"What's going on?" Lauren's voice full of confusion echoed through the dungeon. Reiji, already barely holding in his thirst, stared at her in shock.
"Oh no." He started to slowly back away from the human girl as if she was the most poisonous snake on earth.
"Reiji? Are you... alright?" She took a few hesitant steps towards the trembling vampire.
"Stay away from me!" Get out of here!" Reiji dashed away from her to the furthest corner of their cell.
"There's no way I can leave - we are locked in." Lauren took a few steps to make even more distance between Reiji and herself. She felt the cold bricks against her back. She stared at Reiji's back with wide eyes.
"Don't... come any... closer... ngh!" Reiji was starting to wheeze. He was clenching the metal bars in order to take at least a little bit of control over his uncontrollable thirst for blood that was still getting stronger.
"What's wrong?" Lauren's voice quivered with worry. At first, she was confused. When they were playing in the room, Laito suddenly stood up and told her to follow him. Of course, she knew where he was going after a while, so she tried to just simply go back to her room, but Laito teleported them into the dungeon and locked Lauren in that cell. Soon after, others showed up with Reiji in this state.
"I TOLD YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Reiji yelled louder than he had ever yelled at someone. His voice was full of desperation and agony. Lauren flinched at his harsh words, but she didn't go off to hide further in a corner. No, she felt that Reiji needed help, but she just didn't know how to help him. Lauren thought that she had to take care of him the way he took care of her. He saved her life, he helped her with her pneumonia and loneliness. She had to return the favor.
"I will stay away, but can you at least tell me what's going on?" She kept her promise and didn't move an inch.
"They used... potion I created... on me. I made it... to kill my mother... once I bring... her back... to life." Reiji managed to croak out through pants. "It had to drive... vampires crazy... with thirst... Unfortunately... this drug... is a success." Lauren covered her mouth in horror.
"But what h-happens next?" She went as pale as freshly fallen snow.
"If I... don't get blood... I'll die." Reiji hit the bars. "I can't teleport... either..." He tried to rip out the bars, but metal didn't budge an inch.
"Damn it!" Reiji knew one of them will die that night - his brothers made sure to create this situation. They wanted him to be the one who ripped this human girl to pieces in this blinding animalistic need.
"Is there a way I could help you? Maybe if I gave you some of my blood..." Lauren took a shy step forwards, but Reiji's scream stopped her.
"I'd slaughter you like a pig!" Reiji's composed self was long gone. He looked like a hungry wolf ready to kill.
"But you will die otherwise!" Now Lauren couldn't stay silent. "I don't want you dying on me! Especially when I know I could have saved you!" Lauren didn't want Reiji to disappear from her life. She tried to convince herself that it was only because of her situation. She simply didn't want to be left alone with these sadistic brothers. But was it the only reason? She tried to convince herself that it was, but something was telling her that she was denying her own feelings.
"I'd kill you... You can't die." Reiji was having a similar conflict with himself. Unbearable pain was already taking over him, but he didn't wan't to see Shizuka dead and it wasn't only because of his father's order. Reiji didn't want that. He was ready to suffer even if she would be the only one to survive.
"But if I tied you up, you wouldn't-"
"Stop being stupid! Don't come any closer!" But she wasn't listening to him. Slowly, but surely she was making her way towards trembling vampire. Reiji couldn't stay up any longer - he fell down to his knees.
"Reiji!" Lauren sprang forward.
"Stay away..." His arms gave in and suffering Reiji sank flat to the floor.
Meanwhile
"Mister Sakamaki, what brings you here?" Nadia shifted in her bed, preparing herself for an unpleasing meeting.
"My my, I just came to visit my dying wife. You're the first one whose death I'm going to witness." Tougo sat down on the chair near Nadia's hospital bed.
"You sure are smooth with your words, aren't you," Nadia grumbled.
"So how is your health? Are you in any pain? Does your head hurt?" Tougo took Nadia's hand in his own.
"How do you think? I already have hard time doing some basic stuff, like writing." She leaned back against her pillows. Nadia was being injected with painkillers constantly, so she wasn't in a lot of pain. But... She was still suffering. Suffering, because she couldn't help Lauren with anything. Suffering, because she was going to die. Suffering, because there was nothing in her power to be done.
Of course, Mister Sakamaki was taking care of her, visiting her regularly and making sure that Lauren had everything she needed, but... No one in the entire world could understand her little girl as well as Nadia could. When Lauren was born, Nadia swore to her and to herself that no matter what, she would never abandon her little sparkle of light and hope. But here she was now, hiding far away, silently dying.
"How is Lauren? She told me she got sick. Is she okay now?" Tougo was cradling Nadia's hand.
"Don't worry - I personally made sure to get her the best treatment possible. Reiji is nursing her back to health and," Sakamaki father took a look at his wrist watch, "it's about the time he gives her medicine. She's already feeling fine, so concentrate on your own wellbeing." Nadia only smirked at his words.
