Chapter Text
The cold wind bit into his skin, sending a shiver down his spine and tousling his hair.
Banri adjusted his cape, attempting to shield himself from the September chill, though it didn’t help much.
Perching all the way up there, on his usual tree, was usually perfect. He could stay out of sight and still see the entire playground clearly. But the weather wasn’t making it easy these days. Fall had returned once again, bringing with it strong winds that made his wings pretty much useless and severely impaired his hearing. Additionally, his fingers were already going numb from the chill, his velvet gloves not doing much to protect him from it. Maybe he’d need to look for a better spot — somewhere lower so the wind wouldn’t be such a pain in the ass.
He sighed, his gaze drifting toward the horizon. At the very least, the days were getting shorter. The sky was dull; dark clouds fully covered the last rays of the setting sun. His vision was still muddy, the brightness blurring the image and making it impossible for him to see the world in detail, but it was far better than having to deal with the nothingness and white void of a summer afternoon. Well, he didn’t need to see much anyway. He still was able to see just fine once anyone entered the dark part of the playground shadowed by the trees, so whatever.
Even so, he hoped it’d get darker soon. It’d be easier once night fell. Then, at least, he wouldn’t have to rely so much on his nose.
The only sounds that reached his ears were the howling wind playing with the leaves and some bird’s occasional chirp. He couldn’t care less about what kind of bird it was.
The playground below remained lifeless, just as it had been for hours. The rusty chains of the swings creaked loudly any time a stronger gust pushed them, and the jungle gym didn’t look any better — one good grip and the brittle bars would probably snap. Not that it mattered. Kids didn’t come here anymore.
No, this place was reserved for teens with too much attitude and runaways with nowhere else to go — looking for a perfect spot for drinking, smoking, and hiding from prying eyes.
Easy targets.
Usually, he didn’t have to wait long. Some punk would wander in soon enough, but the miserable weather wasn’t helping his hunt tonight. Banri sighed, reclining back against the tree trunk as the branches overhead swayed and groaned. If no one showed up by midnight, he’d call it a night. It wasn’t like he was particularly thirsty, anyway.
As if on cue, faint voices suddenly reached his ears as they were carried through the air, just barely loud enough for him to hear. He squinted toward the horizon, the sky still annoyingly bright. His vision blurred against the glare, but he could tell there were at least two — no, three — figures heading toward the playground.
Not ideal.
As the humans approached, the image became a bit clearer despite the brightness. Three young men he couldn’t really tell the ages of; all the humans looked the same to him anyway. They continued their vivid conversation completely unaware of his presence; two of them — the ones with brightly colored hair — sat on the swings, while the third one — the freakishly tall one — leaned against the ladder of the slide opposite of them. Well, the red-haired one seemed to be the only one carrying the conversation, laughing and joking, while the other two just gave him half-hearted grunts and hums.
Banri grimaced. Three was pushing it. Taking down two at once was manageable, but with three, the risk of a witness or an accidental death skyrocketed. He hated cleaning up. If humans started avoiding this playground because of reports of disappearances or a death or two, he’d lose his most reliable hunting ground. Should he risk that…?
No. Better to wait. Maybe they’d split up. They usually did eventually.
Banri settled in, listening to their laughter — sharp and grating — echo between the trees. He waited and waited and then he waited some more. Usually, he wouldn’t mind that much. Waiting was, after all, one of the main appeals of hunting to him. The anticipation, suspense, excitement fueling his appetite. But today, the weather was wearing his patience thin and putting him into an all-together sour mood. With every passing minute, the idea of completely giving up the hunt sounded more appealing. Maybe he could go back to the mansion to continue that boring-ass book he had started in the comfort of his armchair. Maybe with a glass of wine. He should get a glass of wine. Not like he was particularly thirsty anyway. He’d already had some blood two nights ago.
Just as his eyes began to glaze over, he heard another creak of the swings. Banri snapped to attention, forcing himself to focus. The sky had turned a warm shade of orange, which made the glare a little easier on his eyes.
And the humans had begun to bid their goodbyes.
He watched intently as they parted ways. And, just as he had hoped, one of them stayed behind — the red-haired one remained seated on the swing.
