[FIC] My Solemn Vow
Title: My Solem Vow (Part 1)
Author: isha_mabin
Pairing: AKAME
Rating: PG-13 (Just to be safe)
Genre: Romance, AU, One-shot, Vamp!Kame
Disclaimer: I only own the plot and the OCs, nothing (or no one) else
Summary: When Kame found his soul mate, he's not so sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing.
A/N: Even my apology fic is late -_-" My summary sucks ne? I'm so sorry but I had no idea what I was writing. *gets bricked* But regardless I hope you enjoy this monster of a fic because I really enjoyed writing this!
“They match each other perfectly, don’t you think so Kame?”
Kame smiled complacently at Arida who were watching dreamily as their friend Koki chased after his soul mate. Kame had been with Arida for so long that he was used to her romantic delusions. It still puzzled him sometimes though that she could still believe in all that love crap considering what they were. They were vampires. He and Arida were turned by the same vampire, along with four others - Koki included. Usually, a vampire would only turn one or two but their maker - Tackey - was an eccentric one and wanted to have his own coven, it would seem. “Of course. Now, if you’ll excuse me I think I have to leave as well.”
Arida nodded. “To hunt?”
He smirked. “You could say that. There’s this rogue vampire on the prowl. His victims are steadily increasing. I’ve been trying to hunt him and stop his killings.”
Arida’s beautiful face contorted into a frown. “That doesn’t mean you have to be the one to stop him. Even Tackey stays away from this rogue even though he’s older and stronger than any of us!”
“We’ve talked about this, Arida.” He sighed. Arida knew how he absolutely hated senseless killings of humans and thus he chases after rogues who for some reason had no remorse whatsoever in draining humans of their blood and eventually killing them. Rogues were rare. In fact, there had only been two since Kame became a vampire and he was able to silence them. He didn’t see why this third one should be an exemption.
But for some reason, Arida was still always worried about him. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he is the youngest in their coven. He’d only been a vampire for 53 years. He was turned when he was 20 so he’s 73 years old now. Arida, Tackey’s first turned vampire, was well over 400 years old.
“Fine. But promise me you’d at least feed human blood while searching for the rogue?” Her eyes spoke gentle persuasion.
He shook his head. “I’ve already fed from animals.”
Arida’s eyes clouded with distress. “Kame, it’s been months since your last human blood intake and-”
“See you later, Arida,” he cut her off and left the house. He didn’t want to hear anymore lecture from her. He’d heard it too many times before.
Five hours later, Kame was walking along the streets of New York, utterly pissed. He’d lost the rogue vampire. One minute, he was chasing after the rogue and the next moment, he couldn’t track him down anymore. What was more is that the sun will be rising in about an hour which means he would have to stop the search for now. Vampires are sensitive to sunlight. It temporarily blinds them and dulls their other senses. The rogue vampire clearly knew this and was playing with him and it was getting to Kame’s nerves.
I’ll get you, you damn rogue!
He was so intent in his thoughts that he almost didn’t notice a car speeding towards him. If it wasn’t for his inhuman speed, he would have been hit. As it was, he was able to avoid the car and the driver hit a streetlamp instead.
New York and their drunk drivers, he scoffed.
He walked away and that’s when he was attacked with a wave of nausea - which was ridiculous because vampires don’t get sick - and then he could see images in his mind. A wallet, a hospital sign and a wrecked car.
What the heck! He shook his head to dispel the images that he was sure was not his own. He didn’t even prod through someone’s mind so why did he see those things that were obviously someone else’s thoughts?
That was the least of his problems however because even though the images disappeared, it was replaced by the cramping need for blood.
He blindly reached for the first person he could grab - a girl in her mid-20’s - and hypnotized her as he led her to a dark alley.
The smell of her blood was so strong and it was making Kame absolutely thirsty. He let his fangs grow and then he leaned towards the girl’s neck, moaning as his fangs punctured her skin and plunged it.
Her blood was good - sweet and pure - and Kame’s thirst was soon appeased but he couldn’t stop. He didn’t want to stop. Suddenly, the taste was so addicting that he couldn’t pull away.
Only when he felt the girl’s pulse dangerously weaken was Kame snapped out of the trance-like state he was in.
He hurriedly retracted his fangs and held the girl in his hands, self-disgust evident in his face.
