The Vampire's Lover
"Ama Lamia: The vampire's lover, a human unable to become sired into the world of the undead or controlled by whoever bites his neck, is highly dangerous. His or her blood, when bitten, frees a changeling from their pure blood master. The vampire's lover must be killed at all costs to restore order to the world of vampires."
-Unwritten Vampire Law
"Yeah, I got the proposal." Shikamaru spoke into the phone, looking out of his office window at the falling night. The busy Tokyo street buzzed with nightlife below his office building. He should have joined all of them half an hour ago, but a late office call threw a wrench in his plan. "I will have the paper work ready by the end of the week and my boss will have the offer on the table at the beginning of next week."
The man on the phone grew agitated, raising his voice, giving Shikamaru a piece of his mind for the fifth time during the phone conversation.
He sighed, standing up from his desk chair to pace the room, rubbing his temples. "That's as fast as I will be able to get it to you, I'm sorry. I'm a bit busy right now with other proposals for new clients, as I have explained before." He paused in place, looking at his desk clock, his eyes growing wide at how late it had become. "My deepest apologies, sir, but I have to go. I will put a rush on it. Have a good night."
He hung up the phone, rubbing his eyes before picking the receiver back up again, quickly dialing a number.
"Hello?"
"What did I tell you about answering the phone?" Shikamaru snapped. "You know that's highly dangerous!"
"Well then why did you call if you didn't want me picking up the phone?"
"Because I wanted to leave a message on the machine for you, but whatever." He grabbed his brief case and began to fill it with work to bring home. "I got a late phone call and missed my train. I should be home in about two hours. I'll pick us up some dinner. You're following the rules, right? Staying safe?"
"Yes, I'm keeping the blinds shut, I don't turn on any lights, I don't turn the TV volume over ten, I don't answering the door, and I'm not answering the phone for the rest of the night."
"Good, I'll see you when I get home." He said, about to hang up.
"Shikamaru?"
He put the receiver back up to his ear, "What?"
"You stay safe, too. Okay?"
A small smile curved up on his lips, as did a small yank in his heart. "You just worry about yourself. I'm taking care of you, remember?"
"You are in just as much danger as I am, never forget that."
Shikamaru heard a click and the line went dead. Frowning slightly, he put the phone back on the hook and picked up his brief case, slipping his suit blazer back on, finding his keys. He locked up his office for the night, waving good bye to the receptionist as he exited out of the main office into the hall way, making his way to the elevator.
"Shikamaru!" Someone called out to him.
He turned on his heel to see a man his age jogging towards him; he'd noticed his wild, dog like eyes and spikey brown hair anywhere. "Kiba!"
"Where the hell have you been, man?" He asked, slapping Shikamaru on the back as they walked down the hall together. "You, like, fell off the face of the earth or something. Nobody has seen you in months!"
Shikamaru nervously grabbed at his neck as he answered, stopping in front of the elevator, "I've been busy. Work has left me exhausted." He went to call the elevator. "Down or up?"
"I'm staying here for a few more hours; I just wanted to say hi." Kiba studied him further as Shikamaru hit the down button, avoiding the others worried gaze. "Everyone misses you, man. We tried calling a few times, but you didn't answer or return messages. Every time Shino and I have tried visiting you at work, the desk lady kept saying you were sick and threatened to call security if we came back again. Lee and Neji tried visiting your apartment, but your landlord said you moved and then kicked them out. Choji was pretty convinced you were dead. We were really worried about you. Three months is a long time."
Shikamaru's eyes widened at the realization, turning to face Kiba. "Has it been that long?"
Kiba looked at him with equally wide eyes, his mouth hanging open in disbelief before asking, "Have you been feeling okay?"
Shikamaru smiled faintly, wishing the elevator would get here faster, tapping his foot. "I'm fine." He turned to face the elevator doors, trying not to give anything away with his eyes. "I just under took a little project. It doesn't give me much free time." The elevator doors opened to Shikamaru's delight, walking inside.
