Hello world!
Here I a,m back as every Monday, with a new Chapter! Hope you'll like it! ^^
Reviews are appreciated! ;3 Let me hear what you do or don't like, or if you can spot mistakes (typos, grammar, conetxt etc.), it would be helpful to have a feedback! :D
Alright then, now eeeenjoy!
When Hirari arrived home that evening after the intense training, it was already pretty late. While she had waited for the train, she had bought some food from a combini near the station, two onigiri and a sandwich. That way she didn't need to cook for her dinner.
She opened the door, noticing that her mentor hadn't returned yet; not a rare event lately, since he was so busy with clan activities. He was the leader of Rikkai, so she didn't really complain about it.
The girl went in the kitchen and laid down the cake she had bought that evening. After that, she quickly headed to her room to take clean clothes then went in the large bathroom of their apartment to take a relaxing bath.
She stepped out of the tub some time later, feeling at peace; after drying herself with care and getting dressed, she carefully covered the tub with its cover to avoid the water to cool down too quickly. Then she rapidly went back to the kitchen.
There, Hirari unpacked the cake. It was a classic chocolate cake with strawberries placed to form a circle. She licked her lips, the strong scent stimulating her hunger.
"This is for later." She reminded herself, lightly scolding her rumbling stomach.
Quickly she took a decoration set and started to work on the space in the middle of the surface, writing something on it. She was so focused in her task, tongue between her teeth, that she almost missed the entrance of a Vampire from the front door.
Immediately she let her utensil down and left the room, having care of closing the door before running to the entrance hall and hugging her mentor tightly. "Okaeri, Mura!"
Yukimura Seiichi, head of the Rikkai clan and current maintainer of Hirari, chuckled and held her tightly against him, gently stroking her hair. "Tadaima." He smiled.
She held his hand and gently dragged him to the couch. "Rest, ne. I know you're tired."
He thanked her as he sat with a light groan. He massaged his own temples a few moments before asking her about dinner.
"Daijoubu, I bought a couple of things after leaving the dojo." She reassured him.
The man relaxed lightly.
"I see… Good." He smiled. "Yanagi has informed me of your progress in Elemental Magic. Omedetou."
Hirari beamed with pride and joy at his compliment. He was a strict tutor, and his praises always made her feel good.
"Alright then, Vampy." She smirked. "Now close your eyes."
He blinked surprised. "Close… my eyes?" he repeated, as if he didn't understand correctly.
The girl huffed lightly, slightly impatient. "Yeees, close them! Hayaku!"
The Vampire looked at her questioningly a short moment before obeying. The second he did so, she sprinted back to the kitchen to add the final touches to the cake. "And don't peak!"
Then, she took a deep breath and slowly walked back to the living room, careful not to drop the cake. Once arrived in front of Yukimura, she placed it on the coffee table and smiled.
"Okay, now you can open them." She informed him, feeling slightly nervous.
She watched him as he looked at the cake. A light, surprised 'Oh!' escaped his lips, then chuckled softly. On the cake there was an inscription: 'Arigatou!'.
The man looked at her protégée with a light smile. "May I know what for?"
Hirari pouted lightly. "Mou… For everything." She muttered, plopping on the couch beside him.
"Well, I thought there were a few things to celebrate." She explained with a shrug. "Today was my last day of exams, soon I'll become a 3rd year college student, you successfully managed to form an alliance with Fudoumine…" she listed them out.
Yukimura's eyes glinted in amusement. "I see… Well let's add a soon-to-achieve alliance with Seigaku as well."
Hirari looked at him with wide eyes. "Seigaku?"She had heard of them, of course. They were one of the four largest and strongest clans in the whole Japan, and one of the two from Tokyo; another one was their own, Rikkai, from Kanagawa.
"Yes." Yukimura smiled. "Tachibana-kun has told Tezuka-kun about us joining forces, and in these days we're doing several meetings to explain them what our plans are."
"Ooh…" she nodded in understanding. "Yanagi-san knows someone of Seigaku, right? He sometimes talks about him. Inu or something…" she murmured, wondering.
"You mean 'Inui', I suppose. He's not a dog." The Vampire chuckled. "Yes, Yanagi and Inui were childhood friends, you see. They have the same mind-reading ability and have trained under the same master." He revealed her.
Hirari had listened, feeling surprised. The always reserved, mysterious data man actually had that kind of past, huh… She would have never guessed that.
