Aphoticity

by CFenrir

Sion and Shiki are dragged into the phenomenon that is the true night of Wallachia.

Disclaimer: All rights reserved by Type-Moon.

Aphoticity

It was an event that she never took into account merely because it was something that couldn't happen. The laws of reason and reality never bended to such an extent and she was left confounded in nonsense on a scale so great that even a mind like hers couldn't decipher exactly what happened. It didn't matter how long or hard she thought about it. She always arrived at the same conclusion.

"This is… impossible."

Sion was dumbstruck.

She stood on the dank, shady floor of the forest and looked up at where the moon cast its radiance on her like a spotlight. The mud was so soggy it felt like she was sinking in place and the air was so stale that she could actually taste it. The humidity on her skin made it feel like the forest was sweating and the hollow sound of the wind touching upon greenery sounded too much like howl of dying monster.

She knew where she was. It was a place familiar to her, a forest that she made the mistake of visiting on the most treacherous of nights. It was the same forest that was dense enough to feel like a prison. It was the same night a thought could aspire to become something tangible. It was the night when the abstract were given form.

It was Wallachia, the Night of Wallachia to be more exact.

There was no question. In an awesome display of failure, she didn't only lose to the vampire that shared its name with the incident, but she also got pulled into the living phenomenon that it embodied. How was it possible?

She willed herself to move and think about it while she ran. Lavender hair flowed behind her as she weaved between trees and jumped over logs. The bands that neatly kept her hair in a braid were lost, but she didn't care. She had to keep moving. A solitary target was already easy so a stationary one was only an invitation to her antagonist. Knowing that much, she kept running until something tugged at her wrist.

Immediately, she snapped her hand in front of her face and all the processes of her mind combined into one powerful force of rational thought. Distance was calculated in fractions of a second and vital signs were confirmed. Amherst eyes briefly spied the gold bracelet around her wrist before she pulled back. The nearly invisible etherite thread that was bound to the jewelry was drawn tight and her direction was set.

She was still connected to him.

He was still alright.

She felt a glimmer of hope as she ran towards him, the feedback from the indestructible string telling her that he encountered the thing that imprisoned them in the deadly forest. The alchemist realized she didn't need the assistance of the link to determine where he was as the sound of trees falling met her ears. Considering his ability it wasn't surprising that he would try fighting it, but she doubted even he could kill it now.

Sion wasted no time pulling out her handgun. Her last magazine was forced in just as fast as she slid through the brush and took aim on the vampire. Both parties were surprised by the intrusion, but one was visibly relieved by the interference.

"Sion," He said her name as he lowered his knife, but the girl in front of him still kept her gun pointed at their enemy. "Are you alright?"

"Shiki," She addressed him without turning around, the quick glance she took over of her shoulder was enough to see that he wasn't hurt. She ignored his question as she advanced on the vampire. "It's too dangerous here. We have to make it to the village before it kills us."

Shiki sighed as the hopelessness of her words dawned on him. Beating the vampire simply wasn't an option. It was either run or die and he already tried one. "Run?" His eyebrows furrowed, his dark eyes narrowing as he raised his knife and waited for the monster to appear again. "I already tried to get away from it when I was looking for you but I can't get away from-"

"Cut…"

Sion's eyes widened the moment she heard the ominous voice, but her partner did little more than brace himself. The vampire walked from behind a tree with a smile, the bullet holes in his cape playing a large role in his amusement.

"Cut!"

The monster kept its smile, blood spilling out of his mouth as he raised his arm and revealed what was waiting under his cape. It was little more than a shadow brought to life by his power, but both of them realized what it was.

Shiki cursed under his breath as the shadow started to take form. The unmistakable figure turned into something solid and the smirk on its face seemed far more dangerous than the knife it held. It was one of his worst nightmares, the killer he probably really was something that always lurked in the depths of his heart.

Even nightmares were given a twisted existence.

"Cut!!"

Wallachia finished his chant, crimson flooding out of his eyes as he urged the monster to attack.

Sion snatched the etherlite whip back and severed the connection between her and Shiki before they dashed towards different targets. The insane laughter that seemed to fill the forest, the poignant clash of knives, and the wallow of trees caught in the wind all reminded her of a night she would have been happy to forget, but she had no time to reflect on her past.

She watched Shiki engage the reflection of his nightmare, both of them aiming to strike each other down and simultaneously failing. A series of slashes were met with the same and the resulting clashes sent sparks flying in random direction, but the onslaught of attacks launched upon her partner were slowly but surely getting the best of him.

"Cut!"

The alchemist quickly turned away from Shiki and brought her gun up just in time to parry the attack from her own opponent. The vampire cut through the metal and her handgun fell to the grown in pieces. Mud splashed on her, but that was the least of her worries as Wallachia continued his assault.

She had to think.

Wallachia couldn't be killed no matter what kind of effort they put forth, but it had to be something they could do. There had to be something that would halt its attack long enough for her to think of some way to stop him.

He slashed at her with his claws and she was quick to skip back. The vampire missed completely, but she was still cut by the current of wind that followed. The royal purple of her blouse was stained with crimson, the wound he placed between her breasts just deep enough to derail her trains of thought.

