CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: THANK YOU FOR THE VENOM.

      Izumi could not contain the sigh of boredom that escaped her lips. After so many arguments, she herself offered to take care of Yui while the Sakamakis and the Mukamis went out to find a place to sink their teeth into. After hours of discussion, the vampiress managed to get both families to agree not to depend on the human for food. She was well-aware this didn't mean Yui wouldn't get bitten, but at least it would lower the frequency.

      While she was not surprised that she had managed to convince them because she had lived with the Sakamakis for years and knew how to manipulate them, it did take her by surprise that the Mukamis were so vocal in their opposition to her proposal. It almost seemed as if, being unable to drink Yui's blood, they would have to face a fatal fate....

      There were so many unknowns surrounding the Mukamis and, despite her efforts to decipher the mysteries, Izumi kept running into alleyways that led nowhere. This new arrangement also offered her the possibility of finding more information that might bring her closer to the answer. But she was so lost with what she already knew that she doubted she could figure it out on time.

      She even had to keep in mind that it could all be an act on the part of the vampires to distract her, to make her suspicious of things that meant nothing, to just drive her into an endless loop of doubt.

      And now, she was stuck with standing guard over Yui until further notice. Now back at the Sakamaki mansion and with the brothers out foraging for food, she had the responsibility of making sure none of the Mukamis took the opportunity to attack Yui or to kidnap her again. Even though they were supposed to be looking for someone to feed on as well, there was no way she was going to trust them so easily.

      "Izumi-san?" Yui called, to which Izumi turned from the window to look at the human. The wind picked up, blowing Yui's hair and filling the vampire's nose with its scent. She was forced to take a long drink from the blood bag she was holding when she felt the burning in her throat. "Thank you... uh... I know it wasn't easy to convince them of the deal, and it wasn't necessary for you to do so, so.... thank you."

      The vampiress only nodded in response and turned back to the window. She breathed in the new wave of wind that came, free of Yui's scent and also the presence of some other vampire. They had already entered the early morning and it was a weekday, leading to fewer humans being out and about. She would probably spend another good few minutes alone with the human, and was more than alert to any hints from the Mukamis.

      "Why didn't you ever drink my blood?"

      Izumi turned with raised eyebrows, finding the question both amusing and intriguing. She parted her lips from the straw and a half-smile appeared on her face, "Ha? You want me to suck your blood?"

      The blonde's eyes widened in terror at the proposition, and she shook her head, "No! That's not what I meant! It's just that-" her eyes lowered to the blood bag- "you're the only one who takes blood from bags, aren't you? I've never seen anyone else do that."

      "It's my parents' custom," she explained with a child-like smile. She couldn't help it, whenever she remembered her family, her inner child would come out. "I never drank blood directly from a human body," she continued, unable to help taking a short breath, "which is hard to keep up with you around."

     "I'm sorry, Izumi-san!" Yui quickly shrieked.

      Izumi gave out a laugh, sitting on the edge of the window as a safety measure since she would always get clean wind that way, "Don't apologize for that, it's not like you can control it," she muttered, "And drop the 'san' already, just call me Izumi."

      Yui blinked and, from one second to the next, a huge smile occupied her face. The vampire watched her in surprise, not understanding what had caused the sudden change of mood.

      "Okay, Izumi. Only if you call me Yui."

      The female vampire thought for a moment, realizing that she had never referred to her by her first name. Whenever she mentioned her, it was always in a roundabout way, or she called her "the human", "the stutterer", "the blood bag", among other variants. She pressed her lips together to hold back the smile and nodded towards the girl.

      "All right, Yui. Consider it done."

      Silence took over the room, though it was completely different from the previous one that had drowned them out. Now, it was pleasant. Yui was no longer tense on the bed, but had picked up her backpack to take advantage of the moment to do her homework. On the other side, Izumi remained seated on the edge of the window, still watching for any sign of an unwanted presence.

