Monstrous May 2022 (day 1-12)

[socialriotbitch]

Title: Monstrous May 2022
Chapter: drabble list
Author: socialriotbitch
Pairings: strangers/Reita, Aoi/Reita
Genre: Horror, gore
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: AU - vampires, vampire hunters, graphic violence, torture, bondage, blood, major character death, monsters, asphyxiation, horror, spiders, satyrs, dubcon, non-consensual alcohol intake, anal, oral, size queen Reita, AU - werewolves, AU - fantasy, angst, AU - zombie apocalypse, implied suicide
Disclaimer: I don't own the GazettE
Word count: various
Comment: A collection of drabbles for Monstrous May 2022, listed by prompt per chapter. Tags will be updated as I go. Can also be read on AO3 for easier sorting. See my twitter for prompt list and more info. Please excuse any mistakes, as I'm posting these on the same day I'm writing them without proofreading.

Here you'll find days 1-12 of the prompt fills.


Day 1: Vampires

Reita twitched where he hung, suspended from the ceiling, toes barely touching the floor. His ears had caught the sound of descending footsteps, and a shiver ran down his spine, fear chilling him to the bone. The hinges creaked under the weight of the thick, silver-coated door, and one of the hunters stepped into the basement where they kept Reita. “Good morning, sunshine. Sleep well?”

He glared at the hunter, who laughed and moved over to him, lifting his upper lip and pressing his thumb against his teeth, feeling along the edge of his gums. Reita clenched around the wooden bit gag in his mouth, trying to turn away and grunting in annoyance when his head was held still. “My, look at those fangs. They've gotten long enough to pull already.”

As embarrassing as it was, Reita whimpered desperately, shaking his head and giving him the best pleading look he could. Hunters liked using vampire fangs as decorations or jewellery, but the ones who had captured him pulled them out with thongs as soon as they grew back, which unfortunately rarely took longer than a week. It was excruciatingly painful, and frankly unnecessary. There was no way he'd ever be able to escape without help, and he wouldn't dare bite any of his captors. They had the tools to punish him quite effectively.

The hunter removed the shackles around his wrists and ankles, and immediately, Reita backed away, whining like a wounded animal. It was humiliating how easy it was for the hunter, a mere human, to grab his arm and shove him toward the exit, slamming his face up against the door. As soon as the silver touched his skin, Reita screamed against the gag, almost drowning out the sickening sound of sizzling flesh. Half of his face felt like it was on fire, and he tried to use his hands to push back, but the second they came in contact with the silver coating, he recoiled, sobbing pathetically.

He didn't dare move when he was pulled back, just stared at the floor, shaking faintly. “Are you gonna behave now?” He nodded quickly, flinching when the hunter reached for the door handle, chuckling at his reaction. Oh, how he wished he could escape, alert his coven and return to drain every last one of these self-righteous bastards. Still, he followed close behind the hunter when he walked up the stairs, leading Reita into a room full of hunters, sadistic grins on all their faces.

They pushed him down in a chair and tied his legs and arms down, his palms upturned, and he didn't struggle, despite wanting to. There were probably twenty of them, and he couldn't even take on a single one of them in his current state. Thick needles were jabbed into both of his arms, one of them already connected to a bag, and it started filling with his blood. Vampire blood was coveted amongst humans, not only for its healing properties, but also because it enhanced their strength, reflexes, and senses. Tapping him served two purposes, the first being that it made him weaker, easier to control, especially since he was already vulnerable from not having fed in months.

Secondly, hunters used vampire blood to even the odds when fighting, and in rituals like this one. One of them stepped up and connected a plastic tube to the needle in his arm, turning the valve and raising the other end of it to his mouth. The others cheered while he drank several gulps of Reita's blood, and he sneered at them. Surely, the irony of what they were doing didn't escape them, right?

They filled several bags before taking the needles out, and by then, Reita would have had a hard time moving at all, if he could. His head was pulled up, the gag removed, but he didn't have a chance to say anything before his mouth was pried open, a leather sleeve slipped over his jaw and tightened behind the back of the chair, designed to keep him from closing his mouth. A leather strap went across his forehead, and he could no longer move his head at all, forced to watch the hunter grab a pair of pliers and raise them threateningly.

“What's the matter there, vampy? You're looking a little scared.” The room filled with mocking laughter, and Reita squirmed, but he was completely helpless. The hunter advanced on him, opening the pliers and moving them agonisingly slowly toward his mouth. “Say 'ahhh'.”

He fixed his gaze on the ceiling when the metal closed around one of his fangs, screaming partly from pain, partly to have something to focus on besides the sound his tooth made when the hunter started pulling. Curse his supernaturally enhanced hearing, curse his body for fighting back, for clinging to the roots of the fang as long as it did. He was sure the hunter drew it out, too, and red tears trailed down Reita's cheeks, staining his skin and wasting what little blood he had left in his body.

The tooth eventually popped out, the hunters all cheering, though Reita barely heard him over his own racket. He screamed, whined, tried again to writhe out of the bonds, to no avail. The hunter dropped his fang into a nearby tray, only halfway done, and turned to him with a cruel smile. Why did they revel in his suffering? No matter how much Reita screamed, cried, begged for mercy, they seemed to enjoy torturing him whenever they had an excuse.

The pliers gripped his remaining fang, and Reita hoped it would be over quickly, wanted to just crawl down to the basement, curl up, and cry himself to sleep. Maybe one day another vampire would pass by and hear his screams, he thought to himself when the roots of his tooth tore at his gums, though rationally he knew everyone stayed far away from this place. Maybe they thought it was too late for him. Maybe they were right.

The hunters held up his fangs and cheered, untying him from the chair and throwing him to the floor, and he collapsed like a boneless heap. His mouth was bleeding, searing pain spreading throughout his face, and he barely noticed the steel-toed boots kicking him in the ribs. In fact, he was starting to notice less and less, and he sobbed faintly and closed his eyes. The agony was fading, no, his perception of it was fading, and he didn't react when he was knocked around. His vision went dark, his body limp, and he passed out from pain and exhaustion.


Day 2: Monster Under The Bed

It must have been the middle of the night when Reita swore he felt something brushing against his leg. His room was dark, there were no loud noises outside, and he was too groggy to get up. Damn his insomnia, he'd had a long day, and he wanted to get some rest before work tomorrow. Without opening his eyes, he rolled over on his other side, pulled the duvet up to his chin, and tried to go back to sleep.

