*** Yuki, a Little after Alzi passed out ***

  Nakuma ing early is turning into a real boon. She watch Mai as she settles into her new way of life. I just o make sure Nakuma doesn't use her as a test subject. She go a bit too far when she has a question about magic. She once vinced her sister to hang upside down for aire day to test if extra blood going to the brain helped you release mana faster. We found it didn't; we also found it is a terrible idea to hang upside down for a day. We all figured that out thirty minutes in, but Nakuma insisted she stay for the entire day. I yelled at her a bit for that one, so she started to hide her experiments from me. She never killed anyone or permaly crippled them somehow. She seems to have a bit too much luck when it es to magic.

  Luckily, Mai is a small girl, making transp her to my private house much easier. I'm attrag a lot of stares carrying a person-shaped bag around, but everyone knows not to questiorong. The one good thing to e from Mai's transformation is that she may be able to get a css. We'll find out when she wakes up, but very feires don't get a blood affinity during the transition. The rich mana enviro Alzi provided duriransition should let her body accept mana well. Her getting a css helps a lot. She won't be strong enough to plete the hard missions with Nakuma and me, but she protect the home. The feires left in the open are all nobles now; she could earn us some es to them as well.

  That is only true if we teach her to tain her bloodlust. I've been going bad forth about whether to tact the vampires now to help train her or wait. They may wish to kill her to cut off any ce of her going on a rampage. I'll have to use that as a st resort. I 't have Mai die, I promised Alzi she'll be fine.

  My house isn't in the noble h-css districts. Not being a citizen limits where I purchase nd. But I'm nowhere he slums, and the nd was a lot cheaper, so I got a bigger pce than I would've in the higher districts. Six bedrooms, most were turned into practis for my various arts until retly. I had them switched back when I decided to marry Alzi. The kit and living room pleted the room list. I didn't have a courtyard, I was on a bit of a budget when I purchased the home and I never had a reason to upgrade.

  It took two hours to reach the brothel, but my limp body made me go slower than normal. Nakuma is already home, so I'll have her watch Mai ht and in the m. I'm just staying until Mai wakes up, and I expin what happened.

  "HI YUKI!!" the crazy Kitsune yells when she spots me, her tails a blur of colors behind her.

  "Hi Nakuma. Please don't yell so loud; you'll disturb the neighbors." I reprimand.

  "I haven't seen you fhty years. If I want to yell to greet you, I will. Now, why are you carrying a vampire?"

  "Bitch learn to shut the fuck up!" I lose my top. I know she is loose-lipped, but she knows people won't like a neire living in the same city as them, much less the same street.

  "Magic girl, only you and I are hearing what we are saying. Now e in. I may be absent-minded, but I'm not stupid. It hurts you still think I have no on sense." Her tails suddenly stop and drop behind her. Even her ears flop down to make her look extra pitiful.

  "I'm sorry. It has been a stressful few hours, and I his vampire to live, ok? So, a slight ge of pns. You'll be watg her while I do my duty at the brothel. I'll be here during the evenings to handle her and give you a break. M and night, you'll watch her." I say, pushing past her and towards the bedroom without any windows.

  "Oh, she's that fresh? I've got so many things to test with her. I've been w ho..."

  "No, no experiments. Alzi and I pn to make her our wife. You 't be using her as a test subject. We'll be trainio trol her bloodlust, and then she goes back to the brothel till Alzi's is sold to the Princess, got it?" I say with a stern face. She'll still run experiments; there is no stopping them, but it should limit them to nonharmful things like how fast her eyes dite instead of how much of her body regee on a cup of blood.

  "But this is the perfect opportunity! A neire who has no idea how anything works, no trol. She'll be reag to things as a natural vampire. There will be no hiding uarding of secrets like the st one did."

  "Last one? When did you have a vampire before?"

  "Oh, I was going through some a ruins, and some bitch tried to bite me. Probably five years ago. Well, I quickly figured out she was a vampire. The whole give me a cup of your blood, and I'll let you go thing made it obvious, so I kidnapped her for a few months and tried to figure out why vampires prefer the color bck. All the paintings, books, and stories have them wearing bck. There has to be a reason, so I wao test why. She wouldn't answer any of my questions. It was so frustrating. I tried putting her in different outfits and different colors, but she wouldn't just aatural in them. I had to give up a her go."

  "Really, why do they wear bck? Please just let Mai grow into a normal, well-adjusted vampire. Alzi will not be happy if Mai has a rge personality ge, aher will I."

  "Fine. I'll do my best." She wines out like a spoiled brat.

  "Have you finished settling in?"

  "Yes, I got in st night. My room is almost perfect. I just need you tied to the bed, and I'll be good to go." A hopeful smile spreads on this girl's face.

  "No, not yet, at least. When I'm married to Alzi, I'll think about doing that for a day or so, but no longer. Now, I have some space? It'll be easier to keep her calm when she wakes up if it is just me around."

  "Thanks, Yuki, you're the best." She says, running out of the room.

  I get Mai out of the bag, onto the bed and wait for her to wake up. I've got a vial of Alzi blood. I also collected some of Kelly and I's blood. I'll mix a small amount of Alzi's blood into the blood I'll feed Mai and hope she doesn't spit it out. She o get used to other people's blood early. The biggest problem for neires is that they are often picky about the blood they drink, causing them to go hungry till they lose all rational thought and rampage looking for blood they stomach. I had Kelly get some vials from irls at the brothel. All I do is wait for her to wake up. I'll o get Nakuma to teleport me to the brothel in time for when Alzi wakes up; I've got the required runes marked in my bedrooms.

