Always

by Tessa E Harrison

Yukimura's a vampire but how did that happen? And what events have happened to him?

bTitle:/b Always
bRating:/b M/Mature
bWarnings:/b Violence, death, sex, emotional manipulation
bDisclaimer:/b The author claims no ownership of anything in this story.
bSummary:/b Yukimura's a vampire but how did that happen? And what events have happened to him?
bNotes:/b I couldn't have done this without Fee. I'm sorry for all the teasers but the support you gave helped more than I think you realize. To my readers? See you next time~

Story 2 out of 4.

Yukimura walked the quiet, lonely hallways. Despite the place being full of humans, he was alone. Staffing was minimal. Most floors had a single nurse and she was easy enough for him to avoid. He avoided the busier floors where more intensive care patients were kept. And all around, the patients slept, each unaware just how close to death they were. The hospital wasn't his favorite place to hunt but it was certainly one of the easiest, especially after so many years of practice. Coma victims would never know and never fight. No one thought anything of a drug addict on a particularly bad trip clawing at his own arm and bleeding out in a hallucinogenic delusion. The cliché of an elderly relative who died of a heart attack in her sleep. The trick was always to move fast enough so that none of the nurses and doctors found him. Humans were so fragile, particularly those who were already injured and weak.

As he stepped onto a new floor, a strange electronic beeping noise caught Yukimura's attention. The hospital was full of that sort of noise but this was somehow different. He wasn't sure how but he could feel it in his bones.

Finding the room was easy, particularly when one was as skilled at tracking as Yukimura was. When he reached the room he was looking for, Yukimura stopped. That might be the wrong word. Froze was far more accurate. In the room was a boy, one Yukimura was convinced he'd never see again in his life.

"Hajime?"

It was out of his mouth before he had a chance to stop it.

The boy looked up from the device in his hands. That was the source of the beeping Yukimura had heard. The boy's green eyes flashed. No. This was not Hajime. It surprised Yukimura just how much that disappointed him.

"I'm sorry." Yukimura apologized. "You just happen to look remarkably similar to somebody that I used to know."

The boy just looked at him for a minute before shrugging. "'sweird ta see 'one else up," the boy added. The words came out horribly slurred but Yukimura could take a decent guess at what the child meant.

Maybe it was nostalgia. Maybe it was hunger. No, it wasn't that. Nostalgia was also out. There was something that made Yukimura stay. Some strange force led him over to the boy's bed and to sit on the edge of it.

"Who're you?" The more Yukimura listened to the boy speak, the easier it was to understand the boy's strange way of speaking.

Yukimura chuckled. Medication. That was it. Somehow it only made the child seem that much more adorable. "You won't even remember in the morning."

"Name's Kirihara...hara Akaya," the boy mumbled.

"Akaya," the elder repeated. It had a nice ring to it. "You may call me Yukimura."

Akaya blinked. "'Mura?" He asked. The way the human said it was adorable.

Yukimura nodded, chuckling as he slid the hospital slippers he'd stolen off, and pulled his feet onto the bed to sit more comfortably. "If you like. Life is a strange thing, my boy."

The look on Akaya's face was questioning. "Wha?" Before he could elaborate, a soft noise sounded. Akaya's eyes rolled into the back of his head. He fell over. It was only the vampire's lightning fast reflexes that kept the human from falling out of the bed. The human shifted in Yukimura's arms, nuzzling the vampire's chest. Akaya mumbled something but it was completely unintelligible.

Taking care to not pull any of the cords out of the boy's arms, Yukimura settled him in bed. It was only now that Yukimura was really able to get a good look at the boy.

He was young. Physically, probably around the age of Yukimura's physical appearance. At most only a few years younger. Not a child but not an adult, at least, not by this era's standards. In another time, this boy would have easily been considered a man. Several cords attached Akaya to a plethora of machinery, the purposes of which Yukimura couldn't even begin to fathom a guess. The boy's right arm was wrapped in what could only be a cast. A hard lump under the covers suggested there were even more injuries hidden from sight. Looking closer, Yukimura could see the boy was having some troubles breathing.

Staring at the boy, Yukimura couldn't help but wonder if this was finally the universe's gift to him. There had to be a reason he'd been led here, to this boy who could only be described as Hajime's twin. Something about this boy, this Akaya, was special.

The city smelled. Japan had smelled. The ports along the way had smelled. The ship had smelled. None of them compared to just how awful this new city was.

"Paris, my boys."

Seiichi scowled as he felt a small pair of hands grip the back of his shirt. "Let go," he hissed. Hajime was eight. That was plenty old enough to not act like a little baby. When the younger boy didn't let go, Seiichi forced the kid's hands off. "We're not in Japan anymore so stop acting like a baby."

The look in Alejandro's eyes showed his disappointment in the language Seiichi had chosen to use. "I'm sorry," the nine year-old apologized, speaking in Alejandro's native tongue. It came out clumsy but understandable. After so many months on the ship and being taught Portuguese and Spanish, the two Japanese boys were not supposed to speak their native tongue anymore. It was hard to remember that though, particularly when he spoke to Hajime.

"Paris, my boys," Alejandro repeated. The man rested a hand on Seiichi's shoulder. "Now you will truly be able to see the civilized world."

Alejandro's world was a strange one. It was full of people and parties but overall, life was boring. He was stuck in the house all day. Hajime clung to Seiichi's side like a little baby. Each day it got more and more annoying. Nothing he did could get the kid to leave him be. The only other person Seiichi saw on a regular basis was the mean tutor. The lessons were boring. Numbers and religion and science and literature. The only good lessons were the art and music ones. Especially art.

"Let me go with," the older Japanese boy pleaded each night he saw Alejandro ready for a party. If he could get out of the house, that would help so much. It might have been a big house but after a few months, Seiichi felt like he knew every single inch of the place and then some.

Each night, Seiichi received the same reply. "Not now, my son. But soon."

Soon wasn't coming soon enough for the boy's liking. What he figured was his tenth birthday came and passed and he still wasn't invited to one of the fancy parties. By his count of each moon's passing phases, they'd been in Alejandro's strange world for nearly six months.. Seiichi wanted more than this boring life where each day felt like a repeat of the day before. If he had wanted this, he would have stayed in Japan. He wanted excitement. He wanted adventure. He wanted to get out and see the art their tutor always mentioned.

Art had been Seiichi's driving force for leaving his homeland in the first place. The paintings the priests in Nagasaki had shown had been so beautiful. They captured human emotion in a way that Japanese art lacked.

He was supposed to be asleep. Little Hajime was curled up on his half of the bed. Seiichi rolled over. Looking at the door to their room, the older boy stared at it. This life was not how Seiichi had imagined. He might have been just ten years old but he could tell that already. He looked at Hajime and made up his mind. Seiichi wasn't going to be like a little kid and sleep his time away. Rolling out of bed, Seiichi decided that he was going to have an adventure even if he wasn't allowed to have one.

Seiichi crept down the stairs, taking careful note to skip the one that liked to creak. He heard voices and realized that Alejandro had returned from that night's party. The Spaniard was speaking to someone. They were laughing about something so Seiichi kept going, sneaking closer to see just who it was. As far as he knew, the Spaniard had never brought someone back before.

The two were in Alejandro's study. Seiichi had never seen the inside before, the two Japanese boys having been forbidden from entering. That didn't mean Seiichi hadn't tried. He'd just had no luck. Putting his ear to the door, the boy listened. The adults were speaking some strange language that sounded familiar but not. The unfamiliar voice said something before the room went quiet.

And then, the door opened.

Yukimura found himself back at the hospital. He didn't like to return to a place so soon but he had to. He needed to see Akaya again.

"You're real." The boy looked shocked. He was sitting in bed, the electronic device from the night before in his hands.

Yukimura chuckled. "Did you think you'd dreamt of me?" He moved towards the boy, taking a seat on the bed. Akaya flinched. Yukimura knew there was one way to keep the human from running away. Well, running wasn't exactly what the boy would do. His fingers were moving dangerously close to the 'help' button.

"I'm not going to bite," Yukimura assured the human. The boy was mentally weak. It was simple to enter Akaya's head. He didn't even try to fight the intrusion. As Yukimura worked, he could see the fear leaving the boy's eyes. Akaya was relaxing.

The human leaned back, the device in his hands laying forgotten at his side. Yukimura reached over, resting a hand on the boy's leg. No reaction. Good. "Let me tell you a story."

Akaya nodded. The boy shifted one of his legs and a pained expression flashed across his face. "Stories are good. They make the time go faster. It's the best part of when I get visitors. Like Marui came back today to tell me about what happened at practice today."

The enthusiasm was amusing. "Well," Yukimura shifted as he got more comfortable, "it seems you have a few stories of your own. Why don't you tell me one of them?" It had been a few years since Yukimura had let himself spend any real amount of time with a human.

"Eh?" Akaya was clearly confused. "But I don't have any."

"I'm sure you do," Yukimura insisted. "Everyone does. Besides," he patted one of the boy's legs. From the feel of it and the look on Akaya's face, it was broken. "You have at least one. How did you end up in here? There must be one there."

Akaya shrugged. And cried out, a look of what could only be described as sheer pain flashing across his face. He slumped back. One of the machines made a soft noise. This time, Yukimura noticed a fluid moving through one of the cords and into the boy. "'s nothin.'" The boy's words came out horribly slurred again. Within moments, his eyes had rolled into the back of his head and Akaya was out.

"Perhaps it's better this way," Yukimura murmured. He stood, leaning over the human and petting the boy's soft curls. "Humans only make life complicated." Yukimura knew he should wipe this visit from the boy's mind. To kill him. Taking life and getting rid of the witness was the only reasonable thing to do in this situation.

That's not what Yukimura did.

Instead, he found himself back at the hospital for a third night in a row. It was becoming a terrible habit.

"You a patient or something?" Akaya asked as soon as he saw Yukimura. Noticing a chair set up next to the bed, the vampire picked that to sit on.

"You could say that." Yukimura felt he definitely fit under the 'or something' category. But letting Akaya think the vampire was another patient gave him a reason to show up without it being suspicious. "So, why are you here?" It was obvious the human was injured. They were so weak, so fragile. It was almost a surprise more humans weren't in hospitals.

"You don't want to hear about that," Akaya protested. "I mean," he continued one as Yukimura pressed that snarl of memory. He was trying to get the boy to loosen up. "I was just with some friends and we were screwing around and it happened." Akaya shifted. "What about you?"

"I'm a vampire." Yukimura surprised himself by telling the truth. Apparently it was the right answer because Akaya started laughing. Then he started wincing. Yukimura could take a guess as to what would happen next. He was starting to understand what certain actions did to the human. That machine attached to the boy made him fall into a drugged sleep.

Yukimura sat there, watching Akaya sleep. "It's true," he told the boy's body. "I should rid myself of you. You humans are far too weak and dangerous to just let run around free like you do." But he didn't get rid of the boy.

Instead, the 400 and some odd-year-old sat there. "My mother told me I was special," he confided. "From the time I was born, that's all I heard. Little did we knew just how so. That's for a different time though." Yukimura didn't know why he was dwelling on the past. It must be Akaya's resemblance to Hajime. That had to be it.

"Is this going to become a nightly thing?" Akaya perked up as soon as Yukimura entered the room the next night.

"Do you want it to be?" The vampire asked, amused at the reaction. Akaya's behavior reminded the older of the two of a puppy.

"You're a visitor who doesn't give me the pity look or stick me with needles. Of course I want you as a visitor." The boy's honesty was so refreshing and different that all Yukimura could do was laugh.

"The pity look?" Yukimura repeated.

Akaya nodded. "You know, that look people give you when they come to visit."

Yukimura shifted, moving from the doorway to the edge of the bed. "I don't know that look." When the human motioned him to sit, Yukimura did so. "I never have visitors."

"Maybe I could come by sometime," Akaya suggested, grinning with such enthusiasm that it made Yukimura smile too.

The vampire shook his head. "I'm kept separate from most people," he lied. "No visitors allowed even if I had them."

Akaya's smile fell. "How sick are you?" He almost seemed wary.

"I'm not contagious if that's what you're worried about," Yukimura assured. "It's just...a long-term thing." He wasn't about to be rid of his vampirism. Even if there was a cure, Yukimura wouldn't take it. He rather enjoyed his life as it was.

"And I thought I had it bad." Akaya leaned back, doing it a practiced gentleness.

Following suit, the vampire leaned back and rested his weight on his hands. "If it helps, I could always tell you a story..."

Seiichi stared at Alejandro. If the boy didn't know better, he'd have thought the man was sleeping. Touching the man revealed the truth. He was cold, far too cold. He wasn't breathing. The man who had brought Seiichi halfway across the world was dead.

"Jean-Paul said to leave him alone." Seiichi scowled. Hajime needed to keep out and stop being so annoying. Little brothers were the worst. It wasn't even like the kid was cute like Seiichi's birth sister Seiko had been.

"You better not tell him I was in here," the older boy threatened.

