Bitten By Love

Seven

Uruha's jaw dropped. "In love with her? You've got to be kidding!!"

"I'm not,"Reita said seriously. "It's clear that you were attracted to her from the start; as you said, the smell of her blood draws you to her. Now, your feelings are catching up with your vampire instincts."

Uruha groaned. "This is just complicating things even more..."

"Well, you have three weeks," Reita said cheerfully. "Good luck!"

Before Uruha cut the call, he heard his best friend say one last thing:

"Oh, and if you ask her out, you'll probably have to tell her you're a vampire."

* * * *

Akiko shyly knocked on Uruha's door. "Come in," a tired voice said, after a moment or two.

Opening the door, she saw him sitting on a chair in his balcony, strumming his guitar. "Hi," he said, on seeing her.

"Hi," Akiko responded. "Um...I was wondering...could I sit here and listen to you play? If you don't mind, of course."

"Sure!" Uruha smiled warmly. His heart started beating faster on hearing her gentle voice. Woah, calm down buddy.

Akiko sat down, and read a book as Uruha resumed playing. She often peeked over the edge of the book to see his fingers move swiftly and skilfully across the fretboard.

He's really talented, she told herself. I admire him a lot.

She blushed at the thought, for some reason.

Uruha continued playing for a while. When he was done, Akiko looked up and said,"That was amazing! You're really good at this!"

"It's nothing much," Uruha said, embarrassed. "If I had my equipment, you'd be able to hear it better.

"But thanks," he added quietly.

Akiko smiled again, and slipped out of the room.

Once the door shut, she placed a hand over her chest, trying to calm her thudding heart.

What's happening to me? Why am I blushing? Why does my heart beat faster around him?

* * * *

As the days passed, Uruha and Akiko started hanging out together more often. They met up in the evenings and chatted over coffee.

Akiko realized that she was beginning to have a crush on Uruha. She tried denying it and suppressing her feelings, but it didn't seem to be working.

One evening, while she was reading, Uruha sat down next to her. "What book is that?" She heard him ask.

"Oh, this?" She held up the cover. "It's a reference book on modern world history."

"That sounds interesting. It's so cool to see how much you read and gain knowledge through all your books."

"Well, there is no other way. You see...when I was in high school, the college in the next town was burnt to the ground in a series of riots."

Uruha glanced at the girl sitting next to him. Akiko looked down, and her voice shook a little as she spoke.

"That college was the only one I could have gone to. It was the most affordable one in the district. Most families at home just about make ends meet, so a lot of us apply there."

"Aren't there other colleges in the country?"

"Yes, but they're too far away, and I'm scared of going away from home on my own for so long, especially after my parents died."

Uruha sensed he'd entered dangerous territory again, and was about to tell Akiko she didn't need to explain further. But before he could do so, she continued:

"When I was twelve, the first riots broke out in our town. My parents provided food to those affected, and I helped out too. One day, they left me at home and went on their daily rounds. The previous nights had been especially violent, and there were dozens of people left in peak winter without food or shelter."

Tears welled up in her eyes. "There was an explosion near the factories, where a makeshift refugee camp had been set up."

Instinctively, Uruha moved closer to her. "Oh, Akiko, I'm so sorry," he said softly, hugging her. "It must have been so horrible for you."

He knew she was crying. He held her tighter, to protect her from everything he could. He didn't care about her blood at that moment, he just wanted to comfort her and be with her.

Akiko gripped the back of his shirt as she sobbed. This was the first time in about ten years that she had spoken about her parents' death. And to a practical stranger, too. Why did she trust him so much? She didn't understand.

After a while, she pulled away, and wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

"I really respect you for being able to talk about this," Uruha said. "It takes a great deal of courage to open up about something that affected you so badly as a child.

"That's why I'm going to tell you a secret of my own..."

Uruha removed his sunglasses for the first time in Akiko's memory, to reveal blood red eyes - the mark of a vampire.