  It takes Mai an hour to wake up. She seemed normal as she opened her eyes and studied the new room. I haven't put any decorations up in the rooms, just the basic furniture. She's weak, but that was known beforehand; she should perk right up after some blood.

  Her eyes eventually find my ned refuse to leave, making her look like a love-sick schoolgirl. A little drool shows in the er of her mouth. "Yuki, why is your neck so pretty now?" She asks, clearly worried about her own behaviood, she has enough ratioo tell something is off.

  "My neot the new room or why I'm watg you. My neck is what you want to know about?"

  "I want to know about all that, but I think if you answer my question, the rest will fall into pce," she says, lig her lips, letting her eeth show for the first time.

  "Oh, I didn't think you would put that together. Things are looking a lot better than I thought," I say, almost giving out a little cheer. She may not o stay here long if she is this rational while being starved. I decided to give a little test and pull out an Alzi's blood vial from my ste ring. She pounces immediately, faster than she's ever moved before.

  Mai does her best to reach the blood, but she's too starved, and I'm to for her to ever have a ce of stealing it from me. I put it back away and she returns to normal rather quickly, eyes making their way bay slender neck.

  "You're a vampire now, Mai. I moved you away so I help teach you to trol your bloodlust. Ohat happens, I'll let you go back to the brothel, or you stay here and start to build up a good reputation for our family a little early," I expin. Mai's eyes stay put as her brain tries to process what I just told her. It takes less than a minute for her predit to settle in and for her fear to try to trol her. Shaking her body, testing her fangs against her red lips. Her eyes are now blood red. Her bck hair and fur, shit, does Nakuma have a point about vampires and the color bck?

  Please have a css, Mai, I'll get you trained, and the stupid Princess will have no reason to deny our marriage when I force it from the Queen. "Focus on the Goddesses; focus on seeing your true status."

  Once more, she looks fused, then...

  "HOW! I don't have an affinity or css or anything. Why I see the box?" tears threatened her beautiful red globes, demanding answers about her new-found blessing.

  "You now have an affinity, most likely blood. Check for your css. Things just got a lot better for us, Mai. A little pain and a rge reward."

  "I do. Wait, don't people kill neires? How did I bee one, and why did that give me an affinity?" she stutters, fear ing back to the little kitten.

  "You should be dead; that is why you are a vampire. Most vampires have ain the blood affinity, just like you now have. As to the death thing, yes. But I have a friehat will help me teach you trol. Once you have the trol the people will have o kill you. Most vampires you hear about are the ourned on act and are left to kill the vilge. I won't let that happen to you. Alzi and I love you too much to kill you. Now, do you have a css already?"

  "Yes, blood disciple. Is that a on one?"

  "I don't know, but it doesn't really matter. A css is a css when you didn't have one before. Now time for what your stomach desires. Bite my neck, but remember to trol yourself. When you're full stop."

  "I don't want to. Please don't make me. 't I get it in a cup or something?"

  "Nht now, you'll get it from the source. Later, you have it in a cup. But you'll always have to get some fresh, or you'll go insane. Now stop stalling. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to stop." I get off the chair and sit on the side of her bed, moving my hair so she easily reach my neck. I'll likely o force her off me.

  With my neck presented so weling, Mai's instincts ki, and she pounces, fangs sinking into my skin to draw blood. The fangs didn't cause much pain, more disfort. I put Mai on my p like a child and stroked her hair, trying to tell when she was full. All vampires naturally learn to trol how much they drink before they are full or start to hurt the donator. It just takes time. Nakuma and I's blood just isn't the right kind to traiaste on; our blood is probably riough in mana to taste good even. Mai will be living off Alzi's Mother and her wives for long stretches of time, she'll o be fine drinking blood g mana.

  It takes about five minutes for it to bee obvious that Mai is full. Likely happened a minute ago, but the signs are hard to judge. "Mai, I need you to get off me now," I say in a calm voice, testing her trol. She ignored me as expected. A fliy finger sends a little mana to sp her off my pretty neck.

  Mai immediately tries again to sink her fangs into my soft neck. Her speed has greatly improved, but she is still far too weak to threaten me. I toss her onto the bed and stand up, ready to give Mai a little beating if she still 't get trol. She unches herself at me as soon as her feet touch the bed; I feel my blood jiggle for a fra of a sed. Bold girl using a skill o level one.

  I give her a good few sps when her head nears my neck, knog her out. I o get back to Alzi; she's likely waking up now. I have Nakuma take over for me here. I go searg for whi she picked out.

  I decided to check the oo the master bedroom a a lot of mana moving around in the room. I gave her room a gentle knoot daring to go in. Who knows what trap she's set for me inside.

  "You just walk in if you want. I don't mind, anytime, especially if I'm ging or sleeping and defeo stop you from taking advantage of me," She calls from inside.

  "I'm not that stupid. Get out here. I o give you the blood, and I need you to teleport me back to the brothel."

  "Fine." I hear her stomp over to her door and walk out.

  "Here, these are the bottles to feed her from. You'll o mix this bottle into them—just a drop."

  "I know, I've never messed up an experiment. She'll be ready for you soon."

  "She isn't an experiment. Just get her stable. Alzi will worry about her."

  "Fio your room, please. I need you on the runes."

  "I know, this way. And no, you are not allowed in my bedroom without my permission. As soon as I get to the brothel, you are to leave my room." I don't know why she respects that wish of mine, but the girl never enters my room without permission. As soon as I step onto the strange circle, I appear in my room at the brothel. She's gotten a lot faster with that spell.

  Time to che Alzi, I hope I didn't kill her kids. Alzi likes to pretend she doesn't care about her kids, but someone as nice as her 't be indifferent to those she's raised for nine months.