      Her mind wandered to the brothers, finding it strange that they had not yet returned. It was then that she realized she had the ideal opportunity to ask the human questions without anyone else overhearing her, and obviously she wasn't going to let this moment pass (and it would probably be the only chance she would have in her existence).

      "Oi, Yui," she called, to which the blonde raised her head and looked at her with a gentle smile, expectant of what she had to say, "Shu.... um, has Shu been feeding on you these past few days?"

      Yui frowned immediately, which set off alarms in the vampire's head, "No... I thought Shu was just feedi- uh... drinking your blood," she replied uncertainly, trying to decipher what words wouldn't offend her.

      Izumi clenched her jaw, "Right, and.... Since when hasn't he drank your blood?"

      "Uh? Umm... It's been a while," Yui mumbled, pausing to think, "Well, Shu didn't suck much of my blood early on, so I never thought much about it. I think he must have bitten me three.... four times, maybe?"

      At the new information, Izumi felt herself turning to stone. If Shu had been depending exclusively on her for nourishment.... no, that couldn't be possible. If so, that meant he was starving. Not only starving, but...

      The moments she witnessed Shu's dark eyes, as well as his dramatic mood swings and his new habit of avoiding her.... all led her to only one conclusion. However, she didn't want to dwell on that. She wanted to convince herself that the only reason she believed it was because Reiji had planted the seed of doubt in her head. It couldn't be possible that...

      Was Shu addicted to her blood?

      "Izumi?" Yui called out, now facing the girl and bringing her hand gently to her shoulder. It was only when she touched her that the vampiress blinked and seemed to focus her gaze on her, "Izumi, are you okay?"

      Without thinking, Izumi breathed in; and that was a fatal mistake. Yui's scent flooded her nose and her throat burned like never before. She felt her fangs pulling against her lips and clenched her jaw in a vain attempt to control them.

      Then, she pushed Yui as fast as she could and pushed herself out of the room, falling to the floor in an instant. When she opened her eyes, she found Yui from the window shouting her name.

      "I'm fine," she assured her, raising her voice high enough for Yui to hear her. She sat up easily and made sure to regain her composure before looking back at the human, raising a thumb in her direction, "Stay there. I'm perfectly fine."

      Yui hesitated, but finally nodded. She had lived with them long enough to know that a fall like that was completely incapable of exerting harm to a vampire. So she went back inside, and Izumi could hear her lay back down on her bed to continue her task.

      It was at that very moment, along with a fresh blizzard of air, that Izumi identified Subaru's scent in the distance. She allowed herself to let out a sigh knowing that they were already starting to return, and it was only seconds later that the white-haired man appeared in front of her.

      "What are you doing out here? Did something happen?"

      "No, everything's fine," she assured him, patting him on the chest to which Subaru shot her a look of disgust for the gesture. Izumi knew he didn't like her touching him, but that only gave her more reason to do so, "It was just a precautionary measure."

      "I don't understand," he mumbled with a frown.

      "It doesn't matter, let's go inside," Izumi stood behind him and, taking him by the back, began to push him in the direction of the entrance. Subaru snorted but gave in, walking at a slow pace as the girl poked her head out of the side of his back to look ahead. She didn't need to, but she was used to being more than cautious, "There aren't many people out there, are there?"

      "No... I'm still surprised I'm the first to come back."

      The vampire shrugged, downplaying it as they finally reached the front door. She thought with a smile that, if Subaru really didn't want to be with her, he could easily have teleported away in a second. She accepted that fact as a token of his affection as they crossed the door frame.

      "I'm not," Izumi reflexively glanced over her shoulder as she identified Reiji's scent in the air, "You're always the first one to finish feeding," she pointed out. The only reason she knew that was because of all the years she had spent watching the rest of the Sakamakis feeding, whether it was the Sacrificial Bride or some person too unlucky to become a victim. Subaru only gave her a sidelong glance, taken off guard by the comment.

