Originally written for foxinthestars as a New Year's Resolution for Yuletide 2013 and posted at AO3. That version has some improvements, mostly proper formatting for the texting conversation.
Also putting in italics is a nightmare and I hate it.
darkness pain rule
Soma went down on his knees and clutched his head. The amalgamation of monsters that had made up Menace had all come crashing down and now they wanted him.
free us rule us become like us
He wasn't going to become the dark lord! He wasn't! He didn't even want to rule!
The monster's souls did not care.
fangs blood dominate create a new world we will show you
"Stop!" He had to go back, back to Japan, back to studying for the entrance exams, back to buying a soda and a candy bar from the vending machine outside the apartment once a week, back to job applications and back to his apartment with video game posters on the walls. Back to Mina. He couldn't go back if he was the dark lord. Even if the souls roared at him, even if they begged, even if they pressed at his mind with fangs and talons and tears. Soma forced them out, forced them all out to wander forever if they had to. One wrapped around his spirit with the taste of smoke, another clawed at his arm with icicle nails, but Soma cast them all out to wander in the abyss.
Slowly they left, and Soma fell to one knee on the field of skulls. His head hurt, his chest hurt, and his knees were aching from someone's teeth digging in. Still. It was over. The castle gave a massive shudder; without the power of chaos it was going to return to the void between dimensions soon. Soma had to get out.
No, first he had to find Arikado, then they'd both get out. Sure, Arikado was probably fine, that guy was really tough, but Soma didn't just want to leave him behind.
Soma pushed himself up with a groan and a hand pressed to his head. The power of the monster's souls had healed his wounds, at least. He could walk. It was iannoying/i, trying to balance on a gigantic pile of skulls that slipped and rolled under his feet, but it was at least possible. At least if he didn't step wrong and break his ankle trying to get out of here. Who thought skulls were a good floor, anyway? If Dimitrii wasn't dead Soma would have had words with him about it. He headed for the exit, looking around for Arikado and trying not to slip too much.
He had been expecting Arikado to be standing around waiting for him to finish cleaning up. Maybe leaning against a wall, if Arikado ever managed to relax enough to do such a thing. Soma wasn't expecting to find him lying motionless on the ground at all.
"Oh no," Soma breathed as he tried to run over, tripped, and ended up scrambling over to Arikado on his hands and knees. "Arikado! Wake up! Don't be dead." He couldn't even really imagine Arikado being dead. Something about him had seemed that it would go on forever. Soma had seen people die before, but not like this. Not someone he knew and liked. He placed a shaking hand on Arikado's throat, right on the jugular and tried to ignore how cool the skin already was.
Nothing. No pulse.
"Dammit..." Soma dropped his weight on his elbow, leaning over Arikado's broken body. If he'd just gotten here faster...if he'd stopped Dimitrii right away instead of standing around like an idiot...if he'd beaten Menace faster...if he'd just taken any his his opportunities to kill Celia before any of this could happen...! "Dammit...dammit!" Soma choked, trying not to break down crying. He wanted to drag Dimitrii's soul back from hell to kill the bastard again. He wanted to rip him apart, burn the remains, burn everything! He'd kill them all, and nothing would be spared his vengeance. It was like watching Mina get killed all over again, but this wasn't just some trick. This was real, just like then; and just like then they'd learn too late the price. The world would drown in blood, and finally, finally they'd all know the storm they had sown!
A small part of Soma knew that wasn't him. This was something else, something old and dark. It wasn't even like he had been that close to Arikado. And even then, there was no way he would want something like this.
But that was a small and fragile thought, overwhelmed by the overwhelming wave of hate inside him and gone before it could be fully recognized. Now Soma dragged himself up, ready to bring down the dark. Sending the monsters away had been a mistake. He needed that power now. And it would come to his call. Absolutely.
"So...ma?"
"What?" Soma blinked and looked down. Arikado was looking at him, his breath short and stuttered, but...awake. He winced, and weakly grasped Soma's arm.
For the moment, the rage subsided under a fierce and desperate hope. "Arikado! Hold on!" Soma grasped Arikado's shoulder firmly, trying to shove strength through simple physical contact. "I've still got a potion left, I think. I'll get it, and then we need to get out of here. Okay?" He started fumbling through his coat with his other hand. There had to be an extra potion in there somewhere, or maybe some tea...anything!
Arikado just stared at him with dull eyes, like he hadn't heard a word. He tugged at Soma's sleeve, barely focusing on the large bloodstain there. "S...soma."
"What? No, I'm okay! I got healed, so don't worry about it. Right now, you need to keep quiet and save your strength. Don't try to talk, okay?" Soma tried to pull his arm away, but Arikado's grip was surprisingly strong for someone at death's door. He tugged at Soma's sleeve and mumbled something too faint to make out.
"Don't try to talk!" Where was that damn potion? It had to be in here somewhere! Arikado ignored Soma's fumbling and just kept tugging at his sleeve, like he wanted something. Finally Soma felt a small vial and dragged it out of his pocket. "There, got it...just hold on a bit longer..." Arikado somehow managed to get his hand up to Soma's shoulder and was pulling at it now, still trying to talk. Soma leaned down to listen. He had the potion now, he could afford to humour the man a bit.
"I'm...sorry. ...so sorry... Soma..."
"No, I'm sorry!" Soma pressed his face to the ground next to Arikado's head. It was his fault, all of it. He couldn't stand Arikado apologizing now, not for his own death. Soma had a vague sense he had felt this before, knowing someone was dying and being too late to help. Someone like Mina, but he couldn't think about that right now, with the problem in front of him. "If I'd just gotten here a little faster, you wouldn't - gah!"
