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Vampires don’t need sleep, so spending the night lying down next to Mina eventually just became awkward for Tzuyu. One night was not a long period of time in the grand scheme of things for the vampire, but Mina’s body heat, in addition to the sounds of her breathing and her heartbeat, made it as if time was slinking by at a snail's pace. It frustrated Tzuyu with how five minutes had felt like a whole day's worth of time. She eventually gets fed up with the plain view of the ceiling and turns onto her side, finding herself staring at the sleeping Mina. Her features were no longer contorted in fear or confusion, but placid and still and Tzuyu found the plain expression of her sleeping face captivating. She takes a deep breath, inhaling the sweet fragrance of Mina’s blood once again. It awakens the ache in Tzuyu’s core that reminds her she did not take much blood from the human Victoria brought for her. She was hungry, starving in fact. She has deprived herself of blood for so long, it was a miracle she hadn’t done anything to Mina yet. It would be so easy to just lean forward and claim the blood that Tzuyu had set her name too, the slight Wintermint scent on Mina’s blood reminding her of that much. Some part of her, a part she thought long dead, kept her from going through with it though, a picture of Mina’s horrified face keeping her at a distance from the human.

Tzuyu tenses as she see’s Mina suddenly shift, moving onto her side, and snuggling close to Tzuyu. She wraps her arms around the vampire, pulling her close as she nestled her head into the crook of her neck. The ache inside Tzuyu’s stomach turns into a raging fire, begging her to sink her teeth into the neck she found just a hairs length away from her lips. Her canines elongate and Tzuyu’s face distorts in pain as she fights off the feeling of hunger that was burning a hole straight through her. Slowly Tzuyu’s arms wrap back around Mina, holding her close as her mind and body fight for dominance. Her body screams at her to feed, while her mind keeps insisting that she hold back. Eventually Tzuyu pulls out of Mina’s arms forcibly, throwing herself against the wall opposite them with enough force to leave a visible dent in the plaster.

Mina’s eyes snap open at the sudden sound and she jerks upright looking around in terror at what might’ve entered her room. Her eyes rest on the curled up form of Tzuyu in the back corner, glowing silver eyes look at her in a mixture of hunger and terror through the darkness.

“Tzuyu? A-are you ok?” Mina asks softly, slowly stepping out of the bed.

“NO! Stay back!” Tzuyu exclaims harshly, her fingers digging into her knees and causing them to bleed. Mina jumps back at Tzuyu’s outburst, grabbing onto the bed instinctively.

“W-wh...what’s wrong?” Mina stammers hesitantly, though part of her already knows the answer.

“To hungry….haven’t fed...your smell. I can’t- I can’t get it out of my head.” Tzuyu mutters, bloody hands moving up to clutch at her hair as her voice cracks in restraint. Mina reaches a hand up to her neck automatically, checking to see if there’s any damage. After assuring herself that her skin is intact, she looks back to Tzuyu with a strained gentleness to her eyes.

“When….was the last time you….ate?” Mina inquires quietly, her voice starting to quiver as the fear sets back in.

“T-two days.” Tzuyu whispers back, causing Mina to frown.

“And before then?”

“T-two...weeks.” Mina frowns further at the revelation. She was starving herself, just not in the way Mina had originally thought.

“Why not?” Mina inquisits, taking a slow step off of the bed.

“I...couldn’t leave you alone with Victoria. I was afraid...she’d hurt you. I didn’t want to frighten you further.” Tzuyu tells while looking between the door and Mina, trying to find when she should make her escape. Mina finds herself in the position of feeling a sense of sympathy to this creature she was initially terrified of. She watches at Tzuyu’s eyes dart between her and the door, and at first she takes a step away from the door. But after a few moments of thinking and deciding to let impulse take the reins, and she moves to block the door.

“What are you doing?!” Tzuyu exclaims, terrified of what she’ll do if she’s left in Mina’s presence any longer.

“I’m not letting you out until you promise to eat.” Mina says firmly.

