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He was late.
That’s the only thought running through Aruya’s head as he rushes up the stairs towards the school’s rooftop. Of course, being the kind-hearted fool he was, Aruya just had to get stuck helping one of his teachers again today. For the fifth time this week. Not that he minded of course, but he really wanted to be on time at least today of all days.
Aruya had only been mentoring Giiko Inai— Giicchan, as the boy in question had grown fond of Aruya’s nicknaming convention fairly quickly— for less than a week, and he had yet to make it to him on time once. If Aruya was this frustrated with himself, he could only imagine how upset this would make the younger boy. Could he really call himself a good mentor if he, the person who was supposed to be setting a good example for another student, was running late? Sure, this mentorship was much more about Giiko’s… lack of social skills, to put it politely, but that’s neither here nor there right now.
When he finally makes it to the rooftop landing, he unconsciously lets out a long sigh, the night’s exhaustion finally catching up to him. Aruya was never one to complain— he loved staying busy and being helpful to others— but sometimes the back to back requests got tiring. Still, he needed to keep up his energy just a little bit longer. It was only fair to the boy who had been his initial commitment to begin with. Every other request he’d gotten this week had popped up after he’d agreed to take Giiko under his wing. Taking in a deep breath, Aruya steadies himself and tries to bring his energy level back up a little before reaching forward and opening the door to the school’s roof.
As the door opens slowly— and with an annoyingly loud creak announcing his presence, too— Aruya is greeted by the cool autumn air gently washing over his face and rustling the loose edges of his clothes. The breeze was welcome and appreciated after all the running he’d done to finally make it here, and the sound of leaves rustling and settling in its wake was calming. A sea of stars shone overhead, shrouded only partly by a few meager clouds and acting in support of the large, full moon beaming down directly overhead. If he hadn’t been in such a hurry, Aruya might’ve stopped to take in the relaxing evening for just a moment, but he was on a mission.
Even across the long expanse of the rooftop, he could make out Giiko’s small frame sitting at one of the benches near the roof’s edge. The pale glow of the moonlight practically gives the younger boy a halo effect, and it really accentuates his porcelain skin and contrasting raven colored hair. Aruya couldn’t see much more of the boy’s features with his back facing him, but he does stop for a moment to admire Giiko, even when all he’s doing is something as simple as sitting and waiting.
Waiting for him, as Aruya’s brain so kindly reminds him.
Lost in his thoughts, Aruya finally takes a few steps forward and lets go of the door just in time for a sharper wind to pick up and slam it shut behind him, causing him to flinch and spin back to look at the door. After letting his briefly startled mind calm down, Aruya manages to look back at Giiko and his breathing stops for a split second. That same simple beauty was nearly undisturbed, save for the bright, powerful crimson gaze now directed at him. The younger boy was clearly also startled due to the noise, and had turned back to glare daggers at an unsuspecting Aruya.
”Ah, I uh…” Aruya wasn’t sure why he was hesitating so much. It wasn’t like he’d been caught somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be, or doing something he wasn’t supposed to be doing… right? The pair were supposed to be up here after evening classes let out— at least, according to the headmaster, they were allowed to be here.
”I’m sorry for keeping you waiting, Giicchan. One of the teachers needed me a little longer than expected.” He forced himself to focus and smile so as to calm Giiko down from the unexpected fright. Though, was it really Giiko who needed to calm down?
”It’s fine. I get it.” The younger boy’s gaze relaxed slightly and he turned his head back towards the fence line as he spoke, a hint of disappointment present despite his best efforts to keep it from showing. With a quiet sigh, Aruya continued moving to close the gap and sat down next to Giiko on the cool wooden bench. Giiko glances over at him for a split second, almost expectantly, so Aruya takes the hint to start their conversation.
“How was your night? Did anything good happen?”
Giiko shrugs, his expression unchanging and voice level as he responded, ”It was fine, and no, nothing in particular.”
Aruya could’ve sworn he heard Giiko mutter something under his breath that sounded like “until now” but he chose to ignore that. Maybe the loud wind was playing tricks on his ears. The conversation fell flat as Giiko noticeably didn’t return the question, so Aruya tried again, switching topics this time.
