Bloody Lips

Lesson Learned

"Take care on the way home~" 

"Hai."

I walked out into the almost empty streets. It was already ten in the evening, and I had overtime again. Sigh. I wonder if they're still awake? Or if Reita would be waiting for me at home... I didn't see him wait for me since last week... Maybe he was mad at me? I kept on thinking about him lately... and it was weird. I can't get him out of my head. During classes, and during work, his face keeps appearing in my head. How he shot me with a disappointed look when I told him... Oh, who cares. It was fine as long as I'm not hurt... right? I stopped walking when I heard footsteps behind me. The footsteps stopped. It must be Reita... but even so, my heart started pounding. My palms felt sweaty. I walked again, walking briskly this time. I could hear the footsteps following me, and it was slightly getting louder. I half-ran, but he caught up to me. He wound his arm around my neck, and I could feel his cool blade against my neck. "Don't move." he ordered in a husky voice. This was definitely not Reita. I sucked in a deep breath and went for it. I pulled on his arm, and it slipped off. I pushed him away, and fel on the cold sidewalk. Big mistake. I saw the knife in his hand, its tip glistened in the dark. I gasped, and looked away as he charged for me. I prepared myself, knowing how this would end. But a strange sound startled me. Something was wrong. I looked up, and...

"Reita!"

He fell to the cold pavement, lifeless. I rushed over to him, and saw black blood everywhere. His face, his shirt, on the sidewalk. I looked up, and saw the man running away. His knife clattered to the floor, and I fet hot tears sting my eyes. I immediately pulled my phone out, and called. I pressed the phone to my ear and listened to it ring. Reita felt cold on my lap, but his chest heaved. He was still breathing, but how long can he hold on? I tried not to dwell too much on the thought. "Moshi moshi?" a familiar voice said. I sighed in relief.

"Aoi? It's Aki. Please, you need to come here now."

xXx---[♥]---xXx

"Aki-chan?"

I stood up at the sound of my name. I had been waiting for a long hour ever since Miyavi and Aoi carried Reita home, and Kai took care of the rest. Mao kept me company while I waited in anxiety. "How is he?" I asked Kai, concern leaking into my voice. I didn't care. "He's fine." he answered. I saw Kai's hands drenched in black blood, and gasped softly. "The wound was deep, but he's healing. Problem is that he's healing too slow, and he's probably getting weaker by the minute. If he drinks human blood, that might speed up the process." he explained. Human blood... mine. "Is he awake? Can I talk to him?" I asked. "Be my guest." he said and stepped aside. Reluctantly, I walked into his room.

My heart skipped a beat at what I saw.

Reita sat up on the bed, and a few pillows on his back. He lay his head back, his eyes gently closed. I could see his fist curled into a ball, and his legs were covered by a blanket. His whole torso was wrapped with bandages, but there were blood stains near his chest. His chest heaved as he breath in slow sighs, as if he was trying to calm himsef down. I was hesitant to walk closer to him. He looked so fragile, and my heart shattered to see him like this... even though we weren't close. But to see this and know that it was my fault, that he got hurt for my sake... heartbreaking. "What are you doing here?" he said. His eyes stayed closed, but his voice was unwavering. "I wanted to see you. Kai told me--" "Fuck what Kai said." he cut me off. I glared at him half-heartedly. "He said you need human blood to heal." I murmured. His eyes flew open, only to glare at me. I started to lean nearer to him, but I suddenly felt his hand gently under my chin. "I don't need it." he mumbled. "What?" was all I could say. "I said I don't need it. I don't need your blood." he said, glaring staright into my eyes. I flinched back. Was he insane? He won't get better at this rate. He looked away, and his hand flew to his chest. He sighed deeply, and I knew he had a hard time breathing. My eyes flickered to the night stand, where Reita's switchblade lay beside the lamp. I took it and and flipped it open. "Oi, what are you doing?" he suddenly said. I ignored him and brought the sharp end to my wrist. I flinched a little at the pain as the blade cut through my skin, and then there as throbbing pain. A drop of blood trickled out. "You really are stubborn, aren't you?" he said mockingly. He pulled my wrist, and his lips lightly brushed my skin. He took in a shaky breath before engulfing the cut in his mouth, and he sucked lightly. His eyes gently closed, and he pulled away. I didn't realize that I had sat down beside him on the bed. His natural color returned, but he didn't free my hand. He set my palm against his cheek and smiled. "You're so warm." he whispered almost inaudibly. I smiled. It was better seeing him like this. He slowly pulled me against him, tucking my head under his chin. "Thank you." he murmured into my hair. "No, thank you," I said. He saved my life, and he deserves this. I felt him smile. "Don't you want to go to sleep? It's late." he said when I pulled away. "It's Saturday tomorrow." I reminded him. His head cocked to the side. I laughed quietly to myself. "Okay, I'll go and sleep now. I have something to do tomorrow." I said. He raised an eyebrow in curiosity, but he didn't object. He leaned in and gently kissed my forehead. "Oyasumi nasai." he whispered. "Sleep well." I said before standing up and heading out.

xXx---[♥]---xXx

"I'll see you around, Kana-niichan!"

"Aww... why'd you resign, anyway?" as she gave me that annoyed look. I sighed. "...Someone told me to." I answered. "Your boyfriend?" she asked. I flinched back. Reita wasn't my boyfriend. "N-no!" I said. I could feel myself blushing. "Is he the one who fetched you a while back?" she pressed excitedly. My eyes widened. "Mao?" I answered without thinking. "Yeah. The blonde guy. Is he your boyfriend?" she asked. I laughed and shook my head. She thought Mao was my boyfriend. "Kana! Get back to work!" the manager yelled. We both laughed and I gave her a hug. "I'll drop by sometime, okay?" I said. "Sure, darling." Kana said. I bade goodbye to my former workmates and headed home. The air of freedom wafted towards me. It felt great, although I'll surely miss Kana. I walked home to find Mao in the living room. How ironic. "Oh, okairinasai~" he greeted as he practically jumped over the couch and gave me light hug. "Hey, Mao." I said, and smiled as I hugged him back. "Mattaku... I still have a ton of homeworks to finish..." he mumbled. "I'll tutor you." I winked. His head cocked to the side. "Eh? Don't you have work?" he asked. I laughed as we walked up to the study.

"No."