Look on the bright side, the next update can't possibly take longer than this one did.
I will thank each and every reviewer eventually.
'Inner thoughts.'
"Speech."
Sachiko's P.O.V.
One Thousand Years
Chapter 14: Preliminaries
"Sachiko? Sachiko?!" Light and noise fade into focus in time with the vista of Yumi hovering above me. Yumi's panicked look quickly transforms into one of relief. "I'm sorry! Are you okay?" Her question doesn't quite register.
"Hmm?"I mumble absentmindedly still crawling my way out of a daze.
"...Sachiko?" She probes quizzically while still gazing down on me. Even with the shop's dim lighting I can see her two distinct mocha colored irises have returned. 'Her eye is normal again, that's good.'
"Yes... Yes Yumi... I'm fine. Has it been long?" I sit up, nudging Yumi back slightly. She ends up straddled over my knees. A sharp pain radiates through my entire body. It's like my veins are cramping. 'Perhaps I'm not so fine. I wonder why that is?'
"Erm, Not long, just... a few minutes. Did I take too much? I... don't know what came over me, I couldn't help it." Her face betrays the self chiding she's giving herself. I don't want to see her sad, I never want to see her sad. I reach over and wrap my fingers around her palm. Yumi tenses from the sudden contact. Her eyes focus intently upon mine, and then quickly dart down along my neck. Yumi's tongue absentmindedly runs along her lips stopping to caress the tip of her single enlarged canine. 'Her antics are so endearing, she always wears her emotions for the world to see.' With reluctance I break our eye contact.
"Will you help me up? I seem to be a bit weak right now." Snapping out of her thoughts Yumi hauls herself upright. With a bashful smile on her cheeks she reaches down and helps lift me beside her. Acutely I feel the pressure of the sun looming daylights hours usual tug on my body like weariness, but now the sensation boarders on threatening. 'Being feed from during the day time might be dangerous for me."
"...is it like this for you? Feeding from my neck?" Yumi mumbles. I can feel her heart beating rapidly as she asks.
"Like what?" Absentmindedly I recall the previous warning to vacate the building issued by our mysterious benefactor. 'We have to leave.'
"I didn't want to stop... I still want more." She continues. 'I didn't want you to either.'
"I understand, and we'll figure that out. For now I think we have need leave." I glace around the room for the items we were given. Yumi's candies lay scattered beside the box they came in. My hand mirror teeters precariously on the edge of the counter. In unison we straighten our clothes out, gather our gifts , and fetch our school bags. With Yumi in tow I make for the exit. 'Always more questions and never enough answers with this place.'
Walking outside feels miserable. The sky is cloudless, the sun bears down menacingly. I feel drained and too weary. My world starts to spin.
"What do you think were in those candies Yumi? Was it blood?" I ask wearily.
"... Yes, I think. It must have been... it was like... your blood, but different. It made me want you badly."
"Yumi, I feel faint-" Are my final words as my wobbling legs turn to rubber and my head begins to throb.
I feel Yumi's arms wrap around my waist supporting me. My eyes snap shut and the thundering in my ears sounds like blood struggling to pump. I'm dully aware of Yumi guiding me through the streets, but for how long I couldn't say.
My eyes flutter open as flashes of earlier events race through my mind. 'What happened?' Quickly I'm brought back to the current situation. 'The shop. Yumi feeding from me. Then Yumi helping me back to...' Glancing around with a profound hatred of sunshine; I notice the irony of my location. 'The Greenhouse, during midday...' I feel drained, both pleasantly and not so at the same time.
" Hwaa..." I sigh audibly. We could not have picked a worse place to shelter me. I pull my legs to my chest on top of the bench I had been using to rest on. 'How long has Yumi been gone? Didn't she said she'd be back after a quick but necessary trip to the Rose Mansion? Or did I dream that.' I shield my eyes with my arms and bury my face against my knees and reflect. The sunlight is harsh but I can bare it. 'Yumi... I love her so very much. Having her close, and knowing she is safe means the world to me.' My lips pout at the thought, and I continue to wait.
'Still no sign of Yumi.' I remind myself after another dreaded few minutes/ My thoughts are increasingly paranoid that she must have run into trouble. I feel like I can't sit idle anymore and think as though I'm about to burst. I hear a soft rustling. 'What's that?' There is a noise across the room approaching the door. 'Footsteps!' The entrance begins to open; I gracefully as possible spring to my feet.
"Yumi?" I asking questioningly, knowing instantly the scent approaching isn't Yumi. The figure that steps through the door is certainly not Yumi. My eyes widen in a combination of primal fear and wonder. A curious looking Rei glances over to me leaning past a row of flowers for better vantage.
"S-Sachiko, um... there you are." Rei approaches nervously. "I've been meaning to talk to you..."
Wistfully I frown, on first account because Yumi is still away, and secondly that Rei would take this opportunity to bring up issues best ignored.