“I can’t. The humans gone, and now that you know...I’m even more worried about what Victoria will do.” Tzuyu rationalizes.

“Then your options are rather limited it seems.” Mina says, tugging down on the t-shirt she was wearing with a quivering hand. Tzuyu’s eyes widen as she realizes what Mina’s suggesting.

“No. No, I won’t do that, just let me out!” Tzuyu says as she tries to rush for the door, but Mina presses her back against it. Tzuyu growls in hostility towards Mina, “You know I could just toss you out of the way, right?” Tzuyu snaps, glaring down at Mina with her bright eyes. Mina tilts her head and quirks a brow.

“Then why haven’t you done it yet?” Mina retorts, finding her courage, or perhaps her insanity, somewhere inside her. “I don’t think you have the strength to hurt me. Physically maybe, but mentally? You’re too scared to hurt the fragile human.” Mina spits, then holds up a wrist to Tzuyu, who turns her head away as she stifles a snarl and her nose crinkles. “And if this is like all the movies, this is the part where you tell me you're worried you’ll lose control and I call bull. If a four hundred year old vampire can’t control their hunger, then they are not as strong as they would have people think!” Tzuyu snarls at Mina’s words, looking back into the eyes of the defiant human girl. Mina was terrified, but she also didn’t back down, surprising both herself and Tzuyu with her sudden display of bravery.

They remain locked in each others glare for a few more moments. Evenutally, Tzuyu growls out a sigh, “Remember that you agreed to this.” Tzuyu warns as her icy hand firmly grasps Mina’s wrist, causing the latter to shiver at the contact. She then turns her head towards the apendage and closes around Mina’s wrist after a moment of hesitation. Mina can feel the sharp teeth brush against her skin and she in a breath, squeezing her eyes shut. Mina then screams in pain as the two teeth push past the skin and into the vein below and Mina’s entire arm tightens up in resistance to the sudden sensation. Her free hand grips onto the doorframe and her eyes go up to the ceiling, tears rolling down her cheeks as she cries out in agony while her wrist burns in intense discomfort.

Tzuyu revels in the taste of Mina’s blood. It was even better than her mind's eye could've even possibly begun to imagine. Her free hand rests on Mina’s shoulder as she presses her further against the doorframe. Tzuyu continues to drink in the ambrosia in Mina's vein, letting the entirety of the flavor brush over her tongue. Finally she pulls back after another minute or so, standing up straight and her lips with a sastisfied sigh. Mina pulls back her wrist, ready to put pressure against her hand when she realizes that it’s not bleeding. She stares down at it in curiosity as normally such a wound would still have blood absolutely pouring from it.

“Vampire's saliva, like blood, has healing properties when applied to humans. It’s not as strong as blood, but will help the healing process of your wrist.” Tzuyu explains, the monotone coming back to her voice as she tries to clean some of the blood from her lip. “It’s the mixing of the two that turns it into a poison which burns through the blood and turns the human into a vampire.” Mina continues to stare down at the wound, her thoughts running around trying to put all the pieces together.

“So if you gave me your blood now….”

“You would become like me.” Tzuyu finishes, “But don’t ask because I won’t do it.” Mina shakes her head.

“I wasn’t going to ask.” She assures quietly, moving back to the bed. Tzuyu’s expression softens slightly at Mina’s wonder, then finds herself smiling mutedly as she furrows her brow.

“So now that you’ve made sure I’m fed, are you going to let me go?” Tzuyu questions with a still impassive tone, though her eyes shine with a level of mirth that Tzuyu hadn't experienced in a long time. Mina looks up at her and blinks a couple times, but then gives a slow nod.

“...Yeah, as long as you promise to come back later.” Mina responds simply, raising a brow as she see’s Tzuyu give a full smile, cringing slightly upon sight of the still bloodied canines.

“Of course.” Tzuyu replies, then walks out of the door. Mina frowns a little at Tzuyu’s reaction, hoping the vampire would be a little more appreciative of her care. In the end she just finds herself staring at the bite mark again, absently running her fingers along it as the sun peeks through her window.

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