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Chapter Text

Outside... What's it like out there? I... I can't remember anymore. I've been kept here for so long; it's as if the only life I know is this one that I'm trapped in. Being little more than food for a vampire, I was rarely allowed out of my room. I didn't even know his name; I'd always been told to refer to him as 'Master.'

As Master finished and I felt his fangs withdraw from my neck, he released his grip on me, letting me collapse on the floor. It wasn't uncommon for him to take so much of my blood at once, but he'd always been careful not to take too much. He wanted to keep me around so that he didn't have to go out and hunt for new victims all the time, which would have quickly drawn the attention of hunters.

My body is so weak... I can't even lift my head up from the floor. My hearing is the first to go, all sounds becoming distorted and muffled. Sight goes next, strange blotches that appear to be blinking start covering my field of vision. I'm getting weaker by the second and soon everything fades to nothing.

There's a strange beeping noise and when I finally opened my eyes again, the room was bright. This wasn't that vampire's dark mansion; this was a hospital room. It took a moment to realize that the beeping was a simple heart monitor.

In the corner of the room sat a boy. He looked like he was close to my age and he was kind of handsome. Though I had absolutely no idea why he was here. Or why he was staring at me. Wait. Uh oh... he's staring at me...

I carefully sat up in my bed, making a mental note of all the wires and tubes connected to me. Whoever had brought me here must have thought I was in a pretty bad condition. But now what? Where was I supposed to go and what was I supposed to do?

"You're awake." The guy in the corner spoke calmly. If I had to guess, he was probably one of those calm, rational types of people. "Dad wasn't sure if you'd turn or not, so he asked me to keep an eye on you while he tries to figure out who you are." Slowly he stood and made his way over to me. "I guess now that you're awake, you could tell-"

As he got closer and as he spoke, I caught a glimpse of his teeth. While that might not seem like such a big deal, he had fangs and only vampires had fangs. Immediately I backed up a little and threw my arms up as a shield, wincing when the sudden motion tugged at the tubes in my arm.

He was a little surprised by my reaction, but I could tell that he understood and he took one step back. "You don't have to worry about me," he said, his voice still calm like before. "I'm only half. My father's a human and a vampire hunter. My mother's a vampire. I got stuck with the fangs, but that's all. I don't have any desire or even a reason to want your blood."

"O-okay..." I slowly lowered my arms, feeling a little ashamed of the way I'd reacted. It's not like I could really help it though. After everything I'd been through, I doubted I'd ever let a vampire get within ten feet of me ever again.

After a lot of discussion, the three of us learned a lot. The boy was named Akira Kunimi and his father was Takeshi Kunimi. To avoid any confusion, I decided to call them both by their first names. Since I was human and could not remember who I was or where I was from, or really anything at all besides my first name, and they couldn't seem to find any record of me, I would be staying with Takeshi and his family.

I began attending school with Akira, who was my age and trained enough to take me down if I ended up turning into a vampire. It was unlikely at this point, but better safe than sorry. After some time, I began to adjust to normal life. Of course, that was after I'd freaked out a little while meeting some of Akira's teammates from his volleyball club. In my defense, they were vampires, so it wasn't like it was for no reason.

"Can I tell you something?" Akira asked, leaning back against the tree that we sat under.

That tone in his voice was one that I'd grown to recognize well. What he really meant was if he could tell me something without me ever saying it to anyone, especially his father. "Yeah."

Akira is silent a moment, putting the words together in his head before he dared to speak them. "I wonder what it's like, being a vampire." Technically he is one himself, but only half. "What would it be like, drinking someone's blood? How would it taste? I'm curious, but I'm not sure I'd ever really want to try and find out."

From what I knew, the child of a human and a vampire can be almost anything. It could take after the human parent and gain none of the vampire traits. It could also take after the vampire parent and suffer from bloodlust and weakness to the sunlight. Or it could be anything in between. Akira falls in the in-between. He has fangs, yet he doesn't require blood or get weak from the sun.

"Takeshi would be sad to hear that."

"He'd be furious," he corrected me. Takeshi had often said that if Akira turned into "one of those filthy, no good bloodsuckers," he'd kill him. Because of that, Akira never dared to try out anything that a vampire might do. "He's really got his heart set on me being just like him too."

I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. "You don't want to be a vampire hunter?"

Akira shook his head. "It's just not me, you know?" It didn't feel right to him, and I understood that, but he was well-suited for such a job. He's calm and thinks things through. Plus he has the physique and being half-vampire, half-human, he's already got an advantage over any normal human or vampire. "It just doesn't feel right for me."

He sighs and tilts his head upwards, closing his eyes. Sitting the like that, he's very peaceful-looking. It's silent awhile before I speak.

"You don't have to be what he wants you to," I said, placing my hand over his. This was the first time I'd ever touched him by my own choice. Akira opened his eyes and looked down at me. "It's your life; he can't tell you who you are or what to be. If you do as he says, then it has to be your choice, or else you won't be happy."

"For someone who has no family, you understand well."