"It's just... it's not like you to neglect your responsibilities. Where were you this morning?" She asks carefully. 'Can we not have this conversation right now?'
"I was with Yumi." I respond defensibly squaring my shoulders towards her.
"Yes, so we assumed." She says making sure to bring notice to the pronoun. "You both failed to attend our meeting about graduation next week, and your first classes for the morning. When Yumi showed up at the Rose Mansion we-"
"You saw her? Is she alright?" My whole body is tense. 'I cannot help but be protective, but am I being too protective? Will Rei notice?'
" ... Sachiko, yes, she is. About that... you're both being... a bit brazen, truly you're the Sei of our time." She says straining. The feelings in my stomach start to fall and an emotional panic sets in. 'Brazen?'
"What? I don't care! What does it even matter? Where is Yumi?" 'and if you don't tell me I'll find her myself.' My heart is beating faster and suddenly this conversation has me worried. Rei's hands lift in peaceful protest.
"Please Sachiko, calm down, I'm just trying to talk to you." Rei chooses her next words very deliberately. "You've hardly explained anything since bursting into the meeting room Monday. We're trying to help you. We're all on your side. We've covered for both of this morning, but... Sachiko, we don't know what your intentions are. "
"Intentions?! I thought I made them clear. I'm in love with Yumi." The tame sunlight is oddly deafening as I feel a headache coming on.
"I know, we all know, trust me we very much know. That's not what I mean. It's that you're still engaged to Suguru, or have you forgotten?"
"That doesn't matter. Where's Yumi?" My thoughts are elsewhere. I take a deep breath fighting back the urge to brush past Rei and start looking for Yumi.
"Are you even listening? You've been prone to stubborn outbursts in the past, but this week has been completely reckless. Do you have any idea the rumors going around right now? Please Sachiko, This is what friends are for, to look out for each other. We care about both of you." After a long silence Rei interprets my frustrated glare. "Yumi is fine, she's at the Rose Mansion with Yoshino and Touko... having this same conversation." 'She shouldn't be with them, she should be here, with me. They can't have her, she's mine.'
"Please, be careful okay? Just tell me you're listening and we can walk back together."
"I understand... I'm just worried about her." As I begin to walk toward the door a resigned look crosses Rei's face.
Our walk is quick and to the the point. Rei doesn't saying anything more but I can feel the worry coming from her. The feeling, or the scent, is genuine and I feel crass for being so sharp before. Above, the sun and the clouds torment me with an all together uncomfortable heat, daily sunscreen however, keeps that displeasure to at most a sunburn. With Yumi on the mind and nothing else to distract me I decide to try and mend the gap I've created with Rei.
"Rei, I'm sorry for before... I will try to be more careful."
"Thank you Sachiko." She says afterwords. "We're really just trying to help."
A short while later our stroll is over and Rei is ushering me into the Rose Mansion. Further inside I can heard Touko's stern voice.
"Onee-sama we're just trying to help. Half the school already suspects you two like each other more than sœurs. Just today we had to fend of members of the Photography Club snooping around the Rose Mansion. You two have got to stop being so-"
"-which." Interrupts a voice that must belong to Yoshino. "Is why we're suggesting you two do your best to hide things. Not only until Sachiko graduates, but until the issue of her engagement are resolved as well. If word got out... well... you remember what happened to Sei and Shiori.
"It's not like we kiss at school or anything." Yumi's melodious voice retorts poutfully. Hearing her voice releases a tension in my body I didn't know I had. Nearing the meeting room Touko's voice booms.
"And that's a start, but you two can't so much as hold hands outside of this-" Is all she says before Rei and I interrupt with the opening of the door.
"Sachiko!" Yumi says before she normally ought to have seen me. "You're alright, I'm so glad." She beams. The room is still as if waiting for me to say something, and so I do.
"This interrogation is over. And before you interrupt, Yumi and I agree with you all completely about behaving more discretely. We're blessed to have friends as supportive as you all... aren't we Yumi?" A moment passes.
"...err, yes." Says Yumi sheepishly. 'She's so lovely, she fills my heart with joy.'
"Great, now lets all sit down and work this out together, and then we've got afternoon classes to attend don't we?" I continued.
Arduously we worked out some compromises about school. Yumi and I agreed to keep our affection well guarded everywhere but the Rose Mansion and the privacy of our homes. Knowing graduation was just around the corner I was adamant about keeping the problem of Suguru off the table until then. 'With all the secret vampire issues we were dealing with, Suguru is the least of our problems.' With Yumi on my side, the others relented about the topic of my engagement.
With our scolding over, Rei filled Yumi and I in on this morning meeting. Shimako and Noriko had spent the morning meeting time with various clubs about next week's ceremony. This weekend most clubs would be holding extra meetings, and that included the Yamayuri Council. Saturday the clubs would make their final decisions about their responsibilities during Graduation. Sunday the Yamayuri Council would approve them or would invite them to the Rose Mansion to work out changes to the arrangements. Shimako and Noriko had been hard at work for the past few weeks, so it was unlikely that any issues would spring up so late.
