Deal with the Devil

by Tessa E Harrison

Niou's story, exploring the life of a human in a world full of vampires. Part 3 of the Vampire AU

He was five when he realized he wasn't like most people. Niou Masaharu was walking through the house when he saw Grandma. She'd died a week ago. Niou knew that. He'd been to that funeral/memorial thing last night. A lot of people had come over and they'd spoken to mom and dad. Dad was trying not to cry and kept looking at Grandma's picture. There hadn't really been food either. Well there had but none of it looked good so Nee-chan had snuck into Grandma's room and taken some sweets from the stash. They didn't think anyone would mind or notice. It had, to be honest, an awesome dinner.

Niou knew that Grandma had died. So why was she walking around the house? He went up to her. "Why are you here?" He asked, direct and to the point.

Grandma's eyes widened in suprise. "M...masaharu?"

Niou nodded. Grandma smiled. "So you've inherited it..." she said, voice trailing off. She reached over, stroking his cheek tenderly. He grinned, happy that maybe he'd get to keep Grandma for a little longer. "You much never tell anyone about me," she suddenly commanded, voice and expression serious. Like he was in trouble serious.

It was okay though. "I'm not crazy," he told her, rolling his eyes. Even at five years old, he could see that telling people he could see his dead grandma was a bad idea. Nee-chan would just call him a baby and a brat and tell him to go somewhere else and to shut up. She was three years older, not thirteen like she acted. And his parents would probably be even more annoying. They'd fuss over him in a baby-like way and he wasn't a baby. Times like this, Niou wished he weren't the youngest. Nee-chan never seemed to get treated like a little kid and she was only a few years older. It was so not fair.

"Even so," Grandma started, her normal soft expression returning, "I'll be around for a little longer," she promised. "My time on this planet isn't quite over yet."

Niou shrugged, not really caring. Well, that was a lie. He cared but it was different. If Grandma was going to be around that meant he didn't have to be sad like everyone else. She wasn't gone, not for him. "So," he gave a cheeky grin, "does this mean I have any other powers?" Because if he was getting super powers like a hero, that was awesome. He could even get an awesome name. He didn't know what he'd pick but it would have to be something really cool.

Grandma chuckled. "Who knows? I was never able to do more but you may be different."

He wasn't sure if he liked the sound of that. As he grew, he discovered there weren't any extra powers. Ghosts were actually rather common. Well, kind of. He just felt like they were. They were just like any other person except for the whole being dead part. And he kept quiet about it. Not even his best friend, Marui, knew. It had the added benefit of keeping some of his information sources a secret which was perfect for him.

"Hey!"

Niou exchanged a look with Marui. "The kid's back," he muttered. A few years had passed and he was now nine.

Every time they went to their tennis club, there was this one other kid who always wanted to tag along. The kid was really annoying too. "You'd think he learn," Marui agreed.

"Wait up!" The brat known as Kirihara Akaya yelled. Niou and Marui walked faster. Behind them, they could hear him grumbling. The sound of his footsteps got louder. He was running after them.

"You go left, I go right?" Niou suggested. He barely had to look over to see Marui nod in agreement. They split up, running in opposite directions. It was a relief when Niou heard the kid's footsteps fade as the kid ran after Marui. Of course, that could have also been the fact that Niou was running in the opposite direction of the tennis club.

He looked around. None of the buildings looked familiar. He knew he was far from Marui and the kid. Kirihara was yelling something but Niou didn't have a clue what. He could take a guess though. They probably did this to the kid at least once a week but he never seemed to learn. It would be amusing if it weren't so annoying.

"Oi, you!" Niou yelled, seeing the back of an unforgettable head. "You're the new kid, aren't you?" He asked, jogging over to the kid. The kid was half and the other half was dark. There was only one of him in the entire school, let alone the neighborhood.

The boy stared at Niou for a minute, almost looking like he was in shock someone was actually talking to him. He probably was. The guy had started almost two weeks ago and now that Niou thought about it, he couldn't remember seeing anyone with him. "Niou Masaharu," he introduced himself. "We're in the same class. You know what way the school is?" If he could find out where the school was, Niou knew he'd be able to find the tennis club.

