Chapter 2

Kanato took me to his room after everyone had finished their meal. I didn't have much say in the matter, he merely took my hand and I followed. While being dragged along behind him I tried to gauge his mood. His face didn't look cheerful but I didn't think he was angry at me either. If anything, he looked to be on the brink of a meltdown.

When we arrived in his room he finally dropped my hand and moved to his bed where he fell onto the mattress heavily and curled himself into a ball. He buried his face into the blankets and I watched for a minute as his body took large full breaths.

I'd never been into Kanato's room before. He'd never let me see it and I'd never had reason to enter but right then I had a chance to look around. It all seemed slightly childish but at the same time it felt dark. There was such an ominous feeling to the place that it made one feel like they were on the brink of tears. Somehow it seemed to suit Kanato so perfectly.

I looked to him again and although it was very faint, I could see him trembling. I approached the bed slowly and very hesitantly I sat on the edge of the mattress. Kanato still had his face hidden and it was then that I realised he was much more upset that I had imagined him to be.

Cautiously I reached out a hand and brought it gently down onto Kanato's shoulder. He jumped the instant I touched him and sprang up onto his knees. The vicious glare he gave me made me want to cower.

"Don't touch me!" he spat, "Don't give me your fake pity! No one can care about a loser like me."

"What are you saying?" I said startled. He'd been so calm over the past couple of days that I had almost forgotten that he could blow up at times. "What's wrong?"

Kanato's face contorted into a pained expression and he couldn't look me in the eye. I tried to reach out to him again but he slapped my hand away. His bottom lip was quivering and his eyes had gone glassy. It was strange seeing Kanato look so upset but it only made me was to comfort him more.

...a loser like me...

"You know..." I began gently, "I'm sure Subaru didn't mean it when he called you a loser. You know how he is. You can't take anything he says too seriously."

"But he was right, wasn't he?" Kanto partly yelled and partly wept, "I am a loser. I'm a freak. You only hang around me so that you can laugh at me!"

I blinked in surprise as I could see the wretchedness take over his features. I had never guessed Kanato to be an insecure person but from the misery on his face I could tell that Subaru's small comment from earlier had been toying with his mind. It made me wonder if he always got so upset about any small comment and if there was anything I could do to help. The only thing I could think of in that moment was to hug him.

I got myself further onto my bed and while Kanato was busy brushing away his tears I quickly wrapped my arms around his neck. This caused him to jump yet again but I had been expecting it so I held on tight as he wriggled and squirmed under my embrace. He made the noise of a small child that didn't want to be touched but I was determined to make him calm down and to understand me.

He managed to get an arm free and his hand came down fast across my cheek. He nails caught on my skin and from the sharp sting that followed I knew he had ripped my skin. The surprise caused me to let go of him and back away. My fingers brushed my cheek delicately and I felt the warmth of fresh blood.

Kanato seemed as shocked as I was and I looked at him warily as I shuffled backwards off the mattress. He hadn't spilled my blood since our strange new relationship had begun and it felt like a sudden betrayal. I had hoped he had changed.

When I managed to get myself off the bed I glanced towards the door. Kanato saw where I was looking and he quickly began to move towards me. I jumped into action and ran at full speed to the door in the fear that the smell of my blood had given him an appetite. However, just as I reached the door, two hands slammed down on either side of me and I whirled around to see Kanato barely a few inches from my face.

Fear caused me to recoil and as I shivered slightly I saw Kanato's face droop into a sad expression.

"You want to leave me?"

"N-no" I answered awkwardly. It was hard to say anything that would hurt Kanato when he had a face like that but he probably knew exactly why I was scared.

"Are you lying? I hate it when people lie."

"I just thought maybe you wanted to be alone" I replied. Of course it was a lie but I didn't need to get him in a worse mood.

"I want you to stay."

I closed my eyes as he leaned closer towards me. His wet tongue ran across my bloody cheek and I had to hold my breath to stop myself from shaking. He licked up the blood that had spilled over my face before moving away again.

I opened my eyes when I felt him take my hand and lead me back towards the bed. I stumbled along in his wake and sat with him on the mattress. He lay down and curled up into a ball again and continued as he had been doing before as if nothing had changed except that fact that I now held his hand.

I let myself relax when I realised this meant he wasn't going to attack me and I returned to trying to comfort him. I lay down beside him and held his hand with both of mine. He seemed to relax also and I watched as his shoulder became looser and his breathing slowed to a calmer rate. His eyes were closed and I knew it was my duty to stay by his side until he fell asleep.

"Don't leave me" he whispered quietly as he sank further into sleep. I smiled to myself a little. This one vampire gave me so much to worry about and yet it made my heart simply swell at the thought that he needed me. I shuffled closer to him and watched his gentle sleeping face.

His mouth began to form and mutter a word and I leaned in closer to catch the sound of his voice.

"... Teddy ..."

I gave a small sigh. Well, I suppose I still had a stuffed bear to compete with for Kanato's trust and compassion.

...

The sound of a rattling window had me suddenly sitting up. I hadn't even realised that I'd dozed off. I suppose the calm quiet had lulled me into slumber. I looked around and was surprised to find that I had been covered in a purple blanket.

Kanato still lay sleeping on the bed although he had clearly moved. His head now rested on one of the pillows and he had removed some of his outer clothing. I glanced at the clock on the wall and realised that five hours had passed. Presumably, Kanato had woken up in that time and had tried to make the two of us more comfortable before returning back to sleep.

I smiled gratefully and brought the blanket up to my face and inhaled deeply. It smelled slightly sweet, just like Kanato. I could only imagine him curled up in it.

Upon glancing back over to Kanato I then realised that he didn't have a blanket although I wasn't sure vampires could even get cold. He wore only a loose pair of pants and a soft white shirt that hadn't been buttoned properly so that the top half of his chest was exposed.

I blushed and scolded myself when I realised my eyes had lingered a little too long at the sight of his bare skin. I pointedly looked away and lay back down with the blanket tucked up around my chin. I was just going to pretend that I had never woken up and I had never stared at Kanato.

I couldn't help blushing again though when I could smell the blanket. It had me worried that perhaps I wasn't helping Kanato just because I felt sorry for him anymore. Perhaps I was helping him for new reasons...