As the meeting ends Touko and Yoshino are the first to leave. They've likely had a stressful morning fussing over us. I could feel worry coming from Touko, but she does because she cares about Yumi, so it is alright.
"Sachiko?" Rei says stopping at the door. "It's time for class."
"We're going, I promise, after a quick moment alone." I say glancing at Yumi. An idea was forming in my mind.
"Of course." Rei says rolling her eyes and closing the door behind her as she exits.
"What a morning." I said with a smile. Yumi looked back at me with a loving grin.
"It is a bit overwhelming. And they don't know the half of it." She replies. Moving closer I reach out and wrap her in a hug. Her arms join behind the small of my back and for a moment all our troubles melt away. Not wanting to break the moment but knowing we could not stay here forever; I ended the silence.
"I was thinking? Would you like to go out to dinner tonight?" Yumi's face lit up with excitement as I asked.
"Dinner? O-okay I'd love to! ... wait, but you can't even eat? What's the point?" She grew noticeably disappointed.
"It's not like normal food is poisonous to me or anything, you can just eat my dinner too. You're eating for the both of us now. We can walk around afterwords, it will be nice. I want to have as many dates as possible." Yumi's mood lightened and she agreed. I'd be picking her up around dinner time, and I'd return her home later. She was sure her parents would agree, and I knew my father didn't care.
"One last thing... this morning has been draining. May I have snack, just a bite? I punctuate my question by nuzzling the crook of her neck. She squirms as I asked, just as I had hoped. I can feel the warmth on her cheeks. 'She's adorable when she blushes.'
"O-of course..." She says breathlessly. I separate from her and look around the room. Stepping over to the door I quickly lock it. A glace affirms that we couldn't possibly be seen through the windows.
She produces a dark handkerchief handing it to me when I draw near enough. After one nerve wracking day of hiding blood drop stains on our uniforms we vowed to always be prepared.
Yumi steps back into my embrace, her heart dancing a merry tune. Without doubt I'm elated by her closeness and the anticipation of blood. As I snake one arm behind her lower back and wrap the one holding the handkerchief around her neck, she tilts her head sideways. Given the splendid patch of skin I'm helpless to stop myself from learning in to kiss it. Yumi draws a sharp breath as my lips land on her skin. Slowly I part my lips and edge my two swollen incisors into position. Yumi flinches as my teeth sink in. It's understandable, however regrettable. Her evident pain quickly subsides by whatever process it is that my saliva must use to numb the bite area. 'She is the most delicious flavor in the world.' I hold her tightly savoring each drop as I consume it, and it consumes me. Yumi writhes against me as both our bodies begin warm. I want more of her. I want to be surround by the feel of our skin pressed together. I want her scent to pervade all of my senses. I'm floored with a need to lick, nibble, and bite every inch of her. I throw my emotions aside and keep my restraint fulled with care and reason. I don't drink much, just a quarter of a litre or so. I lick the puncture marks endearingly before replacing my lips with the handkerchief.
"Sachiko..." She whispers quietly. Her cheeks flare crimson due to embarrassment, or more likely desire.
"Thank you Yumi." I reply while learning in to kiss her. She and I kiss softly for a time, and I feel her body working itself out the submissive state that comes with being feed on. A quick check underneath the handkerchief reveals her boosted affinity for healing. Pocketing the wonderful blood scented handkerchief, I hold her a moment longer before breaking the embrace.
"What does it feel like for you Yumi?" I ask. The lingering joy of her blood fades off my pallet. She looks as if in a very deep Yumi-ish moment of thought.
"First there's the flash of pain, which hurts... but in a good way." She says with a widening smile. "And then I feel the warmth spreading everywhere, that's like floating. The warmth gets hotter and hotter and it's like I'm drowning in happiness." Yumi grins, and blushes.
"I'm so happy to hear that. Those feeling are very similar to how I feel when you bite me. One week ago I wouldn't have dreamed of anything like this." I say in earnest. "The feeling of my teeth inside of you Yumi... it's maddening. You're my favorite flavor in all of the world." She turns impossibly redder.
"We're going to be late for class!" She squawks while quickly fetching our book bags. Yumi hands me mine and the added weight reminds me that a hand mirror is inside. 'I wonder what makes it so special?'
"Dinner tonight is my treat. I know a place that makes exquisite Sukiyaki with Wagyu beef, you'll love it."
So... yeah, sorry about the wait. I'm back. So long as there is a single person reading I'll update once monthly at minimum. I never forgot about this story, or about Marimite, or you readers. Since I plan on writing so much more for this story I'm going to find myself a beta reader or two. If anyone wants to beta this story and help me make it as clear and well structured as possible, feel free to offer in the review section or by PM. On an unrelated note, turns out I'm a lesbian, who would have guessed?