them. "I heard about what happened, Yumi. Are you okay?" In that moment, Sachiko looked like she wanted to hug Yumi, but she didn't. Yumi was glad for that, because Sachiko was looking more and more like deliciousness with her blood pumping so close to the surface of her skin—which smelled like sweat and affected Yumi in an inappropriate way as well.

They all stood for an uncomfortable moment, then Sachiko excused herself to take a shower. Touko shook her head, sending her curls bouncing across her shoulders. "Well, that was weird. I think that was weirder than you showing up to school last week as a vampire. How did that happen, by the way?"

"I went to give blood and I signed the wrong form."

Touko frowned, then smiled, then frowned again. Finally, she just sighed. "Only you, Onee-sama."

Touko and Yumi stood at the bus-stop together, trying to process what they'd just seen.

"Was that Onee-sama?"

"Yes, that was Sachiko-sama."

"Riding a bicycle."

"Yes, she was riding a bicycle."

"Hello, Yumi."

Yumi stood stock still, raising her hand in a wave. She turned on one heel and stared after Sachiko, who was running down the sidewalk like she belonged there. Sachiko was jogging. She was wearing shorts and a tank-top in public, jogging. What was the weirdest thing was…she looked like she was enjoying it.

Touko began to laugh. "Oh, my god. You know what she's doing don't you?"

Yumi still stared after Sachiko, watching her long pony-tail swing with each stride. "Worrying about her cardiac health?"

"No, Onee-sama." Which had an implied 'idiot' in there. "She's anemic and weak. So she's drinking disgusting shakes and exercising. So she can feed you."

"Oh boy." Yumi squeaked at the thought.

Touko snickered. "The look on your face right now. You sure you're not a perverted old man?"

Yumi knew she had a duty, but she wasn't sure how to go about it without embarrassing herself or Sachiko greatly. She needed to talk to Sachiko privately so she invited herself to Sachiko's home that evening. Sachiko met her in the foyer and wordlessly took her hand, and they wandered out onto a balcony overlooking a garden. Sachiko looked healthier; the frailness that always seemed to lend towards her quiet grace was gone. She'd gained a slight tan, and her body was defined by slender muscle, not bone.

"Onee-sama."

Sachiko touched her lips with a finger. "Sachiko," she corrected.

Yumi blushed, ducking her head. "Sachiko," she mumbled, almost too embarrassed to comply. It was so intimate. "Nothing has to change with me…this way."

"Of course it does."

Sachiko was making this hard to say. "What I meant was, you don't have an obligation to me. No one does. I don't have to…feed."

"But it's something you enjoy."

"I don't know," Yumi lied. She hungered enough to have easily said 'yes'. "I haven't…fed."

Sachiko's eyebrows went up. She was probably thinking about how many propositions Yumi got at Lillian. Then she looked satisfied, like the cat that got the canary. "Then wait for me. I may not be…strong enough for a few months. But I'm working hard every day."

"That's what I mean. You don't have to do this for me."

"I want to." Sachiko held her hands again. "Very much so."

Yumi was obligated. She had to say it. But it was so incredibly mortifying. "Feeding is sexual, S-Sachiko. That's what I mean."

Sachiko pursed her lips and let go of Yumi's hands. She turned around and held on to the balcony railing for a moment. "Then you don't want me."

Yumi squeaked. She couldn't help it. "Of course I want you!"

"Then I fail to see why you're rejecting me." Sachiko rolled her eyes—rolled her eyes at Yumi's flabbergasted expression. "Surely this isn't a new revelation. Yumi, I thought I'd been fairly clear. I plan to be close to you for the rest of our lives. Obviously there are some obstacles, but even if my family can't lean on the government to add a clause allowing same-sex marriages—"

Yumi's jaw was hanging open at this point.

"—then I can at least adopt you into the family until we can get married. The situation being as it is, I see no reason for us to wait to have sexual relations until we're married."

Yumi could just imagine Touko's voice in her head, This is what happens when you don't reply to Sachiko-sama's ambiguous questions. She goes off and decides things for both of you. "We're getting married?" she asked, blinking owlishly at Sachiko. We're going to have sex! her mind screamed. Sachiko looked a little put out. "Was that not obvious?"

"Your family is trying to get a law passed so we can get married?"

"Yes, of course. How else would we get married?"

The impatient expression on Sachiko's face was enough to make Yumi sigh and just give in. It wasn't like this wasn't everything she'd dreamed about. And if becoming a vampire was a catalyst for learning about her pleasant fate of being Sachiko's wife, well…what was the big deal?