I hunt rogues because of their senseless killings. And here I am now, almost draining this girl of her blood. I’m a fucking hypocrite.
He checked her pulse and was relieved that it was still there - albeit faintly. He looked up the sky. The dark was starting to lighten with the unmistakable sign of morning. He looked down at the girl in his arms.
She won’t survive if I just leave her here.
Making up his mind, he gathered the girl in his arms properly and wounded her neck a bit more (to make it look like a stab) before moving at inhuman speed again - darting pass the streets and jumping over walls - until he found a hospital. Once there, he hypnotized a passing person and altered his thoughts a bit.
When Kame left, the young man was carrying the injured girl, believing that he was on his way to the hospital when he found the girl in an alley not far from there.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Kame smiled faintly before sighing and leaning against a wall. He pulled his cellphone out of his jeans pocket and dialed Arida’s number.
“What’s wrong?” Arida worriedly asked from the other line. Kame never calls her unless it was an emergency.
“The sun caught up to me. I’m in a street near St. Dominique’s Hospital.” He couldn’t move because he couldn’t see where he was going. The sun had temporarily blinded him.
“Hang on. I’ll call Kristine.” Kristine, Koki’s soul mate, was still human so she can pick-up Kame without any problems.
Thankfully, Kristine was just near the vicinity when Arida called her. She arrived after only a few minutes and helped Kame into the car and back to their coven’s mansion which was in the outskirts of town.
Kame was not surprised when Arida hugged the life out of him the moment they were safely inside the house.
“You worried me! You are so lucky Tackey is out of the country now or you would never hear the end of this!” Arida huffed.
“I’m sorry,” Kame said solemnly.
“Give him a break, Arida. He needs to rest,” he heard Koki say from beside Kristine. He had taken that spot as soon as the human girl had closed the door. Tackey had customized the whole house long ago to make sure no sunlight ever got inside as long as the main door was closed.
“You’re still awake?” Kame asked him, surprised. Usually, the whole house would be asleep by now.
“We all are,” Ueda, another vampire in their coven, spoke up. “Arida told us you went hunting a rogue again. We wanted to know if you’ll return alive.” Despite Ueda’s cold words, concern was evident in his eyes.
Kame couldn’t see it at the moment but he knew Ueda enough to know the man cared for all of them in the coven. “I won’t be killed so easily, Tat-chan.” That was his pet-name for Ueda.
There was silence for a moment which was abruptly broken by Kristine cursing. “Shit! I’m gonna be late!”
She excused herself to go to work (with Koki convincing her for the nth time that she didn’t need a day job because she’d be a vampire soon). They all moved to the inner part of the house so that they won’t be affected when Kristine leaves at the front door.
“How does it feel to be blind, Kame?” Junno, another vampire, asked curiously. The question was inappropriate and a bit insensitive but they were all used to Junno’s wrong-timings by now and they knew he means no harm so nobody took offense.
“Well, it didn’t hurt. Still doesn’t. But it’s irritating to not be able to see. I don’t like feeling so vulnerable,” Kame answered.
“Don’t worry, it’ll pass soon. You weren’t exposed to the sun for a long time so the damage isn’t so long lasting,” Maru, the oldest vampire next to Arida and Ueda, comforted.
“Maru had been blinded by sunlight before too,” Arida informed. “It was quite funny actually. He actually forgot he was a vampire and he opened the door with all the intention of sunbathing.”
Kame’s eyesight returned just in time to see Maru’s cheeks burn in embarrassment.
When their laughter died down, Kame regarded the vampires in the room seriously. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to tell you guys something. It’s good that you’re all awake.”
“What is it?” Maru asked, eager to move to the next topic so his embarrassing moment can be forgotten.
“I almost drained a human girl today.”
“What?” Koki exclaimed. “You should be able to control your feeding by now.”
“I know but I might have lost control because it’s been so long since I last fed with human blood.”
“You poor boy. You might have felt so guilty,” Arida hugged him.
Kame nodded. “Thankfully, I was able to take her to the hospital before it’s too late. But something’s been bothering me since then.”
“Go on,” Junno urged.
“Before I fed from that girl, I was assaulted with the strangest of feelings. I felt nauseous and then suddenly I saw images in my head that wasn’t my own. And then my blood thirst intensified to a painful need. That’s why I grabbed that girl and senselessly fed from her,” Kame explained.
