Chapter 5

The girls all rushed outside and ran to the strawberry dorms as fast as their legs could take them, hoping to catch Marinel before she was gone forever. Some girls were mad at her, others afraid and another curious at her and they wanted to ask her so many questions that kept repeating in their heads.

They threw the doors open to the dorms and rushed upstairs to the Miator wing.

-"Girls… should we really go in her room?"- Chikaru asked.

-"Yeah we should, we need to talk to her."- Shizuma replied.

-"B-b-but what if she wants to bite us!?"- Nagisa cowered behind Tamao.

-"I don't think she would… did you not see her face?"- Tamao turned to Nagisa and everyone else, -"I really don't think she wanted to hurt her, or anyone."-

-"She's still our friend is she not?"- Momomi followed up.

-"Yes she is, but it doesn't excuse what she did to Yaya."-

-"I don't really think it's entirely her fault."- Tamao crossed her arms, -"But there is one way to find out, we need to talk to her."-

-"W-w-we shouldn't open that door!"- Nagisa's fears were reaching her limit, -"M-m-maybe we should h-have some garlic or something!"-

Chikaru looked at her, -"It's not a bad idea..."-

-"I don't think she'll hurt us."- Tamao was truly convinced that she would not hurt her friends but she really had no way of knowing.

Shizuma sighed, -"Well we're not getting anything done, let's just go."- She gripped the knob and twisted it, and all the girls walked into her room, spotting Marinel already packing.

-"Mari?"-

She looked at them, her eyeliner had left trails down her face from her tears, -"You all should go… it's not safe to be around me."-

-"Why didn't you tell us?"- Shizuma asked.

-"Tell you what? That I was a vampire?"- She shook her head, -"Do you know how crazy that sounds? How many people go around telling their friends, 'Oh hey, guess what love, I'm a vampire'." she said, -"You have any idea how many people would think I'm crazy, or how many people would flip out if they actually believed it!"-

-"Mari don't go,"- Tamao stepped closer to her, -"You're still our friend."-

-"I don't want to go… but I don't want to hurt you, any of you."-

Chikaru stepped forward, -"Did you come to this school to hurt us?"- She asked softly, though she knew Marinel wasn't there for that reason, she still wanted to hear what Marinel had to say with her own ears.

Marinel shook her head, -"No, I actually did want an education… I've never once in my life gone to school and I wanted too, but I never thought it would be so hard to be among people."- she sniffed, -"It's so hard to control this…"-

Momomi stepped to her, and held her hands, -"Don't go…"- she replied, Tamao also stood near her, -"I know you feel terrible and you would take it back if you could Mari-chan."-

Tamao then took her in her arms, and Marinel held her as she softly sobbed, it was all too much for her.

It was in that moment that Nagisa could see her pain, she could see that Marinel was actually a good person, just, with terrible urges and was fighting it as best she could, she even felt sorry for her and Nagisa would try to be a good friend to her and maybe she could even help her despite the intense fear she had just being near Marinel.

Chikaru was unsure of what to think of all this, she wasn't sure if she should hate Marinel or like her after hurting Yaya but everything she was saying sounded so genuine that it made her think differently but she had no idea.

-"Mari-chan,"- Tamao looked at Marinel, -"It's going to be okay, we're all going to be here for you and help you. If you ever feel like something bad is going to happen tell us, I want to be here for you and I know everyone else wants too as well."- Marinel looked at everyone, seeing them all nod with a smile on their faces, -"You'll never be alone."-

Momomi knelt down in front of Marinel and held her, normally she would never offer her shoulder for anyone… which shocked everyone.

-"Momomi, I'm so sorry…"-

-"For what?"-

She looked up at her, her eyes filled with regret, -"I bit you too…"-

-"Really?"- she rubbed her neck, and exhaled, -"Well crap, I never even knew you did."-

Chikaru knelt down in front of her, -"Mari-chan? How often do you have to drink blood? Maybe we can find some way to help you?"-

Marinel softly chuckled, but it was a nervous chuckle, -"That's the thing… I don't need it, I don't need to feed on blood at all."- Her words surprising everyone.