Her eyes wandered as her thoughts drifted and the split processes in her mind slowed to a stop as she stumbled backwards. She was hurt. She was seriously hurt. Her chest was searing like it was on fire and she wavered, her world blurring at the edges as she faltered just enough to free herself from the stupor she was in. It hurt. It hurt so much it felt like she was going to pass out, but the fact that she'd die if she did anything of the sort was the only thing that kept her conscious.

Sion tried to get back the breath that was knocked out of her, but just the simple act of inhaling introduced her to a whole new level of pain. She clutched the cut, a sickening splash meeting her ears as her hand came into contact with the injury she sustained due to her recklessness. It was over. She was bleeding too fast. It hurt too much. She had met him at the peak of her ability and she was completely overwhelmed. It wasn't surprising considering that she just didn't have the kind of power to oppose vampires, at least not those of Wallachia's caliber.

As an alchemist, she was at the top when it came to matters of problem solving and applying extreme logical and rationality, but she still had the physical attributes of a human. She possessed nothing like superhuman strength or extraordinary speed and her magic rested only in her ability to hack into the minds of others.

She was without equal when it came to gathering intelligence, but she was always bad at fighting. Since she couldn't exert the kind of raw powers others seemed to have, she had to do her best to predict the best course of action and move accordingly. All she could do was confirm the most possible future and act based on the options available to her.

However…

Her butt landed squarely in the mud, dirtying her as she looked up at the monster that took its sweet time approaching. It reminded her of the night it stalked and chased her through the brush, the night it bit her and tried to turn her into a vampire. She was frightened, horrified as he smiled at her. He was salivating, ready and willing to make her into the same monster he was and she could do nothing about it.

Wallachia was unpredictable. As a phenomenon, he was already something that was supposed to be outside her realm of understanding but, as a being, it was even harder to calculate what he was going to do.

Sion was terrified, but it wasn't dying that scared her. She accepted that she was going to die the moment she realized her situation. Engaging Wallachia only proved a point she already made to herself. Their chances of winning were already zero, any further action on her part would only add to the vampire's enjoyment. What scared her had nothing to do with herself at all.

The only thing she regretted was that she dragged Shiki down with her.

"Shiki…" Her last words were going to be his name as she donated a thought to her first and only friend. With her fate surely sealed, she made the bold move of looking away from Wallachia to see if he fared better than she did.

He had.

The remnants of a fake littered the ground like trash, the pieces of the monster he left in his wake crumbling, but the man who slaughtered his nightmare was nowhere to be found. It wouldn't have been stupid if he ran away but, knowing him...

"Die."

His voice dropped an octave as his stuck his knife into the vampire. Wallachia whirled around, his edge of his heavy cape slicing through the wind as he turned to face the person who committed such a travesty against him.

Of course, it was Shiki.

Cold blue eyes regarded the vampire with little sympathy as he stabbed the monster again. The vampire laughed as it collapsed and faded to nothing, proof that it was just another of the fakes.

The laughter continued even though the Tatari was long gone but, eventually, it dissipated like the fog that clouded her mind. Silence returned to the forest as Sion coldly regarded her savior and he calmly looked back down at her with eyes so blue it felt like they were glowing.

She shivered, the deadly gleam in his eyes intimidating her more than it ever did before. If he had the slightest idea of how much of her humanity had slipped away then perhaps those eyes would be used on her.

"Why didn't you remove my limiter?"

Sion was pleasantly surprised, her eyebrows slightly arching as he posed a question that had nothing to do with her callous approach to the fight. Saved from another drawn out explanation of why she should be more careful, she was glad to answer a good question.

While she had numerous abilities, hacking into one's nervous system was the one she most appreciated because of the things it allowed her to do. One of those things was removing the limiter nearly all living things possessed from birth.

A limiter was complex. Two of the most prominent reasons for its existence in people were to restrict them to using not more than ten percent of their brain and ensuring that all of one's strength couldn't be exerted all at one time.

Removing it didn't necessarily mean someone would die though. On the contrary, it meant one would be far more adapt at dealing with life in her own opinion and, naturally, she had already removed hers a long time ago.

It was just important to know you limits.

"You know better than I do that we have to wait for the True Ancestor to arrive. If you go all out now then you won't have anything left when we need you."

His cold, sapphire eyes softened. "You almost died just now."

A pang of annoyance touched her features as he brought up the same thing he always did. "That is true but," Sion stood, blood spilling from her chest as she faced her partner. "How many times have we almost died since we started this affair? When we encountered your sister? Chaos? The woman from the Burial Agency? The vampire we need to rescue us?"

"I am aware how close you are to death since you see it on a daily basis, but do not think I am beyond giving up my life in order to erase this... monster from the world." She continued as she started to walk passed him. "That is my top priority."

"How you can say something like that?"

Shiki casually slipped his glasses back on, the cold, threatening eyes that studied her not even seconds ago replaced with empathy so heavy she couldn't help but halt her advance to the village.

She didn't forget that he was a part time pacifist, but she wasn't going to lie about her ultimate objective in a lame attempt to make him feel any better. "I made it clear where I stood on this matter when we first met, did I not?"

Of course he knew what kind of person the alchemist was, but he also knew what he saw with his own eyes. He saw her. She gave up and resigned herself to dying in a place like this. So, for her to stand up and say those things...

"We don't have the time to talk." With a strained look in her cautious eyes, Sion made sure to scan the forest for any activity as she again started walking with a slight limp in her gait. "Let's go."