“These images…what were they of?” Koki asked.
“Random things. I saw a wallet, a hospital sign and then a slightly wrecked car.” Kame shrugged.
Koki sought Arida’s eyes before turning to Kame again. “These images weren’t from the girl you fed from?”
Kame shook his head. “The girl’s mind was occupied with a man.”
“What happened before you felt nauseous? Did you bump into someone?” Arida asked, confusing Kame with the strange twinkle in her eyes. It was almost as if she was happy.
“No. But there’s this car that almost hit me. I moved out of the way and it hit a streetlamp instead. I walked away because the crash didn’t seem all that serious.” Kame frowned. “What’s with all the questions?”
“You might have met your soul mate, Kame,” Koki answered slowly.
Kame threw back his head and laughed. “You’re kidding right?” When nobody else laughed, Kame stopped and stared at Koki with incredulity. “You have got to be kidding.”
“Actually, it makes sense. Those images you saw were from your mate. Your minds are connected in a way so if you’re near your mate, you’ll be able to see glimpses of her thoughts. Or at least that’s what I heard from mated vampires,” Arida explained. Her eyes were now positively shining in glee.
“Arida’s right. You’re the one who feels the pull strongly between the both of you because you’re a vampire. The nausea was probably because your body refuses to be apart from your mate so soon. The bloodlust you experience was because you unconsciously want to make her yours by marking her. If you would have bitten her at that moment, the thirst would have been appeased instantly. Remember when I told you I bit Kristine the first time we met?” Koki added.
“But I’m only 73!” Kame spluttered. “These things are not supposed to happen until I’m at least around 100 years old!”
“Actually, age has nothing to do with it. It’s just that most vampires choose not to mingle with humans while they’re still not able to control their bloodlust. That’s why they have no chance of sensing their soul mate until later.” Ueda was the one who answered. “You’re different because you were able to control the way you feed after only two decades. Some vampires take centuries to master that.”
“How about you, Maru and Arida? Why haven’t you found your soul mates yet? You’re all able to control your bloodlust perfectly,” Kame challenged.
“Maru’s a coward and refuses to leave the house. He wouldn’t meet his soul mate unless she comes barging through our door.” Ueda ignored Maru’s indignant shout. “As for me, I’ve already found my soul mate a decade ago. I’ve been watching over him. I couldn’t turn him yet because he was just a kid when we first met.”
“He?” Junno asked.
“Yes. I’m gay. So is he,” Ueda answered, matter-of-fact.
“How about Arida?” Kame asked, regretting her inquisition when Arida’s eyes turned sad.
“I just haven’t been lucky yet,” she said.
“A soul mate… wow. Congratulations Kame!” Junno cheered, smiling.
“This is all…a little too much to handle. I think I’ll just sleep first,” Kame said, still a little dazed.
“Of course.” Arida clapped her hands. “Let’s all sleep and then tonight, you’ll find your mate!”
“Don’t decide that on your own!” Kame exclaimed.
Arida ignored him. “To bed we all go!”
Kame sighed and went straight to his room. He went to sleep with his mind swirling with different thoughts.
When he woke up that night, Arida was already in the kitchen. He could hear her from his bedroom. They didn’t need to eat normal food anymore but Arida loves cooking so they humor her and eat all of the food she makes.
“Kame, come on down!” Arida yelled from the kitchen.
“Where are all the others?” He asked Arida as soon as he saw her.
“Koki went out with Kristine. Ueda went to his soul mate as well. Maru and Junno went out to hunt. I’ll be joining them later but I wanted to talk to you first,” she said.
“I know. You want me to find my mate. I’ll find her tonight, don’t worry,” he assured her. He was admittedly curious to find out who his mate was and besides, it was every vampire’s dream to find his soul mate. Every person only has one true soul mate after all, even humans. Vampires are just lucky because their heightened senses enable them to actually know if a person is their soul mate or not.
“Good luck. I want to hear all the details when you come back!” Arida said cheerfully and bid him goodbye.
He left with his car this time.
----------------------------------------------------
When he reached the hospital where he left the girl he had almost drained of blood, he felt a pull, like someone was beckoning him. His instincts wanted to follow that pull no matter what.
It’s her. She’s calling out to me subconsciously.
