So y'see, there was a vampire thing at LJ a while ago and I never could resist AU, or vampires, or terribly overdone clichés it seems. There is perhaps a plot somewhere in this story, but to me it's full of senseless fluff. :D Special thanks to Sin.
Title: Snapshots of a Clichéd Vampire Tale
Summary: If Tezuka was a vampire hunter, then Ryoma would be the vampire.
Gold eyes blinked curiously. The owner of said eyes, one Echizen Ryoma, was crouched atop a nearby power line watching the scene unfold curiously. The subject currently occupying his full attention – a tall man with brown hair – would've looked ridiculous if not for his stern stare and assured stance. His right arm was extended in the air, exactly perpendicular to his body, while his left was positioned just behind his ear; the perfect form of an archer in full draw.
Echizen tilted his head to the side in confusion. It would be perfect if the man in question had a longbow and arrow—all he was grasping was air. Nevertheless Echizen found that he couldn't laugh even if he wanted to because there was something about the man that commanded respect. His victim, a tackily dressed teen covered in blood, only stared at him in wonder, a dumbstruck look on his face.
A small slither of power stirred around the archer, rippling through his neat locks. Then, swift as lighting, a curved beam of light, parallel to his body, flashed to life in his grip and a shining arrow shot from his left hand. There was a sharp whistle and the luminous ray sliced through the air. The scruffy teen barely had the time to scream before his body was reduced to ashes.
"Heeh." Echizen's eyes widened with interest. The attack was over within a blink of an eye and now the man's hands were casually resting at his sides, no traces of a weapon in sight. Actually, no traces of the body left either, except for the mutilated corpse of a young girl surrounded by bloated garbage bags. The man sighed as he pulled out his cell phone, slim fingers drifting across the keypad soundlessly. With phone to ear, he murmured something quietly into the receiver, a hard look appearing in his eyes. Even with his sensitive hearing, Echizen could not make out his words. He could, however, hear the raw timbre easily and felt his bones weakening.
Echizen let out a yelp when he slipped off the cable. Reacting hastily, he curled his body into a ball and landed on the ground, still hunched over. The loud thud of his boots against concrete bounced off the brick walls, echoing in the dark alleyway.
Just as suddenly his eyes burned and he was forced to close them before he became permanently blinded. Purple dots danced beneath his eyelids, whirling around in the darkness. Echizen brought a hand up to shield his face and cracked open an eye, blinking warily.
Huh. Now the arrow was pointed at his heart. He forced himself to look up, trying vainly to ignore the glare as the arrow burned into his retinas. He scowled. "What are you doing, aiming that thing at me?"
The weapon didn't waver. "You can see it."
He tried to give the hunter a deadpan glare, but ended up wincing at the light still shining in his face. It was like Atobe had thrown his stupid shirt over his head and he couldn't get it off, only worse, because the purple seemed to glow wherever he looked. He couldn't see the man's face properly.
"You can see it."
"So?" Echizen scowled seeing the look the man aimed at him. It made him feel stupid, as if he was supposed to know something that he so obviously didn't.
Oh wait…
Echizen looked at the arrow, willing himself not to cringe, before returning his gaze to where he supposed the person's face was—it was hard to tell with the purple glare clouding his eyes. He could make out a faint line moving upwards, the man's brow perhaps.
Oh.
Right.
The arrow.
He wasn't supposed to be able to see it if he was human. Which meant…
He perked up with realization and noticed how much brighter the arrow was with the shortened distance. He had to force himself not to cringe, before his lips twisted up into a grim smirk. "But I'm not feral yet." The teen that Tezuka had killed was Echizen knew for sure. Unless…
The man still didn't move and Echizen paused to think about what he said. Could it be? It was extremely rare but not unlikely. "Unless of course you're a real—" Echizen stopped speaking when his whole world plunged into darkness. He tried to blink away the odd glow the arrow left in its wake and let out a small sigh when it refused to clear. So the hunter wasn't the bloodthirsty, purist-type who went around killing every vampire in sight. That was a relief.
Echizen had mistaken the last purist hunter he had stumbled upon a few odd years ago as a feral. In his defense it was very hard not to with his wild hair, bloodshot eyes and psychotic killing spree. Echizen hadn't been too far off the mark – seemed Sanada had turned the hunter against his will. It had still been unpleasant trying to evade the shower of purified energy, even more so when he was caught within the wash of the glow. He didn't want to remember that, didn't want to feel it again.
Purist hunters were nasty. They had no mercy for any vampire, or any hunter that had mercy for vampires. This one wasn't one though, else Echizen would've been a pile of ashes already, but he knew he had to be a pureblood with his abilities. Echizen would've glanced at the man's nape just to be sure, but he doubted the hunter would tolerate that action.
Faint clicks echoing off the walls sounded from behind and had him glancing over his shoulders. He made a face when he saw the fluttering back of the long fawn-colored coat. "You're leaving?"
The man continued to walk. Echizen scowled. Necessity for the man's sense of preservation or not, having a burning arrow directly pointed to his face was simply rude. "Without even apologizing?"
"I apologize," the man intoned without even turning around to face him.
Echizen was too offended to be awed by the deep, alluring voice; that was definitely sarcasm he heard.
He suddenly wanted to see the hunter bowing to him in apology.
The vampire's lips slowly twisted back up into a smirk. He had a feeling he wouldn't be bored for a long time.
