Chapter 2: Perspective
Yui stared at the sturdy door. What was she doing? Before she could gather herself, the door swung open. "Come on in, I've been expecting you," Reiji welcomed her. Yui stepped inside, quite bewildered.
Reiji raised an eyebrow at her, "As you may recall, you agreed to test a couple of my drugs in return for your safety and freedom."
"I… wait…" She stopped mid sentence as her train of thought escaped her. Reiji stretched out his arm and guided her over to the sofa.
"It's time for you to take the first drug."
She found herself staring blankly at the ornate tea set on the coffee table. "Oh, okay. Sorry, I seem to be a bit dazed at the moment." She quickly dismissed her disorientation as being caused by blood loss.
Reiji smiled and passed her a small beaker containing a fine, pale yellow powder. "I've been working on this for months, it should give you the most interesting experience!"
Yui thought he sounded genuinely excited despite his words being potentially ominous. "Usually ingesting it will suffice, but I would like to examine the outcome of a more effective route of administration, I would like you to inhale it."
Yui looked at him in horror. "What? That… I can't…"
"Oh but you must, if you wish to obtain your freedom."
Yui gulped. She cautiously shook the container, raising a fine mist of powder into the air. Almost immediately, a faint sweetness hit her tongue. Thinking it was just like icing sugar made Yui drop her guard. She held it up to her nose and ended up in a coughing fit.
"You took quite a lot more than necessary," Reiji commented, ignoring Yui's wheezing. "What a waste of a precious substance."
Despite his scornful words, he patiently waited for her symptoms to subside. Reiji grabbed her hand. Yui, already flushed from her coughing, blushed an even deeper shade of red.
Her eyes fixated on his slender fingers clasped around hers. "W-what is it?"
Reiji didn't answer, but picked up a teacup and brought it to his mouth. Yui felt a smooth warm sensation on her lower lip, then a heat spread in her mouth. She tasted a familiar, comforting flavour.
"Well? How was the tea?" Reiji asked her.
After a few moments silence, Yui gasped. Even though his hand was cold, she could feel the warmth of her own hand, as experienced by him.
"Reiji, this is amazing! Think of the wonders it could do, people will be able to experience what they couldn't before. Maybe it could even let those who can't see or hear-"
"I do not appreciate insolent outbursts. You get carried away too easily. Now answer my question, how close was it to drinking real tea?"
Over the next few hours, Reiji tried an immense range of foods and flavours, from paprika to pepper corns to sugar cubes. Yui felt as if she was eating each herself.
Finally satisfied, Reiji released her hand. "You've been most helpful," he concluded. There was something Yui wanted to ask, but she left his office, unable to voice her curiosity. How ironic it would have been for Reiji to take her blood, when the whole point of their agreement was to stop her blood being taken.
Back in her bathroom, Yui prepared to soak in a warm bath, and her mind wandered. Only now, she realised how abnormally intimate it was to share taste and sensation with another person. For a period of time, she'd had a window to Reiji's perception of the world. She recalled the feel of Reiji's hand on hers. It was nothing more than an obligatory part of testing but she couldn't shake the butterflies in her stomach.
Yui sighed and leaned back, wanting to submerge herself in the water completely. Instead of the flat hard plastic she expected, her back came in contact with a soft irregular shape.
She spun around.
Sitting fully clothed in the water behind her, was Shu.
Yui shrieked. Water droplets splashed onto the bathroom floor.
"Oh Yui, such a lewd girl, so desperate to climb onto me without any clothes…" Shu smirked, opening one eye. He sounded groggy, like he'd just woken up.
"H-how did you…? Get out of my bath!" Yui was mortified. She curled up into a ball on the opposite side of the tub, arms wrapped protectively around her legs. Shu was so disrespectful of her privacy. He'd appeared sleeping in her bathtub on multiple occasions, but the bath had always been empty and she'd always been clothed. This time she was unlucky.
Unfortunately, Shu had no intention of leaving his reclined position. He just stared at the girl with an indolent smirk on his face. Who knew how long the vampire had been eyeing her? Yui wanted to slap him, but she couldn't move her hands or Shu would see more than she wanted to show.
"Umm, Shu, can you close your eyes or turn away? If you won't get out, I will."
