Chapter 9: Bloody Fangs
" Kuran-sempai?"
It was 4 o'clock in the evening. Kaname was busy preparing for class when a timid voice can be heard from outside of his bedroom. He knew that voice well, it was none other than Hitomi's.
" Come in," he answered.
Hitomi pushed the door gently. She was wearing her uniform, her hair tied into as low ponytail. Her expression was blank and her usual bright smile was absent. That made Kaname wonder.
" Hitomi-san, what is it?" he asked.
" Kuran-sempai, I'm worried," she said as she entered the room.
" Of what?"
Hitomi held out her right hand. On it was a box of blood tablets.
" I can't seem to take these anymore," Hitomi's voice was shaking.
When he heard what she said, Kaname immediately turned full faced her. One of his eyebrows was arched upwards.
" What happen?" inquired Kaname.
Hitomi took a deep breath and began her story.
Flashback
Hitomi was found kneeling on the bathroom door. Her right hand was clutching a box of blood tablets. She groaned when she coughed out the tablet she tried to take. Her emerald eyes was scared and confused.
" Why can't I-" She couldn't finish her sentence when she coughed again. Sweat was trickling from her face. She was obviously in pain.
B-dump!
Hitomi groaned when she heard her heart beat, showing the signs of her vampire nature trying to awaken. It's the sign of her reacted bloodlust.
" No, I-I can't," she huffed. Her chest was aching.
B-dump!
A sound of the door banged can be heard.
" Hitomi-chan! Are you okay?" asked the worried voice of her chaperone.
Hitomi struggled to speak.
" I'm f-fine," she said weakly.
B-dump!
" You don't sound fine. I'm coming in," said Takuma.
Hitomi's eyes widened. "No, d-don't!," Her bloodlust was going haywire and the last thing she needed was the presence of her chaperone, whose blood she found alluring. Her emerald eyes slowly turned red.
B-dump! B-dump!
Takuma ignored her and pushed the door open. He was greeted by a horrific sight. There, kneeling on the floor, was Hitomi, whose eyes were bright scarlet. Her tattoo was reacting as well.
" Hitomi-chan!" cried Takuma.
At the sound of her senior's voice, Hitomi's head snapped up. Her eyes were focused on his neck, his blood tempted her. She slowly got up, her conscious nearly gone. She needed to feed, now.
" Hitomi-chan?" asked her chaperone when she approached him. When Hitomi was directly in front of him, she did the most shocking thing. With all her might, she pushed her chaperone to the wall and brought him down to her height.
Takuma's eyes were filled with confusion and anxiety when she lowered her mouth to his neck. His whole expression changed when he felt her tongue licking his neck.
" Oh no..." he whispered. His fears were confirmed when he felt her fangs grazed his neck. It was then he felt a sharp, sweet pain shot through his body at the same Hitomi felt a sudden bliss.
She had bitten him. Hard. Hitomi hungrily sucked his delicious, alluring blood. As she was feeding without restrain, Takuma felt his energy reducing quite steadily due to the heavy intake of his blood.
" Hitomi-chan, s-stop. You're taking to much," he struggled to speak while trying to push her away. Hitomi ignored him. Her vampire instinct had taken over completely. " S-stop," groaned Takuma weakly. He was really running out of energy.
" Hitomi! What are you doing?!" exclaimed a familiar voice.
Hitomi looked up and saw her sister's mortified face. Her violet eyes were shocked, frightened and confused. Hitomi realized what she was doing and immediately let go of her chaperone. " Ichijou-sempai..." she said, her voice shaking. Takuma's eyes were glazed due to lack of energy as he collapsed to the floor.
" Hitomi... did y-you just bite him?'' said Hitori, mortified. Her trembling hand was covering mouth, not believing what she had seen.
A monster, is what your sister is.... sneered Hitori's inner voice.
" Hitori-one-san... I-I-" Hitomi couldn't speak. Not after what she had done. Her scarlet eyes strayed to the unconscious Takuma, whose left side of the neck tainted with his blood as well as Hitomi's lips and hands.
What have I done? Hitomi was horrified by her actions. I-I've become a-a... MONSTER!!
Her older sister was backing away from her. Her violet eyes were filled with tears which were threatening to fall. Hitomi noticed and turned to her, her face rueful.
" One-san, I-" she tried to say.
" STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!" screamed Hitori. Hitomi became silent at her outburst.