-"What do you mean?"- Shizuma asked, -"Vampires drink blood don't they?"-

She nodded, -"I am a vampire… but I'm what they call a 'half-blood'"-

-"Half-blood?"-

Marinel nodded, -"I'm a half-human, half-vampire, that's why I don't need blood."-

Everyone was speechless, -"How is that possible?"- Tamao asked what everyone was thinking.

-"I was born this way, love,"- She said, -"My father was a vampire and my mother was a normal person… and I'm the result."-

-"That's possible?"-

Marinel nodded, -"But I still get these awful cravings for blood, like a drug I can't get off from."-

Shizuma tilted her head, -"Wait, I've seen you in the sun before?"-

-"I know, why do you think I cover my entire body, even like that my skin starts to burn. I can stand in the sun and not immediately die from it but it'll still burn."-

-"Well look, we're going to be right here for you I promise Mari-chan."- Nagisa finally got closer to her and gave her a warm smile but she'd be lying if her heart wasn't beating rapidly as she got closer.

-"Arigato… all of you."-

Later that night, the girls had all set up a small lamp that gave off a soft lavender glow and Chikaru had gathered all the girls around it, even Yaya after she woke up an hour ago. Though Yaya couldn't remember what happened to her in the forest and a tearful Marinel explained it to her and apologized for it. They all thought that Yaya would have been furious but instead forgave her which surprised everyone including Marinel.

-"Yaya… I'm really sorry love."-

Yaya waved her hand to dismiss it, -"Hey it's okay Mari, just don't scare me like that again. but I'm glad you told me."- Yaya understood Marinel's problem of her addiction due to her vampire nature, she couldn't relate to it but she understood it.

Chikaru came back into the room with a tea set, and placing all the cups for the girls, though she didn't know if she should, she still placed one in front of Marinel then filled it with tea.

-"Can you… drink tea?"- Chikaru asked nervously.

Marinel smiled, picked up the tea cup and took a long sip which answered everyone's question, -"I don't need too, but I can."-

Nagisa smiled, -"Hey hey Mari-chan is it okay to ask how old are you?"-

-"You know what, I'm also curious?"- Momomi followed.

Marinel looked at them and sighed, still retaining her smile, -"To be honest, I don't know my exact age anymore but I know I'm more than five hundred years old."-

-"Daaamn, well you look amazing for your age grandma."- Momomi joked, making them laugh, even Marinel laughed at it.

-"Can I?"- after a nod, Shizuma lifted Marinel's hand and looked at her finger nails, her long pointy finger nails, -"Did you make them like this?"-

She shook her head, -"No, they formed themselves like that. If you're curious they're as hard as steel and sharp as a knife."-

-"Sugoi!"- They all exclaimed in unison.

-"You also have super speed right!"- Nagisa exclaimed, they could all see her fear was gone at least for the moment and Marinel to answer her question, moved in a flash and turned on the light, shocking the girls that they didn't even see her move and was now at the light switch. They were in utter awe, then Marinel flicked the switch off and sat back down in an instant.

-"You know, it's pretty awesome! We have a vampire best friend!"- Yaya giggled, -"So long as you don't bite anyone."- She was mostly curious then afraid of Marinel.

Marinel chuckled, -"Please believe me love, I really do try to fight my urges but sometimes it gets the better of me."-

Chikaru leaned forward, -"You said you don't need blood, how is that possible?"-

-"Because of what I am, I can survive without it but like a full blooded vampire I'm still prone to the lust for it."-

-"How did you deal with it before?"- Nagisa asked which everyone looked at Marinel.

-"The place I lived in, they had a doctor work at a hospital and he would bring me blood packs to curve my hunger."-

-"What happens if you don't have them?"- Tamao asked her.

-"You saw what happens… I lose myself and go out to find blood but I want to stop, I don't want to do this anymore."-

-"Don't worry Mari-chan we'll help you find a way."- Chikaru smiled as she reached for her hand, -"Arigato."-

-"And have more fun together."- Momomi gave Marinel a lustful gaze though Shizuma shot Momomi a gaze of her own that said to back off but Momomi only gave her a smug look in return.

Nagisa then placed a plate full of cookies that she made, everyone thanked her and grabbed some.

Marinel looked at them, then at the cookies… not once in her life has she ever had something sweet like a cookie, she's never even tried any type of food.

