Chapter Two: Dying For A Taste

Kaname sat on the worn, purple couch in the small front room of his small house, wearing nothing but a towel loosely wrapped around his waist. The vampire had been on Destiny Island for three days; now, on the fourth, it had decided to start raining hard. He was flipping through the channels on the TV when somebody knocked on the door.

"Come on in," he growled nonchalantly. The door opened wide as a girl struggled to get inside and close her umbrella.

"Hi, Kaname!" she managed to groan cheerily through all of this. Kairi finally closed the contraption, and then the door. Smiling at him, she hung her umbrella on the coat rack nailed to the back of the door, wearing nothing more than her KH2 attire. It was a little tighter now than it had been three years ago - particularly on her chest and her butt - but she didn't really mind. The brunette loved to show off her body, especially to hot guys.

In fact, she'd show a whole lot more of herself for Kaname.

But then she actually noticed his appearance, not really expressing any emotion about it on the outside.

"Just got out of a shower?" she asked, pointing at his wet hair.

"Yeah… and how about you?" he replied with a smirk. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"So what have you been doing?" she asked, dropping down beside him on the two-seat couch.

"What do you mean?"

"I haven't seen you outside anywhere since we met. I wanna know what you do," she explained brightly. Kaname sighed. 'That's still pretty vague…' he thought.

"I have a night job," he answered after a short, awkward moment. "I work at the Item Shop as a cashier and night security…"

Kairi took her gaze away from his marvelous, albeit slender to the point of anorexic, torso and began watching the TV. "I didn't know that was open yet… shouldn't you be sleeping right now so that you won't be tired later?"

Kaname smiled innocently. "What do you take me for, a… a vampire? Besides, the rain keeps me up." His smile faded as he remembered all the times he'd seen the rain, but wasn't allowed to go out and play in it. He 'was different,' he was always told. He 'wasn't like all those other nasty children.'

Kairi made a disgusted face when Twilight popped up on a channel. "Ew. I hate that series," she said scornfully.

"What?"

"Twilight, blegh. They books, the movies, the insanity, it's just revolting!" She drew in a deep breath. "They all suck! Why do people obsess over them?"

Kaname shook his head. "As if I understand humans…"

She looked at him funnily. "What do you mean, 'humans'?" she asked with confusion. "You are one!"

He looked down at his feet for a moment. "I don't understand people, then."

There was an odd silence as he continued to flip through the channels.

"Then… what about vampires?" he asked to break the tension so thick it couldn't be cut with a Keyblade.

"What about 'em?" she replied hesitantly.

"What are your thoughts about vampires? Do you think they're real? Do you like them?" he expanded, talking to her like he was talking to a very young child. She leaned away from him, staring at him with concerned eyes.

"They're okay… I guess…" she answered calmly, one eyebrow raised. "Why?"

He shook his head. "Just a curiosity…" He licked his fangs unhappily, wishing they weren't so long - even when they weren't elongated so he could feed. "So, why are you here, again?" he asked firmly. She flinched.

"Because I haven't seen you around recently… and I think you're… nice to see…" She blushed. He laughed quietly at her.

"I'm pretty, am I?" he translated. She blushed and stared ahead at the television.

"I bet you're dying to know… just what I taste like…" he said in a low, smooth voice, leaning in towards her during the second half of his seduction. She blushed harder and tried hard not to let herself get caught in his gaze, an eye-to-eye confrontation of her purple eyes locked in the everlasting gaze of his pinkish-red eyes.

"M-Mr. K-K-Kuran, what a-are you…"

"I know you want to know… ever since I first saw you, I've wanted it. I've wanted to know your taste…" He was so close to her he could've licked Kairi's lips… and probably further. 'Not a bad idea… she's not trying to fight me away, either…' he thought.

The brunette glanced up briefly, just for a second, and was immediately ensnared in his gaze. Those hypnotic, pink eyes compelled her to release her inhibitions, her human resistance of her animal instincts. As she closed her eyes and pushed her lips out to his, she blushed lightly from cheek to cheek. Just as they were so close they could feel the warmth radiating from each other's lips, there was a knock at the door.

Kaname's utter displeasure made itself known through a low-pitched growl. The pair of white pants he stole from Cross Academy that lay folded over on the chair-arm was snatched up. Kaname quickly slipped them on under the towel and let the damp cloth fall to the ground.

When he opened the door to the torrential rain outside, there was another youth. His brown hair was soaked, matted down his face, and drooping wetly down to the top of his chest. He, too, was shirtless, wearing only black shorts and those goofy, huge, clown-like shoes that seemed to be the staple of this island's fashion.

"Can I help you?" the vampire asked warily, one eyebrow raised.

"Sora!" Kairi cried out in disgusted shock. The brunette flipped his hair back over the right side of his head so he could see better.

"Kairi… I need - we need to talk." His breath was rotten with alcohol, making Kaname step back so as not to gag on the foul stench. Sora took this as an allowance to enter and began to do so.

"Stay away from me!" she screamed, jumping up from the couch and trying to get as far away from him as proportionate to him getting closer to her. "Creep!"

Kaname's arm shot out perpendicular to his body, barring the other boy from coming in. "Some nerve you have. I haven't allowed your entry here," he said softly.

"Outta the way, skimpy." Sora pushed Kaname's arm out of his way and again began to step forward. "That's MY girlfriend, and YOU have nothing to do with this, so BACK. OFF."

"You and I are nothing now! It's over! O-VER!" she screamed, crossing her hands before her neck and then uncrossing them like extending an X shape.

Kaname placed his right hand on the boy's chest and closed his eyes. With a single shove, he sent Sora stumbling backwards into a puddle of mud.

