Chapter 14: Bandages and Blood (But Not in the Romantic Way… Mostly)
I learned two things tonight:
Vampire hunters are terrifying.
My adrenaline has a time limit.
The second we got back to Riku's apartment, the crash hit me like a truck.My hands were still shaking, my heart still pounding in my ears.
"Sit," Riku ordered, pointing to the couch.
I opened my mouth to argue—then saw the dried blood on my sleeve."Oh."
I sat.
He disappeared into the bathroom and came back with a first-aid kit. Not the tiny travel kind—this was the full hospital-grade box with metal clasps and enough gauze to mummify someone.
I frowned. "You keep that in your apartment?"
He knelt in front of me, snapping open a bottle of antiseptic. "You think this is the first time I've been attacked?"
Point taken.
The antiseptic burned like hell."Ah—!" I flinched, and Riku's grip tightened around my arm.
"Hold still," he said. His voice wasn't cold this time—it was quiet, almost… careful.
I watched him work in silence, the glow from the kitchen light catching in his silver hair.It struck me how close his face was to mine, how steady his hands were.
"You shouldn't have done that," he said suddenly.
"What? The trash can thing?"
"Yes." His eyes flicked up to mine. "You could've been killed."
I shrugged weakly. "Yeah, well… you could've been too."
His expression froze for a second, like that hadn't occurred to him.
He finished wrapping the bandage and sat back."You're an idiot," he said finally.
"Yeah," I said, leaning against the couch. "But I'm your idiot, apparently."
For a moment, there was no sound except the hum of the fridge.Riku was still watching me, and for once, his gaze didn't feel like a performance.It felt… real.
Like he was looking through me, not at me.
"Haruto," he said quietly. "If this gets worse… you'll leave, right?"
The question caught me off guard. "What do you mean?"
"If it comes down to your safety or this stupid contract, you'll walk away."
I tried to laugh, but it came out shaky. "Is that you trying to protect me? Because you're really bad at it."
He didn't answer.Instead, he stood, turned toward the window, and stared out at the city lights.
"Get some sleep," he said without looking back. "Tomorrow, we act like nothing happened."
I went to bed that night thinking about the fight, the hunters, the danger.But somewhere in the mess, one thought kept circling in my head:
When Riku looked at me tonight, he didn't look like an idol.He looked like someone afraid to lose something.
And I wasn't sure I wanted to know what that something was.
TO BE CONTINUED…