Except before he had properly dozed off again, something nudged his ankle, and he rolled onto his back with an annoyed grunt. He kicked his feet up, wrapping the duvet around himself and making sure his skin was covered everywhere. Maybe a moth had gotten into his bedroom, whatever. He didn't feel like getting up and looking for it, he just wanted to go back to sleep.

He shot up a moment later, punching himself in the ear. Stupid moth must have landed on it, and he rubbed it, getting up with a pout. Now he was almost fully awake, and his bladder was urging him to go to the bathroom. He huffed dramatically, throwing the covers aside and stomping off, finding his toilet in the dark and sighing in exasperation at the fact that he'd had to get up to pee in the end.

Hopefully he could fall asleep again uninterrupted this time, he thought to himself when he returned, sliding into bed and tucking himself in as much as possible. In the end, he was lying straight as an arrow, duvet wrapped all the way around and under his legs, his arms along his sides, the duvet up to his nose and the corners covering his ears. If anything interrupted him again, he swore he would get the fly swatter. He was done.

While he lay there fantasising about moth killing and medical grade anaesthesia, he started drifting off without even realising, his thoughts growing more and more sluggish until he was snoring softly. Unbeknownst to him, a dark, fleshy appendage slowly slid up the side of his bed from underneath it, creeping toward his pillow. Reita grunted in his sleep, and the thing stopped moving, waiting until he was breathing normally before it continued its path. After several failed attempts at being sneaky, it went straight for the prize, slipping under the edge of the duvet and around Reita's throat in one smooth movement.

Reita woke abruptly, crying out and reaching up to grab his throat, but he couldn't. Something was covering it tightly, something warm and long, and it curled around the back of his head, grip tightening as it went. What the fuck? He tried screaming for help, but all that came of it was faint gurgles and croaking noises. The more he tried to pry the thing away from his neck, the tighter it held on, and he couldn't breathe at all.

He tried to get up, but the thing, whatever it was, pulled him down again, pinning his head down. His phone was on the nightstand next to his bed, and he reached out for it, gripping the edge of the bed and pulling himself closer. He didn't get far, but maybe it was enough if he just stretched his arm a little more. The tips of his fingers brushed his phone, rotating it just enough that he got his finger on the corner of it, and he managed to slide it onto the bed and grab it.

His chest was starting to feel tight, like something was sitting on it, and he coughed and choked, squinting against the bright light of his phone's screen and trying to see through the tears forming in his eyes. He had a missed call from Uruha, perfect. He hit the 'dial back' button with one hand, heart hammering when he heard the dial tone. He really hoped Uruha was either up late or had the sound on, because his arms were too tired to hold the weight of his phone, and they fell to the mattress, his body slowly going numb.

The low beeping of his phone was the only thing keeping Reita awake, his eyes slipping closed, his legs twitching uselessly. Then the call connected, and the static sound of Uruha's voice came through the phone's speakers, and Reita would have cried in relief if he could.

“Hello? Reita? It's the middle of the night, what's up?”

With the last of his strength, he wheezed out as loud as he could, trying to move the phone closer to his mouth, but his arm didn't obey his commands.

“Are you snoring? Did you butt dial me or something?”

The thing around his neck tightened, and Reita's mouth flapped helplessly, his tongue trying to move, but no sounds coming out. His head was pounding so loudly, he could barely make out what Uruha said.

“I'll see you in the morning. Get some sleep, you probably need it.”

The phone beeped to signal the call had ended, but Reita didn't hear it.


Day 3: Monstrous Bugs

It had seemed like a good idea at first. Living and working in Tokyo, Reita didn't really spend a lot of time surrounded by nature, so he'd figured a hike in the woods would do him some good. Problem was, he only had the one day off to actually go anywhere, so he hadn't checked the weather report. He'd just packed and left early, driving out to a nice forest trail he'd found online.

How was he supposed to have known it was going to start pouring down after he'd gone deep into the forest? He'd been in the middle of a snack break when the sky had opened up, barely getting all his stuff into his backpack before he had to look around for shelter. Just up ahead was a rock wall that curved inward, and Reita dashed for it, holding his hand in front of his face so he could see where he was stepping without the rain getting in his eyes.

What he'd thought was just an indent turned out to be a tunnel, probably three meters in diameter, going deeper down into the ground. It was actually kind of cool, and it made for good shelter while he waited for the rain to end. He wrung out his jacket and took out his thermos, sitting on his backpack and pouring himself a cup of coffee. He might be there a while.

Except it didn't take long before he noticed something moving beyond the trees. Was someone else seeking refuge from the sudden downpour? The thick blanket of rain obstructed his vision, and it was hard to see far ahead, but as the seconds passed, the shape grew larger, and larger, and oh fuck, that was definitely not a person. At first he couldn't make out the sound, but eventually he heard, clear as day, the scurrying of feet across the ground. Many of them.

By the time he could tell what it was, it was too late. The giant, hairy spider that darted out of the woods was moving so fast, Reita didn't get to his feet before it was at the entrance of the cave. It was huge, so large he wondered if it even fit in the cave at all, but it stopped at the entrance, staring right at him. A pair of eyes as big as his head and several smaller pairs seemed to study him, and Reita stood, frozen to the spot, unsure what to do. She, or maybe it was a he, Reita had no idea, was just as wet as him, and was probably just trying to get back to her nest. She must not have checked the forecast either, and now Reita was standing between her and the comfort of her warm, dry home.

He slowly shifted to the side, trying to move out of her way. Maybe if he just let her pass, she wouldn't hurt him. Her eyes seemed to follow him as he moved, but she was fortunately still, and Reita swallowed nervously, reaching out behind himself to feel the wall of the cave. He flinched back when his hand touched something sticky, and alright, he probably should have expected the wall to be covered in webbing. He brushed it off on his leg, and that was when he noticed the tiny spiders crawling along the web, into the cave.

He jumped back and screamed, and the spider raised her head, extending her jaws and baring a pair of terrifying fangs, dripping something Reita assumed was venom. In the interest of not getting a live demonstration, he hurled his thermos at her, eyes widening when she caught it mid-air, kicking his legs into motion. Hot coffee poured out, and the spider recoiled, giving him just enough time to get somewhat of a head start down into the tunnel.

It turned out to be a lot deeper than he'd expected, and the further he went, the thicker the webbing was, his feet catching on the sticky surface and slowing him considerably. Behind him, he heard movement, but he didn't dare stop and turn around to see if he was being followed. He had hoped to find an exit somewhere, but the deeper he went, the less likely he seemed, and by now it was getting too dark to see where he was going. At this point, he just hoped he would find a tiny hole he could crawl into where she couldn't get to him.

