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The Ultimate Detective. She is cold, professional, unfeeling. Unbearably intelligent and perceptive.
In short, she is everything Celeste has ever wanted.
Her dream is to be served by a bunch of men, yes, but she has no particular affection toward them. Rather, she has chosen men to serve her because she loves women too much to make them subservient.
At least, that was the case until she met Kyoko. Celeste was attracted to her from the beginning. It would be hard not to be; she is elegant, beautiful, and has the personality to mirror Celeste’s. But as they got to know each other better, over board games and bets that Celeste won all of, her feelings deepened. It’s likely as close to love as she will ever experience. Kyoko seems unfeeling on the outside, but she blushes easily once you know how to push her buttons. She’s stubborn about the strangest things. And she can deduce things even you didn’t know about yourself.
For example:
“You pretend that lady grey is your favorite tea, but you tend to choose English breakfast first,” Kyoko said one morning.
“Oh? Do I?” Celeste replied, tilting her head. Her confusion was genuine. Because tea never tasted like much to her. It was her favorite beverage, but no matter how strong she brewed it, no flavor came through. She began drinking it to stave off her hunger. It was warm, and if she added milk, it could be thick. Like blood. She grew a genuine liking to it after a while. “Perhaps you have simply seen me drink it more.”
Kyoko shook her head. “No, I watch you every morning. You definitely choose English breakfast more often than not.”
Every morning? Celeste didn’t have a heartbeat, but it would have fluttered if she did. She had gotten many love confessions in the past. None of them felt as meaningful as Kyoko saying she watched her every morning. “Goodness, how forward.”
Celeste giggled as Kyoko seemed to realize what she said and flushed. Her blush was so gorgeous Celeste nearly lost her composure then and there.
But she was nothing if not her composure, so she kept smiling.
Ever since that moment, Celeste’s hunger has only grown. For Kyoko’s blood specifically. It’s a strange feeling, since Celeste has always had control over her cravings. If she wanted blood, she simply went out and got it. But no matter how many people’s blood she drinks, even those with the sweetest scent, she smells Kyoko and she’s starving again.
She simply must have her as her thrall.
Kyoko is a busy woman. That works out in Celeste’s favor, however, as it’s difficult to keep an eye on someone in the dorms. Even for someone as observant as Kyoko, if a vampire doesn’t want to be noticed, they won’t. Celeste is tempted to tease her by revealing her presence sometimes.
But getting caught is riskier than it’s worth. A shame. That would have been quite fun.
Still, it doesn’t mean she can’t have any fun with her.
She follows Kyoko off-campus after class, amusement and an intense thrill like nothing else wracking her body. Kyoko walks with confidence; a justified confidence, certainly. It makes Celeste want to take her apart. It’s not like being her thrall would be a bad deal. Kyoko could keep most of her agency, all she would have to do is give Celeste her blood and listen to her orders. Celeste would even feed Kyoko her own blood regularly to make the bond mutual. The kind of thrall relationship that’s romanticized to high heaven and Celeste has never considered until now.
Kyoko Kirigiri. Such an outstanding woman, to make her feel this way. How many times has Celeste had this exact thought and still manages to be surprised with how Kyoko outdoes herself?
She doesn’t have more time to muse when Kyoko comes upon the body Celeste left for her last night. A tall man with two very obvious bite marks on his neck. He went down easy, so Celeste decided to give Kyoko a little challenge. Kyoko crouches beside the corpse and gently inspects it. It doesn’t take her long to find the message tucked inside his sleeve:
“For you, darling.”
Celeste can’t help but laugh at the confused look on Kyoko’s face. It’s cute. She pockets the note despite the fact that it’s written in blood and continues to mess with the body. Of course, she doesn’t find anything else of note, and she stands up before writing something down.
Kyoko then reports her findings back to… whoever she contacts on the phone before going to a bookstore.
Celeste expects her to purchase a book befitting of her personality, and she does. She picks up a romance. A paranormal romance featuring a vampire. Others would be confused by this choice, expecting her to pick a more horror-oriented vampire novel, but Celeste knows better. Kyoko is reading this book because a vampire is obviously trying to romance her. And she won’t let any possibility go unexplored.
Ah, how wonderful. Perhaps Celeste should get the same book. Or would that be too obvious? She doesn’t want to let the fun end yet.
Besides, the book looks dull, anyway. She’ll get more entertainment out of watching Kyoko read it than reading it herself.