“What about your classes? Are you making any progress trying to catch up?”
This time, Giiko actively turned his head further to the right, clearly avoiding Aruya’s gaze.
“I’m… getting there.”
The younger boy had his hands clasped in his lap and was fidgeting slightly with the fabric of his pants, picking at it nervously.
So, that was a no, then.
The pair lapsed into another moment of silence, save for Aruya’s quiet sigh at the response to his previous question, but he wasn’t about to give up just yet.
“Alright then, what do you want to talk about today? Is there anything you want to share or that you want to learn from me?”
Giiko shakes his head before focusing his gaze squarely on Aruya, “Not really. Whatever you wanna talk about is fine.”
He could be quite the conversationalist, but Aruya had already learned as much the first few nights they’d spent like this. Giiko hardly spoke the first and second nights at all, only for Aruya to be dragged away by his friends with apologies and promises to make this up to him that had yet to be fulfilled.
More often than not, Giiko tended to observe, and Aruya ended up being the subject that held his attention the most. There was something mesmerizing in the younger boy’s warm rouge eyes when they latched onto Aruya and refused to let go. It made Aruya feel like he was the only person in Giiko’s world, which honestly just might have been true. The feeling was powerful and a little terrifying, but Aruya couldn’t help but be drawn in by each different fleck and shade of red in the younger boy’s eyes.
Silence stretched out for another, longer moment before Aruya managed to think of anything, and he clearly didn’t think long enough on the question before it left his mouth.
“What color were your eyes? Y’know, before…” Aruya trailed off, the question rolling awkwardly off of his tongue. Truthfully he didn’t know how to finish the rest of what he was asking, so he left it up to Giiko to hopefully understand. The heavy silence Aruya left for an answer dragged on for far longer than he’d been anticipating, and he worried that he’d offended Giiko with such a probing question. Sparing a glance toward the raven haired boy, he saw those crimson eyes still focused on him, staring him down for a seemingly endless moment and waiting for him to go on. When Aruya didn’t— because how was he supposed to do that under the seemingly unknown pressure Giiko was putting on him with his stare— the younger boy finally spoke.
“Before… what?” Giiko tilted his head, eyebrows arching ever so slightly, and of course Aruya was gonna have to elaborate. The boy really was clueless most times.
”I mean before…” Aruya’s throat closed for another moment as he nervously weaved his fingers together. He took in a heavy breath, willing his mouth to open and for his vocal chords to work. “…Before you were turned. What color were they?” The words felt heavy in his mouth, almost like he never should have asked. Giiko had, for the most part, been readily forthcoming when Aruya asked things, but this felt… wrong of him to ask. Not even giving Aruya a moment to fully process the regret in asking, Giiko answered him.
”Oh, I’m a half. I was never turned.”
The answer surprised Aruya for a moment, his eyebrows raising in response, but it made sense when he really thought about it. Giiko’s parents really were oddballs, so he supposed this tracked too. The younger boy said this like it was the most obvious, simple fact about him and not something that was extremely rare— almost unheard of, even— and he simply turned his gaze back out beyond the fence and kept going.
“My mom’s where I get it from. Something about my dad being “her one and only” even though he’s a human and she’s gonna outlive him. I’m apparently a miracle, even if it doesn’t seem like it.”
Oh. Oh, Aruya really shouldn’t have asked. At the same time though, it made a lot of things about Giiko click into place. He’d never had a “normal” vampiric upbringing. Most of what Aruya had been taught himself came naturally to Giiko, but the younger boy seemed to hate that fact, if the scowl on his face at every mention of his vampirism so far was anything to go on.
”Gotcha…” The half baked response fell clumsily out of his mouth and it was all Aruya could do not to physically wince at his own tone of voice. Embarrassment crept up his neck and across his face in a warm wave, and he turned away from the boy next to him, reaching a hand up to scratch at the back of his neck. He needed to change the subject and fast, so without stopping to think about it, the next words that popped into his mind flew straight past his filter and out of his mouth.