He nearly tripped over his own feet when the tunnel opened up into a huge underground cave, full of what must have been ten or twenty spiders, not as big as their mama, but almost as big as Reita himself, and that wasn't even counting the legs. Thousands of tiny spiders lined the walls, the floor, the ceiling, crawling in from a tiny crack that provided enough sunlight that Reita had a clear view of what was, he realised, probably going to be his death.

The spider children, more like teenagers, stood up and stretched their legs out, and Reita turned around only to be met with the black eyes of mama spider, blocking his route back. “Please let me go, I promise I won't hurt you,” Reita whispered, voice trembling, because if spiders the size of a house existed, it wasn't too ridiculous to try talking to them, right?

Of course, he received no answer, because why should he be so lucky. Then something grabbed his leg, and he cursed as he toppled over, his fall cushioned by the sticky web covering the cave. He kicked out with his free leg, his foot hitting the spider square in the face, and it recoiled, scurrying away, but Reita's victory was short-lived, because now the rest of the children were running straight for him.

He scrambled to his feet and tried to dash under the spider mama, but she was much faster than him, and in under a second, he'd been impaled on her fangs, tightly held in her strong jaws. “Uhhn,” he groaned, unable to say anything else, her venom passing through his bloodstream quickly thanks to his elevated pulse. His limbs swayed faintly, his head hanging limp from his neck, and within seconds, he'd lost complete control of his body.

The younger spiders crawled closer, grouping together underneath him and touching his body with their long forelegs. Still holding him in her mouth, the mother crawled to the centre of the cave, her children following excitedly. Reita was dumped on the floor of the cave, and he tried in vain to move, but the best he could manage was a twitch of his fingers. Regular sized spiders, tiny in comparison to the others, crawled all over his body, and while it probably should have tickled, Reita didn't really feel much of anything. All in all, maybe he should be grateful for the earlier venom injection.

The first of the medium sized spiders gripped his leg in its jaws, tearing a gash in his clothes and skin like it was nothing, attaching its mouth to his thigh and starting to suck. Two spiders latched themselves to his other leg, others grabbing his arms, and Reita faintly felt like his insides were being sucked out of him. How the fuck was he still alive?

He winced faintly when his chest was ripped open, his ribs breaking like twigs to the spider that tore into his torso, parting skin and bone to get at his internal organs. Reita wished his eyes would close so he couldn't see the tiny spiders crawling into the gaping hole in his body, probably biting into his flesh, sucking him dry. So this was his fate, then. To be a juice box for a family of spiders.

The mother spider loomed over him, watching her children feast, before her gaze turned to Reita's head, untouched as of yet. When her jaws grabbed his neck, Reita was filled with fear and gratitude, and he didn't even try to fight it when she cracked open the back of his skull and held it to her mouth. His body spasmed at first when she started slurping his brain, but save a few occasional twitches, he went limp shortly after.


Day 4: (Centaurs and) Satyrs

Reita was starting to remember why he didn't like parties. His kohai had invited him to come along, so he'd made an appearance for his sake, but this really wasn't his scene. He had passed 40, he was done with the mingling with drunk indie guys and producers, most of which probably wouldn't last long anyway. He missed his own couch, his books, his fancy coffee equipment, his sweatpants. When a barrel of wine was rolled in and the whole room cheered, Reita figured that was his cue to leave. He hadn't seen his friend in ages, and he was sure he wouldn't be missed if he just went home now.

Or so he thought. He was intercepted on the way out by two of the hosts, the guitarist and vocalist of the new band they were celebrating, if Reita remembered correctly. One of them looked him up and down, raising his brows. “What's the matter, Senpai? Don't like the wine?”

Was he being peer pressured of all things? Reita glanced over at the other guy, who was half leaning against the wall, watching expectantly. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend. My alcohol tolerance is weak, I'd just pass out on your couch if I had any.”

“Eh? But Senpai is so badass!” The one in front of Reita reached out, squeezing his upper arm and 'woah'ing when he crossed his arms, flexing his muscles.

“Yeah, well, regardless, I don't really drink.”

“What a shame.” He shook his head sadly, though his hand trailed across Reita's collarbone, resting on his chest. “Don't tell me Senpai doesn't partake in any carnal pleasures?”

He licked his lips for good measure, and Reita raised a brow. He was flirting, now? “I'm sure you're great, and I appreciate the hospitality, but I really should be getting home now. Gotta feed my bird.” He gently pushed the guy aside and moved to leave when his hand was gripped, about to tell him to go fuck himself when he felt something warm and big, seriously big, against his palm. He glanced down and saw his hand barely covered the bulge in this man's ripped jeans, and alright, maybe it wouldn't kill him to stay another hour or so.

“Oh, that got your attention.” He laughed, the smug bastard, then nodded to his friend, who was still leaning against the wall. In the dim light, it was hard to tell, but he looked just as hung, and Reita's face must have been priceless.

“Is your whole band comprised of former porn stars or something?”

They laughed, tugging on Reita's hand, and against his better judgement, Reita followed. “If you won't try the wine, won't you at least try us?”

Fine, his couch could wait a little. Reita may be getting old, but not too old to have some fun every once in a while, at least when he was cornered by two handsome men who seemed capable of showing him a good time. After all, he had a thing for uh, larger men.

He was pulled into a bedroom of sorts and sandwiched between them, one pressing against his back and working on his belt, the other pulling his shirt up while kissing him hungrily. When he stepped back to discard Reita's shirt, he couldn't resist teasing. “The wine tastes alright.”

He laughed, helping his friend get Reita's slacks off, winking up at him coyly. “How do you know that's not just my natural flavour?”

“Fair point. Care to give me another sample?” This time when their lips met, Reita deftly undid the guy's jeans, pushing them down his thighs just enough to get his dick out, breaking the kiss to pull back and stare at it. It was seriously huge, and Reita almost drooled at the sight of it, swearing he could watch it grow in his hand. “Dude. Fuck me.”

He leaned in to whisper in Reita's ear, rocking his hips against his hand. “Think you can handle it?”

“Why don't you find out?” No sooner had Reita said it than he was being shoved on the bed, and he bent his knees under himself and spread his legs, cheeks flushed from arousal and embarrassment. He felt a little like a slut, but it was hard to care when his chin was gripped and he was turned to face the other guy, who had also gotten his boxers off and was just as big as his bandmate. “Holy shit.”

“Don't be shy, get your lips on it.” Reita would have told him to watch his tone, if his tongue weren't busy lapping at his dick. There was no way he could deepthroat him, but he took the head in his mouth and sucked, enjoying the way his lips had to stretch around it. Something wet dripped down his cleft, and he moaned when two fingers pushed into him, warm and slick. “The rumours about you liking big dicks are true then, Senpai?”

