• CHAPTER 21 - WE NEED A HAPPY MEDIUM

    Why can't some couples just agree with a compromise? No matter how perfect a couple might seem, there's that one thing that keeps them from being perfect, there's always a happy medium that needs searched for...

    Kai sighed as he helped me out of my sling, "You're gonna need to get into a shirt before anybody gets a bad impression,"

    I remained silent, still feeling the heavy pain that now lingered in my heart. Kai touched my cheek with his fingertips but I still avoided eye contact.

    "By me keeping you the way you are really shows how much I care. And that I love you for the way you are now." he smiled weakly.

    "I'm sorry, Kai. I don't know what came over me to suddenly want you to change me into a Vampire." I sighed, "I don't know if it was love or lust."

    Kai sighed again and I interrupted him from speaking first as he handed me a shirt, "Would you change me if I were on the verge of dying? Would you use it as a last resort?"

    He slapped his hand over my mouth and shushed me, "I don't want to hear anymore," his voice was cold.

    I took the shirt from him and slipped it on while facing away from him. It was still embarrassing that he was still in the room while I had no shirt on, except for my frilly pretty bra. I was at least thankful there were bandages wrapped around my ribs so he would have to see everything. I tugged the shirt over my head and looked over at the clock.

    "I've got work in an hour," I sighed and frowned.

    "You're not going," demanded Kai.

    "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I am," I testified.

    "No. You're still recovering."

    "I probably don't even need this retarded cast!" I waved my arm in the air, only starting the pain over again unexpectedly.

    "You're staying right in this room," Kai sighed.

    "Not if you can't catch me!" and I bolted right out of the room, impressed at my own speed.

    By the time I reached the bottom of the stairs, Kai was already standing in front of me with his arms crossed and I rammed into him. Kai grunted and was getting really pissed with me. He grasped my bicep firmly and I tried to tug away from him.

    "I want to earn some money, Kai! Let me go!"

    "Get back to bed,"

    I was just about to shout again until I was distracted by someone in the living room. Akatsuki was sitting in a chair and Takeuchi was lying on the couch by it and they were...laughing with each other?? I gasped at seeing Takeuchi on the couch, still injured from when his spine was snapped in half. I tugged my way out of Kai's grasp and ran over to Takeuchi with tears in my eyes.

    "Takeuchi!"

    I crouched down and gave him a death-tight hug. He winced and I pulled away and stared at him. He gave me a weak smile.

    "Looks like we're both still a little beat up," he chuckled.

    "Takeuchi, you look horrible," I commented.

    I turned my attention and glared at Akatsuki. Akatsuki stared back, "What?"

    "How come you're the only one that's escaped unscathed?"

    "He's a better hunter than you think," Takeuchi complimented Akatsuki, "He actually killed one of the Werewolves with only his gun."

    "That wolf must have been right of him if he were able to shoot it,"

    I could hear Kai chuckle and I stood up again and stared at Akatsuki again with a confused expression. I grabbed my coat from the coat rack and slipped it on along with my shoes before Kai could protest, "Come on, Kai. I want to get to work early to help Manager Uratada."

    I heard Kai sigh and I knew he rolled his eyes. Akatsuki waved goodbye and Takeuchi did his usual immature good-byes and Kai and I left. I turned around and stared at Kai and felt like there was a slap to my face. I was all bundled up, still freezing my butt off, and Kai was only wearing pants and a collared long-sleeve shirt!

    "H-how do you d-do that?" I managed to ask through chattered teeth.

    "Do what?" he raised one eyebrow in curiosity.

    "Withstand the c-cold!"

    He let out a loud laugh of mockery at me and looked down at me, "You silly girl, I am the cold,"

    Okay, he got me on that one. I made my way through the four inches of snow to his car only to have him pull me back by the hood of my faux fur coat. I turned around and glared at him. He pointed to the garage.

    "We're taking Matsuda's car. Mine's broken."

    "What, did you kill the breaks?" I asked sarcastically. I figured it was something related to that considering how fast he drives and how often he probably has to come to an immediate halt.

    He sighed and drug me backwards to the garage until I could turn around and keep up with him. Kai stopped at the door of the garage, flipped open a keypad, and as quick as lightning he pressed a series of numbers and the keypad beeped in acception while a small green light flashed. The garage door opened dramatically. Of course, that was a perfect acception to what was behind the door. I gaped and lost my breath at the $400,000 2008 Rolls-Royce Phantom parked adroitly in the garage as though it had never been touched and Kai casually made his way to the driver's side.

    "How can you p-pretend like this i-isn't a fricking m-masterpiece?" I chattered again.

    "Just get in the car," Kai rolled his eyes in mockery and climbed in and I followed shortly after I was done staring at the beautiful mascot sealed onto the top of the grill. I opened the door with the utmost care and made sure every flake of snow was off of my shoes before climbing in. I had never moved so slow in my life until I saw this car. I didn't want to misplace one single atom in the car. Kai groaned and pulled me in by my hood again and reached over and shut my door and started the car.