      Before he could say anything, Ayato's scent flooded his nose and he couldn't help but snort, "I'm going to my room before he gets here," he warned the girl before teleporting away.

      The pinkhead turned on her heels, finding the redhead in front of her, who gave her a bright smile. Izumi frowned, "You look pleased. What happened? Did you find a good prey?"

      "Yes," Ayato nodded before trying to grab the vampire by the wrist.

      "Good joke," she muttered. Her reflexes were quick enough to avoid his grip. She rested her gaze on the redhead, her lips pursed and her nose twisted to one side, reflecting her anger, "But I'm not in the mood."

      Ayato clicked his tongue, "You said not to bite Chichinashi. If I live up to that, I think I deserve a prize, don't you?"

      "I'll give you Takoyakis later."

      "That's not enough."

      "Mhm, that's not my problem," Izumi raised an eyebrow, "You should be grateful enough with what I'm offering you."

      "But it's something else I want you to offer me," Ayato murmured, approaching her with a smile as his green eyes sparkled with insight.

      The vampiress wanted to yawn. He might think he was being very clever, but he was far from looking it. It already almost seemed routine for him and Laito to beg for her blood, and she wasn't happy about it.

      Izumi sighed, teleporting to the second floor, right in front of the door to Yui's room, and knocked on the door. She turned to Ayato again, giving him a smile when she found that his smile had disappeared.

      "You know, Ayato? This is getting repetitive already," she mentioned in a bored tone, her ears catching the sound of the door opening behind her back, "I'm going now. I have things to do," she crossed the door frame, closing it behind her without giving him time to respond.

      "Uh, what happened?" Yui fretted, looking curiously at the vampire in her room. Then, remembering the little accident, she approached her to observe her more carefully, "You're okay, aren't you?"

      The female vampire looked at her with amusement. Her curiosity took the best of her whenever the human looked concerned about them, about vampires. Instead of worrying about her life, about the deadly situation she was in, Yui seemed to be empathetic enough to care about others before herself.

      "You should worry more about yourself," Izumi pointed out, barely glancing at her as she already marched back to her previous position at the window.

      Yui watched her in confusion, her brow slightly furrowed as her head remained cocked to one side. She looked like a puppy. Then, she parted her lips, but the words wouldn't quite come out. She wasn't sure if continuing to press would provoke the vampire's anger.

      "I'm fine," Izumi confirmed, guessing her intentions. Nevertheless, she continued to watch through the window, waiting for the arrival of the rest of the siblings and keeping an eye out for the Mukamis.

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      After most of the Sakamakis returned, Izumi went to the backyard where the dozens of bats she cared for were usually kept. Being a custom she inherited from her mother, the she made sure that these small flying mammals had a good diet. For that very reason she carried a basket full of tangerines and oranges, along with a couple of toads she had gotten from the shores of the lake.

      The bats quickly approached her, realizing it was time for their meal. The girl lowered the basket and dumped its contents on the ground, causing the colony to land on the ground in a matter of seconds.

      She watched silently, pinching a tangerine she had set aside for herself. She didn't care for the juice that spilled onto her clothes, and tossed the peel toward the bats she knew would enjoy it.

      She felt footsteps at her back, and easily discovered that it was Shu. The faint woody scent, a bit spicy, was unmistakable. She turned her head towards him, and was surprised to meet his eyes darker than ever. That lost gaze, so consumed, sent a shiver down her spine.

      He stood up with superhuman speed, startling the bats closest to him and causing them to fly away for a moment only to return once they noticed the action was not against them. Shu remained a few steps away from her, so Izumi marched towards him to grab him by the forearms.

      "Shu, what's wrong, didn't you find someone to feed on?"

      The blond looked at her and, although his gaze showed that he recognized her, the darkness and dreariness remained there, "Yes, I found several. But it didn't do any good."