"Ja-Jackal Kuwahara," the new kid stammered out. Oh! That was right! The kid had a weird name that didn't even attempt to sound Japanese. "It's..." he had to pause. Instead of saying anything, he appeared to give up and point. "Over there."

"Geez, your Japanese sucks if you don't know the word for left." Niou shook his head in disbelief.

"I've been getting well," Jackel protested. "I learned three years ago."

"Still sucks," Niou said with a grin. "You play tennis?"

Jackal shook his head.

Great. Niou grabbed the other kid's arm. "You're going to." The fact that Jackal didn't protest was good. There was just something about the guy that made Niou decide to make Jackal part of his group. If nothing else, he and Marui could always use Jackal to perma-ditch Kirihara.

When Marui saw them, he gave Niou a dark look. Kirihara was hanging around him, babbling about something. Niou heard the word 'win' and could take a decent guess. That kid was tennis obsessed. It was annoying how much the kid focused on the sport. Tennis was fun but the kid took it to a new level. Plus he was a kid, a little brat. Sure he was only a year younger but the kid still believed in Santa Claus. Who did that? He should know better by now. Niou was eight and knew better.

"I picked up a new kid," Niou greeted, practically pushing Jackal towards the others. The new kid gave the other two a sheepish wave. "He says he's never played but we can fix that."

Kirihara's eyes got this crazy gleam in them. He jumped over and grabbed Jackal, dragging him towards the club room. The kid was already going on and on about rackets and rules. Jackal looked lost but he kept nodding each time Kirihara stopped.

Niou grinned. "See? I knew what I was doing." He just had to point that out.

"We are going to be stuck with the both of them now," Marui complained.

Reaching over, Niou grabbed Marui's bag and unzipped it. "It'll be fine," he assured his friend who was giving him a death glare.

"Mom was busy with the brats and didn't give me anything," the redhead added, attitude turning sulky. He pulled the bag away from Niou with a surprisingly strong jerk. Not that Niou was going to blame his best friend for sulking. Marui's mom made the best little cakes. Or at least, she had until the twins had been born.

"Little siblings suck," Niou agreed. "I'm just glad Mom makes Nee-chan help with Hikaru and not me." Actually, Niou was finding that he didn't mind being the middle kid. His parents were always busy either taking care of his baby brother or pushing his older sister to do better and to get into the best middle school she could. This meant that they tended to let Niou do whatever he wanted which made it all the easier to get away with stuff, especially with a toddler in the house.

"You coming over this weekend?" Marui asked.

Niou shrugged in response. He hadn't decided yet. "Want to invite those two over and make it a little party?"

Marui continued to sulk. "You're going to regret this one day."

The uniform was tight and uncomfortable. It was hot and he was fairly certain the tie was attempting to choke him. Niou didn't know how Jackal could just stand there, looking all unaffected. At least Marui had the decency to fidget.

Whoever had designed this opening ceremonies was a cruel god.

Niou's biggest disappointment of the day came when he reached his classroom. Neither of his two closest friends were in it. He knew they were in different classes but it hadn't fully hit Niou until this moment. Things got worse when he found his seat. Of course he was stuck next to the biggest looking Stick-in-the-mud of the room. This school year was going to suck. He could tell already.

"Niou Masaharu," the white-haired teen introduced himself. The white was new but a few weeks ago he'd decided he needed to drastically change his looks. When he saw a picture of himself wearing a white wig, he decided he liked the look.

The other raised an eyebrow. "I don't remember asking."

Okay, maybe not a itotal/i stick-in-the-mud. Niou half sat on his own desk. "So?"

The guy sighed. "There is a perfectly good chair right there." Or maybe he was. Niou was starting to think it was going to be difficult to get a good read on the guy.

"This is more comfortable." Niou stretched as if that would help back up his point. He nudged the other desk with his foot. "So, you?"

A girl came rushing into the room. Her tie indicated she was a third year. She looked around the room for a moment before heading straight towards Stick-in-the-mud. "Yagyuu-kun, right? Hitsuga-buchou and Sensei decided that we weren't going to hold practices this week." She was acting like Niou wasn't there. He didn't know how he felt about that. "They want everyone who has already expressed interest to sign this," she continued on, pulling out a piece of paper and setting it on the desk.

