• Ch. 3
    MORE TALKING

    2 months had already passed and I was oddly hyper this morning. I got up without any complaints, spruced myself a little, and put on a pair of my best clothes. In the back of my mind I knew it’d be pointless to spruce up. For one I’d feel like one of my old Barbie dolls I used to mess with when I was little, two I had P.E. 1st period. All of that running, jumping, push ups, and sit ups would mess up my hair and my look. So why I was sprucing my self, ecstatic for the uncertain day ahead, I have no clue. This would be my reasonable side talking, my head as you would say. I’d rely on my head in sticky situations, and or when I was stuck on a problem at school. I consider my head to be my logical self. My heart is my passionate side, the side of overreaction, drama, and voice. This side is very useful when someone’s in pain, or if I needed to connect with someone on an emotional level, and with those feelings I’d use my head to solve a situation. It’s sort of a yin yang thing I go through, but I learn to balance each one out at the right place, at the right time….just some times work out better than others.
    “Kaori!”
    “EEEYYAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!” My heart nearly exploded out of my chest.
    “Shh! It’s only your beloved grandmother come to check on her granddaughter. Sheesh can’t an old fossil worry?”
    “No! Fossils are dead, inanimate, and they don’t push their granddaughters to bite someone they don’t want to. And don’t give me this worry garbage; you just want to know if I’ve fallen head over heels for this boy. I haven’t and I won’t bite him!”
    “Heh, you say that now…but just you wait. Sooner or later….” She comes up behind me and whispers maliciously in my ear,” his blood will be your master…it’ll call for you…begging…begging to be taken…begging to become…..you want it…you long for it…you want to know, what he tastes like.”
    I saw myself in the mirror, and began to hyperventilate, sweat licked my hands, and my eyes going from the beautiful forest green, to the deadly maroon red. My instinct did want his blood, but I was more collective than my grandma realized. In spite of my strength, my instinct began to have a voice of its own,
    “He’s perfect, he’s just what we want, why won’t we bite him? Huh? One little chomp isn’t going to hurt…us. Think of it….the flavor of his throat…along with his blood….you up against him…letting in that pleasure….knowing in a matter of days…he’d be with you forever.”
    “NO!!!” I shouted aloud to both that monster and my grandma.
    “Kaori, keep shouting like that, and I am going to have to silence you permanently.” Her threat didn’t scare me. I’ve learned practically every special effect that a vampire can have. And how to evade it. I don’t learn things just at TMS. My father is his own library, teaching me the fundaments of our kind. He taught me everything there is to know about us, and our art. Make no mistake; sucking blood is an art, and a very tricky one at that. When you are a child of a thief, ultimately you’re taught stealing is okay. My case is just as similar. When you’re told the other side of your heritage, at the age of 12, it comes as a shock,
    (Especially when you find out that ½ of your genetic make-up belongs to a bloodsucking mythological creature) but what else are you going to do? You haven’t hit the teens yet, nor have you developed a rebellious side to authority.
    “Grandma, if you really loved me, you’d leave me alone. And respect my wishes about this subject! Why is it so hard for you to accept, that I’m not going to hurt Daisuke!” I was angry, purely angry with her. Not to mention betrayed. She’d stand by my side at anything I had set my heart to, and so know when the time comes for me to totally set my heart on something that’s for the benefit of another person, she totally disregards it!
    “Fine…fine…I have to go. Your mother’s up, she’s going to chastise you for shouting at 5 in the morning. I had told you time and again to control your voice and temper did I not?” She vanished out of my door to my balcony. Without prying all the more…without another word…not even one last plea of reconsideration. I glared after her trail into the night, with the door open, and the wind fluttering my olive green curtains, and thought,
    “I best be on my toes, she gave up too fast. She never let her guard down on this subject earlier, so why would she stop now? I don’t buy it.”
    “Kaori?” Mom called.
    “Yes mom?” Oh crap here it comes!