She returns to Hope’s Peak before Kyoko does and waits for her in the dining hall. She brews raspberry tea — for the color, naturally, although the fruity flavor dances on her tongue quite well. But it’s certainly not as sweet as Kyoko’s blood. As much as she’s enjoying teasing her, she can’t wait for the day she finally breaks that beautiful skin and tastes that beautiful blood. Celeste shivers at the very thought.
“Good afternoon, Celeste,” Kyoko says, breaking her out of her thoughts. “I didn’t know you liked raspberry tea.”
“Neither did I. But it’s quite beautiful, isn’t it? And it has a nice, subtle flavor.”
Kyoko peers at the teacup. Celeste can’t quite read her expression; it’s somewhere between apprehensive and confused. “I think I prefer the actual fruit.”
“They go moldy too fast for my taste.”
Celeste takes an indulgent sip, and a few drops drip down her chin. She resists the urge to make a face and just dabs them off with a napkin. Kyoko sets her bag on the seat next to her before sitting down. “Celeste, may I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“What do you know about vampires?”
Celeste’s eyes go wide. She hadn’t realized that Kyoko was going to be so bold, although she really should have. Composing herself immediately, she sets her cup down and leans forward. “Well, I don’t believe I know more than anyone else. Why do you ask?”
Kyoko studies her expression. “I was just curious. You see…” She pulls out the book and shows Celeste, who reaches out a hand to take it. “I bought this book today for a change of pace, but the summary confused me a bit. I know the dictionary definition of a thrall, but this is a romance. Surely it doesn’t fit, right?”
“Hmm, well, romance is… many romance authors write about strange things like that. Why did you not ask Toko about this?”
“She’s… unapproachable. To say the least.” Kyoko frowns at the very thought, and then she shakes her head. “And you’ve mentioned vampires before. I thought you might be able to tell me.”
Celeste can’t suppress a smile. She pretends to look at the back of the book. “Ah, I remember now.” She hands it back to Kyoko before finishing her tea with a long sip that must be frustrating — although Kyoko’s face doesn’t change in the slightest. Disappointing. “Vampires can feed their targets their blood and exert a kind of influence over them. From my understanding, that is.”
“By influence, what do you mean?”
“I’m not exactly sure, but I’m guessing they either manipulate their actions or thoughts.”
Kyoko’s brow furrows. “You seem awfully unsure.”
“I am simply uneducated. Is that a crime?”
“No.” She shrugs and places the book back in her bag. “And this was helpful, actually. The internet was being elusive about the answer.”
Celeste laughs, a little louder than intended, but it makes Kyoko soften at the edges, and isn’t that a sight. “The Ultimate Detective can’t even find the answers she seeks on the internet?”
“I prefer to do my work in the real world,” Kyoko says, obviously a little embarrassed.
“Well, I’m glad you asked me. In exchange, shall we eat together? It’s almost dinnertime.”
Kyoko smiles genuinely. “Sure.”
They have a lovely time. Kyoko doesn’t say anything more about her investigation or what she’s thinking, but Celeste is okay with that. Spending time with Kyoko is lovely no matter what. Goodness… She’s softened up quite a bit.
Not too soft to keep killing people as clues. A trail of bodies follows Celeste’s pursuit of passion as she drips their blood for Kyoko to follow. She’s upped her intake of blood, but the blood itself has become flavorless. She’s lost her appetite for everyone but Kyoko. If this is romance, then romance truly is the double-edged sword everyone describes it as. In a similar vein, she wants to control Kyoko, but she loves having her as she’s in control of herself, too. Still, she has started this gamble, and she’ll see it through to the end.
Which means ending it before she gets any silly ideas like abandoning it and trying to pursue a relationship with Kyoko like a regular human would.
Celeste leaves a fake nail at the scene. She also chews on the victim’s heart and spits it out, finding it tough and simply unpalatable. Trying to eat it was an impulsive decision anyway. But it will get a nice reaction from Kyoko. Perhaps she’ll finally react in disgust or anger; Celeste would love to see that.
Unfortunately, she doesn’t get to see Kyoko’s reaction to her little prize. Kiyotaka is scolding her for something like not paying enough attention in class. It’s quite annoying. She pretends like she’s listening to what he says and fantasizes about what Kyoko might try tonight.
Celeste leaves her door unlocked when she goes back to the dorms. She’s so excited that she can hardly calm herself down or put on a nonchalant expression. Her eyes just don't stop sparkling.
She hopes Kyoko is angry; she also hopes she’ll consider the thrall relationship. If she doesn’t… Celeste doesn’t particularly like the idea of having to force her blood down Kyoko's throat. Being bested by Kyoko would be fun, admittedly, but she’s never lost before, and she doesn't intend to start. Celestia Ludenberg gets what she wants.