He parked in the hospital’s parking lot and walked around. The pull was coming from inside the hospital so with his heart beat quickening, he followed it. He was a bit worried though because of where the pull was taking him. Didn’t it mean his soul mate was injured or sick?
The thought made him quicken his steps.
Then the most wondrous thing happened. He could see images again. This time it was of some kind of receipt, the same wallet from before, a woman and a counter.
The billing counter.
He asked a passing nurse where he could find the billing counter and she gave him a seductive smile as she pointed to it. He could feel his attraction quite easily but chose to ignore it. He knew he was good-looking and usually, he’d use it to his advantage but he was quite impatient to meet his soul mate so he just gave the nurse a polite nod and swiveled around to look at where she was pointing, only to receive the shock of his life.
There, standing at the billing counter and holding the wallet and receipt from the images was a man.
For one second, Kame deluded himself in thinking that his soul mate was the woman behind the counter instead but no, the images were supposed to be a reflection of what the mate was seeing. It didn’t make sense for the girl to see herself in her thoughts. Besides, every fiber of Kame’s being was gravitating towards the man currently paying. He felt the wave of protectiveness that washed over him as he caught sight of the man’s arm that was wrapped with a bandage. That man was definitely Kame’s soul mate.
Because he couldn’t help it, Kame’s eyes roamed towards the man’s face. He had beautiful dark eyes, sinfully red and full lips and silky, wavy black hair that reaches up to his neck, a creamy white neck that Kame would very much like to taste and mark as his own and -
Stop it Kame! He chastised himself. He wasn’t even gay for god’s sake! From the looks of it, neither was the man who was standing a few feet away from him. He couldn’t accept a male mate, no matter how gorgeous the other was.
Even though it was painful, he stepped back and fled away from the scene, barely remembering to slow down so the humans wouldn’t be suspicious of his speed.
Once he was in his car, he hurriedly turned the ignition and left the place. He rushed back to their mansion, his head wringing with pain.
Ueda was at his side the moment he went out his car.
“Tat-chan, it hurts,” He whimpered.
“What happened?” Ueda ushered him into the house.
“I saw my soul mate,” Kame said.
“And?” When Kame remained silent after a few moments, Ueda tried to prod his mind.
“Don’t poke around my mind, Tat-chan!” He snapped.
“I’m sorry but if you’d just talk, I wouldn’t need to!” Ueda snapped back.
Kame took a deep breath. “My soul mate is a man.”
“Was he ugly?” Ueda raised an eyebrow.
“No, he was stunning!” Kame snapped, unconsciously taking offense at anyone who would dare insult his mate.
“So what’s the problem?” Ueda asked.
“I’m not gay, Tat-chan!”
“You are.”
Kame’s mouth opened in shock. “What?”
“Kame, look at your fingernails, your hair and your clothes. They’d all be screaming ‘Gaaaaay!’ at you if they could talk. Add in your bitch fit every ones in a while and the fact that you just found another man stunning and do you really want me to go on?” Ueda asked. Kame closed his mouth and shook his head. “Didn’t think so. Now, what’s really the problem? Aside from your denial, that is.”
Kame shook his head. “He’s straight.”
“Oh, that could be a problem,” Ueda conceded. “Are you sure he’s straight?”
“I saw through his thoughts Tat-chan. He was flirting with that woman in the hospital.” He tried to quell down the jealousy that came with his words.
“Well, it’s alright. He’d maybe try to fight the fact that he’s yours but he won’t be able to keep up with it for long. He’ll give in eventually.”
“No, I don’t want him to give in. I’ll just avoid him for now,” Kame declared.
“Stubborn idiot. Suit yourself. It would be interesting to see you try to avoid him anyway.” Ueda laughed.
He lasted all but an hour before he was pacing back and forth again.
“What’s wrong with him?” Arida, who had just arrived, asked.
Ueda laughed again. “He found his soul mate and is now in denial because he thinks he should be mated to a girl instead of a guy.”
“Oh it’s a guy. That’s so cute!” Arida gushed.
Kame glared at her. “I think I’ll just go and leave now.”
Arida smirked. “You just want to go find your soul mate.”
He scowled. “I do not! I’ll just be hunting the rogue again. I am in no way going to seek out that human.”
“At least ask his name first before you ravish him okay?” Arida teased.