“Well, if you could choose, what color would you want them to be?” Aruya willed himself to sneak another glance at Giiko to see what expression he would make at the question, only to meet the younger boy’s gaze for a split second. The thought that their current crimson color really suited him sat in the corner of Aruya’s mind, just far enough back that he didn’t question it.
Almost as quickly as their eyes had met, Giiko turned his gaze away again, this time looking up at the vast expanse of stars overhead. The night was unusually clear for this time of year, and Aruya could map out constellations in the warm, dark red reflections of Giiko’s irises. By the time Giiko finally spoke, Aruya wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but he was surprised he hadn’t spent an eternity looking at the warm red of the younger boy’s eyes.
”I think… green would look nice.” Giiko almost never smiled, but there was the faintest trace of one showing on his face at the thought, and it was enough for Aruya’s breath to catch in his throat again.
Scratch that— green would look even better on him than the red did.
That warm wave rushed over him again, and he peeled his gaze away from the younger boy, willing his face to cool off.
”I…” Aruya’s voice was shaky to his ears, and he swallowed again to steady it. “I think so, too.” He willed himself to smile weakly at Giiko, even if the younger boy wasn’t looking, and dropped his gaze to his hands where they were still threaded in his lap, fingers squeezing and twitching nervously.
“What about you?”
The question startled Aruya, and he turned to look at the pale boy next to him, eyes widening slightly. Aruya really was not expecting to have the conversation turned back on him in the slightest, and he feels a nervous chuckle slip out before he can stop it.
”What about me?”
Giiko just shrugged, gaze still fixed on a far away point beyond the fence line.
“Your experience is different than mine, not being born a vampire and whatever, so…” Giiko turned those blood red, piercing irises back to Aruya again, shimmering under the blanket of stars reflecting in them.
”What was it like? Tell me about it. Tell me more about you.”
Giiko hadn’t exactly been one for conversations when he had to participate, so Aruya really didn’t think that he’d be able to get anything out of him at all. Of course he was going to take the chance though, even if it meant mainly talking about himself. He reaches his hand back up to scratch at the back of his neck again— a nervous habit he really wanted to try to stop— and stumbles over his words, trying to figure out where to start. It was a broad subject, and it really was different for just about everyone he knew, Giiko clearly being no exception.
Almost unconsciously, Aruya pulls his arm back down and stretches it out towards Giiko, offering it wrist side up.
”When I was turned, it was kind of… spur of the moment?” Aruya hesitated for a moment, struggling for the right words and stealing quick, nervous glances at the younger boy next to him. Luckily, Giiko’s gaze was firmly frozen on the slim, pale wrist in front of him. Long since empty veins stood out prominently, running up his forearm and disappearing under his bunched up sleeve.
”I didn’t have time to choose where the marks were made, so my “parent” chose for me.” Aruya hadn’t thought about his creation in a decent amount of time, and while it wasn’t a painful memory to bring up per se, it wasn’t exactly a pleasant one either.
A hesitant set of fingers gently brushed against Aruya’s wrist for half a second before retreating, red irises finally looking up at Aruya’s own deep brown ones. There was a silent question left hanging in the air, and Aruya could only nod to answer it. With permission granted, Giiko’s hands and eyes made their way back to Aruya’s wrist, fingertips landing squarely on a pair of perfectly circular scars. The holes had long since closed up, and all that remained were those faint marks— paler than the rest of him, but only noticeable if you were looking for them.
There was a profound gentleness and care to the way Giiko’s fingertips traced along Aruya’s skin— one hand gently following the pale blue roadmaps of his veins up towards his elbow, the other exploring the lines on his palm— until both of Giiko’s hands came to rest gently under his arm, Giiko’s right hand holding Aruya’s and his left cradling Aruya’s forearm just before his elbow. The night air was cool, but Aruya felt like he was burning up under the scarlet glow of Giiko’s eyes, which were taking the same care as his hands had moments earlier in their pursuit of mapping out and memorizing every inch of his arm, as if he’d never get this chance again. As if Aruya were a magnificent work of art that Giiko needed to forever burn into his mind.
