3. The Girls’ Fatal Union

Author: Kiki
Raw: https://novel18.syosetu.com/n2498fn/3/
Translator: Lilia v4
Editor: Yuriko AYA

Dinner consisted of scraps scavenged from the town’s rubbish bins and misshapen vegetables of uncertain origin bought at the black market.
Perhaps because I had gone along to forage for food, Ellis laughed and said, “We found more than usual today.”
The moment we returned to her room, she happily began eating.
Strangely, I was not hungry, so I declined the meal and watched Ellis contentedly stuff her cheeks with vegetables.
Presently, she stopped eating and looked at me.
There was something oddly endearing about the gesture. When I smiled without thinking, Ellis’s cheeks reddened slightly, and she promptly resumed her meal.

“You look very happy when you eat.”
“Living like this every day, eating’s about the only pleasure I’ve got.”
“Life in the Discard District must be difficult.”

Light and shadow. Glory and decline.
The city of Groll, not far from the Discard District, was extraordinarily prosperous by comparison.
That said, its technology appeared to lag considerably behind that of modern Japan, so I suppose it would still be considered developing.
Its inhabitants could enjoy such abundance precisely because they turned their eyes from anything inconvenient and drove it into a forgotten corner.
But those things would continue to swell until the day came when they could no longer look away.
I sensed instinctively that this castle of accumulated refuse—the Discard District—was the shape that reckoning had taken.

“Still, are you sure you don’t want anything to eat, Chigusa? It helps me out, but still.”
“I do not mind. I never ate much to begin with. Missing a single meal does not trouble me.”
“And you’re that strong, too. Where in the world do you get the energy?”

I wondered the same thing, though I could feel something welling up from the very depths of my body.
Presumably, that was the force sustaining me now that I was half vampire.
But I did not know what it truly was.

“Ch-Chigusa, what’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”

… And this impulse, too, was something I did not understand.
Could this sudden urge to touch her body be connected in some way to the force that sustained me?
Personally, well—yes. I could not say I disliked it.
But judged against the behavior of the living Chigusa Hinata, it was unnatural in the extreme.
I had been defective merchandise, incapable not merely of physical contact, but of so much as holding a proper conversation with another person.
Yet here I was, initiating this much physical intimacy with a girl I had only just met.

“I am alone in an unfamiliar land. It seems I find myself longing for the warmth of another person.”
“I understand feeling lonely, but… if you’re going to touch me, I’d like some warning first. And not the face. That really startled me.”

Though clearly bewildered, Ellis did not brush me away.
Not a bad reaction.

“Then may I hold your hand?”
“My hand’s fine, but… this is kind of embarrassing.”

Her face was indeed red, but she offered no particular resistance when we faced each other and laced our fingers together.
The phrase not entirely unwilling came to mind.
Thump, thump.
Something passed from my body into Ellis, little by little loosening the knots around her heart.

“You are warm. It is very comforting.”
“Well, if this is all you need, I can always lend you a hand.”
“Thank you. Had you not been the first person I met, Ellis, I believe I would have had a much harder time.”
“You think so? A girl as pretty as you could probably get all kinds of people to help her.”
“Hearing that from you, Ellis, I may actually start to believe it.”
“I mean it! You’re cute, Chigusa, and beautiful too. I thought so the moment I saw you.”

For someone who had never been praised by another person, it was a rather startling experience.
So people in this world received such moving affirmations as a matter of course.
At the same time, Ellis suddenly seemed strangely precious to me.
I could not compare to her.
Oh, how adorable she was.
Her healthy skin was taut and rosy; such fresh blood must be flowing just beneath it.
Her flesh was pleasantly firm, yet still soft.
Whether I ate her or slept with her, could there be any finer specimen?
Now that I had brought my face close to hers, I found that despite living in a rubbish dump, she gave off a sweet fragrance seemingly designed to whet my appetite.
Her clear, slightly upturned eyes, still innocent of all corruption, gazed directly into mine.
Was I imagining the faint moisture in them?
No—our faces were this close, and she was flushed and breathing heavily. It could hardly be my imagination.
This girl was in heat.
Over a girl she had only just met, no less—a girl of the same sex—after the slightest touch, like a female cat in season.
My right hand and Ellis’s left were joined, our fingers woven deeply together as though mating.
I raised my free left hand to her cheek and touched it gently with the pad of my middle finger, as if caressing her.

“Ah…”

A faint sound escaped her, and her body trembled.
Yet she did not refuse me. As though bewitched, she was being drawn into me.
Thump, thump.
Something flowed through our clasped hands and touching fingertips.
Pound, pound.
The charged air between us set my heart racing like an illicit drug.
Hot. So hot I might burn. My mind and body blazed fiercely enough to mistake this sensation for love.
After my index and ring fingers joined the middle one, until every finger rested against her, I cupped her cheek in my palm.
When our faces drew close enough for our breaths to mingle, Ellis naturally closed her eyes.
At that moment, I longed desperately to become one with her.
And she, likewise, with me—

“Hey, Ellis! You in there?”

