Chapter 9

In the kitchen making breakfast, Mark glanced over when he heard Sayori give a soft moan as she stretched her arms.

"Hey, Sayori." Mark greeted her.

"What're you making?" Sayori asked. "It smells good."

"Your favorite."

Sayori's eyes seemed to gleam once she heard that.

"French Toast?"

"With the addition of eggs. Over easy." Mark added. "Sit. It's almost done."

Taking a spot at the table, Sayori watched Mark as he finished up the last few pieces of the meal. Grabbing two plates, he put a few pieces of french toast and eggs on both plates before taking them over to the table.

As soon as Sayori got her food, she poured syrup on the french toast before taking a bite.

Humming with satisfaction, Sayori looked to Mark.

"How'd you get so good at cooking?"

Mark replied with a shrug. "I've been cooking my own meals since I was ten, remember? Mom is always busy with work, so I had to care for myself."

Sayori swallowed another bite of food.

"Speaking of which, when was the last time Aiyako was home?"

"Last year." Mark replied.

"Seriously? It's been that long? I hadn't even noticed that much time had passed." Sayori said. "Must be lonely."

"Nah. I got the Literature club to keep me company. And now... I have you."

Sayori blushed at his words.

"You're so cheesy."

"Don't act like you hate it." Mark told her with a chuckle.

"Never said I did." Sayori told him. "In fact, I'm happy to hear it."

Mark smiled at Sayori who returned it.

Hours later

With not much to do, Mark and Sayori spent the day watching movies and simply enjoying each others company. With another movie over with, Sayori looked up at Mark.

"Hey, uh, Mark?" Sayori said, her voice slightly trembling.

"Yeah?"

"Now that, er, we're, um, a, uh, a couple... I'd like to... get used to, err... doing... couple things." Sayori said, clearly nervous.

"Couple things?" Mark repeated.

"You know... like..." Sayori's face lit up, her cheeks turning a deep red. "Ugh, forget it!"

"C'mon, what's up?" Mark asked.

"Ermph!" Sayori groaned. "It's just... hard to put into words."

"Just say what's on your mind." Mark told her. "It's not like I'm gonna laugh."

Nodding, Sayori took a deep breath before pushing herself up and turning to face Mark.

"I don't want to rush what we're starting." Sayori said. "But I also want to... do things with you that we couldn't before."

"Like what?" Mark asked.

"Like... what we did in the ferris wheel." Sayori replied.

"The kiss?"

Sayori sheepishly nodded.

"We can do that. If you really want to." Mark told her.

Sayori nodded her head.

"Alright. So, how do you want to..."

The both of them were visibly nervous, not sure which one should make the first move. Mark made the first move back on the ferris wheel, but that was the heat of the moment. Right now, he wasn't sure.

"Maybe we could just... go slow?" Sayori asked, scooting closer to Mark. "Let's just-"

"-take our time?" Mark finished, moving closer to Sayori.

Both of their hearts began to beat faster.

"We're not rushing anything, are we?" Sayori asked.

"Nah."

With each word, the two inched closer and closer until, together, their lips touched once more.

The kiss lasted about as long as their first, before the two broke apart. However, no words were exchanged as the two kissed again. With neither of them having had a relationship like this with anyone else, this was surely a learning experience for the two.

Nervous, palms sweaty, hands shaking, it was obvious neither one wanted to mess up.

Continuing to give each other mere pecks on the lips, Sayori gently placed her hand over Mark's as she kept their next kiss going a few seconds longer than their previous. Neither one of them knew how much time had passed before they both pulled away, smiling at one another.

The two sat in silence, unsure what to say to one another. That is until Sayori slowly spoke.

"H-how was it?" She asked, her voice shaking slightly.

"I should be asking that." Mark replied.

Sayori smiled.

"I think... there's room for improvement." She glanced away, her cheeks turning a soft shade of red.

"Is that your way of telling me you wanna continue?" Mark asked.

Sayori replied with a grin, answering Mark's question.

"Well, we have the rest of the day to practice." Mark told her, leaning in for another kiss.

Days later

Having spent most of his free time with Sayori, getting used to doing "couple things" together, Mark still had one nagging thought in the back of mind. How or when should he ask if Sayori was ready to turn into what he is?

With their new relationship, it only weighed on Mark more that he could not live without Sayori.

Coming back after having gone out to hunt to get a better feel for the woods as well as his own transformation, Mark began to fumble with his keys to get inside his house. As he was, he heard the low hum of a car slowly drive by behind him.

Glancing back, an all back car, one Mark had never seen before, stalked down the road at a slow speed.

He found it a bit odd the car was going so slow, but it wasn't unusual for cars to drive down his street since people easily made wrong turns often.