Niou leaned over, trying to see what Stick-in-the-mud would write down. The girl shifted, blocking his view. "The place where we practice is having issues this week but they want all the new members contact information in case the situation changes, especially since we have that tournament next month."

Almost none of that made any sense at all to Niou. And he still couldn't see through the third year to find out Stick-in-the-mud's full name. "So, you're Yagyuu. Got another name to go with that?" Niou gave his best grin, the one that tended to scare Jackal and hype up Marui.

"If I did, you wouldn't use it," Yagyuu replied. He handed the paper back to the girl.

"Thanks Yagyuu-kun. You'll be the first on our list to call if we're able to get in and actually practice this week," she assured. She left the class, taking the paper with.

"You don't know what I'd do." Niou's full attention was back on Stick-in-the-mud.

Yagyuu looked up from the book he'd been attempting to read earlier. "You make trouble. Your hair isn't a school appropriate color and you've managed to lose your tie before the first class has even started. You're sitting on desks and in general appear to disrespect the school and its rules."

Okay, color Niou impressed. That was actually a decent read on him. "So, what's this club of yours?"

"I fail to see how that is any of your business unless you wish to join as well. If that is the case, then you should track down the manager. She was just in here and I doubt she'll have gone far."

"Aww, won't even tell me its name, Yagyuu~?" Niou enjoyed seeing the way his neighbor's eye twitched at that. Maybe this year wasn't going to be so boring after all. "How am I supposed to know if I want to join or not?"

"Because if you wanted to join, you would show up at the first practice like any other first years when the club holds it." Yagyuu adjusted his glasses. All that did was draw Niou's attention to their existence. He wondered what his classmate would do if he just snatched the things away. Niou decided that he was going to have to try that some time. He had a feeling it would but it would be fun to try getting Yagyuu riled up.

"Wow, you really don't want to tell me, do you?" Niou kept grinning. The sound of shoes clacking on the ground was soon followed by a tired looking woman. She stepped in and looked around the room. Her gaze stopped on Niou.

"Off the desk, Niou-kun."

"You're no fun, Himura-chan," he answered, doing as told.

"Himura-sensei," she corrected. "You'll be at the first practice tomorrow?"

"Dragging Bunta and Jackal with me." He wasn't sure how he felt having Himura as his homeroom teacher. He'd known her for years; she taught part-time at the tennis club. Last year, she'd left though to take up the coach position at Rikkai. At the mention of the other two, she seemed to relax a little.

"No Kirihara-kun?"

"Next year~" Niou sang. He bit his cheek to keep from laughing at how she paled. "Oh, and I'm dragging Yagyuu here with me too."

"You are not." His classmate's eye was twitching again. "I'm sorry, Himura-sensei, but I've already agreed to join the golf team."

Golf? But that was so boring. Himura seemed to take Niou's stunned silence as her cue to start homeroom. The white-haired boy took his seat and continued to give Yagyuu a look that could only be described as a mix of disbelief and disgust.

"You are so coming to tennis with me," Niou whispered so only Yagyuu could hear. The guy continued to try ignoring him but Niou knew he'd heard. The little eye twitch gave him away. Niou probably would have missed it if he weren't watching for it.

For the rest of the day, Niou worked on getting Yagyuu to see the merits of tennis. First class, Niou just worked on bugging Yagyuu. All little things like reaching over to borrow the guy's eraser and reading from his book instead of Niou's own. Yagyuu was getting ticked but was keeping it to himself. For their second class, he backed off. Instead Niou spent the entire time writing the word tennis on little scraps of paper. During their free period, Yagyuu went to the other side of the room. Niou took advantage of this absence. He started with hiding his slips of paper in Yagyuu's books. At one point, he got his hands on Yagyuu's eraser again. Niou didn't return it.

