The author of Achromatic Colors presents Colors of Blood, a story in a world where vampires rules the darkness.
Pairing: Thrill pair
Warning: Vampirism
Disclamation: I don't own Prince of Tennis. (Why do everyone bother to say it anyway?) Definitions are provided from and Wikipedia (the most trusted source in the world XDDD).
Summary: AU. FujiRyo. Vampirism. He would do almost anything to escape from the clutches of that damn smiling vampire.
The title is a misnomer. It's actually more like colors of red than colors of blood but I don't want to make it Colors of Red because blood sounds cooler for a vampire fic.
Colors of Blood
Colors of blood are colors of red. Fuchsia; a shade of red. A bright purplish red color.
Fuch-siafyoo-shuh
–noun
1. a plant belonging to the genus Fuchsia, of the evening primrose family, including many varieties cultivated for their handsome drooping flowers.
2. Also called California fuchsia. a nonwoody shrub, Zauschneria californica, having large crimson flowers.
3. a bright, purplish-red color.
–adjective
4. of the color fuchsia: a fuchsia dress.
–lexicography
5. A beautiful, attractive woman is known as a fuchsia queen.
(Rodgers, Bruce Gay Talk: The Queen's Vernacular--A Dictionary of Gay Slang. New York:1972--Paragon Books, G.P. Putnam's Sons Page 87)
I. Fuchsia
The world was drowning in darkness. The clouds blocked what little light the moon and stars had to offer and the winds were too weak to blow it away.
Not a sound could be heard in this deafening silence; not a hoot of the owl, not a rustle from a single blade of grass stroked by the wind. It seemed as if the world itself was afraid to make noise, afraid to attract the attention of an unseen enemy. Not a sound of the living can be heard -- save for the noise made by a human boy.
The panting of his breathing sounded deafening in the absolute silence of the darkness. He tore through the silence with the sounds of his heels hitting against the hard earth. He felt like his own heart is going to burst from his chest. His golden eyes squinted to see the road ahead in the moonless night. Every inch of his body was sore from running. A single thought rang through his mind. 'Is he still following me?'
He dashed through the outskirts of the farmland. He knew that screaming for help would be useless. Even though he can see small houses lighted with candles, nobody will let him take refuge here. They will all be frightened. He didn't blame them. No human dares to face a vampire in a crowd less than a dozen. "It's suicide"; at least that's what he has been told by others. And certainly no one would help a person who is chased by one unless they didn't believe in those creatures.
At any rate, the wind was on his side. The wind whisked away whatever heat his body couldn't bare. The freezing temperature of the late autumn night prevented him from over heating. If the situation was not life threatening, he would have laughed. How did he manage to sleep in freezing conditions such as this without waking up?
Looking back, he can vaguely see the path he just came from. There was no one there. At that moment, his left foot hit a small rock and he tripped. Thud. The body felt the sting with the contact of the ground.
'Oh no.' Both of his palms and left knee were scraped. He couldn't see it but the pain was real enough. They were bleeding. Several seconds passed as he lay there. During that time, he forced himself to inhale the freezing air into his lungs; enough to satisfy his body.
Click.…
Click.…
Click.…
'That bastard.' If the boy could pause from gulping mouthfuls of air into his lungs, he would have growled. No matter how fast he ran, he could still hear the slow, steady rhythm of that man's boots from way behind. It didn't matter if he dashed, ran, or jogged. The footsteps were always there in that same slow steady rhythm. There was some supernatural force behind this illogical movement. The footfalls will get louder though, whenever he slowed himself to a light jog.
Ryoma grimaced. That smiling vampire was taunting him.
Why else would the vampire tail him like that? He has been following him for several hours now. The vampire had no need to wait for him to tire out. It's not like the boy can defend himself. He was merely a twelve year old child. A human. A prey.
Ignoring the pain, he dragged his sore body up and began sprinting again. He must get away. There was a very small chance of hope that he might escaped. He knows that the vampire will strike before he even gets near the town. But, he has to try.
Partly due to his stubborn nature, there are very little actions in life Ryoma ever regret doing. But now, he dearly regretted ignoring the cautions of his missing parents. He has been told to never venture alone and to never stay outside after dark. He did both today; one by force and the other by carelessness.
The disappearance of his parents has happened more than two years ago. One day, they just vanished; never to be seen again. Not even their 'corpses' were found. The townspeople gossiped that his parents were killed by vampires. It didn't matter. His parents were gone. He barely remembers their faces anymore.
Life is tough for someone being born in a poor farmer's family during 17th century France. The small piece of land, all that his family had left for him, was confiscated by his lord because of his inability to pay his dues. That greedy noble kept him as a messenger boy; a job considered perilous in the age of vampire superstition.
At first, Ryoma thought it was only a superstition. Although his parents had been suspected of being killed by them, he did not fully believe in the existence of vampires. Stories of vampires traveled everywhere. But he thought they were merely stories. He believed the fears for those blood sucking demons were as superstitious as the prosecution of witches in 8th century England.
Apparently not, he discovered, as he is learning it the hard way this moment. If someone had tried to strike a conversation about those blood-sucking creatures, he certainly would have told the person to find something better to do or he would just simply walk away.
