Ch. 2

Later that evening, Sabishii woke up in the bed, not even having realized that he had fallen asleep. Stretching, he got up and walked out into the hall. A short way down, there were two nurses talking at the nurses’ station while they worked on papers. He casually listened to them, but soon his ears picked up on something that both caught his interest and stopped his breath.

“Did you hear about poor little Hana Shinme?” the first nurse asked.

“No, I didn’t. Is she alright?” the second seemed rather concerned.

The first shook her head. “We don’t really know what happened. All we know for sure is that she had gone outside to sit, and when one of the nurses from over in the ER went on her break, she found her passed out on the sidewalk. Poor little girl’s heart had just about given out. She’s on life support right now, she hasn’t woken up and they aren’t too optimistic.”

“Poor thing. So tragic. She’s always seemed like such a sweet girl, it’s sad to think that she’s going to be gone so young.” The second nurse shook her head sadly.

The first nurse nodded agreement. “I know. But there’s nothing more the doctors can do for her. All that can be done now is to make her last days happy and comfortable.”

That was all that Sabishii could listen to. It became too much for him. He believed that there was nothing the other doctors could do. Nothing that a human could do with medicine. However, Sadishii wasn’t human, and he could do something for her that no one else could. But dare he do it? Would she hate him for it after? Would he hate himself?

He began walking, and before he knew it, he found himself wandering into Hana’s room. He hadn’t even known where she was or that that was where he was headed, but still, there he was. Feeling terribly guilty, knowing that she had had this attack chasing after him, he pulled up a chair to the side of her bed and sat down.

He sighed, resting his head in his hands and watching her sleep. Tears slipped down his cheek as he gently took her hand in his. Absently, he stroked it while he fought with himself over the decision that lay before him. “I’m sorry Hana. I really hate to do this without your permission, but I can’t let you die. Not like this,” he whispered to her still form. Flipping her hand over, he lightly ran his fingers over the inside of her wrist. “I hope you can forgive me.” He bent down and bit into the soft flesh of her forearm.

The rush of blood that filled his mouth both excited and repulsed him. His natural instincts told him to keep drinking. To drain her till there was nothing left. But his more human side beat down his instincts and told him to stop. It was enough now. She had been touched. She would recover if he pulled back now.

With slight difficulty, he did, he gave the wound a final lick and a soft kiss before gently placing her hand back at her side. Within moments, the bloody punctures had completely sealed, only leaving a pale scare as evidence of what had just happened.

"This is only the first part of the bonding. I will never force the rest of it on you. If you are going to join me, it will be on your terms, not mine. And not like this.” Exhausted, he slumped forward, resting his head on the bed and fell asleep.