Gouenji had hoped that with time she would recover and bury her fears deep down in her heart and forget about them forever. But six months and that didn't happen. She wasn't just worrying for herself, she was worrying for the both of them and that fear was eating at her heart.

He finally decided to address it one day. She was sitting on the armchair near the fireplace, staring at the fire with unblinking eyes.

He walked up to her and sat down on his knees in front of her chair. At this, her concentration broke and she looked at him. He squeezed her hands gently before speaking,

"Kira, I think you should travel again. "

Kira gasped at the word 'travel' and then shook her head rapidly.

"This fear that's eating at your heart, you must face it." He was trying to sound as gentle as possible.

"You said you will always protect me and now you're telling me this?!" She was agitated.

"You don't need me to protect you. You're brave. If you weren't, we wouldn't have even met." He placed his hand on her cheek.

"You promised me! It was right here when you said that I will be safe with you!" She exclaimed in anxiety.

"And I'll always keep that promise. But you owe it to yourself to complete that journey you marked on that map. "

Kira became quiet and the look of anxiety on her face took a pause. Seeing this, hope rose in Gouenji's heart that he was getting through to her.

He sprang up and quickly brought her map to her and sat down on the chair beside her.

"Look at this. You were here. " He pointed at a blue cross on a city marked by her, "Only three stations were left. It won't take you more than twenty days. " He spoke enthusiastically and then glanced at her. She had begun contemplating as she stared at the map. A fleeting look of fondness went past her face as she traced the markings on her map.

Gouenji made one last remark to hammer his point.

"And when it's all said and done and you'll come back to me, I will turn you if you'll ask. "

"You will?" Kira's eyes immediately darted at him.

"Whenever you'll say, I'll do it without question. " Gouenji assured her.

Kira smiled with a childlike wonder, "Okay, if you say that, then I'll go. " She glanced at her map one more time and then lovingly folded it up.

...

Once again Gouenji stood facing Kira near the front door, his heart heavy. Every time she left, she took his heart with her, he was restless until she returned. But this time at least there was this faint flicker of relief that he had made the right decision. He knew when she would return, she would happily do so, not out of fear. She would be doing it because his love brought her back.

"Take care." He said as he took both her hands and kissed them.

"Don't forget, once I come back you will have to turn me. As soon as I step foot in the house." She looked at him with sombre eyes.

"Of course. " He answered and then pulled her close. He placed a kiss on her forehead and let her go.

...

Once again his days were dreary and nights were restless. His mind was constantly focused on Kira, where she might be and what she would be doing. He hoped the atmosphere outside was clearing up the fog in her mind.

However, this time, he didn't have to suffer for long. Twenty days passed one by one and one day she returned to him, safe and sound.

He hugged her at the doorstep as he always did. When he broke apart and gazed at her, he could see a glow on her face. Her smile was radiant this time.

"Did you complete your journey?" He inquired.

"Yes, and now I have come back to my forever home." She answered as she gazed back at him with love and joy.

She began telling him tales of her adventure and didn't stop all evening. She freshened up, had tea with him by the fireplace, had dinner with him where he joined with his glass of scarlet and right up to sitting side by side in the moonlight, all the while talking about everything she did.

She had never been this keen on talking about her travel experiences even when he had asked. It was like she had a newfound love for this vagabond life of hers.

Gouenji managed to interrupt her and ask the most important question.

"Are you still afraid?"

She turned to face him and answered, " No, I am not. " Then after a pause, she added, "Thank you for fighting for me when even I wasn't."

She came closer and pressed her lips against his with deep love. He was completely lost in it for a while. She broke apart and looked at him fondly. At this point, he wondered if she would demand to be turned again.

When she had left she had said she'd want to be turned the moment she returned but so far that fad didn't seem to be on her mind anymore. She hadn't mentioned that even once.

A few days passed and Kira resumed her normal activities, the ones she used to have before her accident. She attentively listened to Gouenji too whenever he spoke. All in all, things had returned to normal.

Gouenji thought she would never ask to be turned again. She seemed quite content with her human life, her food and travel. She still watched the sunsets a lot, turned out doing so repetitively for so long had turned it into a beloved evening ritual.