I shook my head. "I just know how it feels to be forced to do something you don't want to." While I didn't say it then, I'd spent quite a few years being forced to do whatever someone else wanted. Only after I met Akira and his father was finally able to do what I wanted, and I was much happier because of it.

"Um... Akira?" He looked at me, his head tilting just a tiny bit. It was something he always did, but you would have to pay a lot of attention to him to ever notice. "For being half-vampire, you're a great guy." A smile spread across my face as I gave his hand a light squeeze. "And you know what? I really like you."

Chapter Text

His lips are soft against my own. His kisses are tender and sweet. Most people wouldn't even think about it, but every second... every kiss... it means so much to me. Because only in these rare moments are we able to share our affections.

Our love is kept secret from everyone, though it's not for reasons you'd think. If his father had any idea what was going on... I'd hate to think how he'd react.

Akira's lips trail from mine down to my neck. Only recently has he gained the courage to do any more than just kisses, and even then we must be cautious. Should he leave even the tiniest, faintest mark, we'll be caught for sure.

A small gasp escaped as I felt his soft, wet tongue massage the skin of my neck. As he sucked at the side of my neck, he was careful not to let his teeth even graze me. He knew all too well my history with vampires and he knew that they terrified me. Luckily for him, he was only half and seemed to only have the fangs and a few of the positive traits. He was also lucky to not suffer from the bloodlust that any full vampire would, so he'd never once tasted blood.

Suddenly, he stopped. Akira didn't move from my neck. "Is it okay if I bite you?" While it might sound crazy to ask, he did it to make sure it was actually okay and that I wouldn't freak out, considering my traumatizing past. "I'm not asking for your blood; I won't even break the skin... I don't even know why, I just really, really want to bite you..."

His voice was calm as always, yet there was a slightly darker tone to it. After I nodded, granting him permission, I felt his teeth lightly pressing down on me. Still as gentle as always.

It's a pleasant feeling and I rewarded him with a pleased hum. He then returned to his former act of sucking on my neck, throwing in a few gentle bites here and there. This is the most intimate we've ever gotten and I love it. That is, until Akira bit down a little too hard.

I let out a cry of pain as I felt his fangs cut through my skin. Instantly he pulled back, worry showing on his face. My hand went to my neck, feeling a warm and sticky liquid. It had been an accident, I knew that, but I couldn't help but feel a little scared.

Akira started to speak, but as his tongue just barely brushed over his fangs, the words were lost and the look in his eyes changed. He licked off the small amount of blood that had stuck to them before his eyes trailed over to the bite mark covered by my hand.

I recognized that look... I'd seen it too many times before, though never on Akira. Slowly I removed my hand from the bite, my palm covered in blood. I held it out to him and he carefully took it, pulling it closer to his mouth. He slowly licked at the blood, his touch gentle and never once trying to bite.

Once it's been licked clean, his eyes met with my own. That look still lingered there; the look of a vampire who wanted blood. But as we both knew, Akira didn't need it at all. It was quite similar to a human's lust for physical contact; it wasn't necessary, yet it was desired.

I raised my hand up slowly, gently caressing his cheek. It was at that moment that I made a decision that would change things for both of us, for better or for worse. My head tilted to the side and his eyes widened. "I trust you."

No more words are needed, as those three more than said it all. I loved and trusted him, that was all either of us needed to know. Akira slowly leaned in and closed his lips around the small wound, as gently as he's always been.

And for the first time in my life, I wasn't afraid. With him here, I'd never have anything to fear.

Chapter Text

I should have known that hiding a bite mark wouldn't be easy. Akira's father Takeshi was a very observant person, as his job as a vampire hunter required him to be. With the mark being on the side of my neck, it was impossible to cover. Well, unless I wanted to suddenly start wearing scarves which would be stupid since the weather was starting to get warm.

Putting a bandage over it wasn't an option: it would stand out too much. So my only choice was to be careful and keep my hair over it. Of course, no one can be aware of something 100% of the time.

It's only been two days since that time with Akira. So far we'd been lucky that Takeshi had been too busy to notice either of us, but we both knew that luck wouldn't last.

We both sat quietly as we ate dinner. Akira's father was on my left, his mother on my right. He'd insisted on this arrangement for meals, as it was safer. He could avoid being placed between his vampire wife and half-breed son, should they suddenly decide to turn on him. It was quite paranoid, really, but I could understand his concern.

Unfortunately, this arrangement put him on the same side as Akira's bite mark.

As Akira's mother started a bit of conversation, I found myself turning my head to face her. Big mistake. As I did so, I just barely flashed my neck to the old vampire hunter on my left. Needless to say, it did not go ignored by the paranoid man.

His hand reached over, grabbing me and turning my head. Pushing my hair to the side, he exposed the bite mark. The man's eyes immediately turned to his wife, the only full vampire that he knew I'd allow near me. However, the look of surprise on her face cleared her of suspicion.

"Who did this?" His voice was firm and calm, demanding to know the source of the mark.