Lunch finally rolled around. Before Niou had a chance to go track down his friends, they found him. The three clustered around Niou's desk. "So how bad is your homeroom teacher?" Marui asked between bites. Niou was impressed the guy could even breathe. Marui was wolfing down his lunch at a rate that seemed guaranteed to make him choke. He was seriously wondering just how long it would be before Jackal would be forced to perform the Heimlich. Because if it came down to that, Jackal was the redhead's only hope.

"I've got Himura-chan," Niou couldn't help but brag. The other two had priceless expressions on their faces.

"Lucky." Jackal was the first to recover. Honestly it was a small shock. Jackal had had the world's most obvious crush on the teacher since the guy was nine.

"Well, you guys'll see her soon," Niou promised. "Remember, she's the coach here."

Marui gave an enthusiastic nod, reaching over to try and steal Niou's dessert. Years of practice kept Niou sharp and it was moved out of the redhead's reach. Marui pouted even though they both knew it wouldn't work on Niou. It wasn't like he was Jackal. Pouts were not Niou's weakness and especially not pouts from someone Niou had known for most his life.

Jackal saw it and caved almost immediately. He gave a little sigh, handing over half of whatever it was his mother had packed. All Niou knew was that it was something weird and Brazilian. A long time ago, he'd learned it was usually better to just not be interested in Jackal's lunch. Usually the stuff was gross but if it ended up being good, they'd know when Marui attempted to steal the rest.

"She didn't seem pleased to see me," Niou admitted.

Marui chuckled loudly, causing several of Niou's classmates to look in their directions. "I bet. You were the best at impersonating her. Remember the time you repeated everything she said but changed on word so everyone was so confused?"

"Did I do that?" Niou put on the most innocent expression he could. Impersonations were easy once you took a few minutes to actually study someone. The more time around him, or in Himura's case her, the easier it was. Niou knew he could fool Marui's own mother and probably Kirihara's as well. Jackal would be harder and require some preparation but that was mostly because of the whole half-Brazilian thing and the darker skin tone. And it'd be hard to fool Jackal's mother since she only spoke in Portuguese to the guy. Going over to their place was annoying for that and for the food thing. They'd been living in Japan for how many years now? How hard was it to act like Japanese people?

"You're sitting on my desk."

And there was Yagyuu, giving Niou an annoyed look. It was a brilliant expression that Niou wanted to try sometime. Somehow it conveyed a sense of great annoyance and of utter non-care at the same time.

"Oh yeah, so guys, this is Yagyuu. He's joining the team too." Niou decided to just ignore the look being thrown his direction.

Marui tried and failed at not laughing. Jackal was slightly better at the not laughing thing. He shot Yagyuu a sympathetic look.

"I'm not joining, Niou-kun," Yagyuu replied. "Off the desk, if you would be so kind."

Niou didn't move. Instead, he kept talking to his friends. "As you can see, it's still a work in progress."

"I've already agreed to join the golf team," Yagyuu reminded. He tried to pull his chair out to at least sit at the desk even if Niou was going to insist sitting on it. Niou made that a difficult task. He hook his foot around the chair, making it even more of a difficult task. The only way to get the chair would be to attempt to break Niou's ankle. Yagyuu gave Niou an even more annoyed look. Niou's response was to just raise an eyebrow.

Marui elbowed Jackal. "Looks like Niou's finally met his match," he snickered. Niou ignored them. Yagyuu had caught his eye and they both refused to break eye contact. To lose would be a sign of giving in or up which neither wanted to do. Yagyuu was turning out to be more stubborn than anticipated but Niou could handle Stick-in-the-mud. Niou could handle anything.

"I don't know," Jackal replied. "I think I'd put my money on him." Nion didn't have to look to know the half-Brazilian had motioned towards Yagyuu.

"Want to make it an actual bet?" Marui stood and popped a bubble in Niou's ear. Which begged the question where had the redhead found gum?

"I'm sitting right here," Niou reminded the two. He needed to blink badly. His eyes were screaming in pain but he couldn't give in. Not to Yagyuu and not on this. The only consolation was that Yagyuu appeared to be having just as much difficulty with their impromptu staring match. "And I know where you both live."

"And we know where you live." Of course Marui would be the one who just ihad/i to point that out. There were times when Niou hated having old friends. "That doesn't work anymore."

