Eyes Red as Blood

Twentieth Night: Thirst

"Your hair is a mess," Kaname noted.

Arisu squeaked and pulled the covers over her head, her cheeks flushed. Her hair had become a curly mess in her sleep.

"Get up. We have to leave as soon as you are ready." While there was slight amusement in his tone of voice, his order rang clear.

Arisu huffed. She didn't see him roll his eyes, but she heard his footsteps and the click of the door before she peeked out from under. As suspected Kaname was out of the room. She groaned and rolled over, almost falling off the bed in the process. Arisu was wide awake now and grumbled as she got out of bed. She walked over to her dresser and pulled out the first outfit that came to mind, which was a blue and white button up shirt and a navy blue skirt. Adjusting the collar and folding the sleeves of the shirt up, she smoothed her shit down to avoid it becoming baggy as she slipped into the skirt. Despite the effort, she still had to tuck in the back of the shirt. She opted to put on a circlet bangle bracelet but otherwise didn't put on other jewelry. She left her hair down after brushing it out, allowing it to cascade down in soft curls. She remained in her human form and walked out of the room. She made her way to the parlor where Kaname was conversing with Reiko and Nathaniel.

"Reiko, Nathaniel, are you alright being up at this time of day?" The curtains were drawn, so the parlor looked more dreary than usual.

"Ha, you're one to talk," Reiko rebuffed, "Seeing as how you stayed in bed until Kaname went to fetch you."

Nathaniel chuckled in apparent agreement. Arisu furrowed her eyebrows as she leaned against the doorway.

"Arisu, please sit down," Kaname said, gesturing to the arm chair next to his.

"How long until we leave?" Arisu asked sitting and smoothing her skirt down.

"We will stay a bit longer. If that is alright with you, Miss Reiko," Kaname replied as he turned his attention to the woman.

"Of course, stay as long as you'd like. This is Arisu's second home, and that extends to you as well, Kaname," Reiko replied a bit sternly.

Kaname thanked her and continued their conversation.

Arisu didn't feel the need to contribute to their conversation much, so she quickly lost track of it. Her mind wandered to the events of the previous day.

"… Arisu." Kaname reached out and placed his hand above Arisu's in an attempt to prevent her from breaking the arm rest.

The iris of her eyes were bright red and her pupils were dilated. Her grip on the arm rest tensed, and there was an audible crack as the wood snapped. She wasn't even of aware that she had turned back into a vampire. Arisu breathed in. She closed her eyes and willed her grip relaxed. She didn't miss the look of concern that flashed in Nathaniel and Reiko's faces. She suspected that Kaname didn't either as he intently studied her.

"I apologize. I don't know what came over me," she tried playing it off, "I'll have to send for this chair to be repaired. I know you love the set, Reiko."

"Don't fret, Arisu. I was thinking of refurnishing the manor anyways. Isn't that right, Nathaniel?" Reiko picked up on Arisu's intent.

Nathaniel raised his eyebrows. "Again, Reiko? It hasn't even been a year."

"Yes, well, the same sights bore me after a while."

Kaname's face remained impassive as he continued to study Arisu's behavior until he cleared his throat, commanding the attention of the room, "Arisu and I should be leaving soon."

"Are you sure, Kaname? You just got here not too long ago," Nathaniel stalled.

"Yes, I'm afraid we have to make a stop before heading back to the Academy," Kaname explained, standing up.

Reiko and Nathaniel were up as well. Arisu made a point of walking to them.

"Should we see you two to the door?" Reiko wondered out loud, miffed by their sudden departure.

"It's alright, Reiko. I'll visit soon," Arisu said squeezing the aristocrat's hands in her own. Reiko gave her a look that meant she had better, and Arisu grinned.

"It was a pleasure seeing you two again." Kaname extended his hand to Nathaniel, and kissed the back of Reiko's hand. Arisu said her goodbyes in a more informal fashion by hugging the two.

"Come along, Arisu," Kaname said, placing his hand on her shoulder.

Arisu nodded, allowing him to lead her out the room and open the front door for her. She winced at the bright light since she was still in her vampire form. Kaname briefly let go of her when he turned to bid the other two well. Unsurprisingly Arisu's bag was already in the car's trunk, and they left not a moment later. At first it was just polite conversation between the two purebloods, but it soon turned to tense silence when Kaname realized Arisu was unwilling to tell him what was going on.

The younger girl eventually closed her eyes, and frowned when she felt the dryness of her throat. Pretty soon it would become a dull pain.

"Kaname, do you have any blood tablets?" She asked opening her eyes.

"No," Kaname replied after studying her, "I left mine at the academy, so I had to ask Hanabusa for some." He paused thoughtfully before opening his mouth to speak, but Arisu interrupted him.

