Guilty All The Same (English)

14 - Return

Yurika stretched out between the covers and smiled. It had been a long time since she had been able to sleep so well. She thought back to what had happened the day before and how sweet Ferid had been to her, he probably just wanted to calm her down a bit and, in fact, she had to admit that the experience had shaken her up quite a bit, especially if she thought about the effect Ferid had had on her: it was thanks to him that she had been able to calm down. She sighed and decided to get up, preparing herself for a new day. 

A little later she heard a knock on the door. "Come in!" Ferid entered, but the girl noticed that the vampire was holding a hand hidden behind his back and she became curious, wondering what he was hiding. "How are you Yurika?" "Fine, thanks." "Perfect. You know, I was thinking about what happened yesterday and, you see, I realized that I could do something to prevent similar incidents from happening again in the future. I concluded that things would have turned out differently if you hadn't been completely unarmed." Yurika stared at the vampire in puzzlement, unable to understand what he was getting at. "So, I thought it was time to give you back something that belongs to you." He moved his hand from behind his back and brought it closer to the girl's face. Yurika stared stunned at the cross and raised a trembling hand, ready to take it, then stopped. "May I?" She asked looking at the vampire hesitantly. "Of course. It's yours after all." Then Yurika wrapped her fingers around the cold surface of the cross, taking it back. She observe it for a moment, almost not believing she could have it back. She felt her eyes moisten with tears. She looked up at Ferid and for a moment was seized by an irrational desire to embrace him but recovered before making a rash move. "Thank you, Ferid." Ferid smiled at her even though he wouldn't have minded another kind of reaction, but after all, the girl had been too upset the day before and had found her only ally in him, while now things were back to normal. Or almost. Yurika clutched the cross to her chest and took courage. "Ferid..." "What is it Yurika?" "Are you going to start drinking my blood?" "Yurika..." "No, Ferid. This time is different. If you hadn't saved me, I'd probably be dead. And offering you my blood is the only way I can thank you." A smile from you would be enough. Thought the vampire as he looked at her. "That's fine Yurika, but I'd rather wait a day or two. I wouldn't want to risk bleeding you dry." "Okay." Surely it hadn't been a problem for the vampire to accept the girl's proposal, he couldn't deny how much he wanted to taste her blood again and he would finally get it without using violence. He realised how the girl was clutching the cross to her chest and remembered Yurika's goal. Evidently the girl was bound to her demon more than she should have been. And, if his theory was right, then it meant that Yurika and her demon would have a lot to talk about and he was nothing more than an obstacle. "Yurika, I'll leave you for now. Maybe I'll come back later. Or maybe not. But I'll see. Bye!" "Bye Ferid."

As soon as the vampire closed the door Yurika smiled clutching the cross to her chest and let herself fall onto the bed, waiting. Almost immediately she saw Kurena's shiny blonde hair appear. The demon smiled at her as tears rolled down the girl's cheeks. "Yurika, get a hold of yourself, it hasn't even been two weeks!" "I know Kurena, but... It's so nice to see you again, to have someone beside me who knows me." The demon smiled. "Don't you just love having that vampire next to you?" Yurika took a moment to register the implications of that sentence. She lifted herself onto the bed. "What is that supposed to mean?" Kurena laughed. "Ferid... It's nice, isn't it?" Yurika blushed. "All vampires are beautiful, not just..." She bit her lip. "Not only?" Yurika huffed. "Please, Kurena. We never talked about these things." Kurena looked at her disapprovingly. Yurika sighed. "And then I remind you that he kidnapped me and tried to..." "Yet you kissed him yesterday. And just now you offered him your blood. Or didn't you?" Yurika lowered her gaze. "It was just an innocent kiss on the cheek and offering him my blood is a way of thanking him for saving me. That's all." The girl blurted out. Kurena wasn't convinced at all, but decided to gloss over the subject, or rather, leave it out for the moment. She was sure Ferid Bathory would become their second favourite topic. Oh yes. But she knew that, thanks to the vampire's library, Yurika would have new items to work with. "You could take me to his library..." Whispered the demon. The girl gave her a dirty look. "Alright, let's go."