She was right.

Another encounter with Wallachia was inevitable.

Sooner or later he would appear before them and they would take part in his game as he toyed with their lives. Without a doubt, they would have their roles on his stage and Shiki wondered if Arucied would make it before the curtain was drawn or even if she would come at all…

Shiki contained his sigh and forced the optimism that defined him. He couldn't dare entertain thoughts like that or he'd be just like the girl that walked in front of him. His eyes held onto the purple of her hair as it swished around with every movement no matter how subtle. It was free and dirty, stained by the brown that touched upon the lavender and liberated of the yellow bands that kept it restrained.

His sight fell from her hair and to the dainty, red drops she left behind.

Any idiot could tell that it hurt.

Sion muted her breathing, the uneven gasps of breath something she sought to hide as she led the way but it was just like her to not say anything about it. She half hobbled through the brush, her desperate attempts to pace herself and conserve what little energy she had painfully obvious.

He looked back up with every intention of making her stop so they could tend to her injury but, in doing so, he realized something he never noticed before.

As she pushed back a branch, Shiki couldn't help but wonder if the woman before him was always that small? She was always so composed, so confident in herself that it was hard to imagine showing any weakness so seeing her barely keeping her balance put even more emphasis on how dire the situation was. She was hurt and, though she'd deny it if he asked, she was scared.

Shiki fixed his glasses on his face. The comfortable weight of the knife in his pocket was his unspoken promise to make sure she wasn't hurt anymore, to make sure that she wouldn't have to be afraid of anything as long as he was around. He'd protect her no matter what.

"The village…" Sion caught him by surprise as she huffed out the words, stretching out an arm to point as it came into view. "We have to hurry before Wallachia ambushes again…"

0

The door cracked, ultimately caving in as it relented to her third and final kick. Immediately, she rushed into the modest adobe and looked for anything that even remotely looked alive. The alchemist took no chance, tired eyes scanning the house as she rushed from one room to the next with her whip at the ready.

The village was indeed as desolate as it looked and the house they invaded was no exception. As she ventured though the kitchen, she made a fair assumption that no one had lived in the place in years, but she could vividly remember what was waiting when she arrived in the village so many years ago.

"I told you it was unlocked…" Shiki sighed as he arrived in the kitchen, careful steps taken as he moved in the darkness. "How can just run in when you can barely see-"

"And I told you to be on guard!" Sion sharply cut in, her eyes resting on him since she was sure the house was empty. "This village is far… more dangerous…" Her vision titled as her head bobbed, but she steadied herself so fast she believed he missed the moment. "This place is more dangerous than the forest…"

She voluntary overclocked her thought processes as she desperately looked for somewhere to sit or possibly lay down before she really blacked out, but the glare he was giving her meant that she didn't have to hold up her front anymore.

"Let's look at that cut now…"

Concern from someone she knew she could depend on was certainly something to treasure, but it was far from a luxury she would take comfort in. Long seconds passed as he waited for her answer and was about to move to assist her until she spoke.

"No." It was a solid response, one that had to be absolute for the sake of her pride. Her eyes finally caught the familiar form of a bed and it felt like her legs started moving before she even thought to walk. "I'm alright. There is no—Wha!?"

Her surprised yelp was amusing enough to bring about a small but delighted smile on his face. "For a girl…" She was easily lifted into the air, oddly feeling like child as he cradled her. "You are really not cute."

Her face flashed a dark red and retained the blush as he walked through the kitchen and into the bedroom. With some degree of difficultly, he successfully navigated his way through the dark and made it to the bed she saw.

He was careful to let her down, gingerly sliding his arm from under her legs as he lowered her onto the rough mattress. The supporting hand that held her upright eased her down until she was looking at the ceiling, but details were too hard to make out in the stifling darkness.

Satisfied with having a bed to lay on for the first time in a good while, Sion was ready to get a few minutes of sleep until she heard a creek. She bolted up and was almost off the bed until the soft glow of moonlight landed on her rising form.

Shiki stood before the lone window with an unreadable expression. His glasses were off, the dark blue eyes that secretly scared her more than anything looked outside as he rested his elbow on the windowsill.

He was guarding her.

The few minutes of rest she asked for on their way to the village were granted as he resigned himself to his post, but maintained it with the vigilance of a hawk. Thanks to the light, her eyes also caught the gleam of his blade as he brandished it.

"You're a vampire, right…?"

Her breath caught in her throat.

He must have seen it when he put her on the bed.

She knew the answer but she wrestled with it, hesitating as she felt the imposing gaze being directed at her from the other side of the room. Still, she could not afford to have another moment of weakness. "Yes, but-"

"Do you drink blood?" He interrupted, his grip on his knife becoming just that much tighter as he awaited her response.

"N-No!" She stuttered, her composure lost as she stared at her partner in shock. "Never…" She voiced as she sought to string up the front he all but shattered with the question. "I rather die before doing that."

Even though she knew he cared, his eyes rained indifference on her before he turned his sight back to the view outside. His change in demeanor undoubtedly had much to do with the scar he couldn't help but see when he placed her on the bed.

The gaping wound, one she incurred not even an hour ago, had already healed moments before they arrived in the village. At the cost of her energy, the deep cut mended itself. All that was left was a scar that would eventually disappear.