"If it ever did." What the hell? Jackal was supposed to be the good one! What was this madness? "Let him have his desk," Jackal added. "It's almost time for classes to start anyway."

As annoying as it was, Niou knew he didn't have a choice. Not unless he wanted to get in trouble on the first day. He'd rather not.

"Only because Jackal asked so nicely." Niou needed to make sure that part was clear. He was doing this as a favor to Jackal, not Yagyuu. The other two cleared their stuff off Niou's desk.

"See you at practice," they said as they left the room. Niou found himself left alone with Yagyuu. Not entirely alone—they were still in class after all.

"You know, if you want me to leave you alone, you should come with."

Niou had to admit he was getting annoyed that all of his normal tactics of getting under someone's skin had been met with such a lack of response. That was part of the fun of doing it all, to see what people would do. Being direct was boring, only to be used as a last and dire resort. Niou hated to do it but he had no alternatives.

"I fail to see how going to tennis practice would be beneficial to myself," Yagyuu answered. "Particularly as I've already committed myself to the golf team."

"It's not like it'd hurt any." Niou jumped off the desk. "Besides, if you're worried about not being able to play and looking foolish, don't worry. It's not like anyone knows you and you can always blame me. I'm the one making you go."

Oh, now that was interesting. He could have sworn he'd seen Yagyuu perk up a little. So there was something in what Niou had just said that appealed to the other guy in some way. Niou realized he'd found his ticket to success. Not to just figure out how to capitalize on it...

He took a guess. "I mean, it's not like with the golf team. It's day one of school and they're already tracking you down. All that says to mean is that that team has some high expectations for you."

Yep, that was definitely it. Who would have thought that cool, collected, stick-in-the-mud Yagyuu had so many pressures placed on him? Everyone. Yagyuu was just that type. Niou could never understand why people would want to live that way. The very idea made him feel like he was suffocating.

"Just one day, that's all I'm saying," Niou ended his pitch. Taking his seat, he just knew. Yagyuu's face said it all. He had the guy considering it.

"I only have to stay for half the practice."

Those were the first words out of Yagyuu's mouth as classes for the day ended. Niou grinned, knowing he'd won.

Yagyuu at tennis practice was, quite honestly, one of the funniest things Niou had ever seen in his life. The guy wasn't just bad. He was practically tripping over his own feet. At least he stuck around for the entire practice and didn't leave halfway through like he'd said he would.

"I'm impressed," Niou admitted as they changed. Marui was on his other side, holding himself in an attempt to keep from falling over from laughter. "Seriously, I am even if Bunta here doesn't believe me. Let me treat you since you were such a good sport."

Marui choked on his gum. Served him right.

"You can leave me alone now," Yagyuu suggested, handing Niou back his spare racket.

"Too late for that," Niou heard Marui mutter. As much as he wanted to kick the redhead, Niou knew the guy was right. Their childhood friendship went both ways.

"Nah, I'd rather take you out." Niou hadn't meant for that to come out as flirty as it had. Whatever. It was too late to change that now.

Niou might have been young but he wasn't an idiot. Boys in their classes had started look at girls, at talking and comparing what parts they thought were cute. Jackal was bad about staring at them and going off into his own headspace. Niou didn't understand the appeal. Girl were just people. Boys were more fun to be around, at least, when they weren't busy talking and staring at girls. It took all of Niou's self-control to not blush like an idiot at his own words.

Yagyuu sighed. "If it will get you to finally leave me alone."

It took a few seconds for it to sink in. When the words did, Niou couldn't help but shoot Stick-in-the-mud a goofy grin. He quickly turned it into a smirk. "I guess that could possibly be arranged." It wouldn't.

They went out after practice, Yagyuu obviously eager to get Niou to leave him alone. Niou wasn't sure how possible that was going to be. He'd noticed something on the walk over. They'd passed several ghosts on the way. It wasn't a unique thing. Certain streets had a tendency to be full of them and they'd walked down one of those streets. No one, well other than Niou, ever paid them any mind. People would walk right through the ghosts without ever seeming to notice or care. Yagyuu, apparently, wasn't people. He was actually avoiding the ghosts. The first time Niou just brushed it off as a coincidence. Except as the walk continued, it kept happening which meant there was something special going on there.