"Oh, but that seems awfully pointless to me. I'm not about to let a free show go to waste."
Yui cringed. She was stuck. Stuck naked with her arms wrapped around her legs, sharing a cramped bathtub with a vampire. She was about to close her eyes and pray to God to help her out of this absurd situation when Shu spoke up.
"If you want me to leave, you could… work for it," He said.
"What?" Yui wasn't sure what he was implying, but his words elicited a sense of dread in her. She tensed up.
"Relax, it's not like I've done anything to you…yet," he grinned. "I'm starving. If you offer me your blood, I just might regain the energy to get up..."
It wasn't as if she had much of a choice. After all, he'd come here for a reason. Even if she refused, she was sure Shu wouldn't let her go that easily. Hesitantly, she scooted closer, trying to keep as covered up as possible. Shu, impatient, grabbed her wrist, unravelling her protective cocoon. Yui ended up pressed flush against his soaked clothing, a layer between them that felt far too thin. Shu laced his arms around her waist. He brushed her wet hair aside and buried his face into the nook of her neck, sending a breath of chilly air against her skin.
Yui winced as an all too familiar pain radiated from her neck. But something was different.
Her eyes widened. She was hit with euphoria. This feeling was something she'd never experienced before. Whatever prior pain there had been was overwhelmed by bliss. She let out a soft moan.
As she acclimatised to the sensation, she realised there was something wet in her mouth, a mildly fragrant and lukewarm liquid. Something was dribbling down her chin. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, but it came away dry.
Shu. This was what Shu was feeling.
All too soon, Shu pulled away, and the blissful feeling dissipated.
"Shu… that... felt so good…" Yui breathed. She understood why it was so hard for vampires to hold back. Her blood tasted nothing like the tang of rusty coins she expected, but that wasn't what hooked her. It was the accompanying feeling she couldn't forget. All Yui wanted was to cling onto that feeling.
A grin spread across Shu's face, "Careful now, it's dangerous to say things like that... you might end up getting more than you bargained for…"
Her heart rate spiked. It dawned on her she was turning him on, because she could feel it too. She scrambled to untangle their bodies but Shu was faster. He flipped her over, and in a split second, pinned her down by her arms. Water spilled over the sides of the bathtub.
The unmistakable gurgle of the drain filled the room as Yui struggled against her restraints. It didn't take long for the water level to drop low enough to expose her bare back. The girl was left shivering with her cheek pressed down against the hard plastic side of the bath. Vulnerable and exposed, all she could do was plead. "P-please Shu, whatever you're thinking of doing, don't…"
Drinking in the sight before him, Shu seemed pleased by her pitiable, quivering frame. He chuckled, before inching closer to her ear.
"It's your fault, so you better take care of it," he murmured. Nonchalantly, reclined on his side, he pulled her hand down towards his crotch.
"W-what?" Yui spluttered. Through the material of his trousers, she felt a distinctive bulge under her fingertips. And at the same time, she experienced the sensation between her own legs.
"Oh Yui, drop the act... I know how much of a lewd girl you really are. You were practically begging for more and clinging onto me a moment ago."
"B-but it's all a misunderstanding! Please, I can explain-"
"So noisy..." Shu sighed, "But I'm not in the mood to move, so it's your lucky day. I'll let you off if you just help me out..."
"Shu…"
He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her into a kneeling position, with her face hovering above his crotch. "So, aren't you dying to give me some service? I bet you've been having thoughts about this from the very start," he said.
When Yui refused to move, Shu slid his palm up her front. His hand clamped down tightly around her breast. "Or…maybe you prefer I… take you?"
His manoeuvre was enough to panic her. Yui didn't want to risk him following through with his threats. "I'll… I'll do it! Just please, don't touch me that way!"
Triumphant, Shu relaxed his grip.
With trembling fingers, Yui pulled down his zipper and reached underneath his clothing. Her fingertips met the soft, cool, flesh of the vampire. She felt the pressure of skin on skin as her hand gripped him. She slid her hand down his shaft and held back a gasp. The pleasure registered to her as if it were her own body. She hesitated.
"You've gotta put some effort in." Shu complained.
"Sorry I… I've never done this before…" Yui stammered, trying not to be fazed by the strange effects of the drug. On top of what she was doing, it was like she was touching herself in front of him. She didn't know if it could be any worse.