Tezuka grunted and stumbled forward awkwardly. He looked down to see a pair of arms folded over his shoulders and could feel a solid body pressed flat against his back. It wasn't in his nature to wish he could go back in time and do something differently. Tezuka Kunimitsu regretted some of the things he'd had to do, some of the decisions he'd had to make, certainly – he had no delusions of his humanity – but he always lived with the consequences and learned from them.
Tezuka didn't think he'd be able to live with this. No. He'd either die of blood loss, insanity, or suicide. He couldn't decide which was more preferable.
It had been a week since he'd found Osakada Tomoka's mutilated body in the alleyway; since he'd killed the feral vampire responsible; since he'd met the young vampire that had fallen from the power line. It was clearly a very huge mistake, his decision to let the boy live, but he sure as hell never expected to be stalked.
Tezuka craned his neck around and slanted the boy a stern look.
Echizen smirked, and tightened his arms as he kicked his legs freely in the air. The hunter was almost a foot taller than him. At first he had found it unfair; now however, it seemed life would be more fun, a whole lot more fun.
Realizing that the vampire wouldn't get off anytime soon, Tezuka straightened his spine and continued walking down the road, mindful of the sudden tightness around his neck. Echizen, realizing that the hunter needed to breathe, pulled his knees up around his waist to alleviate the pressure around his shoulders.
"You are a vampire," Tezuka finally managed to say when Echizen refused to initiate the conversation – there needed to be one, if he wanted to keep hanging on his neck that way. Usually he had no problem with keeping his silence. Usually he didn't allow anyone easy access to his neck. Obviously this time was different; there'd never been a boy hanging off his back, almost choking him and as good as straddling him from behind. Tezuka kept his hands firm at his side, unwilling to help make the boy more comfortable. "I am a hunter," he said pointedly.
Echizen merely leaned forward to rest his chin on Tezuka's left shoulder and grinned. "I'm Ryoma." He felt the hunter stiffening as his chin moved against his shoulder in a way that would feel extremely strange and uncomfortable.
"And I would appreciate it if you would get off of me."
Echizen frowned. "You're supposed to tell me your name."
Tezuka kept his lips tightly sealed after that; a vampire could do scary things with the knowledge of names.
This certain vampire was already doing scary things: Tezuka was contemplating resorting to desperate measures to get rid of the arms around his neck.
Fortunately his self-control was stronger than that.
Or at least, he hoped so.
"Fancy seeing you here," Echizen said, before adding as an afterthought, "Hunter."
The atmosphere froze abruptly and turned thick with caution. Inwardly Tezuka was damning Echizen to all the levels of hell for speaking so loudly; it was loud enough for more than half the occupants of the club to hear even as the music continued to bleed from the speakers. It was unfortunate that Vampires had selective hearing. Outwardly Tezuka's face was carefully blank. He made a sound of acknowledgement, as if he was completely unconcerned with the bloodthirsty gazes suddenly aimed at him. The hostility rose to an unbearable level, but Tezuka simply stayed seated and casually sipped on his drink.
It wasn't long before someone grew impatient with his impassiveness. One lunged forward with their claws extended, setting off a chain reaction for the rest to follow. He could hear more than a dozen. Tezuka stared into his drink contemplatively. They were most likely the younger ones, no more than a few months old the most. They still didn't know the rules, still thought they were above any rules. He almost wanted to sigh, but suppressed the urge. It wouldn't do any good to dust them today. Maybe a few more months once they did know; he'd have a lot less on his conscience that way, and a lot less angry vampires.
Using his foot to propel the highchair around, Tezuka took advantage of the motion to fling his drink around him in a wide arc. Rapidly, with his other hand, he made a motion in the air, drawing a symbol that trailed a glowing line after his finger tip. With the final stroke he muttered a word beneath his breath. The air pulsed with light before his chair came full circle to face the counter again. He didn't need to see as the young vampires were burnt by the liquid – their screeching was more than indicative – or if his barrier was working properly. He was confident enough in his skills to know the shield was doing its job, and that the other older vampires wouldn't be all that angered with his actions; if anything, they'd be highly entertained – nothing was more irritating than an impulsive vampire.
Speaking of. Tezuka glanced to his right to see Echizen perched atop the bar just out of reach of his column of light. He had his chin propped on the palm of his hand and a leg crossed over and was watching him with amusement. He inclined his head to the side. Tezuka raised a brow, and turned around to survey the damage. He felt as his shield shuddered under the strain of a few completely reckless vampires tackling headlong into his shield at once. They were the only ones still trying to get to him. He noticed how more than a few strands of hair were turning to dust. He wondered idly if telling them would make them stop it.
"That's an interesting trick you have there." Echizen sounded impossibly closer.
Tezuka swiveled his head back around and felt his heart jump at the sight of eerily gold eyes peering into his own. Echizen was now sitting within the circle of his barrier and invading his person space again. Tezuka narrowed his eyes. Echizen seemed delighted that he was meeting his eyes, even if the hazel eyes were unusually dark.
Suddenly Tezuka was standing, looming over the boy despite the added height the bar gave him. Echizen yelped when a hand encircled his neck, dragging him up and almost lifting him off the surface below.
"Where's my phone?" Tezuka tightened his grip.
Echizen scowled at him, but didn't appear to be choking. He needed no air to breath after all; the tightening of his neck was only a minor discomfort.
