Coming to that understanding left me laughing. Just what had I been worrying for? What was I thinking? Azusa must have taken my laughter the wrong way, because she angrily pounded her fists against my chest.
“Kouya!”
“Sorry, sorry. Is that why you were crying?” I asked, partly to change the topic and partly in anticipation.
Her shoulders slumped and her face twisted with indescribable sadness.
“That is definitely one of the reasons, but I’m mortified you won’t rely on me when you are in such a bad state… You are always saving me, but I haven’t been able to return the favor even once yet. Moreover, I am the reason you are this desperately in need of blood, right? You may have just contracted with me to keep tabs on me, but we did contract, and yet you won’t rely on me when things are critical. I started thinking I really am useless...”
By the time she finished talking, her voice dropped to a carrying whisper and she hung her head like the wind had been taken out of her wings. Despite that, her prior anger still lingered enough for her to turn away and only glare at me with her eyes.
“You were thinking all that?” I asked, surprised by her unexpected response. She slowly nodded. It made me happy. I thought I misheard her say the reason she cried was because she wanted me to rely on her more. I ran what she said through my head several times, leading to the same answer every time.
I’m way too happy about this.
Before I realized it, I extended my hand out to stroke her pouting cheek. Her eyes suddenly turned misty. She tried to hide her tears by rubbing at her eyes with her sleeves, so I came up with the random excuse it would make her eyes swell to move her hands out of the way. I wanted to see what she looked like when she cried. My eyes met with hers, which held a look of offense. My lips curled into a half-smile. She really is a girl of a hundred faces.
“Sorry.”
“You should be!”
“I really am sorry.”
“We wouldn’t need the police if apologies solved all problems!”
“Forgive me.”
“I will not!”
“What must I do for you to forgive me?” I asked.
I’ll do anything for you.
I looked up to see she was still displeased. There was nothing scary about being glared at with puffy eyes, but I bit my tongue to keep from saying what would further incite her wrath and waited for her to speak instead.
“…I want you to rely on me more.”
After hearing her say that, I thought, Aah, it’s no use. I don’t think I’ll be able to let go of her after this.
I always thought I would help her with all my strength should she someday want to leave this town. I would even go up against the Patriarch and bring her somewhere safe. But now that she had to go and say something like that, I wanted to keep her with me. Even though I could never bring her happiness.
Right now, even her averted gaze is dear to me. I put both my hands on her face and turned it toward me.
“Will you let me have your blood?”
“Wrong.”
“…Please let me have a drink?”
“What am I—some bartender you don’t know?”
“Let me drink your blood.”
“…Okay, go ahead,” Azusa said with a brilliant smile. Her infectious smile got a smile out of me too, which seemed to only make her smile more.
I got her to put away the box cutter and held out my arms to invite her in, but she turned bright-red with embarrassment. I wanted to tell her to think about the position she was already sitting in, but decided not to. She was likely unaware of the fact she was currently straddling a man’s stomach. It would be a waste if I pointed it out and she ran away. Somehow, thinking about stuff like this isn’t like me.
Elated, I asked, “Aren’t you coming?”
But she refused several times, saying how hard it would be for her to do, so I decided to be the one on top. I reversed our positions and placed her below me this time. I brought my face near her neck. Her scent numbed my rational thought. Perhaps it’s because I was in such dire need of blood my heart thudded against my chest, and I started breathing heavily.
It was then I felt her hands trembling against where she grabbed a clump of my shirt. I slowly pulled back and examined her face. She pinched her lips in a straight line and turned her neck to the side to expose it to me. I frowned with a guilty conscience thinking I scared her again.
“Want to stop? You’re scared, aren’t you?” I asked. She looked at me in shock.
“You were scared the last time too. Want to save it for another time? Nothing bad will happen to me anytime soon.”
“I’m not scared! I’m embarrassed is all! Also, I just hate the pain… I will be fine, so please continue!”
She said it’s fine, right? Not my fault if she regrets this later.
“Want to bite down on me then? I can’t do anything for your embarrassment, but won’t this help alleviate the pain a little?” I suggested, undoing my shirt button and pointing to my neck. I leaned toward her, positioning my neck next to her mouth. As my fangs pierced her flesh, a sweet sting tickled my neck.