With each stroke, she could feel the warmth building between her legs. She bit her lip and concentrated on not letting out any noise, but it wasn't long before a small moan slipped out. She froze, terrified that Shu would catch on. The vampire, preoccupied by his own pleasure, didn't seem to notice.
Shu grabbed her head and pulled her down so her lips enveloped his flesh.
"Mmnph mmnn phhh!" Yui mumbled in protest, feeling the vibrations of her vocalisation. Shu held her firmly in place, quelling her cries. He began pushing her head up and down. She gave up resisting and with tears stinging at her eyes, began moving her head herself. Although she hated how feebly she submitted to his wishes, those thoughts were soon vanquished. The all-encompassing pleasure was different to that of drinking blood, but it was powerful all the same.
"Is… this really… your first time? You're hitting all the right spots…" Shu panted. Yui could tell what was effective, making it easier to get the job done quickly. The drug had come in use, but in the most unexpected way.
Yui closed her eyes. It was getting harder and harder to concentrate on what she was doing.
"Nnnrgh... why did you stop?" Shu's voice broke her trance. The sensation had become so overwhelming to Yui that she wasn't able to think straight let alone move her head.
As she restarted, the pleasure began nearing its peak, and she found herself tensing up, unable to move, just like before.
"You… tease," Shu muttered, breathing hard. "I should have known you had a sadistic side!" He wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of being in control.
Tightening his hand in Yui's hair, he pulled her abruptly. He hit the back of her throat and she gagged reflexively. At the same time, she felt Shu's euphoria. The combination propelled her mind into a confused mess. Tears and mucus dribbled down her chin as she moaned pathetically against him. Shu only increased his pace, her reaction spurring him on.
Yui's thoughts were becoming a fuzzy white haze. She was hit by a hot wave of release as Shu climaxed.
"Fuck..." Shu finally loosened his grip and slid out of Yui's mouth. She collapsed, gasping and hips twitching.
Yui lay in the bathtub amidst her drool and bodily fluids. Shu's breathing had quietened, and Yui realised to her astonishment, he had fallen asleep. Carefully, she picked herself up and stepped out of the bathtub. Puddles of water decorated the floor tiles but she couldn't bring herself to deal with them. She wanted nothing more than to scrub her mouth out a hundred times, but she resisted the urge, opting to wipe her face the best she could before tiptoeing out of the room.
As she lay under her covers, her mind was reeling. She couldn't sleep. She didn't want to think about it, but her experience with Shu only produced more questions.
It crossed her mind perhaps Reiji was oblivious to the extent of the drug's effects. There was no way he would forgo testing something so big. She had the sudden urge to go see him. She tossed and turned in bed for a few minutes before she sighed and threw on her nightgown to head down the hallway. Yui was hungry for his approval.
She noticed his door was slightly ajar and peaked inside. By the windowsill was a sleeping figure, book spread open on his chest. he looked so peaceful that Yui couldn't help smiling to herself. She was drawn closer, and before she knew it, she had slipped into the room. His glasses were crooked, and had slipped down his nose. Out of instinct, she reached out but as her finger closed around the wire frame, a hand shot out to grab hers, making her jump.
"I-I thought I'd help you take them off since you were sleeping..."
"Who said you could come in?"
The girl bowed her head in apology. "I'm so sorry Reiji. I came here because I had something to report about the drug. But, maybe I got ahead of myself."
"Oh, is that so?" Reiji said, perking up, "Then tell me, it better justify your intrusion!"
Yui looked down and shuffled her foot. "Um, well, it seemed like you were only testing a small part of the drug earlier today. I mean, sensations from the rest of the body can be felt too."
Reiji froze. "What did you say? How did you… oh, that's no good at all…" he muttered to himself, scowling. She was surprised Reiji was so disappointed.
He turned to her. "I need you to leave while I think this through. Be back in my office tomorrow evening."
The girl nodded and left. She felt rather sad. She was clueless about Reiji's goals. Even though she was helping him test the drugs, she didn't know a thing about what he actually wanted from the tests.
When she checked in her bathroom, Shu was gone. Exhaustion hit her and she collapsed onto her bed. It wasn't long before she dozed off.