The look on Hajime's face said 'or what?' very clearly. Just looking at the kid made Seiichi angry. That stupid seaweed looking hair. Those ugly purple eyes. And that didn't even cover the kid's annoying attitude. Seiichi moved almost supernaturally fast, crossing the room and grabbing Hajime's arm. Pulling it back, the older boy kept applying pressure until his little brother cried out in pain. "Remember what happens when you make me angry," Seiichi hissed in the boy's ear. He kept pulling until tears appeared. Seeing them, Seiichi let go with a smirk.

Hajime clutched his arm, hugging it close to his chest. He nodded, curls flopping everywhere.

"Boys," a voice called through the house.

Seiichi sauntered past his brother. "Coming," he called out.

The Frenchman was waiting just inside the door. Seeing the two boys, the man smiled. "My boys," he greeted them in his native language. "How were your lessons today?"

It was hard for Seiichi to keep up with Jean-Paul's talking speed. Even after two years, the boy still found it hard to completely understand the languages spoken in this land. Even more annoying was the fact that Hajime didn't seem to have near as many problems. It made Seiichi hate the kid even more. Still, everything else about this land was simply amazing. Life in it was difficult but now that he was older and the adults let him out, it was far more fun.

"They were lessons," Seiichi said, speaking slowly so he didn't stumble or mess up any of his words. "I like the new art tutor."

Hajime nodded in agreement. "He's nicer than the last one."

Jean-Paul's smile grew. "I thought you boys would appreciate him. Your old one was fine but my boys deserve only the best." He glanced up the stairs before looking at the boys. "And Alejandro? Has he stirred at all?"

"Not yet," Seiichi replied, shooting his brother a look to keep quiet.

The vampire gave an unhappy sigh and muttered something unintelligible. "To bed for you, my boys," he ordered. It wasn't a surprise to hear. The whole house slept in the morning and through the day. The boys had their lessons in the evenings and nights.

Seiichi couldn't sleep. He slipped out of bed and crept through the hallways. In a way, it reminded the boy of that very first night he'd met Jean-Paul. At least now he didn't have to worry about waking anyone. Jean-Paul never woke once the sun was up and Hajime was a sound-sleeper. As long as no one touched him, that boy could sleep forever.

"It's not as much fun without you," Seiichi told Alejandro's body. While he wasn't particularly close to the Spaniard, not in the way the man and Hajime were, things had still changed in the last couple of months. Time would make things better. Seiichi knew that. It was just, well, he hated this waiting. They had had the perfect family and eventually in a few years when Jean-Paul said Seiichi was old enough, it would continue. Hajime could stay a human. An eternity with that kid sounded miserable.

The boy looked around. No one. And it would be that way for hours. He reached over and poked the body. Nothing happened. Seiichi tried again but he just had a repeat of nothing. "Wake up," he ordered.

Alejandro didn't wake up. It had been two months. So Seiichi decided there was only one way to do this. He picked at a scab on his arm and pressed it until he started to bleed. Smearing the blood on Alejandro's lips, he waited. Still nothing.

Eventually Seiichi gave up and went to bed.

A sharp piercing sensation woke Seiichi out of his slumber. He was pinned, something heavy holding him down. And then his vision started going dark as his entire body burned with an icy fire that seemed to exist under the boy's skin. Everything was going dim. This was it. This was going to be the end. He didn't want this. Seiichi was special! He was the child of one of his mother's gods!

His eyes closed. There was nothing.

Akaya laughed. "So you and your brother did what?"

"We climbed to the crow's nest and pretended to be birds," Yukimura repeated. The memory of the event made him chuckle. "My brother and I got into quite a lot of trouble but then, we were stuck on a boat for five months."

Akaya's eyes widened. "Woah, really?"

"Our...uncle," yes that was probably the most appropriate term for what Alejandra had ended up being, "he took us from Japan to France and we traveled by ship the entire way."

"That must have been a crazy trip." Akaya shook his head in disbelief.

Yukimura nodded. "It was a very special trip. When Haji and I left Japan, we really didn't know what to expect. I didn't know if I'd ever return to this country. In the end, it was only a few years." Few in this case meaning over 200 but that was just a case of semantics.

Akaya had a curious look on his face. "Wait, how old are you? You barely look older than me and I'm 17."

The boy was so young. He was practically a baby. "Vampire, remember?" Yukimura teased. "I think I'm somewhere around 400 years old." He wasn't entirely sure just how old he really was. At best, he had a rough idea and he knew he'd been a year older than Hajime growing up. After all this time, it wasn't as if age really mattered or was more than a number though.

"You keep saying that and you'll make me start believing it," Akaya said with a laugh.

"My body is 19," Yukimura admitted.

"Woah, really?" Akaya sat up, staring in wide-eyed shock. Yukimura knew what would happen next.

Sure enough, the human's eyes closed as a medicated sleep took him. The vampire smiled, tucking his boy in. Then he did something he hadn't planned on doing. He kissed Akaya.

Yukimura didn't return to the hospital the next night. Or the night after that. Or any of the next several nights. He was growing far too attached and far too quickly. Attachments...they never ended well.

The library was unearthly quiet. Yukimura loved it. University libraries were wonderful places. So much knowledge everywhere and it was all for him. He might not have been a student at the school but that didn't stop him. Yukimura even had his own study desk in the graduate stacks. Which was why it was a bit of a shock when he saw a young man, mid-20s at most, clearing away Yukimura's collection of books on Monet. They were more for helping Yukimura brush up on his French than art value but still.

"What are you doing?" The vampire asked, his voice full of a polite coldness.

"This is my assigned space," the other replied, not even pausing. "Unless you are also named Renji Yanagi."

"Yanagi Renji," Yukimura corrected. "You're Japanese. You should say it the correct way."

"To be Japanese isn't entirely the best thing in this country," Yanagi pointed out. "It's barely been 15 years since the war ended."

Oh yes. That. Yukimura forgot about that silly human conflict. "And yet you're in this land."

"It's my home. I'm nisei," the human explained. It was remarkable how he still hadn't stopped moving Yukimura's books. He paused to look at the cover of one. "A fan?"

"Of Monet?" Yukimura quietly laughed. "No, I'm more of a Venetian fan. I've been reading that to help with my French. I decided if I was going to read, I might as well read about art." It was the single most fascinating thing in the world.

Yanagi set the last book on the small cart next to the book stacks. "You aren't a student here, are you?"

Yukimura could admit he was surprised by the assessment. "And what makes you think that?" He asked. It was true but he wasn't about to just say that. Not to anyone, let alone a human he'd just met.

"Because if you were really a student, you'd have gotten a study space of your own. This isn't just meaningless research or books chosen at random. There's a purpose and a theme to your collection." Yanagi stared setting his own small stack of books on the desk.

This human was definitely a smart one. Yukimura chuckled and nodded. "You've found me." He could admit this defeat.

"That one," Yanagi indicated the one behind his, "is free if you want. The guy who reserved it dropped out but the reservation lasts all term."

"Much appreciated," Yukimura replied. He took several of his books off the cart and onto the free desk. "And your research?" He couldn't help but be a little nosy. This human and his work had disrupted Yukimura's routine. The vampire felt he deserved to know just why.

"Cytopathology."

"And just what is cytopathology?" The word was a mouthful. He couldn't even try to guess what it meant.

"Studying diseases at the cellular level, just as the name indicates."

A man of few words. Yukimura smiled, remembering another man who had been that way. This Yanagi was definitely far different from that human. Yukimura had just met Yanagi but this human was full of a cool, unattached energy. Frankly, it was rather refreshing.

That was probably why Yukimura continued to return to that spot. Night after night, he went to the library and read. Yanagi sat there and read too. Every so often, one of them would read something interesting out loud. It was a quiet, unstressed friendship centered around an easy quiet.

"Would you like to grab a bite with me?"

The question shattered their comfortable silence. Yukimura looked at the human, an eyebrow raised. It asked the question 'why' without ever having to use a voice.

"I've been thinking about what you said the other day," Yanagi answered the silent question. "However the library isn't the place to talk."

What else could Yukimura do but agree? "I'm not hungry," the vampire warned, "so I hope you won't mind that I don't eat. Other than that, I'd love to join you."

Yanagi's eyes opened in a sign of slight surprise. This was a first for Yukimura, getting a leg up on the human. That alone made the vampire glad he'd agreed to go along.

"A walk around campus then?" The human suggested.

Yukimura nodded and stood, holding out his arm. He was a gentleman. That much was never going to change. Yanagi chuckled and shook his head. "A nice gesture but to do that would be a terrible idea," the human declined.

Sometimes it was hard to remember just what was acceptable in this time period. Yukimura put his arm down. "It's the price we pay to live here," the vampire admitted. "Shall we?"

"Are you okay?" Akaya's face had a genuine look of worry on it. "It's been almost a week since you were here."

Yukimura nodded and patted the boy on the head. Sitting on the bed, this time next to Akaya instead of at the foot. The human looked a little spooked so Yukimura entered the boy's mind to calm him down. It was so easy. The boy was mentally weak and never offered any sort of resistance. The temptation was there, to make Akaya his loving slave. Doing that was boring though. Yukimura had tried that route before and it had always made for the most boring companions.

"I was ill, my pet," Yukimura assured. Putting an arm lightly around the human's shoulders, he added, "I'm better now. I take it I was missed?"

Akaya's uneasiness at the situation filled the room. Yukimura could practically taste it in the air. It was intoxicating. The vampire reached over and pushed a few stray curls out of the human's face. "I won't bite," Yukimura promised. Looking around inside the human's head, he looked for one thing in particular. When he found it, he smiled. It seemed his little Akaya had a crush. A mental image of the person showed a cute redhead with purple eyes.

Transferring that sense of adoration and puppy love from the crush onto Yukimura himself was the only reasonable thing to do. Within minutes, Akaya's nervousness vanished. Well, not all. Now it was just a different sort. This was far more preferable.

Yukimura leaned back, resting happily with his Akaya. "Now, my pet, tell me more about yourself."

"Like what?" Akaya had an adorably confused look on his face.

"What do you like to do?" The vampire prompted.

The boy's eyes shone from the light of an inner fire. "Tennis." It was said with such a passion that Yukimura had to take note.

"Perhaps you can teach me someday." Yukimura had never played. He'd heard of it but that was it.

Akaya was grinning. "Or I could explain the rules now..." When Yukimura nodded, the human started going on about the sport. He spoke with such a passion that Yukimura knew he'd chosen correctly.

"Come in," Yanagi invited. "I apologize in advance for the mess."

Yukimura looked around. "This is a mess?" He asked, amused at the statement. The small apartment was almost spotless.

"A saying," Yanagi replied. "Surely you've heard plenty of things."

"Possibly." Yukimura saw the walls and felt sad. "No art?" Every single wall was a white canvas.

Yanagi set his bag on the desk. "I'm not a fan of clutter. Please," he motioned towards the couch, "take a seat."

"What? I'm to be alone?" The vampire pouted. Three months had passed since that first night, that time they'd taken that walk around campus. Three months of an easy friendship that wasn't just an easy silence. Honestly, it was a surprise to Yukimura that he found himself wanting to spend so much time with the human. He hadn't done that since...no, Yukimura wasn't going to think of that particular set of memories now.

"I'm making drinks," Yanagi answered by not answering the question.

Yukimura gave an excited clap. It brought a smile to the vampire's face as he heard Yanagi chuckle. "I've brought my book of photographs from Europe," Yukimura added, pulling a small album from his bag. He'd taken each one himself-well, taken them from their original owners. They helped Yukimura remember his old homes, in particular Paris.

"Are you trying to convince me to go on that trip again?" Yanagi sounded almost exasperated. Personally, Yukimura loved the times he could get some sort of reaction out of the human. It was a fun game.

"You would enjoy places other than this country." Yukimura personally didn't mind it but there was more to the world than just this one place. Not seeing as much as one could just felt like a giant waste. "Haven't you ever even wanted to see Japan? It is your homeland."

"This is my home," Yanagi repeated for what had to be the millionth time as he brought two steaming mugs out of his little kitchenette. Setting them down on the little table in front of the couch, Yanagi sat next to the vampire.

Yukimura scooted over, resting his head on the human's shoulder. "Just look at this architecture," he pointed at a street shot of Paris. He smiled, remembering the city. So many fond memories. The city would forever be special to him. That was where his life had changed in so many ways.

"Buildings do not make a city." Yanagi shifted a little, moving to get a better look at Yukimura's photographs.

"Technically they do. Living a little won't kill you." Yukimura moved the book that it was more in Yanagi's lap than his own. In all honesty, Yukimura was no doubt the biggest danger to Yanagi's health. "If you're worried about anything in particular, I'll keep you safe."

Yanagi chuckled. Reaching over, he flipped the page. "You? Yukimura, remember your age."

"Just a meaningless number." How old had he told Yanagi? Yukimura couldn't remember. It must have been something young for that reaction. "Besides, you're not much older."