He stubbornly kept his lips sealed.
Tezuka leaned forward, so close that he could see the glowing specks within the vampire's irises. His hands began to dance with sparks.
Echizen's eyes widened with alarm. It was no longer only a discomfort. He started clawing at the restrictive hand around his throat. He hissed at him, fangs lengthening from his mouth.
Tezuka merely raised a brow and applied more pressure. Echizen was reminding him of a cat that refused to cooperate on the operating table. "Unlike you," he murmured quietly so that none of the other curiously watching vampires could hear – he could see a few sitting at the edge of their seat; Echizen was someone important then. "I do not have all the time in the world." He stared at him long and hard for a moment that seemed to drag on forever. Echizen's struggles slowly came to a halt, but there was a fierce glower on his face. Tezuka, sensing his capitulation, held out his free arm without relaxing his hold.
Sulkily, Echizen reached into his back pocket, pulled out a small silver device, and shoved it forcefully onto Tezuka's open palm. The minute it was in Tezuka's hold he released the vampire back onto the bar and seated himself in his chair.
"Thank you," he murmured without the least bit of appreciation.
The barrier around him pulsed once and then died. Echizen noticed, while rubbing at his neck with a grimace, how the other vampires, oddly, were no longer paying him any attention – something to bother the hunter about another day, definitely.
Echizen slid down onto the high seat next to the hunter while aiming daggers of indignation at him.
He opened his mouth to say something, decided otherwise, and rotated the chair around to give Tezuka his back. He heard a chinking sound followed by the gushing of liquid. Involuntarily his ears perked at the noise; he suddenly felt dreadfully thirsty.
"What would you like?" Echizen knew the hunter was asking more out of courtesy than anything else. He was the type to be infuriatingly polite to anyone and anything.
Unable to resist, Echizen spun the chair around with a flick of his foot and peeked open an eye. "That's a stupid question," he deadpanned.
Tezuka inclined his head while taking another sip from his darkened glass. It was rude to stare, but Echizen couldn't help but watch Tezuka drink; his eyes were drawn to the way the brown lashes brushed against his cheek, to the way the soft lips kissed the rim of the glass, to the way his throat moved with every swallow.
Oh, Echizen was definitely thirsty. His tongue darted out to trace the tip of his elongated fang. Hazel eyes drifted towards Echizen for a split second. "Water," Tezuka answered what he assumed was an unspoken question.
Echizen made a face, but twisted his chair to face the bar nevertheless. He signaled for the bartender's attention. "I'll have the same as him." He jabbed his forefinger to the right.
The bartender's motion of shock had the thick glasses slid down his nose to reveal the tips of his lashes above the thick black rims. "Are you sure you want—"
Echizen glared at him. The man hurried off to fill another glass, muttering under his breath as he did so. The vampire noticed that the hunter's brow was raised and ignored it. Once his order was set in front of him on a coaster and the bartender had uttered, "Enjoy," in an entirely creepy tone, Echizen traced the rim with his finger. He wasn't actually in the mood for the crystal clear liquid; in fact, he was never in the mood for anything that wasn't red, warm and rich.
They plunged into an awkward silence after that – or at least, Echizen found it awkward – with only the faint chatter of the clubbers and the loud pulse of the music as a buffer. He wanted to say something, wanted to hear Tezuka's voice. Every time he attempted to initiate a possible conversation, he was distracted with the way Tezuka was drinking. There was no way a normal person usually drank water that way. No way.
Perhaps it was time to do something about the thirst of his. Resigned, he picked up his glass and chugged it down. At least, he tried to. Instead he ended spraying it all over the counter. He immediately dropped his drink and clutched at his mouth, a great number of pained expletives leaving his stinging throat.
Either way it made no difference to Tezuka; he certainly couldn't understand what the vampire was saying. He decided to sip on his water instead.
It was a good five minutes before Echizen's tongue was back in working order that he jabbed a finger into Tezuka's face and repeated what he had been trying to say for the past few minutes. "That's fucking purified!" Admittedly, Echizen sounded like he still had a rather bad lisp, but Tezuka could understand him now, lisp and all.
Tezuka nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Yes," he said. Echizen was getting sick of his mild tone.
"You didn't warn me!"
Tezuka's brow was up again. Echizen found him getting sick of that quirk as well. "I was supposed to?"
Echizen glowered at him, sat down, and glared daggers at the bartender who was innocently wiping down the bar a good meter away.
"Why the fuck are they serving this crap at a vampire hangout?" He made another face; whether it was at the pain of talking or how tragically garbled his words were Tezuka wasn't sure.
"Inui Sadaharu owns this establishment, last I heard," Tezuka said conversationally, as if it explained everything.
It did, but that didn't mean Echizen would be placated. The embarrassment was still fresh in his mind.
Tezuka said nothing else, merely lifted the cup to his lips to hide a budding smile. Echizen wasn't too angry not to notice that, and thought for a brief moment that his pain had almost been worth it to see the rare smile. Almost, but not quite.
Echizen lunged at the hunter instead. Tezuka choked back a guffaw of disbelief as he ducked from his seat.
A week or a month, it still made no difference as Tezuka had feared. His usual night hunts now included an additional vampire shadowing him around every corner while making a rather horrible effort to stay out of his sight. Vampires weren't usually so atrociously bad at the cat and mouse game, that is, the ones at Echizen's level weren't; he was being sloppy on purpose. Tezuka did not believe the boy to be so hopeless because he knew just how incredibly sneaky he could be at the worst possible times – the incident at a hunters' meeting for instance.