" You... you're not my sister!! My sister would never let herself fall to the depth of becoming a Level E! She'll never let herself succumb to her crave for blood! Never!" Hitori screamed at her beloved sister. She couldn't bring herself to believe that she's her sister, not after her worst fear had come true. Hitomi's eyes had become their usual emerald green, but they were not bright, they were frightened.
" One-san..." started Hitomi, her voice scared.
" You're a monster!!!" yelled Hitori.
Those words hit Hitomi like a sharp knife pierced through her delicate heart. A monster...? One-san said I'm a- She couldn't even finish her thought. Tears were already trailing down her cheeks.
" Vampire! Don't think your tears will fool me into pitying you!" Those were the words that came out of Hitori's mouth before she fled from the scene, leaving Hitomi hurt.
Hitomi's knees suddenly became weak. She sat on the cold bathroom floor, crying her heart out.
End of flasback
" I see. That's what happen," said Kaname.
Hitomi nodded and looked down. It had been 5 hours since that incident and her beloved older sister was still avoiding her. Zero and Yuuki had learned what had happen and tried to help her to look for her sister, but she was nowhere to be seen. Her roommate said she never returned to her room.
She probably hates me... she thought sadly.
" I was wondering whose blood was it I smelt. So did the rest of the Night Class students," stated Kaname.
Hitomi didn't answer.
" How's Ichijou?" asked her senior.
" He's fine," replied Hitomi quietly. " He's resting. He's not awake yet, due to lack of blood. Of which I took," Hitomi's voice broke at the last word.
Kaname stared at the girl in front of her. Her whole body was trembling, her fingers was shaped into a fist. She was biting her lip as if restraining herself from breaking down.
She's strong, but that what makes her so fragile, thought Kaname. She really reminded him of his precious Yuuki. He strode over to the young girl before him and gently wrapped her arms around her. Hitomi's eyes widened at the sudden hug.
" It's going to be okay. Don't worry," he murmured against her silver hair.
" Kuran-sempai," Hitomi was speechless. In the end, all she could do was to cry with her face pressed on his chest.
Meanwhile...
Hitori silently walked through town. Bangs covered her eyes, her upper teeth biting her trembling lower lip. Her fists were shaking.
" That couldn't be Hitomi..." she muttered sadly.
A beast that takes form of a human... rang the voice of her inner self coldly.
" No. That couldn't be her..." Hitori protested weakly.
A monster, hungering for blood...
" No. No. No!" she protested yet again.
An animal... focusing only on fulfilling its lust...
" NO!" she shouted to herself. People around her began to stare at her as she ran passed them. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, her expression scared and in denial.
She continued to run aimlessly in town , longing to find a place where she could hide and cry to herself. Yes, she would just love that. " You're lying!!!!" she screamed to herself. She soon find herself in an alley, by herself. Good, she thought to herself. Now, I could be alone.
She slowed down to a walking pace as she began down the alley. It was then, she felt someone or something is following. She had been hearing footsteps coming from behind her. When she paused, they were gone. But when she started walking again, it began. Tap, tap, tap, tap it goes.
Hitori stared right ahead, determined to ignore them but as they got louder, she couldn't. At last, she spun around.
" Whoever or whatever you are, come out!!" she shouted. A few seconds of silence passed. Then, she heard a gleeful laugh.
" What a brave girl you are! I just loooove girls like that," the voice leered. Suddenly, a figure dove towards Hitori, its arms outstretch. Thanks to her fast reflex, she managed to dodge it. The figure rose to its full height. It was a man, wearing a slightly torn trench coat, his eyes red and fangs can be seen from his mouth which was twisted in an evil smile.
" Level E..." she told herself. The man charged towards her, his claws aiming to scratch her. She dodged and ducked every attack. When she tried to kick his hands away, the Level E dodged her and her leg ended up kicking the brick wall. Pain shot through Hitori. She winced as she found out that her leg was cut. Blood began to gush out.
" Ahh...the delicious smell of your blood, calling to be sucked on," said the man. Due to her injury, she couldn't move. " Your blood... is alluring," sneered the man again. Hitori froze. Hitomi must have thought the same thing, she thought.
" I will feed on every drop of blood that's running through your veins!!!" The Level E began to charge at Hitori. She was frozen in fear. The man was a few inches away from her when he suddenly screamed in pain.
His body seemed to be electrocuted by some kind of lightning. Hitori watched as he screamed in pain, so loud that Hitori's ears began to hurt. Finally, with one last scream, the man collapsed and turned into dust.