"I'm an adult. You're still in high school." Yanagi flipped another page in the book.

That's right. Yukimura remembered the story he'd told Yanagi now. The human thought Yukimura was a senior in high school. His parents had kicked him out of their home because Yukimura was gay. Because of that, Yukimura had taken to living in the library. It was perfectly crafted to specially tug on the human's heartstrings, to pick at Yanagi's insecurities.

"Not for much longer." If just because Yukimura didn't want any part of his story to hold him back.

"You're dropping out?" Yanagi's voice was full of disappointment at the idea.

Yukimura shrugged, resting a hand on the human's thigh. "It's hard to get by in the world," he replied. "Especially with no help."

Why was a science student so buff? Yukimura had wondered what his companion's body was like for months and now...well, it was surprising. Long and lean limbs that were definitely formed on purpose. Yanagi had to have some sort of training program to keep himself so toned. "Can I paint you?"

That threw Yanagi. "Paint me?" He repeated, voice unsure if he'd even heard right.

"I can do it while you study. You wouldn't even notice." Maybe he'd even get lucky and the human would agree to do it in far more fashionable clothes. The ones the human tended to wear were a size or two too large. That was part of the reason Yukimura had been so surprised to feel just how in-shape his friend was.

Yanagi reached for his cup. "You could live here." He ignored Yukimura's request.

Not that that was a bad thing. Yukimura looked up at the human, blinking as he processed what was said. "You want me to live here with you?" This was a first. Almost. Humans rarely offered to take care of Yukimura and definitely not like this.

"It's small but if you want, you're welcome to stay here." Yanagi's mouth twitched into a smile. If Yukimura hadn't been watching carefully, he'd have thought he imagined it.

"-o we dream?" Akaya's voice snapped Yukimura's thoughts back to the current situation. From the look on the boy's face, it was obvious one of the medications he was on had just kicked in. Not that one that made him fall asleep but the one that made Akaya come up with strange thoughts and questions.

It was another night in the hospital with his favorite human. The boy was just so young and full of life. If he were anyone else, Yukimura would have wanted to have consumed such a strong, vibrant source but Akaya was different. He had his inner fire that burned with such intensity and passion. Yukimura hadn't seen anyone quite like this boy in a long, long time.

"To remember," the vampire replied. "To remember what's happened to us, to keep the memories in our hearts and minds now and forever."

The human blinked. "Wow."

An image of Yanagi popped into Yukimura's head. "At least, that's what a friend told me a long time ago." He ran a hand through Akaya's hair. "You would probably find that friend boring though."

"Eh? But all of Mura's stories are interesting." The human seemed genuinely let down by this and it was enough to warm the vampire's cold heart a smidge.

"He was a very quiet person," Yukimura explained. "He spent most of his time studying and we'd talk of traveling, of places that we wanted to see." Places they'd never visited. It was really amazing how a single moment could destroy everything. And before he could stop himself, Yukimura uttered those fateful words. "You'd probably be more interested in the samurai."

Yukimura froze in shock as he heard himself say that. Beside him, Akaya was moving into a more comfortable position, making happy noises as he did so. It seemed the loopiness of his medication was starting to wear off. Yukimura didn't respond. He'd never spoken about Sanada Genichirou to anyone. Akaya was the one. This human, this precious little boy, was his chosen companion. The universe had finally gifted Yukimura with the one perfect companion to spend forever with.

"A samurai?" Akaya repeated. The curiosity was more than evident in his voice.

Still numb in shock, Yukimura nodded. His voice sounded far away—distant even to his own ears. "He was the first human who caught my eye," Yukimura admitted. "His name...it was Sanada. Sanada Genichirou."

Just saying the name set the feeling of a thousand daggers all simultaneously stabbing him in the heart. All those memories, the ones that Yukimura had spent a few lifetimes since trying to forget were bubbling up to the surface. He leaned against the human, trying to absorb whatever strength he could from the boy.

"That's so cool!"

That was not the reaction Yukimura expected. He was almost able to keep the tranquil fury out of his eyes as he stared at the human.

Akaya chuckled nervously at the expression on the vampire's face. "I meant your names," he explained. "'Cause he's Sanada and you're Yukimura so if you put the two of you together, you become Sanada Yukimura. Which would be freaking awesome 'cause then you'd be famous and now I'm rambling so I'm just going to shut up now."

That look on Akaya's face and the words he'd spoken made the vampire smile, anger melting away in an instant. This right here, that was what made Akaya special. At heart, the boy had pure intentions. "Well, he did like to claim his family was descended from Sanada Yukimura..."

Seiichi stared in wonder. It had been almost 300 years. Was this really Nagasaki? The city of his birth just seemed so...different. It was indescribable just how different the city felt to him. This was not the city he'd grown up in. The sense of, well, wonder was almost enough to distract the vampire from his hunger. He'd barely had a chance to nourish himself on the long voyage, only able to do so whenever the ship had docked in port. Funny how much shorter the trip had felt when he was a child.

Noticing a woman clinging to the shadows, Seiichi gave a predatory smile. Not his preferred prey but she gave off this air of fear that said she'd be easy that was exactly what he needed at this moment. Once he fed, he could take his time and hunt his preferred type at his leisure.

He turned to her, a friendly smile on his face. "Excuse me," he started. After so many years of unuse, his native tongue felt strange and clumsy even to his own ears. The woman's eyes went wide. She motioned towards herself and Seiichi smiled.

He approached. "I"m looking for lodging," he explained. "Do you..." he frowned, trying to remember how to speak Japanese. He hadn't used the language in far too long apparently and now all knowledge of it was escaping him. Frustrating didn't begin to cover how this felt. Seiichi did not like this feeling, not one bit.

Still, apparently that was the right thing to say because the woman visibly relaxed a little. "This street," she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. "There are..."

It was almost cute how nervous the woman was. Almost being the key word. Instead it just came off as annoying to Seiichi.

"Lead me?" It might have been phrased as a question but there was no doubt to either of them that it was an order. The woman gave a squeak. Seiichi smiled. He had her.

The woman walked very cautiously. She kept watching the sides, every alley and shadow. He didn't know whether to be amused or annoyed by her behavior. After all, the biggest danger to her safety was him. Anyone else paled in comparison. Seiichi decided to do the only reasonable thing a vampire in his situation could do. He entered the woman's mind.

A maid named Seiko. If Seiichi's heart still beat with life, it would have stopped at that moment. He cursed himself for doing that one action.

For a moment, the woman paused. She shook her head and continued down the street. Now that she was off-limits to Seiichi, it felt like it took forever to reach the name of whatever place Seiko had squeaked out. When she stopped in front of a rather beautiful building, Seiichi couldn't help himself. He had some of the country's money, courtesy of a Chinese trader he'd met in a Korean port. Tapping the woman on the shoulder, Seiichi held out a little of it. "For you," he explained, hating just how wrong his Japanese sounded to his ears. As much as he had missed this land, Seiichi was already beginning to feel homesick for Paris.

The woman looked at him, eyes wide in shock. She stumbled out a reply that he couldn't even begin to decipher. It wasn't until he physically placed the money in her hand that she would take it.

Really, she'd taken him to the perfect place. Over the next few days, it continued to amaze Seiichi just how perfect this inn was. It was near enough the port that Seiichi was easily able to satiate his appetite without endangering himself. It was located in a nicer section of the city so that he didn't have to worry about theft. The place was physically beautiful and the staff was as close to perfect as a human staff could be. There had been some initial concern from them about Seiichi's odd hours but it after a little money and mental coercion, those were soon forgotten.

He set himself up as a painter. It wasn't much of a stretch for the vampire. Art was the reason he was alive. When he painted, it felt as if he was able to focus his entire being into the brush. And his style, clearly European with strong Venetian overtones, meant that he soon gained plenty of attention. He did well for himself. And then, Seiichi was summoned to the Sanada estate.

"Yukimura, I'll be home late."

The vampire frowned at Renji's words. He'd been living with the human for more than a year now. Normally, if Renji was running late or something had happened, the man would give some sort of explanation. It might not always have been a long or detailed one but this message? It was even less than what Yukimura was used to. He didn't like it.

Pacing the length of the room, Yukimura did his best to keep from growling. His Renji was becoming so distant lately. For at least a month, this had been happening. In the beginning, Yukimura wrote it off as Renji just getting caught up in a particular project. That had happened before. Renji always explained, even if Yukimura didn't understand what the human was saying. And even if the project lasted more than a few weeks, Renji found some time for Yukimura in the middle of it.

Then again, there had never been a night like last night. The two of them had a routine that never changed. Renji went to school and studied during the day. His family supported the man, paying the bills and rent on the apartment. He thought Yukimura had graduated and Yukimura only helped this idea along. He'd told the human he worked at a lingerie store, a place Renji would never even think of having a reason to visit. It helped explain why Yukimura had money and why the human never saw the vampire during the day. In reality, Yukimura went to his own apartment across town and slept. Sometimes he fed. No need for Renji to know that.

And it worked for them. There was never change. When there was, the change was nice and easy, something they were both able to easily deal with. Last night...Renji had come home smelling of someone else. A stranger, not one of the classmates Yukimura had come to know. Even that wouldn't have been an issue if it weren't for the fact that Renji had tried to hide it. The man had showered before coming home. Only the lingering scent on his clothes and the nervous thoughts about Yukimura finding out betrayed Renji.

Restless, Yukimura decided to get out of the little apartment he shared with the human. Maybe if he'd fed, that would help him calm down. It wasn't something he was doing enough. Picking up a transient wasn't the easiest thing to do in the early pre-dawn hours. It was much easier to do so early in the night, when all he needed to do was offer a room for the night. In a way, the last year had been almost a starvation diet for him. Keeping up this act of being a human boy was far more time-consuming and exhausting than Yukimura had initially realized. Humans truly were a foreign creature at times. Yukimura wondered how he'd even been one. He knew there was simply no way he could handle being one at this point.

Leaving the apartment, Yukimura walked with no real purpose or direction. It was early in the night and it wasn't as if he needed to worry about his safety. Yukimura was the most dangerous creature of them all. When he found himself in front of his apartment building, he took it as a sign.

The place was quiet, as he knew it would be. The main room, the one Yukimura used every day for sleeping, was comforting and familiar. It was decorated perfectly, every painting chosen carefully and placed just so. He stopped in front of what was supposed to be the bedroom door. After moving into the apartment, Yukimura had never opened it since.

A layer of stress the vampire didn't even realize he'd been carrying around seemed to lift off his shoulders the moment he stepped inside. This room was home to everything that made Yukimura, well, himself. It was a collection of everything he'd managed to hold onto over the years. This place, really the apartment in general, had been practically abandoned since Renji. At best it wasn't much more than an oversized bedroom. A shame, Yukimura realized. Trying to live like a human, to constantly attempt to play house with Renji...it wasn't working. In the beginning it had but after a year, the novelty of the act was wearing off. Even worse, it felt wrong. Yukimura realized why, now that he looked around this room. He wasn't human. Renji was.

The solution was simple. Yukimura needed to turn Renji into a vampire. Once Yukimura did that, he would have the man to himself. There would be no lying, no secrets, no scents of others who could potentially turn into lovers. When he turned Renji, it would finally allow Yukimura to come clean about the truth. He would be able to possess the human fully without breaking Renji, of taking away what made Renji Renji.

He stopped in front of a painting. Rather, the frame of one. The actual painting, a portrait, was ruined. "This time," Yukimura vowed, "I'll finally get what I deserve."

The portrait didn't respond. It didn't have to. Even now, Yukimura could feel the missing eyes staring at him, through him. They were judging him. Yukimura growled, the urge to rid himself of the thing strong. Raising a hand, Yukimura was ready to finish ripping it to shreds.

But he couldn't. Instead, Yukimura traced a finger along the subject's jaw. It was the only part of the missing face that remained. "One day," he went on, tone completely different now. His voice was soft, almost wistful as he promised, "I will restore you."

Tonight was not going to be that night. Finding someone to feed on was. The search didn't take long. A boy, barely more than a child in all honesty, who had run away from home. He wasn't the sort of person who would be easily missed. It wasn't hard for Yukimura to lure the boy back to his lair. All it'd taken was the promise of some food, a shower, and a warm bed. He'd even been nice and given the boy all those things before feeding.

In the end, it was always the same. Finding the night's meal was never hard. It was always the clean up process that proved to be the most difficult. Then again, Yukimura had taken care of that problem by his choice of lair location. A large clump of trees grew behind the apartment building and on the other side of them was a train yard. Yes, it made for a rather noisy place but Yukimura was rarely around. Even when he was, he was dead to the world asleep. Train yards were beautiful places for body disposal. By the time anyone found the boy's body, it would be hundreds of miles away from Yukimura.

When Yukimura returned to the apartment he shared with Renji, he did feel better. That was up until he noticed a strange car parked in Renji's spot. The mysterious other? Yukimura wasn't sure if he wanted that to be the case. If Renji was bringing someone home...it was unheard of. In the last year since living with Yukimura, the human had never invited anyone over. Not even his parents had seen the place. This spelled trouble. This was someone Renji had a serious interest in. If he were an animal, Yukimura's hackles would have been raised in wary unease as he entered the apartment.