      "It didn't do any good?" She repeated in confusion. She remembered what Yui had told her earlier, and deciphered that the time without food had led him to turn to several people and not just one. However, there were still things that didn't add up.

      "You couldn't feed?" She asked, though she felt stupid. There was no way a human would be able to get away from a vampire, but she didn't understand how it could be that it didn't 'do any good'.

      While she didn't hunt humans for food, it was all the same. The only difference was that she would go to the kitchen to grab a bag of blood, while the rest would go out into the city to find a victim. But they suffered thirst in the same way, with the same intensity, and quenched it just the same. There were times when you had to feed more than usual. Factors like the full moon or the frequency of your feeding were directly influential on how much blood you would need... but it had never happened to her that her thirst was not quenched by blood.

      Shu shook his head. The grumpiness was evident on his face, and his eyes avoided hers as if he was embarrassed by what he was about to say, "I was able to feed. I almost killed three... but to no avail. It's no good."

      "Did you take something Reiji gave you?" The vampiress continued to ask, her brain slicing to try and find a reason why Shu's condition wasn't improving.

      The vampire hissed and grabbed her by the shoulders, catching her off guard and causing them both to end up on the ground. The bats flew off in a cloud. Izumi noticed them passing behind Shu, but her attention was completely captured by him.

      With the dim moonlight now illuminating her face, she was able to analyze more details. She noticed the soft shadow under his eyes, along with the newfound thinness his face had gained, causing his nose to look more bony and his lips thinner. He was still beautiful, but that sickly pallor left a bad taste in her mouth.

      "It's my fault," Shu whispered. His eyes met hers for a moment, but in an instant they dropped again as also did his mood. His arms stopped supporting his weight, and his body fell over Izumi's as he hid his face in the hollow of her neck.

      "Shu?"

      "Reiji didn't give me anything. It's my fault... because I took something even worse than what Reiji could have given me," he recounted, "I took your blood. And I allowed myself to become addicted to it."

      Izumi swallowed hard. Her mind seemed to have been overridden by the dreaded words.

      "Now, no matter what blood I take, it's of no use," Shu continued, "My body became dependent on your blood, and there is nothing else able to sustain it."

      The girl noticed that his chest did not move, and understood that he was not breathing. She remembered with pain when her nose caught Yui's essence and her throat burned... to think that Shu was going through something worse than that only made her want to crawl.

      "I guess I'll be dead before long," his words came out as a sigh, "That's why I came. I wish to die in your arms, Zumi."

      A pang of pain shot through the vampiress, constricting her chest violently. A tingling ran through her from head to toe. It was probably her body warning her that what she was about to do went against her sense of survival, her common sense, and whatever sense of logic and intelligence she possessed.

      "So, drink up."

      Shu finally raised his head. His eyes reflected betrayal and disgust at her offer, but the gleam of hope did not go unnoticed, "If I do, I don't know if I can stop myself."

      "I know."

      The blond's brow furrowed deeply, and his lips twisted into an angry grimace, "You.... do you know what it took to control myself? The pain I felt every time I saw you? The burning... the burning is insufferable..."

      Izumi raised a hand to place it on his cheek, getting him to look into her eyes again and concentrate on her alone, "I can't tell you that I know. I think I can imagine it, but it still wouldn't be fair to your pain. It's for that very reason, Shu, that-"

      "Don't say it!"

      "Drink."

      "DON'T!" He vociferated. His voice deepened, and his hands pressed against the earth to push himself away from the girl, "Don't you hear me? I'm going to kill you!"

      "Laito always says that killing the person you love is a proof of love."

      Shu clicked his tongue, "And you believe that bullshit?" He mumbled before adding, "And I don't love you!"

      Izumi smiled sweetly, surprising the blond who watched her with sudden attention. She almost looked like a child, as she used to be before tragedy struck her. Even in the dim lighting, her scarlet eyes shone as if they were two beacons guiding him to his salvation. Only his salvation involved her doom. And yet, she smiled at him as if all would be well, with a sympathy and honesty he had never seen before in those scarlet eyes.

