I didn't sleep very well the next night. Well, I slept away the entire day on the couch so I wasn't confused why. The moon seemed unusually bright through my bedroom shades and every rustling leaf crinkled loudly in the newly winter wind. No matter how hard I tried, sleep never came. I put my pillow over my head, curled into a cozy ball, and even put on the sleep mask I bought for fun; nothing worked. I sighed heavily and surrendered before getting out of bed to sit at my desk.

Satoshi was sleeping downstairs on the couch, so I didn't want to risk waking him by searching for a midnight snack. I wasn't hungry anyway. Nothing sounded good. I racked my brain to think of something my stomach might enjoy. Rice pudding, Jane Jane, daifuku, or maybe even some type of dango. There's hardly anything more annoying to most girls than not being able to decide what sounds good to eat. Then, out of nowhere, I thought of cranberries. Cranberries; where did I get that from? Ryu's face flashed in front of my eyes and I felt sick again.

Wait, this was normal sick.

I quickly got up and ran for the bathroom, just in time to pull my hair back and kneel beside the toilet. It took a good three times to actually produce any vomit; dry heaves are the worst. Afterward, I wiped my face off with a damp towel, but couldn't stand. I didn't want to risk getting nauseous again. The taste of acid resided in the back of my throat. I felt bloated.

A small knock came from the ajar bathroom door. I looked up and saw Satoshi, mostly in shadow, gazing down at me with a blank expression.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

I hiccupped and swallowed hard. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you. Just a little...just a little..."

I couldn't find the word.

Satoshi offered me his hand, I took it, and he pulled me to my feet.

"That was pretty loud," Satoshi said.

I felt myself blushing horribly. "You don't need to remark on it."

"Thought I'd try to be funny."

Without letting go of my hand, he led me downstairs and into the kitchen. I poured myself a glass of water.

"I'm sorry I woke you," I said.

"I wasn't sleeping anyway," He replied.

I knew he'd say that... just to make me feel better.

"We're going to go for a walk tomorrow, okay?" Satoshi said.

"A walk? Shouldn't we go to school? Or is this walk you're talking about on the way to school?"

"No. No school," Satoshi shook his head.

"Why not? I need to talk with Noriko-chan and apologize," I said. "Who knows what she thinks happened?"

"Or the whole student body?"

I hadn't thought of that. "So, I can never go back?"

"Oh, of course you can. I already came up with an excuse for your 'behavior'," Satoshi said.

"Really, now," I replied, putting down my glass, "And what might that be?"

"Epileptic seizure," He answered matter-of-factly.

"What?!" I exasperated. "They will not believe that!"

Satoshi looked confused.

"Are you wondering why not? Well, for starters, I don't have epilepsy!"

"You developed it?"

I groaned and refused to argue anymore, even though it was hardly an argument. The seizure idea might work, but I wasn't going to lie about my health to get away with me messing up the play. However, I could also not tell the truth. Lying was the only way out in this case. But epilepsy?

"What about low blood sugar?" I desperately tried to negotiate.

Satoshi shrugged.

"The lights!"

"Spotlight was white, Kasumi, and Ryu wasn't flashing red, blue, and yellow straight at you," Satoshi said.

I slumped down into my chair. "My mother would have believed that."

"She's not here, though."

I sighed.

"You should get some rest," Satoshi said. "We need to cover a lot tomorrow."

"Can't."

Satoshi paused. "Completely incapable?"

"No, I've been trying to fall asleep all night, but haven't had any luck," I answered.

Satoshi stood. "Come on."

He took my hand again and brought me to the living room where we both sat down on the couch. He wrapped an arm around me and suddenly leaned harshly to one side, taking me with him.

"I'm sorry," I quickly said, trying to get back up.

"No," Satoshi replied flatly and placed my head on his chest. "Just go to sleep."

I had no idea why I was so nervous, there was no reason to be. I lifted my legs up on to the couch and so did he.

"You need a blanket?" He asked.

"...no."

I felt him kiss the top of my head and sleep swept over me like never before.

-----------------

When I woke, Satoshi was no longer on the couch with me, but sitting on one of the chairs across from it. He smiled and I instantly felt warm with shy content.

"Kawaii yo," Satoshi said and my contentment changed to embarrassment.

"Yakamashii."

"Oh, don't be so modest," Satoshi replied. "Since you're awake now, go change. We have to take that walk."