He had thought that the whole town was either crazy or too bored with their monotonous farm live. The town would gossip about anything; gossip was their main entertainment. Everyone socialize with each other because of it. In the age where entertainment was unaffordable or unavailable for the working class, gossip was their life. And in the secluded town of Ryoma's homeland, gossip was usually their only form of amusement.
They cherished what little contact they had with the outside world. Traders were awed and respected for their products as much as their stories they brought, which were hung on by every word. Of course, Ryoma believed none of it. From his experience, different merchants told dissimilar stories about these vampires and they would almost always describe different characteristics of the creature. Either the stories were completely factious or there were different kinds of vampires in the world – the former was more likely. At least the stories helped the dealers with their transaction of spiritual charms. Also, it gave the townspeople something to think about. But gossip was gossip.
Ryoma deemed they were too gullible. The townspeople bought those cheap charms and wore them as if it will save their petty lives when they didn't even know vampires actually existed. They took those tales so seriously that the dead were buried with their face facing down so the corpse would dig downwards instead of up just incase they were vampires. Some coffins even had mechanisms that if a corpse tries to get up, their heart would be stabbed by a stake. They are hardly necessary precautions over fictional creatures.
But he never dreamed that actually being chased by a vampire would happen to him. His master told him to deliver a package to the next town fifty kilometers away. Fifty kilometers on foot. He won't let him go near the horses anymore ever since that incident. Stupid secluded fiefs. Stupid labor abuser. Not that it bothered Ryoma anyway – much. The running kept him fit and the job gave him an excuse to get away from his prison for a whole day. Today, the master forcefully woke him with the task before sunrise and he managed to deliver the 'urgent' package after midday; half running half jogging.
He then made a fatal mistake by choosing to take a nap under a comfy shade underneath a tree by the side of the road for a break on the way back. The next thing he remembered was been rudely woken up by a prodding finger. A young smiling man, the owner of the offending finger, helped him – unnecessarily - to his feet. Few words were exchanged and the man pointed out to the boy that it was already nightfall and it would be dangerous for a little boy to travel alone…especially if vampires could attack him during the night. Ryoma challenged back saying that the creatures were merely stories to scare children.
Just as he was about to leave the man called him back and gave him an open eyed grin. Ryoma wisely bolted as soon as he saw those extended fangs and those predatory eyes. Vampires existed after all. If the stories he heard have a slight truth in them, they had supernatural abilities. He knew he wouldn't be able to defend himself with his bare hands against a vampire. His only solution was to run. Plus he had confidence in his running. A wise but vain choice as it turns out. Vampires had supernatural abilities on covering distances.
…and that brings the story back to the present situation.
Ryoma continued to run for another hour; he is already over his limit but he can't stop. His body had sensed it. If he stops even for one second he would collapse. His mad dash has been sufficiently reduced to a mere slow jog since he had started some time ago – Ryoma had lost track of time. Dehydrated, sore, and in need of oxygen, the boy had carried himself purely by his adrenalin and will to live.
'Just a few more kilometers…' He silently pleaded his tired body. For the first time in his life, he actually wanted to be jumping back into the repulsive stone walls of his master. Hopefully the sapphire eyed vampire was merely playing around and would let him escape with a few laughs at Ryoma's expense.
Unfortunately the vampire thought that he had enough fun toying with his food and chose to loose his patience at that moment.
A hand violently grabbed Ryoma on the arm and dragged him off the road. The vampire roughly pushed Ryoma onto a trunk of a tree and trapped him there with his body. One hand brusquely grasped a fistful of Ryoma's hair and the other seized both of his wrists over his head just in case he had the energy to fight back.
Ryoma wanted to scream, but he couldn't. He couldn't stop himself from panting. Now that his rhythm had been interrupted, he could barely keep his eyes open. The only thing keeping him from sagging down was the entrapment between the tree and the vampire.
The vampire was smiling. Ryoma could vaguely see the shape of him and those blue-glowing eyes. The sapphire eyes gave a mocking stare into the golden eyes clouded with fatigue.
His mouth moved. He was addressing something to him but Ryoma could no longer pick up the sound. He was teasing him probably, he guessed, about how vain his efforts were. The man probably realized that he was already half conscious and couldn't fight back. He let go of both of his wrists, gently this time, and placed his hand on the boy's hips instead. Ryoma's hands hung loosely beside his body, not even having the force left to lift it up. Then the man's left hand slowly tilted his head exposing more of that vulnerable flesh.
'NO! Stop…' His mind silently screamed.
The brunet slowly lowered his head, all the while exposing his sharp canine teeth.
'Don't!' Ryoma clinched his eyes shut.
He could feel the teeth sinking into his neck. A searing pain took over him immediately. His eyes flung open caused by unbearable pain.
'Help! Someone… anyone…'
Yet he still couldn't scream, still couldn't utter a sound. A single tear formed on the corner of the golden eye as the boy slowly drifted to unconsciousness. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't push the man off of him. He couldn't even keep his eyes open at the very moment when his life is being drained away.
'I'm going to die.'
A/N: Lol, I'm doing another one involving colors. And this one actually has colors within the story other than the title. Too bad the title is a misnomer.
Yes, yes, I will work on Achromatic Colors too.
I chose the title Fuchsia because Ryoma had Fuji chasing him like "A beautiful, attractive woman". XDDDD
So how do you guys like vampires? Did I improve? Did I improve?
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Published: 24/01/08
Revised: 06/06/08