Opening his door, Mark tossed his keys in the bowl on the counter before locking the door and heading off to sleep.

The next day

Sitting in class, Mark had his eyes pointed out the window, watching birds fly by and other various small creatures go about their day. It wasn't like he was hungry or anything, he was just bored. In class, Mark barely had to pay attention to get an easy A. Not only that, but ever since Natsuki turned him, Mark's hearing had been tripled. It was easier than ever now to daydream while paying attention simultaneously.

"Mr. Lavender."

"Hm?" Mark looked to the front of the class.

"Could you tell us who created the execution device known as the guillotine?" The teacher asked.

Mark stretched his arms as he fought back a yawn.

"Joseph-Ignace Guillotin." Mark replied.

"Correct." The teacher said. "It was orginally developed as a more humane way of execution. Now-"

Turning back to his view out the window, Mark paid little mind to the lesson, watching the animals go about their lives as a way to pass the time.

Within minutes, the bell finally rang but Mark just sat in his seat, unmoving, his gaze still glued outside.

After a bit of time passed, Mark began making his way to the club room. Walking in once he arrived, he took notice that he was the last to get there.

"Heya!" Sayori chimed as she bounced in front of Markus.

"Hey." Mark replied as he walked over to a desk and put his things down.

Sitting beside him, Sayori rested her head in her hands.

"Summer break is next week!" Sayori excitedly stated. "Got any plans?"

"Summer break?" Mark repeated. "Already?"

"Lost track of time again?" Sayori asked. "You always were bad at that."

"Says the person who'd be late to school most of the time if not for me." Mark shot back.

"Heeeeey. I've gotten better at that." Sayori pouted. "I sometimes have to wake you up now."

"Eh." Mark shrugged. "To answer your question: no, I don't really have any plans."

"Well, uh, neither do I." Sayori pressed her index fingers together. "Maybe we could hang out a bunch?"

"Or," Natsuki said as she walked over. "You two can come party with the rest of us."

"Party?" Mark asked, intrigued.

"Monika is throwing a party the day of break." Natsuki said. "Since she's pretty popular, I'm sure most of the school will be there. It's probably gonna get pretty crazy."

Sayori glanced at Mark.

"What kind of party?" Sayori asked.

"One you won't forget." Natsuki replied with a grin. "It'll be fun."

Sayori then looked to Markus.

"Are you gonna go?"

"Of course he is!" Natsuki answered for Mark. "As if I'd let him miss it."

Mark shrugged his shoulders.

"Where is it?" He asked.

"I'll send you the address."

A week later

Glancing at his phone every now and then, Mark followed the outlined path to the destination.

"Where the hell is this place?" Sayori asked, irritated. Mark was giving her a ride to the party, which was a cabin in the woods Monika's family owned.

"The middle of nowhere, apparently." Mark stated.

Sayori huffed as she leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms.

Feeling his phone vibrate, Mark pulled it out of his pocket, seeing a text from Natsuki.

"You almost here? The party's starting." He read it silently.

Mark began to type out a reply as he kept glancing at the road.

"Almost. Think I'm lost, th-"

"Mark!" Sayori suddenly shouted.

Looking ahead, a large deer was standing in the road.

"Shit!"

Quickly steering around the animal, Sayori looked back to see it dart into the woods. Sayori chuckled before looking to Mark.

"Nice driving."

"Thanks." Mark replied before keeping his eyes on the road. "Wanna ask Monika where the-"

"Take the next right turn." Sayori told him. "It's a large ass cabin."

Doing as instructed, Mark and Sayori arrived at the destination.

The house was a massive, privately owned mansion. There was a large drive, and a fancy fountain out front. It even had it's own lake side view. Across the lake sat a small guesthouse.

"I had no idea Monika was loaded." Mark stated. "Look at this place!"

As they pulled into the lot, Mark noticed the industrial-looking gates that kept the drive secure.

There were only a few parked cars, but Mark only recognized Natsuki's. He didn't see Yuri's or Monika's outside.

Grabbing his phone, Mark shot them both a quick text. Just before he did, however, he noticed a pair of texts, one from each girl.

Mark read them both in silence, starting with Monika's.

"Won't be making it to the party. Had to bail last second. Party's still on, tho."

And Yuri's just read "Leaving out of town today."

"Monika and Yuri aren't making it." Mark told Sayori.

"Shame." She said, upbeat. "C'mon. Their loss."

"You're not... bummed out about it?" Mark asked.

"This is my first party, so I'm gonna enjoy it!"

Heading inside, Mark and Sayori were greeted by Natsuki, who was holding a bottle of very expensive whiskey.