Soma's neck flared in pain. Arikado had - bitten him?
Arikado had bitten him!
Arikado had bitten him and was sucking his blood!
...Arikado was a vampire?
Actually, Soma thought as the pain faded from a sharp stab to a pleasant numbness, that explained a lot.
Now he had some time to get used to it, being bitten by a vampire wasn't that bad. It didn't hurt and the numbness was slowly spreading throughout his body, giving the sensation of being all wrapped up in a nice thick blanket. Soma vaguely thought that this was probably how vampires entrapped their prey and maybe he should be worried, but dismissed the idea almost immediately. He was happy to donate blood to the Red Cross, so donating it to a...well, acquaintance wasn't that much of a problem. And he was absolutely sure that Arikado wasn't the kind of vampire who fed on people to the death. Julius and Yoko would never stand for it, for one thing. Besides that, Arikado had proven himself to be trustworthy, if irritatingly stuck to the idea that Soma didn't need to know everything. Like this whole vampire thing! He would've appreciated knowing that a few minutes ago.
It was definitely having an effect. Arikado was slowly sitting up and Soma let him manhandle him into position so he was more or less leaning against Arikado's chest, one arm still braced on the ground and legs in an awkward sprawl. One of Arikado's arms twisted in Soma's hair and tilted his head back, the other stayed gently resting on his shoulder. It wasn't precisely comfortable, but hell, Soma could put up with it. For a little bit.
Actually, thinking on that... The space had somewhat stabilized before, but it now it was shuddering again. Soma could feel it wanting to return to the void, could hear the cracking noises in the ceiling. It wouldn't be long now until the entire place started falling apart. Soma squirmed in Arikado's surprisingly strong grip and managed to start batting at the man - the vampire's shoulder. "Um, Arikado? You need to hurry it up, this place isn't going to hold for much longer. If you're well enough to walk, we need to get moving."
It was like Arikado hadn't even heard him. Again. He just kept sucking at Soma's neck, panting softly. His breath was soft against Soma's neck, and Soma could occasionally hear half garbled words. "So good... forgot... ..could...just forget..." A drip of blood slid down and ran into Soma's collar, and Arikado just licked it up like a cat. The bite marks twinged when he licked over them, but barely.
Soma shivered, trying and failing to avoid being creeped out. It was Arikado, right? He had control over all those dark urges trashy vampire novels went on about, right? He'd never been like this before! Soma braced his arm against the Arikado's shoulder and pushed as hard as he could. It seemed weaker than normal, and the pleasant numb feeling was quickly fading into a dizzy lightheadedness. This needed to stop, now. Soma spoke again, more urgently. "Arikado, stop it. Stop it! This isn't you!" He managed to wiggle his other arm between his body and Arikado's, starting to lever the vampire away. "Come on, we have to get out of here!"
Amazingly, Arikado fell back, and Soma felt a rush of relief. Of course Arikado wouldn't kill him. He wasn't like that. Soma grinned and started to get up, saying, "Right, then. Let's go!"
But Arikado didn't let go. His grip on Soma's shoulders never faltered, never lost its iron intensity. He just kept staring at the trickle of blood running down Soma's neck like it was all that existed for him, his eyes glazed over and...hungry. His odd, golden yellow eyes when Soma could've sworn they had been grey just a couple minutes ago. The room gave another shake, just barely holding on. Skulls and other bones fell in a short, gruesome rain. One hit Soma in the shoulder and he flinched. This was looking worse all the time...he'd given up his powers, the place was falling apart, he was weak and dizzy and the only person that could get them out of there was in some sort of blood-starved madness. He still tried to stand up, only to have Arikado shove him flat on his back in the field of bones. Soma stared up at the vampire, who stared back, lips just barely parted to show fangs that Soma knew hadn't been there before.
A drop of blood dripped off those fangs, and Arikado licked it up absent-mindedly.
This did not stop getting any creepier. Soma rallied himself for one last appeal to Arikado's reason before...well, before he got his throat ripped out, honestly. He couldn't get the leverage for a physical fight and with how the room was spinning he'd probably lose anyway. Words were all he had left. "Come on, Arikado, snap out of it! Blood can't taste that good, right? It's all coppery! You don't want to drain me anyway, I might...become Dracula again or something! You don't want that, right?"
"Dracula?" Arikado sounded amused and dreamy, and that was honestly pretty freaky on its own. "No, Dracula doesn't taste like this. Light, refreshing...citrus and snow, a pure white landscape with soft shadows and great, deep cracks, all covered with bells and glass...it's so good." He leaned in closer, reaching down to pat at Soma's hair. "Just a little more...just a little."
More important than the revelation that his blood was delicious ice-cold lemonade that came with a free LSD mixer to vampires, or the ludicrous idea that he'd let the vampire anywhere near his neck in this state again, was the fact that he had just let go of Soma's arm. Soma grabbed the nearest bone that came to hand and slammed it into the side of the vampire's head as hard as he could.
It wasn't as hard as he would've liked, considering his arm felt like jelly, but desperation must've given him some extra strength because it made Arikado pull back, looking confused. Soma continued to smash the bone into his face, getting a good strike right on the nose. "Pay attention to me, dammit! Knock it off! We have to leave!" As if on cue the hall gave another great shudder and heave, flinging the two apart.
Just before most of the floor dropped away.
