• CHAPTER 101 - DON'T TAKE THEM FOR GRANTED

    How could somebody who's lost so much keep going in life? It must be such a challenge, especially when you live on your own.

    The first night sleeping at our house alone was awkward. I felt it was too strange to sleep in the same bed as Kai when it was only us two at the house. It probably wouldn't have been any different than when we fell asleep with each other at Matsuda and Orihime's, but I just wanted to wait. I felt horribly guilty, though, because Kai opted to sleep on the couch. I told him he could have the bed and vice versa, but he says it's not "lady like" for a girl to sleep on the couch. I ignored him after that.

    It was the smell of steamed rice and omelets that woke me up in the afternoon. After glancing over at the clock that Kai plugged in when I was sleeping, it said it was about eleven fifteen. It was too early to wake up but once I could smell the breakfast, my stomach growled something eerie. I stretched while lying down and sat up lazily, my hair sticking up everywhere. I ignored my horror attire and appearance and climbed out of the bed against my will. I lazily drug my feet out of the cracked open bedroom and into the commodious living room. Surely enough Kai was standing at the oven, cooking our breakfast. I sighed and forced myself to stumble over to the breakfast bar and sit myself on the cushioned stool. Kai glanced over at me and smile while chuckling.

    "You look tired,"

    "It's before noon," I grumbled.

    "Then go back to bed," Kai frowned at me.

    "Can't; too hungry."

    Kai only rolled his eyes and continued to make the breakfast. I opted to take a quick nap and I pressed my face against the cool counter and shut my eyes. My eyes were shut for no more than fifteen seconds until Kai set a plate down in front of my face. Our breakfast was almost eaten in silence since I was still so tired. I didn't even understand how I was so tired if I went to bed at a normal time. I was probably so nervous about living alone with Kai that I couldn't fall asleep very fast.

    "Akatsuki will be here in forty-five minutes," Kai looked over at me while chewing on an onigiri. "You might want to get straightened up."

    "Oh yeah," I yawned.

    I slid off of the bar stool without cleaning up my dishes and I headed into the bedroom, shutting and locking the door. I pulled the blinds down over the large window and picked out some fresh clothes Kai organized into the dresser. Kai had pretty much organized everything we packed while I was sleeping; he was making me feel incredibly guilty and I was getting pissed about that. I could probably be nice and do something for him, but I was much too tired to think of anything at the moment. All I knew was that I wanted to see Akatsuki and then climb into my hot spring outside.

    As soon as I exited the bedroom, I could smell cappuccino in the air...french vanilla. I darted to the kitchen and surely enough, there was a mini cappuccino maker and there was a cup being filled with french vanilla cappuccino. I whipped around at Kai with shock on my face.

    "A cappuccino maker??"

    "It takes to long to get into town from here," Kai frowned, "so Matsuda and Orihime bought you one."

    "Goddammit, why is everybody being so incredibly generous and I haven't done anything for them?!" I freaked, taking the cappuccino. "I feel horrible now."

    "Don't feel bad; it was a part of your birthday and graduation present."

    I only ignored Kai--knowing I'd feel bad about it later--and waited for my cappuccino to cool down before sipping on it timidly. Kai only sat at the breakfast bar with his chin propped on his hand and he smiled at me amusingly. He would chuckle at me every now and then whenever I would blush lightly from him. I tried to distract myself from the embarrassing set-up from Takeuchi and Kira yesterday and while I was being distracted, I took too big of a sip of cappuccino and burnt my tongue.

    "Ah, s**t!" I shouted and slammed my cappuccino down on the counter. "Ow!"

    Before any other words were spoken, Kai circled around the edge of the breakfast bar. One of his fangs barely perforated the surface of his wrist and he gathered only a little bit of blood in his mouth. I was about to shoo him away, knowing what was coming up, and he cupped my face in his hands and gently kissed me. Only a few drops of blood managed to seep out of his mouth and onto the burn on my tongue, numbing the pain. I sighed out of relief and kissed him back softly. His hands reposed on my hips and we continued to kiss lightly. The opening of the front door startled me a little too much and my teeth clamped down violently on Kai's lower lip.

    "I'm sorry!" I whispered to Kai frantically.

    "Am I interrupting something?" Akatsuki's voice came into play.

