Glad to put the most awkward several minutes of my life behind me, I step into Youkai Academy's infirmary.
Something's
wrong with me, for me to have a dizzy spell like that so early into the day. I mean, I even drank a whole pack of blood this morning! I should be good until lunch! So as much as I don't want to stand out and look like a loser by showing up late to class on the first day, I have to address my body before anything else.
The only thing worse than being known as 'late girl' would be if I were 'terminally klutzy late girl'.
"Oh my. Someone's already feeling down on the first day?" asks the
doctor. She looks kind of stern... but at first glance, I don't think she's unkind.
...
great. I know that students aren't supposed to reveal their race to each other, but I don't remember if that applied to staff or not.
Still, I guess she can't help me if I don't explain my problem. "Um... I had an anemic attack earlier. I got really dizzy, and I almost passed out."
The nurse hmms, as she walks over to a filing cabinet. At about the time she makes it halfway, I suddenly catch myself staring, and sheepishly look away.
"I don't recall having seen you before," she says kindly. "I assume you're a new student?"
"Y-yes," I didn't mean to stammer. I was just a little surprised by the suddenness of her question. "That's right. My name is Moka Akashiya, and this is my first year at Youkai Academy."
The nurse nods, softly murmuring some tune I swear I've heard on the radio before but can't identify now. Eventually, she pulls out some files. "It says here that you're a vampire," she murmurs, which I suppose answers
that question neatly enough. "Judging by the way you spoke a minute ago, it sounds like this has been a recurrent theme for some time now."
She says that like I've done something wrong, and I don't know how I'm supposed to respond to that. "It..." I start to say
only, but I feel like that'll make her angry with me, and now I'm kind of starting to get worried too. "...started happening in the last two or three years, I think."
The doctor nods,
hm-ing thoughtfully. "And your dietary habits? On average, much blood would you say you drink in a day?"
In a day? Well, usually I go through one transfusion pack with every meal, but sometimes I get caught up during midday and can't have lunch at home, in which case I have to go without. Let's see, most of the transfusion packs I get are about a half liter or so, so.....
"Ah... normally about a liter and a half per day, but sometimes I can't get enough privacy to have a pack at lunch, so on those days I either do without or try to have it when I get home."
As I answer her question, the doctor just... stares at me for a minute. "So you're saying that on average, you drink
less than a liter and a half of blood per day."
"....yes?"
A deep,
angry glare blooms on her face. "Are you
trying to kill yourself?! What is this, some kind of brainless
weight loss nonsense?!"
She can't go around making assumptions like that! She doesn't even know me! How
dare she...! "Listen, I've maintained the same blood intake my mother told me I needed since I was a little girl!"
The doctor rolls her eyes. "That'd be fine if you were still
eight," she snaps, "but vampires undergo a lot of power fluctuations during puberty, so you need a considerably higher blood intake in order to stabilize. And after you consider quality degradation as a result of storage, even if it's chilled or frozen, a girl of your age and size needs to be drinking at least
four liters of donated blood every day religiously."
FOUR LITERS A DAY?! "That's more blood than I have in my whole
body!"
The doctor rolls her shoulders, shifting her weight from one side to the other. "Well, that's if we're talking about donated blood that's been out of the body for more than an hour or so. If you were to actually go around drinking
fresh blood while it's still got all of its energy, you should be fine with about two liters."
Crossing her arms over her chest, she lets out a sigh. "
Seriously, didn't your parents ever tell you any of that?"
"I'M the one you married, Issa! ME, Issa, NOT HER! Now I want her bastard out of our home!"
I feel.... empty, hollow. Like a part of me's been carved out with a knife. "I haven't lived with my family in almost five years," I reply. Even my own voice sounds somewhat distant. "No one ever told me anything like that."
Why?
Why didn't someone... why didn't
anyone ever tell me that before? Not Aqua, not Kahlua, not Father...
I thought they loved me, but they didn't even care enough to make sure I was eating properly.
Ah! There's a hand on my shoulder! ...oh, it's the doctor.
Could this just be a big misunderstanding? Maybe everyone thought I already knew about it, or that someone else told me?
"I'm sorry," she awkwardly says. "I didn't realize what kind of situation you were in."
"I... I..."
What am I even supposed to say?
"Look," the doctor says, "we've got... a
lot of stored blood for assorted purposes, but you really are going to be better off if you can drink as much fresh blood as you can."
Right. Yeah. I need to drink either two thirds or
twice the amount of blood in my body daily,
at least.
One blood snack later, and I'm cleared to
actually go to class now.
_______________________________
"And incidentally, students," I hear from the other side of the classroom wall, "we have another student. Will you please welcome, Moka Akashiya!"
I throw the door open in my nervous excitement! ...and accidentally shake the wall enough in doing so to make some dust fall down. Great, they must think I'm some kind of
freak. Can't show up to class on time
on the first day, can't maintain a decent limit on my powers -
"Holy shit, what a
babe!"
"Those hips-waist-bust proportions... she's a Perfect Ten!"
"Man, the only place I've ever seen a prettier face than that is in my fantasies!"
"Wow, TMI much?"
"But, like, seriously though! Her hair's so
long, but I don't see any tangles or splits or
anything!"