Soma scrabbled for purchase in the rapidly shifting tide of bones. A skull bounced off his head, his hand got tangled in a rib cage, there was nothing for him to stand on at all and he was going to fall into the abyss. He could see it yawning beneath him, a huge mouth dragging everything in to feed the source of all chaos. If he fell in there, would he have to fight it again? Or would he just be one more soul lost to the void? Soma kicked and flailed frantically but there was nothing to grab on to, nowhere to stand, nothing to do but fall.
Someone grabbed onto his hand. Soma cracked open an eye to see Arikado falling with him, looking strained and pale with a small trickle of blood coming from his nose. Soma couldn't tell through the bones and dust if his eyes were back to normal or not. But Arikado at least wasn't going for his throat, which was a good sign. He was trying to say something, but it was impossible to hear over the clatter of the bone fall. Finally, when they were on the very lip of the void, he shifted his grip to Soma's shoulder and everything disappeared in a dizzying rush of dark winds. Soma felt tumbled up, down, and in a dozen other directions all at once, just spinning madly around the mouth of the void until they were abruptly flung off into space.
The ground hit his feet with force, and then hit his shoulder as he fell over. Right. Lying on the ground for awhile seemed like a good idea. Lying on the ground and not throwing up was very important. Wherever he was, it was a place with good honest dirt and grass, and that alone was an improvement over bones. In fact, he felt warm like the sun was shining on him and he could hear the chirping of birds in the distance. He was probably outside the castle then, and could easily just keep lying there nice and still until his stomach came back from the roller coaster it was on.
Something fell on his head. "Drink that. You'll feel better." Oh good, Arikado was back to his usual clipped tone. Hitting him upside the head ihad/i worked. Soma opened his eyes to see a bottle of fruit juice in front of him and Arikado's feet rapidly walking away. He pushed himself up, swallowed a few times to calm his stomach's protests at being dragged away from the spinny rides, and grabbed the bottle. Some fruit juice probably would help his blood sugar or whatever. Just as soon as he could convince himself to drink it. In the meantime, he took a look around. As he had guessed, they were just outside the ruined castle gates. The sun was shining, a butterfly was floating nearby, and Arikado had his face pressed to one of the stone gate columns.
"So, um...Arikado..."
"Don't talk. Drink your juice. Your friends are waiting on the cliff as soon as you can walk." Friendly as ever, that man.
The juice was lukewarm, but sweet and refreshing all the same. Soma took small, careful sips and pretty soon he did begin to feel better. At least well enough to stand up and walk. He wiped the blood off his neck with his sleeve - his coat couldn't really get any more stained - and stood up. He didn't instantly fall over, so Soma counted that as a success. Arikado was still by the gate, not moving. It sounded like Arikado was back to normal, which meant Soma could probably ask questions and he'd just get evasive half-answers instead of his throat ripped out. "So what was that back there, anyway?"
Arikado didn't reply. He didn't even acknowledge he had heard Soma at all.
"Hello? Arikado? You owe me some answers after all that!"
Arikado remained still and silent.
"Look, I know you probably don't want to talk to me, but come on!"
Arikado tensed and shifted like he was about to turn around. Soma stepped back slightly, just in case. Sure, reincarnation of Dracula, but he was still dizzy and had literally just gotten rid of all his souls and Arikado was super strong and probably had more crazy vampire powers.
But Arikado didn't face him after all, and eventually Soma relaxed. It didn't seem like he was getting anywhere like this. Maybe Arikado just needed some time to cool off after that, in which case Soma would be better off finding everyone else. "Well...I'll be going, then. See you in a bit?"
Still no answer. Well, if he didn't show up before they'd left, there was always pestering Yoko until she gave up contact information. Soma quietly turned around and went to find everyone else.
The walk wasn't very long, though it was mostly uphill. His head was clearing pretty quickly now from the exercise and the fresh air, and the juice was keeping his stomach nice and quiet. He'd have to have some talks with Arikado and the others about more cults and dangers - after he asked Arikado about the whole "vampire" thing, that was more important - but right now he was alive, about to head home and was that Mina waiting up on the plateau with everyone else?
Soma broke into a run.
After a few steps he reconsidered and broke into a fast walk.
"Oh! Soma, there you are!" Yoko called out to him from where she was standing chatting with Mina. Yoko, Hammer, and Julius were all there, so it looked like everyone had gotten out safely. Good. Soma gave a quick wave to show he was all right too as he finished approaching.
He didn't even have a chance to say hello before Mina was rushing up to him, eyes wide with fear and concern. "Soma! You're hurt!" Soma jerked in alarm and tried to think of a good excuse before he realised she was looking directly at his now extremely bloodstained coat and jeans, not at any possible holes in his neck.
"What? No, I'm fine. I mean, I was hurt, but I got fixed up. Magic, you know? It's...magical." Soma knew he had tried for reassuring and confident. Somehow it had come out confused and completely unbelievable judging from the look on Mina's face.
Fortunately, Julius stepped in. "Welcome back, Soma. You sure kept us waiting awhile. ...oh, where's Arikado? Did you see him down in the Abyss?"
And of course he went straight for the most awkward questions. Soma cast around for something to say that was plausible, yet vague. "Uh, it took longer than we thought to get out. Arikado's fine, I met up with him after beating the cult, but he said he wanted to check some things and would be along in a bit." Julius arched his eyebrows and gave Yoko a Look that was possibly Significant, though what it could signify Soma had no idea. Yoko just shrugged and gave one of her usual dazzling smiles. Well, either way they didn't seem to want to press the issue, and Soma knew Arikado could evade questions like a champ.
