Chapter 31: A Reunion, Hot and Cold

"What do you want, Jason? Haven't you said enough to hurt me already? What more do you have to explain?"

Hearing the cold, emotionless voice of his once-sister in his ear, Jason rolled over in a rush and opened his mouth to speak. He had so much to tell his friends, but no matter how much he tried, not a single sound was heard.

His eyes widened as he realized how much of a toll his delimiter had taken on his body. Every part of him ached horribly, and his arm twitched intermittently, unable to move a muscle. With the force of two-ton trucks crushing him from all sides, his skin turned pale, and his throat dried up, but he felt that he owed it to his friends to tell them the truth.

'Please! Move!' he yelled at his body. 'Just this once. I need to explain myself.'

He opened his mouth once more, and a pale finger covered his lips with a hush.

"Shut it," Eve said with a sneer on her face. "I'll listen to your excuses later. For now, just drink."

The azure blue eyed vampire shoved a chilled pack of emergency blood in the hate reader's throat and flinched as he gulped it down in a frenzy. Feeling the cool and refreshing sensation in his mouth, Jason succumbed to his primal instincts and drank the blood like a beast, leaving only a single drop at the drop.

He let out a small cough and immediately, his body began to recover, spheres of blood forming within him before dispersing to his legs. Though his head hurt from the famine and dehydration, Jason sat up and stared straight in the face of his companions.

"Speak," the Doom Monkey commanded with a vicious snarl. "We chose to save your life, because she still felt pity for a conceited asshole like you."

Karl spit on the ground aggressively before stomping on his Master's right leg.

Jason yelped in pain and quickly bit his bottom lip, holding the rest of the scream inside.

"Explain," he repeated imposingly. "You have three seconds before I take out my axe."

"3…"

"2…"

"Wait! Let me handle this," the silver haired vampire shouted, interrupting the monkey in his countdown.

Eve walked up to her brother and drew her hand back. In a flash, she slapped the hate reader hard on the face, leaving a mark of red.

"Tell me then!" she screamed. "How could you be so cruel?"

"WOOO! You go, Eve!" Karl cheered with support, waving his axe in the air. "Beat him up again! Just like that!"

Eve winded herself up for another slap, and Jason grit his teeth, closing his eyes.

She saw his cheek swell to the size of a balloon and dropped her arm loosely by her side.

"Nooo," she cried. "I can't do this. This isn't me."

"Please brother. Just tell me what I did wrong, and I'll never bother you again."

"Are you stupid, you brainless little girl?!?" Karl roared with anger, his voice dripping with hatred and contempt. "You got used and tossed like a rag, and you still want to treat this loser well?!?"

"I KNOW ALL OF THAT!" she screamed in a voice so loud that it shocked the two boys. "Yes, it's true that he tossed us away, but Big Brother is a good person who saved my life, and I will always believe in him."

She paused hesitantly and took a deep breath to control her erratic breathing.

"He has every right to be annoyed. I am slow and bad with directions, and I have already dragged him onto too many of my trips. I'm sorry…" she said with a hiccup, tears rolling down her face as she turned to face the hate reader. "I ruined our friendship, didn't I, Big Brother?"

The young vampire gently brushed her hand against her brother's cheek.

"NO! YOU'RE WRONG!" Jason screamed in response.

"It's not your fault; I swear on the gods. I love traveling with you and Karl, and I'm also bad with directions. That's what makes it so fun to be around you all."

"I just…I ran into a problem, panicked, and said a lot of hurtful things," he said in a rush as the tears welled up in his eyes.

"And what kind of shitty companion ditches their friends when they run into a problem?" Karl sneered.

"I know, Karl. I know. But please let me explain? Eve, have you been feeling a painful, burning sensation at night recently?"

"Huh?" the silver-haired vampire replied in shock, jumping back. "How did you know? Did I accidentally mention it?"

"No," he continued with a sigh, a singular drop rolling down his cheek. "It's actually my fault."

"You see, several months ago, I angered a beautiful goddess, and she decided to take revenge by cursing me and my future friends. She secretly hid this condition from me, but it seems that you," he said, pointing to Eve, "and Alea are currently being targeted by the flames of resentment."

"I thought that if we stopped being friends, everything would go back to normal. I hoped that if I stayed alone, you guys could stay happy, and the curse would disappear. But it seems that you are destined to suffer for having met me irrespective of what actions I choose."

He paused and took a big, deep breath, swallowing his intermittent hiccups.

"I am so sorry, Eve. You should have never met me, and we never should have become friends. All of this happened because of my stupid actions. Please trust me. I never would have forced you to leave otherwise."

Eve began to bawl as the two embraced each other in a small hug. She wiped the tears from her brother's face and stared deep into his eyes, vulnerable and filled with doubt.

"Stupid shitty brother," she shouted with a sniffle, having picked up a bit of bad language from her time with Karl. "I don't mind suffering if it means being able to travel with you."

She slowly stood up and swept the dirt off her dress.

"If not for you, I would have died in that alley without being able to experience the world. I would have never been able to reunite with my father, meet the Elven princess, or even laugh with the members of the Pimple Clan. What would I know about dupigs, spirits, and blood control? This world was dark, cold, and filled with hatred until you showed me there was light. All of this is possible thanks to you."

She straightened her back and revealed a small smile.

"I trust that you can save me once more," she said in quivering voice, new tears flowing down her face. "I believe in you, and I know Alea does too. So please, don't leave us again."

Jason nodded his head slowly and wept like a baby for the second time since he had transmigrated to the Isles. After a long minute of silence, he pulled the silver-haired vampire closer and gently placed her head on his shoulders.

"I promise I won't leave you all again. And…" he said with a pause, deep in thought. "After we save your father, how would you all like to come visit my home?"

Eve's face lit up with joy as she nodded her head violently.

"Yes! Of course!" she screamed. "And Alea will be there too?"

"Hahaha, why wouldn't she be?" he laughed, a brilliant smile growing on his face. "Of course, I'll ask her too."

Jason turned delicately toward the angry Doom Monkey and pat him gently on the head.

"You want to come too?" he said while stroking his black-striped fuzzy hair. "You know that we're best friends, right, Karl? I'm sorry to you too."

"Tsk," the Doom Monkey replied, unable to hide the tiny grin growing on his face. "I understand your situation was hard, but don't you dare treat us like shit again, got it?"

"Yes sir," Jason responded happily with a salute. "Thank you for always keeping me in check, sir."

With a hearty laugh, the two quickly bumped their fists together in true bromance fashion and invited Eve to lay down on the pasture beside them. As the trio of misfits snuggled under the dim glow of the stars above, Jason breathed in the fresh scent of soft dewy grass with a deep inhale and closed his eyes. A beautiful smile lingered on his face as he fell fast asleep, happy to be reunited with his friends once more.

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