Reita pulled back with a sigh, stroking the length with his hand while he spoke. “Who's gossiping about me?”

“Just guys in the industry, don't worry.”

“Well, unless it wasn't clear already,” Reita pressed his lips to the tip of his dick in a lewd kiss, running his tongue down the entire length, then back up again, “It's true.”

A third finger slipped into his ass, soon followed by a fourth, and Reita moaned around the dick in his mouth. “No kidding. You're so loose.”

“Quit wasting time and fuck me, then,” Reita barked, but before he could turn his head to look back, his hair was gripped and he was yanked forward, forced to take the other guy back in his mouth. He choked once, glaring up at the guy, but started bobbing his head, his arousal more important than his dignity at the moment.

The fingers were pulled out of his ass and replaced with something else, more liquid spilling into his hole, and Reita frowned. What kind of lube was that? It wasn't as thick as he was used to, but he wasn't hurting, so it served its purpose, he supposed. Before he had time to get annoyed, something distinctly more fleshy was pushing into him, and he moaned when his rim stretched around the guy's cock, rocking back against him to show he could take it.

It only hurt a little when he pushed all the way inside him, and it was worth it to be filled so thoroughly, stretched further than he'd been in a while, and damn, maybe he should mingle more frequently. His vision was getting blurry, and he just let himself be pushed back and forth between the two cocks spearing him open, occasionally moaning as much as he could with his mouth full.

The one gripping his hair spoke to his friend, and Reita found it hard to make out the words being said. “-absorbed into his bloodstream.”

What? Reita furrowed his brows and tried to listen more closely, even though it was so tempting to just let himself drift and enjoy the pleasure coursing through his body. “He wasn't kidding about the tolerance. Is he gone already?”

“Let's find out.” Reita was flipped over so easily it was surprising, and when his vision focused, he cried out. The sheets were stained deep red, along with his thighs, ass, and knees. Was he bleeding? His mouth flapped open, he tried to speak, but all he managed was a slurred moan, and he was met with deep chuckles.

“No, silly, it's not blood. It's wine.” Reita studied the guy's face, and something seemed off, besides the wide grin on his lips. Did his ears seem longer? If he was serious about the wine, Reita might be drunkenly hallucinating, and he didn't get a chance to keep looking, because his head was held down and the cock shoved back into his mouth, so deep he almost retched.

“Don't worry, you won't remember this in the morning,” he grunted, and Reita whimpered faintly as they started fucking him again. His eyelids were getting heavy, and he wanted to pass out. He was definitely going to give them a piece of his mind tomorrow, but there wasn't really much he could do at the moment, and their cocks still felt really, really good thrusting into him.

He did wonder, however, if their legs had been that hairy from the start. They seemed almost furry, not that Reita minded, but he'd thought he would have noticed that earlier. Something appeared to be swishing out of the corner of his eye, too, almost like a tail or something, but that was just crazy, right? Must be the wine, Reita decided, and closed his eyes and let his mind drift off.


Day 5: Werewolves

Reita looked at the missed calls blinking at him from his phone, rolling his eyes and turning it off, shoving it into his backpack. He was sick and tired of all the nagging, he wasn't a fucking baby. Just because he was new didn't mean he was going to lose control. Yeah, it was his first full moon, but he had been meditating for weeks, practising how to control his primal instincts. He was ready.

He knew his pack meant well, but he wasn't going to lock himself in a vault somewhere out of fear. He would show them and his Alpha that he could change and still stay in control of his own mind. He had even gone a ways out of town just in case something happened so he wouldn't accidentally run into anyone. It was just going to be him, the hills, and the full moon tonight, nobody else.

When he was sure nobody was around to see him, he removed all his clothes and stuffed them in his backpack, slinging it up in a tree where he could come pick it up later when he turned human again. The last rays of sunlight cast a faint glow on the scars on his thigh, the mark from where his Alpha bit him three weeks ago. At the time, he'd thought he was going to lose his leg, but studying it now, he knew the Alpha had been in complete control. If he'd wanted to, he could have chewed through bone, ripped Reita's leg clean off, but the scars had healed up enough that he could see the pattern of teeth clearly, even in the dim light.

He looked up at the horizon, and sure enough, the sun was gone now. A chill ran down Reita's spine, but he stood straight, turning to face the moon head-on. He was going to show his pack just how wrong they were, that he could control himself and the beast inside. The moon took its time appearing, and Reita was honestly a little surprised he didn't feel anything yet. Apart from nerves, of course.

It wasn't until the moon appeared completely, a full, round sphere, that it hit him, but when it did, it almost knocked the breath out of him. His thigh felt like it burned where the bite mark was, and he cried out and gripped it with both hands, falling to his knees. The pain was worse than anything he'd ever experienced, and it spread rapidly through his body until everything hurt with that same, hot pain.

He had to take his hands off his leg when his nails started growing, sharp claws forming on his hands and feet, and he fell over in the grass, writhing and screaming as the transformation began. Screw the breathing exercises, the mindfulness he had practised, right then, he was having a hard time concentrating on anything at all. He repeated his name to himself in his head while his screams turned into animalistic growls, clinging to his human identity despite his body changing into that of a creature.

The most excruciating part was the tail. He felt like his spine grew, pushing out of his back, while his face morphed into a wolf's muzzle, his skeleton snapping into place in an entirely different shape. He lay on the ground, panting, watching thick fur grow to cover his entire body, and then finally, the pain stopped, but he still didn't move.

It wasn't until a good while later that he slowly got up, huge paws pushing him up to balance on all fours. He swayed gently at first, swishing his tail left and right, before taking a few experimental steps. His eyes, now dark yellow and optimised for the darkness, looked around, then he raised his head and sniffed the air for a moment, nose twitching. His movements were still stiff, his body adjusting to moving in a different way, but the further he went, the faster he moved, until he was running swiftly and silently, his instincts kicking in.

Because he was mainly following his nose, his eyes mostly just scanning for movement, he didn't see where he put his legs until it was too late. His paw pressed down on a metal plate, and thick jaws snapped over his foreleg with a sick crunch, sending him tumbling to the ground with a howl. The pain seemed to snap his mind back somehow, and Reita stared at his bleeding paw, whimpering loudly and sniffing the device.

A bear trap, seriously? What kind of crazy person still put out bear traps? He pawed at the device with his other arm, but it was clamped firmly shut, and it was hard to get any leverage. He tried to get it open with his teeth, but all he succeeded in was making the wound worse. Hopefully someone would come find him before he bled to death.