Perfect.
That was the best possible scenario, wasn’t it?
He breathed in deeply and he couldn’t help but grin at the familiarity of the sweet scent that hit his nostrils. His mouth was already watering. How come the last few minutes were always the most excruciating? He gripped the branch beneath him, counting the seconds, waiting for the others to get far enough away. He couldn’t afford to risk them coming back. Not until he was done.
His stomach twisted with anticipation.
The mixture of bright red of his hair and colorful clothes kept the human visible despite Banri’s poor vision — his hair was like a beacon, making him an easy target to any predator preying on his life. In this case, to Banri.
How unfortunate for him.
Well, it was okay. Banri was kind. He wasn’t going to kill him. He’d only take a little bit of blood. The human wouldn’t even remember it.
Banri licked his lips, his fangs itching in anticipation. He could almost taste the sweetness on his tongue already. Nothing could amount to the sensation of suspense during a hunt as he waited for this one perfect moment to strike. Well, maybe other than the moment he’d sink his fangs into his prey, scarlet goodness filling his mouth and making him see white.
He leaned forward, every sound fading into the background save for the steady rhythm of his prey’s breathing. He could hear the human’s heartbeat now, faint, steady, completely unaware of the danger he was in.
He counted down to the rhythm of the echoing heartbeat.
Three.
Two.
One—
The human turned, looking straight at him.
“Um…”
Banri froze.
The human got up, taking a few cautious steps back. “Hey… Can we, uh…”
He’d been caught. That was the only thought in Banri’s mind as his brain short-circuited, his body beginning to move on pure instinct.
He held onto his hood as he launched forward, pushing himself off the tree with all his strength to cut through the air, wind howling in his ears and biting at his skin. He aimed for the human’s neck, his fangs already itching to sink in.
He missed.
He… missed?
His heart stopped and he almost tumbled face-first into the sand as his feet connected with the ground.
He’d missed? No way. He’d been right there. How had he missed?
He whipped around, his cape fluttering in the wind. The human wasn’t where he’d stood just a moment ago. He was a couple of meters away instead, on his knees. He looked at him with wide eyes — even despite Banri’s blurry vision, he noticed how they reflected with the brightest shade of ocean blue he’d seen on a human in his life. The boy’s shoulders were going up and down rapidly, his breathing heavy.
He’d dodged. The human had dodged him.
No fucking way.
He charged forward again. His hand reached out to catch the human’s wrist.
It grabbed air.
What the fuck?
“Stop,” the human called out. His voice had come to Banri from his left. Fuck, when had he— “Let’s just talk…!”
He clicked his tongue. No more messing around. He didn’t give the boy even a second to process his next move before his hand grabbed his neck and pushed him to the ground.
The human let out a choked noise when the back of his head hit the ground with a dull thud. The impact stunned him just long enough for Banri to move, straddling him in one swift motion. He pinned the human with ease, pushing his weight onto him and forcing him to stay put.
“Ain’t you a quick one?” he asked, finally allowing himself to relax now that he had the other in control.
He grabbed the human’s wrists, pressing them firmly above his head with one hand. His other hand gripped the boy’s jaw, tilting his face to the side to expose the curve of his neck. Perfect.
Banri’s mouth watered as he drank in the sight. That flawless, unmarked skin — warm and alive, practically begging to be broken.
“Don’t…!” the human cried out, a little too loud for his liking.
“Shh.” Banri shifted his hand, covering the other’s mouth to muffle his protests. “Don’t worry. You won’t remember a thing.”
He leaned in, his lips brushing against the human’s skin. He could barely hold back any longer, the feeling of panicked heartbeat pulsating rapidly against his lips making his fangs ache. The faint scent of blood underneath the skin, warm and sweet, filled his senses — it was so close yet so far. All he needed was to sink his fangs in-
A sharp pain pierced his left hand.
He jerked back — although it was more out of surprise than the pain itself.
It’d been so long since he’d last felt anything like this. He glanced down at his hand, flexing his fingers once, twice, noting the dull stinging of his palm. His velvet glove was torn, the shredded fabric framing skin that — usually deathly pale — was now smeared with bright, glistening red. Blood. Banri’s blood.
