• CHAPTER 121 - WHAT IF...?

    Two of the worst words to ever reach one's ears; what if?

    .:{{Kai's Perspective}}:.

    "Arisa?" I whispered, rapping on the bathroom door with my knuckles. "Arisa, are you okay? You've occupied yourself for a while."

    I was somewhat concerned; Arisa had been in the bathroom for just over ten minutes. The food probably sickened her. Was there anything that would never sicken her?

    "Take your time," I granted and left, heading back to the booth.

    I sighed, figuring it was probably time we rounded up our date. Heading back to the booth, I could see a few pairs of female eyes on me but I merely shrugged it off; Arisa was the only woman I'd be with so I wouldn't fret with another. Arisa was only the second woman I was with and she was lucky I even gave her a chance; it was nearly impossible for me to trust women after Ayame betrayed me for so long, and she even tried to cheat with Kira.

    Sighing again, I wrote out a check to the waiter--along with a tip--and gathered up Arisa's things and placed them in her coat pockets. While I was picking up Arisa's things, I could have sworn I could smell another Vampire in the restaurant. It wouldn't be too much of a surprise at night, though, since many Vampires trick women with chivalry, seduce them, then kill them. But the scent I picked up was too familiar.

    "Suivez moi," the voice of the Vampire whispered into my ear.

    Turning around, it was Minoru. He continued on his way out of the restaurant with his hands stowed in his pockets and he never glanced back. I glanced back at the bathroom and glanced outside of the restaurant. Perhaps one quick meeting wouldn't be too dangerous; Arisa was still in the bathroom.

    "Make it quick," I mumbled as soon as I caught up to Minoru in an abandoned alley.

    "That contract is quite frustrating, is it not?" he leaned back against one wall, keeping his hands in his pockets. "You're burdened with killing your lover and we're burdened with waiting?"

    "Don't even start to tell me your suffering is palpable," I hissed. "Or worse than mine."

    "Don't fret, I'm not attempting to be a martyr," he rolled his eyes.

    "Then what do you want?" I sighed, leaning against the wall opposite of Minoru and keeping Arisa's coat draped over my arm.

    "I dunno, a little chat," he shrugged, kicking a pebble on the ground. "Is it so wrong to make your acquaintance?"

    "You're a monster," I hissed. "Never."

    "We're all monsters, Uketomeru," he rolled his eyes once more. "You're a murderer too, you know. You just tend to have a soft spot for emaciate girls."

    My eyebrows burrowed together, "How do you know what she looks like?" It made no sense; he never caught a glance of her at her house on the night of her parents' murders.

    Minoru merely smirked and it was at that moment that I saw it. The mix between thirst and calm in his eyes, the enticement that radiated from them, his shining fangs in the dim moonlight, the specks of blood remaining on his flesh. It was when I noticed the dry specks of blood on his skin that I could finally smell whose blood it was. It was Arisa's...but she was in the bathroom. Or, at least, I assumed she was.

    Before Minoru could speak, I sprinted quickly to him and pinned him against the wall by the collar of his shirt also damped with Arisa's delectable blood, "You a*****e, where is she?!"

    He tried to confront me casually, "Relax, Uketomeru, she's--"

    "Don't tell me to relax," I hissed. "Where the hell is she?"

    "If you're so desperate to find her, go look yourself," Minoru frowned. "I won't tolerate that attitude."

    "I would go look myself but her scent goes no further than the bathroom," I hissed again, feeling a growl traveling up my chest.

    "Calm down and follow me, then," he shrugged casually. "It's that simple."

    Despite my severe urge to snap his neck and tear him limb from limb, it was against the contract. No matter how much I would want to do it, if I would try to, something would hold me back, a painful something. I merely dropped Minoru onto his feet on the ground and backed away, picking up Arisa's coat. My head was vociferating my anger as Minoru led me deeper into the alley. The more I spotted Arisa's blood specks on his skin and clothes, the more I could smell her blood and the more concerned I grew.

    I didn't comprehend why Minoru was leading me down the alley but I couldn't care less. Arisa was left somewhere unsupervised, possibly being attack by another Vampire. She could be seriously injured, or worse--

    "Killed?" Minoru glanced at me over his shoulder and he shrugged. "Possibly."

    My anger caught up with me again and my hand clasped around his throat, running him into another wall of a different building and causing a few bricks to break off. A growl tore through my chest and my grip tightened around his throat but, unfortunately, I was unable to murder him. If only I could rip his throat right out of his pale neck and impale his head...

    "Jesus Christ, Kai, you seriously need to chill," he coughed a little. "Just let me--"

    "If she's dead, then so help me--!"

    No more words were spoken before Minoru gripped my wrist of my hand I had around his neck and we disappeared. After we reached our destination, my eyes never tore off of his. I was slaughtering him in my mind, doing everything I couldn't. It was when he smirked and occupied his vision behind me that I finally tore my attention away from him. The room reeked heavily of blood, Arisa's blood. I glanced around the room, catching my reflection everywhere. A mirror room?

    "Mirror room...?" I whispered and froze; mirrors, they were one of Arisa's greatest fears. They were in her nightglares, weren't they? She panicked at the carnival we went to after venturing through a fun house. This fun house?

    Glancing over my shoulder, it was horrid. Arisa was limp on the ground, bleeding from the neck. Kaiba was hunched over, cradling her close in his arms and his fangs were fastened into her frail neck. She was breathing heavily but her eyes were closed and she wasn't moving, much like she was dead but responsive. Either they used the immobility charm on her or worse...

    Instead of delving after Kaiba, my grip tightened around Minoru's throat and I heaved him over me towards the other side of the mirror room. As soon as he touched ground, I sped towards him and pinned him against the wall, shattering one of the mirrors. A few shards managed to plunge with enough velocity to cut into his temple but it never fazed him. Minoru's talons made a quick snag to my cheek and I merely threw him aside, focusing my attention on Kaiba. Arisa was still limp in his arms, her body sprawled out like a doll.

    Just as I was on the brink of infiltration, Minoru swung me around by my neck and rammed me against one of the mirrors on the wall. I could feel the anger radiating off of my body and I could almost feel my eyes burning red. I desired nothing more than their death but I couldn't kill them, no matter how much I wanted to.

    "You're lucky we can't kill her," Minoru mumbled and he teleported out of sight and Kaiba followed soon after he was finished with Arisa, dropping her head carelessly to the ground.

    Glancing around the mirror room, there were specks of blood all over the ground and even some on one of the walls. It was all Arisa's blood; there was too much of it. I was capable of calming my thirst but I couldn't calm my worry of whether Minoru and Kaiba could kill her accidentally. I knew they couldn't kill her purposefully, but I was oblivious as to if they could accidentally.

    Approaching Arisa and kneeling next to her, she never moved an inch except for when her chest heaved up and down from her heavy breathing. Her breaths were far apart and her heartbeat was erratic, only increasing the blood flow from her wounds. There were gashes on her delicate face, multifarious amounts of bite wounds on her neck and even on her wrists. There were lacerations across her midriff, shredding part of her dress.

    "Arisa?" I whispered with palpable concern and I cupped her face. "Arisa, can you hear me?"

    Her only response was continuous asperous breathing, subtle tears leaking out of her closed eyes, and continuous beating from her dangerously erratic heart.