"We need to hang out sometime." Kiba said as Shikamaru hit the ground floor button. "I really mean it."
Shikamaru forged another grin as the doors slid shut, calling out. "I'll be in touch."
He leaned back against the cool metal wall, closing his eyes, sighing in mild frustration as the elevator began its slow decent down. He didn't want to ignore his friends. In fact, he surprisingly missed his social life, but he had a responsibly to a family friend. Going out or telling his friends would put everyone in jeopardy of potentially getting killed. He didn't want that. The elevator pinged and he stepped out, exiting the building. He shook the thought out of his head, getting out his iPod to amuse him while he walked to the train station. He lit a cigarette and began the ten block trek, letting his mind wonder.
Had it really been three months? Three months since his whole world was turned upside down? It felt like yesterday that his father and father's old friend, Kakashi, had shown up at his doorstep with a request.
Kakashi was always different from what Shikamaru could remember when he was a child. He would show up once, maybe twice a month, a few hours after nightfall. He always wore an eye patch over his right eye due to losing it in an accident when he was young, keeping the lower half of his face covered with a scarf or a facemask. His mother hated when his father had him over, because the neighbors would talk, spreading rumors around that the Nara's held company with gang members.
He also had a habit of carrying dirty manga with him, which he would sometimes accidentally leave behind. Shikamaru remembered escaping to his room with each volume left behind, spending lazy afternoons pouring over each dirty page, before sneaking them back to where he found them that night before anyone caught him. Some were normal hetero pairings; some were just girls, but the ones that had male only pairings interested Shikamaru the most. Shikamaru knew from that point forward why he didn't like girls, opting to keep it a secret until he was out of the house.
After college, when he moved out of his parents' house, he stopped paying any mind to the coming and goings of Kakashi. In fact, he had forgotten almost all about him, wrapped up in uninspiring first dates, drunken nights out with friends, and ever present work deadlines. Sometimes he felt watched, but that usually came with the paranoia of living alone. So when he and his dad showed up at his apartment that one fateful night, it was surprising, but what his father confided to him later shocked him the most.
"Kakashi isn't human." His father admitted slowly, his face contorting as he spoke, trying to choose his words carefully. "He is a vampire. A changeling. We provide him blood on the full moon from my blood bank and he provides protection."
"Protection?" Shikamaru remembered asking.
"Because you possess a special gift. You are called Ama Lamia or the vampire's lover." Kakashi described to him, his voice sounded bored and apathetic as ever. "Any vampire that bites you, cannot sire you into a changeling. However, you are considered very dangerous according to vampire law, because you also free changelings who taste your blood from the binds of his or her master, to live as if they born a pure blood."
"But you are a changeling." Shikamaru pointed out. "How come you don't have a master?"
Kakashi explained himself. "I did have a master. His name was Gatō. He was a greedy son of bitch. He'd sire slaves and work them until he broke them. Then he'd either sell them off for a profit or kill them. He was the vampire equivalent to the mafia. If your family did him wrong, owed him money, or felt that you did dirty business with him, he'd send his changelings out to wipe out the entire clan and acquire all your assets. Upon the suspicion that you might be who you are, he sent me to kill you when you were only just an infant, regardless if his hunch was right or not. He wanted the credit for killing a vampire lover. Just the rumor alone would boost his influence in the changeling market. However, your parents bargained for your life, offering your blood to free me in exchange for letting you live, along with free blood for as long as I kept your secret."
"And Gatō?" Shikamaru asked. "What happened to him?"
"He and his people were killed in a freak accident." Shikamaru could almost make out a small smirk under Kakashi's scarf. He quickly changed the subject. "But I'm not here to talk about myself. I'm here to ask for a small favor."
Shikamaru raised his eyebrows. "And that favor is?"
