Sanguine Falls

Part VIII

She stood shakily as if she'd never done it before. Her legs trembled like that of a new born calf; her bright eyes were wide with fright.

With awareness.

Her days as a human had been semi-productive. It pleased him to see that, even afraid, her feet remained planted firmly upon the ground. She didn't tear off screaming into the woods, she remained still and steady. The little hunter was listening.

Or was she feeling out the area?

Had she picked up that little skill yet? Could she feel him? The little humming vibration inside her that warned him he was near? Their breed was full of monsters. They fed on humans, animals, and each other; nothing was safe. One had to be awake and alert or they were dead. Did she sense it?

What was that acute look of panic on her face?

He couldn't coddle her forever, not if he wanted to keep her. Not if he wanted to undo even a portion of the madness he'd inflicted upon her. Could she survive her new world sane? Would she live as he did? Would she bear anything for him or did her precious morals, her psyche come first? Did he want to find out? Should he brave eternity alone by thrusting her forward and out of his arms and onto her own feet or should he hold her back, protect her within the circle of his arms and guard her precious mind? He was torn.

He had, without entirely meaning to, drawn her to the crossing that evening. She responded so readily to his light indistinctive cues. He had haunted her daydreams and her nights; he knew he did, his former self… but him all the same, his body, his face, his hands, his mouth… all upon her. She hungered for him wholly and he found himself returning the single-minded devotion.

It hadn't always been that way, but since they had met at the crossways he'd been drawn… no, it was before that. He couldn't pin point it but the feeling was strong and it hadn't released him yet. It was, however, no answer to his current problem and he was still undecided about her.

She stepped forward and her unsteady feet stabilized. She could stand but could she hunt? Dare he test her?

He shifted forward and knew his decision was made. She would have to hunt tonight, him or something else and he would reward her if she succeeded. He might reward her if she didn't. As long as she didn't fail him… He wasn't sure he could bear to part with her so soon if she splintered and fell apart before him.

On newly steady feet she centered her weight over her hips and then, without warning, took off into a dash. Aoshi watched her disappear into the woodland with something of a grin on his stoic lips. It felt as though a fire had awakened in the pit of his belly and renewed his life force. He felt infused.

Without thought to time or consequence, he immediately took off after her.

No one saw the sparkles of an iridescent butterfly twinkle in the moonlight.

There was a hum. It was akin to a vibration and yet different. It was the kind of thing that instead of pleasant was alarming. The hair on the back of her neck and her arms was standing straight up. It was … scary.

She ran.

Not away, not toward, but the movement, the impact of her bare feet against the ground gave her something to focus on. It enabled her to think. When she was still panic bubbled in a dark corner and threatened to over boil.

Where was Aoshi-sama? Was he near? What was the prickly feeling that she couldn't even pinpoint inside herself? Had he abandoned her? Was she too much a monster even for him?

Too… ugly?

"Ugh!"

Her footing slipped but she didn't fall, she skidded. Her tender skin burned as she impacted a tree, rubbing off layers with sheer friction. She hissed in pain.

She tore her eyes away from the minor injury. Food. She needed to eat something before the horrible pains came. What… what… people or… how did … she cast her eyes around for something, as if a clue would appear.

Her eyes just barely caught sight of the butterfly and her entire world slid to an eerie stop. The night sounds around her faded in a wash of stony silence. She watched the butterfly dance. It was coming toward her. The prickly feeling got stronger as it neared and some part of her filed that information away but she couldn't focus. The monster in her wanted food. The butterfly was oblivious of that silent demand as it flickered ever closer. When it fluttered past… Misao began to follow it. This butterfly had led her to the crossroads… staring at it, Misao pondered whether she should kill it or thank it for taking her to Aoshi-sama…

In a sudden rush, sound returned to her ears and she found herself standing on the outskirts of town. The streets were mostly empty. She recognized it. It was far away from the Aoiya, far. Okina had warned her repeatedly about wandering through this section of town. Too many alleys, too many drunks, too many men… even now the warning threaded caution through her veins. She slipped into the shadows and slinked along like a mouse.

F-Food… they were old and broken and… and… people. Drunken people. Could she… eat them? She imagined trying to sink her teeth in and tasting sweat and dirt.

Her stomach rolled and her feet stopped abruptly. She pitched forward, clutching her abdomen as the first ghostly pains began to slither through her.

Feed or suffer.

Live or die.

Aoshi-sama or nothing.

If she didn't pick someone, would her body pick someone? Would her mind abandon her? Would she go crazy and murder? Was she already that kind of monster? Maybe she should die… to spare the world her presence? Was she a parasite? A monster living on the fringe of society, something that hid away because it was too ugly to live in sunlight?

Her stomach pitched and pain shot through her like a knife rending flesh. Air caught in her throat and she made a ghastly, gurgling sound.

"Aoshi-sama…" she whimpered.

"Eh… Who's there?" A man. She saw him ahead of her. Well, she could see him well for such dim lighting. No… no lighting. The nearest gas lamp as a block down… he stumbled closer. She could smell the alcohol, the dirt, the sweat. There were things on him she couldn't identify… it made her sensitive stomach pitch again and she groaned. In her distraction, he approached too close and suddenly a big hand was grasping her shoulder.

"Soft… you're a fucking girl, aren't you?… oh… oh… yeah…" Those hands were suddenly all over her, grasping her, kneading her in places she didn't want touched by some drunken stranger.

