• CHAPTER 25 - BROTHER BATTLES

    Conflict within a close relationship is never a pleasant thing to witness. The only thing you can do is just sit back and watch because you can't do anything; you're too weak.

    I could feel the conflict and tension in the air as soon as Matsuda and Kira walked into the door. Kai clenched his fists and took a protective step ahead of me. It was nothing compared to what I was expecting. I was praying to myself in my head that Kai wasn't in either mine nor Kira's mind. I didn't want him to ever find out about the attack.

    "What is he doing here?" demanded Kai through a tightened jaw.

    "I really don't know," Matsuda whispered honestly, "He wanted to come back for a little bit."

    Great, that's all I needed was another warm welcoming from Kira again. Kai was still infuriated about when Kira had tried to attack me just several days ago. He was too good at hiding his real anger, though, and Kira was too good at hiding his desperation.

    "Well?" Kai hissed, "What do you want?"

    I glanced up at Kai from the corner of my eye, watching his expression. Several long moments passed and Kai's face flashed to an unbelievably infuriated countenance. I was about to dive at him and stop him; I knew exactly what he saw, even if I wasn't psychic like he was. I was too late to dive. Before I could even turn to face Kai, he already dove at Kira and had him against the wall which now bore a new crack all the way up and down. Just like always whenever Kai was furious, a growl ripped through him and he pressed Kira against the wall harder. Kira's eyes were still apathetic and gunmetal and it scared me more than Kai's infuriated red eyes.

    "Kai!" I called out, knowing I was too late.

    "You goddamn b*****d, you attacked her again!!!" Kai boomed. He was just as angry with Kira now as he was with the Werewolf boy that had tried to eat me alive.

    Out of reflexes, my knees shook and I covered my mouth with both hands, something I hadn't done in a long time. Matsuda appeared just as shocked as I was at the fact that Kira attacked me again. I made my way towards Kai and Kira, actually stupid enough to believe I could break up their fight. I was stopped short by Matsuda firmly grasping my bicep and pulling me back, his face still frozen with shock and a hint of anger lingered.

    "You attacked her?" Matsuda interrogated.

    And for once in a long time, Kai turned his head and glared at me. He was angry that I didn't tell him what had happened, angry that I lied to him and wasn't being honest. His red eyes pierced through me and I lost my breath painfully for a moment. He turned his attention towards Kira again.

    "I told you not to go near her! When did this happen?!" he boomed once again.

    Kira was still apathetic and not wanting to answer. I glared at him with a look of betrayal, although I didn't know why I expected him to not say anything. He wanted me to tell Kai all the details, everything.

    "Kai, get him out of here," I whispered, looking down at my own feet.

    I clenched my fists unbelieveably hard, digging my nails into my palm. I'm such a retard sometimes. I wasn't smart enough to figure out that my nails were slightly longer than the average humans' and they cut into my palm, letting out no more than a single drop of blood. I usually have a bad experience with reinventing the past, and this one wasn't a joyous past to reinvent.

    "Give me...," Kira started.

    Kira eyed me hungrily with crimson eyes once again. I stared back at him and planted myself firmly on the ground, still looking down, "I hate you, Kira. You're a monster." I whispered.

    I had no idea what had come over me to actually say that to Kira. I wasn't the only one overcome by surprise, Kai and Matsuda stared at me in disbelief and I covered my mouth. I was angry at Kira, but I didn't hate him. Kira's hungry eyes soon changed to angered eyes and he broke out of Kai's grip and dove at me. With my human reflexes and reactions, I couldn't move away in time.

    Kira knocked me to the ground, starting the pain over in my ribs, but not snapping them. As soon as we had landed on the ground, Kira had bitten my left hand on the soft spot between my thumb and my index finger. I could hear the chaos going on again all around. I couldn't feel any sort of emotion, I had gone numb, and I only stared wide-eyed at Kira.

    It took me a short second to notice the pain in my hand and the rushing of my blood from my veins to Kira's mouth. My heart skipped a beat and the fear finally kicked in again. I struggled ferociously, trying to fight Kira off once again. I tried to shove him off with my one hand that was covered with a cast and kicked my legs around.

