The Monster Book Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Kyouka's happiness could not be surpassed, as witnessed the next morning in the bakery. Even as some customers entered, frustrated from the morning chill, Kyouka's happiness would immediately radiate toward them and, if only slightly, cheer them up. Her smile was bright and she hummed while she baked.
The small bell dinged above the door and Kyouka looked up to see who her next customers would be. It was the same child she had seen at the beginning of winter, and beside him was a tall, scrawny figure who's head was hidden by a thick scarf and hat, but it was obviously not human, which led Kyouka to one conclusion: She had found two more spirits. The small boy walked up to the counter confidently, scowling once again, and ordered the same muffin. Their appearance only heightened Kyouka's joy and she quickly retrieved the muffin for him. She handed him the muffin and smiled. He smirked in reply and motioned to the other figure, who was drawing a fair amount of attention, that they were leaving.

Kyouka rushed down the dirt roads toward home.  She slammed open the door and immediately noticed something was different. The thing that was specifically different was Satori… or rather, his clothes. Instead of his style of fancy shirts and ties, he was wearing a plain white tank top and sweatpants. His demeanor also seemed foul as he sat on the couch drinking a juice box that Kyouka didn't remember buying.  Because of this she almost forgot what she was going to say.
"Hey everyone!" Kyouka says, then she notices that coincidently, everyone is in the same room. This happened to be, in reality, not as much of a coincidence as Kyouka thought."I've found two more spirits! It’s almost time for all of you to go home!"
A sudden chill rushed through the room and Satori’s mood changed from bad to worse. He arose and stormed off to his room.
"Huh?" Kyouka wondered.

A few hours later, Satori was still in his room brooding as Kyouka went to make dinner. All was quiet as Trinity took a nap and the vampire pondered.  Kyouka was in the kitchen when she noticed the sun was setting Soon, above the horizon the moon began rising. It was blood red. The wind began blowing strongly and the moon fully showed itself above the clouds. It was full.
Kyouka heard loud sounds from the second floor. She dashed into the hallway in time to see Satori sprinting outside. Everyone followed him outside and he collapsed onto the grass. He got up slowly, holding his head. In the moonlight they could see long fur begin to sprout from him. Soon, the rest of his body began changing with him. He became more muscular, his nose and mouth began growing longer, and his nails and teeth grew and turned into sharp weapons.  Then he bolted off into the forest in the direction of town. Then there was a long pause of stunned silence.
"We have to do something!" Kyouka finally says. Trinity looks to the vampire for an answer. There is another pause, then the vampire steps forward to stand next to Kyouka.
"I need your blood." He says to her.
"What!?" She replies, stunned. "Can't you take blood from Trinity?"
"No, it has to be you." He replies bluntly.
Kyouka hesitates, scared of what she has to do.
"Quickly, Kyouka! Before Satori hurts someone!" Trinity says to her.
"Fine." Kyouka says, shaking like a leaf in the cold wind of that night.
The vampire, also reluctant, pulls back Kyouka's collar from her neck and gently sets his teeth where he prepares to bite. His incision was quick and almost painless, but despite that, blood began flowing from her neck, staining her shirt. He drinks a sufficient amount and also begins changing. He becomes much taller than he originally was, his canine teeth, hair, and fingernails grow, and his ears become pointy, the true image of a vampire. Large bat wings appear on his back. Kyouka falls over and he easily catches her. He tells Trinity to keep her safe as he takes off in a burst of wind.
While flying toward the city, he spots Satori's trail of destruction from the sky. Felled trees and hurled rocks make a path through the forest. The vampire begins flying lower, so when he finds Satori, it would be easy to dive tackle him. The vampire follows the trail all the way to the town, where he finds Satori in the middle of his destructive path through town. The vampire landed before him.
"Keane! Stop this!" He yells to him. Satori, in response, swings around and claws him in the face.
"I'LL NEVER GO BACK!" He yells at the vampire, and swings a second time. This time the vampire dodges.
"KEANE!" The vampire yells before being hit though buildings until he collides with a sturdy wall. He arose slowly, already exhausted from the power Satori held. "You give me no choice." He says as he rushes at Satori. Using his claws he digs in and rakes across Satori's chest, which heals in no time at all. Satori, in retaliation, grabs the vampire's arm and hurls him into the wall of the nearby building. The vampire gets up, his useless arm now hangs at his side, broken. The vampire, relentless to save everything important he's ever had in his life, rushes toward Satori in one last-ditch effort to stop the large werewolf.  With his long claws, he digs into Satori’s chest near his heart. Satori becomes surprised, and although he heals instantly he turns back into a human and passes out. His energy had been drained.

Kyouka looked up to the sound of wings to see an unconscious Satori set in front of her. She was not able to look up, but she heard a familiar voice.
Trinity watched the vampire as he set down Satori. "Don't worry, he's fine." He says regarding her worried face. She looks down at Satori for a split second before looking back up at the vampire. His eyes were filled with an obvious sadness. "I only wanted to protect her… but in the end I was just worthless." He says. Then, without enough time to blink an eye, he disappeared into the night.

MONSTER BOOK PART 1/END