"Satsuki…" He suddenly let the name slip out of his mouth, something he never said before voiced in a low whisper as he stood at his vantage point. "When I let her go, I never would have thought she would become like that…"

He trailed off and, because of the comparison he was starting to make, she could see why.

"I will not fight with you, Shiki." Sion laid back down as she spoke the truth, "If there comes a time when you are forced to use that knife against me then I will not try to stop you."

Again, she was startled when something fell on top of her. It was a jacket. The navy blue of his uniform jacket was had more than several spots of brown that he must have got from carrying her to the bed. "Why…?" She asked more out of confusion than anything else as she looked at owner.

"You should… cover yourself."

She raised the jacket and looked.

The front of her blouse was neatly divided, the fringes of the halves a different color than the rest thanks to the blood that spilled from her wound. Along with the scar, her breasts were exposed more than before thanks to the winkles in her slacking shirt.

She pulled the top of his uniform to the side and allowed the moonlight to touch upon her as she looked. Her hat was something she had long since lost, her skirt was just as soiled as her blouse but not nearly as ruined, her stockings were torn in some places, her hair was undoubtedly nasty looking, and dried mud clung to her like the stench of blood.

Sion was never one to even entertain the thought of vanity. Appearances did not matter especially when you were under attack so, under normal circumstances, she wouldn't have even cared, but it was different with him.

When she was around him, she didn't want to look like that.

"I…" A pained cry took the place of her words. "No…."

He saw her.

Without a doubt, he saw her and she knew it.

Even when she slept in that alley, she never gave herself the time to think that it made her dirty to sleep next to and on top of trash. She never wanted to think that she belonged there with the rest of the miserable garbage that piled up around her.

"Sion?"

The alchemist felt disgusting, even sick as her partner saw it an opportune time to move in her direction. She curled up, hugging her knees to her chest in what looked like an attempt to make herself seem as small as possible.

"Please don't look at me."

He smiled in understanding before reaching out a hand to ruffle her hair. She jumped at the touch, but later relaxed as he played with her stained locks. "How come you always act so rough when you're so… sensitive?"

Wasn't it obvious?

Couldn't he tell how much she enjoyed being close to him? Even when she couldn't have felt any worse, the fingers that gently massaged her scalp made her feel so much better than before. She didn't even have to turn and look to see that cheerful smile she knew he had plastered on his face.

His touch was only a plus in addition to his presence. Just having him around, having him close made her feel like she could do things that she normally couldn't do. If he asked her something like that when he was so close all she could say was the truth.

"Because I like you…"

Other people did not matter. It was no secret that she thought of others as expendable in her quest of exterminating the vampire that bit her, but Shiki was nothing of the sort. Even though she approached him with the intention of practically enslaving him, he beat her in a fair fight and voluntarily decided to help her. That was something no one ever did before and, logically, she found that it touched her like nothing else ever did before.

"I like you, too."

A blush came to her face as her heart decided to pound heart enough to break a rib. She immediately turned around and caught sight of his smile, the optimism that he always seemed to have no matter the predicament they found themselves in.

"I'll be right back." His smile widened as they made eye contact. "I'll go look around in the bathroom and find something to clean you up, alright?"

Shiki straightened his back, his reassuring touch lifted from her head as he stood and promptly left in search of what he needed to get some of the grime off her. She wanted to stop him, but the return of her simple affections left her speechless.

How could he say something like that? Let alone with ease?

It was only when he disappeared into the darkness that conquered the rest of the house that her heart stopped threatening to burst out of her chest. Wasn't she one of the vile creatures that he hated? Wasn't she just the pushy woman that used him like one of her weapons? He could care for a girl that really didn't care about being dirty in front of anyone else?

Her mind worked to solve questions that she alone couldn't answer.

Before she realized how much time had passed, she could hear the sound of old wood protesting as Shiki returned with a bucket overflowing with water and a rag he must have found in the kitchen.

"Um…" Shiki sat the bucket down, some of its contents sloshing over the brim as it made contact with floor. "I'll be outside." He grabbed the towel he had slung over his shoulder and tossed it on the bed. "Call me if-"

"You… You don't have to leave." Sion slowly brought her legs to the side of the bed and managed to stand up. With minimum effort, she reached up and pulled apart what was left of her blouse and threw it on floor. It wasn't until she was stepping out of her skirt that he forcefully pulled his eyes away from the undressing woman.

"O-Okay," Shiki wasted no time resuming his post at the window, but she still caught the red that was present on his handsome features. "I'll be right here."

She sat back down and kicked off her shoes before pulling off her stockings and throwing them into the mounting heap of clothes. With that, she only had one article of clothing left to remove. She snuck a glance at the man who still had his back turned to her. Sure that his integrity was intact, she placed her thumbs inside the band of her panties and pulled them down.

Her underwear traveled past her thighs, over her knees, and down her calves before it met with the rest of her clothes on the floor. She was naked, completely exposed to the soft light that made known the dirt and grime that stuck to her skin.

Feeling awfully self-conscious, she reached a hand into the bucket to grab the rag he placed inside.

"Ah!"

Shiki spun on his heel, his glasses already off and his stance lowered as his eyes shot towards the doorway and then to the girl who dropped the rag back into the ice cold water.

"The water…" She pointed out, her eyes averted as she realized she scared him. "I d-didn't know it was so cold."