“I told you I won’t look for him!”
(Part 2)
Author: isha_mabin
Pairing: AKAME
Rating: PG-13 (Just to be safe)
Genre: Romance, AU, One-shot, Vamp!Kame
Disclaimer: I only own the plot and the OCs, nothing (or no one) else
Summary: When Kame found his soul mate, he's not so sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing.
A/N: Even my apology fic is late -_-" My summary sucks ne? I'm so sorry but I had no idea what I was writing. *gets bricked* But regardless I hope you enjoy this monster of a fic because I really enjoyed writing this!
“They match each other perfectly, don’t you think so Kame?”
Kame smiled complacently at Arida who were watching dreamily as their friend Koki chased after his soul mate. Kame had been with Arida for so long that he was used to her romantic delusions. It still puzzled him sometimes though that she could still believe in all that love crap considering what they were. They were vampires. He and Arida were turned by the same vampire, along with four others - Koki included. Usually, a vampire would only turn one or two but their maker - Tackey - was an eccentric one and wanted to have his own coven, it would seem. “Of course. Now, if you’ll excuse me I think I have to leave as well.”
Arida nodded. “To hunt?”
He smirked. “You could say that. There’s this rogue vampire on the prowl. His victims are steadily increasing. I’ve been trying to hunt him and stop his killings.”
Arida’s beautiful face contorted into a frown. “That doesn’t mean you have to be the one to stop him. Even Tackey stays away from this rogue even though he’s older and stronger than any of us!”
“We’ve talked about this, Arida.” He sighed. Arida knew how he absolutely hated senseless killings of humans and thus he chases after rogues who for some reason had no remorse whatsoever in draining humans of their blood and eventually killing them. Rogues were rare. In fact, there had only been two since Kame became a vampire and he was able to silence them. He didn’t see why this third one should be an exemption.
But for some reason, Arida was still always worried about him. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he is the youngest in their coven. He’d only been a vampire for 53 years. He was turned when he was 20 so he’s 73 years old now. Arida, Tackey’s first turned vampire, was well over 400 years old.
“Fine. But promise me you’d at least feed human blood while searching for the rogue?” Her eyes spoke gentle persuasion.
He shook his head. “I’ve already fed from animals.”
Arida’s eyes clouded with distress. “Kame, it’s been months since your last human blood intake and-”
“See you later, Arida,” he cut her off and left the house. He didn’t want to hear anymore lecture from her. He’d heard it too many times before.
Five hours later, Kame was walking along the streets of New York, utterly pissed. He’d lost the rogue vampire. One minute, he was chasing after the rogue and the next moment, he couldn’t track him down anymore. What was more is that the sun will be rising in about an hour which means he would have to stop the search for now. Vampires are sensitive to sunlight. It temporarily blinds them and dulls their other senses. The rogue vampire clearly knew this and was playing with him and it was getting to Kame’s nerves.
I’ll get you, you damn rogue!
He was so intent in his thoughts that he almost didn’t notice a car speeding towards him. If it wasn’t for his inhuman speed, he would have been hit. As it was, he was able to avoid the car and the driver hit a streetlamp instead.
New York and their drunk drivers, he scoffed.
He walked away and that’s when he was attacked with a wave of nausea - which was ridiculous because vampires don’t get sick - and then he could see images in his mind. A wallet, a hospital sign and a wrecked car.
What the heck! He shook his head to dispel the images that he was sure was not his own. He didn’t even prod through someone’s mind so why did he see those things that were obviously someone else’s thoughts?
That was the least of his problems however because even though the images disappeared, it was replaced by the cramping need for blood.
He blindly reached for the first person he could grab - a girl in her mid-20’s - and hypnotized her as he led her to a dark alley.
The smell of her blood was so strong and it was making Kame absolutely thirsty. He let his fangs grow and then he leaned towards the girl’s neck, moaning as his fangs punctured her skin and plunged it.
Her blood was good - sweet and pure - and Kame’s thirst was soon appeased but he couldn’t stop. He didn’t want to stop. Suddenly, the taste was so addicting that he couldn’t pull away.
Only when he felt the girl’s pulse dangerously weaken was Kame snapped out of the trance-like state he was in.
He hurriedly retracted his fangs and held the girl in his hands, self-disgust evident in his face.