"There is a class more hunted then your kind." Kakashi explained. "These people are so valuable; nations have been destroyed in search of them. They are called the jinchuiki, pure bloods that possess biju, or spirit animals, sealed inside of them that give them unlimited power. Over the years, a powerful group of hunters named the Akatsuki has risen to power. Nobody really knows their true intentions when it comes to jinchuiki, weather they are capturing them for military strength, leverage in the vampire community, money or world domination. All we know is that they are breaking the seals and removing the animals from their bodies, killing the hosts in the process. They have killed six of the nine in the world so far. This is where you come in."
Shikamaru spared a glance at his father, who nodded and instructed Shikamaru to listen to Kakashi's plan.
Kakashi went on, carefully choosing his next words. "For the past several years, I've worked exclusively for the Sarutobi's. They are a pure blooded clan who are pacifists. They believe in the Will Of Fire, that love is the key to peace. They are so peaceful, they don't even drink human blood, they use animal blood instead." Kakashi shivered slightly at that before continuing. "They came into retaining the nine tails demon fox eighteen years ago as a dying wish from the boy's father in order to keep him safe. His name is Naruto and he has just come into eighteenth year and is now a fully grown pure blood. Both his parents died when he was born. His mother was the original host of the nine tails, but she had a hard childbirth and it weakened the seal to breaking. She was killed due to the extraction. His father sacrificed himself to reseal the nine tails into Naruto before it could retake form and attack Japan."
Shikamaru tried to digest all information as Kakashi gave to him, but part of him just didn't want to believe it and he was starting to get a searing headache from it all.
Kakashi continued, "Due to the growing strain of the Akatsuki, I've been assigned watch over him. The only problem with watching over him is I have no permanent inhabitance where he can be safe at the moment. This is where the favor comes in. I have a apartment with a close friend where I stay now, but we have no extra room to be able to take him in. I need someone who he can stay with where I can keep tabs on him. Seeing that I also protect you, I figured I could kill two birds with one stone, that is, if you agree to let him live with you."
Shikamaru opened and closed his mouth in pure shock, unable to say anything.
"Another problem is the blood." His father spoke up for the first time. "I can only get away with stealing enough for Kakashi. If you agree to let him stay with you, you will have to provide blood for him yourself every full moon. It's another thing for you to consider."
Kakashi nodded, "Also, another thing, because of the growing threat of Akatsuki, your social pursuits will have to take a backseat. Everyone in your life is at a high risk of danger just knowing you right now, if you agree to this; they fall into even more of a risk of getting killed. If Akatsuki finds out any personal information about you, I cannot protect your friends from them."
It was almost as if everything had hit him at once and the room began to spin. For the last twenty two years of his life, he had been watched like a hawk and didn't even know it. Kakashi knew every friend, every one night stand, every boyfriend, and every aspect of his person life. He felt exposed and violated. The two concerned faces that looked back at him began to contort. He found himself toppling over, his head hitting the wood floor hard enough to knock himself unconscious and everything went black. Shikamaru remembered it feeling like a bad dream, the kind of nightmare that had people checking for any holes when they woke up. When he came to the next morning, a note was next to him with the scribbled words: 'Just consider it?' Everything flooded back to him and he felt woozy all over again.
The blaring of a car horn brought Shikamaru back from his reverie. He hadn't been paying attention to the expiring walk light when he crossed the street. He hurried across the rest of the way and made it to the train station. Finding his platform, he sat down on the vacant bench, drawling another cigarette out of his pack to keep him company while he waited another twenty minutes for the train to come. He pulled a proposal out of his bag, loosened his neck tie, and began to absently work, letting his mind wonder again after a few minutes.
He really didn't know why he had said yes in the end. He surmised it had something to do with his dad guilt tripping him into agreeing. By the end of that week, Naruto had moved in, taking up residency on his den couch. The blonde was unfriendly at first, spending most of the time watching pointless game shows, ignoring the fact that Shikamaru existed at all. Shikamaru would get up, make his usual leftover box lunch, get dressed for the day, leave Naruto on the couch to go to work, and would come home as if time had not passed at all.