    “It is discourteous to shout, with your voice, at five in the morning when other people are trying to sleep. Honestly Kaori, do you forget how your voice carries? I don’t know how I’m going to handle you. You can be such a handful.” Exhausted and annoyed, she left the room to wake Yasu. She let me off easier than I thought she would. My mother would give me the most terrifying chastising when I was little. Well…her glare was the more terrifying part. The painful part was when she’d spank me with a kitchen spoon. But that’s all been over and done with. I gathered my things, ate my human breakfast, and headed off to the school’s bus stop. Yes I eat human food too.
    The bus was unbelievably crowded this morning. Each row had to have 3 people a seat. Talk about claustrophobia alert. My brother and I, somehow, managed to find a seat and rode all the way to school. The bus stop at the Middle school was a ways away from my 1st period. But I managed to get in the locker rooms, change, and get outside. No, I wasn’t running late like I thought I was. But all the same I like to be prepared and set. The weather changed from the summer 80 degrees Fahrenheit to the almost freezing 37 degrees Fahrenheit. Nearly everyone was in sweats and hooded jackets, and you could see everyone’s breath…including yours. I on the other hand didn’t feel the cold as badly as the others. Had I been 11yrs old, I would’ve driven my friends crazy by my stuttered complaint,
    ” I h-h-h-hate th-th-th-the cold!” I also made sure to inhale and exhale, just to keep my (fake) breathing as human as possible. Suzuki and Aneko (in the meantime) were hanging out with a redhead called Minowa. Hyperactive, noisy, and a little annoying…all the same qualities that a boy at my old school had. We were in 5th grade at the time, and his soul purpose was to annoy the heck outta me. And he lived up to it. But Minowa was only like this on certain occasions, other occasions he was extremely pervy. Almost as pervy as Keiji! He and Suzuki would tease each other about the weirdest things. But then again who am I to talk, I was the weirdest of us all. But there were a lot of good qualities in Minowa. He was funny, sincere, and (best of all) he liked what I drew! He liked anime as well!
    All of us gathered together, talked, role played, and teased each other till coach came out (along with all of the other boys in the locker room.)
    The guys came out like a slow-mo scene where the heroes arrive on the spot. It was a funny sight to see, and sure enough…Daisuke was apart of the group. He wore a red hoodie with a thick black stripe going across his upper mid-section. And to my shock (considering the current morning temperature) he wore his P.E. shorts. No sweats. Chatting with his friends, he didn’t seem to be bothered by the temperature. Shouta just wore his P.E. clothes…again I was surprised at how some of these boys’ nerves didn’t falter at the cold. But it was funny to see the guy’s actions in the cold weather, and what they’d do to keep their fragile human bodies warm.
    “Okay PUSH UPS! READY?! DOWN! DOWN! DOWN! DOWN!” Coach repeated the word down till we completed 15 successful push ups. I had to say this…95% of the girls who attempted to do push ups failed miserably.
    “SIT UPS! UP! UP! UP! UP! UP!” Again repeated the word up till the whole class completed 25 sit ups. A majority of the class complained, but this made them suffer all the more,
    “Okay today, we’re going to start to play football. But before we start, go up to the track and run one lap. Meet me by the starting line. GO!” All of the kids turned toward a pair of concrete stairs that led to a small field that held 2 baseball diamonds. I shuddered at the sight of a set of concrete stairs. Each time I’d see them, I’d think about Robin. But one thing’s for sure, I loved running, and I loved to run! Besides my other revelation, running was a good feeling! And I was good at running too (well no duh!). I wanted to get this run done and over with. Daisuke and one of his friends were ahead of me on the track. Daisuke on the left side, his friend on the right. I am literally right behind them thinking,
    ” Okay you can pick up the speed a little more…..anytime now….uggg! Forget it!” Annoyed, I try to maneuver around the same side as Daisuke. He catches me trying to lap him and says,
    “Oh, no you don’t!” Dumbstruck that a newbie like me could possibly lap him.
