Bitten By Love

Three

Third POV

Uruha took a sip of the coffee. It was strong, just what he needed. He wasn't exactly supposed to be awake at this time of the day...but the interview and photoshoot got delayed, preventing him from taking a nap. He just had one more day to endure, then he could go back home and sleep all day.

Having been a vampire for several decades, the sun wasn't uncomfortable for Uruha, but he still disliked it. Especially after a night of heavy drinking. That was what had delayed everything. If only the magazine staff knew how weak they were to alcohol...

Thank goodness for this quiet café down the road. He was quite pleased to be able to spend some time here, without anyone being nosy. The last time he'd been here, he had gone to the restaurant for meals, and was forced to endure some highly inquisitive questions from the waiters.

This girl was nice. Akiko gave the impression that she would rather not poke her nose into anyone else's business; she just wanted her customers to be happy.

"Thanks," he murmured to her.

"You're welcome," she said gently. "If there's anything else you need, do let me know."

"Do you run this café on your own?" Uruha asked, taking a seat. He figured he should make some small talk, if only to be polite.

"No, one of my friends helps me out on weekdays, atleast till the lunch rush ends," she answered. "But for the most part, yes, I go it solo."

"Family?"

Akiko lowered her gaze, and Uruha realized he'd made a mistake. "My parents used to run this café before they died. The building remained in the family, but nobody did anything with it. I reopened the café a few years ago, with the help of my aunt and uncle."

"I'm sorry for your loss," he muttered, looking away.

Akiko gave a sad smile. Trying to change the topic, she asked Uruha how long he would be in this town.

"Only another day or so," he answered. "I just have an interview to complete and some photos to check, and I'll be going back home for a nice, long nap."

Akiko giggled. "An interview?"

"Yeah. It's for a music magazine."

"Oh! Are you a musician?"

"Yes, a guitarist, actually." This was actually the last thing Uruha wanted to bring into the conversation. If anyone got wind of who he actually was, it was all over for him.

Luckily for him, Akiko didn't question further. All she said was,"Good luck for your interview!"

Strange girl.

* * * *

The streets were empty as Uruha stalked them for a feed. It had been three months since his last feed, and the incident on Saturday had only increased his cravings.

He hid behind a wall near the bar, waiting for some lone drunkard to walk past.

Uruha loved the night sky. He stared at the stars as he reflected on what had happened. Wondering what Akiko's blood would taste like.

He wouldn't kill her, of course; he had far more self-control than that, but it was still very difficult for him to drink without his victims becoming very weak due to blood loss.

Through experience, he'd learnt that the taste of a human's blood depended upon their personalities. He knew of vampires who had almost lost their blood cravings because of feeding from people who were rude, backstabbing, bullies, pessimistic...the list could go on. Every vampire encountered atleast one unpleasant human in their feeds, but some found them more often than others.

The sound of footsteps shook him out of his reverie. A young man had just staggered out of the bar. Humming, he walked down the street carelessly, unaware of the vampire hiding nearby.

In a flash, Uruha had pulled the man behind the wall, and knocked him unconscious. Sinking his fangs into the man's neck, he grimaced mentally at the taste. Bitter, as though his personality has just become such. There's a hint of sweetness, perhaps a lingering nostalgia preventing him from crossing over the emotional line. Interesting.

The vampire drank his fill. Then, licking his thumb, he rubbed it over the puncture marks; he knew that one of the properties of vampire saliva was that it could heal wounds.

The drunkard would probably wake up in a few hours, not knowing what had happened. He would probably be quite weak, but no permanent damage would have been done.

Good, Uruha thought. Now, I'm going home and sleeping as much as I want.