I hunt rogues because of their senseless killings. And here I am now, almost draining this girl of her blood. I’m a fucking hypocrite.
He checked her pulse and was relieved that it was still there - albeit faintly. He looked up the sky. The dark was starting to lighten with the unmistakable sign of morning. He looked down at the girl in his arms.
She won’t survive if I just leave her here.
Making up his mind, he gathered the girl in his arms properly and wounded her neck a bit more (to make it look like a stab) before moving at inhuman speed again - darting pass the streets and jumping over walls - until he found a hospital. Once there, he hypnotized a passing person and altered his thoughts a bit.
When Kame left, the young man was carrying the injured girl, believing that he was on his way to the hospital when he found the girl in an alley not far from there.
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Kame smiled faintly before sighing and leaning against a wall. He pulled his cellphone out of his jeans pocket and dialed Arida’s number.
“What’s wrong?” Arida worriedly asked from the other line. Kame never calls her unless it was an emergency.
“The sun caught up to me. I’m in a street near St. Dominique’s Hospital.” He couldn’t move because he couldn’t see where he was going. The sun had temporarily blinded him.
“Hang on. I’ll call Kristine.” Kristine, Koki’s soul mate, was still human so she can pick-up Kame without any problems.
Thankfully, Kristine was just near the vicinity when Arida called her. She arrived after only a few minutes and helped Kame into the car and back to their coven’s mansion which was in the outskirts of town.
Kame was not surprised when Arida hugged the life out of him the moment they were safely inside the house.
“You worried me! You are so lucky Tackey is out of the country now or you would never hear the end of this!” Arida huffed.
“I’m sorry,” Kame said solemnly.
“Give him a break, Arida. He needs to rest,” he heard Koki say from beside Kristine. He had taken that spot as soon as the human girl had closed the door. Tackey had customized the whole house long ago to make sure no sunlight ever got inside as long as the main door was closed.
“You’re still awake?” Kame asked him, surprised. Usually, the whole house would be asleep by now.
“We all are,” Ueda, another vampire in their coven, spoke up. “Arida told us you went hunting a rogue again. We wanted to know if you’ll return alive.” Despite Ueda’s cold words, concern was evident in his eyes.
Kame couldn’t see it at the moment but he knew Ueda enough to know the man cared for all of them in the coven. “I won’t be killed so easily, Tat-chan.” That was his pet-name for Ueda.
There was silence for a moment which was abruptly broken by Kristine cursing. “Shit! I’m gonna be late!”
She excused herself to go to work (with Koki convincing her for the nth time that she didn’t need a day job because she’d be a vampire soon). They all moved to the inner part of the house so that they won’t be affected when Kristine leaves at the front door.
“How does it feel to be blind, Kame?” Junno, another vampire, asked curiously. The question was inappropriate and a bit insensitive but they were all used to Junno’s wrong-timings by now and they knew he means no harm so nobody took offense.
“Well, it didn’t hurt. Still doesn’t. But it’s irritating to not be able to see. I don’t like feeling so vulnerable,” Kame answered.
“Don’t worry, it’ll pass soon. You weren’t exposed to the sun for a long time so the damage isn’t so long lasting,” Maru, the oldest vampire next to Arida and Ueda, comforted.
“Maru had been blinded by sunlight before too,” Arida informed. “It was quite funny actually. He actually forgot he was a vampire and he opened the door with all the intention of sunbathing.”
Kame’s eyesight returned just in time to see Maru’s cheeks burn in embarrassment.
When their laughter died down, Kame regarded the vampires in the room seriously. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to tell you guys something. It’s good that you’re all awake.”
“What is it?” Maru asked, eager to move to the next topic so his embarrassing moment can be forgotten.
“I almost drained a human girl today.”
“What?” Koki exclaimed. “You should be able to control your feeding by now.”
“I know but I might have lost control because it’s been so long since I last fed with human blood.”
“You poor boy. You might have felt so guilty,” Arida hugged him.
Kame nodded. “Thankfully, I was able to take her to the hospital before it’s too late. But something’s been bothering me since then.”
“Go on,” Junno urged.
“Before I fed from that girl, I was assaulted with the strangest of feelings. I felt nauseous and then suddenly I saw images in my head that wasn’t my own. And then my blood thirst intensified to a painful need. That’s why I grabbed that girl and senselessly fed from her,” Kame explained.