At that moment, the door was flung open without ceremony, and an unfamiliar man’s voice brought us both crashing back to reality.
We hastily disentangled our hands and drew apart.
… Tch. Just when things were becoming interesting.

“If you’re in, answer me… Who’s that woman?”
“Lyle! How many times have I told you to knock before you come in?!”

The name Ellis shouted—Lyle—was, if I recalled correctly, the name mentioned by the thug harassing her earlier.
Judging from the way he had spoken, the two of them were lovers, or at least shared some comparably intimate relationship.
Then again, considering how readily she had been about to accept my kiss, perhaps their relationship had not progressed quite that far.

“It’s your fault for leaving the door unlocked.”
“If I lock it, people’ll think I’ve got something worth stealing inside and target the place even more!”

When public safety became this poor, such logic apparently followed.
Indeed, in a house this dilapidated, even if one locked the door, it seemed the rest of it could easily be broken instead.
Better to spend the money on even a little more food than waste it on a lock.
Perhaps that was how the people of the Discard District saw things.

“Anyway, I’ll ask again. Who’s that woman?”
“My name is Chigusa. I had nowhere to go, so Ellis kindly provided me with a place to sleep.”
“Chigusa? That’s another weird name. Never seen clothes like yours around here, either… That cloth looks expensive, though. Bet we could get a fair bit of money for it.”
“Lyle! Stop appraising her.”
“We do whatever it takes if there’s money in it. That’s how we survive, isn’t it? More importantly, she said you gave her a place to sleep. Why would you do that? Suddenly awaken to a sense of justice?”

Helping others was not ordinary behavior in this place.
I had begun to suspect as much, but apparently Ellis was simply an unusually kindhearted person.
Had I followed anyone else, by now I might have been deceived and stripped of everything I owned.

“What’s wrong with that? She saved me when some men were harassing me.”
“This frail-looking woman saved you?”
“Just so you know, Chigusa’s many times stronger than you are. She beat a grown man to a pulp with one fist!”

Lyle did not appear to believe Ellis, and he regarded me skeptically.
That was only natural. I could scarcely believe it myself.
Nevertheless, it was a fact that I had rescued Ellis.
And the more Lyle doubted it, the worse her temper became.

“If you don’t believe me, why not fight her yourself?”
“Come on, I can’t hit a girl.”

Lyle spoke with easy confidence.
I said nothing in particular.
If he meant to test me, I was prepared to oblige, but avoiding a fight would certainly be preferable.
I did not wish to attract too much attention in an unfamiliar land.

“So, Lyle, what did you come here for?”
“Nothing in particular. Same as always. I thought I’d talk to you to kill time before bed.”
“Too bad. I’m not free tonight.”
“Looks that way. One man in a room with two women would be pretty awkward anyway. I’ll give up and go to sleep tonight.”

Lyle gave a casual wave, closed the door, and left.

“Good night.”
“Yeah, night.”

Ellis exchanged the farewell with him as naturally as could be.
They were unquestionably close, yet there was a distance between them that was difficult to define.

“That gentleman… What sort of relationship do you have with Lyle?”
“We were both taken in by the same foster parent, so I guess we’re like brother and sister. Even after our old man died, we somehow ended up living in neighboring rooms. We talk every day, like you just saw.”
“I see. He came in so naturally that I assumed you were lovers.”
“W-Wait, no! Lyle and me, lovers? That would never happen! Never!”

Ellis protested, her face burning red.
At the very least, it appeared she had feelings for Lyle.
They were childhood friends, raised by the same parent and as close as siblings.
The two of them being drawn to each other and eventually becoming lovers—what a lovely romance. I had seen stories like that in girls’ manga, and I did not dislike them.
But I could enjoy such a story without reservation only when it concerned other people.

“Sure, I see him every day, but that’s only because we’re family. There’s no special meaning to it or anything…”

Ellis continued making excuses I had not asked for.
I placed a hand against her cheek and brought my face close to hers once more.
Now that she was in her right mind, she naturally put her hands against my shoulders and tried to push me back.

“Wait. What… are you trying to do?”
“Lyle appears to have gone, so I thought we might continue where we left off.”
“What happened before was just… I got carried away by the mood, that’s all. Besides, why are you trying to k-kiss me, Chigusa?”
“Because I was seized by an overwhelming desire to have you.”

I stared into Ellis’s eyes and pressed her more boldly than before. She showed no further will to resist.
Permission had been granted—or so I concluded as I pushed her onto her back.
Looking down at a girl whose expression was glazed with lust filled me with the satisfaction of conquest.
Something I had never possessed.
Something I had been unable to obtain, however hard I tried.
A sense of fulfillment I had gained only after ceasing to be human.
For the first time, I understood why I was here.
My life until now had been flavorless and scentless, cold and as ceaselessly painful as being impaled. It had been hell.
While everyone else passed through life normally, or even happily, I had not been permitted so much as normality.
So I had come here to reclaim everything I had been denied.

