Note from Author: Five stories later, and I'm still writing for this couple. I have my own characters to take care of, yet I can't tear myself away from Tohru and Natsuno. Weird. Anyway, this is a sequel story to "Another Way" set a few years after Natsuno and Tohru's encounter with the (until now) unnamed Hunter. It's kind of a cross over in a way, too. Will try to keep it rated T, but depending on future chapters we'll see if it stays that way.
"Another Way" can be found here: s/9724212/1/Another-Way
Chapter 1: No More Hiding
It had been nine years since Tohru and Natsuno had left Sotoba, and eight since they had opened their first restaurant under the guise of two teenaged brothers who had no one but each other to rely upon. They were closing in on their tenth year and were planning on moving. Natsuno already had it all planned out, this time he would set the records on himself and Tohru a little different, listing them both eighteen. They would still be listed as brothers, but it had been a long time since they had been shy about certain displays of affection in front of others. Let the outsiders wonder, it kept things interesting.
As always, Natsuno was still the dominate personality between the two of them, calling all the shots, while Tohru happily tagged along behind him. Drinking Natsuno's blood had made some considerable changes in Tohru on a physical level. It seemed as though it made him faster and stronger after feeding from Natsuno, and his body had permanently become much warmer to the touch, almost to the point that it had been when he was still human.
Unfortunately, Tohru was still moonlight bound. He had to avoid anything that involved UV rays and still went into a deep sleep when the sun rose. He was a little jealous that Natsuno had the privileges of a day walker. This was something Natsuno had taken notice of and took every effort to be considerate towards. He himself thought it unfair and sometimes wished the roles had been reversed, that if either of them deserved the sun it was Tohru, not himself.
As Natsuno and Tohru were setting up to open what they believed to be the last night in their restaurant, Natsuno heard Tohru give a quiet sigh. "Tohru?" Natsuno asked, looking over his shoulder.
"It's nothing, Natsuno," Tohru said. "It's just, it's almost been ten years since Sotoba. Are we going to have to pick up and move and start over again every so many years?"
When Tohru worded it like that, it almost made Sunako's harebrain scheme to create a town of nothing but Shiki sound reasonable. Too bad she hadn't gone about it in a different manner. "Come here," Natsuno sighed and went to Tohru's side, wrapping his arms around the blonde Shiki and kissing his cheek. "I'm sorry, Tohru-Chan. We'll stay in one place as long as we can. It's just one of those burdens we'll have to bare."
Tohru gave a soft smile. Natsuno was right, of course, and he knew it. He snuggled up to Natsuno. "I can do that," his arms gently wrapped around Natsuno's waist, "As long as I have you at my side, Natsuno."
Natsuno smiled and ran his hands through Tohru's unruly blonde curls. The meek little Shiki knew the Jinrou would never leave him. "You needn't worry about that, Tohru-Chan," he assured him. "I'm not going anywhere without you." Natsuno gave a light chuckle. "Think of it this way, maybe you'll find yourself with a whole new group of girls trying to fight you for my attention."
This made Tohru giggle and pull away, giving Natsuno a gentle shove. The two of them were already beautiful as humans, but now as Vampires that had been doubled, 'nature' did everything in it's power to make the Okiagari more attractive in order to allow them to lure in victims. Too bad for nature this pair was squandering that gift, as neither of them hunted. Tohru was capable of drinking Natsuno's blood, and Natsuno didn't need to drink it at all. They were both good at attracting local admirers, which often made up the bulk of their regular customers. But while Tohru happily made friends with his admirers, he found himself playing head games with Natsuno's. The thought of finding a new set of 'playmates' was rather intriguing. "Maybe so," Tohru giggled.
They finished setting up and opened their doors. Since it was to be their last night, and it was only the two of them, they split the work with the kitchen and the tables, so neither of them would become too overwhelmed.
A few years back, they had installed not just a radio, but a couple of televisions as well. While Tohru was taking the order of one customer, something on the news caught his attention. He stopped and looked at if for a moment. Tohru turned and called toward the kitchen, "Oi! Natsuno! Come here, quick! You've got to check out what's on the TV."
Natsuno set the stove to low and curiously made his way into the dining hall. Tohru signaled for Natsuno to shut off the radio while he began to turn up the sound on the television. "The rumors are true," the female reporter said, "It seems that everywhere across the globe, Vampires are 'coming out of their coffins' and trying to mainstream themselves into today's society."
Tohru's grip slipped on the remote, and it plopped in the floor. He didn't dare move to pick it up. Natsuno came up beside him and put a gentle, comforting hand on Tohru's shoulder. After what happened in Sotoba, naturally any humans that survived would have been spreading the tales over the past few years. But the reporter said this was on a global scale. The two of them stood breathless as they listened. "It's all thanks to a new drink being produced in Japan that allows them a substitute for human blood."
Tohru felt staggered, and probably would have fallen over if Natsuno didn't have such a good hold on him. The customers began to murmur and whisper, why had this announcement caught the two teenaged boy's attention? Natsuno had to think of something to prevent a complete panic. "I guess I'll have to buy some tomorrow and add it to the menu," he said. He couldn't help but wonder, would this stuff really work like they said? Natsuno had figured out that by mixing his own blood with human food in a blender, Tohru could handle it just fine, but he hadn't shared that information with anyone. Did this stuff work like that?
The two of them looked at each other a bit uncomfortably. Should they tell their regulars the truth? On the other hand, this was the answer to Tohru's earlier question. They finished tending to their customers, ignoring the customers who claimed the whole 'Vampire' thing was just a PR stunt for the new drink and they couldn't believe the newscasters were gullible enough to buy into it, or that it must be a really slow news night. No, Tohru and Natsuno knew there had to be something to it, and some of the regulars were already eyeing the two as if they knew.
After they closed and finished cleaning, Natsuno caught Tohru's wrist and lead him back to the bedroom. After their first encounter with a Hunter, an elderly woman they later learned was known as Miko Misaki, Natsuno had decided to share a room with Tohru, rather than continue sleeping down the hall. They both seemed to sleep easier when they were in the same room anyway. Natsuno pushed the door shut and pulled Tohru over to the bed. They were both bursting at the seams and had been waiting all night to be able to talk about the news. "No more hiding, Tohru-Chan," Natsuno said, kissing the blonde Shiki. "Looks like we're staying put after all."
Tohru nodded, "I'm glad we're staying."
"But you're nervous about what kind of problems this will bring along with it, right?" Natsuno asked. Tohru nodded. This was another effect on the two of them that seemed to come from Tohru drinking Natsuno's blood. Humans have an uncanny knack of finishing thoughts and sentences of their lovers and closest friends. Natsuno and Tohru could do this too, but they could sometimes outright visualize what one another was thinking. Muroi Seishin had told them that he and Sunako had a similar link, but as she didn't feed from him as often as Tohru did from Natsuno, it was no where near as strong.
Natsuno smiled and leaned in, passionately kissing Tohru. Tohru blushed and gave out a soft moan, his hands slipped on the blankets and he fell back on the bed. Natsuno stifled a chuckle and climbed on top of Tohru, gently poising a knee between Tohru's legs, a 'dirty trick', as Tohru called it, he used when he had Tohru right where he wanted him. Their eyes locked as Natsuno leaned down for another kiss. "Whatever comes our way, Tohru, we're in it together," he reassured the Shiki.