His gaze snapped back to the human. Wide, fearful eyes stared up at him, chest heaving with panicked, shallow breaths. The boy’s fists remained clenched, trembling, although no longer trying to rip out of Banri’s grip. But what drew Banri’s focus was the stain of red on his lips — the same shade as the blood on his hand.
For a second, Banri forgot how to breathe.
“Please, just listen to me…!” the human pleaded again, but Banri couldn’t really process it at the moment.
“You bit me,” he murmured, staring at the crescent-shaped wounds decorating his hand. Human toothmarks. Ordinary human teeth. So why the hell was he bleeding? “You bit me. What the fuck?”
“‘Cause you wouldn’t listen!” the boy retaliated, his voice cracking.
He tried thrashing against Banri’s hold again, but it was no use. Banri tightened his grip, shifting his weight to keep him pinned. No way was this runt catching him off guard again. “Just what the hell are ya?”
“I’ve been trying to tell you!” His voice was desperate, frantic — and way too loud. “I’m not… human…”
“Yeah, I noticed that much,” he growled, tightening his grip on the other’s wrists. That made the boy’s frown deepen, his eyes filling with more worry. “Keep talkin’ if you prefer your blood inside your body.”
“… I, uh,” he stuttered, stumbling over his words like he’d forgotten how to speak Japanese.
Banri clicked his tongue in irritation. Maybe he should just break his neck and be done with it.
“I’m a… werewolf.”
… Ah.
Before the words were even fully out of the boy’s mouth, Banri’s hands snapped away from his wrists like he’d been burned. He pulled back, scrambling to his feet and scowling at him with disgust. His stomach twisted with nausea, the realization sinking in.
A werewolf.
His lips had been on his neck just moments ago. His fangs had nearly pierced his skin.
Fuck, he was gonna puke.
But… Something didn’t add up.
Banri’s scowl deepened as he glared at the boy — the wolf — who had shuffled away from him, his eyes watching warily as if scared Banri would strike again. There… There was no way. Banri couldn’t have been wrong. He’d never mistake a wolf’s scent for a human’s. There was absolutely no question about it — his scent was sweet, familiar, mouthwatering — undeniably human. And where were his ears? Tail? Fur?
It didn’t make any sense.
But it had to be true. No matter how little sense it made, there was no other way. A human wouldn’t have sensed his presence. A human wouldn’t have dodged him. A human’s teeth wouldn’t have pierced his skin.
Fuck, he had to be a wolf.
He staggered back a step, swallowing hard. He felt for the familiar weight under his cape, relief washing over him when his fingers brushed against his old man’s sterling silver pocket knife.
“And what, nobody told you whose territory yer on?” he seethed. “Got a death wish?”
“You’re wrong, that’s not…!” He raised his hands in surrender. Banri watched them warily.
“This is my huntin’ ground, pup, so kindly fuck off.”
“I wasn’t gonna hunt here!” His voice was starting to give him a headache. What a pain.
“I don’t care.” He let out an exasperated sigh. “Just go back south. I don’t want to see your pathetic face around here again.”
The wolf’s eyebrows furrowed, his knees shaking so hard they would probably buckle under him if he tried to get up.
“If I see you again, yer done. That is, if nobody else gets to you first.” His hand never left his pocket. He couldn’t let his guard down. He turned around, straining his hearing, but remaining hyper-aware of the wolf’s every movement. Maybe those two were still in the area… What were the odds they weren’t human either? “Anyway, I need blood.”
“Wait…!” the wolf called out, stumbling to his feet in panic.
“What?” He glanced over his shoulder, and the moment their eyes met, the wolf cowered under his gaze. He couldn’t help but smirk. “Gonna fight me for ‘em? Are you dumb?”
“You don’t get it…” He looked frustrated, his fists clenching on his sides, but he still took a step back when Banri turned around fully. He wouldn’t even commit, huh?
“What’s there to get?” he asked. “Isn’t it too much work, though? What’s the point of that whole charade? Just get ‘em while you can.”
The wolf flinched but stayed silent. Banri hummed thoughtfully, as he tried to make at least some sense of it. Not that he cared enough to really try all that hard.