Mina, however, was not so easily discouraged. "Are you sure you're okay, though? Are you hungry? I bought some snacks on the train, just let me get them out..." She started digging around in her purse, eventually coming out with a packaged sandwich and some candy to shove in Soma's face. "Here! Eat!"
Soma grabbed the snacks half to get them out of his face and half because he was pretty hungry. He'd eaten some meat before fighting Menace, but defeating amassed evil souls was hungry work. He mumbled a quick "Thanks" and started tearing into the sandwich. It was the typical crummy convenience food you'd find on a train, but after eating whatever he could carve off monsters even that sounded pretty dang good.
Mina settled back with a smile. "I knew you'd be hungry! Oh, but I didn't have the money for anyone else...sorry."
Yoko patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it Mina, all of us can afford our own lunches. ...well, most of us, at least." Hammer gave Soma a sideways look, and Soma did his best wide-eyed innocent look in return. He was a basically a student, he was expected to be poor. There was no shame in accepting free food wherever it came from. Yoko pretended not to notice and continued with a wink. "You just concentrate on getting to Soma's heart through his stomach!"
"Yoko! It's not like that!" Mina squealed, blushing faintly. Soma would've protested too, but his mouth was full of ham sandwich. He could still feel his cheeks heating up. It really wasn't like that! This was entirely about free food! He'd make it up to Mina by buying her lunch or something later, but for right now it was free!
"It's fine. Don't be bashful, you two." And now Julius was getting in on it? Soma and Mina shared a mutual look of long suffering. He didn't know when Belmonts usually married, but for heaven's sake, Mina had just started college...and he was still working to pass his entrance exams. It really wasn't fair how she was going to inherit the shrine for sure and didn't need college but got in on the first try, whereas he needed an actual job and was still out in the cold. It really wasn't.
Mina, at least, managed to recover with some grace. "A-anyway, shouldn't we be thinking about leaving? I took the train and then a cab, but I don't know how any of you got here..." A wonderful distraction. Soma would have to thank her later.
And it worked. Julius folded his arms and considered. "Well, I drove myself and Yoko here. Arikado has his own car over there. Soma, and...his friend, how did you get here?"
Soma gulped down the rest of the first half of the sandwich as fast as he could to answer, but Hammer was still faster. "I'm Hammer, man! We met last year! Anyway, I drove Soma here myself, and I could take Mina back too no problem!"
"What? Hammer, you have a pickup! There's no back seat! How are we supposed to get three people into that?" Soma finally managed to swallow just in time to prevent a terrible idea.
"It's fine! We'll just all squish together. We're all friends here, right?"
"Not that good..." Soma muttered under his breath. Being squished between Hammer and Mina for the several hours it would take to get back to civilization was not how he wanted to spend the day. Plus, Hammer never cleaned the inside of his truck. He couldn't take Mina in there.
"Well, actually...I wanted to talk to Yoko about what I've been doing at college, so if Julius doesn't mind..." Mina said, biting her lip and giving Yoko a careful look.
"Rub it in, why don't you!"
"Haha, should've studied harder, Soma! But I'm sure you'll get in next year." Mina laughed and patted Soma on the shoulder. He pouted back, not really angry but come on, he ihad/i studied hard! Exams were difficult, that was all.
"Of course I'd be glad to chat with you, Mina. We can take Soma too, if he wants." Yoko smoothly stepped in and gave them both a smile. Soma turned the offer over in his head. Julius probably had a decent car, which was a step above Hammer's truck at least. And he did want to catch up with Mina after running around in the castle for a week or so...even if he'd have to listen to how great college was and how she'd never have to take those exams ever again. Well, if Arikado was just going to sit by the castle...
Of course, as soon as he thought that Julius perked up and focused his attention right behind Soma. "Arikado! So there you are. Anything we still need to worry about?"
If Arikado was surprised, he didn't show it. "Not that I could tell. The link to the abyss has been completely broken and with it the false castle. We'll have to keep an eye on Dario, but without his powers he shouldn't prove to be nearly as much of a threat. I believe we can call this mission completed."
"Good. In that case, we were just discussing leaving. It looks like I'm taking Yoko, Mina, and Soma; I know you can get home on your own."
"Oh! Actually..." Soma spoke up, trying to get in edgewise before everything was decided for him. "I have some stuff I want to talk to Arikado about. Sorry Mina, but can I take a rain check?" He gave her an apologetic look.
Mina was almost depressingly unfazed by his announcement. "Oh...but that makes sense. I'm just glad you're all okay." She grinned suddenly. "I wanted a chance to meet up with Yoko for some girl talk anyway!" Yoko replied with a smile like she was already planning out their next trip out. Julius just shrugged, which was a move of great restraint in Soma's opinion. But Julius was just that kind of guy, really. He was probably glad to not have to keep up half the conversation.
Arikado, on the other hand, was very determinedly not showing a reaction, so much it almost counted as a reaction in and of itself. When he spoke he voice was ever so slightly more tightly controlled than usual, if not obviously strained like earlier. "I suppose you would have questions, even with the cult gone. Very well." He took a quick glance around before continuing. "Do we have any other business here?"
"Mm, not that I can think of. The rest is just tying up loose ends, like you said. And I'm quite ready to head back in any case. A whole week without a shower! It's just not fair we keep going to these 15th century castles and not proper hotels." Yoko walked forward, tossing her hair as she went. Mina followed, giving her and Soma sympathetic looks.