"I'll just wait until we arrive at the Academy then." She rested her head on her hand and proceeded to look out the window.

Kaname sighed, but let the subject drop. The next time Arisu spoke was to ask where they were going, and Kaname peered at her through an open eye as he replied. "The Ichijo Residence."

She hummed in response. Silence ensued until the chauffeur told them they had arrived.

The visit itself was uneventful, in Arisu's opinion. They were unable to talk to Ichijo seeing as how both he and his grandfather had stepped out. The head butler welcomed them to go in and rest, but Kaname declined. To Arisu's surprise, Kaname commanded the butler to let it slip his mind and forget telling the elder Ichijo about their visit.

"Why did you do that?" Arisu questioned him once they were in the car again.

"I came to confirm something," he replied vaguely, "and it wouldn't do good for him to tell Ichijo that I was here."

Arisu scoffed, but otherwise set about to figuring out what Kaname wanted to know. She tried to pry further with more questions, but Kaname refused to engage.

"What makes you think that I'll reveal my motives when you aren't willing to tell me what happened to make you so on edge?" He gave her a pointed stare.

"That's fair," she muttered deflatedly, "But, really, you shouldn't worry too much about me. I was the same old hallucination. The usual, and it only happened once."

"But it was worse than last time?"

"Unfortunately," she admitted, placing her left hand on her neck.

"Don't hide these things from me, Arisu."

She rolled her eyes.

"I am serious; you can reach out to me –

"I appreciate the thought, Kaname, but we both know that there is nothing you can do." She fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve. An action which Kaname noted but chose not to comment on. "Now, why did we just drop by the Ichijo Residence uninvited?"

Kaname thought it fair to tell her some of his suspicions regarding the elder Ichijo and Rido.

"You don't think Takuma has anything to do with this?"

Kaname didn't reply, and Arisu could only hope that Takuma had nothing to do with that man. The rest of the car ride was eerily silent.

The two didn't arrive at the Academy until dusk. By that time, the dull pain in her throat made itself more evident. Her proximity to Kaname only made the thirst worse.

"Give my regards to Yuki and Zero if you see them," Arisu told Kaname . She didn't even give him time to reply before swiftly getting out of the car. Quickly Arisu made her way back to the Moon Dorm building and ignored the aristocrats that attempted to speak to her in the common room.

"Arisu-sama, you need the key," Hanabusa spoke quietly, walking towards her. He had just been walking by when he noticed she was trying to budge the door to her room open.

"But of course, how silly of me," Arisu replied listlessly, "How was your holiday, Hanabusa?"

"It was nice... Are you alright Arisu-sama?" Hanabusa asked worriedly. Something about her was off. Her skin was too pale, and her gaze seemed unfocused.

Arisu smiled and reached out to place a hand on his arm. Her eyes focused and trialed down to his neck. "Thank you for asking. I am a tad bit hungry."

"I would be honored, Arisu-sama." Hanabusa's heart pounded in his chest. His cheeks flushed pink, but he lifted his right arm to his chest and bowed ever so slightly. His neck was closer to Arisu. All she had to do was lean in on the tips of her toes, and she could satiate the thirst. Her eyes glazed over bright red, and she reached out slowly.

"Aidou," came a voice from the end of the hallway. "I believe Kaname Kuran is asking for you."

Arisu snapped out of her daze, but on instinct she was annoyed at being interrupted. She looked to see who had interrupted them and was met with blue eyes.

Kai was staring intently at her. He wasn't paying attention to Hanabusa as he scrambled to formulate a response. "Just go." That statement carried more of an order than a suggestion. Hanabusa's face hardened at being order about by some pureblood that wasn't a Kuran but felt relieved to have a reason to leave.

"I wouldn't suggest biting someone close to you unless you want to deal with the complications," Kai curtly stated once the aristocrat had left.

Arisu flinched. As he walked closer to her, she picked up his scent. There was a faint color change in her eyes.

"Here, unless you want to with me." He pulled out a packet of blood tablets from his inner coat pocket and held them out to her. Arisu blushed at his implication, and mumbled a thanks. Kai hummed, but leaned down so he could whisper in her ear. "Just know that the offer is always open for when you tire of Kaname." Kai didn't let Arisu respond as he turned to walk away.

Arisu pulled out a tablet from the packet and looked at it with disdain as she held it in her palm. A voice in the back of her head whispered how real blood, especially from another pureblood, would taste so much better. She just had to call the boy back and she could satiate her thirst for longer. Arisu ignored that voice and popped the tablet in her mouth, tilting her head up. After a couple of seconds, the thirst she felt lessened considerably, so she decided to lean back against the wall and wait for Kaname to come by with her things.

Revised 3/20/20