“Or are you savin’ them for later? Raisin’ them? Do they taste better when older?”
“That’s—!”
“Wrong?” he cut him off sharply and the other’s eyes widened. “Look, pup, I’m not in the mood to deal with whatever’s up with you. Just leave. Go back to the South before I, or anyone else, slits your throat.”
He tightened his grip on the pocket knife hidden in his cape, turning away to pick up the faint trail of human scent carried by the wind. He couldn’t focus, though. All the smell only brought him back to the wolf behind him.
He adjusted his hood, feeling the stray rays of the setting sun prickling at his skin. He figured this couldn’t be helped — he headed in the direction he saw the two humans leave earlier.
“Please,” the wolf started, his voice a little softer than before. “Please, just hear me out.”
Banri stopped but didn’t turn around. “What? I ain’t got all night.”
Silence stretched behind him, long enough that he considered walking off, but then— “Don’t go after them.”
“… Ha?” He turned around, baffled. It took all of his willpower not to laugh in the other’s face, and the only reason he didn’t was because it would have taken too much energy. “You’ve gotta be kiddin’.”
“Just those two,” he added quickly, desperation clear. “Please, anyone but them…!”
“Let me get this straight.” He approached the other, no hesitation in his step, which caused the wolf to retreat in fear and almost tumble over his feet. “You want me to not hunt for the prey that willingly went into my huntin’ grounds — grounds that have been rightfully mine for years — just because a cur asked me not to?”
The ocean-blue eyes blinked once. Twice. “… Pretty please…?”
“You really are stupid.” He clicked his tongue and turned around.
“Wait…!” He grabbed Banri’s cape.
He shook him off instantly, throwing him a sharp glare over his shoulder. “Don’t touch me.”
“So—sorry…” He pulled his hand back, his gaze falling to the ground to avoid Banri’s. “Just… I’ll do anything. Just please, leave them alone.”
He gave the wolf’s body a quick scan-over.
His clothes were loose-fitting, so it was difficult to get the exact image, but he seemed quite small if his height was anything to go by. Surely, he could just slit his throat and get rid of the problem without breaking a sweat.
“Just what could you possibly offer me that I can’t get myself?” he sneered, deciding to humor him a bit anyway.
“Uh…” The wolf seemed to think hard about it. The hell? At least come up with something first before saying things like that, dumbass. “… You can… have my blood…?”
He almost gagged at that thought. “I don’t want your nasty-ass blood.”
“I…” The wolf looked around meekly, fidgeting nervously. And then, suddenly, he dropped to his knees, which made Banri jump a little. His hands sank into the sand as he bowed low.
His heartbeat sped up a little at the pleasant rush of pride and superiority washing over him. Bringing a cur to his knees without even laying a finger on him. Sounded like a Settsu alright.
“I’ll make sure you never see me again,” he pleaded, his voice shaking a little. “I’ll stay away and won’t get in your way. But leave them alone. I’m begging you…!”
Banri stared, his hand tightening around the knife in his pocket. Killing him would be the easy, boring solution. The logical one. But…
An idea sparked.
This wolf — this pathetic excuse for one — was practically handing him a chance to prove himself. A true Settsu wouldn’t let such an opportunity go to waste. Punishing a trespasser could boost his reputation, show his strength and authority to the public. It’d no doubt shut down any comments questioning his competence due to his age. But, no… He could do even better. Sparing him, letting the cur leave alive, could showcase not just power but nobility. Mercy. If word spread about the kindness of the Settsu heir, it might elevate him further than any show of force could. It wasn’t just about the wolf anymore — it was about what Banri could gain from this.
Banri stepped closer, watching the wolf flinch and raise his head. He crouched, meeting the other’s wide eyes with a stoic expression. He just needed something to show for it. Then, nobody would doubt his story.
The rays of sunshine reflected off the chain necklace on the wolf’s neck.
“Yer really fuckin’ lucky I’m feelin’ generous,” he said, reaching out his hand. “Gimme your necklace and never show your ugly mug to me again.”
“... Eh?” The boy looked at him with confusion, not making a move to do as told.
“You deaf?” he scoffed.