" Hitori-san, are you alright?" asked a familiar voice. Hitori looked up and saw Rima looking at her with Shiki beside her.
" D-did you just-" began Hitori, couldn't quite finish her sentence.
Rima nodded.
" Rima-san, y-you, Shiki-kun, h-how did you-"
" Dorm leader Kuran ordered us to hunt down the Level E that was supposed to be roaming around town," explained Shiki.
" We caught the smell of your blood and it led us here," added Rima, eyeing her wounded leg.
" My blood?" Hitori looked at her leg. She didn't realize it bled in the first place.
" What are you doing in such a lonely place like this?" asked Shiki in a cool tone.
Hitori looked down. The painful memories of her encounter with Hitomi came back. Her tears returned.
" Hitori-san? Why are you crying?" inquired Rima, her right eyebrow raised.
Hitori noticed that she was crying and quickly wiped her tears with her sleeve. She struggled to stand, having difficulty doing so due to her injury. Once she did, she faced them and gave them a small smile. A forced one.
" It's nothing, I'm fine. Uh, except for my leg of course," Hitori gave a weak laugh which sounded fake even to her.
" You're lying," said Shiki and Rima in unison. Hitori sighed. Of course they would notice. Anyone would. With her fairly obvious expression, her image seemed to be screaming " I"M NOT OKAY!" .
" What happen?" Rima asked.
" It's... a long and complicated story," she replied
Hitori, Shiki and Rima walked back to the academy together. Hitori spent her journey explaining what happened to the two noble vampires. She had to stop somewhere when she reached the painful part of her story.
" When I saw her like that... I just couldn't-" her voice broke. Rima put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
" You don't have to tell us more if you couldn't. Don't worry, Ichijou-san is fine. He's resting and I'm sure in a few days time, he'll be back to his normal self," assured Rima.
Shiki, who was quite the whole time, spoke.
" You should understand, how hard it is for us vampires, ex-humans especially, to control our thirst. It's painful for us if we don't relieve our thirst after some time. If we don't, we might die," said Shiki solemnly.
Hitori'e violet eyes widened in shock when she heard the word ' die ' . She turned full faced to her friend. " But don't you vampires have those tablets the academy provide to control your thirst?" she demanded.
" Those things taste like drain water," stated Rima.
" Besides, those things sometimes don't work with ex-human vampires like your sister," she pointed out again.
" What do you mean?" asked Hitori. Now, she's confused.
" Ex-human vampires, or Level D we might call them, have an unfortunate dilemma. They have to face the facts that after some time, their bodies will reject blood tablets. They will work at first, but soon they won't," explained Shiki.
" You're saying that my sister just can't accept the tablets anymore?" asked Hitori. Things began to make sense to her now.
" Hn," nodded Shiki. " That's why they have to resort to taking fresh blood to relieve their thirst, eventually becoming a Level E when they don't control themselves,"
" So that's what happen," muttered Hitori. And I said all those terrible things to her... I don't understand her pain at all, she thought guiltily. An image of her beloved sister's wounded expression flashed through her mind. She buried her face in her hands, not believing what she had done. I 'm the monster, not her. For going out at her like that.
Shiki looked at Rima knowingly. She nodded and faced Hitori, whose expression rueful.
" We better get back. It's nearly time for the Night Class to start," said Rima.
Hitori nodded and they made their way back to the academy. Once they did, she excused herself to go to the academy main building.
" I have to find my sister and apologize," she said to them.
" Well, if you want to do that, why don't you go to the Moon Dorm instead?" Shiki suggested.
" I thought Day Class students aren't allowed in there," said Hitori.
" Unless they have business there," pointed out Rima. " You have to get permission from the chairman and Dorm Leader Kuran first, though,"
Hitori growled under her breath. The thought of actually talking to that leech sickens her. Kaname and her aren't exactly the best of friends.
" Fine," she muttered.
Hitori ran all the way to the chairman's office. She didn't bother knocking as she pushed open the office door. Kaien was found reading some kind of comic, laughing to himself. He looked up when he heard her enter.
" Why, hello there, Hitori-chan. What can I do for you?" he smiled.
" I want to go to the Moon Dorm," stated Hitori.
" If you want to visit your sister, won't it be best if you do it around an hour ago? It's nearly time for the Night Class to start. Oh did I heard that you skip class for the whole day?" he replied.