"Ne, Hirari." Yukimura looked at the cake. "Did you prepare it?"
The girl chuckled. "If I did you'd get poisoned." She took a knife to cut it. "You know how much I suck at cooking, Mura~."
"True that." He laughed lightly, then observed her as she cut two slices. During all those years he had grown a parental and protective feeling towards her, seeing her something between an imouto and a daughter.
The girl realized the cause of his stare and lightly sweat dropped. "Mura, I'm not a child anymore." She said as plated the two pieces. She handed him his together with a fork.
Yukimura sighed lightly. "I know, I know… You Humans grow up too quickly." He grumbled lightly, causing her to chuckle. "Well, sorry for being one then~."
They ate quietly, enjoying the sweet taste of the chocolate and the light acid one of the red fruit. The Vampire fed a few strawberries to the Human girl; their relationship was a rare one, their two races barely able to coexist in peace, for Humans were the main source of nourishment of those bloodsuckers. There were a few that only prayed on animals, whose blood was far less rich in flavor and nutrients than people's; those who did had joined to form a clan, another one of the strongest four: Shitenhouji, whose main seat was in Osaka. They were usually neutral to the fights of the other clans, unless it was something serious.
Once finished her slice, Hirari went to take her dinner, munching on the tuna and mayo sandwich and the two onigiri with the same filling. Then she took another slice of cake, eating it happily, with Yukimura who was watching her amused. At a certain point she let out a small yawn, fact that the Vampire took notice of immediately.
"To bed." He said at once, making her lightly grumble.
"Hai, hai, 'mama'." She stood up and stretched.
"I'll do the dishes." Yukimura offered, seeing how tired she was.
She looked at him a moment. "You're tired too, Mura."
The Vampire merely smiled.
Hirari huffed lightly. "Fine, but on one condition." She said, and tilted her head lightly to expose her neck.
Yukimura's eyes flashed a moment, but he shook his head. The girl glared lightly at him.
"Yukimura Seiichi, you are tired and need to replenish your energy too. And don't think I haven't noticed your state, how long is it that you don't properly feed?"
She knew most of the Humans would be horrified by what she was suggesting, but she felt like she owed him at least that. After all, he had saved her when she was a little kid, and had raised her and cured her. This was really the least she could do for him, and she did it gladly. The only problem was his stubbornness, he always tried to refuse and it often came to a battle of who gave up first; Hirari herself could be incredibly stubborn when she wanted to.
And indeed, this time it required several minutes for Yukimura to give in once again to her insistence. He pulled her to his lap as he bared his fangs.
Hirari tilted her head to give him more access and closed her eyes, getting ready to the piercing pain. It came soon, and even if Yukimura bit down as gently as he could, she still winced and a small lament escaped her lips.
"Gomen." He apologized in a murmur, feeling guilty. Then took a breath before starting to drink her sweet blood. As always, he kept her breathing and heartbeat in check, and at the first sign that she was starting to weaken, he immediately withdrew
"Full?" Hirari always asked him that question even if the answer never changed.
Yukimura picked her up bridal style, causing her to giggle lightly. He noticed how the puncture wound closed rapidly, fact quite unique for a Human.
"You do realize that I only feed on you because of your incredible high-speed regeneration, mh?" he said as he walked to her room.
Hirari nodded while yawning again and laid her head to his chest, her eyes closing. By the time Yukimura had entered the bedroom, she was already asleep. He chuckled softly while placing her down and tucking her under the blanket, then he pecked her cheek. "Sweet dreams, dear."
Language notes
okaeri: Welcome back.
tadaima: I'm back.
daijoubu: It's alright.
omedetou: Congratulations
hayaku: Hurry up/ Quick
arigatou: Thanks
inu: dog
New Character info
Rikkai
Kikuta Hirari: has the ability of high-speed regeneration
Yukimura Seiichi: leader of Rikkai; tutor of Hirari; Vampire; believes in the non-violence towards the Humans
Fudoumine
Tachibana Kippei: leader of Fudoumine; has joined forces with Rikkai
Seigaku
Tezuka Kunimitsu: leader of Seigaku; close friend of Fudoumine's Kippei; is evaluating the possibility to join the Rikkai-Fudoumine alliance
Inui Sadaharu: Dataman; childhood friend of Rikkai's Yanagi