Tezuka relaxed from his form as the vampire disintegrated into dust. He said as if to himself, "I just killed your friend." It was the same person he'd seen hanging around Echizen more than a few times in the past month as he frequented Inui's establishment.
The silhouette in the large tree shifted, before dropping down to the ground at an alarming rate. Tezuka looked over his shoulder and saw Echizen, unsurprisingly. He was sitting in a low crouch by the trunk of the oak. It was times like these Tezuka wondered just how strong the animal instincts of vampires were.
Echizen's eyes were half-lidded as he stared at Tezuka with a wry sort of mirth. "You're just doing your job," he said solemnly, as if trying to be reassuring.
Tezuka gave him a look with the ever-present raised brow. "Right." He made a silent note to ask Inui about the mental stability of vampires too, just in case. "If that is all…" Tezuka spun around on his heels without finishing the sentence and headed home.
Instead of flying off to do whatever it was vampires did when they were bored, Echizen continued to shadow him. Once, Tezuka made a show of turning around to check, and had to shake his head with a small hint of amusement as the boy slunk towards the nearest cover. He didn't do it again, and resolved to ignore the vampire. It always worked with kids; ignore them long enough and they'd lose interest.
Sadly he heard the whisper of material and clink of chains all the way home. He should've been worried, but he wasn't really. Once he reached his house he pulled out a key from the inner pocket of his coat. Echizen gave up the pretense of stalking and ambled loudly up the steps. He peered around Tezuka's side to see a very old-fashioned house. It looked strange surrounded by modern-styled homes, but it was, Echizen thought, decidedly Tezuka.
Several clicks sounded from the door as the key rotated, but Echizen was unable to tell just how many locks Tezuka had in place. He wanted to know just how paranoid Tezuka was.
The door swung open to reveal the darkened interior. No lights were on, and it was only with his superior sight that he was able to make out the wide hallway. Tezuka's house was very spacious.
He purred, "So, Kunimit—" The name got cut off as the door slammed in his face. Echizen frowned at the polished wood and blew at the fringe in his eyes.
"Fine." He straightened his spine and crossed his arms over his chest. "Hunter."
The door still didn't open. Echizen spun around and fell against the door with a thud. He proceeded to bang his head lightly against the door repeatedly.
Finally a sentence filtered through from inside. "My name is Tezuka," the hunter said tightly.
Ryoma stopped with the racket. "Is it really?" They both knew it was a stupid question; Tezuka already knew the vampire was aware of not only his name but also his birthday, blood type, family and work schedule. He wouldn't put it past him to also know those facts about his family and friends.
Tezuka opened his door, no longer wearing his hunting clothes but dressed in casual attire. Before Echizen could fall backwards, he was already using his arms to propel himself around before ducking by Tezuka, so that the door couldn't be slammed into his face again. Tezuka looked exasperated but closed the door so nothing else could come in.
He turned to look for his wayward guest, but the vampire was nowhere in sight. Typical. He rolled his eyes and headed towards his kitchen. He was hungry; he glanced at the clock on the wall and saw it was about time for lunch. He filled his kettle up with hot water to boil and headed towards his refrigerator to see what there was available.
When the door to the refrigerator fell shut and he had a selection of ingredients in his arms, he saw a dark blur in his peripheral. He glanced up to see the vampire lounging on his sofa in the adjoining living room, flipping through a document containing newspaper clippings and pictures of vampires.
Echizen made a noise at the back of his throat. "Hey, I know most of these guys."
"Do you?" Tezuka reached up towards a cupboard for a cup.
Echizen, sensing Tezuka's indifference, soon found himself similarly uninterested. He threw the manila folder back onto the coffee table. The files inside scattered free messily.
Tezuka made a sound of irritation at that. He was standing by the counter that separated the two rooms, a plate in front of him and ingredients spread across the countertop. The arrangement made it useful to keep an eye on Echizen. He slipped two slices of bread into the toaster and pressed down the lever.
"How old are you?" he asked suddenly.
Echizen paused in the motions of reaching for the television remote. "That's a bit rude."
Tezuka pulled a cheese slice free from its plastic confines. "I mean, how old were you when you turned?"
Echizen stared at him with narrowed eyes. There was a long silence, and it didn't appear as if Tezuka would say anything else. He muttered reluctantly with a sulk, "Fifteen."
"Aa," Tezuka said, the tone of his voice implying that the answer told him everything he needed to know.
Echizen scowled at him and sat up from his sprawl. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Tezuka glanced up from layering the cheese, lettuce, tomato and leftover chicken onto his piece of toast. "What's what supposed to mean?" he asked, but his tone implied that he knew exactly what Echizen wanted to know. He made to put everything away.
Echizen stood from the couch and quickly zoomed towards the counter. Tezuka was by the sink, washing the knife and chopping board.
"Oi—" Echizen stopped with his line of thought at the sight. He hadn't paid attention to it before, but Tezuka was wearing a simple round-necked sweater and comfortable-looking cotton pants. Echizen eyed it, wondering briefly if Tezuka would let him invade his closet. He wanted to wear clothes like Tezuka's too, he decided. His eyes slowly drifted up, drawn to Tezuka's nape. Usually the collar of his long coat kept the skin hidden. It was uncovered now, with a few strands of brown hair obstructing it from view. It looked very familiar.