That smile…

"Oops, I really forgot about that." His understanding smile made her feel warm all over again as he put his knife back into his pocket and, even though he was painfully aware of her nudity, made his way across the room. "I'm sorry. I'll see if that stove still-"

"Wait," She found the voice to stop him and the hand he was reached down to pick up the bucket was stilled. "C-can you help me with my hair?"

"Sure, but you'll have to tell me what to do." Shiki rolled up his sleeves before he dipped a hand into the water and pulled out the rag she dropped along with the small bar of soap, "I never washed a girl's hair before."

"Just do what you did before except with the rag."

He rubbed the soap and rag together until he built up a good lather before dipping it back into the water. He repeated the process until the rag was saturated with the clean scent of spring the soap promised to carry and placed the wet rag on top of her head.

She shivered because of the sudden cold, but the way the rag worked around in her hair was nothing less than amazing. He was meticulous, carefully handling her hair as he took his time to painstakingly pick out the things that did belong in her locks, as he gently scrubbed.

In spite of the cold that made her breath visible, nothing could have been better than what she was feeling now. She was secretly pleased, even elated the he accepted her offer and the way he scrubbed and massaged her scalp made it feel like she was being rewarded for summoning the courage to ask.

She could no longer hold the breath she held and let it out in rapture. "Don't worry…" Shiki started, his eyes narrowing as he examined the long purple locks he held in his hand. "I'm sure Arcueid is trying her best."

She was amused that he mistook the reasons behind her sigh, but the words he spoke reflected a sentiment that wasn't funny at all. He was patiently waiting even though there was a chance that the True Ancestor didn't even know where they were. The knife he kept close was ready in case he had to stall for anything less than a timely arrival, but she was actively enjoying herself in this placed that robbed her of so many things.

"Hey…" He couldn't help but notice she sounded terribly disheartened. "Hey Shiki…"

"Yes?"

She idly played with her bracelet before taking it off. "How much do you like me?"

"I like you a lot. You do boss me around sometimes but-"

"No… I mean…" She was having difficultly in posing the question she really wanted to ask. "Do you like me the same way you like the True Ancestor?"

Arcueid, the exterminator of Dead Apostles, was also someone who reigned over all others in his heart and she in turn made no effort to hide the fact that she fell in love with a human. There was no way for her to compare to someone like that. It was silly to even put herself on equal footing with someone who had no equal, but that was what she willingly asked him to do.

More than anything, she wanted him to break her heart so she could discard the feelings that plagued her. She needed to hear him say the truth she already knew so she could bury her feelings before she acted on them.

"I guess I do." He responded as he dipped the rag back in the bucket. "You and her have a lot in common."

"What?"

"Arcueid used to be lonely and didn't understand that she was at first." Shiki couldn't help but smile as she picked the last bit of wood out of her hair. "It took her a while to get what it meant to have friends, but she's really happy now."

"You are saying that I am lonely…?"

"Yeah, after we get back I'll make sure we can have fun with everyone else."

She wanted to be a part of the days he looked forward to but, at the same time, she didn't want to share them with anyone else. With that, the hope she tried to crush with cold logic couldn't be suppressed any longer.

"I don't want to have anymore friends…" She closed her eyes already knowing that she couldn't stop herself. "I only want to be with you."

"Sion…"

The rejection she patiently waited for never came and a chance presented itself. In a fight, it was the kind of opportunity she would have taken without an inkling of doubt, but she hesitated long enough for him to gather himself.

"Alright, when we get out of-"

Her lips were pressed against his in a display of overflowing affection. It was nothing more than what it was meant to be as she pulled away and looked into his eyes. "I… I'm not like her. I know how the world works so you don't have to be gentle with me. I appreciate your kindness and I understand you don't feel-"

He stopped her rambling with a kiss. Attraction won out as he abandoned the rag he held in favor of the back of her neck and gently pulled her towards him. Their lips met again under the same circumstances, but the tongue he parted her lips with was the same one that explored her mouth.

Her mind felt like it took a vacation and the space it left behind was filled with warmth that she thought only alcohol could leave. She got drunk off the sensation and the way he tasted but, unknown to her, she had the same effect on him.

It was more than the vague feelings she put on his lips. It was solid emotion entangled with lust, her fantasy alive as she fell backwards onto the bed with him on top of her.

He broke the kiss, but their faces remained so close that they could feel the spent breath of the other. "Sion…" Was all he said, the fact that she was coming on to him was one he tried to ignore when she was so vulnerable, but that kiss sparked a fire he couldn't put out. "I… Do you…"

"I won't bite…" She whispered, the fangs he knew she possessed making her promise more serious than she intended for it to be.

And she didn't…

0

The moon cast it rays on the sleeping form of Sion, but some of its radiance fell on the man that stood at the window and looked far into the night. Shiki sighed as he rested against the windowsill where his glasses sat folded up. It felt like he had been standing in place for hours scanning the sight before him, but it was something he had to do because Wallachia was definitely out there somewhere.

His hand unconsciously crept closer to the pocket as he thought about the vampire until his fear gave way to thoughts of the girl peacefully napping behind him. It was uncharacteristic of her to just up and fall asleep, but a blush came to his face as he remembered he played a role in making her that tired.

