• CHAPTER 7 - DÉJÀ VU

    Becoming a Blood Bride is already hard work, especially trying to keep other thirsty Vampires from my neck...

    I ignored the figure in the corner for a brief moment. I was probably hallucinating from being so tired so I curled back up in bed and shut my eyes. The part of the bed next to me lowered a little bit and I groaned, pulling the covers over my head.

    "Go away, Kai. I told you you're not welcome for the rest of the night."

    No answer. Maybe he was sleepwalking. Wait, do Vampires sleepwalk? I didn't know, but I wanted Kai out of my room. He had irritated me enough these past couple of days. He never left. I popped my head out of the covers and saw somebody staring down at me. Their face was almost completely covered by shadows. This guy...wasn't Kai. He didn't have the same hair.

    I squinted my eyes, trying to get a better figure of him, "Kai?"

    A delicate hand touched my head softly, "No,"

    I started hyperventilating and little. This was a little scary, "Kira?"

    I could hear a little chuckle from the boy, "Yeah,"

    My heard calmed down a little bit and I smiled weakly, "You scared me, Kira. What are you doing in here?"

    "Just dropping by,"

    "It's the middle of the night. I'm trying to sleep."

    "I'm sorry I woke you,"

    "I wasn't entirely asleep yet,"

    I was hoping he would leave soon. I was too tired and wanted to go to sleep. Kira grabbed my shoulder and roughly rolled me onto my back and pulled the covers off from above me. He leaned over and placed one hand on either side of me and looked down on me with hungry red eyes. I gasped and tried to speak, tried to tell him to leave, but I couldn't speak. I couldn't move. I kept trying to scream out, kept trying to push Kira off, but it was no use. My limbs were completely useless. Kai had told me about an ability that was incredibly useful to Vampires during feeding. It was a kind of charm that renders their victim helpless. They can't move or speak until the Vampire lifts the charm. I didn't know Kira had the ability.

    Kira trailed over my throat and my neck and fingered each bandage, never removing his eyesight from my neck. He ripped off both bandages, causing me to wince in pain.

    "While you're like this, I want to ask something of you,"

    He firmly grasped my throat with his right hand. He hovered his face close to mine and climbed onto the bed so that he was on top of me.

    "Give me your blood, Arisa,"

    My heart started speeding up. No! I'm not allowed to! Did Kira not understand that I'm Kai's Blood Bride? He probably didn't care. He was a half Vampire, he needed the strength. I didn't care if he was weak or not; I wasn't going to give him my blood.

    "It's not any fair that only Kai gets your blood without considering that I need it more than he does. You shouldn't be his Blood Bride," Kira hissed the last two words.

    He ignored the angered and frightened expression on my face and pressed his lips against my neck. He wrapped an arm around my waist and held me close to him and held my right wrist down by my head. The bruises on my wrists were not completely healed yet from the night I was first attacked. Kira inhaled multiple times and repeatedly ran his tongue over parts of my neck, especially over the first wound. I closed my eyes and waited for the worst to be over, seeing as I couldn't help myself at all. I was happy I prepared myself at the last second. Kira bit into me with greater pain than Kai had before. I gasped and started hyperventilating out of fear and pain. Kira bit harder and I winced.

    I continued to call out Kai's name in my head, hoping he was still lurking around in there. I didn't know where he went or how far he was, but I wanted him. I continued to wince and moan as I could feel the blood in my body surge into Kira's mouth and I felt nauseous. The pain in my neck rippled throughout my whole body with every gulp Kira would take.

    Kai!! I was starting to think he couldn't hear me, that he had taken my advice from earlier and decided to stay out of my head. I was about to give up all hope. My life was draining from me just as it was during the first attack. I was getting incredibly dizzy and I could see black spots forming around my eyes, trying to black my vision. I tried desperately to calm down my heart. I knew that with every heartbeat increasing in speed made my blood run faster, making Kira lust for it even more. I had a less chance of that than surviving. Kira gripped me tighter and sucked harder and I gasped warily. I was done for.