"What about breakfast?" I asked.

Satoshi looked at the ceiling. "I was never much of a breakfast person. I just made a simple umeboshi rice ball if I felt hungry."

"Are you serious?" I sat up quickly. "That settles it; I'm going to make you my favorite breakfast."

"What about that walk?" Satoshi tried to grab my arm as I dashed into the kitchen.

"Oh, that can wait."

Satoshi sighed heavily.

"Fine," He gave in. "Just keep in mind how much we have to get done today."

I poked my head back into the living room. "Would it make you feel better if I changed first?"

"Yes."

"Hai, hai," I nodded and headed upstairs.

I instinctively grabbed for my school uniform from the closet but eventually remembered that I wasn't going today. So, I found a pair of jeans and a comfy sweater. I brushed my hair and gathered it into a ponytail like usual before returned to the kitchen to begin cooking.

I started some tea while heating up the frying pan for the omelet. I cut up a tomato into wedges and put a couple of slices of bread into the toaster. After everything was ready and displayed on two plates, I called Satoshi into the kitchen. He was already wearing his sunglasses.

"Well, does it look good?" I asked.

"Omelet." He said, pointing, almost confused.

"Yes. With some tomato and toast," I replied. "If I have time in the morning, I always try to make it."

Satoshi sits down at a stool and takes a bite. "Oishii. I've never had omelet before."

"Never?"

He shook his head.

"Well, eat up, then," I said and sat down for my own breakfast.

"Thank you."

We mostly ate in silence. I was simply happy that my food tasted good and it was being kept down. Once we were both finished, Satoshi was even more eager for us to go out for a walk. He wouldn't even let me wash the dishes, but place them in the sink. I made sure to grab my sunglasses before leaving.

"So, Sensei, what's my first 'lesson'?" I asked, mockingly.

"Actually," Satoshi said, "now that I think about it, I don't know where to start."

I laughed a little.

"Well, um, let's see," Satoshi stuttered. "Ah, chi no sentaku!"

"Chi no sentaku?" I pondered. "Like A or B?"

"No, no," Satoshi quickly said. "Um, this might be hard to explain. Well, every vampire has his or her own blood preference. Every person has a favorite dish, right? What's yours?"

"Maabu tofu."

"And mine is tuna sashimi," Satoshi said. "So just imagine that every person's blood is like a certain dish. Some you would eat every day if you could, and others you avoid at almost all costs."

"So, I only will like one person's blood?" I asked.

"No, no," Satoshi repeated. "The flavors aren't as...um, available as real food. Oh, I shouldn't call them flavors. They're more like essences."

"I'm still confused."

"Okay. Maybe it'll help if I tell you my blood preference is remorse."

"Like guilt?"

"Yes," Satoshi nodded. "My body reacts to people who are heavy with remorse and regret. Something about that wakes my vampire instincts. You'd think I'd have no problem finding people like that in this day and age, but it's been a difficult search at times."

"How will I know what mine is?" I asked.

"That is one of the reasons we're out today," Satoshi replied. "Hopefully, we'll run into someone and your blood will react."

"Still, even if we do find someone," I said, a little uneasy, "How will we know what is so special about their blood?"

Satoshi paused for a moment. "That'll be the hard part."

This was a lot of information and I had to stop and think about it. I didn't want to have one of these reactions Satoshi was talking about. Mostly because I did not know what I would do when I found my blood preference. Would it be the same as when I first transformed and I couldn't control my body? The thought terrified me. I certainly did not want to kill another person, even though Ryu was an accident. I did not even want to hurt anyone. However, I knew that was impossible.

"Are you alright?"

"Me? Oh, yeah… I was just thinking about something," I replied.

"I'm sorry," Satoshi said. "This is probably quite overwhelming for you."

"You think?" I shot at him before I could stop myself.

Satoshi looked away, almost too casually, like a dog being scolded.

"I'm sorry," I sighed. "But you're right. It's all a little too much for me right now. I don't want to snap again like I did with Ryu."

Satoshi placed a hand on my shoulder. "That won't happen again."

"How are you so sure?"

Satoshi grinned, trying to lift my spirits. "Because I'm your Sensei."

That made me crack a smile, a small one.

"Let's go to a café," Satoshi continued.

"Why?"

"There will be a lot of different people there," he replied. "Plus, it'll be a place to get out of this glaring sun."

I had to agree with him; the sun was bouncing off the snow particularly harsh today.