    "No, Kira!" I shouted, staring away from his glowing eyes.

    I didn't notice Kai grab anything from the underside of the end table right by where I was lying, but the next thing I saw was Kai's body ramming into Kira's, knocking him off of me. I immediately held up my hand and examined the damage. It wasn't so deep but it hurt. I was inclined into a state of shock and refused to move when Matsuda tried to help me up.

    "Arisa, you need to get out!" Matsuda demanded.

    I glanced over at Kai and Kira and Kai was holding Kira down with one hand and holding his pistol up to the bottom of Kira's jaw. Kira glared at me, "I should have sucked you dry, Arisa!"

    I couldn't take it anymore. I covered my face with my casted hand and shouted, "Go away!"

    I could hear Kai and Matsuda struggling to force Kira up and out the front door. Kai shot colorful words out at Kira and slammed the door unbelievably hard after Matsuda drug Kira out of the house. Kai stomped back into the living room, his fist still clenched and his pistol held firmly in his hand. He dropped the gun as soon as he stared at me and rushed towards me. I had sat up and leaned against the back of the couch and held my hand, still staring at the new bite marks.

    "Arisa," it sounded more like a demand.

    I shrieked as a window in the living room shattered from Kira trying to break in. Matsuda pulled Kira back once more and with supersonic speed, threw him into the car and drove off. Kai lowered himself onto his knees in front of me and touched my forehead with his fingertips. I hyperventilated unevenly and looked down at my violently shaking hands. Kai brushed my bangs around.

    "Arisa?"

    "Go away," I demanded with a cracked voice, "I don't want to see you angry at me."

    "I'm...," he couldn't finish his sentence. He was angry.

    He coiled his strong right arm around my shoulders and cradled me against his frozen torso. He wrapped his other arm around my waist and held me closer. He breathed deeply, calming himself down, although I knew it would take a long time. He repositioned his left arm to support the bottom of my legs at my knees and he picked me up swiftly. He glided up the stairs and into the bedroom. He turned around quickly after placing me on the bed and shut and locked the door after a half second of teleporting into the bathroom and teleporting back with medical supplies.

    "How deep is it?"

    I looked down at my hand, trying to avoid his eyes, "Not too deep,"

    I cupped my right hand under my wounded hand and caught any blood that would drip; I didn't want to ruin the carpet again. The fear was catching up with me phenomenally and my hands were shaking frantically. Now that Kira was gone again, I was more afraid of Kai's anger than Kira's hunger. Kai quickly lowered himself onto his knees in front of me again and bandaged my hand in silence without looking up at me either and I avoided eye contact with him as well.

    "There," Kai finally spoke up, setting my hand down on my lap, "You should be good now."

    I couldn't take it anymore, the feeling of guilt in the air, the silence, everything. I burst into tears and Kai shot his head up, not expecting my reaction, "I'm sorry, Kai! I'm so sorry!"

    I continued to sob, my cheeks burning from all the frustration, "I'm such a horrible person! I wasn't being honest!" I started wiping my tears with my bandaged hand, but it didn't help slow the tears at all, "I should have told you, but I was afraid of what would happen!"

    I covered my face with my hands as I continued to sob loudly while Kai continued to stare at me. He gracefully tried to grasp my hand. I tried to jerk it away, but his grip firmed and he cupped my cheek with his other hand, "Arisa, calm down,"

    "I can't! Not when you're mad at me! Not when you hate me!" I shook my head quickly.

    "I'm not mad at you, I don't hate you," he confirmed calmly, "I'm just frustrated."

    "I know you better than that, Kai," I cried, "I could see it in your eyes!"

    Kai pressed his thumb up against my lips, his eyes still a shade of crimson, "The only one I am angry at is Kira. The only one I hate right now is Kira. I..."

    Kai looked down while sighing and shaking his head, "When did it happen? Tell me everything." he demanded.

    He removed his thumb from my lips and rubbed my cheek slowly. I took a deep breath and had trouble releasing it, "It was just about two or three days ago. He nearly drank every drop and I was sure he would leave me for dead. But he actually saved me; he bandaged me up and I guess he was the one that put me on the couch."

