Infinity, Taken Literally

Acceptance 9

"Why? No, you're probably going to kidnap me again or something!" Snake, or Tadashi, whatever his name is, sighs.

"I know something that might help Langa win." This catches his attention. He's done stupid things in the past but getting in the car with an enemy and possible vampire might top that list. "I promise I'm not going to kidnap you."

Reki narrows his eyes at him suspiciously. "Why would you help me?"

"I will explain everything if you get in." He should run, go straight to Joe and Cherry.

But...

He can't let Adam hurt Langa. As bad of an idea as it is, if Snake has a way that he can stop Adam, he has to give it a chance. Hesitantly, Reki opens the door and, with a final glance at his surroundings, slips into the passenger seat of the car.

They drive in silence for a while, Snake seems to know where he is going so Reki doesn't say anything. He's too busy trying to memorise their route to start a conversation anyway. After a couple of minutes of driving, he pulls down a dark alleyway and comes to a stop. The reasonable part of Reki's brain screams at him to get away, but his heart shuts that voice out.

"Thank you for coming with me," Snake turns the car off and Reki raises an eyebrow at him, did this guy always have to be so polite?

"If you have something that can help Langa then tell me." Snake hums, watching the way Reki grips onto his skateboard.

"How much do you know about vampires?" That, wasn't what he was expecting. He should by this point, things seem to resolve around his newfound knowledge more than he expected.

"Not a heap, I didn't even know Langa was a vampire until not that long ago." Snake nods in understanding like the answer is exactly what he expected to hear.

"If that's so, I doubt it, but has he ever drunk your blood?" Seeing the confused look on Reki's face, he continues. "When a vampire drinks a human's blood, it temporarily increases their abilities."

"Where are you going with this?" He can figure out where Snake is going with this, what he can't figure out is why. Why tell him this now?

"Adam is one of the strongest vampires alive, he's centuries old and has had a long time to develop his strength. Langa has not." Reki shivers at the mention of Adam and his 'strength', that's a reminder he could've lived without.

"So, Adam is stronger than Langa?" The words leave a bad taste behind.

"I will admit, Langa has raw talent. That is what allows him to play on the same field as Adam." Snake grips the steering wheel tighter. "But that will not be enough to beat him."

Reki eyes the tight grip on the wheel cautiously, his brain races to connect the dots. "If Langa drunk my blood, would that make him strong enough to beat Adam?"

"It would give him a chance," Reki pauses, a dozen different thoughts flying through his head.

"I don't know anything about vampire bites." Snake sighs at his admission, although he doesn't look very surprised, disappointed maybe? Reki watches curiously as Tadashi pulls up the sleeve of his jacket and holds out his arm for him to see.

"Adam has a constant supply of blood that makes him stronger, I can guarantee that he will drink before the race. Snow scares him and this race clearly means a lot to Adam." Reki's eyes go wide at the red bite mark on the pale skin. "If there is a close bond between two people then most bites will heal over in a couple of days." Snake seems to read his mind, but he can't tear his eyes away from the injury to care. The two marks are placed exactly as far apart as he could remember Langa's fangs being.