A knock on her door, and Celeste is overcome with an intense mix of emotions yet again. “Come in,” she calls. Kyoko walks in, just as confident as ever, before closing the door. Celeste giggles. “Are you sure you want to do that? You know as well as I do that I'm dangerous.”
“Hm. I figured it was intentional.” Kyoko lingers by the door. “This was too obvious of a clue to have been left by accident.” She takes out the nail from her pocket and tosses it to Celeste. “Why?”
“I simply wanted to have some fun with you.”
“Do you always play with your food?”
“My food?” Celeste hums. “You seem to be sorely mistaken about my intentions, Kyoko. I may want your blood, but I do not want you merely for that. And I wouldn’t be playing with you if I saw you as my food. The purpose of my game was… flirting, let’s say. Not flirting for flirting’s sake. My feelings for you are intense, and I want you as my thrall. You read that novel, yes?” Kyoko nods. “That mutual relationship was never appealing to me until I met you. I do not want to control you entirely; I want a partnership.”
Kyoko’s expression is unreadable, but her composure has cracked. She worries her lip between her teeth and clenches her fist. “Celeste. You must understand why this is concerning.”
“Yes, I do. Nobody wants to give up their autonomy, but I mean it when I say I won’t take much of it from you.” Celeste stands and approaches her.
“I can’t trust you to hold to that.”
“And is that the only reason? Do you not have feelings for me?” She hooks a finger under Kyoko’s chin, smiling when she pushes it away. “A shame. I really thought they were reciprocated. Well, I suppose—”
“That’s not it,” Kyoko protests. “It’s just not the kind of relationship I want.”
She’s very obviously uncomfortable talking about this. Celeste understands. Discomfort bubbles in her stomach, as well, but she’s adept at pretending it isn’t there. And a strange sense of… hurt, as well. Kyoko doesn’t trust her. Which is reasonable, yet Celeste’s emotions obviously don’t care about that. It’s quite odd to not be able to control herself. Exhilarating.
She takes a deep breath and combs over her hair, then she steps back. “I am disappointed, but I understand. I really would treat you well.”
“I’m not rejecting you, Celeste. I want to date you.”
“But I don’t want you any other way,” Celeste says. “You could not comprehend how intensely I want to make you my thrall. I stalked you, I killed several people just for you. Never before have I wanted like this. All of my other affections were superficial, but this… I want to possess you.”
Kyoko shudders. “You are quite a selfish woman.”
“Hehe, naturally.” Celeste holds her hands up in surrender; a false surrender, of course. “Well, if you won’t grant me all of yourself, may I at least taste your blood? I will stop when you tell me.” The look on Kyoko’s face is so skeptical Celeste nearly laughs again. “I give you my word.”
It’s several seconds before Kyoko gives her response: “Fine. But don’t try anything.”
“I would never.” Celeste approaches, the blood in her system thrumming with excitement. “The neck is fine, yes?”
“... Yes.”
Kyoko shrugs off her jacket and bares her neck to Celeste. Her scent is so painfully mouthwatering, Celeste can barely handle it. Her pale skin turns a bit pink as Celeste stares. Her fangs start to descend, and Kyoko closes her eyes. Celeste presses her lips right at Kyoko’s artery to feel her heart race — the pulse jumps when she does, and Celeste realizes that she was being honest when she said she returned her feelings. She shivers. Bracing herself with Kyoko’s shoulders, Celeste bites.
When Kyoko’s blood floods her mouth, it is heaven. Everything she thought it would be. Warm, sweet, delicious. Metallic. Celeste sighs and nearly loses herself in the satisfaction. Finally. She knows she won’t be able to go very long without having this.
So she presses one of her nails into her index finger, pushing and pushing until the skin breaks. Dark blood bubbles out. Kyoko’s eyes are still closed.
Celeste yanks her mouth open and shoves her finger inside. Kyoko cries out, muffled, and only then does Celeste close the wound on her neck. “Ah, there we go,” she says, watching Kyoko’s expression shift in confusion and fear. “I will still be good to you, darling, don’t worry. Even though I know you’re mad at me for this. Lovers do quarrel, after all.” Celeste moves her finger deeper. Kyoko gags, but she doesn’t struggle.
They make intense eye contact as Kyoko’s eyes begin to cloud over. It’s working. She doesn’t seem nearly as upset as Celeste expected, and that's disappointing at first.
But this kind of neutrality is nice, too.
It means Kyoko will be more open to enjoying it in the future.