"Me neither! I have
got to know what kind of conditioner she uses!"
"Not to mention how utterly immaculate her uniform is! Ah~, truly a member of the b-e-a-utiful elite!"
"Dibs on '
private study sessions'!"
Please don't say that when you're looking at me like I'm a piece of meat.
"That's not a thing you can dibs, you bastard!"
What the--?! I, I.... I can't
handle this much attention all at once! What am I supposed to do?! My heart's pounding so hard I can
hear the rush of blood in my ears! That's not normal! I mean, it's not like I
want a bad reputation, but isn't this kind of excitement a little
excessive?!
Why are they talking so much about me when they don't even know anything about me?!
Please, I catch myself thinking as my eyes desperately scan the room,
let there be even one other student in this room I can actually sit down and talk with instead of being gawked at --
Oh my! "Hey, Tsukune!"
If I just focus all of my attention on Tsukune instead of the chattering all around me, then everything starts becoming bearable again.
Of course, the consequence of that is that I'm noticing
everything about Tsukune. Even from halfway across the room, I can already pick out his scent. Not that I'm any kind of expert, but he smells kind of... nervous. No, no, if I look at the way he's trembling, or the fact his eyes are practically as wide as dinner plates, I think
super freaked out is more accurate.
I mean, sure, my first day of school's kind of turning into a mess too, but at least we kind-of-sort-of already know each other a little bit. Hopefully, a friendly face will help set him at ease.
"Who ever would've thought we'd be in the same class together? I mean, I was really anxious because I didn't know anybody, but I feel like I can handle things a lot more easily if you're here with me!"
Tsukune does relax a bit, and I can't help but feel happy seeing it. All the same, though, he
does still seem kind of tense...
...oh no. What if the reason he's freaking out is because I sucked his blood earlier?! I mean, sure I got a little crazy back there because of my anemia, but that's no excuse! I didn't even have the decency to
ask if I could suck his blood, I just up and randomly
did it without so much as a thank-you, like some kind of
filthy parasite!
...and if I really look, I can actually still see the puncture wounds from where I sunk my fangs in him, meaning they haven't fully healed up yet...
But God help me, his blood was nothing short of amazing~
I... I
have to try and make it up to him somehow, if I can. At the very least, I definitely need to apologize.
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the teacher - what was her name? Ms. Nekonome, wasn't it? - idly checking her watch. She seems really friendly, but I can't expect her to indulge me forever before she gets class going properly.
But I can't just out myself as a vampire in front of everyone like this, so....
"Tsukune, I've got some stuff I really want to talk to you about. Can we get together sometime after class?"
Tsukune blinks and stammers for a moment, before he smiles. "S-sure thing, Moka. I was... I actually wanted to talk with you again anyway."
He... wanted to see me again? He still does? Even after that horrible, horrible first impression I made earlier? Oh, that makes me feel
so much better, like there's a huge weight lifted from my shoulders. I feel like I can stand a little straighter and walk a little taller, now.
"It's a date then! I'll see you at lunch, Tsukune!"
Aaaand of course there isn't an empty seat anywhere close to my new friend's, but at least I'm feeling hopeful now. Sure, things might still be a little overwhelming, but as long as I'm not totally alone, I'm sure I can get through it!
"What the hell does a grade-A piece of honey like her see in a scrawny little geek like him?!"
_____________________
Later that day...
Well, THAT was completely and utterly nerve-wracking! That pushy
sleazeball kept trying to harass me into being his girlfriend, and he was about to beat up Tsukune!
I felt so... so
helpless. I didn't want Tsukune to get hurt, but I didn't want to give that jerk any encouragement to think he could do whatever he wanted with me, either.
As much as he scares the bajeezus out of me, we were really lucky that senpai who was with Tsukune this morning showed up. Even if he kind of looks like a serial killer....
"Tsukune, can I ask you a personal question?"
"Hm? Yeah, of course."
I know it's not really my business, but I can't help but be curious. "How do you feel... about humans?"
He looks at me kind of funny, and rubs the back of his head. "I, um, don't really understand what you're asking?"
...I guess it was pretty vague. "Well, it's just that... before, when I went to school in the human world, the other kids always bullied me when I tried to introduce myself as a vampire. Even now, a part of me kind of hates the humans because of how much they hurt me. But now that I'm among other monsters, I want to know if there are other people who went through that kind of thing, or if it was just me."
And I don't really know what kind of answer I want to that question. On the one hand, if other monsters had a lot of positive experiences with humans, then that proves that humans aren't all that bad. But if my experiences are unique, then it's another thing that separates me from other people.
I'm so anxious, I can hardly even bear to look at Tsukune, so I almost miss it when he speaks up. "Moka... what if I were one of those humans?"
I feel... cold. As if every blood cell in my body instantly froze solid.
Slowly, I resist my body's urge to remain still, and turn to look at him. "....what?"
He's looking down at the ground, and I can't see his eyes for the way they're covered by his hair. "If I were a human, would you hate me too?"
"Tsukune, I don't...."
understand why you're asking me that, I started to say, before I suddenly realized the only reason a person would ever ask a question like that.
Before I can utter another word, he runs off toward the boys' dorms, and I'm left uselessly reaching out toward the spot where he used to be standing.
Oh God, what have I done?
