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Title: Chibi-Vampire #4

Author:  Yuna Kagesaki

Publisher:  TOKYOPOP

ISBN:  9781598163254

May Contain Spoilers

Karin’s been saving her blood so she can give it to Usui’s mom.  By making her happy again, Ren will no longer be interested in seducing her.  As her blood builds up, she’s having a hard time staying away from Usui; everywhere she turns, there he and his depressing aura loom.  As her blood surges, Karin loses control.  Will he be able to stop her from giving him a transfusion?

Karin always manages to make everything so complicated!  Instead of just pouncing on Usui’s mom and biting her, she quietly lurks after her, searching for the perfect time to attack her.  This only leads to a massive blood build up, and causes her to attack Usui, who has the bad luck to run into her after he gets off of work.  Sensing an imminent geyser of blood, he grabs her arm and hustles her off to an abandoned alley.  Bad idea?  You bet!  Driven over the edge by the blood bursting in her veins, Karin, with her superior vampire strength, wrestles Usui to the ground.  At first resisting like a reluctant lover, he yields to her onslaught, but just before sinking her teeth into his neck, Karin stumbles away, spouting like a crimson fountain. 

Karin is understandably embarrassed by her behavior, and still has to protect Usui’s mother from her brother!  Things seem hopeless with the failure of her only real plan, but she receives some unexpected assistance from her sister.  Ren, in typical older brother fashion, stubbornly refuses to veer away from his idea to feed on Usui’s mother, especially after Karin asked him not to do it.  With his superior attitude, he doesn’t think he has to respect respect the Usui family, even with Kenta watching out for Karin during the day.  They’re just humans, aren’t they?

Back at school, Usui wants to clear the air between them.  Karin is still having trouble looking him in the eye, mortified by what happened.  As their classmates catch wind of the tension surrounding them, Karin is badgered by her friends to confess her feelings for Kenta.  Pushed into a corner, she loudly and firmly declares that she doesn’t have any feelings for Kenta Usui!  Too bad he happened to walk in on the declaration!  Karin again flees the scene, in tears.  How awful!  Already shy and overly conscious of her vampire deficiencies, she was forced into an uncomfortable position.  How can she possibly admit that she likes Usui?  She’s a vampire, after all!

I occasionally find Karin’s family dynamics a little disturbing.  Her mother treats her so coldly, possibly due to  her disappointment at her daughter’s short-comings, and Ren is a bully of an older brother.  Anju seems supportive, in her emotionless way, and her father becomes positively weepy at the thought of his little girl coming to harm.  Still, Karin seems isolated from her family, and really doesn’t have anyone to confide in.  Maybe I’m still feeling sorry for her because she has to pay the electric bill.  If it’s anything like mine, she’s going to need more than two jobs!

Also included was a bonus story about Ren and his high school days, which he found tedious, to say the least.  Given his attitude, I’m still amazed that one of his classmates actually wanted to be his friend!  Why are some girls attracted to dark, brooding, and rude guys?  Maybe it was the gleam of his ever growing canines that caused the mind-boggling attraction.

Grade: B

Rated for Older Teen