As soon as he'd thought that, he heard footsteps in the distance, coming closer and closer. He raised his nose and sniffed the air again, eyes widening in fear. That was definitely a human, but he smelled something else as well, something his instincts told him was gunpowder. Of course, whoever had set out the bear traps was probably some kind of hunter type, and Reita was looking a lot like prey where he stood.

He needed to switch back into human form, now. Even being found naked with his arm in a trap would be better than this, and he closed his eyes and forced himself to control his breathing. In, hold, out, repeat, but the steps were only coming closer, and he was still covered in fur. The moon would be high in the sky for hours, there wasn't a cloud in sight, and reality was starting to sink in.

“Alright, let's see what we have here.” The voice sounded excited, and Reita looked up to see a man approaching him cautiously. He wore a dirty flannel shirt, an ugly baseball cap, and he held a shotgun in his hands. “Oh wow, you're a big thing. I didn't know we had wolves like you around.”

'I'm not a wolf, I'm a person, you gotta help me!' Reita screamed in his mind, but all that came out of his mouth was pained whines and barks. If only he could at least talk like a person, even if the rest of his body wouldn't change back, but nothing was going his way. He wished he were back in town with his pack, wished he had listened to his Alpha, had taken their warnings seriously.

“I know, poor thing, it's gotta hurt, right?” Reita responded by lying down, flattening his ears against his head, hoping the guy would realise he wouldn't bite him if only he would remove the damn thing off his leg. Yet despite the pained look on the man's face, he raised the shotgun, pointing it at Reita's head, who whimpered loudly and tried again to pull his paw free, the metal digging into the gash.

“I'll put you out of your misery.”


Day 6: Monster In The Woods

The sound of a twig snapping close by made Reita sit up with a start, almost spilling his coffee all over himself. “The fuck was that?”

Ruki, sitting opposite him on a fallen log, looked like he was trying really hard not to laugh. “You should see yourself sometimes.”

“Oh fuck off.”

Ruki looked at him, deadpan, leaning closer so the glow of the campfire illuminated his face. “You know, they say this part of the forest is haunted. Sometimes campers just go missing, and nobody knows what happened to them, but if you're quiet when the moon is high up in the sky, you can sometimes hear their screams.”

Reita flipped him off, and Ruki roared with laughter, almost rolling off the log. “You are such a dick sometimes. I don't know why I agreed to come camping with you.”

“Aw, poor Reita-kun.” Ruki's fake sympathetic tone was drowned out by fits of giggles, and Reita rolled his eyes. “Don't worry, I promise I'll protect you from the big, bad monsters.”

“Whatever. I'm gonna go take a piss, you try catching your breath while I'm gone.” Reita downed the rest of his coffee and got up, walking into the woods where he couldn't hear Ruki. As much as he liked joking around, Ruki was a good camping partner. He'd found a nice place, far from other people, and the weather was perfect, the trip planned down to the last detail. Reita pulled his dick out of his pants and tipped his head back, looking up at the moon and stars in the sky above him, admiring the view.

Just as he was finishing up, he heard a rustling noise from the bushes nearby, and his gaze snapped forward, landing on a deer with beautiful, tall antlers. So that was who had been making the noise. Reita waited quietly, hoping it would leave if he didn't make a noise. He didn't want to startle the poor thing. Problem was, of course, now they were both just standing their dumbly, having a staring contest with one another while Reita tucked himself back into his pants.

He took a slow step backward, feeling the ground beneath his foot to make sure he wouldn't trip on anything, trying to back off without making any sudden moves. The deer still just watched him, making no move to leave, until Reita took another step. Except it didn't leave. It started charging straight at him, and Reita yelped and lost his balance, falling with his back against a tree and watching with wide eyes as the deer lowered its head. The antlers dug into his stomach, piercing clean through and pinning him to the trunk. Reita cried out at the pain that shot through his body, coughing a moment later, spitting drops of blood on the deer's face.

“Reita? What happened?” Ruki's voice sounded faint, even though Reita didn't think he'd been that far away from camp. The deer pulled away, and he slumped through the ground, blood dripping down his throat. The deer gave his forehead a wet lick and walked off into the woods.


Day 7: Dragons

“Two left, then straight ahead.” Reita read the map twice before rolling it and gripping it in his hand, looking down at the tiles on the floor. He hopped left twice and stepped off the tiled section and onto a solid stone platform, sighing and leaning against the cave wall. It had taken him a good while to get past that section, and he hoped the treasure chamber had a secret exit of some sort, because he really didn't want to have to read the steps backward later.

Ahead of him was a heavy door, the last barrier between him and the keeper of the gold, according to his map, at least. Reita dashed toward it, only barely throwing himself down on the ground in time to dodge the poison darts shooting out from the wall. Seriously? He unrolled his map and scanned the last section, groaning to himself. Right, pressure plates. He probably should have read the whole thing.

He tiptoed to the door, studying it for any mechanisms or obvious traps, but he didn't see any. According to the notes, he should be past the dangerous section now, and he squared his shoulders and pushed the door open. Er, shoved the door open, bending his knees and groaning like he was trying to move a house. By the time he'd made a crack big enough to squeeze through, he was completely out of breath, and when he stepped into the room and saw an enormous dragon, he tried to run back out again.

“Not so fast, little one.” The dragon's voice boomed and echoed off the walls, and it slammed the door shut with a single claw, Reita jumping back to avoid getting his fingers caught in it. Why the fuck was there a gigantic dragon? The wizard who sold him the map had said the keeper of the gold was a trivial matter, had he lied? Reita reached for his morningstar, but the dragon plucked it out of his hands, tossing it aside and roaring with laughter. “Oh no, don't try that. You'll be dead before you land the first blow.”

Reita stepped back, clutching his shield, but the dragon didn't move to attack. “How else am I supposed to fight you?”

The dragon laughed again, clouds of smoke rising to the roof of the cave. “Goodness, fight me? Why would you do that?” It took a moment to stop giggling, its expression more serious this time, and it spoke in that booming voice from earlier. “I mean: Adventurer, answer my riddles three, and a piece of the treasure you may take with thee.”

He gaped up at the dragon. “A piece?”

“Well, as much as you can carry. More than enough for most.” The dragon seemed to shrug, and Reita didn't know how to interpret it.

“And you're fine with that?” He'd thought dragons were protective of their gold, but perhaps that was a myth?