    "How will you drive so fast if the roads are slippery?" I asked Kai, hoping he would drive normal for a change.

    He only laughed at me again, "Ice is nothing," and he took off out of the garage.

    "How can they afford so much stuff?"

    "They've had some of the most high-paying jobs you could probably think of. And they've won the lottery, oh, about two or three times, but the second and third time they gave their money to charity in certain parts of the world."

    We drove even faster than we did with the Eclipse. I gripped onto my seat and the door handle and pressed my back against the seat as hard as I could, tensing up more than I ever had. Kai gripped my hand and pryed it off of the seat before I could do any damage to it.

    "Take it easy, Arisa," he complained.

    I really didn't want to piss him off anymore. It was bad enough I removed my sling and asked him to change me into a Vampire and now I'm forcing him to take me to work and still freaking out about his driving. Oh, it could get much worse.

    ~*~*~*~*~*~

    "Arisa, it's so good to see you again," Manager Uratada greeted me with a warm smile and opened her arms wide.

    I willingly embraced her and tried not to crush her giant pregnant belly. I pulled back and looked down at her swollen stomach, "How much longer?"

    "About three and a half months," her face glowed, "It's going to be a girl."

    She stared at the cast on my arm as Kai helped me removed my coat. She approached me and touched the cast, "What happened to you?"

    I froze, not knowing how to answer. Should I tell my pregnant manager I had an off day and was attacked by a Werewolf because he wanted immortality and he snapped my arm in half along with around five ribs? I stuttered and Kai came up with a casual lie.

    "Stupid klutz tripped," he added a chuckle in to pretend he was joking, but I knew there was no joke when he said "klutz".

    "Will you be able to work tonight?" Manager Uratada's eyebrows burrowed together.

    "Yeah, of course I will. I'll just limit the use of my right arm." I nodded and held up my arm.

    I froze again as I noted Kai's elegant script on the bottom of my forearm on my cast saying "I'm sucking you dry" along with his signature. How benign. Kai chuckled and ruffled my hair around as he always does when he treats me like a child.

    "Like I always say; take care of yourself, kid," and he left out the door with a smile to park Matsuda's car the usual thirteen blocks away.

    "Won't he be cold?" Manager Uratada asked with as much curiosity as I did when I asked Kai. I was impressed that she wasn't mesmerized by Kai's figure or beauty. Probably because she was already occupied and expecting.

    I chuckled at what Kai said earlier, "He is the cold,"

    I made my way to the back room as Manager Uratada chuckled along with my joke. Since I was the only worker there so far, I was able to get dressed in the back room by myself without having to change in the bathroom. I hung my coat on the coat rack and stuffed my clothes into the mini locker. I walked into the front, grabbing my tray and notebook and pen and stood by the front counter where Manager Uratada was standing.

    "So, uh," I tried to strike up a conversation, "Do you have a name picked out?"

    **Her face glowed again, "We have a few. We were thinking either Sakura, Kyuukai or Nozomi."

    I smiled back at her, "That's a hard decision," I agreed.

    I turned my attention as I saw Kai standing at the corner of the window, almost out of sight. His arms were crossed and he was leaning against the wall, looking in some other direction. Manager Uratada tapped my shoulder and whispered to me.

    "How is he not cold? It's in the teens out there."

    "I guess he has a high rate of homeostasis," I chuckled.

    I wanted to run outside and beat Kai up for showing off his immunity to the cold, only making people more suspicious of him. It's not like he could help it. It probably felt too awkward and strange to act human...

    ~*~*~*~*~*~

    A few hours went by and the restaurant was a little more crowded than usual. I had to do two trips when delivering food to tables with more than three people due to my arm. I was surprised they didn't complain that their food was slow. They just complimented me on how I'm so dedicated to actually come in with a casted arm and want to work. I didn't necessarily want to work, I just wanted to get out some more.

    "Arisa, you can take a break now," Manager Uratada confirmed.

    I nodded without testifying and put my tray in the back, allowing the other waitress to take over for fifteen minutes. The restaurant was emptying and there were only about three or four couples left eating. I made my way to the front door and walked out unwillingly into the cold and Kai was still standing as he was hours before. Still had his arms crossed and leaning against the wall, only he looked over at me this time rather than to space.

    "Y-you can come in," I rubbed my arm with my uncasted hand, beating myself internally once again for not throwing my coat on.

    "First things first," Kai smirked.

    He brushed my hair away from my neck and inched his fangs towards my neck. I clouted his cheek with my cast, sending a wave of pain through my wrist and forearm. He pulled back and frowned at me.

    "What was that for?"

    "You're going to try something new. Come with me." I sighed as I grabbed his sleeve and drug him into the restaurant.