However, as the days past, conversation slowly started to form between the two. Likes and dislikes where exchanged around the fourth day of uncomfortable silence, then music tastes were brought up around the sixth, and soon watching television was a communal event. Things just flowed between the two after that and the awkwardness of the situation they found themselves in, slowly melted away. But a new awkwardness took it's place.
He tried to play it off as best he could at first, but there was no denying that Naruto was attractive. By the end of the month, he starting noticing small little things, like that Naruto had an infectious smile that lit up his entire face. He had the deepest, most expressive, blue eyes Shikamaru had ever seen and surmised his parents must have been American. He was remarkably fit. For the few seconds he saw the blonde without a shirt, he had an amazingly toned body. He had a knack of getting Shikamaru to do little things for him, without Shikamaru even really realizing until after, like getting him to bring home ramen almost every night of the week for dinner. All he had to do was smile or do that pleading thing with his eyes that he was so good at. Naruto also had a habit of being forgivably annoying, to the point where Shikamaru actually liked getting disturbed by him, no matter how bothered by it he acted.
Shikamaru knew feelings for Naruto were out of the question. He was supposed to watch over him, not fall for him. Yet he had. He stupidly had and it was all his fault.
The sound of the approaching train jarred Shikamaru from this thoughts. He looked down to see he had gotten nothing done; only scribbling's of Naruto's name filled the page. He frowned, angry at himself for yet again getting distracted. Lucky for him, it was only the cover page. He let out a frustrated groan, stuffing the papers and his iPod back into his bag as the train wheezed to a halt in front of him. Crushing his cigarette under his foot, he stood and dusted off his suite as he walked towards the most vacant looking car. Boarding the train, he fell into an empty seat towards the back. He pulled out his commuter pass and stuck it into the ticket holder in front of him so the conductor didn't have to disturb him. He closed his eyes and let the train lull him into a light rest, making sure to stay awake enough to hear the loudspeaker call out the stops. He was the next to the last drop off and lucky for him, the late afternoon train didn't usually consist of to many chatty train riders or giggling school girls. Just a bunch of office suits like him, to tried after a long day to give a damn anymore.
The train ride passed peacefully and quietly. Before Shikamaru knew it, it was his stop. Picking up his pass and exiting the train, he took his usual path to the mom and pop ramen shop Naruto always loved so much, picking up a bowl of pork miso for Naruto and udon with shredded kelp for himself. He then took the last five blocks of his long work commute to his apartment building. He climbed the six flights of stairs to his door, slipping his key into the lock and finally starting to feel the relaxation set in.
Shutting the door, throwing his brief case down, and tossing his keys in the bowl next to the door, he called out, "I'm home!"
Kicking off his shoes, he padded through the living room to the small kitchenette, placing dinner down on the counter.
Naruto emerged from the den, stretching lightly, his eyes lit up when he saw the familiar bag. "Ramen?"
Shikamaru nodded, peeling off his blazer. "Ramen. Just let me get changed, okay?"
Naruto nodded, pulling out his seat at the table as Shikamaru went into his bedroom, discarding his dress shirt and pants for sweat pants and a light undershirt. Instantly his muscles relaxed and he began to forget about the stressful day he had. He came back out five minutes later, serving the hot bowls of soup, joining Naruto at the table.
"I don't want to talk about my day." Shikamaru said, watching Naruto try to shove has many noodles in his mouth as possible. "So how was yours?"
Naruto shrugged as he slurped up his noodles, swallowing before he answered, "Boring, I guess. I just watched TV. They are changing the afternoon programing again. More newscasts then game shows." He swirled his remaining ramen in his cup before his eyes grew big. "Oh! I almost forgot. Someone called for you again. Choji I think his name was."