Renji and a stranger were sitting on the couch. The table in front of them was covered in papers and notebooks. A pen had rolled onto the floor at some point. The stranger was pointing at something in the book he was holding, Renji leaning over and nodding. They looked the perfect picture of students studying. Yukimura knew in that instant hated this newcomer.

"We have company." Yukimura gave the stranger a dark look. The vampire stood in the doorway, watching the two humans. They hadn't even noticed him entering the room.

"Yukimura." Renji looked up, giving the vampire that soft look that was his smile. "Sadaharu, my...roommate, Yukimura." The paused before the word roommate did not go unnoticed by the vampire. He raised an unamused eyebrow. "This is an old friend of mine, Sadaharu Inui."

"You're saying it backwards again," Yukimura reminded as he stepped out of his shoes and into the small apartment. His nose told him that this human, this Inui, was the one. "Am I interrupting, Renji?" The coolness of his voice didn't seem to affect the humans.

At least, not physically. Renji's expression didn't change but it didn't need to. The human's mind was frantic with worry and guilt. It was more than enough to betray Renji. All of that was almost enough to make Yukimura smile. Instead, he crossed the room, taking a seat on the arm of the couch next to Renji. Doing that always annoyed the human but Yukimura was okay with that. The purpose was to throw Renji off. Knowing just how much Renji hated it, Yukimura reached over and started to pet his human's hair.

True enough, annoyed irritation took over the human's thoughts. It amused Yukimura to see the sheer level of irritation Renji could have but never show. Yukimura kept petting. "Renji, why didn't you tell me you were bringing someone home?"

"Is it a problem?" Renji asked. He was sitting ram-rod straight. Beside him, the other human sat silently. He was observing them but the man's glasses blocked Yukimura from seeing the man's eyes. Knowing his hold on Renji was secure even without attention, Yukimura relaxed his grip on the human's mind. Letting go, the vampire turned his focus onto Inui. He tried to enter. And when that didn't work, he tried again. Frowning, Yukimura put all his strength into it. Nothing happened.

Inui gave him a curious look. Yukimura smiled. "Are you staying long?" The vampire asked, turning on all the polite charm he could muster.

Why wasn't he able to enter the human's mind? Yukimura had never encountered someone so able to keep him out of their head before. Some humans had certainly been stronger, gifted with a natural resistance against Yukimura and his kind's ability to take control of minds. Even that had never been more than a bump for the vampire before. Entering heads and changing minds had always been a specialty of Yukimura's.

Inui turned to Renji. "Am I?"

When the human nodded, Yukimura froze internally. Having no luck with Inui, the vampire slid back into Renji's mind. He almost wished he hadn't. At that moment, Yukimura knew what he had to do. He gave Inui his friendliest smile, telling the man, "well then, Inui, it's been a pleasure but I'll leave you and Renji to your studies now." Sliding off the arm of the couch, he leaned over peck Renji on the lips.

It didn't matter how much time Renji spent with his friend. After all, Inui Sadaharu was a dead man.

Seiichi could barely move. His everything hurt. Even though he'd just woken, he was already exhausted. Worst of all, his skin itched and all he wanted to do was scratch it. That took too much strength.

"Seiichi," a familiar voice called. It sounded worried.

Gathering up all his strength, the boy opened his eyes. Wherever he was, the place was dark. It wasn't completely dark. There were a few candles lit somewhere in the room but nowhere in Seiichi's line of vision. He was on something soft, no doubt a bed. It felt familiar so it was probably his own. Turning his head a little to the side, Seiichi noticed Hajime curled up next to him. The boy was muttering something in their native tongue but Seiichi couldn't get his ears to cooperate.

Somehow Hajime knew. The boy looked strange to Seiichi's eyes but the older couldn't place just how. Seeing Seiichi awake, Hajime smiled. "Let me get Jean-Paul," he said as he hurried out of the bed and room.

Moving wasn't an option for Seiichi. Just turning his head had sapped what little strength he had. It was hard to even breath. And still everything hurt. A stray thought popped into the boy's head. No. If...if Seiichi was stuck laying in this bed forever, no ability to move...No. He didn't want this. No art, no ability to see or create more. That was worse than death. Hot tears prickled his eyes. The boy blinked furiously, trying to get them to go away. Doing that only seemed to make them fall faster.

"My sweet." The pain suddenly felt far away. It was still there but it was a dull throb that didn't take over every single thought.

Jean-Paul entered the boy's sight, taking a seat on the bed beside Seiichi. On the boy's other side, Hajime jumped onto the bed and curled up on Seiichi's other side. The Frenchman reached over, stroking Seiichi's cheek. "I've done what I can to help with your pain," he explained. The vampire had to be doing something to help Seiichi understand because the boy still couldn't understand what Hajime was murmuring in his ear. "However, my sweet boy..."

The pained expression on Jean-Paul's face told Seiichi that whatever the man said next, he wasn't going to like. Hajime hugged his arm. Pain shot through Seiichi and he just wanted to scream but he couldn't because that required too much effort.

It was Hajime who ended up breaking the news. "Sei-nii, he's dead. 'Jandro." It might have been spoken in Japanese but it was obvious to everyone in the room just what the boy had said.

"He attacked you," the Frenchman explained after a few minutes had passed.

Seiichi immediately knew what they were referring to. That one last memory, the one full of pain and fire...yes, the events of that night were coming back to the boy. It was mostly a jumbled mess of darkness, fear, confusion, and pain.

Hajime helped Seiichi sit up. It took all of his willpower to not scream out at every touch. Hajime put an arm around Seiichi, to help the older boy stay sitting up. "There's more," the youngest said, his voice full of what could only be called sorrow. He turned his little face at the vampire and gave the man a fierce look. It was such a strange thing to see on little Hajime's face.

Seiichi's stomach dropped. He knew he didn't what else there was but he knew he wouldn't like it. Beside him, the vampire sighed. "My sweet Sei, I'm sorry. You...I know I told you boys I'm unable to turn you until you both are much older, that it wasn't safe for either of you until you're adults. Oh my Sei," the vampire brushed the hair out of Seiichi's face. "You're no longer human."

What? Seiichi's eyes widened and he tried to croak out a question. How? Why? Was he really a vampire? That was amazing. It was all he'd ever wanted. He couldn't say anything though. His throat was dry, so painfully dry. Just trying to say anything made it feel like it'd crack open. This was far worse than any illness Seiichi had ever had. The bed shifted as Jean-Paul reached for something. Whatever the thing was, it was cool and wet on Seiichi's lips.

The liquid soaked into the rag soothed his throat. It was delicious and as he swallowed more, Seiichi's pains started fading away. This wasn't like when Jean-Paul had mentally dealt with the pain. This was a healing fade. A little strength started to return to the boy's limbs. The vampire took it away but Seiichi bit for it, trying to get more.

Jean-Paul chuckled. "A rag is not food, my sweet. But it is good, no?"

Seiichi nodded. "More." He was finally able to say. His tone was so needy that it made the boy wince. Whatever it was, though, he wanted more. No, not wanted. He needed it.

"You're still not a vampire." Jean-Paul stood, fluffing up the pillows Seiichi was sitting against.

"But he had to start changing you," Hajime finished. "So you should be good. You won't go crazy."

"We don't know about that," Jean-Paul admitted, giving Hajime a look. "It was the best I could do. With my guidance, I will do the best I can to make sure you don't go feral." He leaned down, pressing a soft kiss on Seiichi's forehead. "Because, my sweet, for you I would do anything."

Yukimura looked down at the boy curled up beside him in the tiny hospital bed. Akaya looked so sweet and angelic. Leaning down, Yukimura place a gentle kiss on the boy's lips. "One day," he promised the sleeping human. It helped as a reminder to himself.

Unfortunately there was still the issue of the sun to deal with. If that caught him, Yukimura knew he was dead. It might have been the great source of life but the sun abhorred Yukimura's kind. They stole life and the sun was their ultimate punishment. To never feel that warmth, to never see the light of day. Those were just a few of the prices one had to pay for a life of eternal youth.

The door to the room, the one that was supposed to stay open but Yukimura always closed so they could have a little privacy, creaked open. A white-haired youth, no older than Akaya, stepped in. He was barely more than a couple of steps in when he caught sight of Yukimura and froze. The vampire smiled. "You must be Niou-kun," he guessed. Akaya had mentioned his friends before, always supplying a mental image of each. "I'm Yukimura."

The youth, Niou, finished stepping into the room. He went to close the door behind him but stopped, leaving it cracked open. A cautious look was on his face as he studied the two on the bed. "You're real," he finally said, voice holding an air of disbelief. "We thought you were just some drugged up hallucination of Akaya's."

"I'm as real as you or him," Yukimura chuckled. "Sneaking in for a visit?"

"Prank," Niou corrected. His gaze kept going to Yukimura's side, not the side with Akaya but the other one. Curious as to why, Yukimura reached to enter Niou's mind.

"What a great friend," Yukimura continued the conversation in an attempt to keep Niou distracted.

Which the human was. His head was cocked to the side and he nodded. It was almost like he was listening to someone speak. That was impossible though. It just made for a strange scene and for a moment, the vampire wondered if there was something wrong with Niou's head.

Yukimura realized something. Niou's mind was unreadable. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get in to the boy's mind. There were no cracks to slip in. Only one other human had been this unreadable. Inui's face flashed into his mind for a brief moment.

Niou's expression changed. "What are you?"

"I think the better question is 'what are you?' You're not human, are you?" Yukimura put an arm around Akaya. Who, or what, ever Niou was wouldn't let Akaya come to harm. At least, not if Niou truly cared about the human. Niou bristled. Yukimura smiled. "As for me," the vampire added, "I'm a friend of Akaya's."

"And I'm his sempai," Niou replied.

Yukimura nodded, keeping his gaze on the new youth. His eyes caught every little movement the human made. "So, you're a trickster," the vampire assessed as he watched the...something start to do something.

"That's my nickname," Niou admitted as he stared to do something with the television stand. Despite Niou not turning his back on the vampire, it was impossible to see just what he was doing. "There a reason you're here?"

"I was telling Akaya some stories." Yukimura rested his cheek on against Akaya's. The boy had such soft skin and hair. His curls even had a nice fruity smell. It must have been that new shampoo Yukimura brought for the boy last week.

An image of Akaya stretched out on a bed, no casts or hospital tubes attached to him popped into Yukimura's head. It would be Yukimura's bed. Big and soft, with the red silk sheets. It would contrast beautiful with Akaya's pale skin.

The boy's clothes would be gone. Yukimura would have long gotten rid of those pesky things. All he would want to see was Akaya. Seeing the boy's creamy unmarked skin. The temptation would be too much. Yukimura nibbled at the boy's earlobe as his hands explored the boy's torso. His fingers would find the boy's muscle lines and would trace them. He was sure he would find a weak spot, one that his fingers would brush against that would make Akaya moan in pleasure.

Akaya's eyes would be needy with want as Yukimura started kissing his way down. Along the way, the vampire would nip at Akaya's skin. Each love bite would leave a beautiful pink mark that told the world the boy was Yukimura's. Not that anyone else would ever see any. Well, the ones on Akaya's neck were fair game but the one's he would leave on the boy's chest? Yukimura would kill anyone who saw those.

It would be impossible for Akaya to keep his hands to himself. He'd reach out, tentatively touching Yukimura's own skin. The look on his face would be a mix of excited and nervous. Pausing from where he'd been marking the spot over Akaya's heart, Yukimura would lean up to give the boy a kiss on the lips. He'd direct the boy's hands, showing Akaya where and how to touch. At first, Akaya would have no confidence but once he realized just how much Yukimura enjoyed it, the boy would throw his whole heart into pleasing Yukimura.

The vampire slid a hand lower. Brushing the boy's excited member, Yukimura would catch Akaya's eye and smile. Akaya would blush and mumble something but Yukimura wouldn't listen. His attention would be on the boy's pretty pink nipples. Taking one into his mouth, Yukimura would lick and suck at it until he had Akaya squirming underneath him. In all his squirming, Akaya would brush his cock against Yukimura's own. Feeling how hard the vampire was, the boy was gasp and buck his hips, wanting more.

Akaya's one nipple stood at attention but now the other was neglected. Yukimura turned his mouth onto the other one. He would direct Akaya's hands lower. The boy would blush but he wouldn't fight it. Yukimura would press his hips against Akaya's, closing the boy's hands around their cocks. "Do it, my pet," Yukimura would order. Akaya was a teenager. He would know what to do.

At first, Akaya would give a few tentative tugs that normally would have just been painful and useless. But it was Akaya and they were touching which made it feel wonderful. The boy's thumb would run across the head of Yukimura and the vampire would moan. Need would drive Yukimura to want more. He would want to taste the human. Yukimura would finally go back to kissing his way down Akaya's torso.