    I hadn't noticed Kai and Matsuda teleport into the room until I heard them both gasp. My thoughts were getting weary, Kai...help me, and Kira wouldn't let me go. All at once, Kai heaved Kira off of me, sending loads of pain through my whole body again. Kira's teeth never really came out of my neck. His fangs were still firmly planted in and when Kai pulled him off, Kira's teeth drug their way out of my neck, causing me to scream, grab my neck, roll over and curl up. I buried my face in the pillow I was lying on and continued to scream in all of the agony rippling through me. I glanced over and saw Kai holding Kira up against the wall by the collar of his shirt, much similar to what Matsuda did to Kai. I flinched as Kai's fist met Kira's cheek and Kira's fist met Kai's cheek and he kicked Kai off of him. Matsuda ran behind Kira and placed him in a headlock before Kira could do any more damage. A growl crawled up Kira's chest and hissed through his teeth. Kai stood in a protective crouch at the foot of his bed, talons drawn, and ready to pounce. He bore his fangs and a deafening growl ripped through his chest.


    I buried my face back in the pillow just as I heard Matsuda shout, "Keep your eyes off of Arisa, Kira!" and I figured Kira kept staring at me with his starving eyes.

    I didn't notice Matsuda and Kira leave until I felt Kai place himself on the bed. He lightly touched my shoulder and I shouted in pain and in the next instant, I was in Kai's arms and held closely to his cold chest. The tears started pouring out of my eyes and the cries ripped through my mouth. I wrapped my arms around Kai and felt as though I were holding him as tight as he was holding me. I didn't care if the whole world saw a Vampire holding a human, I wanted Kai to stay. I didn't want him to leave my side again. He stroked my head.

    "Arisa, Arisa, are you okay?"

    I shook my head frantically, "No! No, I'm not!"

    Kai pressed his face against my head and slowly rocked us back and forth, "It's okay, Arisa. Kira's gone."

    "I'm scared, Kai! I'm scared of being a Blood Bride!" I was so stupid. I thought Kai would protect me at all times. I completely let my guard down, thinking Kai had my back the whole time. I felt horrible at the responsibilities I pinned on Kai.

    "I told you not to do it, Arisa,"

    "But you said it was a brave thing!"

    "It was, but you didn't include all of the danger involved in it,"

    "I did it for you, Kai!"

    Kai stiffened a little but continued to rock back and forth, slipping in a few Shh's every now and then, trying to calm me down. I continued to cry and hate myself as Kai stroked my head and rubbed my back. I coughed and choked on my crying. After a couple of moments, I managed to calm down a little bit.

    "I shouldn't have told you the secret,"

    "Wh-what are you talking about?"

    "If I wouldn't have told you our secret, none of this would have happened."

    I shook my head, tears still coming out, "Don't be frivilous, Kai. I found out for myself afterwords."

    Kai flinched slightly, remembering what he had done. I tried to comfort him, "It's...it's alright, Kai. I'm fine."

    Kai didn't speak. Neither of us did for long moments. The only thing that filled the silence was my muffled sobs. It still hurt so much, I was still scared. Kai pulled me off of him gently and stared at me, "I'll be right back," and he was gone less than half a second after finishing his sentence.

    I curled up on the bed and hummed a lullaby to myself quietly. My mom had sung it to Aya and I whenever we had bad dreams or if we were scared of anything. The lulluby calmed me down greatly. I wiped some blood off of my wound andcuriosity made me holdmy hand up to my nose and was about to take a whiff until Kai grabbed my wrist lightly and pulled it away from my face.

    "Don't do that. It will provoke me."

    He placed himself in front of me again and opened the medical kit. He fixed me up quickly, trying to breathe as little as he could. As soon as he set the medical kit down after cleaning up my bloody hand, I held onto his head with both hands and stared athim in the eyes. His light green eyes full of concern and guilt. I whispered as low as I could, "Thank you,"

    The weak smile took its place and he cupped his hand on my cheek and slid his other hand to the bottom of my back, "I'm not leaving you again tonight,"

    I gave Kai a puzzled look.

    "You're not sleeping in this room alone tonight, Arisa. Or any other night."

    He rubbed his thumb on my cheekbone, swiping away any stray tears that shed unconsciously. I pressed my face against his shirt and noted that he had changed it when he got the medical supplies. The scent of my blood was too much for him, but it was too late to send him out of the room. I slid my hands off of his face and grasped his shirt.

    "So what are we going to do?"