The wolf snapped out of it with Banri’s sharp words and instantly rose to his knees to undo his necklace. “It’s… It’s not real gold, though…”
“Doesn’t matter,” he just said, practically snatching the necklace from the other’s hand.
The metal was still warm to the touch, the human-like scent of the wolf clinging to it strongly. That would do. He slipped it into his pocket.
“Get the fuck outta here.” Banri waved him off, not having to repeat himself as he watched the wolf scramble to his feet and bolt toward the city.
For a long moment, Banri stood there, his cape fluttering in the wind. A bitter taste spread in his mouth.
… Well, whatever. He should go back to the mansion.
A faint sound interrupted his thoughts. Footsteps, distant but approaching. Banri turned his head slightly, listening. A single pair. Close.
He seriously hadn’t expected another human to come by tonight.
Banri crouched low in the bushes, awaiting the human’s arrival patiently. As he sat there, his gaze drifted to the fresh bloodstain on his left hand. It had been years since he’d last seen his own blood. Breaking his skin wasn’t easy, after all. The last time must have been when he was still a fangless brat — back when he’d gotten burned by the sun badly. His skin had lost its protective properties for almost two weeks and he ended up cutting himself on the thorns of the berry bush when he was hiding from his tutor. He remembered staring at the wound, mesmerized by the vivid, bright red. His blood wasn’t like the deep burgundy of human blood — the mouth-watering ambrosia he fed on. No, the color was sharper, closer to that wolf’s red hair than anything.
He shook off the thought and focused, letting the silence envelop him as a figure came into view. A young girl. She was wearing clothes that were absolutely not suitable for the weather. Banri recognized those types — runaway kids with nowhere to go.
She settled onto one of the benches, lighting a cigarette with shaky hands.
Banri waited, watching from the shadows. He could afford a little patience. Let her finish her cigarette. He’d waited this long already.
She was alone. No witnesses.
He didn’t leap this time. There was no point. He approached at a brisk pace instead, his shoes crunching faintly against the gravel of the pathway around the playground.
The girl didn’t notice him at first. But as he drew closer, her head snapped up, and she stared at him warily. She said something but he wasn’t listening.
In a practiced motion, he grabbed her and pinned her against the bench, one hand clamping over her mouth. Her muffled cries broke the silence of the empty playground.
“Quiet down,” he said flatly.
The girl thrashed, but it was pointless. Banri leaned in and sank his fangs into her neck. Her struggles weakened almost instantly as the venom entered her bloodstream — silencing her, sedating her. When she went limp, Banri braced himself for the familiar sweetness, the euphoria of her blood flowing into him.
But then, he froze.
It wasn’t sweet.
The blood filled his mouth, hot and thick as always, but something was wrong. He swallowed once, twice… And then stopped entirely.
He covered his mouth.
He couldn’t taste it.
He couldn’t taste the blood.
He pulled away from the girl, staggering as he stared down at her neck. Blood dripped from the punctures he’d left, running down to stain the bench. He touched his lips, then glanced at his gloved fingertips. They were slick with red.
But he couldn’t taste it.
It tasted like water. It tasted like nothing.
What was going…?
Before he could process it, a sudden pressure rose in his stomach. His body convulsed, and he doubled over, gagging. A violent wave hit him, and his stomach emptied itself onto the ground, red splattering across the gravel
He heaved again, his body shaking as he coughed up the remnants of what he’d swallowed, his stomach aching as it attempted to cleanse itself. He couldn’t stop dry-heaving, the sensation clawing at his throat, leaving him gasping for air.
When it finally stopped, he collapsed against the bench, his chest heaving as he tried to steady his breathing.
He glanced at the unconscious girl, her blood still trickling faintly down her neck.
He swallowed hard, his throat burning.
What the fuck was that about?
He tried not to think about it at first.
He just returned to the mansion and went about his day.
Maybe he was just coming down with something. Maybe the girl had something in her blood — she didn’t seem like a druggie but who knew. Maybe he was just stressed about that damn cur.
It was just a one-time thing.
Was what he wanted to believe.
But he went back to the playground the next evening. The night prior had exhausted him so he figured he’d benefit from some blood even if he still wasn’t thirsty. He was lucky enough to get a pair of teenagers stopping by.