    As soon as I looked over while still leaning against Kai, Akatsuki was standing five to ten feet away from us. My face flushed to a maroon color and I stepped back from Kai and removed a stray drop of blood from my mouth. Akatsuki was holding a small box in his hand; I noted he was carrying such a small box because I was embarrassed to look up at him.

    "Y-you found the house," I tried to smile. "Good job."

    "Yeah," Akatsuki said in monotone, probably still affected by his friend's funeral.

    I spoke no more and embraced Akatsuki closely, feeling his pain. He embraced me back with his free arm and sighed while rubbing my back in small circles. We pulled back and I smiled at him sentimentally.

    "I'm sorry, Akatsuki; it must be so hard."

    He only nodded, "Yeah. He was a good kid." we paused for a moment and he handed me the small box. "It's more of a birthday present than a graduation present."

    I gently removed the small, elegantly-wrapped box from his hand and peeled the wrapping paper off cleanly. Kai watched me while leaning against the counter and Akatsuki watched with his arms crossed and a glazed look in his eyes. A necklace was what was hidden on the other side of the lid and as soon as I opened it, I smiled lightly. I grabbed the chain of the necklace and pulled it out to examine it. Hooked onto the chain was a single bullet about an inch and a half long. I held it in between my index and thumb finger and rotated it, noticing a purple-crimson tint at the tip of the bullet.

    "A bullet?" I cocked an eyebrow.

    "Yeah; so you can be part Necromantic Hunter too." he chuckled. "The purple-crimson tip is where the miasma is that kills off the Vampires and Werewolves."

    "But there's hardly any on it," I frowned. "How does it kill them?"

    "In a way, it's like a rattlesnake," he started. "It's so small, but it can kill so quickly."

    "Oh, that makes sense," I smiled. "Could I just stick it into Kai's head if he ever pisses me off?"

    Akatsuki and I laughed as Kai frowned at me with his arms crossed. I pat Kai's shoulder and smiled at him, "Don't worry; I won't use it on you unless you try to make me do something I don't want to." I teased.

    "I wouldn't force you into anything," Kai frowned. "I guess you're stuck with me, then."

    "Thank you," I smiled at Akatsuki. "It's really cool."

    "It could probably work on almost any Vampire or Werewolf that attacks you," Akatsuki shrugged. "But it might not; it depends on if you can break through their skin so the miasma can actually get into their system."

    "So you gave her a weapon for her birthday?" Kai cocked an eyebrow.

    "It's not meant as a weapon," Akatsuki frowned at Kai. "It's just so she can have a little bit of a Necromantic Hunter with her."

    "It's fine, Kai," I slapped his chest with the back of my hand, hearing one of my knuckles pop against his steel torso.

    "So, how does it feel to live alone?"

    I paused, "This is our first full day; it already feels awkward." I blushed.

    "That makes me feel better," Kai scoffed.

    I happily ignored Kai and told Akatsuki all about the party and my new car and everything. I left out the contract ordeal and all of the romance stuff; there was no way I would ever tell him about Kira and Takeuchi's prank. I even complained to Akatsuki about how Kai forced me into the pool--Kai soon denied that he forced me in; apparently, I voluntarily jumped into the pool.

    After another hour of conversing and checking up, it was finally time for Akatsuki to depart. He apologized for not being able to stay longer; he had to fill in his deceased friend's job for the night.

    "Keep one thing in mind," Akatsuki warned, "and don't take people for granted. They're gone before you know it."

    After a long sentimental hug to Akatsuki, he finally left. I stood in the driveway with Kai at my side and watched Akatsuki until his car disappeared in the vast distance. I sighed deeply and Kai wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I reminisced about what Akatsuki told me; about how I couldn't take anybody for granted. I had never thought about that before; I had always assumed Kai and I would always be together...at first. I was human and Kai was a Vampire; it would be impossible for us two to be together for hundreds of years because neither of us want me to be a Vampire. I would just have to savor the time I had left with him because it was probably too late to break the contract.

    "Happy birthday again," Kai mumbled and kissed me lightly.

    "Love you," I whispered, pushing some of his hair back and kissing him a little more. My heart was aching but it wasn't breaking quite yet.

    It's always most painful before you crumble.