    I could feel Kai stiffen while he was touching my face, "That wasn't Kira," I cried, "That was a monster dictating Kira's body. His only intention was to kill me."

    And that's all it took for Kai to crash his lips into mine and kiss me ferociously. I had trouble keeping up with him after realizing he had kissed me. His tongue ran over my lips like crazy and went every which way and I only allowed him to do as he pleased. I gripped onto his hair with my bandaged hand and locked my right arm around his neck and pulled him close so that our torsos were pressed together. His hands cruised up and down my sides and he finally gripped my hips and pulled me closer. I unconsciously encircled my legs around Kai's hips as he was pulling me closer and exhaled sharply. We started kissing again right away and even his mouth was getting warm and his breath was hot. I tried to pull away for a short second.

    "Kai--," I breathed before getting cut short again.

    We kissed roughly again for a few more minutes until Kai unexpectedly cut us short. He pressed his head against my chest and I buried my face in his hair and tried fervently to catch my breath. My tears continued to stream down my cheeks and Kai gripped onto my clothes and breathed evenly.

    "I'm so sorry," I apologized through muffled sobs.

    "Don't apologize anymore. You did nothing wrong." Kai whispered to me.

    "I lied to you, I kept a horrible secret from you,"

    "Arisa, it's okay. You were only scared." he rubbed my back in small circles.

    His voice was soothing, calming me down. My sobs were quieting down until the only thing I could hear was my own breathing. Kai quickly kissed my collarbone, which was covered by my turtleneck, and then pressed his ear against my chest, right where my heart was. I could feel his lips pull up into a weak smile and he sighed.

    "Your heartbeat is...beautiful," it sounded as though he wasn't expecting it, but also very pleased at the same time.

    "Your voice is beautiful," I finally admitted.

    Kai removed his head from my chest and stared at me dead in the eye. All seriousness came back and I braced myself for whatever he would have coming.

    "Arisa," he started, "Do you have any idea how many humans Kira has killed from his cravings? How many people he's turned into Vampires?"

    I gulped loudly and my heart skipped a beat. I forgot how to respond so I answered with a quick shaking of the head.

    "He's probably killed more humans than I have," he admitted with a twinge of pain in his eyes, "You were almost one of them, Arisa."

    He pecked my cheek, "He replayed the attack from a couple of days ago in his head and that's how I found out," he gripped my clothes tighter, "I don't know how you survived that."

    We stared at each other for a long moment in silence. I was just as confused as he was as to how I survived that fatal attack. Something finally clicked in my head after a few moments.

    "I think...it was because I wanted to see you again," I stared at Kai and he stared back, "I wanted to see you. I didn't want Kira to kill me. My will power was too strong." the tears started coming back, brimming my eyes, "But now he does want to kill me, doesn't he?"

    "Why would you think that?" Kai's voice sounded a tiny bit angry.

    "When he attacked me just about an hour ago, when I said I hated him, he said he should have sucked me dry," I looked away, "When he attacked me a couple of nights ago, he said he'd suck me dry."

    I looked back at Kai's face and it was engulfed in pain and sorrow. His eyes searched mine, probably wondering if I was really telling the truth. I was too choked up on my tears again to say anything.

    I choked back my sobs and finally managed to mumble something, "I didn't let him. I wouldn't let him."

    Kai smiled very weakly and pressed his fingertips of his right hand on my cheek, "That's my Arisa," he breathed with a small chuckle.

    He crouched over and pressed his head against my stomach with a deep sigh. I unwrapped my legs from around his hips and he wrapped both of his arms around my hips again, "I love you, Arisa...so much," he sighed again.

    My heart fluttered and my stomach churned at his words, "Same to you, but an infinite amount of times more," I giggled.

    "I'd like to challenge that," I could tell he was smirking.

    We both sighed simultaneously and Kai held me tighter and we reminisced at different times at how many close calls we have had and how our relationship turned out as such. I felt secure once more in his arms and turned my thoughts to our possible future together...if Kira wouldn't interfere.