"Heeeey!!" She said excitedly upon seeing the duo. "Welcome. Welcome. So, uh, grab a bottle, relax, kick back and have a great fuckin' time!" Getting a look at Sayori, Natsuki noticed something. "How'd you get that bruise?"

Sayori looked at her right arm to see a large bruise forming on her forearm.

"Huh. I have no idea." Sayori replied.

"Hm. Well, enjoy yourselves!" With that, Natsuki wandered off.

From outside, it sounded dead. But once you stepped foot inside, it was almost nauseating how loud it was.

Outside, the Sun was lowering behind the treeline, but the people at the party kept going.

Back inside, Sayori had gotten over her shyness, thanks to a little nudge from Natsuki being in the form of a spiked drink. Now, Mark was chasing Sayori around trying to make sure she wouldn't do anything foolish in her tipsy state.

However, he was getting exhausted running around the party. He was sweaty, and kept wiping the sweat from his brow, which was strange considering it was rather cool inside the mansion.

Sayori, who felt Mark release her hand, finally stopped to ask him to keep up. But upon seeing Mark, Sayori seemed to sober up, albeit just slightly.

"Are you okay?" She asked him, still able to talk without slurring her words. "You don't look so good."

Mark wiped his brow once more.

"I'm fine." He lied.

In reality, Mark felt like his entire body was burning up. His very skin felt like an oven to him.

Grabbing onto his hand, Sayori led him up the stairs and into one of the many bedrooms. Inside, Sayori led Mark to the bed.

Once she sat him down, Sayori left to grab a few things to help with his fever.

While she was gone, Mark gripped the edge of the bed in a vice-like hold. His knuckles turned white as he fought against whatever it was that was ailing him.

Sayori returned with a damp cloth and instructed Mark to lay back. Doing as told, Sayori placed the rag onto his forehead.

"Thank you." Mark said softly.

Staying by his side, Sayori began to watch over him. After a few minutes, she felt him move, causing her to snap her focus onto him.

"May I ask you something?" Mark's eyes were half shut.

"Of course." Sayori told him. "Anything."

"Will you stay with me?" He requested.

"Yeah." Sayori answered. "I'm not leaving."

"I don't want you to leave." He continued. "I don't want you to go."

Sayori gently took his hand into hers.

"I promise, I'm not leaving you."

Mark had a pained look on his face as the fever continued to increase.

Reaching out, Mark took Sayori's hand into his own.

"I love you." He told her.

Sayori couldn't help but smile at those words.

Leaning in, she gave him a passionate kiss that lasted a few seconds.

"I love you, too."

Kissing him a few more times, Sayori went to move onto him when Mark suddenly groaned loudly. His eyes shot open, showing they were a bright yellow.

Sayori quickly hopped off the bed, watching as Mark let out a scream of pain.

"Mark?!" Sayori shouted his name.

Downstairs, Natsuki heard Sayori and began heading for the stairs. Ascending them, Natsuki could hear Sayori's panicked breathing as well as the gasps of pain from Mark.

Noticing what was happening, Natsuki rushed down the hall until she came upon Sayori and Mark's room. Heading inside, she saw Mark was writhing in pain on the bed.

"What's happening to him?!" Sayori shouted.

Before Natsuki could react, Mark began tearing at his skin, ripping chunks off at a time as fur emerged from underneath. His bones cracked and elongated as did his claws. This wasn't like his other transformation.

Standing on his hind legs as the last bit of his skin fell off, Mark let out a howl, loud enough alert the entire party.

He wasn't his full wolf form, but instead a combination between his human and wolf form.

Sayori could only stare in shock as Mark looked around the room. The music downstairs had died out, and everything fell silent.

Looking to Sayori, Mark rushed toward her, pulling his arm back to swipe. Just before contact, Natsuki pushed Sayori out of the way, taking the hit on her left arm instead.

Glaring as Mark rushed toward Natsuki, he suddenly stopped. Sniffing around, Mark ignored Natsuki and turned his head to Sayori instead.

Just as he took a step forward, Natsuki got in the way again, keeping Mark's focus on her.

Hearing the door creak open, Natsuki looked over.

"Hey, what's with the-"

Before the party goer could finish her sentence, Mark attacked. Swiping at her throat, the girl gurgled on her own blood before collapsing.

Moving over her body, Mark rushed downstairs where everybody's screams overlapped as Mark went on his rampage.

Sayori, who had a blood streak on her face from the girl, stared in a shocked silence.

"What was that?" She asked quietly. "What was that? What was that!? What the fuck was that?!" Sayori screamed. She gripped both sides of her head as she crouched down. "What..." her eyes were wide with panic and fear.

Natsuki, on the other hand, rushed to the window. Looking up into the night sky, Natsuki cursed herself for not realizing.

"It's a full moon."

End of chapter 9