      "We always fight, I know you don't love me," she mumbled, beginning to crawl toward him slowly, "But that doesn't mean I'm going to let you die. Shu, please."

      "And you'd be okay with this? With me killing you?"

      She moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling his face to her neck. Shu squeezed his eyelids shut, as if that would help him continue to hold his breath. Izumi's soft, sweet laugh threw him further off balance, sending him into a spiral of confusion.

      "Shu, breathe."

      "If I breathe, I... I won't be able to control myself."

      "I can't see you like this," she said, ignoring his comments as she stroked his hair, "We're going up against the Ancestors, we need you to be as strong as you've ever been."

      Shu hissed, "We don't stand a chance against the Ancestors."

      "Not with you like this," she declared. Then her lips lowered to his ear, her breath tickling him. "Shu, breathe. Do it for me. You have to breathe."

      And as if an external force was compelling him, the blond inhaled deeply. His eyes widened as soon as he became aware of his actions, and his throat burned like never before. It was as if flares of fire ignited on his tongue and spread deep inside his body...to a void that was what, after all, dominated him. The emptiness of thirst, the emptiness of greed.

      His lips parted and, amidst the silence that surrounded them, the sound of fangs cutting her skin reverberated like thunder. And that was followed by the uncontrollable sounds as him swallowing and swallowing and swallowing in desperation.

      Izumi stretched her head back, allowing Shu more access. With that, she felt his fangs bury deeper. His tongue wandered eagerly, working hard not to let any drop go to waste.

      The vampiress' fingers buried themselves among the blonde hair, tangling and pushing it to entice him to keep feeding. All of this would have been avoided if I had realized sooner, if I had let you drink my blood earlier... now you just have to drink for all those times you didn't.

      Shu was beginning to feel the thirst go down and down, getting to the point where he was no longer a slave to thirst. However, his more primal instincts continued to dominate him, preventing him from stopping and instead continuing to enjoy the taste and the power it provided.

      A frenzy sent adrenaline coursing through his muscles. His limbs gained a strength he had never dreamed of obtaining, and his senses sharpened to an extreme that might drive him mad were it not for the fact that he was in a complete state of ecstasy.

      Izumi's hand in his hair was losing strength, until it fell and landed on the floor with a dull sound. It was then that Shu realized that he was killing her, that he was being subdued by his animalistic side. But he couldn't let that happen, he couldn't.

      His jaw was not responding to him. His fangs were still deeply buried in her collarbone, and his tongue moved as if it had a life of its own. His throat swallowed and swallowed and swallowed, a wave of pleasure hitting his body with each swallow.

      You're killing her, you idiot!

      With a strength he didn't know where he got from, he parted his fangs from her neck. His tongue continued to lick, enjoying the blood that continued to escape from the wound. He had to exert pressure to stop the bleeding, but his hands gripped her shoulders with unparalleled strength.

      A guttural moan escaped from deep in his chest, almost as if it was the beast inside him protesting that he wanted to continue. It wanted more. More, more. Only your desire matters.

      Shu managed to let go of her shoulders, and was not surprised when his eyes caught sight of the bruises on her skin. Although they would disappear in a matter of seconds, the image would probably haunt his head for the rest of his existence. He tore the sleeve of his shirt and pressed it against the wound, which was not the usual two small dots, but instead were several marks along her neck and chest.

      In his animalistic frenzy, he did not realize that he had taken several bites. However, one spot above her collarbone was the most distinguished. He had clearly bitten several times in that same spot, as the wounds were much larger and betrayed the bestiality that had taken hold of him for a few moments.

      With his vision much clearer and a newfound strength, Shu lifted her into his arms. He made sure to keep putting pressure on the wound before teleporting to the mansion. There, he was greeted by a frightening shriek from Yui.