Shikamaru frowned, putting a pile of noodles back in his bowl, asking sharply, "You didn't answer, did you?"
"No, I just listened to the machine." Naruto replied defensively, pausing for a moment before continuing. "He misses you. Really sounded broken up."
Shikamaru felt a stinging in his eyes and he suddenly lost his appetite. He put his chop sticks down, standing up quickly. "I… I have to be alone."
"It's the full moon tonight." Naruto said to his back, unaware of the nerve he struck.
Shikamaru ignored him as he slammed his bedroom door shut, sliding down the wood to a heap on the floor, finally letting the tears fall. The same tears that wanted to spill since all of this had begun. He tried to keep himself calm as possible, but part of him told him he needed to have this breakdown and wouldn't feel better until he did. The flood gates opened and he let every unhinged emotion pour out of him.
No amount of mental preparation could ready him for losing his best friend. Choji was a sensitive guy, so he most likely thought the distance was all his fault, a trait that brought another batch of ugly tears. He wanted to tell him the reason for the distance, but Kakashi told him if he ever told any human about Naruto and him, he would be forced to betray his parents and kill him.
It wasn't more than three minutes later when he heard a light knock. "Shikamaru? Are you okay?"
"Just go away." He called back, trying to keep his voice even, but it cracked.
"I'm not going away." He said, his voice slightly agitated. "What did I do?"
Shikamaru dried his eyes to the best of his ability, opening his door to see the blonde. The minute he saw his face, he regretted his breakdown altogether.
"It's nothing you have done." He answered, failing to keep the emotion out of his voice. "I just don't want to think about it right now."
Naruto reached up, wiping away a few tears that slid down his face. "People have called here every day, leaving messages, sounding upset. You can't ignore them forever. They are your friends."
"Just please stop talking." Shikamaru whispered, leaning into his touch. "Keeping you safe and undiscovered is more important than friends right now."
Naruto pushed him back with enough force to cause Shikamaru to stagger.
"Wait, you are shoving your friends away because of me?" Naruto hollered, his eyes darkening to a light orange, the whiskers on his face becoming more pronounced. "I'm just some burden to you, too? Well, you are no better than them! All of my life I have been 'protected.'" He used air quotes to emphasize his point. "Just because I am one of the last jinchuiki, does not mean I don't know how to keep myself safe. I am damn good at defending myself." An orange, bubbly, glow began to surround him, catching Shikamaru off guard as Naruto roared. "I could protect the entire world if they'd just let me, but they are scared shitless of me. Terrified of what I could do with the power I possess. That's why they are after me." He got down on all fours and a tail began to protrude from him as fox ears formed on top of his head. "They want my power for their own, because everyone else is to chicken shit to use it."
Shikamaru's face paled, "Oh fuck."
Kakashi had only briefly told him the perils of making Naruto mad.
"If he becomes enraged to the point of going into tailed beast mode, you have to act fast." Kakashi explained when Naruto was placing his things in the den. "You have to stop him before he spawns more than two tails or your entire building is going to get demolished. If he spawns four, God help the souls of Tokyo." He handed Shikamaru a small pack of papers. "This is a seal tag. Just place one on his forehead and it will repress the transformation."
Shikamaru quickly ruffled though his bedside draw, fishing out a seal tag. He charged towards Naruto, who rose up in an attempt to block him, swiftly slapping the tag on his forehead. The orange bubbles vanished as Naruto fell forward, hitting the ground with a hard thud.
"I'm so sorry." Shikamaru apologized, his eyes wide as he tried to catch his breath. "You'd never be a burden to me." He sat down on the edge of the bed, sighing heavily. "I'm just scared, okay? I'm protecting them by staying away from them. All this time, I was putting them in danger because of who I am. I won't be able to live with myself if they died because of me."