"When a cult uses a modern hotel to raise a demon I'll be sure to put you on the case, Yoko." Julius chuckled, and quickly moved to catch up with her. "But it's not like the castle didn't have anywhere to clean yourself up. There was that big lake and there were plenty of fountains." Soma winced at the idea. He'd had the same thought...until he'd seen where, exactly, the fishmen went to the bathroom. After that he couldn't get through the subterranean lake fast enough.
And so the group wandered back to where they were parked, Soma steadfastly ignoring how Hammer kept looking at him and sighing. If he wanted people to ride back with him he'd get a better car. Besides, it was completely legitimate for Soma to want to talk with Arikado about dark lord business. And Arikado holding out on vampire information was totally dark lord business. Yep. Soma waved goodbye to everyone else and followed Arikado to his expensive-looking black car. Seriously, a black car? Not like Soma hadn't expected it, but still. At least it was a proper electric car and he wouldn't have to listen to a grinding, rumbling engine all the way like he had with Hammer. Plus, Arikado's car had nice soft seats. Score.
Soma settled himself in and waited for Arikado to finish double-checking the mirrors. Like anyone would've messed them up while they were away... Soma straightened as something suddenly occurred to him. He leaned over as far as he could and checked the rearview mirror. "Whoa, you really don't reflect, do you? That's crazy."
If Arikado was glaring at him he couldn't see it in the empty reflected driver's seat. The only thing Soma could see was a seatbelt floating in midair, everything else was just air. It was freaky.
Arikado pushed him back into his seat. "No, I don't appear in mirrors. Now sit down." He finished his driver's preparations with a tight mouth and sharp movements, then turned around to start backing out.
Soma bit his lip and looked away. He hadn't really meant to offend, just see if that bit of lore was true. Honestly, it was kind of cool...though it would probably be a pain if the only way to adjust your appearance was to take a bunch of selfies. "Uh...sorry about that. I didn't mean to upset you, I just...I've never met an actual vampire before."
He didn't look, but he heard Arikado pause, then sigh a little. He risked a glance over to see Arikado face front again and adjust the shade to keep the sun out of his eyes. "No, don't apologize. Really, I should be the one apologizing to you. Back there-"
Wait. Sun out of his eyes. Vampire. Soma jerked around and interrupted out of sheer shock. "Wait wait wait, how are you not exploding?!"
"...what?"
"You're a vampire! You explode in sunlight! Why aren't you on fire right now?"
It was hard to tell if the look on Arikado's face was exasperation, disbelief, or even disgust. It was probably all three. "...Hollywood made that up so they could have a spectacular ending. I'm not at my best in the day, but sunlight hurts me as much as moonlight hurts you."
"Oh." That made sense, sort of. "So by 'not at your best', you mean...?"
"I'm tired, bright light hurts my eyes, and I can't change shape." The words were short, as usual. Arikado seemed to be more interested in safely getting onto the road once Hammer got his truck out of the way.
Lectures from driving school flashed through Soma's mind. He opened his mouth to speak, reconsidered as he remembered how hard he'd shoved his foot into his mouth just a few minutes ago, then forged ahead anyway. "Are you sure you should be driving? I have a license, it's no trouble." Yep, Arikado was giving him a look again, so Soma glared right back. "Look, I just don't want to get killed because you need a nap!"
"What about you? You just fought a mass of malevolent souls and had your blood drained. And I doubt you slept last night either." To be honest, Soma hadn't. He had been too busy fighting his way through the Abyss to worry about little things like sleep. He'd been feeling all right, helped by food and exercise, but now he was sitting down he was starting to feel like a nap himself. There was no way he could admit that now, though. Arikado just looked ahead and pulled onto the road as he continued. "Don't worry about it. I'm used to staying up all day."
"That...makes sense." Being a vampire seemed to be half really cool and half really annoying in unexpected ways. "Well, if you do need a break, I'll take over."
"I appreciate the offer." Judging from his tone Arikado had absolutely no plans to let Soma drive. Fine, then. Soma dropped the subject and looked out the window at the mountains and forests surrounding Celia's cultist hideout instead. It really was pretty, he wouldn't mind coming back here someday when he didn't have to fight his way through another death castle. The sun was only just starting to burn off the mist surrounding the trees, leaving enough to make the forest look soft and mysterious instead of foreboding. The entire world felt at peace. Soma let himself relax a little. They had hours to go before making it back home, maybe he would take a little nap before asking more questions. It would give them both some time to get over the awkwardness - which, if Soma was being honest with himself, was going to continue - and he could use a nap.
He was just snuggling back in the seat and closing his eyes when Arikado spoke up again. "Soma. I do owe you an apology. What happened back there was unforgivable, and I promise you, it won't happen again."
While Soma did feel he was owed an apology, calling it 'unforgivable' seemed to be going a bit far. It had been scary, but honestly he'd probably been more in danger after Arikado had sent him off to fight the entire castle with a knife before awakening as Dracula. Actually, he didn't even know how much danger he'd been in from Arikado instead of the castle. That seemed like an important thing to establish. "Uh...actually, were you going to kill me there? How much blood do you drink at a time, anyway?"
That seemed to take Arikado off-guard, but he recovered quickly. "Not enough to kill a healthy adult, usually. These circumstances were...different." He paused again, and continued like it physically hurt to admit it. "I may have killed you if you hadn't snapped me out of it. I really can't say."
Geez. It was good to know that Arikado wasn't usually like that when he got hungry, but it was kind of freaky to know that Soma had in fact been in danger of losing his life to an ally, if not a friend. "Different circumstances? How?"
