Shizuo groaned when his eyes opened. What had happened? Where was he? His head was throbbing and… and he didn't feel the blood rushing through his veins. Immediately, he sat up, his eyes wide as he looked around. This wasn't the church. This wasn't even the city. It was like… a civilization in a cave.
His hand went to his neck, feeling it. And less then a minute later, he stopped. His fingers had run over two parallel bumps. Bumps like a bite mark… Had his blood been moving, it would have turned cold. But seeing as he didn't, his eyes just widened. Was he…?
Shizuo opened his mouth, and brought his hand to it. When he felt his two front teeth, he stiffened. He was… He was a vampire. A creature of the night. He was one of the very beings he had hunted and killed to keep his friends and family safe. Now… if he wanted to survive… he had to kill.
The blond man… the blond monster shivered at the thought, before pulling his legs up to his chest, and wrapping his arms around them. To survive… to eat… He had to kill others and drain them of their blood. He couldn't do that. Not to anyone. Not even the god damned flea. He didn't want to be a murderer. Not even for his own survival.
Shizuo shivered. His throat hurt. A lot. It was dry. Would water help? No… vampires only fed on the blood of humans, right? He shook his head. He'd starve. Because there was zero chance he'd feed off another.
"I brought you something. Or rather, I gathered it before hand. Shizuo's eyes flickered up, and he saw Celty. She set down a bucket. Inhaling, Shizuo identified a scent. Blood. Somewhat fresh blood. Not even two days old. For just a moment, his eyes flicked down to it, glowing red with hunger. However, the moment passed, and his eyes returned to the regular dull red of a vampire.
"I don't want it." He did though. On the very most basic level of his being, he craved it. Needed it. This was show by how, no matter how much he resisted, his eyes glanced toward the bucket and flashed from the dull red to the bright glowing red. He could feel his fangs pulsate, telling him to sip the blood up and sate the thirst that burned his throat since he woke.
"Yes you do. Upon first waking, you need to consume blood before three days is up, else…" She trailed off. "I didn't spare your life just so you could starve yourself. Or are you one who refuses to feed unless it's fresh? In which case, tonight we'll go out feeding. I'll save this blood for in case you change your mind."
"…" If she went with him… surely he would have to kill… She'd make sure of it. "…I want to go alone." It sickened him, but he had to play along. Like he would become a murderer. Because he wasn't going to just forsaken his friends, family, and neighbors.
Celty flashed her teeth in a smile. "Of course. I see you're one who wants to learn the limits of your ability. Just be careful. Monster hunters, priests, saints and no one else has learned to kill us without waiting for the sun or just warding us away."
Shizuo's eyes flashed up to the woman. "There's a way to kill us?"
She waved her hand as she picked up the bucket, no doubt to store it for another in case of emergency. "Yes yes. There is. I'll tell you so that you accidently kill yourself while out feeding. Be careful of wood with points. Tree branches, fences and… wooden stakes. If it pierces your heart… instantly dust." She glanced down, seemingly saddened. "It was sad how many died before we figured that out." Now her eyes flashed to Shizuo. "Don't go telling anyone. And we cannot stab ourselves on purpose. Now… there's something else about blood you should know. While generally, we're supposed to have a full human of blood every two days, we can survive longer without."
She paused, making sure Shizuo was paying attention. "Six days, without, we start to feel ill. Twelve days without, we're dead. In the most dire circumstances, we can survive with just a mouthful of blood every two weeks." Shizuo wanted to yell out, then why don't you do that instead of murdering? But he refrained. Imagine eating, and only being allowed to eat one bite a day. He supposed that that's what it'd be like.
"However…" Her eyes flashed to Shizuo, and didn't move from his face. "It's different for newly awakened, such as you. That burning in your throat is what you'd experience at six days, yet it hasn't even been an hour. That means you must feed either tonight or tomorrow night. If you don't well…" She trailed off for a moment. "But. It doesn't have to be much. In face, if you needed to, you could such blood from a dead body. It'd be cold and stale, but it'd suffice."
"Do you understand all this, Shizuo Heiwajima?"
He nodded. "Yeah… I need at least a mouthful of blood tonight or tomorrow night else I'll die." Though I'm already dead… I have no right to live when by all right I should be dead. "And stay away from points of wood. Though I can't pierce myself on purpose, there are always accidents." I'll carve myself one tonight, and if I run into a monster hunter or someone I know, I'll tell them how to kill me. I won't stay out in the light. Not tonight, but tomorrow I will.
Celty nodded. "Good. You understand. Now. Get some rest. Sunset is when we move." A bit sourly, Shizuo nodded. Yeah… though it'd be the same to just rest in wherever they are.
"Hey. How come you four are so gloomy? So Shizu-chan is gone. It's not like it doesn't' happen. If this were the first monster hunter lost to the monsters, then that'd be a real sad occasion. This is one of five for just this church, and night is approaching. There's no time for morning one who would not hesitate to kill his own brother now." Izaya pretty much sang this. After all, the beast was a real beast now, and it truly was funny, even if he wouldn't see him again. Oh well.
Kadota shot him a glare. "Maybe this is pointless to you, but Shizuo was our friend. We care for him and we're sad that his happened. We're upset, and yes. It is almost sunset, and yes, once the sun sets we'll be out to do our duty. But until then, we're going to pray that his death as a monster is swift and painless. Then we're hoping he still gets into the afterlife. While you don't believe in one, we do, and I know that Shizuo did… does too."
Izaya scowled. Pointless. Pointless pointless pointless. "Fine. Do that. I'll watch over the church and anyone who needs refuge as always. Perhaps you four have sins you'd like to tell me to lower your conscious? Too bad I didn't get to hear Shizu-chan's before he was turned fully into a monster instead of being a monster in a human's body."
Kadota slammed his hands down before standing. He whirled around to stare strait into Izaya's face. "Shizuo Heiwajima was never a monster in any regard. If you weren't a priest, Izaya, I'd slam your head into the wall. Not enough to kill, because I don't want to be exiled, but hard enough to make it hurt. Shizuo is our friend." His arm motioned towards the other three as well. "And I don't care if you hated him or not, but you cannot expect us to act as if nothing's wrong!"
Erika nodded as she stood. "Yeah IzaIza. Be more sympathetic. All you have to do is stay at the church. The monsters won't attack you. But we… We're out on the field. We're fighting the monsters. We're his friends, and if he stayed, it may very well be one of us who has to kill him. Imagine a second death, this time permanent, because of your friends. That would be horrible, and we know that we're doing it."
Now, Walker stood. "Maybe this won't be bad. If he's a wolf, we could have killed him last night and not even have known. But it points more towards him being a vampire. In which case, Shizuo will look like he did just yesterday when we saw him. It'll be like murdering someone you know without them have doing wrong. He'll need blood, and I doubt someone is willing to sacrifice themselves just so Shizuo can live."
The remaining member, Saburo, stood and walked towards the door of the church. "Come on guys. It's nearly dark. We have to get out and start watching our areas. Let's not dwell on Shizuo. I'm sure he has the common sense to get away from here, that way he at least won't feed on those he knows."