Life after death...a Shiki fanfic

20. Moving on

The commotion calmed down as the sun began to rise. Villagers cleaned up the mess of last night's slaughter, moving on and burying the past. No one talked much about that incident. It  had left a deep scar on them. 

Elsewhere after a few weeks...

Tatsumi's eyes flew open. He laid on his back trying to process what was happening. It was dark yet it didn't smell like the secluded village or reek of death. He frowned as he recalled his last memories. The villagers retaliation as well as his confrontation with Natsuno. The confused jinrou was sure he had died in that explosion, knowing that his master was safe. 

A ray of sunshine filled the room with light. This caught Tatsumi by surprise. "Good morning princess," the voice was very familiar to him. His eyes adjusted to the brightness. "You," he said in a dry voice. Smiling at him was Arisu, yet somehow she was different. Tatsumi noticed she looked less human than before or maybe it was the look in her eyes. The young girl walked over to him. He sat up, wary of her intentions. "Relax," she smirked at him, "Killing you won't be any fun. Here." She held her pale arm near his face. Tatsumi gave her a questioning glance. "Eat up genius. What do you think's been keeping you alive?" she snapped at him. 

He had too much pride to feast from Arisu but his hunger was unbearable. Arisu grew impatient with the stubborn jinrou, she stabbed her own arm. Blood surged to the surface of her skin. The smell was unique and tempting. Tatsumi could feel his mouth watering at the sight of it. Without warning, Arisu thrust her arm to his mouth. The next thing Tatsumi knew, he was  devouring her blood like a greedy animal. 

"Huh, the great and mighty Tatsumi, how low you've fallen," Arisu scoffed at him. "Consider yourself lucky. I found you right before you were...well as humans say "drew your last dying breath" She laughed. " Now look at you know, feeding like a lowly animal. How pitiful." Tatsumi managed to pull away after punching his thirst, yet he hungered for more. He glared at her as she sneered back at him. "Like it?" she teased. "Obviously it's different. I prefer to feast from different life sources. Shiki, animals at times, rarely humans because they're filthy. there are some exceptions though."

Tatsumi continued to glare at her, unsure of which question he should ask first. Arisu leaned towards him. "I kept you alive because I would be bored by myself and I needed a mentor," she simply explained. Tatsumi remained sceptic about her. "I don't care," he growled. Arisu smiled as she watched him leave. "He'll be back," she hummed to herself. "They always come back." 

Night came and Tatsumi found himself back at the mansion he left. "I don't need her," he kept telling himself. He couldn't resist the urge to climb back through the window. All he could think about was Arisu and the taste of her blood. It was driving him mad. 

"Well, look who came crawling back," Arisu said sarcastically. "You knew it, didn't you," Tatsumi snarled at her. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she smiled at him knowingly. A hungry Tatsumi marched towards her. He bit down onto her neck, filling his mouth with the blood he craved for. He felt hopeless and pathetic, not being able to control himself.  "Now, now," Arisu gently pulled him away and looked at him. Tatsumi fell on his knees. "You see, you've been living off me since the explosion, meaning you will crave for no other blood other than mine," she paused for a while, her face softened." We need each other Tatsumi. With Sunako gone, you have no purpose but I'm here to give you that. Stay with me," she pleaded. "We've got lots of humans to terrorise."