"What?" Yagyuu was giving him a look.

"You're more interesting than I thought," Niou answered as they stood outside of one of Marui's favorite sweet shops. "Why did you do that thing before?"

"What thing?" It was clear Yagyuu was fighting to deal with both annoyance and curiosity.

"The one where you'd randomly walk a couple of extra steps." Niou grinned, leaning over and invading Yagyuu's personal space. He dropped his voice, adding, "it's almost like there were ghosts in those spaces and you could see them."

Yagyuu shifted back, the movement entirely obviously due to their closeness. Even if Niou hadn't been watching for a reaction, he wouldn't have been able to miss that. Niou kept grinning. "You can see them, can't you?"

"Now you're just making things up." Yagyuu adjusted his glasses, working hard to keep his face perfectly blank.

Niou shook his head. "You can tell there's something there. You can tell me. I'll believe whatever you say." After all, it wasn't like he could exactly call Yagyuu crazy when Niou could see ghosts too.

Yagyuu sighed. "You don't give up, do you?"

"What do you think?" Niou took a step forward, invading Yagyuu's space again. He wanted to see if he could steal the guy's glasses. When he reached for them, a hand blocked him. "I'm taking that as a no." Niou pouted and decided to spill the beans. "I can see them. I've had the ability ever since I was a kid. You?"

Yagyuu shook his head. "I can't believe I'm having this conversation." He glanced around. "If you really must insist on talking about something like this could we at least move somewhere more private?"

"You just want to get me all alone, don't you?" Niou wondered what was going on with him. Why was he saying stuff like this? It was, well, like him but not.

"We're in middle school."

Way to be a spoilsport, Niou thought to himself. Not that Niou expected anything anyway. "My house is nearby if you want," he offered. And his grandma should still be there so she'd be good to use as a test.

Niou still wasn't entirely sure how they actually ended up at his house. He hadn't expected Yagyuu to actually agree to come over. For privacy, they headed to Niou's room. Everyone was home but in there, they could be left alone. Niou lounged on his bed, Yagyuu taking the more respectable spot at Niou's buried desk.

"So, ghosts?" Niou prompted. He'd noticed Yagyuu had avoided his grandmother, only further backing up his suspicions.

"Spirits," Yagyuu answered. He covered his face with his hand and added, "I feel...ridiculous..."

"Say it~" Niou encouraged.

"I can sense spirits, those things you keep referring to as ghosts." The hand moved, revealing that perfectly straight-laced expression from earlier. Niou was impressed.

Marui popped a bubble in Niou's ear. "I still want to know how you got that to happen." That referring to the two playing on the tennis court. It was a horribly lopsided match, Jackal beating Yagyuu by a landslide.

"Magic~" Niou answered. He himself wasn't sure why Yagyuu had decided to quit golf for tennis either. Yes, Niou was able to see that he and their friendship was part of that decision but still...Yagyuu was definitely a mystery. Niou loved mysteries.

He was beginning to suspect he loved other things as well. Namely a certain megane. A few months had passed since the first day of school and in that time, Niou had started to realize something. Unlike just about all the other guys, he still held absolutely no interest in any of the girls. Well, outside of having fun but only in a classmate way. The only one Niou was really interested in was Yagyuu.

"Sempai!" A kid's voice called out.

"Tracked us down," Marui said, grinning as they both turned to find Kirihara waving his arms wildly as he ran over. "Go away brat," he teased, "you're a year too early."

"Shut up." Kirihara glared at them. "Jackal-sempai! Hi!" They all turned just in time to watch the half-Brazilian epically miss the lob Yagyuu had hit.

"I believe that is my point," Yagyuu said, pausing their game to let Jackal recover. Niou laughed, causing all eyes to turn towards him. He didn't know why that sounded so hilarious but it was. The teen did his best to ignore the others and leaned against the fence. From his spot, he had a perfect view of Yagyuu. Why was he so stuck on Stick-in-the-mud? Sure they had the spirit/ghost thing but it wasn't like that was a huge part of their weird friendship. Stupid crush. It needed to go away as of the moment it started.