"I was badly hurt, and blood heals vampires. It was...instinct." Arikado shook his head. "I do need to drink blood every day, but animal blood will sate my hunger for a time. About every two weeks I need to drink human blood. It's like eating nothing but instant noodles for a human, eventually you need real food. I just don't usually need enough blood to kill someone."
"Oh." That all made a lot of sense, really. "So how long ago..."
"About two weeks before Celia made her first move." Celia had made her move a little over a week ago. If Arikado's schedule was as strict as he was saying, then... Then he had been incredibly irresponsible and Soma couldn't resist giving him another glare. Arikado did have the good grace to look slightly ashamed about it, more than Soma had ever seen him look before. He looked away and continued. "Knowing that we would be facing human opponents, I thought it would be safer not to feed on any allies ahead of time and risk contamination in the castle when I could feed on our enemies instead. That turned out to be a mistake, and you had to suffer for it. I truly am sorry."
It took a moment for Soma to completely understand what Arikado was saying, and then he felt sick. He didn't like any of the cult members and wouldn't be shedding any more tears over them than necessary, but coldly deciding to feed on them instead of finding someone who would be willing...it was just wrong. Yeah, he hadn't asked the pig that went into his sandwich if it wanted to be part of a substandard meal, but he wasn't able to talk to it in the first place. Not asking when you could, even if the person you wanted to eat wanted you dead, was a moral problem in a way Soma couldn't quite define. Vampires might be all about preying on humanity, but Arikado had always seemed like a decent guy... Soma chewed on his lip, them remembered he was supposed to be having a conversation and the silence had gotten awkwardly long. "Ah...you don't have to apologize. It's okay. In fact, next time you need blood just come to me first, okay?"
"Don't be ridiculous. I have no intention of involving you in this past what is necessary."
Soma was really, really getting tired of that line. "Then you shouldn't have forced me to awaken to my powers at all! I'm involved, I'm not going to stop being involved, so stop pretending you can just cut me out of the loop and everything will be fine!" Soma caught himself and turned to glare out the window instead. He took a deep breath and tried to speak without yelling. "I don't mind you biting me. I'd much rather you came to me than going out and...hurting someone. Even if they're an enemy. That's all."
Silence reigned in the car again, until Arikado spoke up, his voice careful and controlled. "You misunderstand, Soma. I wouldn't have ripped their throats out." Soma frowned and told himself that mentally adding '...on purpose' was unfair. "I wouldn't have hesitated to kill them, but only if the situation demanded it. If it doesn't cost them their lives, isn't it better to take from the enemy than risk an ally?"
Soma ran his hand through his hair and turned away from the window. "No, because I'm volunteering, right now, to feed you whenever you want. As long as it doesn't kill me, I mean. If you can get permission to bite someone of course you should do that!"
"That's ridiculous. You're volunteering to be preyed upon? This isn't a movie. You're just going to turn yourself into food? Like livestock?"
"You're ridiculous! Pigs can't talk and making them into sandwiches kills them. I can talk and you biting my neck doesn't kill me! You're not preying on me, I'm making a blood donation for an al- a friend with a weird medical condition!" Soma admitted privately that 'weird medical condition' was probably pushing it, but the basic idea was the same. He'd been happy to give up his blood to keep Arikado from dying in the castle, and he'd be happy to keep giving it so Arikado could have a regular source. If he told Mina she'd probably help out, Mina was cool like that. Maybe even Hammer would too, even if he was pretty sure Hammer had never gotten along with Arikado. Add Yoko and Julius and...wait, he'd been taking it for granted that Arikado had a deal with them, but if he seriously saw it as preying on his friends then... "And what about Yoko and Julius? Come on, you have to have a deal with someone. Hasn't anyone ever volunteered before?"
"Yoko and Julius occasionally sacrifice for my sake, but it's not something I'd ask of them often." Arikado sighed and looked suddenly tired. "Someone did...volunteer their blood, once. But that was long ago, and it - she -" He hesitated before speaking again. "She is dead now, though not from that."
Soma was intensely curious about the mysterious 'she', but decided not to press the issue. Arikado was looking pretty tense about the whole thing. It would probably be better to drop the blood and killing topics for awhile; Soma didn't really want to keep talking about it either. He still had questions, but he wasn't entirely sure he wanted the answers. The practical concerns of where Arikado normally got his human blood (Soma was really really hoping blood bank) and how much he needed were probably okay, but...had Arikado killed people before? 'Yes' was looking like a disturbingly likely answer, and while it might be part of the job, Soma still wasn't entirely comfortable with the cool way Arikado had said he'd rather feed on an enemy than an ally. Even if just feeding didn't kill them, it was...it was way outside the bounds of normal, vampire and murder-free 21st century life.
Even if Soma wasn't exactly in those bounds any more either. He'd never intentionally killed a human. Graham and Dimitrii had been overwhelmed by their power and while Soma would've saved them if he could just out of basic human decency, he wasn't about to take the blame for their lust for darkness. Even if he still sometimes saw Graham's face twisted in fear and confusion as Dracula's power ripping him apart from inside out when he tried to sleep at night. It was just enough that Soma could say he'd never killed a human. The castle's monsters...they didn't count. Most of them didn't count. It was easy to smash apart a skeleton or an empty suit of armour, no matter how magically animated. Even the human-looking ones had some sort of tell that they weren't really human, and that made it more or less okay. Mostly okay. Sometimes.