“That wizard who sold you the map.” The dragon pointed to the scroll in Reita's belt with a long claw. “We have a deal, he and I. I let him charge adventurers like you for a map to this place and let them leave with a portion of treasure if they promise to tell others where they got it. In return, he provides me with food, shelter, and keeps all these traps active so nobody will bother me except the ones that actually buy a map. Per our agreement, he doesn't sell to dragonslayers. That reminds me, be a dear and hand that over, would you?”

“Uh, sure.” Reita held the scroll out, and the dragon took it and raised it to its mouth. Its giant maw opened, a cone of fire spewing from its throat, incinerating the parchment in an instant. “So all I have to do is answer the riddles?”

“Ah yes, back to business, is it?” It cleared its throat and repositioned itself, sitting upright and curling its tail around itself, looking down on Reita from high above. “I always run, yet never walk, often murmur, never talk. I have a bed, yet never sleep, an open mouth, yet never eat. What am I?”

Reita blinked, sitting down on the ground and holding his head in his hands. “How many guesses do I have?”

“One per riddle.”

“Could you repeat it?”

The dragon sighed, more smoke rising from its mouth. “I always run, yet never walk, often murmur, never talk. I have a bed, yet never sleep, an open mouth, yet never eat. What am I?”

Reita sat in silence for a while, pondering the question. He only had one shot at this, so he had better be certain he knew the answer. He kind of wished the wizard had told him about this part so he could have prepared better. “Has a bed, but doesn't sleep?” Then the answer came to him. It wasn't a literal bed. “You're a river.”

“Well done, mortal,” the dragon said in a flat tone, its expression unchanged. “I go around in circles, yet always straight ahead. I never have a say in where I am led. What am I?”

Reita opened his satchel and reached for his water, taking a few gulps while he thought. He thought it over, again and again. What exactly was meant by 'around in circles, yet always straight ahead'? Was it perhaps on a rotating disc of some sort? No, wait, it was rotating. Reita jumped to his feet in excitement. “You're a wheel!”

“If you make me, you have no need of me. If you need me, you have no use for me. If you use me, you'll never feel me. What am I?”

Reita ran his fingers through his hair, thinking so hard he swore his brain creaked. What isn't felt by the one who uses it? Lots of things are used but not felt, strictly speaking. What about something that's needed, but not used? Or made, but not needed? One could argue that if you need something, you're not strictly using it, right? And anything can be made despite not strictly needing it, but something that's specifically made because one doesn't need it?

Reita looked up at the dragon with a confident grin. “You're a name.”

The dragon's eyes seemed to glow, and before Reita had a chance to react, it snatched him up in its great claws, lifting him up. “Wrong!”

“Wait, what?” Reita gripped the claw wrapped around his chest, trying to pry it off, but it only dug deeper into his body, the scales scraping against his armour. “At least tell me the right answer, then?”

The dragon laughed, a more sinister laugh than before, and now Reita was face to face with its huge maw, the scent of sulphur almost overwhelming. “Alright, mortal, I'll grant you your last wish.”

“Last wish?” Reita frantically tried to get loose, even though he was high enough above ground that even if he got loose, he would probably die on impact. He couldn't even reach the knife in his belt, and now tears were stinging at his eyes. “Please, no!”

“Where do you think I get my food from?” It grinned, baring all its pointy teeth at Reita. “If you make me, you have no need of me. If you need me, you have no use for me. If you use me, you'll never feel me.” Reita was sobbing now, hitting the scaly hand with his fists in a last, futile attempt to escape. “No more guesses? Alright. I am a coffin.” With that, it chomped Reita's head clean off.


Day 8: Monstrous Birds

It all started when Reita shooed away a crow from his trash one day. In hindsight, you might say he should have known better, but in a sense, he'd done it a favour keeping it from an upset stomach. The crow probably didn't agree with him, because the next day, he spotted a crow on his balcony, pecking away at the shirts hanging from his clothesline. He dashed to the door and slid it open, poking his head out cautiously. “Hey, get away from that!”

The crow looked up, cocked its head at him, and pecked at the shirt again, almost as if taunting him. As tempting as it was to rush out and wave his arms, he knew those beaks were sharp enough that he didn't really want to get too close. He ducked back inside, returning moments later with a broom, hoping none of his neighbours watched him open the balcony door just enough to stick his arm out and wave the broom at the crow. “Fuck off!”

After the third ruined shirt, he stopped hanging his clothes out altogether. They took longer to dry inside, but he didn't want to risk running out of intact clothing, and he swore every time he passed by his balcony, there was a crow sitting on the railing, watching him. Sure, he knew corvids held grudges, but had hadn't even harmed it, just chased it away from his stuff. There was no reason for it to be harassing him like this.

He started realising his mistake a week later, when he stepped out of his building to find the crow sitting on a fence just outside his door, watching him. He tried telling himself it wasn't the same one, that it was just a random crow, but when the damn thing shat on his head and flew away cawing, he didn't want to be rational about it. He just stopped leaving the house without an umbrella.

He supposed he should be grateful the crow didn't start attacking the umbrella, but it was somehow more ominous when one day it landed on the top of it. By then, Reita had learned from his mistakes, and he didn't try to shake it off, even when it followed him all the way down to the store. The cashier gave him an odd look when he reached the counter, and Reita sighed tiredly. “Don't ask.”

“You know, crows have good memory. It's said they can remember someone who wronged them for years.”

“Yeah.” Reita looked out the window, spotting the crow sitting on a sign outside, watching him. “I know.”

He contemplated running it over one day when he found a nest on the seat of his motorcycle. He wouldn't, obviously, but it was really fucking tempting when he brushed the twigs and dirt off the seat and realised it had several holes in it. There was no point getting it fixed, either, not as long as the crow remembered it belonged to him. Did it seriously not have anything better to do?

Reita finally snapped when he woke up in the middle of the night to a rhythmic tapping against his window, jumping out of bed when he realised what it was and dashing to the window to bang on the glass with his fist. “Leave me alone!” The crow lifted off his windowsill and flew off, and Reita ran his fingers through his hair, groaning in frustration. “Way to go, that's definitely not going to make it worse,” he mumbled to himself, turning and making his way back to the comfort of his bed.

He never made it that far. A loud crash sounded through the room, the window shattering and crows flying in through the hole in a thick cloud. Reita threw himself on the floor in the confusion, looking back to see what was going on and finding that his bedroom was full of crows. One of them dashed at him, and he ducked his head just in time to avoid it, but then something sharp pricked his back, and he cried out in pain.