Echizen ghosted towards the hunter who had by now moved onto making his tea. He placed his hands on his shoulders, felt a ripple of shock run through Tezuka's body, and stood on his toes.
Tezuka was tense and made to turn his head around, but Echizen promptly demanded, "Stay still." The hand holding the kettle tightened.
Unaware (or just undaunted) of the rising tension knotting through the hunter's body, Echizen peered closer at the ink on Tezuka's neck. He blew the strands away for a clearer view. "Heeh." He smirked. "So you're one of those vampire hunters?" He breathed hotly against Tezuka's nape.
"What?" Tezuka's grip on the handle of the kettle was incredibly tight.
Echizen's smirk widened to mischievous lengths as he leaned forward to lick at the hunter's neck. His tongue brushed over the archaic cross and lingered on the ancient characters. "You do realize that crosses don't work on us right?
Tezuka eyed the fingers on his shoulder. "Aa."
"Huh." Echizen blinked once. Then he wrapped his arms around Tezuka's neck for greater leverage and continued to lick at the tattoo.
Stiffly, Tezuka forced himself to release the handle of the kettle and stir the contents in his mug. "You should stop that." He sounded strained.
Echizen pulled back for a moment, but his hands were still tightly clasping around Tezuka's neck. There was a sly look in his eyes. "Oh? Why's—" He didn't have enough time to finish the sentence when, much like that time at the club, he felt his tongue start to burn. It was different though. The last time the pain was for but an instantaneous moment that quickly died down; this time it was a slow, growing prickling sensation that made his eyes water.
Echizen promptly released the hunter and backed away into the bench. "You," he attempted to hiss menacingly. The effect was lost with the way his face was screwed up in pain as he crouched down on his haunches with hands covering his mouth.
Tezuka smiled wryly. "Would you like some tea?"
Angrily, Echizen glared at the hunter, but he knew better than to try and say anything else.
Much as he loathed to admit, Tezuka had almost become used to the nightly houseguest. Though he didn't stalk Tezuka stalking ferals as much as he used to, it had become a regular occurrence for Echizen to drop by after a hunt at least on a weekly basis, sometimes even every few days.
Even worse was that he'd gotten used to the vampire's extremely touchy-feely nature. Echizen's most favorite thing to do? Clamber up his back as if the hunter was a ride in the amusement park. It wouldn't have been so bad if Echizen didn't straddle his waist with his thighs the way he did, admittedly.
On a day not unlike any others, Echizen was nuzzling his neck. Unlike any other day, they were facing each other.
Predictably, Tezuka had to repress the sigh of frustration. "What are you doing?" he asked, but he didn't really expect an answer.
Echizen could feel as Tezuka's neck buzzed faintly with every word he spoke. The baritone voice had to be one of the most soothing sounds Echizen had ever heard; he just wanted to drown in it. Unfortunately he couldn't, but the next best thing was to breathe in the hunter's scent. He inhaled deeply. "Hmmm," he almost purred. "You smell good."
Strong hands, larger than his own, gripped his shoulders firmly and pushed him away. Echizen fell back easily.
"Thank you," Tezuka said dryly. His face was blank and Echizen could not catch a single thought from him. Curious.
He pouted in turn. "What, you're not going to compliment me in return?"
A thin brow arched above rimless glasses, giving a silent answer that wouldn't have rang so loudly spoken. Tezuka had a talent with words that way, or, a lack of.
"Che." Echizen turned his face away to the side, as if he didn't want to look at the man holding him at arm's length. Echizen folded his arms across his chest, stubbornly waiting. For what Tezuka was unsure. A heavy silence settled over them.
A minute passed.
Two minutes.
Three.
Temptation proving to be too much, Echizen lunged forward again. Unfortunately for him Tezuka had not loosened his grip for even a second. The jerk in motion had the brunet tightening his hold to a level that would've been bruising for anyone that wasn't a supernatural being. Tezuka was not letting Echizen invade his personal any more than he already had for the day.
A glare was blemishing Echizen's pale features. He looked like he was waiting for another opportunity.
Tezuka stared at him for a moment, eyes dark. "Please step away from me," he requested politely in the mild tone he knew the vampire hated.
Echizen stayed firmly rooted to the ground.
Tezuka sighed this time, before forcefully pushing the boy into the sofa behind him. He turned away and headed to his kitchen while glancing at the clock on the wall. The sun would rise in a few more hours; it was definitely time for dinner.
Echizen, sprawled across the settee as he was, seemed to have lost interest in pursuing his previous activities. He watched as Tezuka set about the task of making dinner and frowned. "I'm hungry."
Tezuka ignored him in favor of reheating the previous day's leftovers in the microwave. Two minutes later Tezuka had a bowl of steaming stir-fry noodles and a glass of water in hand. He headed towards the living room and set it down onto the glass table.
Echizen eyed the food. "I can't eat that."
"It's not for you."
Echizen glared at Tezuka's retreating back.
"But I'm hungry."
"You're welcome to try some if you want."
Echizen eyed the plate again. He didn't trust Tezuka not to have used purified water in the process of cooking, somehow. He screwed his nose up at the sight. "Che," he muttered.
The cushion he was on tilted as Tezuka sat down next to him, holding in his hands a pair of chopsticks and a packet of something else. Echizen's eyes brightened. "You have food in your fridge." He sounded pleasantly delighted.