It was the student witches that really bothered him. Regular witches were adults and presumably knew what they were doing, even if they looked as human has he did. But when he'd first dropped into the library back in the eclipse and been assaulted by a little girl waving a broomstick and screaming at him to get out... Soma didn't want to think he was the sort of person to kill a 12-year old, no matter what kind of freaky situation he found himself in, but she hadn't been willing to talk it out and he had to keep going, no matter what. He'd been relieved when she turned into a cat, even if she scratched him and ran off when he tried to pet her, and he'd always been sure not to hurt the cats. But he took her soul into his dominion anyway, and the question would always remain if the cat really was the little girl he'd stabbed or not...and if not being the sort of person to kill a 12-year old made up for clearly being the kind of person who would stab one to get her out of his way. But they were just monsters, right? With the shape of people?
But so was Arikado.
Soma stared at the dashboard and tried to put the sudden thought out of his mind, just like all the others. Yoko had told him that having a dark power didn't mean being evil, but that was only a comfort if killing monsters for their souls was killing animals instead of sentient beings. But Arikado wasn't an animal, definitely. So...what about all the others? If he killed Arikado...would he absorb a vampire's soul?
"Soma?" Arikado's voice broke through his dark thoughts and Soma jerked upright in his seat. "Are you all right?"
"Uh...fine, thanks." Arikado was still giving him what was probably a concerned look, but there was no way Soma could explain what he'd just been thinking about. His thoughts were murky and twisted, even to himself, and the idea of trying to vocalise his problems choked him. Desperately, Soma flailed around for something else to talk about. Unfortunately, the only things that came to mind were more questions about being a vampire, and most of those were awkwardly personal. Finally, he hit a topic that had been bugging him since the castle and that might at least not make Arikado angrier at him. "What the hell were you talking about how my blood is lemony-fresh and chilled? I mean, I guess blood has to taste different for you, but..."
Arikado just looked confused. "Lemon? It's more like oranges. It's not chilled either, healthy humans are all about the same temperature."
Okay, so his blood was delicious orange juice. Perfect for breakfast! That didn't explain the rest, though. "You said it was cold! Or like snow, or something."
"Oh, that." Arikado shrugged and looked back to the nearly empty road, Hammer having pulled ahead long ago. "As you said, blood tastes different for vampires. It's a form of synaesthesia, I suppose. It brings images and sounds as well as taste." He sighed. "It's not always a good thing."
"And I taste like...all that. Huh." Soma could see how that would get annoying if you got a light and sound trip every time you got hungry. It would be pretty cool to try out, though. "Everyone tastes different? Does anyone taste, like, bad?"
"Yes."
Soma waited for Arikado to continue. He waited in vain. Arikado seemed happy to let the subject drop, and Soma didn't have anything else that felt safe to talk about without a massive segue into the weather. He gave up and went back to staring outside the window instead.
Of course that was when Arikado decided to speak up again. "Is that all you wanted to ask?"
"Well..." There was one more thing. More of a nagging concern, really. There wasn't any good way to ask, so all Soma could do was say it. "So uh...he - Dracula - was he the one that made you a vampire?"
Arikado started a bit, then his expression smoothed out to his usual neutral. "It is because of him I am this way, yes. But don't concern yourself over it."
Soma knew Arikado was right. He couldn't feel guilty over everything Dracula had done or he'd never be able to sleep at night. His own guilt was bad enough. But it was different, reading about people tortured and killed in a history book versus having someone tell you in so many words they considered themselves a predator on humanity and knowing it was his preincarnation that had done that. Before, did Arikado have a normal life in...wherever he grew up? Did he have a family he outlived? Friends? He'd mentioned a mother before, after Soma had beaten Chaos. What had he said? Something about thanking Soma for defeating Chaos in the name of his mother?
Soma had another sudden and terrible thought. He didn't want to ask, but if he didn't then the question would keep haunting him and this had an easy answer, for good or for ill. "So...look, I'm sorry if this is awkward but we're kind of already there so I'm just gonna say it: did Dracula kill your mom? If he did I'm really sorry."
This time Arikado jerked so hard Soma almost grabbed the wheel in panic. Thank god the road was relatively straight as well as empty, and after a brief moment of heart-stopping terror Arikado was able to smoothly take them back into the right lane and Soma could figure out how breathing worked again. It wasn't a very well put question, but that was a pretty extreme reaction. He gave Arikado a cautious look and wondered if he should just start apologizing for bringing it up now.
He didn't have the chance. "I assure you, Dracula had no hand in my mother's death. None," Arikado said, more vehemently than Soma had ever heard before. His hands were gripping the steering wheel tightly enough that Soma could hear the squeak of leather under strain. "He committed many sins, but that was not one of them."
"Uh...right. Good to know." It was also good to know exactly what made Arikado freak out, even if he wasn't entirely sure why. Or why Arikado sounded so weirdly defensive for Dracula of all people. "I just wondered, since you mentioned her that one time... Sorry if it's a painful subject." How long ago had his mom died? Soma had been assuming Arikado was a lot older than he looked, but maybe he only got turned into a vampire in 1999 or something. Maybe he was still in mourning. That still didn't explain the Dracula part, though.
"It's all right. I should not have reacted like that." Arikado relaxed a little and continued with much less strain in his voice. "It's just...of all people, she would've liked the resurrection of the dark lord the least. That's all."