“What the fuck?” Reita tried to crawl away, but there were at least five birds pecking at his back, and now he was certain he was bleeding. He rolled over, shielding his face with one arm and waving the crows away with the other, but there were too many. For every one he managed to successfully whack away, two more took its place, pecking at his bare torso, his feet, his arms, even his sweatpants. “Help!”

He banged on the floor with his fist, kicking his feet out and trying to crawl over to the bed, hoping he could maybe get underneath it and wait for the neighbours to call animal control, but he forgot to protect his face while he moved. One of the birds dove in, its beak going straight through his eye, and Reita cried out in pain, smacking the crow away and slumping to the floor, holding his bleeding face.

Eventually it hurt too much to move, his body covered in holes, blood soaking his skin and seeping into the floor. His stomach had a huge gash in it, and when Reita glanced down between his fingers, he realised the crows were carrying in straw and feathers, placing it in the gaping hole. Were they making a nest in him? He lifted his hand away from his mangled eye to try to bat away the crows, but they bit his fingers, and he soon gave up fighting. There were probably a hundred of them, pecking and pecking until Reita swore there was no skin left to peck.

He let his head fall back against the floor, and that was when he saw it. A single crow sitting on his nightstand, cocking its head to the side when it noticed him looking at it. It bristled its wings, cawed at him, and jumped down to perch on his forehead. Reita had lost too much blood to speak, or he would have told it to fuck off. The crow looked like it knew, anyway.


Day 10: Mermaids

“Isn't it nice out here?” Kai placed his hands on his hips and tilted his face up, taking a deep breath and exhaling with a smile. Reita shoved his hands in his pocket with a sigh.

“It's a swamp.”

“Wetlands,” Kai corrected, always with that patient smile of his. “An important ecosystem.”

“Yeah, to bugs and fish.” Reita looked over the railing at the water beneath the walkway. “I know you think I should get more fresh air, but surely there are other places we could go. Like a skatepark or something.”

“City air isn't fresh.”

“If this fog gets any thicker, this won't be much better.” Kai had for some reason insisted on leaving at the asscrack of dawn, and while that meant there were fewer tourists there, it also meant it was dark and chilly.

“I guess I should blame the weather for your gloomy mood.”

“Or maybe the fact that you dragged me out to go sightseeing in an insect hole before breakfast and you keep insisting I should just chin up and pretend to be happy.”

The smile faded from Kai's face. “I didn't say you had to come.”

“Maybe I shouldn't have.” Reita turned and started heading back to the parking lot, leaving Kai standing on the walkway, not looking back. Kai had the car keys, so it wasn't like Reita could go anywhere without him, but right then, he just needed a minute to himself, away from Mr. Sunshine.

He realised Kai had nothing but good intentions, but right then, Reita didn't want to look at diverse flora and breathe in so-called unpolluted air. Especially not surrounded by fucking bugs, Reita thought to himself and reached out to swat away a fly. The constant buzzing was all he could make out, and he didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed that he didn't hear footsteps behind him.

Because of the fog, he didn't see the shadow in the water until he heard the splash, and it caught him off guard, leaving him stunned when something reached out and grabbed his ankle. He lost his balance when it pulled, falling on his ass on the walkway with a shout, eyes widening at the sight of the hand wrapped tightly around his leg. It was hard to tell, but the skin looked dark grey, almost mouldy, the nails long and sharp like claws. He didn't have time to study it further before he was pulled toward the water, and he tried to grab the planks and hang on by his fingertips, screaming for help.

Something else grabbed his other leg, dragging him down, and he slipped under the railing and into the water with a splash. Sharp claws raked along his legs, his back, tearing through his clothes and skin like it was nothing. His blood seeped into the murky water, and he turned around, trying to see what was attacking him. Two shadows darted away, moving too fast for him to see clearly, but he thought he could make out two large fins retreating.

He swam toward the surface, but was grabbed before he got that far, pulled down again. Just beyond the water's surface, he saw someone running on the walkway, and he tried to scream Kai's name, but the water muffled the sound, and the figure kept going, disappearing down the path. He screamed louder, air bubbles drifting to the surface, but then something sharp dug into his neck, and he had to focus on trying to fight it off.

Even with the water slowing his movements, he managed to twist around and drive his elbow into whatever was latched onto his back, and it swam away, giving him a moment to collect himself. He didn't have anything on him he could use as a weapon, and when he tried to swim again, his legs were grabbed, pulling him down into the darkness. He couldn't even really see what was grabbing him, the figures were staying just beyond his range of vision, and the further down they went, the harder it became to see.

His lungs were starting to hurt from holding his breath for so long, and no matter how much he tried, he couldn't swim faster than the creatures could drag him. Something clamped over the skin of his neck again, and this time Reita swore something was biting him. He reached behind himself to try to pry it off, and flinched when his fingers came into contact with something slimy, round like a human head, but with fins instead of hair. His hands were grabbed, and just before his vision went too dark to see, Reita could make out a face of sorts, a mouth with two rows of sharp teeth digging into his wrist, staining the water red with blood.


Day 11: Monster In The Dark

For the fifth time in what couldn't have been more than half an hour, all the lights in Reita's living room flickered, and he put down his book and fished out his phone, checking to see if there was an earthquake warning or something. What was weird about it was how only the lights seemed to be affected, nothing else. There wasn't so much as a ripple on the surface of his coffee, but maybe the issue was with the electricity company?

Except the next time the lights acted weird again, his phone seemed to die for a couple of seconds as well, flickering back to life just like everything else, and Reita frowned at it. His phone wasn't connected to an outlet, so what could be affecting it? Maybe some sort of electromagnetic pulse, but six of them in relatively short succession seemed incredibly weird. He turned on the TV just to see if anything had happened to it, but the screen woke to light without issue. He switched to a news channel in case there was any info available, but nothing seemed to indicate that anyone had noticed anything weird. Maybe he was just imagining things?

Just as he'd thought that, every light source in his apartment went dark at the same time. His TV and phone died, the lights went out, and the entire room was bathed in complete blackness. He couldn't see his hand in front of himself, and this time, the power didn't return, either. He slowly got to his feet, trying to spot a light source of any kind, but everywhere he looked, he saw nothing but total, utter darkness.

The layout of his apartment was familiar enough that he figured he should be able to make his way to the door, even without seeing where he walked. If his neighbours were having the same problem, at least he wasn't alone, and if they weren't, maybe he could borrow a phone to call for help. He walked slowly, hands stretched out in front of himself so he wouldn't bump into anything.