She didn't notice how he smiled sadly whenever he saw her doing so. He knew he had missed his chance but he also didn't regret it. So what if he wasn't immortal now and that he would grow old and weak, at least he would grow old with her. Her company was worth it.

...

It had been a month since her return and they sat beside each other at night as usual. They were talking about miscellaneous things when suddenly Gouenji asked,

"So, will you travel again?" He stroked her hair as he spoke.

Kira sat up and faced him, "Didn't I tell you when I came back that I've returned to my forever home?"

"Frankly, I didn't understand what you meant by that." He shrugged, "I didn't think much of it."

"I am done with travelling. " She announced.

"But I thought you had rekindled your passion for it. " He wondered aloud.

"Yes but that doesn't mean I have to constantly keep doing it for the rest of my life, there are plenty of things I appreciate that I don't care to act upon. I have a place to stay now and people to call my own. I enjoy the peaceful life here. " She elaborated.

Gouenji was taken aback by her admittance. He listened to her with widened eyes.

"So what are you saying?" He blurted.

She got closer so that their foreheads were almost touching. She smiled romantically before revealing her wishes to him,

"I'm saying, turn me now. "

He was caught in shock for a while, he had long given up the hope of ever hearing those words from her. But there she was, wanting it still and this time there was no barrier stopping him from doing so.

He raised up on the bed to his knees as did she, following his lead. She pushed back her hair as he held her in a firm grip and took her other hand in his.

"Loosen up a little." She spoke of his grip on her, it was too tight.

"I apologise but I have to. Because once I make the move it's going to hurt unfathomably and you'll squirm. It's important that my fangs don't hit a nerve or you might get paralysed. " He explained.

She looked at him nervously, her breath grew rapid. His eyes began glowing as he growled and revealed his fangs.

"Close your eyes." He gave her one final instruction.

The next moment he threw his head backwards and went for the right spot on her neck with momentum. Kira gasped at first but as his teeth sank deeper and drew blood she couldn't bear it anymore. She had been imagining it to be painful but it exceeded way beyond her imagination.

She let out an earth-shattering scream. The echoes of it collided with every corner of the dark mansion. If it weren't for his firm hold she would have easily botched the job and hurt herself in the process.

His practice for control helped him move away in time and not kill her accidentally. As soon as he broke contact she fell backwards limp on the bed and fainted. A little blood from her wound stained the pillow before it clotted.

Gouenji knew this was supposed to happen so he didn't worry and pulled up the quilt on her. He sat by her making sure everything went smoothly.

In an hour, her wound began healing which meant that the process of her transformation had begun. Now all that was left was for her to wake up.

A few hours later, near dawn, Kira finally opened her eyes. She turned her head to look at Gouenji and he was amazed by her eyes that were now white and sparkling like his.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

She didn't verbally respond but reached out and wiped off the blood smeared on his lips and chuckled feebly. He had entirely forgotten to do that.

As if remembering something suddenly, he rushed out of the room and then downstairs. When he returned, he had a glass of scarlet in his hand. He hopped back up on the bed and helped her get up.

"Drink this. You will feel better. " He extended it towards her. She stared at the glass hesitantly at first but when he encouraged her, she slowly took a sip. As soon as she did so, she felt a great sense of satisfaction, something she had never ever felt before. She quickly finished the entire glass.

She sat up perfectly once she had consumed the blood. She felt invigorated and powerful.

"You kept your promise. " She remarked.

"And you kept yours. " He answered promptly.

The next moment they pulled each other close and were lost in a loving kiss.

"We will be together for eternity now. " She said as she looked at him lovingly.

"It's too short a time when it's with you. " He said and they fell back on the bed laughing and giggling.

v---v

The End. 

A/N: And so it ends. I feel so sad parting with this story. It was such a fun journey which  was made even better by the support of LeahGoretti , staykimsky and all the others who joined along this. Did you love the ending? Or did you picture it differently? Let's have one last discussion about it.

But wait! I also have more content regarding this story but in artwork form. I sometimes draw scenes from this story that I will post in my artbook MUSES. Please go take a look.