It was something so soft and intimate, and his non-existent pulse was somehow thrumming in his ears. At some point, Giiko’s gentle cradling grip had tightened ever so slightly, as he raised Aruya’s arm closer to his face while continuing to examine it, and the dark haired boy spoke again.
“I almost want to…” Giiko cut himself off, the only change to his usual stoic expression being the ever so slight furrowing of his eyebrows. It was almost too quiet for Aruya to hear, but he did. He heard it, and even without hearing the end of that sentence, Aruya knew where the younger boy was going with this. Aruya knew what Giiko wanted to do, and he wanted it, too. Badly.
“Please,” Aruya’s voice was so small and quiet, matching Giiko’s own hushed tone, and the older boy almost didn’t register that he’d opened his mouth at all. Giiko’s glowing crimson eyes quickly turned their piercing gaze onto Aruya again, eyebrows quirking up just a little. Aruya could feel himself swallow, the sound audible over the soft night wind and rustling trees.
”Please,” He tried again, his voice only barely more stable than it had been a second ago, “go ahead.”
Aruya inhaled another shaky breath— how long had his breathing been like that— and continued in granting Giiko permission to do something he hadn’t even asked for yet.
“I don’t mind.” His next thought— “I want you to” —was silent, never escaping his lips, yet simultaneously so loud he might as well have shouted it out.
The pale pink flush on Giiko’s face bloomed into something that came closer to rivaling the crimson in his eyes— though nothing could truly rival something that vibrant— and those deep red irises lowered back to the stark pale expanse in Giiko’s hands. Sometime between Giiko’s implied question and Aruya’s all too enthusiastic answer, the younger boy brought that pale expanse of skin even closer to his mouth, the warm breath fanning over it sending a full body shiver down Aruya’s spine and causing his breathing to hitch again. That reaction set off bright red alarm bells somewhere in the back of Aruya’s mind, but he was way too far gone to listen to reason.
“Are you sure this is okay, Aruya-san?” Aruya couldn’t pinpoint when exactly it had happened, but his gaze had become fixated on Giiko’s mouth, watching the boy’s sharp canine teeth with rapt attention. All he could do was nod, not trusting that his voice would even still work right now. Even without moving his gaze from Giiko’s lips, he could tell the younger boy was staring back, probably trying to read Aruya’s expression for any signs of hesitancy.
Time stretched on for what felt like another slow eternity before Giiko moved again, finally bringing Aruya’s wrist up to his mouth. The older boy’s breathing hitched, expecting immediate pain, but instead simply being met with the gentle, warm sensation of Giiko’s lips on his wrist. All that the younger boy had done was press a soft, closed mouthed kiss to the pre-existing marks there, his gaze never leaving Aruya’s face. It took everything in Aruya to tear his eyes away from the sight and meet the piercing gaze being directed at him.
With a simple, small arch of his eyebrow, Giiko asked his question again, waiting for verbal confirmation, and Aruya would be damned if he didn’t want this more than anything.
“Yeah… yes. It’s… It’s more than okay…” Aruya felt his face flush even brighter and warmer as he spoke the words out loud. “You have my permission.”
Giiko’s eyes widened slightly, but it seemed that he didn’t need to hear anything else. Time moved in slow motion as Giiko gently pulled down on Aruya’s hand, giving him better access to the marks left on the pale wrist in front of him, finally parting his lips and sinking his ivory, saliva coated teeth into the soft skin near the faded scars already on Aruya’s wrist. The intrusion wasn’t immediate, and neither was the pain from the wound Giiko was attempting to reopen. Though the source was near identical, Giiko’s mouth and canines were noticeably smaller than that of Aruya’s predecessor, who had the satisfaction of being able to turn the beautiful boy into a creature of the night, and the new holes he made sat ever so slightly closer together than the original pale scars.
The younger boy’s movements were agonizingly drawn out, and each slow drag of his teeth across Aruya’s skin set his nerves alight in more ways than one. Giiko had closed his eyes as he bit down, clearly focusing on trying not to hurt the bright, peach haired boy next to him, but when he heard the sharp inhale Aruya let slip as he sank in his teeth, coupled with a soft hiss as he kept inching them in deeper and deeper, Giiko couldn’t help but open his eyes and stare up at Aruya.