“There is still time to stop.”
“… Stop what?”
“Lyle is in the room next door, is he not? And yet you would engage in such indecent behavior with me. Is that truly permissible?”
“Lyle is… different. We don’t have that kind of relationship.”
“So because your relationship is different, this does not matter?”

When I pressed her for an answer, Ellis gave a small nod.
By now, her will appeared to have been swallowed by desire, leaving her incapable of sound judgment.
After all, betraying the childhood friend she supposedly loved to kiss a woman she had met that very day was plainly irrational.
Though if one wished to make that argument, my own behavior was irrational as well.

“This will actually be my first kiss.”
“You’re… kidding, right?”
“It is true. You are the first person I have ever wanted in this way, Ellis.”

At those words, Ellis’s eyes grew heavy-lidded, and she released a heated, intoxicated breath.
I had not lied. It was the truth.
That only made my desire for Ellis all the more abnormal.
But even understanding its abnormality did nothing to restrain it.

“Ellis.”

I spoke her name as a final confirmation, and she answered breathlessly.

“Chigusa…”

Her voice was pleading and sweet. Not a trace seemed to remain of either her resistance to me or her guilt toward Lyle.

“…!”

When our lips met, Ellis’s body tensed.
As I held still, I heard an urgent “Mmmph” of breath escape through her nose.
Her desperate effort was adorable. Meaning only to tease her a little, I caught her lower lip between my own.
I kneaded it again and again, as if massaging it, savoring its lukewarm, supple softness against my lips.

“Mm, mmph… Hah… Haa…”

Ellis began to release breaths that sounded almost like moans.
Her innocent reaction roused my mischievous impulses once more.
Quick as the flick of a snake’s tongue, I touched my tongue to Ellis’s lips for only an instant.
Her body twitched. It appeared I had startled her.
Next, rather than merely touching her, I licked along the seam between her upper and lower lips—

“Mmh… ah…”

Ellis’s lips parted as though inviting my tongue inside.
Without reservation, I slipped it into her mouth.
The slick warmth of her mucous membranes heightened my excitement.
The insides of her cheeks were especially soft, seeming to enfold my tongue. Merely running its tip over them was pleasurable.
As I explored her mouth, Ellis’s tongue timidly reached toward mine.
As though testing what she should do, she touched the tip of mine and retreated, then touched and retreated again.
I was the first to lose patience and caught her tongue assertively in mine, drawing a foolish “Hahya!” from Ellis’s throat.
Her inexperience was precisely what stirred my emotions.
For a while, I alone caressed Ellis’s tongue. Once she had calmed somewhat, however, she began to move of her own accord.
She entwined her tongue with mine in time with my movements, and once she learned the trick, she began tending to me eagerly even when I held still.
For all her strong-willed appearance, between this and her delight at being pinned beneath me, perhaps she possessed masochistic inclinations.
She continued to lick my tongue with evident pleasure. Whenever I fed her saliva, she thoroughly worked it over with her tongue and savored it before swallowing.
It was not only saliva. With every contact, I sent something else into her as well.
A part of my body was invading Ellis.
The thought filled my body with an unstoppable heat.
Perhaps Ellis, for her part, was pleased to take my saliva into her body. Before I knew it, both arms were wound behind my neck, and she had lost herself in our kiss, writhing beneath me.

After that—how long did our lips remain joined?
At last, we ended an exchange far too intense for a first kiss and slowly parted.
As our tongues separated, a silvery bridge of saliva stretched between them, as though reluctant to break.

“Hah, hah, hah…”

Our shoulders heaved as we gazed at each other, our expressions naturally dissolving into bliss.
The woman before me was, quite simply, the most precious person in the world.
In other words, my mind was now filled entirely with love for Ellis, and Ellis’s mind must likewise have been filled entirely with me.
Her perspiring skin gleamed; emotion shimmered in her eyes; heated breaths spilled from her half-parted lips.
Every part of her seemed to be inviting me.
Once was not enough.
There was no reason to resist the impulse, so I began leaning toward Ellis again.

“Wait…”

Her voice stopped me.
But I heard no refusal in it, so I obediently halted where I was.
Apparently, she had something she wished to say.

“… This time, I want to do it.”

With that, she wrapped her arms behind my neck.
It seemed less that she wished to take the lead than that she simply wanted to be the one to initiate the kiss.
I surrendered myself to her, letting her draw me in—and we shared our second kiss.

Wet sounds echoed through the cramped room, accompanied by sweet breaths and soft, broken moans.
The poor ventilation allowed the humid heat and the sweet-and-sour scent of our mingled sweat to fill the room.
It intoxicated us like an aphrodisiac.
Kisses alone were not enough.
Merely pressing our bare skin together was not enough.
We continued seeking each other until one of us reached the limits of her endurance.
No barrier remained between us. Skin slid against skin as our bodies and hearts became one.
Again, and again, and again.