    I reply,
    ” Oh yes I did!” I pick up my speed a little to complete the lap, and he matches my speed! His friend laughed at Daisuke’s challenge. It was incredible! He was racing me! We passed so much ground I could’ve sworn I was flying and him on my right side! I became tired, and halted in an area where the frost covered grass had thawed out. I didn’t want to risk slipping, not that I would’ve, but better safe than sorry. He passed me! A human being passed me! It wasn’t possible! But somehow he did it! I finished my lap long before my friends did, but when I waved to them I noticed my hands looked like I had purple webs of veins all over the tops. That was too weird, and I began to study my hands up close, wondering what on earth made them this way. It was probably the mix of friction from the running, and the freezing cold air. I turn and walk to the starting line, still studying my hands. But when I looked up for a moment, I saw Daisuke pointing at me with furrowed brows.
    “What in the world does he want now?” I thought. I came close to putting that into actual words, but instead I said this,
    “What?!”
    “I beat you!” He replied, proud.
    “Congratulations…” I turned back and studied my hands a little more. He saw me doing this and asked,
    “Are your hands cold?” I looked up to see Daisuke still smiling from his victorious run. He looked sincere this time though.
    “Is this guy for real? And why would he be interested in the state of my hands?” I wondered when I saw his expression.
    “No…they just look funny.” It was an honest response…too honest. For some reason, I felt like I couldn’t lie to Daisuke. And his sincere question softened me for a bit.
    “Oh! You should see a doctor!” Responding in a sweet, funny, teasing tone. The teasing was a oh-no-a-disease answer.
    “Hah!” I laughed!
    “Hey “-huff-huff”Kaori.” Both Aneko and Suzuki said, tired and out of breath from the run.
    “Hey guys, sorry I went so fast.” Ooops.
    “Aw it’s no big.” Minowa said with a smile. He had ways to make you happy when you’re feeling down, and ways to annoy the heck outta you too. But that’s why I like him.
    “Hey what happened to you? I saw you coming up behind that guy, next thing I know both of you had disappeared and the appeared at the ¾ part of the track? Am I seeing things?” Suzuki asked, with an observation that could jeopardize my cover. I couldn’t believe I had let this slip, I’m normally well aware of my surroundings and who’s watching me. But when I was near Daisuke, all of that had disappeared! The people, the sky, the ground, the fog, everything vanished. It was just me and him, running.
    “It’s the fog Suzuki, you’re seeing things. He did race me. And won…” I fibbed, but was bummed about that last part. I lost a measly little race to a human! How was I going to tell dad? Normally I suck at lying…but ever since I became a vamp, I had to keep things a secret. But when I was little…you’d catch me red handed. No pun intended.
    “Oh! Wow! That’s surprising!” Aneko exclaimed subtly. When everyone finished their run (well for those who did run, about half the class walked the 1 lap) Coach came and assigned us into our football teams. The way this game was played, had similar rules to my old school’s flag foot ball. The only difference was,
    “You have to count 5 alligators before you head for the quarterback, and you can only tap the player (be it side shoulder, stomach….just nothing too high or too low). Other than that the rules are pretty much the same.” Coach explained to us on the track.
    The team I was on consisted of these people, Alize (captain), Callie, Sare, Jackson, Travin, Daisuke, Mallie, and myself. The sun was starting to peek out of the fog and warm things up, and I decided to hang in the shade of a tree. While I was there I observed Daisuke for a bit….
    ”I DON’T LIKE HIM!” I told myself over and over,” I’m just gathering info about why I’m so drawn to him.” He kept on walking in circles, making a huge one in the dirt. He looked up at me, looking as if he knew I was evaluating our team member situation. To be honest luck was not on our side. These girls, besides Alize, Mallie and I, were going to scream each time the football would be passed to them. Not to mention they’d possibly toss weak throws. He agreed with me, but we didn’t say anything. Odd….The 1st team we went up against was called, “Bailey’s babes and the other two.” It was a fitting name considering there were only 2 boys on the team. Shouta and Cory. The games began.
    I felt pity for the two boys. They did all the work, while the captain and the other girls halted in a cluster and chit-chatted. But then again, these boys had an amazing amount of stamina for a human. Others may’ve thought they were on steroids. Me…they’re just insanely good. I had come close to getting the ball onto the goal-line, then I got tapped. But while I walked back to my side of the field, I heard one of the girls shout ALOUD,
    “I NEED A TAMPON!”