The same thing happened.
The blood didn’t taste like anything and his body completely rejected it.
He tried again yet another evening. This time, he forcibly attempted to hold it down, but his body stayed very adamant about getting rid of the blood like it was poison.
He didn’t have any other symptoms of an illness and with every passing day he was starting to lose an excuse of blaming it on a cold.
He checked the few medical books they had in the library but he couldn’t find anything useful there. Loss of taste and nausea typically appeared with other symptoms.
If not an illness… Infection, maybe?
Now that he thought of it… He took off his left glove and looked over the palm of his hand. The bite mark was still there. It was no longer bleeding and the scabs were becoming lighter, but a small wound like that should have already healed itself and faded by now.
Fuck, had that damn cur given him rabies?
He should see a fairy about it. If it didn’t fade by the end of the month, he figured he could take a quick trip to the West and see if they’d got any herbs that could help with that nausea.
And so, he kept coming back to the playground every night in hopes that his sense of taste would return. Or at least that he could quench the thirst that was slowly beginning to become noticeable. Not every night did a human come by, but every night that one did ended with a puddle of gore sinking into the ground and he was slowly beginning to grow worried.
Maybe he should let someone know. Maybe Azuma-san would know what was going on. But there was no point in worrying him if it was nothing.
Over time, he’d realized his sense of taste wasn’t completely gone. He could still taste wine and coffee alright. It was just the blood that had lost its taste. His sense of smell was a little off because of that as well, but only when it came to humans. They were much harder to spot when he couldn’t rely on the scent of their blood.
He watched the moon go through its cycle as time passed and it became increasingly harder to not worry about all this.
He leaned against the tree trunk, clicking his tongue at the cold air biting the tips of his ears. Evenings got especially cold now. Even the leaves were already turning shades of orange and brown.
He checked the time and it wasn’t even that late. The sun was still up too. But somehow… he didn’t feel like waiting tonight.
The faint fog enveloped his body and just as he was about to turn his back and let his wings carry him to the mansion, he was stopped by a distant sound of footsteps.
He almost lost his balance and fell off the branch, but he grabbed onto the trunk at the last second and regained his balance.
To be honest, he was a little disappointed. The thrill of hunting had lost its charm. It wasn’t the same when no reward was waiting for him at the end of it.
For now, it didn’t really matter, though. He just needed to get something into his stomach before the thirst became too evident. Right now it was just a distant pressure in his gut. He’d never had trouble getting blood before — he’d only read about what the thirst was like after two or three months of starving. He wasn’t looking forward to that, so he was just hoping that one of these nights his nausea would magically disappear just like it magically appeared on its own.
He waited as the footsteps got closer, relying entirely on his hearing. Someone approaching at a quite lazy pace. A crack as they stepped on some stick. Rustling of leaves when they disturbed a bush. They were so close. The sound of their feet stepping on the ground changed when they entered the playground area which was filled with sand.
And then, they stopped.
He looked over to the newcomer, squinting, but all he could see in the blinding daylight was a vaguely humanoid blurry figure. He waited for the human to do something but… They just remained still, standing in the center of the playground.
He shifted uncomfortably.
And then, the human spoke, even though they were the only one on the playground.
“Vampire-san?”
Banri froze.
He recognized the voice instantly and it made his blood boil. He clicked his tongue before dropping to the ground and landing swiftly.
The figure opposite him began to slowly take shape as he approached it. The same bright red hair. The same ocean blue eyes. The same annoying-ass face.
A face filled with increasing worry as he got closer.
“Didn’t I tell you not to come here again?” he growled, shoving one of his hands into his pocket and using the other to adjust his hood.
“You… You did but…” He raised his hands in surrender, taking a step back.
“Didn’t I tell you yer dead fuckin’ meat if I see you?” The pocket knife felt heavy in his hand as he got closer. “Is that too complicated for your primitive cur brain to get?”
“I…! I know you said that but—!”
Before the wolf could finish, Banri grabbed his shoulder and pushed him to the ground, pinning him face down against the sandy surface by the back of his neck. A strained groan escaped the other’s throat as he pushed his face further into the sand.
