No Warmth

Chapter 1- Encounter

Akari walked along the empty sidewalk and glanced up at the sky; the sun was hidden behind the clouds. I guess I won't need my parasol today, she thought.

Akari walked towards the bakery and smiled when the aroma of fresh bread reached her.

The baker, Anna, was taking out a tray of bread out of the oven. She turned around at the chime of the bell, and smiled when her eyes fell on Akari. "Good morning Akari, I assume you want the usual?"

"Yes please." Akari pulled out coins from her purse and placed them on the counter.

Anna placed two gingerbread cookies, a slice of banana bread, and a cinnamon roll in a brown paper bag. "How is your family doing these days?"

"They are doing great."

Anna took the coins and placed the bag in front of Akari. "Have you stopped by Mrs. Inoue's library? She has a new selection of fiction books, so I thought you would be interested."

"I'll stop by later, but right now I have to hurry home. Rin said he would accompany me, but he overslept. I'm sure he'll be annoyed that I didn't wake him up."

Anna giggled. "You always arrive early, so I don't blame him for sleeping in."

"It works better for me if I can buy your bread before breakfast. Anyway, I have to get back before Rin wakes up and realizes I left without him," Akari grabbed the bag and waved at Anna before she stepped outside.

Akari was about to head home when a screech interrupted her thoughts. She ran towards the voice and soon found herself in an alley.

A brown-haired girl was cornered by a tall woman with red eyes. The girl with short brown hair glanced at Akari. "Do not come closer. It's dangerous," the girl shouted pulling out a rod to block the tall woman's claws.

Akari set her bag of bread down and walked towards them; vines emerged from the ground and wrapped around the tall woman's body.

The woman growled and flailed trying to remove the vines. However, the vines continued to constrict around her body.

Akari stopped behind the woman. I haven't fed in a while, so I guess this works out in the end. Akari's pink eyes turned red as she dug her fangs on the woman's shoulder.

The woman continued to struggle until her body went limp. The vines came undone and the woman's body toppled to the pavement.

The brown-haired girl's eyes widened when she saw the woman's body disintegrate into sand.

Akari wiped the drops of blood from her mouth and turned towards the girl. "You do not seem to be injured. Anyway, don't wander around town by yourself especially in secluded areas."

Akari was about to pick up the bag of bread when a familiar scent reached her. This blood...she turned around and ran.

"Wait, you forgot your bag," the girl shouted before she picked up the bag and ran after Akari.

Akari stopped when she noticed the familiar black-haired boy sitting on the sidewalk and an older silver-haired boy standing in front of him. She dashed towards them and the silver-haired boy stepped back.

She stopped in front of the black-haired boy. "Rin, are you okay?"

"I'm okay, but I hurt my knee when I fell," Rin moved his leg and winced.

Akari kneeled and looked at Rin's knee. There was cut on his knee that was still bleeding.

Akari jumped to her feet and glared at the young man. "Stay away from my brother."

"Akari, this guy actually helped me. He killed the vampire who was trying to hurt me," Rin tugged at Akari's sleeve.

"If that's true then I owe you an apology. Thank you so much for saving my brother," Akari bowed her head.

The guy's lavender eyes widened and he pulled out a gun. "You're..." he muttered as he aimed his gun at her.

"Stop it Zero!" Suddenly, the brown-haired girl from earlier jumped in front of Akari.

"Yuki, why are you getting in the way?"

"This girl helped me, Zero. I was attacked by a vampire, and she saved me."

Zero scoffed and lowered his gun. "Who are you anyway?" Although he put his gun away, his eyes were fixated on the white-haired girl.

"My name is Akari Endo and this is my younger brother, Rin."

Rin slowly stood up and put his arms around Akari. "My sister is a good vampire. She would never hurt innocent people, so please don't hurt her."

Yuki turned towards Akari and Rin and smiled. "Sorry. Zero doesn't like vampires, so he's pretty harsh with them. He doesn't usually go this far though."

"There is no need to apologize, Yuki." Akari smiled before she crouched down in front of Rin. "You should get on my back, Rin."

"What are you saying Akari? That's so embarrassing! I can walk on my own," Rin stammered.

"It'll be faster if I carry you. I'm sure Mom and Dad will worry if we take too long."

"Fine." Rin latched on to Akari's back and held on tight as she stood up. He looked at Zero and grinned. "Thanks for saving me from that scary vampire earlier, and thank you for not hurting my sister."

"No problem. Try to be more careful out there," Zero's gaze softened when he looked at the boy.

Akari sighed. "He is right, Rin. Next time make sure you wait for me to accompany you." Akari then looked at Yuki. "You'd do well to follow your friend's advice too."

Yuki smiled sheepishly. "Oh, I almost forgot!" She picked up a brown paper bag and held it in front of Akari. "You forgot your bag of bread."

"You came all this way to return this?" Akari reached for the bag, but Yuki took a step back.

"Why don't Zero and I walk you two back to your house? You are carrying an injured boy on your back, so your mobility is limited; you'd be in a tough spot if another vampire attacked you."

"No need." Akari began to walk away but stopped when she noticed Yuki was following them.

"How can we be sure you won't attack the boy?" Zero's nose crinkled.

Akari raised an eyebrow at Zero's insinuation. "You don't have to worry because I have a lot of self-restraint," Akari began to walk again. Now, I am glad I had the chance to feed earlier.

"Akari, are you going to leave without the sweet bread?" Yuki called out.

"I suggest you let us escort you. Once Yuki makes up her mind about something, you can't stop her," Zero walked up to stand beside her.

"Fine. However, neither of you must mention the vampire attack. I don't want my parents to worry." Akari began to walk again but this time at a slower pace.