" Yes, you did, chairman,"
" Why did you skip class? That wouldn't be good for your conduct, Hitori-chan,"
" I have reasons," muttered Hitori.
" Is it because of... the incident with your sister?" began the chairman slowly.
Hitori's eyes widened. She gasp to herself.
" H-how did you know?"
" Yuuki and Zero told me. Hitomi told them the whole incident," Kaien sighed.
Hitori looked down. She hadn't seen her sister for several hours. Mainly because she wanted to avoid her. Now that she had known the truth, she really wanted to see her sister.
" You should have seen her face, Hitori-chan. She looked like she just killed somebody," stated the chairman.
Hitomi's wounded face flashed across her mind. Hitori gritted her teeth. You're a monster! Her bitter words rang. Did she really say such hateful things?
" W-what did she say, chairman?"
" Well..."
Kaien remembered how Hitomi burst through the door, crying. Yuuki and Zero were behind her, their expression rueful. After telling him what happened, Hitomi begged him to help her find Hitori.
" I did the most awful thing ! You should have seen one-san's face!! You have to find her!! You have to!!," Hitomi cried.
Hitori became silent when she heard what the chairman said. The guilt inside of her began to increase steadily. She bit her lip as if restraining herself from crying.
" If you really want to go, you may," said the chairman, understanding her situation.
Hitori nodded and rushed out of the office, tears welling up.
Meanwhile...
Hitomi was in Takuma's room that evening. The rest of the noble vampires was with as well. They gathered around his bed, looking at his sleeping form.
" I hope he's alright," said Hitomi.
" He will be. With his jumpy attitude, he'll get over it soon enough," said Aidou. He was leaning at the foot of Takuma's bed, his expression bored.
" He's right," said Ruka.
Hitomi smiled weakly, not putting much effort in it. It had been an hour since she's been in Takuma's room and he still showed no sign of waking up.
" Thank you, everyone. For accompanying me. You may go if you like," she said to the present vampires.
" Are you sure?" asked Akatsuki.
" Yeah, I'll be fine," assured Hitomi.
The noble vampires nodded and they proceeded to leave the room. Hitomi shifted her gaze to her beloved senior. Takuma's wounds were healing much to her relief. She ran her hand absently across his blond hair.
" I'm so sorry, senpai," she said, looking down.
" Hitomi-chan?" a weak voice said.
Hitomi's head snapped up. There gazing at her was Takuma who had finally woken up. He had a small weak smile on his face.
" Ichijou-senpai!" cried Hitomi, hugely relieved. She wrapped her arms around him.
" Did I worry you? " asked Takuma.
" Yes," Hitomi admitted. " I thought you were never gonna wake up,"
Takuma chuckled.
" Vampires like me can handle injuries like mine no problem. You just took a lot of my blood, that's all," assured Takuma.
Hitomi was again reminded of the previous incident. Her eyes began to have a sad look in them. Regret as well.
" I'm sorry," she said in a small voice.
" Don't worry, it's only natural for you," Takuma was slowly getting up. He was now in a sitting position.
" I'm sorry, Hitomi-chan," he said at last.
" For what?" Hitomi asked, her voice confused.
" For worrying you,"
Hitomi smiled at her chaperone.
" I'm fine,"
Takuma slowly wrapped his arms around her, hugging her small frame. Hitomi loved the warmth of his body and found herself leaning in. After a moment, Takuma let go of her.
" Hitomi?"
A new voice entered the scene. It was a worried yet somewhat strained voice. The voice that Hitomi knew so well.
She turned around to find Hitori at the doorway, her face rueful and full of regret. She had no smile on her pale face.
" One-san!" Hitomi ran towards her older sister, giving her a big hug. Her tears returned. She cried without control against her sister.
" Where have you been?! I was so worried!! Were you avoiding me? Do you really hate me, one-san ?! " sobbed Hitomi.
Hitori just stared at her sister, feeling shocked.
" How could I ever hate you?" Hitori said quietly. She kneeled down and returned Hitomi's hug.
" Why?! Why didn't you return to the academy sooner?! I thought you left me!" Hitomi cried.
" I'm sorry, I'm sorry. So very much! " said Hitori, soothing her broken little sister. In fact, she felt pretty much broken herself.
Takuma smiled at the two girls in front of him.
Hitori-chan, please accept your sister just the way she is, for her and my sake, probably yours too... he thought.