The Fallen Vampire

"We can go home instantly if we like, but we can\'t teleport back to where we came from using that same method.

Taira would have to set sail on another four day voyage to get here again, and we don\'t have that kind of time!" Enyo explained; trying not to be so frantic.

Ja\'Zaki scratched his head thoughtfully.

"But I\'ve also seen you all bring things from your home at your leisure… if all of you stayed behind here, then couldn\'t you bring Taira back when he was done recuperating?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

The girls all looked at each other silently while having their own internal deliberation.

Taira lay on the floor, trying to understand if he should be concerned that he could see eight different copies of his wives, or overjoyed.

"I… guess we never tried to transport a live person before?" Aveena realized.

She held out her hands and closed her eyes to concentrate, while everyone else in the tent fell silent.

Mere seconds later, a glowing light showed up in her outstretched arms and Inadu came into full view.

She was wearing a very familiar royal blue kimono that was much too big for her, and only barely awake.

When her eyes refocused and she realized exactly where she was, she was understandably confused.

"A-Aveen-"

"By the nine heavens!!"

Enyo circled over every inch of Inadu within a single second.

Once she saw that she had lost weight again, she became visibly panicked.

"Y-You haven\'t been eating properly, have you?! Do you not like the leftovers I left you?!"

"N-No, they are wonderful… I-I have just been… tired since you all left."

Enyo couldn\'t read Inadu\'s mind, but she didn\'t have to in order to know that her friend was absolutely not okay.

"Ina…" she began.

"T-Taira..?"

Once Inadu saw a familiar face lying on the ground, she climbed down from Aveena\'s arms and breezed past Enyo like she was made of air.

She kneeled beside Taira and gave him a worried once over similar to the one she was just subjected to, as if she wasn\'t in a concerning state herself.

"W-What happened to you..? Why are you like this..?"

Taira couldn\'t hear her over the sound of his own heart beating like a monkey\'s favorite drum.

Inadu was beautiful, but she also looked so very fragile, and so exhausted that she could fade away with the slightest touch.

And yet, he still wanted to embrace her more than anything.

It made him feel slightly bad about himself and these newly acquired instincts of his.

"I\'m fine, Ina…" he lied. "My kimono looks nice on you by the way."

Inadu looked down at her body and her cheeks darkened.

"I-I-I\'m sorry for snooping, I just felt restless and-"

"It\'s fine. Like I said, it looks nice. Besides, I\'m sort of used to everyone else wearing my clothes as much as me."

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His wives felt like they\'d been indirectly targeted and they turned their faces away out of instinct.

Ina smiled softly at this and pulled the blue robe over her body more tightly. "I see.. thank you then."

Keran finally stepped forward and touched Inadu on her shoulder.

Before voicing her request, she took a very deep breath. "Ina.. we need you to take Taira home and help him recover. He needs to steep in the waters for as long as he can-"

"I will do it. Whatever it takes." She said without hesitation.

Taira sat up with great difficulty as he held his ribcage. "I\'m far from helpless... I don\'t need all of you to fret over me like this, all I need is a little rest and-"

"Get a good rest, babe!" Keran gave her husband a large kiss on the cheek and sent him back to their home without another rebuttal.

She gave Inadu a friendly tap on the shoulder along with a wink, and sent her back to their home as well.

Finally, the girls seemed to be able to let out a sigh of relief.

One thing that they could count on for certain was that their husband was in good hands.

-

Taira appeared on the stone bridge connecting the compound to the icy steps that lead into the cavern.

A couple of seconds later, Inadu appeared right beside him.

The two of them stared at each other for a couple of moments without saying much of anything at all.

Taira was largely oblivious to the throbbing pain in his head and chest, because he was solely focused on the fat loss in Ina\'s cheeks.

"...You\'ve lost weight." He said sadly.

"...Just a little."

"We should go to the kitchen. I\'ll make you something to eat and-"

"N-No, you need to heal first. Your breathing is very unstable."

"I will be fine for now, but you still need some kind of nourishment so that you can remain on your feet." Taira said adamantly.

"My feet? You are barely standing on yours as it is…" Inadu reminded.

Taira allowed his body to float off the ground and waited for Inadu\'s next rebuttal.

However, he never got one, and instead she just smiled at him softly.

And then, tears started to fall right from her ruby red eyes.

In an instant, Taira stopped floating and started to wipe away the tears running down her face.

As soon as he touched her, he could feel it.

This young woman was absolutely exhausted.

Even more than he had initially realized.

He was the one who was in shit shape, but it was every bit as miraculous that she was up and walking around.

"Inadu? What\'s the matter?"

Since it was too late to save face, the spider demon just decided to be honest.

"I haven\'t been doing very well since you left that night…" Ina finally said. "I didn\'t want to be the charity case woman who you stuck next to because she was vulnerable.

I didn\'t want to… earn my place at your side like that. But I\'ve come to realize in your absence that… I… need help. Even if I don\'t want to admit it."

"Then you shall have all that you could ever need and more." He replied without hesitation.

He brought his face dangerously close to hers and only stopped himself from crossing the line that was already blurry.

But by some miracle, he held fast.

Taira was left stunned as Inadu reached for his collarbone.

Without a modicum of lewd intent, she began to help him disrobe so that he could finally stop putting off his treatment.

\'Don\'t look down, don\'t look down, don\'t look down…\'

Ignoring certain obvious areas, she could see that the bruising from internal bleeding was getting worse.

"Let\'s continue this… after you\'ve had a moment to rest."

Ever so delicately, she pushed him off the bridge and watched his body fall into the water.

She didn\'t know why, but she could see him smiling at her as he fell into the crystal blue lake.

Like a maiden in love, she leaned against the railing and stared at the spot where he was submerged.

"I never dreamed I could see a man like you make a face like that one… You continue to surprise me."

In a good mood for the first time in four days, Inadu remained unmoving in that same spot, simply watching the water where Taira had gone under like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

But while she was in a loving-feel good mood, the so called heroes of light had just arrived at the fairy king\'s forest…