"Concentrate on what? I have one month tops and even this is unrealistically optimistic. Treatment doesn't help one bit, it's actually the other way around - it made things worse. I'm actually surprised I feel this well," Nadia sighed painfully.
"I will make sure to make your death as painless as possible when the time comes."
"I don't need you promising crap like this! Just promise me that you will take care of Lauren no matter what."
"Of course I will, so rest assured."
Back to the dungeon
Lauren ran towards the collapsed vampire.
"Reiji! Come on! You can't die! You're immortal, remember!" But the moment she touched him, Reiji sprang towards her, pushing and pinning her to the ground. His eyes were the eyes of a starved beast. Reiji's fangs were bigger than ever before and wet with saliva. His grip on Lauren's wrists was almost crushing. Lauren felt like she was staring into the crimson, full of bloodlust and furry eyes of death itself.
"I. Told. You. To. STAY AWAY!" Terrified girl didn't even understand what was happening, she only knew that one moment she was beneath this beast and the other - flying towards the wall.
The collision with a wall of rocks knocked the air out of Lauren's still unhealthy lungs. For a fair amount of time she was convinced she would suffocate from this impact, but slowly, Lauren regained her ability to take at least shallow breaths. When she opened her eyes, she saw Reiji yet again collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily, but this time, he was out of strength for sure.
When Reiji felt her touch, his bloodlust took completely over him for a few moments. Her neck was so close and yet, he had to save her from himself. He had to get her away as fast as possible, so he used the last bits of his strength to push Lauren away.
'Sacrificing myself for a human girl... Just like my life, my death is pathetic...' Was the last thought Reiji had before passing out.
"No... Reiji... Reiji!" Lauren was slowly crawling on all four towards Reiji, despite all of his warnings and her own pain. He was dying. Literally dying! Unwanted tears were running down her cheeks.
"Come on... you low life... vampire! If you die now... you'll be no better... than Shuu!" Lauren still didn't understand why, but she couldn't handle the thought of Reiji dying. She just couldn't!
"Please be better... than him... please..." Lauren rolled Reiji to his back and shook him, trying to wake him up from his upcoming eternal slumber.
"Come on... If only I had something to... cut my hand I could-" Her eyes widened. Lauren frantically started to search for that dagger she got with a note.
"Come on! I know I had it here. come on!" A few whimpers left her lips.
"Found it! Reiji, you just hold on for a moment... Now it's my turn to give you some medicine, you just wait." She took off her bathrobe, rolled it into an improvised pillow and put it beneath Reiji's head. She forced his mouth open and with trembling hands, cut her wrist. She pressed her wound against his mouth.
"Come on... Drink it!" She was helplessly watching as her blood was going anywhere, but down his throat, so she stuck two fingers into his mouth and pressed his tongue down, forcing him to swallow. She had been repeating this over and over again, until her head became light. The last things she saw were her severely bleeding hand and Reiji's unconscious body.
Meanwhile
"Mh~ the smell of Bitch-chan's blood~" Laito threw back his head, inhaling deeply.
"Yeah, seems like she won't make it this time." Subaru kicked a pillow.
"Even here I can barely control myself. It feels like I'm choking on her blood." Ayato licked his lips, remembering that sweet taste of Lauren's blood.
"So we finally succeeded. We finally got rid of that pest, right, Teddy?" Kanato hugged his friend tighter.
"So you did what I suggested, heh," Shuu chuckled. He told his brothers that allowing Reiji to succeed would be worse than killing Lauren. He also mentioned the drug and how Subaru's dagger could be used in this entire plan. But Shuu hasn't participated there. He just accidentally walked upon Lauren in that music room.
"Lauren could have killed Reiji, but I guess she was too soft. Even that kitchenware-otaku couldn't deal with his own creation." Brothers were already celebrating their victory... Or should I say, celebrating not being losers. But as they were congratulating each other, Reiji's eyes slowly cracked open.
"What... happened?" He could remember the agony and unbearable pain, he could remember Lauren's desperate voice calling his name, but what happened next? His sight was still a blurry mess, but he could feel something on his face. It was heavy and wet and had this strong smell of blood.
Reiji was no longer in pain, he could no longer feel the desire to drink, but why? He slowly touched the cool thing on his face. It was soft and silky... It felt like a hand... A hand? Blood? Lauren?! He felt his strength rapidly returning, the haze left his eyes and he finally saw it. Lauren was lying there besides him, bleeding, with a red-stained dagger a few feet away from her.
"You idiot!" He pulled the unconscious girl into his lap.
"Why did you do this?!" Reiji checked her pulse, but felt nothing.
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Now will Lauren survive or not? Stay tuned for the fang-gang!