端緒

She had wounded me, so I wounded her in return. As a result of this pointless masochist's tango, we both bear the scars of our mistake. Not upon our skin, but within our hearts. Those outward wounds are easy to heal once you're immortal.

Maybe it was stupidity on my part. Oshino says I should have killed her. Instead, I let her live. He told us he was into balance, so I compromised instead of doing the right thing.

I thought it too cruel a fate.

In a way you could also call it selfishness.

There I was, drinking her blood. It was so delicious I could have drained her of every drop. Like ingesting the finest wine, I was intoxicated by the taste. A maddening, savory taste.

But I stopped halfway. I really didn't want to kill her after all. Even though she had slaughtered Guillotinecutter. Even though she threatened Hanekawa and called her "portable food".

I licked my lips and looked into her golden eyes.

"What are thou doing, Servant?"

I smiled. After all I had seen and done throughout Summer Break, I smiled gently despite my throbbing heart.

"Kisshot Acerola-Orion Heart-under-blade," I whispered. My fingers wound themselves in her blonde hair, the fluffiness surprising. In comparison to her attacks from earlier, she was much more yielding. Here on the concrete below me she seems so fragile. The moonlight cast a soft shadow over her ashen features—the disappointment highlighted only by the darkness around her slight frown.

She wanted me to kill her, after all. What reason would she have to resist?

"Thou hast said my name again," she said, looking into my eyes. Her voice was faint, as if I imagined her saying it.

"I don't want you to die."

I'm just that kind of guy, she had told me.

"You don't wish to become human?"

"Not if it kills you," I said immediately.

"What're you going to do then?" said Hanekawa. She had mustered up the courage to approach us again, and was now right beside me and the fallen vampire I once called my master.

"That's up to you, Araragi-kun," said a familiar teasing voice.

I barely looked up to acknowledge him. "Oshino-san."

"Yo." He grinned. I could see it in the corner of my eye. He probably was taking in the odd scene layed out before him. I had Kisshot pinned beneath me, and from the looks of it she had lost the will to fight. That and with most of her blood being drank, she was paralyzed for the moment.

A dark chuckle rumbled from deep within his throat.

"So you don't want her to die, you say?" he said, sounding like a bratty kid bored with an expensive new toy his parents had just bought.

"That would be...unthinkable at this point," I said, closing my eyes.

"Then you wouldn't mind if I take back my pardon of your fee?"

I didn't really care about money at this point, but still, this question seemed completely out of context.

"The five million yen? But—,"

"I'm going to help you," he said, finally lighting the cigarette hanging from his mouth.

After reading Kizumonogatari I hated the vampire system it was using, so I tweaked it. This is parallel to my other story, so expect hints of Negima!, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Chobits and XXXholic.