Japanese Vampire Love Story

Chapter 9

My hero wouldn't do something like that. When Akira raised his head, he looked defeated, with a harshness. We looked at each other in silence.

I looked him in the eye. "What are you going to do now? You drugged me with sleeping pills, tied me down here... what will you do? Akira, you just said you'd give me the reason why you did all this. You haven't told me one thing about it."

Even after being admonished, Akira said nothing. There was a faded darkness in his eyes as he looked at me. He spoke, "I thought I told you how I felt."

"You did, but I don't understand... why all this?"

After hearing that, Akira looked down, with a sad smile on his lips.

"That's how I feel about you. Don't you understand what I mean?"

Akira came closer, and seemed to wince. He stretched out his hand, and hesitated. I wanted to get away from him, but resisting seemed scary. My shoulders were trembling, and to hide it I held myself. He put his hands around me, and pulled me closer.

"Nm..."

He then caressed my chin, and we kissed.

***

This can't be, Akira kissed me...

I was so confused that I couldn't turn away. Then I noticed a small pill that he was preparing to insert into my mouth with his lips.

". . . !?"

After Akira had already drugged me once, I was afraid of what would happen if he did it again, and my fear boiled over. I tried to turn away from him, but he held my chin straight toward him. His lips forcefully jammed my lips together, and next he pinched my nose.

I, I can't breathe!

I tried to resist as much as I could, but I started to suffer. When my throat moved for air, I couldn't stop drinking the fluid he poured into me. When he knew he had finally forced me to swallow the pill, he let go.

This time, however, my consciousness was stunned. As I became weary, having taken another sleeping pill, I let my eyelids lower.

I saw a dream.

In a place we played as children, I saw the adult Akira standing with his back to me.

"If I don't do this, you'll leave me behind, Akane."

"In order to protect you, I have to do something like this."

Akira continued to walk away, until he seemed to melt into the horizon. I couldn't call him back to me. "I won't let the others have you... I can't allow it. I want to protect you, I'm the only one that will protect you. So, I won't let you get away from me. That's how I feel about you. Didn't you understand how I feel?"

Wait, don't leave. I still want to know what you're thinking.

I opened my eyes, and had forgotten where I was. Then I moved my eyes around, and remembered what happened yesterday. "If only it was just a dream." I whispered this, as the dream I had reignited inside of my memory.

"Why, Akira?"

I looked down in sadness, and noticed a clock in the edge of my vision. Until yesterday there was none, so Akira probably put it there for me. And below, there was a memo. —I'm going to work, just stay here. The clock said 7 PM.