Tezuka dropped the packet onto his lap.
Echizen caught it easily and scooted closer to Tezuka so that their thighs were touching as he pierced the plastic with his fangs, sucking slowly. He cast Tezuka a look, blinking his eyes in a certain way that made it plain to see that he thought Tezuka had it just for him.
Mixing the food in his bowl, Tezuka remarked casually, "It's bait for the feral vampires."
Echizen paused and retracted his fangs. Seeing that Tezuka would carry on paying more attention to his meal, he huffed. "Are you saying I'm feral?"
"That would mean I have to kill you."
Echizen smirked. "You wouldn't do that though, would you."
Tezuka smiled softly. "Finish your meal."
It was an empty house Echizen entered a couple of months later just before the sun was rising. "Hey, hunter!" he called out. The only sounds that greeted him were the occasional humming of the refrigerator and the ticking of various clocks.
He huffed when there was no reply and headed towards the refrigerator to see if there was a note of any kind stuck on it. Tezuka had a habit of writing nondescript notes that told him absolutely nothing about his whereabouts and sticking it to the white door with one of his tiny silver magnets when he wasn't going to be home for the day. Echizen kept all the ones he'd written so far because he knew they had to contain some sort of hidden message – it was just that he was unable to figure out what, yet. But he didn't think Tezuka would mess with him that way; the hunter was too stiff for that. He saw one and yanked it out swiftly from under the magnet. The metal pieces stayed put.
There's a full moon tonight.
Echizen snorted and rolled his eyes, slightly fond, before sliding the slip of paper into his wallet.
By now the sunlight would be creeping its way high over the horizon, but Echizen was in no mood to brave the sun on his way back to his own abode. It was too late, and he was getting sluggishly tired. His black coat flew across the room and landed somewhere on the floor. His boots followed suit. Echizen fell onto the large sofa in a lazy sprawl on his front and spent a few minutes staring at the large-sized painting on the wall; a family portrait. Tezuka, barely any older than Echizen's physical appearance, was standing solemnly to the left of a chair graced by an elegantly dressed woman. A man, holding a startling resemblance to the Tezuka of now, was standing on the woman's other side with his hand resting on the ridge of the high back chair. Behind them loomed an older man, standing tall and strong. The group of people – young people, beautiful people – all wore unsmiling faces that stared back at him.
There was another one, a photo, framed on the coffee table. His head twisted around as he reached out a hand to carefully pick it up for closer inspection. He set it upon the wide arm of the sofa, rested one cheek on the junction of his elbow, and traced around the people in the photo with a gentle finger. Tezuka was older, looking much closer to the age he was now. The people around him looked exactly the same, but they were smiling; bright smiles that weren't necessarily large, but wide enough to show happiness.
Tezuka's family.
It made him think of home. Echizen closed his eyes to rest.
He opened his eyes at dusk and didn't need to look around to know that Tezuka was still not home. It wasn't unusual for the hunter to be away for long periods of time, just like it wasn't unusual for the vampire to stay away for long periods of time.
He felt on edge, and felt something stirring through his mind. He pulled out his wallet and slid out the slip of paper written in Tezuka's neat script. A frown teased the corners of his lips.
"Full moon," he murmured to himself. Instantly his eyes flew to the grandfather clock hanging on the wall and sharpened on the tiny image just under the twelfth Roman numeral.
Last quarter, the moon dial read.
Suspicious now, he headed towards the hunter's study. It wasn't a room he ever ventured into, but it was one Tezuka as good as locked himself in whenever he wasn't eating or hunting or sleeping – though sometimes, not even sleeping. The door was locked, but the right amount of force had it slamming against the wall with a bang. He paid no mind to the squeaks of the hinges, but thought idly that Tezuka wouldn't be happy with the cracks.
He was at the desk in moments, pushing the swivel chair out of the way so he could stand at the center to survey the workstation. Tezuka was everywhere in the room; his scent, his aura, his feel. Echizen narrowed his eyes in concentration, and inhaled deeply. A strong waft of Tezuka's scent invaded his senses and almost had him staggering back with delirium. He shook his head and ran his hands through his hair. He kept them knotted in his locks and closed his eyes. It took a while, a very long while, but he managed to pick up on the strongest thread. He followed it slowly, careful not to disturb the air too much with his movements.
In three strides, he stretched out a hand, extended his finger, and—
There!
His eyes snapped open to see his index finger touching the coarse surface of a manila folder. Piled on top of it were a few thick volumes. He pushed them over hastily and yanked the document out from underneath. He rifled through contents, sharp eyes scanning the sheets for anything specific that might be a clue. Sheet after sheet of paper flew free, shuddering away from the circle around him as his anger transformed into tangible pulses through the air.
He was gone in a blink of an eye, leaving a trail of dancing papers behind.
It had taken him longer than he would've liked to locate the purist base that Tezuka had stupidly – thoughtless, idiotic fool! – gone off to, and longer still to get there. It was an infiltration from what he read in the document – bluntly put, it was a genocide mission. Echizen thought the term suicide was more fitting for the solo mission – Tezuka wasn't with a group. Hunters, despite holding monthly congregations, were solitary. At most they had partnerships; rarely were group missions arranged – if they did it usually only ever occurred within family. Echizen knew Tezuka was close to no one, knew he didn't trust anyone enough to rely on them. He doubted Tezuka had ever worked with what family he did have.