    "What we should do every night from now on,"

    And then we were lying on the bed, facing each other. I felt great heat in my face but was much too tired and worn out to overreact about it. I tried to push him off weakly but his grip never loosened.

    I confronted in a weak voice, "Kai, don't. We're only friends. We can't sleep in the same bed."

    "'Only friends'? Arisa, we crossed that line a while ago,"

    He was right, but it didn't feel right to have to sleep in his arms like this, "Friends should do what friends do,"

    "I'm not letting you go unprotected at night ever again. If you need to sleep in my arms every
    night, then so be it." he sounded so confident and so serious.

    I stared at Kai for a long moment. The tears started rolling again, "Is being a Blood Bride...going to kill me?"

    Kai's face flashed concern, "Not as long as you're with me,"

    Kai kissed my forehead and he stared at me in the eyes, "You have to quit thinking of us as 'only friends' because friends don't behave like this, y'know,"

    I giggled quietly and weakly at Kai's subtle humor. It was true, but it was hard to accept. He was a Vampire and I was only a human. I'm his Blood Bride and he's my protector. We had kissed only twice before this and what I felt towards him was changing dramatically.

    "I'm not going to let Kira anywhere near you,"

    "Kai, he's my friend,"

    "I don't care, Arisa. I know you haven't forgotten about what he just did to you."
    I flinched and pressed myself against Kai. I could feel myself getting close to passing out. The whole time Kai and I had been holding each other after Matsuda pulled Kira out of the room, my wound had continued to bleed, inching me towards unconsciousness and increasing Kai's thirst. It was a deep wound and would get infected for sure. I looked up at Kai with worried eyes.

    "You promise you will be here when I wake up?"

    Kai held me closer to him and pressed his face against my head again, his cool breath swept through my hair,"I promise,"

    ~*~*~*~*~*~

    It was hard for me to stay asleep. First, it was because Kai absolutely refused to let me go, and second, I was afraid of Kira coming back in. I knew there was almost no chance with Kai in here but I couldn't help but glance at the door every now and then. Every time I would look at the door or try to leave his arms subtly, he would pull me closer or rub my back. I didn't wake up until noon.

    I started to open my eyes against my will and noticed I was lying on my back rather than my side. Kai was still on his side to my right and his right arm was draped over my waist tightly and his left arm was rested under my shoulders with his knuckles barely stroking my cheek. His face was right on my head and his eyes were closed. I was wondering if he always moved his hands in his sleep because he was out but he was still moving. I questioned for a moment if Vampires do anything strange in their sleep.I shivered internally every time his knuckles would stroke my cheek.

    Maybe another reason why I was lacking sleep last night was because I was so cold. A few times I was unconscious of the goosebumps growing on my arms after every one of Kai's breaths and strokes. I coughed lightly and covered my mouth right away. I didn't want to wake him, but of course, it was too late.

    Kai sighed tiredly, "You okay?"

    I whispered to him below my breath, "Yeah,"

    I felt Kai smirk on my head, "Nice try,"

    I burrowed my eyebrows together in confusion, continuing my staring contest with the ceiling, "I don't understand,"

    "I was testing you. You have a fever; you're sick."

    Crap. I was always the one to get sick all the time. I guess I stressed out too much last night and I got a fever. I'm so sensitive to illness; my immune system is crap. Most people who got colds would be sick for a couple of days but me, I'd be sick for a week and a half at the least. Kai chuckled lightly.

    "I knew you'd lie about it,"

    "Shut up. I wouldn't be sick if...never mind,"

    Kai stretched out his fingers and traced over my lips with his index finger and stroked my cheekbone with his thumb and placed his other three fingers under my chin. I closed my eyes and wanted to drift off to sleep again, but I was still too cold.

    "Are you feeling any better?"

    "Not entirely," the wound was still throbbing in my neck.

    In a second, Kai held me incredibly close against him and tensed up severely. I heard his teeth grind together as his jaw locked up. I struggled to breathe under his iron cage arms,

    "What?" it was barely a whisper.