Being a teenager, Akaya had a mess of curly black hair surrounding his cock but Yukimura wouldn't mind. He'd place a hand on the human's hips, holding them down so that the human wouldn't buck as Yukimura licked the head of the human's cock. Akaya would make noises that were somewhere between a squeak and a moan.

"Yeah, could you not do that?"

Yukimura scowled as Niou's voice ruined what had been the start of a lovely fantasy. Nuzzling Akaya, the vampire shot the prankster a dark look. "You could leave," he suggested. He wasn't going to stop the human. Even if Yukimura wanted to, moving would be rather uncomfortable until he could take care of the boner that had appeared. So far Niou had proven himself to a big annoyance but nothing more. Now if Niou did much more, the vampire would have to do something.

"So could you," Niou shot back. "But seriously, could you stop molesting my friend? It's disturbing."

"Is it truly molesting him if he enjoys it?" Yukimura kissed Akaya on the neck. The boy's hands had moved in his sleep and one was even resting on Yukimura's thigh. It was incredibly tempting to move it a little more. The thought of Akaya touching him made Yukimura's cock twitch. Closing his eyes, Yukimura dived back into his fantasy.

Akaya's hands, rough with tennis calluses, would be everywhere now that he'd started to get over his shyness. Eventually they would find their way into Yukimura's hair. The vampire would still be licking the human's cock, treating it like it was the most delicious treat in the world. Akaya would moan and push down, trying to get Yukimura to swallow him entirely.

"Yeah, seriously, you need to stop that."

Yukimura scowled. He opened his eyes, letting loose the full force of his glare at Niou. "Don't tell me you like him." The mix of lust and jealousy in Yukimura's voice was evident even to himself. If that were the case with Niou that meant Yukimura really would have to take care of that particular human.

Niou stood up and laughed. Soft enough it didn't wake the human but loud enough that the meaning was clear. "Bakaya? He's more like a little brother. Which actually means I really, really would rather not see you doing that to him."

The vampire kissed Akaya on the neck again, working his way up to the boy's earlobe. Gently nibbling on it, a shiver of pleasure went through Yukimura as he heard Akaya softly moan. Smirking at Niou, Yukimura shifted a little until Akaya's hand was resting on the vampire's crotch. "There's nothing wrong about love."

"When it's creepy and one-sided like that, yeah, there's plenty wrong." Niou looked like he was about to rip Akaya out of the vampire's arms. The strangest thing happened next. Niou's expression changed and he sighed. "Okay, here's the deal," his tone completely changed. "I'm going to pretend I never saw you here and you're going to leave him alone from now on. Deal?"

Interesting. Yukimura turned his attention to Akaya's neck. In particular, that spot where the neck met the shoulders, right at the boy's collarbone. He kissed it, nipping and biting until the spot started to turn a lovely shade of pink just like Yukimura had imagined. Niou fidgeted, growing angrier by the second. Once the vampire was certain it would leave a mark, he reluctantly started to pull away from Akaya. His pet wasn't quite where Yukimura wanted him just yet and keeping Niou quiet would only help in the long run.

"Happy?" The vampire asked as he got out of bed.

"A little," Niou admitted. He shouldered the bag he'd brought with.

Akaya looked so lonely on the bed now. Yukimura fought the urge to rejoin the boy, to let Akaya curl back up at his side. To be fair though, it really was almost time for the vampire to leave anywhere. He only had about an hour until sunrise.

"I bid you adieu," Yukimura said with a bow as he sauntered past Niou. He blew a kiss at the white-haired human and left the room. As he did so, Yukimura could have sworn he'd heard Niou say "puri" or some other nonsense word.

Resting on the arm of the couch, Yukimura set his hand on top of Renji's. They were both reading, the room silent. It wasn't awkward but it wasn't the same easy one they were used to either. The only consolation were their choices in books. Yukimura was brushing up on his Italian. He'd never learned it like he had French, Spanish, and Portuguese but he knew enough of those three to make his job fairly simple. It had just been a long, long time since he'd regularly used any of them. Even better was Renji's choice of book. The man was reading up on Venice. Yukimura's insistence had finally won out and they were planning a trip to the city in the summer.

"Sadaharu has asked me to accompany him to a lecture in Boston."

Yukimura's grip on Renji's hand tightened. A few minutes passed as the vampire waited for more. "Well?" He finally prompted.

"I'll be gone for a week next month," Renji answered. He turned a page in his book.

"With Inui."

Renji didn't reply right away. Instead, he just read. Once he reached the end of his chapter, the human carefully marked his spot and set the book on their table. He flexed his hand, trying to wiggle his fingers. "Jealous, Yukimura?"

The hand motion caught the vampire's eye and he let go of Renji. The man's fingertips had begun to turn a nasty shade of reddish-purple. "Should I be?"Yukimura already knew the answer to that but Renji didn't need to know that just yet.

Opening and closing his hand to help with the circulation, Renji didn't answer. In a way, his silence was his answer. Yukimura slid off the couch, his own book falling into the human's lap. "I see..."

"Yukimura..."

It was too late. The vampire had already started gathering some of his favorite art books, ones Renji knew were important to Yukimura. Renji's old backpack, the one that was practically falling apart, was sitting on the kitchen table they rarely used. This wasn't an attempt to leave, at least not for good. Yukimura just felt he needed to shake things up for Renji, to keep his human's thoughts focused on the vampire.

Staying silent, Yukimura continued to gather up what would appear to be the essentials. Renji moved the book on Italian off his lap. "We're friends."

Yukimura could tell from Renji's tone that his silence was getting to the human. He struggled to keep a smirk off his face. Snapping the bag's clasp, Yukimura easily shouldered the heavy bag. He'd spend the next few days in his lair. Actually, this would be the perfect time to restore the portrait. He had all the supplies waiting at the place but the time just hadn't been there. It was a project that Yukimura knew would consume everything, not something he could attempt while playing house with Renji.

"At least tell me when you'll be back." Oh, that slight pleading quality to Renji's voice was beautiful. This...this was exactly what Yukimura had wanted to hear. He had Renji wrapped around his fingers and it was tempting to stay but he knew his message would only hit hard if he actually did left.

"Don't change the lock," the vampire ordered. Not that something as puny as a human lock could keep him out.

"Yukimura, if you do this, you might as well not return." That tone. It was so deliciously full of strength that the vampire had to turn and face his human. And here Yukimura had thought his mind games had almost completely taken away Renji's ability to stand against him.

"Is that a threat?" Inui was a bad influence. Yukimura hadn't thought it possible to hate that meddlesome human more than he already did but for once Yukimura was wrong.

Renji crossed his arms. Despite his eyes being closed, Yukimura could feel the full strength of the man's gaze. "The truth. Ever since you met Sadaharu, you've been acting like a child."

Had this human really just said that? Yukimura's only response was to slam the door behind him. The whole building seemed to shake. As he walked outside, Yukimura could feel Renji's gaze on him as the human watched from the window.

When he reached his lair, Yukimura gave a sigh of relief. Playing house with Renji had it's fun moments but Yukimura knew it would be far more satisfying once he rid them both of Inui. And then it would just be up to Yukimura to find the perfect moment to turn Renji though at the moment, Yukimura wasn't completely sold on the idea.

Staring at the ruined portrait, Yukimura could finally admit it. "He's not like you. No one will ever be like you."

Seiichi couldn't help but feel a sense of awe as he stood at the gate of the Sanada estate. It was the first time he'd felt this way since returning to Japan. The place was beautiful, even in the dark. Not in the way the European buildings had been. The beauty in those places lay in the intricate details. No, the clean simplicity here was what made the Sanada estate beautiful.

"Is there a reason you're here?" A strange voice asked from behind Seiichi. The vampire whipped around, surprised that someone had managed to sneak up behind him. That just didn't happen.

The most handsome man stood there. His face was blank but Seiichi could see the emotions that were bubbling under the surface. In that instant, Seiichi knew.

"Well?" The man prompted.

"I..." All the words left Seiichi's head as he looked at this man. Perfection. That's what this man was. He was physically the most perfect example of what a human man should look and exemplify. Seiichi had to have him.

The soft sound of footsteps distracted the vampire. He turned and found himself looking at Seiko, that woman he'd met his first night in Japan. The look of surprise on her face mirrored Seiichi's own. "A-ano," she started, her voice full of confusion.

The man behind Seiichi sighed and walked past the vampire. Standing next to the woman, he repeated his earlier words. "Is there a reason you're here?"

Finally able to find his voice, Seiichi explained. "I was asked here by the master of the house. I've been commissioned for a portrait."

The man's expression didn't change but there was a definite shift in the air. Seiko seemed to gain a little confidence at the vampire's words. She gave a little bow, turning to the man beside her. "Does young master Sanada wish to accompany our visitor to Master Sanada's rooms?"

The man, Sanada apparently, thought about it for a moment before giving a curt nod. Seiko looked relieved and in the blink of an eye, seemed to vanish. It was impressive even to the vampire. One minute she was there, the next she wasn't. Seiichi wasn't going to complain though because that meant he was now alone with the human male. It was amazing how, for the first time in centuries, Seiichi couldn't think of a single thing to say.

"Seiichi." It was the one word that actually popped into his head. "My name," the vampire explained to try and make this less awkward. "Just in case you were wondering."

He watched the corners of the man's mouth twitch in what was hopefully amusement. "Sanada Genichirou."

Shiver went down Seiichi's back. There was power in that name. Despite knowing he was far stronger, older, and more powerful than this human, Seiichi couldn't help but feel weak next to him. What surprised Seiichi was how much it didn't bother him.

The estate was just as beautiful inside as it was outside. An air of tranquility filled the place. It was all so very Japanese in a way that made Seiichi remember the earliest parts of his childhood. That place had been similar to this one. It wasn't the same, the location of Seiichi's first home now someone else's home.

Focusing his attention on the human, Seiichi wondered if this was love at first sight. He'd never experienced anything similar to this but he knew he had to have this human. It would happen, even if it was the last thing one of them would do. This Sanada Genichirou was quickly turning Seiichi into a believer of love, both at first sight and true. The vampire followed closely behind, only pausing once they reached the entrance into the actual, physical dwelling.

Sanada turned to look at him. "Are you waiting for an invitation?"

That voice. So warm and strong. It made Seiichi feel protected. He wanted to listen to it forever. Yes, what he wouldn't do to set this Sanada in a library and just let him read everything in it. Though is he could hear Sanada moan in pleasure, well, that would be more than acceptable too. It was hard to tell in the murky almost darkness but it appeared as if the human was built strong and muscular. Even if Seiichi didn't get the man right away, at least he'd found the new star of his dreams.

"It would be nice," Seiichi admitted. He needed one anyway.

Sanada sighed. "Come inside," he ordered. Seiichi gladly listened.

The inside of the house was beautiful. Walls weren't decorated but it worked with the mood of the place. They didn't see people but Seiichi could feel their presence all around them. He knew what these people were. A place like this was full of servants but for the first time in his life, Seiichi wasn't among them. It was an interesting feeling but one that the vampire didn't mind one bit. As he looked around, he realized something.

Ever since he'd first seen Sanada, Seiichi hadn't tried to get into any human's heads. He had no urge to. After all, why bother getting into Sanada's head when Seiichi could just stare at the man in wonder?

"My father." Sanada's voice broke into the vampire's thoughts. Realizing he hadn't been paying attention, Seiichi gave an embarrassed chuckle.

"I didn't catch that," the vampire apologized. "Your home is simply breath-taking."

Sanada sighed, the annoyance clear in just that simple action. "I said, I assume you're here to speak to my father."

"A Sanada-sama did request my presence." Seiichi was almost giddy, being around this human. It was impossible to keep his mind focused and as silly as it all was, the vampire loved it. This feeling, this moment? He wanted it to last forever.

Sanada gave another curt nod, apparently it being the only way he knew how to nod. The man opened the door in front of them. He held out a hand, indicating Seiichi wait, and went inside. Seiichi waited patiently. He didn't want to but it was what Sanada wanted. When he finally heard his name, the vampire entered the room.

An older gentleman, no doubt what Sanada would look like in about 30 years, sat at the other end of the room. He beckoned Seiichi closer. Looking around, the vampire gave a little smile as he noticed his Sanada standing off to the side. There was one more man in the room. He was seated next to the oldest. The third looked similar to the other two. Perhaps a cousin?

"Sit," the oldest Sanada ordered. That voice was just as deep as his son's but it didn't carry the same warmth and power. Seiichi did as requested, making the human smile. The look was so foreign on that face. But then, that could have just been because Seiichi already found himself far preferring the stoic look on Sanada's. "You're the one called Seiichi, yes?"

"The painter," the vampire confirmed with a nod. "I received word you have a request for my services."

"My name is Sanada Kichirou," the man introduced himself. Indicating the man seated beside him, he went on, "my son Kenichi. And you've already met Genichirou."