There was no real point or physical satisfaction for either of them in doing this, with Aruya having been empty so to speak for quite some time now, but there was a sick sense of gratification somewhere in the back of Aruya’s mind and settling in the pit of his stomach, warm and weighty. That feeling only intensified when he felt Giiko latch his lips back onto the pale skin around the bite and gently suck. Aruya’s mind went blank, lost in the hypnotizing, scalding crimson glare focused on him and him alone, and it was almost too much. The once welcome cool autumn air now felt frigid in comparison to the warmth starting at his wrist and radiating outwards in the small space the two of them shared.
After what felt like both an eternity and no time at all— and without warning— Giiko slowly parted his lips and drew back, the friction against Aruya’s nerves causing him to wince and let out a quiet gasp. The second that Giiko’s fangs were away from his skin, he felt another large shiver travel down his spine, the air around them somehow even colder now that the moment was over.
“Why… did you…” Aruya felt himself swallow, voice nearly inaudible. ”Why did you stop,“ Aruya’s voice quivered, his eyes unable to leave those deep ruby eyes. All of his senses had been dulled, his peripheral vision blurred and his gaze focused on the boy in front of him. Maybe he really was hypnotized, and he’d fallen completely under Giiko’s influence.
”You looked uncomfortable. Plus you’re really warm and you’re sweating a lot. And you’re paler than usual.”
The only thing Aruya could do in response was tilt his head, confused. He was the furthest thing from uncomfortable. He’d been the one to give permission for this— hell, he’d practically begged for it— and now that the warmth had been taken from him, he wanted it back so, so badly.
“I…” He trailed off, voice softer than he’d meant for it to be, so he cleared his throat and tried again.
”I’m fine. I wasn’t…” Aruya swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly very dry and his throat tight. “I wasn’t uncomfortable, Giicchan. I promise.”
Aruya couldn’t take his eyes off of Giiko, but they wouldn’t sit still. His gaze bounced back and forth between the warm, inviting red of his eyes and the pale pink color of his lips. His teeth were smaller than average, just like the rest of him— probably due in part to his half status— but he could still see them peeking out ever so slightly. Truthfully, Aruya really was the furthest thing from uncomfortable, the thought weighing heaviest on his mind being that he wanted Giiko to do that again. If Aruya had been any less in control of himself, he probably would have voiced that thought, but it seemed that his filter was somehow still just barely intact.
Giiko’s eyes narrowed a little, seemingly skeptical at how hesitant Aruya must’ve still sounded. It seemed like he was about to question Aruya again when the door to the roof slammed open with startling force, followed by a booming voice.
”Aruyan! There you are!”
The noise startled Aruya out of whatever trance he’d been in and he unconsciously jerked himself backwards, pulling his arm out of Giiko’s grasp in the process and blinking a few times as he regained his senses. With that clarity achieved, he turned his head to see none other than one of his best friends, Mitsuku, storming his way towards them.
“Do you know how hard I had to look for you? I practically ran across the whole campus asking where you… were…” Mitsuku trailed off, looking at the now startled and beet red Aruya. The dark haired boy arched his brow as he looked between the seated pair a few times before opening his mouth again.
“Why do you look like that?”
Aruya found himself blinking in surprise, both at his spectral friend’s bright glow and at the question. “Like what?”
Mitsuku let out a half scoff, half laugh and gestured towards Aruya in a ‘look at yourself’ gesture before continuing. “Like you’re gonna explode. Or maybe like you have a fever? Wait, can vampires even get fevers?”
Before Aruya could even begin to form a response to that, he was beaten to the punch by an exhausted looking Takimoto— his other best friend— trudging in behind Mitsuku by a few paces.
“No, you dumbass. None of us can get fevers, or get sick at all for that matter.”
The quick answer was met with a soft ‘oh’ and a brief moment of silence. With a quick cough to shift the mood though, Miitsuku was already moving on. “Well, that aside,” the dark haired boy trails off for a moment as he turns back to face Aruya again. “You promised you’d hang out with us today, and you’ve been avoiding us all week!”