    “WHAT THE HECK?!” I rapidly turn around to see who shouted that. It was Valerie. There were more boys on our field than girls. And for this girl to shout THAT as loud as she did….I shuddered, and shook my head in dis-gust.
    “I need a tampon!” Jackson mimicked in a high pitched voice. I mumbled,
    “That was gross beyond all reason.” Still shaking my head, Jackson ran up to rush the other players. For a boy whose stature was in-short supply, he ran pretty fast, and he was sneaky too. The field clown for the day that amused the bemused. While hanging back on our side, and watching Jackson fool around, Daisuke came by me….not next to…he was a few feet away. But he came near and spoke this to me,
    “Those girls are really annoying.” He said in a sort of informative gesture. And as a statement of fact.
    “Does this boy have a multiple personality disorder?” I wondered vaguely. But honestly, it didn’t take a genius to figure what status those girls had out. I was already annoyed at how their apathy stank up the field.
    “Tell me about it.” I said exasperated, knowing it was true. Daisuke ran up to rush Shouta, after hearing my reply.
    “Yeah, they’re wannabe whores.” Jackson told me while running back to our side, knowing about what Daisuke told me and how I responded. I raised my eyebrows at this. I don’t like to think of people this way, especially when they’ve earned the title,
    ” wannabe whore”. Who the heck wants to be that? And enjoys that name? Annoying yes they were, the whores’ part I had no say in. Our teams tied miraculously, Shouta can be a threatening person when he gets competitive. Both he and his friend persevered and tied with us. We headed back to the locker rooms to change.
    “Hey Kaori?” Kimiko called.
    “Yeah?” I said popping my head up from my notebook in math.
    “How do you solve this again?” She sounded embarrassed that she had to ask someone for help on a simple math problem. Kimiko was one of the many definitions as a hot-headed tomboy. No make-up, comfy lounge clothes, and guy hats. There’ve even been times where she came to school in her slippers. She needed help on this equation
    2x+3y=5. We needed to make it into slope-intercept form.
    “Okay so how do we get this 3y by itself?” I asked. It was her homework, not mine.
    “Take away the 2x?”
    “And?”
    “Put it in front of the 5?”
    “Do it.”
    She did it and found her way to completing the problem. In class one of the girls was eating a bag of Reeses pieces. Our class had moved into a new seating arrangement, and Daisuke was in the Northwest direction from where I faced.
    “So much for no interaction.” I had sighed to myself when we moved. The girl who was eating the candy sat in-front of me. Daisuke saw her eat some and asked,
    ” Hey? Can I have some Reeses pieces?” And she said,
    “Huh? Oh sorry I thought you said Reeses Peinuses.” He sat there with a straight face and said,
    ” wow…” I slammed my head into hand, and started cracking up. Kimiko joined in too; in fact a few people who heard what she said started laughing. I thought,
    ” I am in the luckiest spot ever.”
    “Hey Blair?” Blair Bailey, she was one of the girls that we played against earlier that day. Besides Valerie, Andrea, and Kailee. Blair sat in front of Daisuke.
    “Yeah?”
    “Did Jaden taste like cinnamon?” What the heck?
    “Why would he taste like cinnamon?” She asked puzzled about that question coming from her boyfriend’s best friend. Jaden was one of Daisuke’s friends that he hung out with a lot of the time.
    “He had some apple cider earlier at break, so…” Where is he going with this? I thought while successfully completing my homework.
    “No…but Daisuke.”
    “Yes?”
    “His lips are really soft.” She said all dreamy eyed and voiced. She obviously replayed her kissing experience in her head.
    “Okay…I didn’t need to know that.” He said in a grossed out tone. I couldn’t blame him. Blair just starts laughing, from his reaction. I shuddered in my seat, grossed out at the possible image she placed in our heads.
    “Correction. NOW I am in the luckiest spot ever.” I mumbled in my arms, crossed over my desk.