Memorizing names to each face was simple enough. Seiichi knew he'd never forget the youngest Sanada. "I was told you wanted a portrait," the vampire went on, doing his best to not stare at his human. He could have easily gone into the patriarch's head but sometimes that just took the fun out of everything.

Sanada Kichirou nodded. "My son," he set a hand on Kenichi's shoulder, "his daughter is the prize of our household. I want you to capture her beauty."

That was it? Seiichi almost wanted to yawn at the idea of painting someone's precious little girl. He had heard this conversation a hundred times before. They always thought their daughters and wives were some beings of great beauty when in reality, the female was marginally pretty at best. Nothing to brag about but it was always expected of Seiichi to turn her into a goddess. Not only that but portraits of children were the worse. The little brats never wanted to sit still. They tried to get into everything. Even when he forced them to cooperate, their little brains fought him and they asked a seemingly endless cycle of questions that just made Seiichi want to kill them after a few minutes.

He glanced at his Sanada and wondered why the man couldn't be the subject of this portrait. Now that would be one Seiichi would love to do. He wouldn't require anything of the man, just that he let Seiichi stare in wonder as the vampire would attempt to do his best at capturing the likeness.

"It's to be a present for her grandfather," the middle Sanada added. His voice was higher than the other two. It sounded all wrong. Of course, that could have just been the ruined daydream speaking. "Genichirou, would you fetch Sayuri for me?"

"Hn." At least that's what it sounded like to Seiichi's ears. The vampire did his best not to pout as his human left the room.

The older Sanada was speaking again. "We've heard many compliments about your skill. Your paintings appear as doubles of the person, an almost perfect replica."

Seiichi did his best to keep the smirk off his face. He gave a little nod. At this point, he should be considered a master. He'd been taught by some of the best over the last couple of centuries. Even if Seiichi hadn't had a natural gift for painting, the sheer number of years of experience he had at this point would have made it so. "I promise to do my best to live up to your expectations."

Sanada-sama went on, talking about something but Seiichi stopped listening. All he wanted to think about was getting the man's younger son alone. He could picture it now. They'd be walking down the hallway and Seiichi would see a patch of pure darkness in the corner. He'd push the human into it and unleash his more primal side, taking Sanada Genichirou for himself.

The door slid open and the star of Seiichi's fantasy walked in. A young girl, no more than nine or ten, clung to his side. Most people would have thought her shyness cute but it just ticked him off. If he could have, Seiichi would have gladly traded places with her.

"My girl," her father beckoned the child over. She gave a little squeak and looked up at her uncle. He nodded. The soft look in Sanada Genichirou's eyes made Seiichi's heart melt. The girl scurried over to her father, standing behind him.

Seiichi looked at her for the first time. He had to admit she was one of the better girls brought before him. She had all the signs of growing into a great beauty. Her skin was pale and clear. Those big brown eyes seemed to take up half her face. It should have been ugly but they just made her look like unearthly. A mystical creature, Seiichi decided. That long jet black hair only added to the affect.

"She's lovely," Seiichi commented, noticing the three men all looking at him. "It would be an honor to paint her." He shifted his weight a little, getting comfortable. Now that he had these three, Seiichi could lay on his one condition. "There's just one thing. I am only able to work in the evenings and nights." Really, it was the one downside to being a vampire. That and the whole no sunlight thing.

The elder son looked at his father. The oldest Sanada nodded. "Genichirou." Instantly Seiichi's man snapped to attention. "You'll oversee these sessions."

When Sanada nodded, Seiichi's heart soared.

Yukimura walked the hallways of the hospital. He knew exactly where he was going. Seeing Akaya awake in the room, Yukimura smiled. "My pet," the vampire practically purred.

The boy's grin lit up the room. "Mura!" He cheered as he carefully scooted over as much as he could in the little bed. It was the little things like that that made Yukimura love the boy even more.

"And how are you tonight?" The vampire asked as he settled next to the human. Akaya curled up beside him and Yukimura placed a protective arm around the boy. This right here. This was what Yukimura had wanted and missed.

"I'm okay." Akaya gave a little yawn. "Tomorrow's gonna be awesome though. I finally get to go home."

Yukimura's insides froze. The boy was going home? There was going to be no more Akaya? This was unacceptable.

"Akaya, what am I going to do without you?" Yukimura pushed his way into the human's head. It wasn't hard and the vampire smiled when he saw just how Akaya felt. He had the boy almost exactly where he wanted him. The pure adoration and love Yukimura had built up was so deliciously beautiful. To have this just gone? No. The vampire couldn't handle that. Young, sweet Akaya had become Yukimura's own personal drug, one so addictive that just taking it out of his life would be a fate worse than death.

"You could come visit. Or I could come visit you?" Akaya's elbow jabbed into Yukimura's side. "I could finally get to see your mysterious room."

There was an idea. Akaya was all that tied Yukimura to this hospital. If he could get an invitation, he could see the boy in his natural environment. "Would you invite me into your residence?"

Akaya gave him a look. "Mura, that's so formal sounding," he complained. "You sound like my grandpa. I mean, it's no big deal if you come over and see me 'cause you're my friend."

Yukimura smiled, not realizing he hadn't been told yes. "Oh my sweet pet, you have no idea how happy you've made me." He hugged the boy. For once, all of Yukimura's plans were finally going to work out just the way he'd planned. The universe was giving him this adorable boy, one who was both pleasing to the eye and endlessly entertaining. There were no others, well, other than perhaps that strange Niou, who stood a chance at taking Akaya from him. Yukimura doubted that Niou was much of a threat.

"When you're healed," Yukimura went on, "I'm going to change your world." Seeing a faint blush on the boy's cheeks only encouraged the vampire. "I will show you things you'd never imagined. There's so much I can teach you."

"Do you have to?" Akaya asked, nose scrunched up as he frowned. "I don't want a teacher."

Leaning over, Yukimura placed a chaste kiss on the boy's lips. The blush on Akaya's cheeks darkened. "You'll like what I show you," he promised. "Remember, I'm a vampire."

The boy's nervous chuckle told Yukimura the human still didn't believe him. Not a problem for Yukimura. He had all the time in the world. Besides, amusement was far preferable to fear. If the boy primarily feared him, it would have been almost impossible for Akaya to trust the vampire.

And now that he thought about it, Yukimura realized he hadn't gotten an official invitation to enter Akaya's home. "Now, my pet, I am going to ask again. When you return home, am I invited in?"

The boy made a face. He squirmed and accidentally jabbed Yukimura in the side again. "Is it really that big a deal?"

Yukimura's eyes narrowed. "Akaya..." The sympathy had disappeared from his voice. He wasn't going to play around anymore, at least, not until he had a valid invitation. That was absolutely vital. This one little thing, that was the one thing capable of keeping them apart after all. And it had to be given of Akaya's own free will. Making the boy say it wouldn't work.

Akaya's eyes widened. Yukimura could see a hint of fear around the edges of those beautiful green eyes. There were times when fear was an effective tool.

"You're invited." The human looked down, staring into his lap. His fear had filled the air and it was a heady scent. The temptation to lean down, bite Akaya, and drink was strong. Even without tasting the boy, Yukimura knew his Akaya would taste wonderful. How could he not? The boy was already so sweet and feisty. It made for an addictive combination.

"Good to hear." Yukimura decided to treat the boy by kissing him again.

Seiichi chuckled as he looked at little Sanada Sayuri. At some point, she'd fallen asleep and was now curled up on the floor. Glancing over at her uncle, sitting in his usual spot off to the side, Seiichi caught his eye. "You should put her in her bed before she catches an illness."

Sanada's eyes went to his niece and then back to Seiichi. The vampire smiled. "I'll still be a little while," he assured. "I won't need her for what I have left though so it's okay." Truth be told, Seiichi hadn't needed her for the last couple of nights. He'd just used the situation as an excuse to see Sanada.

"If you want," he added as he watched Sanada pick up the little girl, "when you return I'll let you see what I've done." Seiichi knew, even without getting into the human's head, that Sanada would be back. Seiichi had been so secretive about letting anyone see the portrait. No eyes other than the vampire's own had gazed upon what Seiichi had to admit was a masterpiece.

It wasn't long before he heard the soft padding sound of footsteps. Smiling, he motioned Sanada over. When the man sat beside him, it was all Seiichi could do to keep his heart from beating so hard it burst out of his chest.

"This looks just like her." Sanada's voice was full of amazement. The human shifted, reaching out to touch the portrait. Seiichi slapped it away.

"Don't," the vampire scolded. "She's still wet." He tried to ignore the tingling feeling in his hand from where it'd touched Sanada's. He gave the human a stern but gentle look. "Wouldn't want to ruin her, now would you?"

There was a hint of smile in Sanada's eyes. "It's not just anyone around here who would tell me no."

"I'm not just anyone." Seiichi set his brush down, his hand now resting dangerously close to Sanada's knee. A thought popped into the vampire's head. He wondered just how far the human would let him get. "I'm Seiichi, the painter."

That got a little chuckle out of Sanada. "Well then, are you going to keep working?"

Seiichi shifted, turning so he now faced the human. "I need to let it sit for a little while," he explained. "If I did any more now, it'd cause this section," he pointed to the spot he'd been working on, "to be completely ruined."

"Though there is something I could do," Seiichi continued on. The human gave what Seiichi could only hope was a curious look. "You could let me paint you." He hoped, oh how he hoped, Sanada would say yes. That would be like something out of a wonderful dream. "No charge. It would just be a portfolio piece, one to show as an example." And for Seiichi to keep for himself.

"Why me?" Sanada shifted, closing a little of the distance between them. Seiichi's stomach danced around his gut.

How to answer that question? There was the honest but potentially embarrassing answer or Seiichi could attempt to make up a lie.

"You're the most perfect looking man I've ever met." Honesty really was the better answer in the long run. Besides, that was just the sort of thing to completely throw off Sanada. The look on the human's face was perfect. Seiichi decided to keep going. "I've met many men in my life but you're the first I've had the actual physical urge to paint."

All of this was true. Sanada Genichirou was perfection, both in looks and personality. Well, maybe not quite in the personality department. The man was quiet but it was never an awkward silence, at least, not until now. Seiichi was watching the human carefully, waiting to see his reaction. It amused the vampire to see the changing emotions on Sanada's face. The man was trying to keep a straight face but wasn't doing a very good job of it.

"Why are you telling me this?" Sanada asked once he finally composed himself.

"Because I feel like it. And if it bothered you, you would have told me to leave by now." Of course, if Sanada tried to do that, Seiichi would break his personal vow of not breaking into the human's head. He didn't want to break Sanada's spirit but to keep the man at his side, Seiichi would do anything.

"My father hired you for a job. It wouldn't be my place to tell you to leave."

"One that I'm not working on at the moment."

Sanada raised an eyebrow. "No, you're not."

Seiichi moved his hand a little closer to the human. His fingertips were lightly touching the man's knee. "Does this mean you're going to ask me to leave?"

"No."

And with that one little word, Seiichi knew he'd won.

This soon became their routine. Each night after Sayuri went to bed, Sanada would return to watch Seiichi paint. Some of the time, Seiichi would work on the girl's portrait but more often than not, the vampire worked on his personal project. He painted Sanada but he never let the human see that one. While Seiichi painted, the two exchanged pleasantries. Seiichi did his best to make Sanada blush during these conversations. He succeeded more times than he failed.

All of this was turning into a giant test of Seiichi's patience. To be so close to Sanada but not touch, to only see the surface...Seiichi's only consolation was that he'd been able to openly stare at his human without arousing suspicion.

But on this night he wasn't working on Sanada. Seiichi had the man's niece in front of him. Setting his brush down for the final time, the vampire stared at his work. This truly was his greatest piece of completed art.

"Sanada," he called. He stretched, reaching over to lightly tap the human. The poor man had dozed off and all Seiichi wanted to do was kiss him. The instant he was touched, Sanada woke up. He snapped to attention. "She's done." The human seemed to have trouble comprehending that statement so Seiichi physically pulled Sanada over. He might have wondered how Seiichi had the strength to do so but any questions were left unasked as the human caught sight of the portrait.

Seiichi was rather proud of it. He had managed to capture the essence of the girl's entire being. At times, the eyes had seemed to stare into Seiichi's soul. The look in them, he still had trouble deciding if they were haunting or just sad. This was, without a doubt, Seiichi's best piece of work. The only one that could top it was his other project, the almost completed Sanada.

"I'll present it to your family tomorrow evening," Seiichi promised. "And I've completed the other enough to not need to return so there I won't have a reason to return after that." The words hurt. Each one stabbed him in the heart and the temptation to take Sanada, to force the change on him now and to take him as Seiichi's love slave was stronger now than it had even been before.

The only reason he'd even said those words was to see Sanada's reaction. "Tell him you need another week." The vampire stared, for a moment wondering if he had just imagined hearing that. It was only the combination of the look on Sanada's face and the hand on Seiichi's arm that convinced him this was real.

