I felt myself slipping away as I lay against a few stray crates, breathing ragged and sharp. My wounds weren't healing. I was beginning to even lose the hopes of seeing Yuu before I had to depart. But these days, I wonder if dying was the better choice.

After all, I wasn't even human anymore. There wasn't anything for me to live for other than to see Yuuichiro one last time, and I technically had done even that. As I lay here, dying, the raven-haired boy lay a few feet away from me, unconscious and oblivious. A part of me is glad that he wouldn't have to stick around and see me die, but the more selfish part of me is sorrowful.

My throat felt so... dry. I attempted to swallow to soothe the throbbing pain, but it just wouldn't do. The only thing that could quench my undying thirst, is human blood. That thought... that need... proved that I am truly no longer human.

I had spent so much time delving into my thoughts that I hadn't heard a soft voice calling my name. "Mikaela? Mikaela, is that really you?"

It was so timid and desperate, I almost hadn't heard him as him. But I could never forget the voice of my only family. I open my mouth to reply, then stop, hesitating. Did I really wish for Yuuichiro to see me becoming something he hates?

Without my consent, my own legs spring upwards and I feel myself pouncing on my pray. I unhinge my jaw hungrily. I was so thirsty.

Blood, blood, blood, blood, blood, blood.

The world is stained red as I eagerly touch my fangs to flesh. I was looking forward to no longer feeling that pang in my stomach. To no longer feeling parched. To no longer suffering. It was only when I realized that my victim has completely submitted himself to me that I stopped, realizing what I was doing. Tears spring in my eyes and I pull away.

"St-stay away from me!" I scream, self-loathing filling my every bone. "I don't want to hurt you!"

"Mika," Yuu murmurs, disregarding my warnings like they were raindrops rolling off an umbrella. "So it really is you..."

I back away clumsily, falling into a shelf and crashing to the ground with whatever abandoned things were on the shelf. Yuuichiro stubbornly makes his way over to me, pity blazing in his emerald eyes. "Is it really that bad for you, not drinking blood?" he asks plaintively.

I lower my gaze and say, "Yes. Oh, Yuu. It hurts so much..."

Yuuichiro slowly pulls his collared shirt down, exposing his thin collar bone and moving his neck the correct way. I feel my eyes widen as I shake my head vigorously.

"You don't understand, if I drink your blood I'll-"

"So?" Yuu demands stubbornly. "You're telling me you'd rather die than drink my blood? That's an insult." He tosses his head in a teasing matter, and I shake mine. He wasn't taking this seriously enough!

"I have something urgent to tell you-" I start again, hoping to spill my guts before I died. Yuu simply raised his hands to his ears and started shouting; "La la la la la, I can't hear you! I won't listen until you've drunk my blood!"

I grunt in frustration and stomp the ground. Yuuichiro forcefully takes my face into his hands, looks me dead in the eye, and says the following words that I will never forget. "How could someone who makes me want to live, so easily throw away his life? You should do whatever you can to survive, even if it means becoming a vampire for a while. If it gets to be too much for you, I'll just have to find a way to turn you back!"

"But what about-" I began to protest, but I knew it was useless from the start.

"As for me, I don't care what you become. You're still family."

The tears that had welled up in my eyes this entire time began to spill. It felt as if a weight has lifted right off my shoulders. I crash into Yuuichiro and sink my fangs into his soft neck. His thick blood fills my mouth and slides down my throat, quenching the thirst that has plagued me for four long years. The blood... of my family.

I pull away from him, feeling this tingling sensation in my body. I was changing and I hated it. I hated myself for surviving by letting go of the humanity I clung so desperately to.

"Welcome back, Mika."