“These images…what were they of?” Koki asked.
“Random things. I saw a wallet, a hospital sign and then a slightly wrecked car.” Kame shrugged.
Koki sought Arida’s eyes before turning to Kame again. “These images weren’t from the girl you fed from?”
Kame shook his head. “The girl’s mind was occupied with a man.”
“What happened before you felt nauseous? Did you bump into someone?” Arida asked, confusing Kame with the strange twinkle in her eyes. It was almost as if she was happy.
“No. But there’s this car that almost hit me. I moved out of the way and it hit a streetlamp instead. I walked away because the crash didn’t seem all that serious.” Kame frowned. “What’s with all the questions?”
“You might have met your soul mate, Kame,” Koki answered slowly.
Kame threw back his head and laughed. “You’re kidding right?” When nobody else laughed, Kame stopped and stared at Koki with incredulity. “You have got to be kidding.”
“Actually, it makes sense. Those images you saw were from your mate. Your minds are connected in a way so if you’re near your mate, you’ll be able to see glimpses of her thoughts. Or at least that’s what I heard from mated vampires,” Arida explained. Her eyes were now positively shining in glee.
“Arida’s right. You’re the one who feels the pull strongly between the both of you because you’re a vampire. The nausea was probably because your body refuses to be apart from your mate so soon. The bloodlust you experience was because you unconsciously want to make her yours by marking her. If you would have bitten her at that moment, the thirst would have been appeased instantly. Remember when I told you I bit Kristine the first time we met?” Koki added.
“But I’m only 73!” Kame spluttered. “These things are not supposed to happen until I’m at least around 100 years old!”
“Actually, age has nothing to do with it. It’s just that most vampires choose not to mingle with humans while they’re still not able to control their bloodlust. That’s why they have no chance of sensing their soul mate until later.” Ueda was the one who answered. “You’re different because you were able to control the way you feed after only two decades. Some vampires take centuries to master that.”
“How about you, Maru and Arida? Why haven’t you found your soul mates yet? You’re all able to control your bloodlust perfectly,” Kame challenged.
“Maru’s a coward and refuses to leave the house. He wouldn’t meet his soul mate unless she comes barging through our door.” Ueda ignored Maru’s indignant shout. “As for me, I’ve already found my soul mate a decade ago. I’ve been watching over him. I couldn’t turn him yet because he was just a kid when we first met.”
“He?” Junno asked.
“Yes. I’m gay. So is he,” Ueda answered, matter-of-fact.
“How about Arida?” Kame asked, regretting her inquisition when Arida’s eyes turned sad.
“I just haven’t been lucky yet,” she said.
“A soul mate… wow. Congratulations Kame!” Junno cheered, smiling.
“This is all…a little too much to handle. I think I’ll just sleep first,” Kame said, still a little dazed.
“Of course.” Arida clapped her hands. “Let’s all sleep and then tonight, you’ll find your mate!”
“Don’t decide that on your own!” Kame exclaimed.
Arida ignored him. “To bed we all go!”
Kame sighed and went straight to his room. He went to sleep with his mind swirling with different thoughts.
When he woke up that night, Arida was already in the kitchen. He could hear her from his bedroom. They didn’t need to eat normal food anymore but Arida loves cooking so they humor her and eat all of the food she makes.
“Kame, come on down!” Arida yelled from the kitchen.
“Where are all the others?” He asked Arida as soon as he saw her.
“Koki went out with Kristine. Ueda went to his soul mate as well. Maru and Junno went out to hunt. I’ll be joining them later but I wanted to talk to you first,” she said.
“I know. You want me to find my mate. I’ll find her tonight, don’t worry,” he assured her. He was admittedly curious to find out who his mate was and besides, it was every vampire’s dream to find his soul mate. Every person only has one true soul mate after all, even humans. Vampires are just lucky because their heightened senses enable them to actually know if a person is their soul mate or not.
“Good luck. I want to hear all the details when you come back!” Arida said cheerfully and bid him goodbye.
He left with his car this time.
----------------------------------------------------
When he reached the hospital where he left the girl he had almost drained of blood, he felt a pull, like someone was beckoning him. His instincts wanted to follow that pull no matter what.
It’s her. She’s calling out to me subconsciously.