So she slowly reached for one, catching their attention and Marinel took a bite, -"This is wonderful, you did a good job love!"- Marinel then reached for another one, -"I've never had a cookie before!"-

-"Really?"-

Marinel shook her head, -"Nope, not once."-

-"So Mari, can I ask you something serious?"- Shizuma asked to which Marinel nodded, -"What's it like to be immortal?"-

The room got quiet, it was something that's been in everyone's mind after discovering she was a vampire.

Marinel took a sip from her tea, stared at her hands for a moment then looked at them, -"Honestly…"- she looked at everyone waiting for her answer, -"… Lonely."- she replied, -"If you're thinking that by being immortal its going to be fun and amazing, get to live to see the future then I can see why you would think its great, but it is not so,"- she said, -"Yeah I got to see the world change, the people change, and the more you live the more you come to see that it's such a long life, too long, more and more you just want to end it and you get sick of it... you get sick of how alone you feel, how miserable you start to become... being able to live forever isn't what its cracked up to be girls."-

There was a long silence for a moment.

-"Well… that's a fucking bummer."- Momomi exhaled and took a drink.

-"Why is that Mari-chan?"-

-"Well as I said… it's lonely, I can't even fall in love because then… I have to watch them grow old and eventually pass away, I've endured that pain many times already."-

-"Can't you turn them immortal too?"-

She shook her head, -"I'm not a full blooded vampire, I can't turn someone into a vampire like me… best I can do is slow someone's aging."- Marinel sighed, -"Either way, no one wants what I can give them."-

Nagisa felt for her as she turned her gaze to Shizuma, she couldn't begin to imagine what it was like to love someone and lose them due to the passage of time.

Chikaru lowered her gaze, the room just felt too sad and thought it would be a better idea to flip this conversation, -"I bet it was amazing seeing the world change with your very own eyes."-

She gave a half smile, -"It actually was, I got to see the world change, the things you have in your books, I've seen them and got to see some of the famous landmarks get built."-

-"That's incredible,"- Chikaru was fascinated by this, so much so that she forgot that she was dangerous.

-"I've been around long enough, I've seen a lot of stuff."- She said.

-"It truly does sound amazing."-

-"On that regard, yes it was."- Marinel took another sip.

The girls continued well into the night, enjoying their conversation and having a lot of laughs, Marinel even told stories about various parts of her life which kept the girls very much interested.

Once the clock reached three in the morning, they all decided to return to their rooms for some much needed sleep.

-"What will you be doing Mari-chan?"- Nagisa asked her.

-"I don't know, maybe go to the city, have some fun. Do wish to come love?"-

Nagisa giggled, -"No, I'm very sleepy."-

Marinel nodded, -"What about you girls?"- She asked the rest, all politely declining, -"Well it was worth a shot."- she giggled, -"Have a good night girls."-

-"You too Mari-chan,"- Chikaru gave her a hug as did the rest of the girls and took off back to her their rooms, leaving Marinel alone in her room or at least till…

The door opened up, and saw Shizuma walk inside.

-"Shizuma?"- she got closer to her, -"Is something wrong love?"- Shizuma, despite knowing who she was and what she was, could not ignore this any longer, she pulled Marinel to her and pressed her lips on hers and the two began to kiss deeply.

Though Marinel slowly and gently pushed her away, -"Mari? Something wrong?"-

-"I don't think I should do this… bad things happen when we do."-

Shizuma however looked into her eyes, -"I don't care."- and pressed her lips on her once more, Marinel soon lost herself to it and returned Shizuma's kiss with her own. As they kissed, Marinel's lips found their way to Shizuma's neck though she was expecting it and gently gripped Marinel's face and moved it back to her so they could resume kissing.

Shizuma laid Marinel down on the bed, unbuttoned her shirt and finally exposing her body to her. Shizuma removed her own clothing, and ran her hands all over Marinel's body as she did the same.

Her mind kept asking questions, or rather concerns because now she was starting to think it was a mistake coming here, mostly because she didn't want to harm her friends but because she knew she would fall in love maybe not with Shizuma but she didn't want that to happen. If she were to fall in love, it would be the end of her because she cannot handle watching her loved one age and then leave her as her previous lovers have.

She looked into Shizuma's eyes and allowed Shizuma to take the lead as their night was just starting and hoped that maybe somehow she could control her urge for blood.