    “When will this period end?” I groaned. Ask and you shall receive…the bell rang. The rest of my periods ended in a flash. School and my midnight snacking was taking a lot out of me. Yasu’s school had an early release day, so he had already made it home. I planned to walk home, till I got a phone call from my century old nosy grandmother.
    “Hey need a lift? I can give you one?” She asked all sweetly sugar coated.
    “Why do you offer?” I returned her words back.
    “C’ause I’m already here.” I turn and find her on the bench where I was just sitting. I hang up my cell.
    “That was quick no?” She said proud of her speed despite her wear and tear of age.
    “I’ll admit you’re good. But warn me ahead of time….and by that I mean in the early day.” I hated admitting that she was good. It felt like choking up a fur ball to spit that out.
    “Well, that’s what I planned to do earlier this morning, but then you got all defensive and ----“She stiffened and started to smell the air; I do the same thing and recognize the scent. It’s the same scent I smell in P.E., the same faint smell in health, in math, and in history. And the similar smell to one of the coyotes the other night. I turn my head to see Daisuke and his friends throwing a football around, at innocent play, and his loud laughter.
    “My, my, what a lovely smell?” Grandma chimed in her hunting voice. Chime was one of her techniques. It uses sound waves and vocals to send hypnosis through the prey. Paralyzing it or making the body come near to her. It’s more deadly than it sounds. I immediately began to understand her means, her eyes became a bright blood red and she smiled. She was going to hunt Daisuke! She began to crouch down into position, and counted the milliseconds for her to strike. As you’ve probably already guessed, I didn’t exactly get my speed from my Grammi, grandma was known as the hyper vamp. She was so fast she could travel through hyper space and keep time frozen enough for her to make her official kill. Chime is only used to charm her prey and then she uses hyper to freeze them. She launched off without any hint.
    “NO!!!” I screamed in my head, lurching myself and knocking her down a few miles away from the park. Thankfully the sky had showed signs of rain, so my knocking into her didn’t make the thunderous boom sound so strange. I snarled and sniped. She looked baffled, annoyed, and tired all in one.
    “What on earth has gotten into you? Awhile ago you didn’t give a rip as to who I made my lunch over, but now!” She was outraged that I dared to disrupt her hunting. You never ever ever stop another vamp when they’re lethal. Or you’ll end up being the alternative, especially when my grandma hunted.
    “You are hunting on MY territory! You CANNOT HUNT HIM!” I screeched baring my teeth, preparing myself for the fight ahead. She smirked and licked her fangs. When a vamp licks their fangs it means that, they’ve officially lost all self-control, you’re going to die, and it’s a taunt. It’s a gesture that proves a deadly result, and an act of underestimation. Being underestimated was the fuel to my flame; I exploded all of my rage.
    “LAY ONE FINGER!”-I punch the ground causing a mini crater-
    “OR FANG”- I miss her again punching a hole through a thick trunked evergreen-
    “OR ANYTHING OF YOURS ON HIM”-my aura starts to encircle me, giving me unbeatable strength-
    “I WON’T HESITATE TO WIPE OUT THE COVEN’S HEAD HUNTER! I’LL KILL YOU!” I aim my teeth for her throat, but end up taking a bite out of a Mercedes Benz, literally ripping the metal off the car and spitting it out. This is what I meant by losing it.
    “Ah! AHAHAHAHAHAHA! I can’t believe I didn’t realize it sooner. Boy my age is certainly catching up with my brain. That boy is Daisuke isn’t he?” I growled saying nothing. In my head I wanted to scream out profanities, but my good conscience forbade me not to.
    “Ah! I see now! Oh darling, he’s so handsome. Why didn’t you describe him earlier to me? You don’t know what you’re missing girlie. He’s defiantly a one in a million bites.”
    “I DON’T HAVE TO TELL A DARN THING TO YOU! You look inside my head all the time, and you haven’t found a single visual image of him? THAT’S BOLONY! I’VE TOLD YOU OVER AND OVER AGAIN! I’M NOT BITING HIM!” One thing I’ve learned today. Fury and logic never mix. For I just gave away the fact that I think about him, and he’s on my mind a lot when I hunt. He’s never been out of my thoughts since grandma brought up a futile fate for me and him and I’d always try and think of ways, in trying to evade him. And do my part in keeping him away.