"That wasn't with even half of my full strength. You'd best leave," Kaname warned, eyes glowing. The rain made it dark enough so that it was almost night, and he had full dominion over all life now. Especially this dirty little human before him.

Sora jumped back up and held out a hand to Kaname like he was going to shake it. A giant key formed from a beam of light, and the younger boy took it in both hands.

"You've got nothing on me, pal. I'm the Keyblade master!" he roared, hair again covering his face. Kaname's hair was starting to matt together, but he just ignored it. Instead, he made a gesture similar to Sora's and summoned a death-scythe carved from the very bones of Lucifer himself.

"You're nothing," he said, standing the scythe on its end, "but a fool."

Sora lunged and thrust the Keyblade at Kaname, aiming for his stomach. The vampire only sidestepped and smacked Sora in the back of the head with the dulled side of the blade. Sora turned quickly and tried to slash horizontally, but Kaname blocked him. For a moment, the two were trapped in each other's guard, but Kaname knocked away Sora's weapon. The Keyblade landed in a puddle of mud about five feet away and splattered the two boys. Kaname, now furious, hit Sora on the chin with his fist and rammed the non-bladed end of the scythe into the Keyblade master's stomach. He first gushed out his breath in a semi-muffled "Hu-wooo" then doubled over, and finally fell flat on his face. Kaname's weapon faded into darkness and the vampire returned to his house.

Once inside, he shook his wet head, flinging water from his hair onto everything inside. His bare torso glistened with water that he dabbed at with the towel that was laying on the floor from earlier.

"I don't wanna know," he said to Kairi, knowing she was thinking he wanted to know. She hung her head and bit the bottom of her lip.

"I'm sorry about all that… he's Sora. My ex," she explained anyway, feeling guilty.

"Why sorry? If that makes you feel guilty or whatever, then I didn't do it for you." He briskly rubbed the towel over his head. "I just can't stand rude jerks like him." He looked back out the door, watching Sora limp away. Then he shut the door and turned down the lights so it was just a little darker in this room. Kairi, who had been sitting on the couch with her knees together, hands folded upon them, stood up and walked over to Kaname.

"Then… what about you?" she asked, gazing up into his eyes. Their bodies were about a foot away from each other, and she was slowly closing the distance.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you a jerk?"

"I wouldn't think so…"

Now there was about just an inch between them. She laid a hand upon his chest and looked up into his eyes, putting on an air of pitifully cute sadness. "Then… would you know how to treat me right?" Now their bodies were pressed together. He could feel her warmth, smell her scent… he could hear her blood as it passed through her veins. He brought his cold hand up and rest it on the back of her head as he cradled her back, looking into her eyes confidently as he drew closer to her. She closed her eyes and again stuck her lips out, this time connecting with his without interruption. After a second, her hands slowly slid up to conjoin on the back of his neck as his arms coiled around her waist and pressed her tightly against himself. They broke, gazed at each other, and kissed again, more slowly than the first time.

Kairi gasped just a little when he first entered her mouth, but moaned gently as they kissed. Indeed, it was killing her to know what he tasted like, and now she did know exactly what he tasted like. To her, he was the sweetest thing she'd ever tasted, sweeter than any fruit or candy she'd ever had. She felt awkwardly safe in his arms, like only death could rip her from his grasp, like nothing would ever be able to harm her again.

Nothing, that is, except for herself. Kairi hadn't told anyone, so nobody knew that she secretly cut herself. After being neglected by her boyfriend - the one man she thought would never hurt her - and the loss of her parents at about the same time Sora started to drink, and the sudden disappearance of Riku, she had feelings she couldn't convey to anybody through any means she tried. She couldn't write in a journal, she couldn't talk anything out with her friends - especially not Sora - and she couldn't just try to work out her stress through any physical means that weren't self-harmful. So, she cut herself. Every night or two she'd take a small kitchen knife, press it against the tender bottom-side of her wrist, and slash. The blood wouldn't just pour out, but instead gathered slowly like she'd only been scratched, and then trickled down her hand or up her arm. She usually held the wound in the sink under the coldest the water would get for a moment once it stopped bleeding, or if she cut too deeply and it bled excessively.

Even now, she was injured. She thought she discretely pulled her wristband back down without Kaname noticing but his lips twitched. She knew he noticed, without a doubt.

Kaname stepped half-a-step back and held her right arm up. He gently tugged the black-and-white-striped circlet off her arm completely and turned over her wrist, looking at the gashes concernedly.

"These aren't healing correctly," he said solemnly, tracing his finger along each one individually. "They're red and puffy. You haven't been treating them properly after you cut, have you?"

She tried to jerk her hand away but he held on tightly. The most she really did was just shake a little. He looked up into her face, her face full of shame, before he looked back down and kissed each one gently, like he was kissing a butterfly, or like he was a kissing butterfly. She closed her eyes and winced, but knew he wouldn't hurt her. She blushed again; this time it was a real blush, a sincere blush. He smiled and hugged her softly, much too loosely. She clutched his back and moved into him, and he responded by hugging her much more tightly until she sighed contentedly.

"Don't do that anymore," he whispered in her ear. "Don't make me worry about you doing… that." He shuddered a tiny bit and released her, then handed back to her the wristband. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

She nodded and gulped. "Yeah," she said, voice trying not to break up. This was a sentimental time for her, and finally, someone truly cared about her and her well-being. She could tell in the way Kaname smiled at her that her search for happiness and the end of her pain was over. The brunette waved goodbye to him as she went out the door, not bothering to open her umbrella. The rain had, more or less, stopped.

Kaname watched her go, fangs throbbing with hunger. "One more night…" he growled sinisterly. "One more night and you'll be mine."