Mitsuku puffs up his cheeks in a pout and stomps his foot slightly, almost childishly so, like a kid throwing a tantrum over a toy in the store. Aruya watches Taki roll his eyes at their friend’s antics and all Aruya can do is sigh before trying to explain himself.
”That was before—“
Aruya doesn’t get far before he’s interrupted by a long groan like sigh from Mitsuku. ”Yeah, yeah. Before you agreed to tutor this guy.” With a huff, Mitsuku crosses his arms and turns his head to the right, eyes closed and still pouting. “Clearly you like him more than you like us.”
If his circumstances had been any different, Aruya would probably have laughed at his two best friends squabbling and acting the same way they always had, but there was still a slight fog over his mind and it was hard for him to even focus on their conversation. When he spares a glance towards Giiko, he notices the younger boy glaring daggers at Mitsuku’s head and quickly turns his eyes away. That look was powerful and dangerous, and Aruya had to wonder if Mitsuku’s incorporeality made him immune to it. Ignoring the fluttery feeling in his stomach, Aruya tries to focus back on the conversation at hand, making a mental note to ask Mitsuku later.
“I told you I’d still hang out with you guys if I had time after Giicchan’s lesson.”
Aruya looks between his two friends, silently urging Taki to back him up here but he’s only met with Taki’s eyebrow arching and no immediate follow up. Instead Taki spares his own glances between Aruya and Giiko and tilts his head. There was something unsettling about Taki’s expression— more than the usual amount his stitched up appearance tended to give people— and if Aruya had to put words to it, Taki seemed to be sizing the two up and wondering when they’d gotten close enough for Giiko to have earned a nickname. As usual though, Mitsuku didn’t give Taki the time to bring it up before piping up again.
“That’s not fair, though!” Mitsuku is quick to swing his hands down to his sides and stomp again, still looking to his left away from everyone else. With equally quick timing though, Taki raises an open hand and brings it down in a karate style chop to the back of Mitsuku’s head, causing the latter to let out a surprised yelp. “Stop whining.”
Seemingly offended, Mitsuku finally turns to face Taki with crocodile tears welling up in his eyes as he responds to being chastised. “You’re so mean, Takicchi!” The brunet in question ignores the response and instead aims his attention on the pair still seated on the bench.
“Sorry for letting him uh… interrupt you two…” Taki glances between the two of them again, his gaze lingering on Giiko in particular for a moment before grabbing Mitsuku by the ear and tugging him down so they were about the same height, earning another yelp from Mitsuku.
“Ow, ow, ow! That hurts Takicchi!”
“You’ll be fine, you big baby,” Mitsuku had his eyes squeezed shut, so he missed the way Taki’s expression softened just slightly as he replied, voice still calm and collected as he spoke. Taki turns towards the door to the roof and starts to leave before seemingly thinking of something and turning back to address Aruya directly.
“Aruyan, text me when you’re done, if you still wanna hang out, that is.”
The boy in question can only manage to nod in response, which is seemingly good enough for Taki, and he finally turns to remove himself and Mitsuku from the roof.
“Alright, come on, you spectral parasite.”
As Taki makes his exit, dragging a loudly complaining Mitsuku with him, all Aruya can do is sit there in stunned silence as he watches them leave. It isn’t until they’re off the roof and well out of ear shot that Aruya finally releases a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, his shoulders sagging and all his energy leaving at once.
The rooftop was finally quiet again, save for the sound of the wind softly rustling the leaves in the trees and for a brief yet tense moment, Aruya reveled in it. Not long after that however, his phone chimed with an alarm, signaling five minutes until the end of their appointed tutoring session already. He struggled to free his phone from the back pocket of his pants and sagged even further somehow when he saw the time.
”Crap! Already?” Just like every other thing that had left his mouth around Giiko this evening, the words were out in the air before his filter could process them.
”You can go if you want to. I’ll be fine.” Though he sounded calm when he said it, Giiko was clearly pouting, brows furrowed and lips pursed in a comically childish display of how upset he really was. Unfortunately for both of them, he needed to get going, both to placate his sulking friend and to actually get home— no matter how much he might’ve wanted to stay. This whole week had left him nothing but drained, and he so desperately needed to feed and rest to recuperate his lost energy.