    To keep him safe…so that he could be happy…and that I could see him smile again with that goofy grin. Lead a normal human life…to be with the girl meant for him…having a job…having…what I can never have again.
    “Kaori….you don’t have to anymore.”
    “What?!” She’s toying with me!
    “Thanks to you, I know who he is, and what his scent smells like….if you’re not going to bite him, I will.” She grinned more evilly than I’ve ever seen her. This is what I meant by lethal.
    “I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this...” I thought.
    “YOU’LL DO NO” –I attack her full force, pinning her down with my weight, and bite the top of her hand-“SMUFCCH FING!!!!!”
    “KAORI YOU IDIOT! GET OFF OF ME!” Grandma screeched while attempting to smack my head away from her arm. One part of a vampire that’s like a human’s pressure point is the 1st artery of the hand. Bite it or put some kind of unnecessary pressure on it and the vampire will collapse. But (for obvious reasons) only other vampires can perform this task and still have a 50% chance of walking away. Humans don’t really have that option.
    “NO!” I began to cry. I hadn’t cried this much over something since my parent’s separation, and for me a vampire to be crying over a human’s life. I hated this; my life had been going so average, so simple. There wasn’t a thing in this world that had put me and my family, and my coven in this danger! I was used to being alone! No connections, no bonds. And then I’m moved up here! What was I going to do now? It became inevitable. I do have a crush on Daisuke! But how I was going to get over it I didn’t know. I collapsed on the ground, hunched over like I just took a blow to the gut. My grandma follows, for I had put pressure on longer than I needed. She was out. I look up at my helpless grandmother, who was once a loving role-model…that’s now a vicious mythological monster. I sighed with a heavy sigh and carried my grandmother back to her home.
    “Jeez…how am I going to explain this to dad? Ugh! She’s heavier than she looks.”
    Somehow, some way, I made it to her home. Put her in bed with her black cat. Anju didn’t really associate with anyone but her master, and it made me wonder what would happen to the cat once grandma got bored of her.
    “RAOOWWRRRR!!!!HISSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!” Anju hissed at me wondering what I’d done to her mom.
    “Don’t you start with me, she brought it upon herself…”I set her down and tuck her in. Even though the average vampire doesn’t sleep, my grandmother and I rest. I’m only 25% human at this point. Once I’ve bitten someone that turns them into me, then I’m a full vamp. This whole dispute is more than just some way to find a companion, or expand our kind. It’s its own certification. Like the human’s sweet 16.
    “Kaori what have you done exactly to her?!” Anju asked using telepathy.
    “I used pressure 1. But I exceeded the need…she’ll be out for awhile. Don’t be surprised if she wakes up queasy.” I warned Anju.
    “Hmph!” She hopped onto the bed, gracefully prancing to my grandmother’s face.
    “I’m off…this’ll teach her to mind her own business…”I headed for the door annoyed.
    “Kaori!” Purrow!
    “Yeah?!”
    “Jeez what could this grouchy puss want with me now?!” I exclaimed to myself.
    “C’mere a sec. I need to know something…” She walked to the edge of the bed and sat on her hind legs. Hesitantly I crouch in front of Anju. Hello this cat could claw me! But instead, she places her paw on my forehead, and in a matter of seconds the cat’s eyes widen.
    “What’s with you?!” I asked.
    “Kaori….I had no idea the burden you bear….I didn’t know that you were encountering this! And how much you do care about this boy….I’m so sorry. I guess your grandma went a little overboard huh? But what do you expect when your kind smells something that tempting?” She shook her little cat head many times and washed her face.
    “I expect someone with her status to be able to keep in control of herself.” I replied firm and disappointed.
    “Cut the old bat some slack. She hasn’t had the need to sate since 1826.” Anju purred. My head jolted up.
    “What happened in 1826?”