He pulled the knife out of his pocket and a soft click resounded as he flicked the blade open. His hand moved from the back of his neck to his head, grabbing onto his hair and pulling onto it.
“If it can’t get through your thick skull…” He brought the knife to the wolf’s throat, pressing the blade against the skin with a steady hand. “… you just gotta learn the hard way.”
“I’m trying to tell you…!” the wolf gasped out, his voice breathy, as if afraid that even just talking would make the blade pierce his skin. Banri pulled on his hair harder, jerking his head back further and drawing another pained groan out of him. The wolf continued, his voice louder and more frantic. “Th—There’s…! Something is…!”
Banri was already sick of that yapping so he did what he should have done a long time ago.
He slit the wolf’s throat.
… He…
He slit… He slit his…
His hand was stuck frozen in place as he willed himself to press the blade harder against the other’s skin. But his body wouldn’t listen. No matter how hard he tried to move his hand, it just wouldn’t budge.
“… weird,” the wolf finished in a quiet voice.
Banri frowned. He then rolled the other over so he could see his face as he straddled him.
He pressed his knife against the wolf’s stomach and sta—
Why wasn’t he stabbing him?!
He grabbed the knife with both hands and put all of his strength into it as the edge of the blade pointed directly at the wolf’s stomach. Just a single push and it’d be stabbed into his gut. A single push with pretty much no pressure. A single push that he… he couldn’t make.
He dropped the knife and it made a dull sound as it fell into the sand. All he could do was stare at his empty hands.
“You’ve noticed it too, right?” the wolf asked, his eyes filled with worry not at all proportional to the fact he could be spilling his guts just about now. “Something is… weird…”
“… Talk,” he murmured, his eyes still focused on his own hands, flexing and unflexing his fingers a couple times just to confirm that he did indeed have control over them. “What do you mean ‘weird’?”
The wolf’s lips tightened into a thin line as he looked away, frowning.
“What? Goin’ quiet now?” Banri asked, grabbing onto the front of the other’s jacket harshly.
“No, it’s just…!” he gasped out, his eyes shooting back up to meet Banri’s gaze. “I… don’t really know…”
Banri’s eyebrows furrow at that.
“I didn’t want to come here,” the wolf said, his voice softer. “Vampire-san said he’d kill me if I did and I didn’t want to die… But…”
The wolf’s eyes teared up a bit — if from fear or the cold Banri didn’t know.
“Something was weird… Something was… Something…” he rambled erratically, his voice breaking on multiple occasions. “Somehow, it felt like something so much worse was going to happen if I didn’t… come here. To Vampire-san.”
Banri’s grip on the wolf’s jacket loosened, but he still remained on guard.
“I can’t focus on anything… All I can think about is Vampire-san… The whole time, it feels like something terrible is going to happen, like something so, so much worse than death is going to happen… I can’t even sleep or eat anymore…”
Banri stiffened at that.
“I thought I was going crazy,” the wolf said, forcing a strained smile. “But… This weird something, it’s gone now.”
He swallowed, but his throat felt dry still. So painfully dry.
“This… dread… It’s gone now that Vampire-san is here.”
Banri’s whole body felt numb, a shiver going up his spine at the expression on the other’s face.
He was clearly scared. Scared of Banri, scared of death, scared of whatever he would do to him that would be even more cruel than that. But there was also relief. Relief that the dread he’d been feeling is gone. If this dread was so much more unbearable than the idea of Banri spilling his guts all over the ground, then…
Charm.
He’d charmed him.
Banri stood up and patted his knees to get all the sand off, leaving the confused wolf lying on the ground. He removed his left glove.
The bite mark was still there, clear as day.
“… Fuck,” he murmured under his breath. “Fuck,” he repeated louder.
It all made sense now. Well, not all of it. Because how the fuck did that even happen?
How did you even bloodbind by accident?
He looked back at the wolf, who stared at him with a worried expression.
“… I can’t fuckin’ believe this,” he groaned.
“What’s wrong?” the wolf asked and the obliviousness in his tone made Banri want to cave his skull in.
“A contract,” he said, gripping his fists to calm down a little. “We made a contract.”
“… Eh?”