Shiki looked over his shoulder as she stirred in her sleep, the small smile on her face giving him all the hope he needed as he turned back around. He'd find a way to save her even if Arcueid didn't come. There had to be a way to escape even without her help, but Sion was rarely, if ever, wrong.

She meant what she said, but he wouldn't let hopelessness devour him. He wouldn't let fear drag him down, but the threat of the vampire attacking at any moment it wanted instilled a sense of dread in him too great to ignore.

It was a psychological fact that fear of what was to come was often more terrifying than the eventual experience. The thought of being ambushed wasn't new, but the idea that Wallachia was somewhere watching and waiting for them to make a fatal mistake was rattled his bones with a chill.

For all he knew, the vampire could be right outside the house…

"Flowers are so beautiful…"

Or inside.

Shiki froze, his blood turning to ice as he willed himself to turn around. A canary yellow and a dark violet caught his eye, the blond hair and cape coming into focus as he realized what they were.

"Even when they are crushed…" Wallachia stood over the bed and parted Sion's hair with a dark, dangerous claw. "Even when they are trampled… Still so beautiful."

Shiki moved. With unseen grace, he successfully manipulated the space with the agility like that of a spider as he found himself halfway up the wall. He hopped off, the shoes of his shoes indenting the ceiling as he bent his knees and propelled himself down towards the vampire.

Knife met cape and sparks were born from the brutal collision. The impact made the attacker grit his teeth as the force of the blow send tremors through his arm, but the vampire only laughed when he blasted the human backwards with another wave of his cape. He recovered before he crashed into the wall. The old floor creaked under the stress of his landing, but the only thing he focused on was the vampire that smiled at him.

"I will make you into a flower."

Shiki didn't have any care for his insanity and was determined not to have a role in his delusions. His only conscious thought was of getting him away from Sion and, even if she said it was impossible to kill it, he had to do something.

The stage for their fight was set and the setting suffered the consequences. Sion slept on, blissfully unaware of the battle that raged in front of her until the sound of something breaking roused her from her rest. She rubbed her eyes, yawning as she pulled back the sheets and looked around. "S-Shiki…?"

He wasn't there.

Alarmed by the first thought that came to mind, the alchemist pulled his jacket tighter around her and stood just in time to see her lover fly passed her. They made and held eye contact until his back met the wall and went through it. Instantly, her mind exploded with activity. She thought about everything. Every single detail was stressed; every possible reason and outcome was calculated. The margin of error was measured and she applied it as she went into motion.

Before her partner landed in the broken bed of wood and tiles created by his expulsion, Sion had already put on her shoes and jumped out the window. She landed in the mud with a splash and made no mention of the brown touching upon her bare legs as she quickly made her way to his side.

"Strong…" Shiki coughed as the breath that was knocked out of him slowly returned. He looked up to find her slipping on her bracelets. "That one… That one is stronger than the others."

"You won't let me plant you!?" Wallachia seethed as he stepped through the darkness and out of the hole he made in the side of the house. "A stray seed!?"

Neither bothered to listen to his rambling, but Sion was the first to react as she pulled the slack of her whip. With a tug, the thin line went rigid before going limp again and nothing changed other than the fact Shiki was standing. He didn't know when he got up or how he came to stand in front of her, but the feeling of her hand touching his brought him back to his senses before his mind wandered.

Sion squeezed his hand before pulled it back to point at the monster in front of them. "Go Shiki!"

It was until he moved that he realized she released his limiter.

The alchemist watched as her lover ran so low to the ground that the grass tickled his chin. Wallachia smirked, blood spilling from his mouth as he raised his cape to allow his shadows to take form. Swirls of hazy black combined, and she was surprised when it didn't take a definite shape. Instead, the shadows continued to spin until it was nothing but a tornado of hate. The torrent of wind it created tore through the ground on its way towards Shiki who merely sidestepped it on his way towards the vampire.

Wallachia could barely contain his excitement as Shiki neared him. He spun around, twisting with glee as more shadows escaped from under his cape. More nightmares and rumors came to life only to be dismembered and killed at the flick of a wrist.

Salivating, the vampire rushed forward with its claws extended and was met with the knife that buried itself between his eyes. His head snapped back, his momentum halted by the force of the blow and any thought of recovery became wishful as Shiki appeared above the vampire. Upside-down in mid air, he reached down and grabbed the sides of the vampire's head and twisted. With a sickening crunch, its neck snapped like a bundle of twigs and his head was ripped off. Shiki landed, drenched in the gusher of blood that erupted from the headless body behind him. He couldn't help but feel a grim satisfaction at his handiwork as he dislodged his knife out of the head he held before tossing it away.

With a quick swipe, he rid the blade of the blood that covered him but…

"I should have known…" Another fake stepped through into the backyard and looked at Shiki with pity. "A weed can't be a flower."

Wallachia couldn't be killed.

He was an existence that didn't exist, an intangible thing that lived inside of a rumor. Fighting him was useless. Still, he had to hold out long enough for Arcueid to rescue them. He had to hold out long enough for Sion to think of something so he raised his knife to meet the copy that shook its head at him.

Shiki took a step forward and a tinge of pain in his back stopped him. He immediately knew what it was. He reached his limit. Any further action on his part could cripple him or worse. With sweat starting to build on his brow, he turned to look at his partner.