Tezuka was a formidable hunter, maybe even one of the best. But the purists had numbers; Tezuka was marching into their turf. Together, they had more than enough power to take him out. If the document was to be believed, they could suck his powers from him and turn him into an ordinary human.
He was brash at times, impulsive others, but he wasn't stupid – he hissed at the thought of the reckless hunter. He'd taken great pain to prepare a rescue operation. With a furious scowl on his face, Echizen motioned to the man wearing the rich silky cape – a vampire whose hair kept shifting from shades of purple to silver. The vampire nodded his head in turn and spun around with his arms spread out by his side.
Echizen rolled his eyes when the man clicked his fingers in the air with a flourish. Theatrics, oh how he was sick of it.
The wind stirred, and then there was no one left lurking in the forest clearing.
Tezuka watched with wary eyes as a man with clear cut glasses poured a generous amount of sparkling liquid into the chalice. He was standing by the far wall of the blindingly white cell, away from the bars of energy that kept him confined. On the other side stood a purist; his clothes camouflaged with the surroundings and only made his darkened features seem more jarring. Tezuka didn't reach for it when the cup was offered to him, merely turned his head to the side.
The man tutted, looking clearly amused. "You should at least drink something. It's almost been a week."
There was no answer from the brunet.
The voice took on a steely edge and the tanned hand clenched around the base of the goblet. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were a vampire." The last word was spat out as if it burned his tongue.
Tezuka inspected the chain connected to the collar around his neck not for the first time since he'd been held captive. There were inscriptions carved into the links. He traced the Chinese characters with a nail. The chains around his wrist rattled.
"It's a shame," the man continued after taking in a deep breath to reign in his temper. "You could've restored the Tezuka name."
You would've been a vital asset, was what Tezuka heard instead. His mouth tightened barely noticeably. He absolutely hated what the purists had become; they were devout fundamentalists against the evil of vampires – killing every vampire, killing hunters who opposed their law, killing anyone who showed an inkling of interest in anything vampiric. Tezuka's moral high ground wasn't as high as it could be; it was why he had no qualms accepting when the high elder recommended him; it was why, admittedly, he was chained up inside purist headquarters.
"You're here for the purifier." The purist smirked. "Sure you won't be cooperating with us, Tezuka?"
Still there was silence.
The man sighed almost mournfully, shaking his head with disappointment. "You give me no choice." The man reached for the sack at his foot tied with a thick golden rope. "I didn't want it to come to this."
Tezuka slanted the man an indecipherable look. The shackles around his wrists clicked open and fell to the floor with an echoing clatter just as a loud explosion rocked the building.
"Miss me?" Echizen yelled over the blaring sirens. He looked every bit the feral vampire he wasn't with his eyes glowing, fangs bared and claws extended. The purists scattered back, sensing his power, giving him a wide berth.
Tezuka glanced up, rolled his eyes, and turned back to the task at hand. He replied dryly, "Can't say I did." He was working at a sedate pace to free himself – it seemed much calmer on his side of the bars than the other – from the collar around his neck.
All around there was chaos. Purists and vampires alike were screaming and fighting. Purified energy circulated the room and flashed in a great lightshow of dust while claws tore through flesh and bones and sprayed the white walls with crimson blood.
In an attempt to get closer to the bars, closer to his hunter, Echizen swiftly tore his way through an exceptionally tall, gangly man, flying right over him only to tackle into a big, round man. He threw his cloak up to blind the purist, rotating his body down and around so he could aim a lethal kick at the thick neck. His foot connected with a loud sickening thwack. He threw his arms out to propel himself full circle, bringing his other foot around to slam the heavy boot hard into the skull. He felt the crack this time, and followed through with the force of gravity to land in a handstand. He somersaulted to his feet with a satisfied smirk.
Echizen promptly ducked as a lightning whip of energy lashed overhead, and cursed when a stray bolt caught his shoulder. He flashed in front of the offender, thrusting his claws through their heart. A brunet purist came charging from his right, mouth open in a scream of rage. Echizen yanked his hand from the blond's chest and flashed out of sight. A second later the unbearable sound turned into a gurgle as claws pierced through windpipes.
The ringing of bells sounded from all around; the bars from the surrounding prison cells were deactivating. Echizen retracted his claws and looked over his shoulder to see Tezuka bending over a robed purist. He picked up a white sack, peered inside, before stepping casually over the body. Echizen scoffed and shook the fleshy tissue from his hands.
Tezuka paused when he saw the blood drenched vampire. An elegant brow rose. "You did that so messily," he said reprovingly. Within five long strides he was standing right next to the vampire's side. "It wasn't tidy at all."
Echizen slanted Tezuka that infuriating smirk of his as he turned his body around. He made a show of licking at the blood on his claws, but made a face when the liquid touched his tongue. "Ack, bitte—ARGH!" He fell to the ground among the corpses. He glared furiously back up at the hunter to see him standing in that same archer's stance he'd seen when he first met him, firing off arrows in quick succession around him in an arc.
Tezuka surveyed the area; vampires and purists alike were being wiped out. He saw more red than white. "Sorry," he murmured when there was no more immediate threat. "You were in the way."
Echizen lunged at the man with his claws extended.