    Kai spoke through his teeth, "Kira's coming up,"

    I continued to lie on my back and stare up at the ceiling as my heart sped up. We waited for seconds but to me it felt like hours. I blinked confusingly as I realized Kai wasn't wrapped around me anymore. I heard a loud thud in the room andsat up and gasped as I saw Kira pinned up against the wall right by the door by Kai. I looked at Kira, then Kai, then Kira and vise versa for a short moment. Another protective and angered growl crawled up Kai's chest as he stared Kira dead in the eye. Kira didn't seem too moved by what Kai was doing. His face was blank and expressionless.

    "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

    "I'm only here to apologize. Let me speak with Arisa."

    Kai pulled Kira back a little and then slammed him against the wall. It seemed like a hard hit to me, but I guess it was nothing for Kai because he didn't even leave a dent in the wall. It must have been more of alight push, "Never in a thousand years,"

    "I just want to apologize,"

    "Bullshit, Kira,"

    This fight was probably nothing for them, but it was scaring me. I hadn't seen such close
    siblings fight like they have been since last night. I rubbed the bandages on my neck,

    "Matsuda...,"

    Kira looked back at me with eyes that looked as though he was being betrayed. I shook my head at him, "Matsuda!"

    I barely finished his name before Matsuda had come into the room, looking concerned. He looked to his side and saw Kai holding Kira against the wall. Anger crossed his face and he grabbed Kira by the arm, "What the hell are you doing, Kira?!"

    Kira struggled to leave both Kai's and Matsuda's grip, "Just let me speak with her!"

    Kai slammed Kira against the wall again and I could hear a little crack coming from the wall and Kai growled a little louder than he did a minute before. As Matsuda attempted to wrench Kira from Kai's grasp, I could hear fabric from Kira's clothes tearing. Matsuda gave Kai a look and Kai released Kira hesitantly and angrily. Matsuda and Kira were gone in an instant and Kai shut the door loudly. He turned back around with blood red eyes my eyes locked onto his.
    I backed up as much as I could until I was against the backboard, "No!"

    Kai inched his way towards me, still a subtle growl creeping out here and there. He stood at the foot of the bed and glared at me. I didn't know what he was angry at me about, "Kai?"
    Kai climbed onto the bed and inched his way towards me again. I wanted to back up more, but there was no space left between the backboard and me. Was he thirsty again? Was he going to bite me again? Questions kept spinning in my head. Kai must have heard all of them because his face suddenly softened, but the red didn't leave his eyes, "Arisa?"

    I hyperventilated and shielded my neck from him. Kai lightly grabbed onto my hand and removed it from my neck, "Arisa, what's wrong?"

    I stared at him with a dumbfounded look, "You're thirsty, aren't you?"

    Puzzled, Kai answered after a brief moment of thought, "No, I'm not,"

    "Then why are your eyes blood red?"

    Kai's face turned to worry and realization, "Oh,"

    "Well?"

    "My eyes turn red when I'm...severely angered,"

    He was that angry at Kira? Kai squeezed my hand lightly, "Are you all right?"

    I nodded hesitantly and sighed out of relief. Kai released my hand and slid his to the back of my head and brought my forehead to his. I blushed deeply and stared at him as he closed his eyes, "What are you doing?"

    "You've still got a fever," he opened his eyes and they were the most dazzling deep purple I
    had ever seen. The color was much deeper and more enchanting than mine. I assumed that was a sign he was calming down and his eyes were slowly changing back to blue, "You need to take it easy,"

    I shook my head in refusal, "You're the one that needs to take it easy. You didn't get any sleep last night."

    "I got sleep,"

    "Not long. You were too distracted watching me,"

    "I'm not taking my eyes off of you,"

    I smiled coyly, "Oh, really?"

    Kai nodded but seemed curious at why I became cocky all of a sudden, "Yeah,"

    "Just watch, Kai. You're gonna pass out within a few minutes,"

    Kai coughed out a laugh, more of a "Ha!" laugh. I was right and I knew it. Of course, if he would fall asleep, he'd probably lock me up in his iron arms again. He smirked and I instantly knew I was right.

    "Kai, what if Kira's being quarantined?"

    "I'm not taking that chance,"

    I didn't want to argue with him and he had no desire to argue with me. We were both completely exhausted. I was still scared and Kai was still worried. It was all balanced out as I leaned onto his chest and he loosely and lazily wrapped his arms around me. As both of us sighed out of exhaustion, we sprawled out on the bed and drifted off into our deep slumber.