Utena smiled to herself dreamily, the sensation of warmth all around her. She snuggled down, luxuriating in the feeling. 'Wait a moment,' she found herself thinking as she gradually came awake, 'my body doesn't hold warmth like this anymore. What's keeping me warm?' She opened her eyes just a crack to look, then Utena's eyes suddenly popped open. She was buried in the middle of a pile of naked young women! "Hmm, mistress," one sighed softly, shifting in her sleep. Utena felt the warmth of the flesh pressed up against her, and she could feel her fangs extending, even against her will. 'I have got to get out of here before I do something I'll regret,' Utena thought to herself frantically. Thankfully, the moving girls generated enough room for Utena to slip out between them. She grabbed a uniform from her closet then slipped out of the room as quietly as possible. "I can't believe they followed me," Utena sighed softly. She had even recognized one or two of them, like Nanami's friend Keiko. "You might want to get dressed," an amused voice commented. Utena was so distracted that she hadn't even noticed Anthy waiting for her out in the hall. "How did they find me?" she questioned, even as she quickly pulled her clothes on. "The blood bond," Anthy sighed. "It links you to them as well, Utena," she explained, "and it's unbreakable except by your death." "We'll save staking myself as a final alternative," Utena shot back as she pulled her shirt, then jacket on. "Are you sure there's no other way to free them?" she questioned. "I'll look into it," Anthy said. She noticed the hint of fang as Utena talked, and felt obligated to ask her, "Are they all right?" "I haven't fed, if that's what you mean," Utena said with a bit of anger in her voice. "I'm going out to hunt," she said striding towards the window. "Wait, you may not be able to... ," Anthy started to say, but Utena had disappeared into the night. "Damn," she cursed softly. Utena loped across the campus towards the forest, towards food. The familiar scent drew her onward, and nearly silently Utena stalked through the woods, letting her unnatural senses guide the way. 'Here,' she thought, as the rich scent filled the nostrils. She gently parted the branches, and nearly gasped in surprise. Kozue lay tangled with a paramour in the clearing, the sweat drying on their bodies. A bit of blood has spilt, and that very same scent filled Utena's nostrils. She found herself moving forward involuntarily, and stopped herself. She turned, disappearing into the shadows. 'I was hunting animals, not...' Utena thought dazedly, 'Why did I...' she shook herself. With fresh determination she stalked the woods, eventually finding what she sought: a deer. The kill was done as mercifully as possible, then Utena bent to feed. Only to choke on the blood. She spat, trying to clear the stuff from her mouth. With a shaking hand she cupped some of the animal blood to drink again, and discovered the same foul taste. "I can't drink it," Utena murmured, then in a tortured cry, "What's going on?!" ------------------------------------------------------------ "Where is the mistress?" the young woman demanded of her, "She's in pain!" The other young ladies, Anthy had begun to think of them as groupies, all milled around restlessly, looking for their mistress, Utena. "I don't know," Anthy started to say, when Utena herself walked down the hallway towards them. She looked terrible, her uniform dirty, animal blood smeared down the front. But it was the despairing look in Utena's eyes that most shook Anthy. "Leave us alone," Utena ordered the girl groupies, and they obediently went back into the dorm room. Anthy took a step towards Utena but she raised a hand to stop her. "I don't trust my self control right now," Utena said to her with a sigh. She met Anthy's eyes, "I couldn't feed, the deer's blood tasted foul. What's happened to me?" "I tried to tell you," Anthy said softly, her heart going out to the bedraggled young woman standing there before her. "You never fed on human blood before last night," she said softly, "so your body was used to only having the animal blood. But once you tasted human blood for the first time, your body changed." Utena was shaking her head, her expression despairing as she asked, "I can only feed on human blood now?" "I'm sorry," Anthy said softly. "Stake me," Utena whispered softly. "What?" Anthy asked, unsure of what Utena had just said. "Stake me!" Utena demanded, as a single blood red tear ran down her face. "I won't become a parasite like Akio," Utena softly vowed, "and this is the only way to prevent that!" "But what about the other vampires Akio may have created?" Anthy asked, trying to reach past the despair in Utena's voice. The pink haired woman paused, stiffening. "The only way I can live, now," Utena said softly, "is to feed off human beings." She met Anthy's eyes again, "Is destroying Akio's creations really worth that?" "I think so," Anthy said honestly. She unbuttoned her sleeve before rolling it back to reveal her arm, "Take what you need." Her eye's widened, she saw the fangs gleam as Utena clenched her jaw, fighting for control. "Don't feed from her," the quiet voice said softly, "feed from us." The naked young woman led her five fellows out, surrounding Utena. "We serve you in all things, m'lady," she said to her evenly, then taking a blade from behind her back she slit across her arm. The blood fountained, and before Utena could even think about resisting the hunger she was upon her. The other thralls drew the feeding pair into the dorm room, leaving Anthy hesitating in the hallway. "She'll be fine," Keiko reassured her, her long brown hair flowing free before she turned to go in after them. Anthy didn't have to wait very long. Utena emerged from the room only a few moments later, dressed in a clean school uniform again. She looked better, her eyes were less wild, but a bit of pink was around her lips. "The girl's asleep," Utena said softly, an odd look on her face. She looked... completely satisfied, maybe for the first time since Anthy had met her. "Do you mind if I?" Anthy asked, looking towards the bedroom door. Utena just gave her a shake of the head that Anthy took as a permission. She pushed open the door, then stopped at the conversation she heard. "How was it?" one girl was asking the other. "Hmm, wonderful," she sighed happily. "She was firm, but oh so gentle, too," the young woman who had given her blood said. "And she drank much less than Touga did," another noted. "Yes, I'm merely tired," the blood giver answered. "I wonder when my turn will be?" and a wistful sigh. Anthy closed the door without going in, a faint blush on her cheeks. Utena saw it, and a slight smile tugged at her lips. She became a bit more serious as she gently drew Anthy away, walking with her down the hallway. "There's something I'm starting to be a bit worried about," Utena said softly. "Something else?" Anthy said, looking a bit startled. It seemed that everything that had been going on over the past few nights was beginning to catch up with her. "Someone, actually," Utena said softly. The two reached a window, and paused there for a moment. Anthy looked up at Utena, her pale body lit by the moonlight, looking more like a statue than a former human being. 'She is beautiful,' Anthy admitted to herself. 'Too beautiful, maybe,' she smiled, thinking of her own fading resistance to that beauty. "Who?" she asked Utena, looking away from her and out into the night. "Akio, our not so dearly departed vampire, had a girlfriend named Kanae," Utena noted. "According to Wakaba, nobody's seen her since before I slew him," she sighed. "You think he turned her, too?" Anthy asked, unconsciously fingering a wooden stake hidden in her clothes. "Seems likely," Utena sighed. Her eyes widened, and a smile tugged at her lips as she whispered to Anthy, "Brace yourself." "Utena-sama!" Wakaba shrieked happily, and glomped her. Utena staggered about the hallway a moment, and Anthy found herself laughing. 'She knew it was coming,' Anthy thought as she remembered Utena's warning to her. She smiled as she watched the two friends play, but it was a bittersweet moment. Someday soon, Utena might be dead, or maybe in some eternal self exile. "Utena," Wakaba said in a dangerous tone of voice, "what are all those naked women doing in your room?" Utena actually looked kind of stunned at her question. It obviously wasn't something that she had even thought about, trying to explain the new state of affairs to Wakaba. She threw a desperate glance at Anthy. "Oh, no," Anthy chuckled softly. "You got yourself into this, so you get to explain it," she said to her firmly.
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