Sion shot past him and the chilling look she shot him before she dodged a slash meant for his neck begged him to do what he couldn't. Her whip lashed the vampire across the face before she delivered a kick devastating enough to send the monster back into the tree line.

"Run…" She snatched her thread-like whip back towards her as she waited for the vampire to emerge from the edge of the forest. When she heard nothing, she took a deep breath before looking over her shoulder. "Please run…"

She was right.

It was happening the exact way she thought it would, all her predictions were coming true and she was too powerless, too helpless, to change any of them. The True Ancestor wasn't coming and, if she was, she was too late. Shiki was already at his limit and she wouldn't be able to hold off Wallachia forever.

She wasn't afraid of dying. If it meant she could save him, she didn't at all care about losing her life but the sinking thought of being alone when it happened was what dwelled on her. She didn't want to be alone anymore. She didn't want to die now that she loved him. She didn't want him to die either, but she always knew that reality was never kind. Even though she'd sacrifice her life, Wallachia would catch him not long after she was dead. No matter what they were doomed, but she hoped he wouldn't be too mad at her selfishness. If it had to happen, she wanted to be the first one to go. She didn't want to see him die and she'll wager her life on the few seconds her last stand would give him.

That was why she was able to stop her hands from shaking as she boldly stepped forward.

"You know I can't just run away…" Angry and touched at the same time, she couldn't help but sigh as she spared another glance over her shoulder at him. He was straining himself, fighting to stay upright as he raised his head to face her. "We're partners, remember?"

Wallachia rushed passed her, knocking her over as he sped towards Shiki with his claws at the ready. Stunned beyond words, the alchemist barely had the presence of mind to reach out for his cape in a desperate attempt to stop him. The fabric, the horrible texture of his cape, teased her fingertips before ultimately escaping her grasp.

"N-No…"

Sion panicked as she scrambled to her feet. Her brain felt like it was on fire as she ran as fast as she could to stop the vampire from ruining her life again and the sinking pit in her stomach made her sick as she quickly realized she wasn't going to make it in time.

"No…"

The vampire chucked at the wire wipe that wrapped around his wrist. It dug into the flesh and stole his hand, but the lost of it only added to his amusement. It only meant he'd have to use his other hand to pull the weed from his garden.

Wallachia opened his eyes wide, blood oozing out of the sockets and running down his face as he reeled his hand back. Shiki could do nothing, his body frozen in paralyzing pain as he watched the vampire draw back its hand and extend its claws. Instead of looking at the death in front of him, he angled his head to the side to look at the girl that never gave up.

"No!!" Sion screamed, the look on her face effectively killing him before the vampire did. "Please!" She pleaded as she ran, the sound of her jagged breathing louder than the footsteps she took. "Please don't kill him!!"

With heartfelt begging as a beautiful backdrop, Wallachia took pleasure from murdering the only person she ever loved. The vampire impelled Shiki, the tip of the claws he used to run him through poking through the back of his shirt as he lifted him off the ground. He held the body and made sure she watched it slid down his claws before he cast it aside.

He tumbled through the air and fell to the ground as a corpse. He was dead. Oddly, it was a feeling he was familiar with. There was nothing sentimental about it, no overpowering darkness or bright tunnel of light. His life didn't flash before his eyes and he didn't have the chance to go on some kind of romantic monologue. Instead, he felt lifelong promises being broken. He could sense the memories that were important to him become fleeting.

It was sad, he noted, that he remembered how it felt to lose yourself. It was like losing consciousness, except more somber… more depressing. His heart stopped beating. He didn't try to take another breath. His senses started to dull and the last thing he saw before he closed his eyes was a flash of lavender. His last thought, his solitary wish, was that Arcueid saved Sion.

"I'm sorry…"

For what?

He couldn't talk, but she didn't have anything to apologize for. If anything, he should be the one saying those words to her.

"I'm…" The voice he heard was filled with so much anguished that it was hard to believe it was her. "I'm… sorry…"

"This…" He wished from the bottom of his heart that he could say something, anything to make her feel even a little better. "This isn't your fault, Sion."

"Even a weed?" He could hear Wallachia's insanity even in death. "You have no taste!"

Shiki felt something wet on his neck and it wasn't hard for him to deduce that it was her tears. With a sigh, he opened his eyes and looked up at Sion with every intention of telling her that it was alright but something was wrong.

Her tears trailed down her face, dripping off her chin and landing on his forehead. The ache in the side of his neck started to burn. He blinked, once and then twice before tilting his head back to look at the girl who sat at his side. Sion quickly looked away, but he caught the dab of crimson at the corner of her mouth and the sensation on the side of his neck seemed to spread through his whole body.

Something was extremely wrong.

He was alive. The fact that he could feel everything from the moisture on his neck to the grass he laid on top of meant that death failed to claim him once again. The very second he realized as much, his view of the world changed.

Black and red.

He blinked hard, keeping his eyes closed from a long second until he opened them again. Everything was a flat black and a dismal, rusty red. His world was filled with two simple, different colors and, briefly, he wondered why until he recalled his ability. He acknowledged the death he used to see and looked in front of him. He realized what he was seeing. The lines were red and everything else was black. There were lines everywhere he looked. Thin lines, thick lines, twisted lines, broken lines, intersecting lines, lines on top of lines and lines on top of them. He flinched, his mind burdened by the sight but he had to look. He was going to go crazy, but he couldn't turn away.

