Rika's life had become a cycle.

Wake up. Go to school. Wear the mask of the shy, harmless girl everyone adored. Feed. Go home. Repeat.

But today felt different. Something gnawed at her, a hollow ache in her chest and a sharp hunger twisting her insides. Or rather—someone.

Her personal blood source. Her routine depended on them. And they weren't here.

By mid-morning, her hunger was unbearable. Every step she took through the hallways, every scent of warm blood from her classmates, was torture. She could already imagine sinking her fangs into any of them—but that would be reckless. Too public. Too suspicious.

So she waited until lunch, when the campus was busy enough to mask her absence, and slipped away.

She found him—an ordinary boy who looked like no one would miss him. Perfect.

She followed him around the corner, her steps soundless, her breathing slow and controlled—until she struck. In one swift, practiced motion, she dragged him out of sight and sank her fangs deep, draining him until he went limp in her arms. His body hit the ground with a dull thud, forgotten before it even cooled.

By the time she returned to campus, her mask was back in place, a sweet smile plastered across her face as her friends greeted her.

The rest of the day passed as if nothing had happened.

But she hadn't forgotten.

The moment the final bell rang, she left.

She didn't walk—she stalked, straight to their apartment. By the time she stood outside their door, her hunger had risen again, sharp and insistent.

She didn't knock.

The door slammed open, and in seconds she was in their room, standing over their bed where they lay as if they had nothing to fear.

"So you think you can hide from me while I starve?" Her voice was cold, dangerous, dripping with irritation.

She crossed the room in a flash, climbing onto the bed and pinning them down.

"I don't care if you're sick, dying, or begging for mercy—" she yanked their collar down, exposing a canvas of overlapping bite marks, evidence of her endless hunger.

"—you give me your blood every. Single. Day. Understood?"

She didn't wait for an answer.

Her fangs glinted in the dim light, and then they were buried deep in their neck. This time, she didn't bother to pace herself, didn't pretend to be gentle. Her hunger had been festering all day, and she drank like she meant to drain them dry, her grip tightening with every swallow.

And from the look in her eyes, she had no intention of stopping any time soon.