Experiment

-----Yui's POV

I'm still shaken up from what happened earlier. I can still taste the bitterness of her blood in my mouth, almost like it's some kind of scar for me to remember. After meeting everyone, they all seemed to be glad about my recovery, but Kaede was the only one who was skeptical, looking at me like I'm about to do something wrong. I don't blame her, since I did attack her, it's obvious that she'd be questioning me.

Lunch came around as we all sat around at one of the tables, with other adventurers filling up the rest. With the size of our group, we used one of the few larger tables as we all managed to fit. Kaede never once moved her gaze from me, making me start to feel kind of anxious. "Is she THAT mad at me?" She was repeating "It's okay" over and over, so seeing her like this really questions whether she meant that or not.

After some time, Fleur came by and gave us our lunch. I could see on my plate that there was something that looked like an egg omelet that looked to be stuffed with meat and other vegetables. The smell of it was delicious, making my mouth water even more as I go to pick up my fork. The moment I sink my teethe into it, my mouth explodes with all sorts of flavors as the juiciness of the meat fills my mouth, and the crunch from some of the vegetables added more texture to it which made it all the more enjoyable to eat.

Lillian: "Delicious as always Fleur."

Sicily: "Mhmm!"

Yui: "Yes! Thank you~"

Olivia: "Thank you very much!"

Fleur: "I'm glad you all like it, hehe. Don't worry about paying, this one's on the house. To celebrate your recovery."

How nice of her. I have plenty of money so I was prepared to pay for everyone's food. But I'll accept Fleur's generosity; it'll be rude to just shove my money in her face, throwing away her kindness. My gaze naturally moves back to Kaede who hadn't even touched her food and was still staring at me, only this time she looked more curious rather than skeptical. After swallowing my mouthful, I decide to speak up.

Yui: "Kaede? Is something wrong?"

Kaede: "I need to talk with you, after you've finish eating."

Yui: "Okay."

I figured as much. But at least my anxiety has calmed down a bit. I hope this "talk" is nothing bad.

We finish eating, and Kaede takes me back up to our room. Mell wanted to follow, but Kaede insisted for her to stay behind as this seemed to be more of a private talk. Everyone else understood by that point and stayed behind, leaving just Kaede and I in the room. Closing the door behind her, I sit back down on the bed, waiting for whatever it is she wants to talk about.

Kaede: "How you feeling?"

Yui: "Still normal. The pain hasn't come back."

Kaede: "That's good to hear."

She sits down next to me, casting her eyes down to the floor.

Kaede: "What about the food you just ate? How did it taste?"

Is this what she wanted to talk about? No, even before we started eating she was watching me closely.

Yui: "It tasted lovely. Honestly, I could of had seconds if I wanted."

Kaede: "I see."

It was then that I saw the corners of her mouth curve up into a smile before turning her gaze towards me.

Kaede: "Did you smell anything else besides the food?"

Yui: "Not really. The food was so eye catching that I was too focused to notice other smells."

Kaede: "Hah~ Thank god."

She let out a sigh of relief at my words, looking to be even more happy than just a moment ago.

Yui: "Uhm. Why are you asking these questions?"

Kaede: "I was worried you had turned into a monster."

Yui: "Monster?"

Kaede: "Like me, a vampire."

Hearing that word, "Vampire" makes me recall the moment I found myself latched onto Kaede's neck. Putting two and two together, it makes sense that she would come to that conclusion, but I don't feel any different than I normally would.

Kaede: "You see, for me... I can't enjoy food as well as I would like. I'm used to it now, but I don't know what it's like anymore. Seeing all you guys eat with such expressions on your faces makes me jealous. It tells me that we're tasting completely different things, that we're not the same."

Yui: "What does it taste like for you?"

Kaede: "I can tell what it is. But it's like the flavor is sucked out of it, only leaving trace amounts of flavor. Like if you diluted that egg omelet with water. Bland."

Her happy expression from earlier dissipated just as quickly as she cast her eyes back down to the floor.

Kaede: "The only thing I could smell was the smell of everyone else. Their sweat, their blood pumping through their body. That's what I deal with every day."

So instead of seeing meat and vegetables as food, Kaede sees other people as food instead. I can see why she was relieved to hear that I'm still normal for human standards.

Kaede: "It's disgusting, living like this... I don't want that to happen to you. And it's even more disgusting that I'm used to living like this. I've forgotten what actual food tastes like..."

I place my hand on her shoulder, causing her to look at me once more as I smile away, trying to reassure her.

Yui: "Well I feel normal now, trust me."

Kaede: "But. Your eyes."

Yui: "What about them?"

Kaede: "When you. When you bit into my neck, your eyes were different, clouded in red."

I can't help but draw the comparison with her own eyes as the beautiful scarlet red color shined brightly in the room.

Yui: "Are my eyes like that now?"

Kaede: "No. They're normal."

Actually, that was a stupid question to ask as the other's would've surely noticed the difference in my eyes and questioned me about it. I notice Kaede bringing her hand up to me as I move my gaze to it. Slowly, one of her nails grows incredibly long with a sharp pointed end, almost like a small dagger.

Kaede: "Also, your nails didn't change like this."

Yui: "When I was drinking your blood?"

She nods her head as her nail comes closer to her other hand, pressing it against the palm of her hand.

Kaede: "I want to try something-"

She suddenly stabs the tip of her nail into her other hand as blood starts to slowly pool up in her palm.

Yui: "What are you!-"

Kaede: "Can you smell it?"

Yui: "No, now heal your hand already-"

Kaede: "No. I want you to taste it, again."

The look in her eyes are filled with conviction, like there's no way I can turn her down as I stare at her hand that's slowly filling up with more and more blood. I recall the bitter taste of it in my mouth as I feel my throat tighten at the thought of drinking it.

Kaede: "Just a little. Please."

Yui: "Okay."

I bring myself closer to her hand, my eyes locking onto the blood before I close my eyes. I press my lips to her palm, using it as some kind of make-shift cup as I slowly let the blood pass through into my mouth. I expected to taste the same bitterness that was in my mouth before, but surprisingly, it was far sweeter than I ever could've imagined. I open my eyes in surprise to make sure that it was indeed her blood I was drinking, and sure enough, it was. I find myself swallowing more until her palm was empty of blood.

Kaede: "..."

Her face wasn't happy, I could tell.

Kaede: "...How did it taste?"

I find myself wanting to lie, telling her that it was disgusting. But I don' think that lie would pass by her, especially since I accidently drank all the blood in her palm.

Yui: "It tasted... sweet. Very sweet. Like I was drinking apple juice. That kind of sweetness."

Kaede: "..."

She brings her palm to her mouth, licking the blood that's left over while also healing the wound in the process.

Kaede: "For me it tastes a little bitter."

So I wasn't the only one that thought that. But why does her blood taste sweet? Dangerously sweet if I might add.

Kaede: "Strange. It's like you're a vampire, but not at the same time."

Seems as though Kaede is lost just as much as me. The idea of be being a vampire sure is scary, but it's true that I still feel human... Well at least when compared to Kaede.

Kaede: "I might talk with Mai about this. She might know something."

Yui: "Mmm! I think so too."

It's true that Mai is extremely knowledgeable about this world, surely she'll know something we don't.

Kaede: "There's something else I want to try, but that'll have to wait till the sun sets."

Yui: "Okay."

My~ I feel kind of like a lab rat, being experimented on. Not that I mind though. I'd like to learn more about my body and see if there's more changes that I might not know of. But so far, the most notable change is the taste of Kaede's blood. The sweet taste of it still lingers in my mouth, even now.