"It's not a curse, you know." Naruto whispered weakly from the floor. "What you are, you don't have to be a martyr about it." He sat up, wiping at the sweat that had formed on his brow. "I mean, look at me, a bunch of people want me dead because of this." He lifted up his shirt to show the seal mark on his stomach. "I'm not even allowed outside, but I don't let that keep me down. You are scared that you are going to mess everything up and I get that, but you never know if everything is going to be okay unless you try it." He shakily stood up, steadying himself against the wall. "Don't shut them out; you never know when you are going to need them."
"But Kakashi said they'd be at a higher risk of danger because of Akatsuki." Shikamaru tried to explain.
Naruto smiled weakly. "That's because Kakashi doesn't trust anyone. He's been around death for too long. When he was a changeling, he was ordered to kill people without mercy. He sees what Akatsuki does to people, how they murder for reasons unknown. Thinking he is doing good, he puts people in a bubble, thinking he is saving them by keeping the evil out, when really he is only hurting them. He doesn't want to see another soul hurt anymore, that's why he told you to stay away from your friends, but I'm giving you permission to live your life. Just consider it, okay?" He turned on his heal to go. "I'm going to go take a nap."
Shikamaru watched him go, not moving until he heard the den door slide shut. He padded off into the kitchen, reheating his ramen as he fetched his work bag. Permission or not, he still had to get that proposal done. He took his hot bowl and brief case into his bedroom, leaving the door ajar. He worked and ate, trying not to find distractions, like checking on Naruto or watching the news on his bedroom TV. Finally completing the last sentence, he yawned, putting the papers away in his bag. He checked the clock to see that it was quarter to twelve at night. The things he did for bossy clients. He went to set his alarm and switch off his light when he heard a light knock on his bedroom door.
"Shikamaru?" Naruto's groggy voice called out. "I ended up falling asleep. Can we still do the blood pact? My teeth are killing me."
"Um, yeah, sure." Shikamaru replied, sitting up more in bed.
Naruto came in, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes before climbing up the bed towards Shikamaru. No matter how many times he had done this, it always felt oddly sexual to Shikamaru. Tonight was no different as the blonde pulled his shirt away from his neck. He took the time to admire the old bite marks, running his fingers over them lightly. Shikamaru's heart rate quickened as he did this, trying to ignore his body lighting up at the touch. Naruto dropped his arm to steady himself as he used his other hand to cup the other side of Shikamaru's neck, holding him still. He slowly leaned in and Shikamaru found himself holding his breath, almost willing Naruto to turn at the last minute, kissing him instead. He wrapped his lips around the base of his neck, slowly sinking his teeth into the flesh. Shikamaru hissed lightly at the brief pain as Naruto carefully fed. He let go when he had enough, licking the wound to lap up the left over blood, before pulling away entirely. Shikamaru watched as his blue eyes darkened to topaz before flickering back to blue, wanting nothing more than to pull the blonde into his arms. Naruto sat back, looking at him intently.
"Why do you always look at me like that?" Naruto asked, cocking his head to the side.
"Look at you like what?" Shikamaru questioned.
A hint of red flooded Naruto's cheeks. "You always look at me like you want to kiss me."
Shikamaru gaped at him, opening and closing his mouth in speechlessness.
He went on, crawling towards Shikamaru, "But you never actually do."
Shikamaru swallowed a lump in his throat as Naruto got dangerously close to his face, straddling his hips.
"I want you to kiss me." He lightly whispered, his lips inches away from Shikamaru's, his blue eyes fluttered shut. "Don't be afraid."
Shikamaru lightly stroked Naruto's cheek before bridging the gap and leaning in. He shut his eyes as his lips met Naruto's in a soft kiss.
Naruto chuckled when they pulled apart. "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?"
"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." Shikamaru confessed.
Naruto grinned mischievously as he leaned forward, shutting off the table lamp, blanketing the room in darkness as he pushed Shikamaru down onto the mattress.
"Let's redefine what being a vampire lover is, shall we?"
The end.
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