Tezuka had a peculiar habit. It was nothing as interesting as stalking vampire hunters who were stalking other vampires, or flying from rooftop to rooftop in the daytime while wearing an extremely heavy cloak. There were times after a hunt where Tezuka could be found laying on the floor in the room that was empty save for a thick fluffy rug and four striking fireplaces. It was no different now.
It was six hours after they had escaped from the purists' compound that Tezuka was finally clean of all the grime and blood, dressed in a comfortable pair of drawstring pants, and lying on his back at the very center of the octagonal rug. The fire blazed from all four corners, casting a warm light all the way to the ceiling. His eyes were closed and his arms were spread out from his sides, almost like he was lying on a crucifix, almost like he was freefalling, flying.
"Take a shower," he said in a voice that demanded no questions.
A creak sounded by the door, and then there was silence again. It was not a few moments later that he heard the water from the bathroom running.
Tezuka allowed himself to drown in the monotonous pitter-patter of the shower; if he concentrated hard enough he could make out the irregular rhythm. Not three minutes later as the rush of water turned to droplets, he heard the whispers of a towel, the rustling of material, the wet footsteps that were heading back to the room.
Echizen slinked into the room and closed the door behind him with an audible click.
Tezuka lazily blinked his eyes open to see Echizen padding his way across the carpet. The vampire hadn't dried off properly; there were darkened trails of water dripping down the neck of the woolen sweater whose sleeves engulfed the slender hands inside completely, seeping through the fabric of the pants that were a few sizes too large, saturating darkened footsteps into the thick carpet. Tezuka waited for him to say something.
Echizen stopped when he was standing at Tezuka's feet, staring down at him with an indecipherable expression in his eyes. The hunter watched him with curious eyes, but found he had to blink more than a few times to keep his eyes from falling shut completely. He was exhausted. It wasn't often he had to expend so much energy continually within the span of a few days without proper rest and food. It was hard to keep Echizen's face from blurring.
He couldn't help but be amazed by how much Echizen resembled a predator when he fell to his knees on top of him, hands supporting him up by Tezuka's waist.
Tezuka furrowed his brows together. "What—"
"Shhh," the vampire hushed immediately as he crawled up along Tezuka's body so that his hands were by his sides and his knees by his hips. Tezuka was having trouble keeping his eyes open now but felt compelled to stare into the half-covered gold peering down at him.
A sincere smile bloomed across Echizen's face, one that held none of the usual traces of slyness smirk. He flopped down onto the hunter, his weight inciting only a small grunt of discomfort. The vampire closed his eyes and said nothing else, content to lie there with his cheek resting on Tezuka's warm chest, copying the motions of breathing in and out as Tezuka did, listening to Tezuka's heartbeat as it pulsed life through his veins. It was a slow beat, calm and regular. He wanted to lose himself in Tezuka, just wanted for nothing to exist outside their world, outside this room.
Tezuka wrapped his arms around the lax body, running his fingers through the wet strands that dripped cold water onto his bare chest. The feeling wasn't unpleasant, and he found himself drifting off into a deep slumber.
He awoke with the sensation of being watched, to the feeling of gentle fingers stroking his head. Tezuka tried to blink the sleep away from his eyes while staring blearily at the boy lying completely on top of him.
"Hmm… Night already?" It was impossible to tell within the room; it lacked windows of any kind, and had no clocks ticking on any walls. He knew it had to have been a long time, could feel it in the slackness of his bones.
Echizen stopped playing with Tezuka's fringe and tucked his head under the hunter's chin. He covered Tezuka's eyes with a hand, placing his other on top. Tezuka's eyes fluttered shut beneath the cool hand, lashes brushing tantalizingly against smooth skin.
"You should sleep more," the vampire murmured into the side of his neck. A tongue brushed hotly over the same place before Echizen was mouthing kisses against his throat.
"I—" Tezuka's grip around Echizen's shoulders tightened and his breathing grew erratic. He knew exactly what Echizen was going to do, exactly what he want— Tezuka gasped when he felt the fangs sinking in, eyes opening wide but seeing nothing but darkness, feeling suddenly sensitive to the coolness of the hands covering his eyes and the heavy weight pinning his body down. "Oh." He couldn't think properly, couldn't process anything over the inescapable pleasure rushing through his veins as the blood filled the vampire's mouth.
A sound resonated from Echizen's throat. Tezuka couldn't describe it. Whether it was a moan or a hum or something else entirely, it sounded like music to his ears, a lullaby that could calm his racing heart and ease the tension away from his muscles.
He was feeling tired again despite the long hours of sleep. He drifted off to unconsciousness.
He opened his eyes feeling strangely content – not angry, not displeased. It was still dim within the room, still glowing with the warm orange flames – there was never any sense of time inside.
A heavy weight was sprawled over him like a blanket, heavy and comforting; Echizen. The vampire's eyes were closed, and he was breathing in and out as his chest rose and fell against Tezuka's own. Tezuka had to smile at the sight. He was really sleeping, not just hibernating like vampires mostly did – there was no threat of him snapping his eyes open at anytime as if he'd just been resting his eyes. It was a state the vampire rarely fell into, but one of the only ones that gave him peace of mind. It was part of that slice of humanity he'd lost centuries ago.
Tezuka wrapped his arms around the small body and rolled over onto his side. Echizen grumbled something in his sleep, but stayed otherwise undisturbed.
The hunter closed his eyes with only one thought in mind: Echizen feels so very warm.