”Yeah, I probably should get going since our time slot is already almost up.” Aruya rubs the back of his neck with his right hand and stutters out an apology that feels flat and disingenuous before slowly getting to his feet.
”But I promise I’ll make this up to you… uh, somehow.”
If Giiko had heard him, the boy made no move or sound to acknowledge it. There was this want in the back of his mind to have Giiko look at him again, and for that burning crimson gaze to capture his senses again. In a last ditch effort to make sure he was really okay— and hopefully to get Giiko to look at him— Aruya tried again.
”I really am sorry, Giicchan. I want to be a good mentor for you, so think about how I could make this up to you and I’ll do what I can.”
This time, Giiko hummed in acknowledgment and turned towards Aruya, looking up at him through his eyelashes and Aruya felt his breathing hitch. His face started burning, and so did the spot on his wrist where Giiko had bitten him not even five minutes ago. Through the haze that had started creeping back over him, he heard Giiko agree, his voice somehow both quiet and deafening at the same time.
”Okay, Aruya-san.”
Giiko turned his gaze back out over the expanse of land past the school grounds, and as quickly as his senses had started to dull under that gaze, they were returned to him all at once. Finally truly at a loss for words— and realizing he really needed to get going before sunrise soon— Aruya turned and started making his way off the rooftop, footsteps echoing in the winding staircases and down the empty corridors.
Aruya had never felt anything like that before— his head had never been so foggy and near empty, his senses never that dull— at least not since becoming a vampire, seeing as being turned practically made him a super human. That thought accompanied by the still present tingling of his wrist made him reach for it with the slim hope of feeling lingering marks but finding nothing, and a short thrum of disappointment flared in him for just a moment. He’d been lucky enough to acquire most of the amazing perks that came with vampirism, including an incredible healing rate, but for once he wished he hadn’t. That thought startled him slightly, but his mind was still a little too foggy to truly dwell on it, and he filed it away to be processed at a later date.
As he exited the school grounds, Aruya could hear Taki’s and Mitsuku’s continued bickering, and he hastened his pace to catch up with the pair. It didn’t take long before he fell into step with them and caught the tail end of what they were arguing about.
”Takichii! There were too many stairs, and I was already so tired, please carry me!”
Before Taki could even protest, Mitsuku flopped down onto the former’s back, earning a grunt and nearly causing the two of them to topple to the ground.
”Why the hell are you tired when you can literally float?”
Despite his complaining and refusal to carry Mitsuku, Taki made no movement to push the glowing boy off, simply huffing and muttering to himself under his breath while supporting whatever weight the spectral boy laid on his back. It might’ve been a trick of the low lighting now that they were leaving the school grounds, but Aruya could swear that Taki’s cheeks looked a little redder than they had a moment before. Or maybe it was due to all the running around they’d claimed to do in search of him.
Whatever it was, it was certainly not Aruya’s biggest concern. No, that would be the slight tingling sensation still present on his right wrist. Even with the way his senses had dulled in those seemingly endless moments when Giiko had bitten him, the feeling was still fresh in Aruya’s mind and on his skin. The only problem being that there was nothing of the moment that remained but his memory of it. Subconsciously, Aruya reached to rub at his wrist again, the corners of his mouth drooping ever so slightly.
“What’s wrong, Aruyan? Is your arm okay?”
Aruya snaps to attention when Taki addresses him, and is equally quick to move his arms behind his back like a kid hiding something they shouldn’t have. He blinked a few times, clearly caught by surprise before feigning a smile and nodding.
“Y-Yeah, it’s fine! I’m fine, don’t worry.”
The way Taki’s eyebrow arched was a clear indication that he wasn’t buying it, but he graciously dropped the topic and huffed with the effort of hoisting Mitsuku higher on his back and quickening his pace to let Aruya have some time to think. His mind was still racing, a million different thoughts running across it at blinding speed, but there was one that kept coming back to the front and that he couldn’t escape.
He really wished that Giiko’s bite had left a mark.