Seiichi took his chance. He shifted until he was sitting next to Sanada and leaned back against the man's chest. The human's heart was beating so strong and fast it was a wonder it didn't wake the household up. "You could always come to my studio, the room I've got in town."

Sitting in this position made Seiichi feel incredibly vulnerable. It just felt so intimate too. The vampire was no stranger to love and sex. He should hope not after a couple of centuries. At least, that's what Seiichi had always assumed but sitting like this with Sanada was starting to make him rethink that stance.

"No."

That one word crushed all of Seiichi's hopes. If he'd needed to breathe, he'd have been unable to at the moment. He went to move away. Being this physically close to Sanada was bad. Already Seiichi could feel his sharp canines and knew he'd have to make the human pay.

An arm around Seiichi's wait stopped the vampire from going anywhere. "iNo more excuses to see me./i"

He had to be dreaming there was no way Sanada would have said that aloud. And the man's voice, it had sounded impossibly close to the vampire's ear. On a hunch, Seiichi did what he had promised he'd never do. He reached into Sanada's head. Only to realize he was already in it. The human had absolutely no barriers and was practically broadcasting every thought. Seiichi smiled, settling in. He could use this to his advantage. It wasn't cheating, not with Sanada giving it all away.

"Sanada-san, if you want me, you just have to say the word and I'm yours."

Seiichi could just imagine the look on Sanada's face right now and he loved it. He leaned his head back on Sanada's shoulder, looking up at him. "That is, unless you'd rather just do something instead."

Sanada was just as red as Seiichi had imagined. The vampire hadn't thought it possible to fall more in love with this man but every little thing about Sanada Genichirou drew Seiichi in more and more. Yes, he realized for the millionth time, this was the one. Seiichi knew that if he had to live forever, this man was the only one for him. It wouldn't feel like forever.

Catching a stray thought, the vampire's grin grew. "If you were to, oh, kiss me I wouldn't say no, Sanada-san."

"Genichirou." Seiichi felt more than heard the name. Sanada hadn't said much but even that one word had reached into Seiichi's core, filling him with a warmth Seiichi hadn't felt since he was human.

"Genichirou," he repeated, loving the way the name rolled off the tip of his tongue. "Now about that kiss..." Even the human's ears were turning red. Oh this was fun. Seiichi wondered why he'd never done this before, why he'd never decided to be just so bold with the human. It was having wonderful results.

Lifting his head up, Seiichi gave the human an awkward kiss. It was a complete mess and the worst kiss he'd ever given but it was still enough to keep Genichirou off balance. Sloppy and bad but the response was encouraging. The angle was bad though and after a minute, it was starting to make his neck hurt.

He reluctantly pulled away from the human. It was only for a moment though so Seiichi could shift his sitting position. Taking the opportunity to straddle the human's lap, Seiichi settled in. Much, much more comfortable this way. "My Genichirou." Seiichi slid his arms around the man, placing a kiss on those soft, deliciously seductive lips.

"Oji-san?"

Seiichi hadn't even heard the door open.

Genichirou's hand on the small of the vampire's back fell. He stared at something, obviously whoever had just spoken, just over Seiichi's shoulder. The voice was new to him but it sounded like a child's. "Who is it?" Seiichi murmured in the human's ear.

"Sasuke, what are you doing up so late?" Genichirou wasn't speaking to Seiichi but the vampire didn't care. He was more annoyed at how this interruption had distracted his human. Not enough to do anything yet about the distraction but still annoyed.

"I couldn't sleep," the little voice replied. The sound of footsteps told Seiichi the child, because that was really the only reasonable explanation, was coming over.

Unsure of what Genichirou wanted to do about the situation, the vampire hid his face in the man's neck. He knew from experience that in the dark and from behind, he could easily be mistaken for a female. And from their positions, there was no way it wasn't immediately obvious the two of them weren't just talking. If it also gave Seiichi a chance to kiss his human on the neck, well, that was also acceptable.

"No one you need to concern y-" Genichirou's voice faltered as the vampire gave a testing nibble on that spot where the neck and shoulders met. "Yourself with," he finished, squirming slightly underneath Seiichi as the vampire kept giving all his attention to that one spot. "Bed, Sasuke."

"Maybe we should get a bed," Seiichi whispered. Really, he just couldn't help himself. It had been set up perfectly for him. He could feel the heat of Genichirou's blush. The vampire wondered if he'd actually get to be so lucky. This night already felt like something out of a dream.

"But Oji-san..." the child whined. Seiichi felt little fingertips on his back as the child reached to grab his uncle's arm. The vampire pressed himself even more against the man. His current position allowed Seiichi to tell just how his man felt. If it weren't for the child in the room, Seiichi wondered just how long he'd be able to control himself. "Tell me a story?"

"Seiichi?" The voice was soft in the vampire's ear, lips brushing softly against it.

"Are you asking me for permission?" It was impossible to keep the amusement out of his voice.

"Seiichi." This time, the voice was more stern in his ear.

Reluctantly he slide off his human's lap. "We'll finish this another time," Seiichi promised. As much as he really did want to see just how far he could push Genichirou, Seiichi knew it would drive the human crazy for at least the next day if it stopped at this moment. "Remember what I said." He kept his back turned, not wanting the child to see his face and waited for the Sanadas to leave the room. Once they were gone, the vampire quickly gathered up his belongings and left before Genichirou had a chance to return.

Early the next evening, Seiichi was woken up by a loud knocking on his door. He would have been annoyed if it weren't for the boy's thoughts. Really, it was amazing just how transparent the innkeeper's son was. So excited, Seiichi didn't bother to get dressed as he went to the door and opened it. "Yes?"

His state of undress seemed to startled the young boy. "You...you have a visitor, Seiichi-san. A man from the Sanada estate."

That could only be Genichirou. "Send him up." Closing the door, Seiichi leaned against it and grinned. His stomach fluttered. He looked down at himself, realizing for the first time he was dressed only in his sleeping pants. They were old, a good few decades, and he should have thrown them out a long time ago but they were just so comfortable. Getting dressed was the appropriate thing to do. Seiichi was far from appropriate but he grabbed a white shirt and threw it on. Buttoning it up was too much work. The scene was almost perfect. The only thing that would make it better was how he positioned himself.

Unfortunately Seiichi didn't have the time for that. Another knock on the door signaled his visitor had arrived.

"I knew you'd come," Seiichi said as he opened the door. Genichirou's eyes were wide as he saw the vampire. Grabbing him by the shirt, Seiichi pulled the human in. His other hand closed the door, it slamming shut rather loudly. Seiichi didn't care.

"You left."

"You were putting your nephew to bed." He let go of Genichirou's shirt and took a few steps back. The man swallowed hard as he did his best to avoid staring. "I've yet to finish the second portrait," he went on. "But I can put the finishing details on here without needing you to sit for it."

The wide-eyed look on the human's face was adorable. Even was even amusing as the look shifted to one of confusion. "Needing is one thing. But wanting..." the vampire took a risk that wasn't a risk and closed the distance between them. "Wanting is an entirely different matter."

For the first time, it was the human who initiated the kiss. The action sent a pleasant thrill through Seiichi's body. He decided right then that he needed to let Genichirou take control more often. Especially as a warm arm snaked around his waist and pulled the vampire closer. Pushing the human back, there was a satisfying thump as Genichirou was backed up against the door.

"Is this a game?" The man growled.

Seiichi slid out of the human's arms. "Afraid to play?" He went over to where his art supplies were scattered on the table, straightening them up a little. He could feel eyes on him, watching his every move. Seiichi took his time and if his shirt managed to slip off his shoulder, well, it wasn't like the vampire was shy about his body. He might have been old but his body didn't look it.

"I'm not afraid of anything."

"I've heard those words before." Many times. Every single time, the person was wrong. This was the first time the one saying them really didn't have to be. A living, breathing Genichirou was far more fun than a dead one. Running a hand along the back of the small couch he'd dragged with him all the way from Paris, Seiichi took a seat. He motioned Genichirou closer.

It wasn't a surprise when the man sat next to him. Seiichi leaned on him, resting his head on the man's shoulder. "Tell me about yourself." The human didn't say anything but Seiichi could tell this wasn't what he'd expected to hear at all.

The next question only confirmed it. "Is that necessary?" Genichirou asked, reaching over to brush some hair out of Seiichi's eyes. Such a simple act but one that took him completely by surprise. He never would have pictured his Genichirou to be the gentle type. The man looked so strong and stern, refined but rough. This new gentleness shouldn't have been a surprise. Genichirou had been sweet with his niece, understanding with his nephew. It only made him want the human more.

"Yes," Seiichi replied. He was going to spend the rest of time with this name. Having him physically was one thing but to know Genichirou on a personal, emotional level? That was the most attractive thing Seiichi could think of. "Tell me about your family," he prompted. "I knew about Sayuri-chan but I didn't know about the nephew." At least, he'd assumed that little Sasuke was a nephew.

"He's Sayuri's little brother."

"That's all?"

"My brother doesn't have any more children." The human shifted, resting an arm around vampire. Seiichi felt so warm and safe and comfortable. He couldn't remember ever feeling that way. Maybe this was what home was supposed to feel like.

"I have a question about your name." There was one thing that had been bothering Seiichi about it ever since he'd found out the man had an older brother.

Genichirou chuckled. "Yes, we are descendants of Sanada Yukimura."

Who? The name wasn't familiar to Seiichi at all. Digging into his memories from his early human childhood, Seiichi felt the name Sanada was familiar. Something about a Sanada Masayuki stood out but he didn't know why. "I'm afraid I've spent most my childhood overseas so I'm not familiar with that name."

"He was also known by the name Sanada Nobushige," Genichirou continued.

Oh! That name made something click in Seiichi's head. "I think I prefer Yukimura," he admitted. "The name just rolls off the tongue so beautifully."

"I looked up to him when I was a child." The human sounded almost embarrassed. "As a boy, the stories about him were always my favorite."

That was absolutely adorable. "That wasn't the question I was going to ask." Seiichi had his question. "I'm curious about your name. It's Genichirou but you have an older brother."

His human gave an embarrassed sounding chuckle. "Oh. That. Oni-san's not my father's heir. He...was the child of an affair my father had with a servant."

That's a story that Seiichi knew all too well. "And you've not other siblings so he was being brought up as a potential heir since it took you so long to be born." Just a guess but a correct one. What surprised Seiichi was that he'd actually been told such a personal family detail. He wasn't going to complain though. Knowing that Genichirou was the Sanada heir did explain quite a bit about the man. A second son usually wasn't supposed to be so stern and responsible but if he was the actual family heir, well, that changed things.

What it didn't change was the fact that Seiichi was going to take the human away from his family. At least the Sanada family wasn't going to be left entirely without someone to take over the family. Genichirou's older brother, bastard he might be, could take the job once more.

Tracing the kanji that spelled his name on Genichirou's arm, Seiichi had to ask. "Anything else you wish to share with me?"

"Tell me about yourself." It was an order but no one ordered Seiichi around so it was a request.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to tell Genichirou some stuff since he was eventually going to be the vampire's equal one day. Hopefully that day would be soon. "I was born to a no-name servant in a place like this," Seiichi admitted. In a way, his story was similar to Genichirou's brother But without being raised as a potential heir. "I hated that place so I ran away. I even took the lord of the house's only son with me."

"So you make a habit of that?" Genichirou sounded amused with a hint of jealousy thrown in. It had a nice ring to it.

"We were eight and nine," the vampire replied. "Myself the older one. We made it to the harbor and hid on a Portuguese ship." Even after almost three centuries, Seiichi could still vividly picture it all. "We almost made it to Okinawa when we were discovered. The sailors wanted to pitch us into the ocean." Oh, he liked the way Genichirou tightened his grip.

"A passenger on the ship stopped them. His name was Alejandro, a Spaniard traveling on his way home. Essentially he adopted us because he took care of myself and Haji until his death." And then they'd had Jean-Paul. Seiichi had far preferred his vampiric sire over his adopted, well, uncle really was probably a better term for the relationship. "He took us all the way to France where I learned to paint."

"You didn't say there though," Genichirou finally said after a few minutes. "You've been in Japan a long time now."

Seiichi laughed. "Less than a year. That's hardly more than a blink of an eye." Perspective really was everything. "Soon you'll think the same way."

"Hn?"

"Nothing." The vampire raised his Genichirou's fingers to his mouth, lightly kissing the tip of each precious finger. He truly was the luckiest being in existence, getting this wonderful man all to himself. This relationship, new as it was, held no traces of awkwardness or strangeness. Everything just felt so right, like he'd always known and been with the human.

Genichirou leaned over, placing a soft kiss on the back of Seiichi's neck. "And Haji-san? What happened to him?" Shivers went up and down the vampire's spine. No one had ever kissed that spot. To bare his neck meant to show weakness and that was absolutely unacceptable. Only Genichirou was special enough to get away with that.