We walked down the road a little farther until we found a small café. There weren't too many people, actually, or at least not as many as we thought there would be. A few couples sat by the window, smiling at each other and sharing beautiful desserts; workers on early lunch breaks sat by themselves, slowly sipping coffee or tea and reading the local newspaper. A group of elderly women sat in the corner, swapping photos or knitting scarves and mittens. Satoshi and I took a seat on the opposite side of the café, at a safe distance from the rest of the customers.

A waitress comes by and asks us we wanted to order now or wait a couple minutes. I wasn't planning on getting anything, but ended up ordering a coffee, Satoshi too. Coffee always settled my nerves for some reason. When it arrived, I quickly wrapped both hands around the cup and breathed deep to fill my scenes with that wonderful, roasted scent. Satoshi, on the other hand, added two sugar cubes. I forgot about his sweet tooth. It made sense to me. Blood can be bitter. Why not cure that with something sugary?

"Feel anything yet?" Satoshi asked.

I stared at him blankly for a moment. "What am I supposed to feel?"

"Oh, right," he mumbled. "Yeah, can't describe that for you. We're just going to have to wait it out."

The waitress came around and refilled my coffee cup when one of the couples sitting by the window started to argue. I went to take a sip of my coffee, but ended up sputtering.

"Oh, is it too hot?" The waitress questioned anxiously.

"Oh, uh, no," I said, "its fine, thanks. I just swallowed wrong."

She smiled and left.

I didn't know what was wrong. For a second, my whole body was pulsing, like a giant heart. My mouth instantly filled with saliva. Yet, it was a comfortable feeling, no matter how awkward. Was that was Satoshi was talking about before?

Satoshi's sunglasses were on me, investigating.

I made sure he had my eyes before I shook my head for him to forget about it.

Over at the couple's table, the argument continued. The boy hit his hand on the table, raising his voice and the girl looked down at her lap. Then, my body gave the same lurch as a minute ago. I covered my mouth with a hand as I felt a longing I never knew before. My arms, my legs, everything was pulsing with some unknown passion. I wanted to stop it, but I didn't know how. Then again, I'm sure, it could keep going and I wouldn't mind too much.

"Kasumi?" Satoshi asked.

"Yes?"

He paused. "Feel anything yet?"

I nodded my head slowly. "Something."

"Can you tell where it is coming from?"

"No," I replied. "There are too many people around. It could be any of them."

Satoshi looked around the café. "I guess we should start smaller, then."

"I'm sorry," I said as my blood slowly calmed down.

"Don't worry about it," Satoshi said. "It could take a while to find your blood preference; maybe you have less common taste."

"How long did it take you?"

"Well," he said, "not very long. But that was because my mother was always around me."

I didn't understand at first, until I remembered what Satoshi's chi no sentaku was: remorse and regret. It made sense. If I had lost control and accidentally killed my husband, I'd feel guilty every day for the rest of my life. In that way, I felt sorry for Hanako. Then it hit me. She and I were quite similar. I drained Ryu dry only because I could not control the urge. I was just as guilty as she, and still felt that guilt. Did that mean…Satoshi was craving my blood?

I chose not to bring it up.

Satoshi and I left some money to cover our two cups of coffee and exited the café. The fresh air seemed to help me settle down even more. We headed to the nearest market because Satoshi wanted to roast sweet potatoes later. After picking a few out, we started back towards my house. However, we ended up taking the long way around, because Satoshi was too persistent in finding my blood preference. I didn't see why it mattered so much if he encouraged me to get blood mostly from rats and cats in the first place.

Turning a corner, my body began to pulse again, even stronger than before. I felt wild. I stopped walking when I saw the person who caused it, and tugged on Satoshi's sleeve for him to stop too. My eyes didn't like what they were seeing.

"Oh," was all Satoshi muttered.

Naoko-chan was slowly approaching, carrying bags from grocery shopping. Her face was blank, but she was obviously staring right at me. Of course, I stared back. I swallowed hard and my full stomach growled.

"Are you going to be alright?" Satoshi whispered to me.

"I'll make sure if it," I said.

Naoko-chan put on a smile once she got closer. "Kasumi-chan, Satoshi-kun, how are you this morning?"

"Fine, thank you," Satoshi replied, quite muffled.

"Good, Naoko-chan. What about you?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Doing the grocery shopping for dinner tonight," She replied, holding up her bags a little higher.