    I sat him down at a seat at the corner window and left him to fetch my notebook and pen. I made my way back to him and put on my "best" waitress smile, "May I take your order?"

    Kai stared at me and pursed his lips, trying to hold back a laugh that I knew he wouldn't suppress for long. He laughed, but kept it quiet, "You're not serious, are you?"

    "You must be hungry anyways. What do you want?"

    Kai rubbed his chin, "I feel like having American food,"

    I paused, "American food? Like what?"

    Kai paused after me in thought, "Steak. Green beans. And, what are they called, mashed potatoes?"

    I rolled my eyes and took his order anyways. I didn't know if the cook knew how to make it, but oh well. I hung the note on a clotheshanger outside of the kitchen and walked back to Kai's table. He continued to stare outside at the moon.

    "What are you looking for? Or who are you waiting for?"

    "Nothing. I was just thinking." he mused.

    I started thinking back to when Kai told me about him and Ayame from many years ago. I tried to picture her, but since she was a Vampire, I knew I wasn't capable of imagining somebody so beautiful. I fondled with my fingers and a question grew in my head.

    "What's on your mind?" Kai asked quietly.

    "Shouldn't you know?"

    "I'm trying to migrate from your mind and I'm not fending too well," he chuckled.

    "Um, I was just curious, but," I stuttered to find words, not wanting to ask them. I was too afraid of the answer, "Were you and Ayame ever...married?"

    I lowered my head and bit my lip as Kai turned his attention from the outside and stared at me. I could feel his eyes on me as we sat in silence for about four minutes and I was wishing my break was done.

    "No," he finally spoke up.

    I was confused and incredibly relieved, "Why not? You two were together for so long."

    Kai's eyebrows burrowed together, "I'd never taken marriage seriously,"

    "So," I started, "You didn't mean it when you proposed to me?"

    Kai sighed and smiled half-heartedly, "I meant it but I was questionable,"

    "But how is it that you never wanted to propose to the girl you spent decades with but you proposed to me after only knowing me a few months. How is that possible?"

    Kai leaned in, "A Vampire knows when they've found the one they want," he smiled coyly.

    "How am I an acception?" I asked, turing pink.

    "I've already told you there was a pull towards you after I attacked you the first time. That's when I started thinking 'is this it?'."

    He didn't understand what I meant. I didn't understand what he meant. He interrupted my thoughts again with something that really slapped me hard across the face.

    "You know, Kira's been married about three times. He was the one that divorced them because he never felt like it was right."

    I choked on my own gasp and Kai's food arrived along with a soda. I snatched the soda but didn't drink from it. Kai smiled in acceptance at the fact that his steak was pre-cut. I pushed the soda towards him and he eyed me curiously.

    "That's not mine," he confirmed.

    "It is now," I corrected.

    "You know I don't drink human beverages," he teased.

    "I know you don't. Until now. You should try drinking something other than blood for a change."

    "Okay, then," he picked up a piece of his steak with his chopsticks and held it up to me, "Eat this."

    I laughed at him, "Yeah right, Kai,"

    "It's basically the same way for me. I reject drinks just like you reject meat."

    "Kai, just please take a sip," I really was hoping there was a substitute to quench his thirst.

    He swiftly grabbed the glass and enclosed his lips around the straw and took a sip. He swallowed it hesitantly and pushed it away, "Tastes like dirt,"

    I sighed and gave up. Kai ate his food in silence and I only stared at him. The restaurant emptied before my break was done so my break was extended. Kai fed me a few green beans, although I wasn't very hungry, but I didn't want him to worry about me starving. Manager Uratada closed the restaurant early because her ankles were becoming sore and dismissed us early after I cleaned up Kai's food. Kai helped me into my coat and buttoned it up for me quickly and we headed out the door in the cold again.

    "I don't get it, why can't you park closer in the winter?" I shivered.

    "It doesn't change where the Vampires roam," Kai warned.

    I sighed and Kai reached over and grabbed my left hand. He slipped his slender fingers in between mine and grasped my hand tightly. I shivered more from his cold grip and we continued to walk in silence for a moment.

    "Your hand is warm," Kai complimented surprisingly.

    "I-I don't f-feel like it," I shivered.

    Kai chuckled quietly and we continued our way to the car. It was all feeling right with him just until there happened to be some black ice on the sidewalk and I slipped and fell flat on my back, turning scarlet in the process. Kai laughed and helped me up and brushed the loose snow off of my back and we made our way to the car again only with his arm wrapped around my shoulders for extra support. A strong consideration buzzed around in my head and I was hoping Kai still wasn't in my head until I felt it necessary. I wanted to be with him and I knew there was an alternative other than changing into a Vampire.

    **Okay, here's a little activity you get to do, you guys get to choose the name of Manager Uratada's baby xp
    So, PM me or comment on my profile on which name you like better: Sakura, Kyuukai, or Nozomi please, and thank you heart