"One of Alejandro's friends took us in. He saw to it that we finished our basic education. After a few years, he too left us. Haji and I were on our own." Those first few years after Jean-Paul left them had hurt but if Seiichi had stayed with the older vampire, he would have died. Jean-Paul would have killed him. Hajime would have been safe with their sire but there was no way Seiichi's little brother would have not followed Seiichi. Besides, they'd had fun being on their own for the first couple of decades. They had been young and full of life, no adults telling them what to do. It had been a teenager's dream.

"Haji and I didn't stay together long." Not in the long run away. From the jealous growl in Seiichi's ear, he could tell Genichirou didn't like the way that had been worded. "Don't worry. Haji was my little brother, that's all. Being with him in any other sense..." The idea made him physically ill. "He went his own way while I stayed in Paris to perfect my art. I honestly have no clue what's happened to him. Even if I did, I haven't the faintest idea of where to even begin looking." And that was the honest truth. The was was huge and it had been nearly two hundred years since he'd last seen Hajime. The kid could be anywhere.

"Now," Seiichi decided, "enough about that stuff. I've got you and to not take advantage of that would be a pure and utter waste."

It was wrong of Yukimura to be here but he couldn't help it. He needed Renji. The human was away and his friend, that horrible Inui, was alone in the hotel room. Yukimura was tired of sharing. This ended tonight.

Knocking twice, the vampire waited. The look on Inui's face said it all. "Surprise," Yukimura greeted as he slipped into the room under Inui's arm.

"Renji's out at the moment." Say what he had about about Inui, Yukimura was impressed at how fast the human recovered. As the vampire sat on the room's only bed, the human's expression changed. It was a subtle one but after so much time with Renji, Yukimura considered himself a master at reading people. "You're not here for Renji."

"Well, I am," Yukimura admitted, "but you're also right. You and I, we need to have a little talk about Renji." He patted the space on the bed next to him invitingly.

Inui leaned against the door and crossed his arms. As much as it irritated Yukimura, he couldn't help but find the human's wariness refreshing. He couldn't think of a time someone had put up this much resistance. "Renji's his own person and can make his own decisions. If there is anyone you should be having this talk with, it's him you want. Not me."

"We both know that would accomplish nothing." Yukimura leaned back, resting on his hands. "He would keep doing this awkward dance back and forth. Eventually he'd snap or one of us would pay the ultimate price." The smile that accompanied Yukimura's words made Inui pale a few shades. And here he'd thought the already pale human couldn't get any paler.

"You want me to leave." At least Inui didn't play around. He also didn't sound shaken or disturbed. This Inui Sadaharu was a strange one. In another situation, Yukimura could have respected the man.

"And never speak to Renji for the remainder of your lives," the vampire finished. "But we both know that will never happen."

"The chances are the same if it were you to leave him," Inui admitted. "Which leads us back to where we've started."

Yukimura nodded. "Well," he said after a moment, "not quite. You see, Inui Sadaharu, there's one thing you don't know about me."

Curiosity. Yukimura liked that. In a blink of the human's eye, Yukimura had crossed the room and had him in an unbreakable grip. Inui struggled but it would do him no good. "You see, I'm not human."

The vampire bit down as hard as he could on the human's soft, weak neck. Something popped and Inui cried out in what could only be pain. He fought to get away but all he succeeded in doing was slice his neck on the vampire's impossibly sharp canines. Barely any time at all had passed before Yukimura felt Inui go limp in his arms. He could tell the human was barely holding on to consciousness.

Yukimura chuckled. Licking his lips, he looked Inui in the eyes for the first time. "You're something special too, aren't you? I've never tasted someone like you before." Human blood had a metallic taste to it but Inui's had something else too. Cinnamon-y. Quite honestly, it was delicious.

"He...-rned me...you..." The human could barely speak.

"He?" Yukimura stared. "Who is this 'he'?" There was no way it was Renji. Yukimura had been far too careful for that. Hajime? That didn't seem likely either.

"Him." Inui seemed to gather one light bit of strength as he said his final words. "Sanada Genichirou."

The human's neck snapped with a loud crack. "Oops," Yukimura mocked, "hand slipped." Inui's body fell to the floor in an undignified heap.

Looking down at himself, Yukimura sighed in annoyance. "You messed up my shirt. Honestly, I don't think you realize just how impossible blood is to get out of things." He left the human in front of the door as he rummaged through Renji's small suitcase. Finding a shirt he liked, Yukimura set it aside and looked at the body. It was blocking the door. Renji wasn't going to be able to enter the room.

In the end, there was only one option. Yukimura easily picked up Inui's body, setting it on the bed. He even turned it so Inui looked like he was asleep. After that, Yukimura grabbed one of the chairs and sat next to the room's door. When it was opened, it would hide him. Yukimura waited.

Renji took longer than expected. Or maybe taking care of Inui hadn't lasted as long as Yukimura had planned. Whatever it was, it felt like it took an eternity for Renji to appear.

"Sleeping already, Sadaharu?"

Even after he closed the door, Renji didn't seem to notice Yukimura. The vampire stood. "He's not asleep."

Yukimura watched the blood drain from Renji's face as he finally noticed Yukimura. The vampire still hadn't changed his shirt so he was still covered in Inui's blood. "Yu...Yukimura." Renji took a step towards the vampire. "Are you...okay?" The human's voice was faint as if he were in shock.

"Don't worry." Yukimura put on his best smile, the one that made him look the picture of angelic perfection. "It's not my blood."

Immediately Renji's eyes turned to Inui's lifeless body. "Sadaharu." There was a sense of urgency in Renji's tone as the human crossed the room. He shook the body, trying to get his now-deceased lover to wake up.

The vampire did his best not to chuckle as Inui's head flopped around. "I already told you, he's dead."

Renji too far longer to realize that than Yukimura had expected. He was supposed to be logical but his actions right now defied any sense of the word. The amount of attention Renji was paying to that stupid corpse was just plain ridiculous. No amount of shaking or calling out to was going to bring Inui back to life. There was nothing on the planet that could do that. Finally, Renji seemed to understand the reality of the situation. He looked at Yukimura, eyes full of a fiery passion the vampire hadn't thought Renji capable of. "You did this."

No denying that. "I did but only because of you. I might have done the act." Yukimura took a few steps towards the bed, stopping in front of Renji. "But you, my love, you killed him the moment you let yourself love him more than me. Never forget that." Yukimura sealed the statement with a kiss. Some of Inui's blood stayed behind on Renji's lips.

Picking up the shirt he'd put aside earlier, Yukimura walked to the door. The drop to the ground wasn't a far one so he jumped, easily landing on his feet.

And with that, Yanagi Renji was out of his life for good.

Seiichi rolled over and smiled at the human curled up next to him. "Ne, Genichirou," he whispered. The man was asleep but it never too much to wake him. Sure enough, the human's eyes were open almost immediately.

"Hn?"

That simple response always made Seiichi feel like he was floating on a cloud. Running a hand across the human's muscled chest. Seiichi moved closer to snuggle in the man's warmth. "It's been a year."

A wonderful year that Seiichi knew was only the start of a long, happy existence together. He'd been debating for weeks when to tell Genichirou. When he'd realized it was almost the one year anniversary of their first kiss, Seiichi had decided that was the perfect moment. "And there's something else..."

"Don't tell me you're pregnant."

It was always fun when Genichirou's playful side came out. Seiichi liked to think he was mostly responsible for it.

"I think we can both agree that we lack the necessary parts for that." Besides, Seiichi couldn't stand children. At best, they still made him want to kill them. The only exceptions were Genichirou's niece and nephew and only because of what their deaths would do to their uncle. "No, it's something else entirely."

That had Genichirou's attention. Seiichi continued. "I love you. More than anyone or anything else in this world." It wasn't the first time Seiichi had said the love word but this time was special. Even Genichirou, who was normally rather dense about this sort of talk, seemed to pick up on just how important this was. "I want you to spend forever by my side."

The human gave his version of an embarrassed chuckle. "That's it?" Of course you will." Hearing that filled Seiichi with joy.

"Those are the greatest words ever spoken." He placed a soft kiss on his human's lips. There was only one thing left to do to make it official.

"But, you do realize I"ll be required to marry, don't you?"

Seiichi's stomach dropped. "No. I don't share what's mine." He was special after all. Ever since he was little, he'd been told that. His mother told him he was the child of one of her gods. The only child his father ever loved. He'd crossed oceans and faced death. He was untouchable. No one told him no. All of this was why he'd been gifted with endless life of eternal youth. Besides, it would be impossible for Genichirou to live as a human once Seiichi turned the man into a fellow creature of the night.

"Seiichi..." It was rare to hear Genichirou's stern tone, especially when directed at Seiichi himself. "I'm the family heir. I have to provide them with a legitimate son."

"You don't understand." Seiichi sighed, shaking his head. He held onto the human. "Genichirou, to be with me, you'll have to leave this life behind. It may be hard to imagine now but believe me, it will be the best decision of your life." He placed a series of soft kisses all across the human's chest. Working his way down the human's chest and and torso, the vampire smiled when he reached where their blanket covered the human's lower half. "You'll be with me."

It came as a shock when Genichirou pushed him away. He'd never refused Seiichi. No one did. "Be reasonable," the human scolded. "It is my duty to serve my family. I can't just run away with some artist. At best, it would shame my family forever."

"Are you rejecting me?" Even to Seiichi's ears, the words sounded cold. He glared at Genichirou and was only mildly satisfied at the human's flinch.

"It doesn't have to be this way." Genichirou sighed, reaching to pull Seiichi back to his side. The vampire pushed the hand away. "No matter what, you'll always be first in my heart. There are just other duties that I absolutely cannot abandon. You'll be brought in, Seiichi, and set up with anything your heart desires." Seiichi could see into the man's thoughts, see the scenario Genichirou had planned out. But living in the Sanada household, as Genichirou's lover was never going to happen. Even if Seiichi could stomach the idea of sharing his man with some woman, it would never work in the long run. The humans would have too many questions.

"But it does, my love." The sad tone of Seiichi's voice hit Genichirou hard. There was only one option and Seiichi hated himself for it. He couldn't have Genichirou. Trying to force the change on him would never work. The man would only resent Seiichi for the rest of eternity. But no one else could have him either. Seiichi knew himself, knew he couldn't let anyone else have this strong, wonderful, kind, perfect man. He would be Seiichi's forever.

Breaking his personal promise, Seiichi forced his way into Genichirou's mind and took control. "I'm so sorry," Seiichi apologized as he began to drink. Tears rolled down his cheeks, mixing with the taste of the blood in his mouth. If sorrow had a taste, this was it. Internally, Genichirou struggled to get out of Seiichi's hold but the vampire's grip on the human's mind was too strong.

And then the man known as Sanada Genichirou was gone.

Wiping the blood off his mouth with the back of his hand, the vampire knew a part of him had just died forever. Gently laying Genichirou down, he leaned over to share one last kiss.

Seiichi was no more. From now on, he was Yukimura.

There was a letter in his mailbox. Yukimura stared. There was never a letter in his mailbox. He kept staring at it, amused. That all changed when he saw the name on the return address.

Renji.

Forty-seven years later and the name was still enough to make Yukimura's unbeating heart skip a beat. He'd never seen or spoken to the man after that night in the motel. At this point, he hadn't even known if the human was still alive or not. Apparently Renji was. Yukimura read the letter.

"Mura, you're late~" Akaya sang as he waited on the tennis court. They were a few blocks from the boy's house. He looked so much better now. The boy had healed beautifully though his coordination still wasn't quite the best. Playing tennis had become their thing. Akaya's frustration at Yukimura being the better player despite only having learned to play from the human had become an endless source of amusement.

"My apologies."

Something must have been showing on his face because Akaya's grin fell. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," the vampire tried to reassure his pet. From the look on the boy's face, it was obvious that Yukimura was failing.

"Mura..."

Akaya was special. Yukimura needed to remember that. The boy would understand. The vampire decided to drop all the games just this once. "An old friend of mine is in poor health," he admitted. "Doctors have given him six months at most."

The boy gave a long, low whistle. "That sucks."

Just hearing that made the heaviness in Yukimura's heart lighten a little. "Yes, it really does." Yukimura caught his boy's eyes, mesmerized by the depths of that green for a moment. "My pet, this friend of mine wants me to spend his last days with him."

As much as Yukimura had never wanted to see Yanagi Renji against but he couldn't help but want to see him again. It had been 47 years. Renji was an old man now. And Yukimura still had one question he needed to ask. At the time, it had been a source of angry but as the years went on, it had turned into a huge source of confusion. Renji might not know but he was the best source Yukimura had. Inui's last words, Genichirou's name. How had he known? That was something Yukimura had never told anyone. No one from that time period, save Yukimura and Mizuki, were even still alive and Mizuki hadn't known about Genichirou.

"So, you going to go?" Akaya's voice broke through the vampire's thoughts.

Without realizing it, Yukimura was nodding. "You'll wait for me, won't you, my pet?"

The adoration was clear in Akaya's voice as he answered, "always."

i-fin-/i