He wanted to cut all of them. He wanted to stab every one of the dots that spread like an infection. Everywhere there was a bunch of lines, there was a dot. There were so many little, red dots. They felt like eyes, tiny specks of crimson begging him to end their existence and if they kept looking at him like that then he had no choice but to comply.

"I'm so sorry, Shiki…"

Sion.

Shiki stood with the knife he never dropped, his headache the reason he stumbled. She rose just in time to catch him, but the only thing he saw was an outline under bundled lines of red and a mass of dots.

"Sion…" He stared at the figure in front of him. "You…"

She turned him into a vampire.

"Are you blooming?"

Wallachia.

Shiki moved away from her and found what he was looking for. He plunged his knife into the ground, stabbing the largest dot he ever saw. He buried the blade into the crimson all the way down to the hilt and his brain felt like it started to explode as everything around them started to warp. The fake world around them split and died as it folded onto itself and the vampire who spawned it look on in terror as its immortality was lost with it.

The real world returned to him, the sight of other colors relieving him in spite of his headache as the rumor the vampire resided started to dissipate. They were back at the top of the unfinished building, the construction materials still spread about under the night sky as Shiki stood and watched Wallachia fell to his knees in disbelief. He was about to capitalize on the vampire's weakness until arms enveloped him from behind.

"I couldn't let you die, Shiki…" Sion huddled closer to him, embracing him as she spoke. "I wouldn't let you die." She hugged him, taking comfort in the fact that what she was forced to do was far better than the alternative.

The rift in reality spluttered and spat out the things that didn't belong before it folded on itself for the last time and winked out of existence. Her clothes landed in front of them in a heap and his glasses clanked across the floor before landing in front of him, but he had feeling they wouldn't stop him from seeing the lines anymore.

"It's alright…" He reassured her before raising an idle hand to his neck. "Really…"

It was anything but alright.

"I love you."

"Sion…"

She buried her face in his back of his shirt as she said it, fully aware of his line of thought as he lowered his hand. He felt foolish, stupid even as he remembered that she too sacrificed something by saving his life. Her sacred oath to never drink blood, the pride she invested in holding the name that all other alchemists envied, the logic that governed everything from the way she talked to the how she fought…

In saving his life, she gave up the last things that made her human.

The sound of something being wasted touched their ears and the first thing he saw when he turned to look was a woman standing on one of the I-beams that littered the unfinished skyscraper. The same blood that covered Shiki stained the sleeve of her cream sweater and dripped off her hand as she stood above the vampire she splattered across the concrete.

"I didn't know he was capable of a reality marble…" The blonde stomped on the bloody remains of the monster that tried to take her Shiki. She relieved but she couldn't help the wistful smile that came to her face. In hindsight, it was a silly mistake to leave him behind so she could look for the vampire. If she had known something like that would happen, she would have gone with him instead of leaving him in the care of the alchemist. "So how did you get…"

Her words promptly died on her lips and the question she wanted to ask was lost to her as her mind went completely blank. She saw blood, the deep red that covered Shiki made it look like someone dumped a bucket of paint on him but she didn't care about that.

"You bit him…" She muttered as her wide, red eyes became a shining shade of gold, "I'm going to kill you…" Arucied said slowly, articulating every word as she took step after step. She leveled her gaze at the alchemist that soiled her most important person and Sion calmly observed the vampire that claimed Shiki as hers.

"Shiki," With calculated ease, Sion stepped from behind him with their battle plan intact. She was back to her regular self, the illogical swell of emotional she allowed him to see was private. In front of everyone else, she was the same woman she always was. "Is this the fun the fun you spoke of?"

For a moment, he thought she was being sarcastic but he could tell by the look in her eyes that she was serious. Even though she believed herself to be only around average when it came to actual combat, she still thought of herself as an expert tactician and nothing could be greater than testing herself against the strongest.

She was definitely serious, but it was a joke all the same. Ever the optimist, Shiki offered a subtle shake of his head as he forced a smile. He was uncertain of himself and honestly didn't know what he was going to do from now on, but the pillar of confidence on his side silently promised to guide him as she took hold of his hand and squeezed it.

"You…" Arcueid watched from afar, the way her hands quivered at her sides more than enough to scare him since he knew what she was capable of. "I'm going to kill you…" She whispered, the chill in her voice enough to make Shiki gulp.

He sighed as he made a mental note to one day show his favorite alchemist the joys of something other than dealing with an angry Arcueid. "Sion, remember we're not trying to beat her or anything." He bowed his head, pinching the bridge of his nose as certain death continued to stalk closer and closer in the form of a blonde with fire in her golden eyes. "If we play our cards right, we might not even get hurt… Just try not to make her angrier, alright?"

Sion smiled at him, the lavender locks that rested on the dark blue of his jacket swayed as she moved to kiss him on the cheek. The smile she would only give him grew as she pulled back her etherlite whip and removed his limiter. "Understood."

Fin

Author's Note: Hello everyone. Another one shot this time around. I kind of had this story a for a while and just didn't edit it until now. I'm satisfied even though I took a few liberties with the story. Would have liked to get into the end a bit more, but I feel like that was a good place to stop. It would have been nice to explore the reactions from the other girls, but it would be a whole different kind of story then. At any rate, thanks for reading everyone.

CF