Right by his side

Haruka had to frown when he heard her say those words. How could she even bring up that suggestion after all that has happened? He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly, not caring that his mother was watching.

"H-Haruka?"

"Don't leave me."

'Don't leave me again.' A quiet voice said in his head.

Lila nodded and reached over to caress his face as she beamed brightly at those words. "I won't do that anymore. If possible, I want to fight by your side."

Oh, is that why they came here? It wasn't just to have a pleasant chat with his mother to bring his memories back.

"Sieko-san, you can do something about it, right? There is a seal on Haruka's abilities as a hanyou. I believe that seal was placed there after the incident when we were younger by Ren-san."

Sieko nodded. "Indeed, it was that stubborn fool who quote said he does not want Haruka to use his abilities again. But are you sure, Lila? If I break that seal, he will suffer for a while. I think he has used his powers a few times over the years, but he has suppressed it with medication."

"I will be right by his side. Do it now." Lila asked. Determination filled her tone.

Is that why she was clinging to him? This process must be painful. He turned to her and squeezed her hands. "You will be with me, so I will be okay."

"I hope so."

...

It seems he underestimated this procedure hanyou's have to go through when they are developing their powers. The effect was ten times worse since he suppressed it for so long.

He still stayed in the room with Lila at the start, but he quickly learned how dangerous that was for her, so he locked himself up in the dungeons. Lila, however, kept her word and did not leave his side as he endured the painful procedure.

It felt like his entire body was suffering from a fever on a large scale. His insides felt like they were burning, and the throbbing sensation in his heart and eyes did not stop even for a moment. Whenever he closed his eyes, he would hear the voices inside his head.

At night it was worse; he saw strange monster-like beings in the dark. They had no faces, nor were they hostile, but they watched him; even without eyes, they watched him.

But what terrified him the most was his parched throat. When he is not drinking her blood, it feels so dry. He needs more; he needs more from her. Drinking just for a short while will not do.

His thoughts break off when he hears a familiar pair of footsteps. Lila briefly leaves sometimes to update the others. When she entered the cell, he grabbed hold of her wrist and drew the blood from her arm.

"Mmm, sorry I took longer than usual."

"I was going insane." He mumbled, briefly parting his lips. "How did you stand hearing these voices?"

The voices did not help his blood lust; they urged him to become a monster and just drain somebody's blood dry.

An uncomfortable look appeared on her face, and Haruka immediately understood. Kiryu must have been with her like she is doing with him.

"I'm glad."

He does not like the idea of Lila suffering this pain alone. It is good that somebody who cared for her was by her side.

"Maybe you have changed a little," Lila whispered. "But your still you." She brought him over to the make-shift bed and sat down. The moment he saw her sit on the bed, however, he pushed her down like she did with him that time. He drank directly from her neck.

Now that he has tasted her like this, it will be difficult for him to return to normal. He already knew it would be like this the moment he smelled her blood outside the room the other time.

What is wrong with him? This woman, his wife- why does he crave for her so much? Although the voices in his head tell him irrational things like drinking from other women, for some reason, he could dismiss those thoughts. Only Lila's image came to mind when he thought of drinking blood, only his wife.

But, what if he drinks too much and she dies? Even if she is a hanyou like him, surely she has her li- his thoughts broke off when he heard her soft whimper. No, is she-

"H-Haruka." Lila mumbled.

Her entire face was flushed red. "Wait, actually stop for a second."

How could he possibly stop now that he has seen her in this state? But perhaps because he took in a lot of blood just now, his mind felt clearer. Haruka drew back from her and sat down as he stared aimlessly at the ceiling.

He did not have a chance to do that long since Lila hugged him from the back.

"P-please don't misunderstand. It's just, and I am not used to this yet-"

"You didn't do this with Kiryu?" Haruka asked. He was more curious than jealous, but Lila took it the other way.

"We indeed used to do that- b-bu-t I am your wife now!" Lila exclaimed, her cheeks flushed, ashamed that he brought up the past. "I- I can't erase what happened between Kiryu and me. But, I want to make new memories with you."

The past him must have truly been scum. Why is she so frightened?

"Ssh, I didn't say that to mock you. I just want to know more about how this is supposed to work."

"How is it supposed to work?"

"For example, can we do it when I am like this?"

"Your so shameless stupid." Lila hit his chest with her arms, but he grabbed hold of it and kissed her fingertips slowly. "H-Haruka."

"I truly am serious. You drive me insane. It seemed the old me jumped on you a lot with no restraint, but how could I possibly do that now? Your are so precious; every time I hold you, it feels like you will break."

At those words, the girl's cheeks colored, and nervous-sounding laughter passed her lips.

"I didn't know you saw me that way. Uh-" Lila trailed off with a tender gaze in her eyes. "But, thank you so much, Haruka."

'If she thanks him, how on earth is he supposed to do anything?' With that innocent look on her face, even in a situation like this. Haruka laid down on the bed, granted it was stiff as a rock and not very comfortable. But that makes sense; this is a dungeon for criminals. It did not take long before the girl rolled on top of him as she played with his hair.

"Do you still feel bad? Your complexion-"

"I'm fine. I don't want you to faint." Haruka trailed off. "More importantly, if I can get through this, I can use my powers to help you."

The reason why he has not tested out his abilities yet is because he does not want something to go wrong. If something goes wrong, the one who will get hurt the most is her; that is a scenario he wants to avoid.

His thoughts broke off when he felt her play with the buttons of his shirt. It does not surprise him too much when she undoes them. He liked the feeling of her hands on his chest. 'They must have done this before.' There is something familiar about it.