An intense pain burst from his chest, and he screamed in the dark void, reaching down to feel what the fuck was going on, recoiling when his hands touched something sharp and hard. That was when he noticed the wet dripping sound, kind of like liquid hitting the floor beneath him, and Reita cried out in panic. He grabbed the sharp thing poking out of his chest, wondering if maybe he'd been stabbed, but when he tried to pull it out, the pain intensified to the point where he thought he might black out.

He dropped his hand further down and felt another pointy object sticking out, parallel to the one above, and then another beneath that, and another beneath that, and Reita froze when he realised they were his ribs. Something had burst open his chest, leaving his ribcage cracked and poking out of him, and now the dripping sounds made sense. He still couldn't see anything, had to figure out the situation without the help of his eyes, but he had a strong feeling he was bleeding from an open wound in his torso.

His legs gave out under him with a loud crack, and he fell to the floor with a shrill scream, reaching down and carefully prodding at his legs. His jeans were wet, his thighs had two identical gashes along the middle, with something sharp sticking out that Reita had to assume was bone. Then his arms snapped back, and Reita had a feeling he knew what had happened to them without investigating.

Apart from his pained sobs, the room was silent, too dark for him to see who or what was doing this to him. “What do you want?” He received no response, and with his arms and legs unusable, he couldn't defend himself, couldn't even drag himself away. He shrieked when he felt a warm gust of air on his face, drops of something wet hitting his face, but the cry for help died on his lips when his head twisted all the way back, snapping his neck.


Day 12: Zombies

Reita quietly shut the door behind himself, bolting it and shoving a huge dresser in front of it, just to be safe, and holstered his handgun. He hated having to carry one at all, especially indoors, but with the current situation, they couldn't take any chances. While the house they were staying in was a ways from the nearest town, there was still the occasional rogue zombie that made its way out there, and there was only so much they could do to keep them out. Months had passed since the main outbreak in Tokyo, and most of the population had to be infected or dead by now.

The only consolation was that he still had Aoi. He'd been the only bright light in Reita's life lately, the only reason for him to keep going. So when he walked into the living room and found Aoi sitting cross-legged on the futon, wrapping his arm in a strip of cloth soaked in alcohol, his heart nearly stopped. “Did something happen?”

“Oh, you're home already?” Aoi looked up, giving Reita a strained smile. “I found a straggler. Or rather, it found me. I chopped its head off, don't worry.”

Except Reita couldn't not worry, not with the blood coating his shirt. He sat down behind Aoi, wrapping his arms around him and gently taking the cloth, tying it tightly around the wound. Aoi grunted, but didn't say anything, just leaned back against Reita's chest. “Please tell me this blood isn't yours.”

“I don't think so. You know they bleed when you decapitate them?” Aoi grabbed the bottle and took a swig, setting it down next to his machete, and now Reita noticed how the blade was a dark brown colour. “Dark blood. Which makes sense, 'cause technically I guess they've been dead for a while, but it's still blood, man. There was a person in there at some point.”

“You did what you had to,” Reita whispered, taking the hem of Aoi's bloodied shirt and pulling it up, taking it all the way off and tossing it aside, not wanting to look at it anymore.

Reita pressed his lips to Aoi's shoulder, rubbing his hands over his thighs. Aoi, still leaning back against him, mumbled so quietly Reita almost didn't hear him. “Do you think they still feel?”

“Come on, don't beat yourself up over it.”

“Seriously, think about it. Any one of them could be someone you knew.” Aoi rubbed his arm, tugging on the edge of the bandage.

“No, I don't think they feel. I've seen them take a bullet to the neck and keep going like nothing happened. They're dead, Aoi. You're just putting them to rest.”

“Right.” Aoi turned around in his arms, quickly pressing his lips to Reita's to hide the tears gathering in the corner of his eyes. Reita didn't push, didn't move to deepen the kiss until he felt hands on his hips, gently pushing him to lie down on the futon. “Wanna take my mind off it for a while?”

“Are you sure?” Reita lay perfectly still, just let Aoi crawl on top of him, brushing his dark hair back when it fell over his face.

“Yeah, I just don't want to think about what happens to zombies when they die.” Aoi grinned, leaning down and pressing his body against Reita's, moaning when their crotches rubbed together, muffling the sound against Reita's neck. “Just want to think about you for a bit.”

Reita closed his eyes and smiled, wrapping his arms around Aoi's back. He understood. “I love you.”

Aoi hummed in response, grinding his hips slowly against Reita's, the friction sending a wave of endorphins coursing through him. He rubbed his fingers into Aoi's back, tilting his head to the side when lips pressed against his neck, trying to keep his moans down. He didn't want to be too loud, but Aoi's body was so warm against him, his mouth hot against his neck, and even when he nipped at the skin, Reita just melted under him, let himself bask in the feeling.

“Ow.” Aoi's teeth were more insistent now, and Reita reached up to bury his hand in his hair, trying to pull him up. “That's a bit too rough, Aoi.” With a firm tug, Reita raised Aoi's head, but as soon as he did, Aoi gripped his arms and pinned him down, sinking his teeth deep into his neck with a guttural growl. “Aoi!”

Reita's eyes widened when he realised he was bleeding, and he rolled them over quickly, sitting on Aoi's hips and pinning his torso down with one arm, the other reaching up to feel his neck. Aoi's eyes were glossy, and he was gnashing his teeth at him, lips red from Reita's blood. Tears rolled down Reita's cheeks, and he shook his head, staring at Aoi in shock and disbelief. “No. No, no, please, Aoi, please tell me you didn't get bitten.”

Except Aoi didn't reply, save for deep growls and clashing teeth, and he squirmed under Reita, grabbing his shoulders, not trying to push him off, but trying to pull him down. Reita cried out in anguish, wetting Aoi's face with his tears, cupping his cheek even though he tried to bite his hand when he did. “I'm so sorry.” Aoi's expression didn't change, even when Reita leaned over to pick up the machete, hands trembling. “I have to put you out of your misery, I'm sorry.”

He leaned down, willingly letting Aoi bite into his chest so he could bury his face in his hair, soaking it with his tears. Even though he knew what he had to do, it took him a moment to build up the courage to slide the machete between them and press the blade against Aoi's throat. His desperate sobs almost drowned out the sickening sound of Aoi chewing on his flesh, and he debated for a moment just letting himself be consumed. It would hurt less, he was certain.

He screamed when he pressed the blade down, cleaving through Aoi's neck and separating his head from his body, crying into Aoi's hair. Aoi was motionless beneath him, his hands tangled in Reita's shirt, legs wrapped around his. Reita cradled Aoi's head to his chest with one hand, kissing the top of his head while he pulled his gun out of its holster and pressed it to his own temple. “I'm sorry I failed you.”