Blood Rose (Midnight Rose Sequel)

Chapter 12: Restless Night

Hours seemed to have stretched for far too long to Kaito. He was only locked up for a few hours, but to him it felt like days. He looked around the dusty old basement. It was fairly big, housing a workbench and many boxes full of things that Kaito can't remember still having. Dust and cobwebs covered almost everything but the workbench. There wasn't much to keep Kaito entertained, making him wish that he had brought down something to occupy himself with. The light had been turned off, but the moonlight pierced through the small window, lighting up the room a little. Aside from the occasional shuffling of footsteps on the floor above or the calling of an owl in the near distance, it was completely silent. The silence oddly seemed comforting to the vampire. He wasn't hearing or seeing this he's like he had done leading up to this. That had to be a good sign.

Sighing tiredly, Kaito looked down at his watch. Just two minutes shy of midnight. Time to feast now. Glancing around, he spotted the canteen that his grandmother had left him with. He reached over, the weight of the chains almost holding his hand down. The rattling of chains filled the air as he moved. Kaito grabbed the canteen, and opened it almost too eagerly. He had gotten thirsty for blood, a familiar feeling that he was all too familiar with. The scent of the blood invaded his nostrils, making the urge to drink it stronger.

"You honestly like that?"

Kaito almost lost his grip on the canteen. The dark instincts were standing just opposite him, standing close to the wall. The red eyes glared right at him, unimpressed by what Kaito was doing at that moment. Kaito shook a little, but he pressed on. He started taking sips of the blood. Strange...it tasted different. Not off or bad, just different. Kaito shrugged it off, thinking that it might just be nerves or something that's causing him to think that way about the blood.

"Nothing beats the blood of your prey. Why don't you get out and find her?"

Kaito sneered at the shadow. He bit his tongue as he tired not to give this monster the retaliation that it clearly wanted. He tilted his head back, and swallowed the rabbit blood in one go. There. He had his fill of blood for tonight. More than he needed to last the rest of the night. The urge to consume more blood was gone for now until the next Hunter's Moon.

"You think that's going to stop you?"

"Shut up..." Kaito sneered, glaring as the shadow suddenly made its way towards him. He wrapped his arms around himself to fight the urge to break away from his restraints. If he broke out, there's no telling at what he could do. He could possibly do nothing and he was overreacting in all of this madness. Or he could do server harm to the one he loves the most.

"You've tasted her blood already. You deserve to have more."

"Shut up!" Kaito shouted, eyes wide with rage at what the shadow was implying for him to do. He can't hurt Maki. He won't do it. As much as he'd hate to say it out loud, but he would rather be killed by Vampire Hunters than to hurt her again.

"Go on! Take her blood! She is your prey after all!"

"SHUT UP! SHE'S NOT! I'M NOT GONNA HURT HER AGAIN!" Kaito yelled, feeling like he was going to snap if this didn't stop right at this moment. He closed his eyes, keeping his head down as he slapped his hands over his ears. He needs to try to block all of these monotonous thoughts out. He needs to fight back as much as he could.

"This is your right!"

That was Kaito's breaking point. He couldn't stop himself from screaming. It was so primal, so forceful, that it turned his throat raw and scratchy. His voice was so loud that he believed that it rattled the house. No doubt that his family and Maki heard him from upstairs. Honestly, he didn't care. He just needs to do his best to fight back. Screaming felt like the best way to block out the voices. It might make his loved ones concerned about him in the morning, but he just needed to block out the sound, block out the dark instincts. He'll have to if it were to keep Maki safe. He hated this side of him and he wants it gone forever.

Why was he cursed to be like this?!

Kaito didn't know how long he screamed for. By time he stopped screaming, the dark instincts were gone. They were leaving him be for now. Confused, Kaito looked down at his watch. It was nearly a full hour since he started screaming. His throat felt dry from screaming and he felt like he wouldn't be able to speak until dawn finally came. He's fine with that if someone asked him to be honest. Just as long as he didn't lose control.

Feeling relief wash over him like a refreshing breath of air, Kaito leaned back until his back was flat against the wall. His body felt heavy and weak. However, he couldn't bring himself to sleep. Despite it being over for now, he couldn't help but fear that the dark instincts will return. He knew that they might not until the next Hunter's Moon, but he still couldn't bring himself to sleep. It felt far too risky at the moment. The nightmare seemed to be over for now, but it will return far too quickly for Kaito.