He parked in the hospital’s parking lot and walked around. The pull was coming from inside the hospital so with his heart beat quickening, he followed it. He was a bit worried though because of where the pull was taking him. Didn’t it mean his soul mate was injured or sick?
The thought made him quicken his steps.
Then the most wondrous thing happened. He could see images again. This time it was of some kind of receipt, the same wallet from before, a woman and a counter.
The billing counter.
He asked a passing nurse where he could find the billing counter and she gave him a seductive smile as she pointed to it. He could feel his attraction quite easily but chose to ignore it. He knew he was good-looking and usually, he’d use it to his advantage but he was quite impatient to meet his soul mate so he just gave the nurse a polite nod and swiveled around to look at where she was pointing, only to receive the shock of his life.
There, standing at the billing counter and holding the wallet and receipt from the images was a man.
For one second, Kame deluded himself in thinking that his soul mate was the woman behind the counter instead but no, the images were supposed to be a reflection of what the mate was seeing. It didn’t make sense for the girl to see herself in her thoughts. Besides, every fiber of Kame’s being was gravitating towards the man currently paying. He felt the wave of protectiveness that washed over him as he caught sight of the man’s arm that was wrapped with a bandage. That man was definitely Kame’s soul mate.
Because he couldn’t help it, Kame’s eyes roamed towards the man’s face. He had beautiful dark eyes, sinfully red and full lips and silky, wavy black hair that reaches up to his neck, a creamy white neck that Kame would very much like to taste and mark as his own and -
Stop it Kame! He chastised himself. He wasn’t even gay for god’s sake! From the looks of it, neither was the man who was standing a few feet away from him. He couldn’t accept a male mate, no matter how gorgeous the other was.
Even though it was painful, he stepped back and fled away from the scene, barely remembering to slow down so the humans wouldn’t be suspicious of his speed.
Once he was in his car, he hurriedly turned the ignition and left the place. He rushed back to their mansion, his head wringing with pain.
Ueda was at his side the moment he went out his car.
“Tat-chan, it hurts,” He whimpered.
“What happened?” Ueda ushered him into the house.
“I saw my soul mate,” Kame said.
“And?” When Kame remained silent after a few moments, Ueda tried to prod his mind.
“Don’t poke around my mind, Tat-chan!” He snapped.
“I’m sorry but if you’d just talk, I wouldn’t need to!” Ueda snapped back.
Kame took a deep breath. “My soul mate is a man.”
“Was he ugly?” Ueda raised an eyebrow.
“No, he was stunning!” Kame snapped, unconsciously taking offense at anyone who would dare insult his mate.
“So what’s the problem?” Ueda asked.
“I’m not gay, Tat-chan!”
“You are.”
Kame’s mouth opened in shock. “What?”
“Kame, look at your fingernails, your hair and your clothes. They’d all be screaming ‘Gaaaaay!’ at you if they could talk. Add in your bitch fit every ones in a while and the fact that you just found another man stunning and do you really want me to go on?” Ueda asked. Kame closed his mouth and shook his head. “Didn’t think so. Now, what’s really the problem? Aside from your denial, that is.”
Kame shook his head. “He’s straight.”
“Oh, that could be a problem,” Ueda conceded. “Are you sure he’s straight?”
“I saw through his thoughts Tat-chan. He was flirting with that woman in the hospital.” He tried to quell down the jealousy that came with his words.
“Well, it’s alright. He’d maybe try to fight the fact that he’s yours but he won’t be able to keep up with it for long. He’ll give in eventually.”
“No, I don’t want him to give in. I’ll just avoid him for now,” Kame declared.
“Stubborn idiot. Suit yourself. It would be interesting to see you try to avoid him anyway.” Ueda laughed.
He lasted all but an hour before he was pacing back and forth again.
“What’s wrong with him?” Arida, who had just arrived, asked.
Ueda laughed again. “He found his soul mate and is now in denial because he thinks he should be mated to a girl instead of a guy.”
“Oh it’s a guy. That’s so cute!” Arida gushed.
Kame glared at her. “I think I’ll just go and leave now.”
Arida smirked. “You just want to go find your soul mate.”
He scowled. “I do not! I’ll just be hunting the rogue again. I am in no way going to seek out that human.”
“At least ask his name first before you ravish him okay?” Arida teased.
“I told you I won’t look for him!”
(Part 2)