"What are you making?" I tried to make small-talk.

"Tempura vegetables and shrimp."

"That sounds so good," I said.

"Well, I better get going," she nodded. "I still have to get the laundry done."

"Alright. I'll see you at school," I smiled.

"She's still recovering," Satoshi blurted and I glared at him.

"Oh, okay," Naoko-chan said. "Feel better, Kasumi-chan. Ki wo tsukete, ne?"

She waved as she walked past me, but I grabbed her hand.

"Kasumi-chan?"

"Oh! Sorry," I said, quickly letting go. "Just saying good-bye again. 'Bye!"

Her face went blank again and I could see a tiny vein twitch in her temple.

"Yes, 'bye."

She walked faster until she was around the corner and I could feel my body slowly returning to normal once more.

I turned to Satoshi. "Why Naoko-chan?"

He shook his head. "There must be something about her blood state that attracts you. I personally do not know her that well. You're going to have to solve the puzzle."

I pouted at him, but he only places a finger on my lip before continuing to walk.

-------------

I should have called Sae-chan to discuss my problem with her. However, I was afraid how she would react. It certainly was not good that my blood reacted around Naoko-chan. It reacted in the café, too, when Naoko-chan wasn't even there, so there was a way to fix it. I just couldn't be around Naoko-chan. Or, I could figure out what my chi no sentaku is and cure Naoko-chan of whatever it may be. Worst case scenario would be that it was a trait that couldn't be cured.

I burrow my head into the pillow on the coach, where I was laying, and groan.

"Still bothering you?" Satoshi asked, coming into the living room.

"Yes!" I whine.

"I know you won't listen to me, but don't eat yourself up about it."

"How can I not? She's my friend! Of course, we haven't been too terribly close lately, but that's because of…"

I sit up and look at him.

"Me?" He questioned, very confused.

"Never mind," I said and started to hug the pillow. "She said she was okay with it."

"What?"

"Just talking to myself. Heh, it's not like I would have done anything different if she told me she wasn't okay with it."

"What?"

"Talking to myself."

Satoshi lifted his hand to retort, but gave up. "Okay, just tell me when you actually want me to say something back!"

If Hanako and I had the same type blood, maybe we had the same preference as well. Wait, I believe Satoshi said that your blood essence can change, depending on your state. It was still worth a shot. I could ask her. Satoshi wouldn't approve of that, though… ever. It's not like I was all ready to go, picnic packed.

I cleared my throat. "Would Hanako know anything?"

Satoshi looked back at me. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, uh, I thought that she and I might have the same blood, because," I couldn't finish; his stare was too cold.

"Leave her out this."

"But, she knows that I,"

"And that makes a difference, how?" Satoshi asked.

"I can't avoid her forever, Satoshi!" I said. "You shouldn't have to either. It seems that you have been running from her ever since you told her about you and me. We shouldn't have to be so afraid of her."

"You don't know Hanako, Kasumi," Satoshi replied.

"But if I get to know her,"

"That won't change how she stands."

"Satoshi,"

"Please," Satoshi said. "Some people never change, that's how it is. I don't want you to get hurt"

"Kega nai no yo," I grumbled.

Satoshi sighed heavily.

I stand up and go over to him, wrapping my arms around him.

"I won't go," I added. "I promise."

"Thank you," he said, hugging me back. "Don't worry about a thing. We'll figure everything out in time."

We kissed momentarily.

"What do you say we roast those sweet potatoes now?" I asked.

He got a childish grin on his face in anticipation.

I smiled. "I'll take that as a yes."

---------------

Japanese Romanji Translations (in order of appearance)

---------------

Daifuku – a type of Japanese snack. It's a sweetened rice cake with a fruit-jam like center (I personally love these!)

Dango – Any type of dumpling

Kawaii yo – You're/That's Cute

Yakamashii – (slang) Shut up/ You're too noisy

Umeboshi – pickled baby plums. They are sometimes put in the center of rice balls

Hai, Hai – Yes, yes/ yes, right away/ sure thing

Oishii – delicious

Sensei – Teacher

Chi no Sentaku – Blood Selectin/Choice/Preference

Maabu Tofu – Pan fried pork with tofu and red beans (very good)

Sashimi – raw fish cut in very thin slices

Ki wo tsukete, ne? – Be careful, okay/ Take care of yourself

Kega nai no yo – I won't get hurt/injured