I didn't answer, though for no more than a second my eyes had flicked over to Akira. That tiny reaction wasn't missed by the ever-observant Takeshi.

His eyes narrowed as he turned towards Akira. Not a word was spoken; Takeshi grabbed his son roughly by the arm, dragging him out of the room. My mouth opened to protest, Akira's mother placed her hand on me, telling me to stay out of it.

I can't see where they go, but I don't need to. It's the basement, where they two often disappear to when Takeshi teaches Akira about being a vampire hunter. I've never seen that room since only the two boys are allowed in and Akira is forbidden from telling anyone of it.

The whole house is dead silent for what seems like forever. The basement had probably been soundproofed, which worried me. His father had been very adamant that he would never allow his son to be, as he put it, "one of those filthy, no-good bloodsuckers," so I worried about Akira's safety.

After what felt like hours, Takeshi returned without Akira. At first, I thought the worst, but that fear was eased by the sound of the front door slamming shut. Still, it didn't make things okay.

Despite his mother having told me to stay out of it, I just had to say something. "It wasn't his fault!" I blurted out, trying my best to help make things a little better. Maybe if I told him what happened, it would help. "It was an accident! He never meant to do it."

Unfortunately, it did little to calm the angry hunter. When he said nothing, I stood up and left the room. I was too worried about Akira to just sit here and do nothing; I was going after him. Before anyone could even say or do anything to stop me, I had my shoes on and I was out the door.

It was foolish to be out this late at night, but honestly, I couldn't care less.

The streets were dark, the sun had gone down a while ago. No cars out on the street, not even the quietest sound. To say that it was a creepy scenario would be an understatement.

I glanced around but saw no sign of him. There had to be some way to figure out which way he'd gone... some place he'd go... someone he was close to maybe... Ah! I had an idea of where he might have gone and started down in that direction.

A cold breeze blew and I immediately regretted not grabbing my jacket. While the weather might have been getting warmer, it was still a bit cold after the sun went down. It was even colder for me, considering that I was wearing a t-shirt. Clearly, there was no planning for this on my part.

Noises nearby make me freeze. My eyes dart around, looking for the source, but I see nothing. If I were your average person, then I'd simply write it off as nothing more than the wind, but I know better.

Nighttime is the time when the darker creatures show their faces. Vicious werewolves... bloodthirsty vampires... now is the time when they're most active. There's no doubt in my mind that I'm more than likely going to encounter at least one of them, though I certainly hope I'm wrong. But being a human girl out alone when night's most dangerous hour approaches, I'm practically asking for trouble. And it's not long before I find it. Or rather, it finds me.

He seemed to appear out of nowhere, startling me. There's a vicious look in his eye and I have no doubts that this might end badly. The man's a vampire, as I can quickly figure out and that instantly puts me on edge.

"You look lost," the stranger said, his voice almost like an amused purr. He takes a step forward and I'm already trembling. "Why don't you let me help you?" A smirk spreads across his face, revealing a set of fangs. A vampire, just as I knew he was.

He's getting close by the second, yet I can't seem to move. Vampires terrify me and that's coming back to bite me now. Then, a figure steps in between me and the approaching vampire, their back to me. The vampire instantly halted his movements.

"She doesn't need any help from you." I knew that voice like I knew the back of my hand. That was Akira's voice. Seeing the back of his volleyball jacket confirmed it.

He doesn't look at me, doesn't even take his eyes off the other guy. "Go home." His voice is calm and directed at me. As I opened my mouth to protest, to say that I didn't want to leave him here alone, he cut me off. "I'll come back, I promise."

Upon arriving back home, I decided that I'd wait up for him. His mother waited with me for a short time, but as it was late, she went to bed. I was left sitting alone, the front door constantly in my sight. No matter how tired I was or how long the minutes began to feel, I stayed awake, waiting.

After what felt like an eternity, the door swung open and in stepped a figure. He was a bit beat up, but there was no mistaking him. Mere seconds after he was through the door and even though I was exhausted, I ran to Akira and threw my arms around him.

He didn't say a word, just wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. "Don't worry me like that..." My grip on him tightened. "I... I was scared that I would never see you again..."

"I'd never do that to you..." Akira said softly as tears of relief welled up in my eyes. "I promise that I would never do anything to hurt you. I love you."

If there's one thing I knew about Akira, it was that he never breaks a promise.

Several Years Later...

His arms wrapped around my waist from behind. "You're home early," I hummed, continuing my cleaning. Akira's lips brush against my neck for just a second before seeking out my own. "How'd it go?"

"Dad's the same as ever," he said, a slight chuckle in his voice as he gently ran his hand over my swollen belly. "Mom's excited though."

A smile spread across my face as I turned to face him. "More excited than you are?"

"No one could be as excited as I am," he stated, a smile breaking out as the baby kicked right by my husband's hand. His eyes looked up from my stomach to meet my gaze. "I'll never let anything happen to you or him."

"Is that a promise?"

"It is."

Not once did Akira ever break his promise that day or any other that followed it.