That seemed like a flimsy reason to Soma, but it wasn't really his business. Maybe Arikado's mom had been like Julius and spent her life fighting evil or something. Either way it was probably time to back off for a bit. His phone beeping with a new message was a welcome excuse to drop the conversation. Soma dragged his phone out and checked it to find a new message from Mina. He twisted back in his seat to see Julius' relatively nice yet somehow still beaten up car following them at a safe distance. He gave Mina and Yoko a quick wave to show that he was okay, and grinned to see them wave back. He was still smiling when he unlocked the phone.
*mina* You just went all over the road! Are you all right? （°o°；）
Arikado had glanced over to see what Soma was doing, so he held up his phone. He could tell when Arikado read the message by when he hmphed and looked back at the road. With only the slightest sense of satisfaction Soma typed out his reply.
*me* Yeah, we're fine. I just somehow managed to surprise Arikado by asking a bad question
*me* Tip: Never ask him about his mom. Dunno about dad, but mom is definitely a sore point (ーー;)
*mina* Soma! Don't bother him, he's done nothing but help you!
*me* I didn't do it on purpose! ...well, I knew it was an awkward question, but...
*mina* Just don't be rude!
*mina* Oh, Yoko says she's glad you're both all right, and 'Don't ask Arikado about his dad. Just don't.'
*mina* Poor Arikado ;-; Parents are complicated, aren't they? (╥_╥)
*me* Yeah seriously
*me* ALSO
*me* He's a vampire and needs blood. It won't kill you or turn you into a vampire so are you okay with feeding him every so often?
*mina* ! Really? (((( ;°Д°))))
*mina* ...actually that makes a lot of sense （＾_＾;）
There was a few minutes pause. Soma took the opportunity to look out the window again. They weren't quite out of the mountains yet, but the mist had finally burned off completely which combined with the bright sunlight to give the forest a much more cheerful and upright look. In a few months the forest would probably be filled with wildflowers. Eventually his phone beeped with another message.
*mina* Yeah, sure I'll donate! He's always been nice to me
*me* Great! I'll tell him when he stops being weirded out that I volunteered
*mina* Hahahah as expected of both of you ( ＾◡＾)っ~❤
*me* ( ＾◡＾)っ~❤
That seemed to end the conversation. Soma absently checked his message folder and inbox, but more out of a desire to stall than any feeling he'd actually missed anything important. He'd been careful to tell everyone he knew that he'd be going away for a week or so and not to worry about him, and the effort had paid off. His mom had sent out a couple family news mails and Tanaka was apparently having a party next week, but the rest was just the spam of ordinary life and safely ignorable. He made a mental note to make up some plausible story of what he'd been doing for the past week for his parents later. He still needed to decide if he wanted to tell them about all this business or not. A part of him said they deserved to know, especially if something ever happened to him. Another said they'd be happier and safer not getting involved. Assuming they even believed in him the first place, which was pretty damn unlikely. Soma wouldn't believe it himself if it hadn't happened to him. But if crazy cults kept following him around and trying to make him Dracula...it would be better for them to know beforehand in case someone tried to take a shot at his family or if he got killed fighting a monster, right?
Soma sighed and put his phone away. Parents were complicated. He felt a vague kinship to Arikado in this, even though he had no idea what issues the other had with his parents. It probably wasn't as bad as "I'm Dracula!"...but it might be something related. He barely knew anything about Arikado, and most of what he did know he'd just learned in the past couple of hours. He definitely didn't like Dracula...but then acted weirdly defensive about it when Soma had asked if Dracula had killed his mom. And back in the castle - Soma had been upset, who wouldn't be - but he knew it wasn't him that had wanted to burn the world down if Arikado had really been dead. There was something weird and complicated here, and Soma wasn't sure if this was the time to ask. But now was thinking about it, he felt obligated to tell Arikado one thing. It might not do any good in the long run, but, well, it was something.
"So um," Soma said, suddenly realising he didn't have a good way to broach the subject, but he was committed to at least saying something now, "back at the castle, you know? I...really did think you were dead."
"Understandable. But if I was actually dead, you wouldn't find a body. Just dust."
"Really? That's not very helpful..." How was supposed he to know the difference between Arikado and any random pile of dust? And what a morbid thought that was. "But that wasn't what I was trying to say. I thought you were dead, and I was really upset about it. I don't want to see anyone die in front of me, especially not someone I know. But...something inside me felt more than that. I...the part of me that's still Dracula...he was furious and grieving and...look, this is probably a bad way to say it, but I think he really cared about you. Still does."
There was silence. Soma waited long enough for it to get awkward, then took a sidelong glance at the other side of the car. Arikado's mouth was a tight line that betrayed him as well as if he had been cursing up a storm. The silence was only slightly changed by a faint squeaking sound that was probably the steering wheel again. Soma bit his lip. He hadn't been expecting a good reaction, necessarily, but now he was regretting having said anything. "Um..."
"Soma. I want you to promise me one thing." Arikado's voice was again too tight with control to be normal, and he didn't look anywhere but the road ahead. "Under no circumstances should you give in like that. If I die, forget it and move on."
"Hey, I can't just-"
"I will not see the war started again in my name."
That was...understandable. Soma had to admit he felt a little put out about everyone assuming he was just going to instantly turn into Dracula all the time, but...well, with the doppelganger and Arikado's death scare, it was a concern. Just... "Is that all you have to say to that?"
There was another long silence, then Arikado said "No." He seemed to relax, minutely, though for a second his face twisted in something like pain. But when he spoke, his voice was just tired. "Thank you. It's...good to know."
Soma nodded back, not entirely sure what he had actually expected to get out of that conversation, but feeling satisfied all the same.