When I pricked the tip of my index finger with a needle, a sharp sting ran through it, and a bead of blood began to well up.
Slowly, gradually, it swelled until it was finally large enough to be called a proper drop.
“Liz, what do you think? Can you take it?”
I held my finger close to Liz’s mouth.
Liz gently licked the blood from my fingertip, making sure not to leave even the smallest trace behind.
“Yeah. It looks like I can.”
Her answer brought me a little relief.
A loud rumble came from Liz’s stomach.
“Sorry... I was already starving, but tasting your blood seems to have made me even hungrier... Ugh...”
With a pained expression, Liz rubbed her stomach.
“Then let’s get you fed as soon as possible. I think I’m reaching my limit too.”
I placed a hand over my own stomach. The hollow sensation in the center of my body had grown stronger, as though something were slowly gnawing away at me from the inside.
I started walking, eager to begin Liz’s “meal” as soon as possible.
Then I heard her voice behind me.
There were tears in Liz’s eyes as she apologized. I could not bring myself to look directly at her face.
After all, this was my fault in the first place.
Liz and I had been best friends ever since we were little.
We were always together, and that alone had been more than enough to make us happy.
Even after we grew old enough to be called young women rather than children, even as our relationships with other people began to change, the bond between us remained exactly the same.
I had believed it always would.
If only I had never suggested exploring the old mansion in the nearby forest for the stupidest of reasons: because I wanted to see the normally calm and gentle Liz panic for once.
If only I had noticed the suspicious magic circle on the floor.
If only I had not crept up behind Liz and startled her, just to frighten her a little.
None of this would have happened.
The instant I accidentally knocked Liz into the magic circle, she was enveloped in light.
By the time I realized what had happened, she had become what people would call a vampire.
To make matters worse, perhaps because of some strange quirk in the spell, she could only drink the blood of someone who was starving.
Before we discovered that condition, Liz had been unable to feed at all. The hunger she had suffered during those days must have been unbearable.
Both of Liz’s parents were overseas. We could not rely on any of our other friends.
Most people could not simply go without food for several days for the sake of someone else’s meal.
I was the only one who could give Liz her “meal.”
I was the one who had to give it to her.
I was the one who had turned Liz into this.
We took off our clothes and stepped into the bathroom together. Liz always had her “meals” there.
Being naked in front of each other was a little embarrassing, but I did not want blood staining our clothes.
“Liz... You’ve gotten thinner again.”
The words slipped out when I looked at her stomach.
Liz had always had a lovely figure, but her already slender waist had become even narrower since she turned into a vampire. The faint outlines of her ribs and hip bones were beginning to show beneath her skin. It was painful to look at.
Her last “meal” had been ten days ago.
Human standards did not seem to apply perfectly to her anymore, but she had still gone hungry for a very long time.
“You’re one to talk, Erika. Your stomach is completely flat.”
As she spoke, Liz gently touched my belly.
“You’re hungry, aren’t you?” Liz asked. “How many days has it been since you last ate?”
“Hmm... Three days, I think. You can’t drink my blood unless I fast for at least that long, right?”
Unless I went without food for a minimum of three days, Liz’s body rejected my blood.
“Yeah... That’s true. Erika, I’m so sorry...”
“No, don’t worry about it.”
I was about to add, This is the least I can do, when—
Grrrgggllllle... grrrrrrrrowl...
Liz’s stomach let out another desperate rumble.
“Ugh... I don’t think I can hold back anymore... I’m so hungry...”
Clutching her stomach, Liz crouched down.
Grrrgggllllle... grrrowl... grrrrrrrrrooooaaar...
Her empty stomach cried out again, even more fiercely than before.
I hurriedly held out my arm toward her mouth.
Grrrrrr... gurr-gurr-gurrrrgle... grrrrrrroooowl...
“Go ahead. Hurry and eat. I can’t have my own dinner until you’ve had your meal.”
Then she sank her teeth into my arm.
As soon as I saw her drinking the blood from my wrist, I began to feel sick.
I had eaten nothing for three days, and now she was taking my blood as well.
Little by little, I felt the warmth drain from my body.
“Erika! Erika! Stay with me!”
The sound of someone calling my name brought me back to my senses.
“Erika!? You’re awake? Thank goodness...”
At some point, I had been placed in a bed. I was wearing the pajamas Liz usually slept in.
The sound of Liz’s voice, trembling as though she were about to cry, somehow made me feel a little safer.
“I was so terribly hungry that I couldn’t stop myself from drinking... By the time I realized what I was doing, you had already passed out. I thought... I thought you might have died...”
“Liz... Don’t worry about it.”
At my words, Liz gave me a tearful smile.
“By the way, Liz... Has your stomach settled down?”
“Yeah. I finally feel full for the first time in ages.”
As she spoke, Liz rubbed her stomach.
It was true. Her belly looked slightly fuller now.
I let out a relieved sigh.
Grrrrrrrowl... gurrrrgggllle... grrrrrrroooowl...
My stomach rumbled loudly.
The hunger was so intense that a groan escaped my lips.
Liz looked at me and spoke gently.
“Erika, now it’s my turn to fill your stomach. I made some food for you ahead of time. I’ll go bring it from the kitchen.”
With that, Liz headed toward the kitchen.
As I watched her leave, my stomach let out another enormous growl, as if it could no longer bear the wait.
GRRRRRGGGLLLLLE... GURR-GURR-GURRRRRRRROWL...
I'm posting a story I previously wrote in Japanese, translated by AI.