Pain and revulsion mingled. Her eyes squeezed shut. Why wasn't she fighting? She shifted and the man's hands tightened on her arms and then drifted toward her center, grabbing her clothes. She felt the material rip and the breath of night against her skin and those dirty hands were on her.

Food… pain… she brought her hands up, toward him, but the man was distracted trying to tear her obi. He leaned so obligingly forward. She forced her arms around his neck.

The pain intensified.

Without warning, she threw herself into his arms and toward his neck. She found his flesh without difficulty, yanking at the musty cloth at his shoulder. Her teeth, inexperienced, bore down and broke his skin messily.

He howled.

His blood surface but mere trickles. She had done it wrong. With a scream, he tore her off of him and she fell into the street.

"BITCH!"

He fell on her and they struggled all knees and elbows. Her kimono tore. Something wet was soaking into her cloth from the street but there was an apathy to her surroundings that increased the longer she stayed.

She didn't notice the shadowy figure behind them as she struggled. Couldn't have noticed if she tried. Abruptly, her attacker was pulled off her and she gasped, heaving for breath.

"Get up."

Aoshi-sama!

He hadn't abandoned her! Slowly, tense with pain, she dragged herself from the ground and onto her feet. The struggling man was held in Aoshi's arms strongly, able to do little more than kick his feet.

"This man is your prey tonight."

Misao took tiny steps forward.

"Pull his collar aside and look at his flesh."

With shaky hands, MIsao obeyed pulling at the stained cloth. The man who had been enraged was now silent, struggling but silent. Had fear overcome him?

"Listen. His body will tell you."

She stepped closer so her body was almost pressed against the man's chest. Her kimono was open at the front, her obi messily untied but still clinging… she was a wreck, but she pressed ever closer. She could hear a pulse. The pain had faded strangely as she got close enough to his skin to breathe in his scent.

Man.

Underneath the ick, he smelled like a man and he smelled good.

She flicked her tongue against his skin at the point she could hear it strongest. He trembled and Aoshi-sama tightened his grip but remained silent.

Leaning closer, she sank her teeth into the man's skin again, missing her other tear into his flesh. This time, the blood welled into her mouth, over her tongue. A euphoria she'd never experienced overcame her, she shook, her mouth loosed, her teeth…? Something… there was a wash of pleasure and she fell.

Always falling…

She hadn't fainted. His arms were around her, Aoshi-sama and he was carrying her. Although she told herself she should feel good and bad about what she had done, her memory was hazy.

Man.

Alley.

Groping.

Aoshi-sama.

Feeding.

Her clothes were all torn. She could feel the dirt on her skin. She needed to bathe.

"Don't take me back there to that room."

He turned his icy eyes away from the path and down toward her but said nothing.

"I need to wash or…augh, I stink. I need a bath so bad I disgust myself."

He didn't address it. In fact, he ignored it and continued to carry her. "You fed messily. Tomorrow, you will do better."

Tomorrow?

"I have to do it everyday?" she shrieked. "That's so gross! That man would've-" she trailed off as the realization set in. That man in the alley wanted to rape her… hadn't… hadn't that occurred to her? She'd been so… her mouth was suddenly very dry. She swallowed hard. He had only wanted her because he couldn't see her. She had been nothing more than a warm, female body to use… but…

Rushing water distracted her and she found herself set upon her feet at a riverside. Before she could stumble into the water, Aoshi-sama's big hands were on her, pulling the remnants of her clothing away. Relieved, undisturbed by her nakedness in the dark, Misao plunged into icy water and promptly sank.

Aoshi watched her frit around in the water, rubbing at her skin as if she were possessed. She had been careless in the alley. The man could do no true damage to Misao, but she didn't realize that. Her mind was still not functioning correctly. She had not recovered from her transition. While the death mark he'd given her on the neck had healed, the wounds inside were deeper.

Still… she had fed, even if she had done so sloppily. She had made a choice… Could she keep it? Should he have taken her to town and given her a nice, easy victim instead of letting her fall into one so carelessly?

He had watched the human paw and grasp at Misao with an ugly distaste. It would have given him great pleasure to kill the man for the offense, but Misao had been caught in her first blood haze, her first euphoria. The sudden rush of pleasure had overcome her… she hadn't even taken enough blood to kill the man.

"It's COLD!"

With her arms pulled tight over her chest, Misao retreated from the water shivering. Her footsteps were small, hesitant. She was too hyper aware of her nakedness now that she was not worried about being clean. When she neared, he scooped her up and began walking again.

He'd seen her naked already. He knew her body almost as well as it could be known. Flicking his gaze down toward her he found her eyes closed and a tense expression on her face.

Almost as well… he would know it completely soon enough. When she had healed… when her mind was clearer… then… he pushed the errant thoughts away. He would not lust over her now, now while she was in his arms, bone and skin.

Retreating to the small shack deep in the poorest part of Kyoto, Aoshi placed the distinctly uneasy Misao in his bed. She immediately curled up in his blankets and he carefully locked his door before returning.

This night.

Tonight he would return to his own bed. He crawled into the futon next to her, surprising her as she struggled to keep her skin hidden. Reaching out, he pulled her up against his body, cradling her against his chest.

So light… so damaged.

Soon, when she had healed they would be able to wander, to roam the night, he could teach her so much… but for now, she needed to feed and sleep.

AN: There's so much yet to explore. I had no idea this story would be so long.