Marui turned back to Kirihara. "So what'd you come for? It's not like you can join our practice."

"I know that." Niou could hear the pout in the kid's tone. "Wanna come to the arcade or got a court? Everyone at my school is lame."

"Akaya..." Marui drew the name out. Niou rolled his eyes, watching the match that had continued on. "Only if Jackal agrees to pay."

"Count me out," Niou answered at the same time. "Plans."

Marui handed over a piece of gum to Kirihara's outstretched hand. "Well that sounds ominous. What are you planning?"

"Do you really think I can tell you that?" Niou replied. Mostly because he didn't actually know himself. Going to the arcade with everyone else didn't exactly sound like fun though.

The other two continued to talk but Niou tuned them out as he watched Yagyuu and Jackal play. He couldn't help but focus on Yagyuu. Watching him was hypnotic even if the guy was really, really terrible. Niou wondered what he'd look like on a golf course. He'd done some checking and Yagyuu had been good. Why he left that for tennis was a mystery. Maybe he should suggest they go to one sometime.

Jackal scored the winning point. Niou gave a slow lazy clap as the two walked over to join them. The half-Brazilian gave Kirihara what could almost be an annoyed look. "Why'd you call out?"

"Yagyuu, meet Akaya. Brat, Yagyuu," Niou said, taking care of the introductions. The two had never actually met, this being the first time their group of friends fully assembled. Noticing Yagyuu's eye twitching, Niou smirked. "Jackal, these two want you to treat them at an arcade day."

"Again?" He asked, sighing in exasperation.

"Please?" Kirihara drew the word out insanely long. Niou half-expected him to pass out from a lack of air. "My birthday's coming up so you could think of it like that."

Niou rolled his eyes. "Kid, seriously? Your birthday's in two months."

"You're not invited anymore," Kirihara shot back.

"Oh?" This time it was Yagyuu. He was giving Niou a curious look.

"Niou says he's got 'plans'," the youngest answered.

"Oi! Why's it Jackal-sempai but I'm just Niou?"

"What sort of plans?"

The two questions were asked at the same time. Niou couldn't help but be amused at Yagyuu showing some sort of interest.

"I like him better," Kirihara answered. "He's nice and doesn't call me names." The kid turned to Yagyuu. "Niou's not telling us his plans. So he's probably going to kill us or something."

Niou shrugged. "Well if Yagyuu wants to know, he could always come with." Why did he say that? He didn't have any actual plans. Now he was going to have to think of something on the fly. It would be annoying and he'd run the risk of looking uncool in front of Yagyuu. It was different from the rest of his friends. Niou could look like a fool in front of them but not Yagyuu. Well, no more uncool than he had to be.

"Fine."

He almost fell over when he heard the word. "Seriously?" He asked in disbelief.

Yagyuu shifted. "There was something I wanted to discuss with you. Or is it a bad day for you?"

"Nah, it's fine." Niou was curious to know what Yagyuu wanted to discuss. No doubt something ghost related. Or homework related. No, nevermind that. It was not homework related.

And that was how Niou found himself alone with his classmate. They were walking to Yagyuu's house this time. It was slightly closer to the school than Niou's own. Niou hated the fluttering feeling in his stomach. "So, what'd you want to talk about?"

The silence was killing him.

"Not here," Yagyuu answered. "Why haven't you mentioned Kirihara-kun before?"

Okay, weird. Niou shrugged. "He's a bratty kid who always followed us around. Oh, whatever you do, don't accept a tennis challenge from him. That kid's a real demon on the court. He could beat any one of us in singles." Niou hated to say it but it was true. Even though the kid was a year younger, he was better at the game. Doubles was more balanced at least and with a group of four, that's what they usually played. "He and I can almost beat Bunta and Jackal."

Grinning, he went on. " But if you got a little better, I think we could give them a run for their money." Yagyuu was hopeless at tennis. "We'd be good together."

And with that, Niou kind of hoped a hole would open up in the ground below him and swallow him up. Had he really just said that? So embarrassing and it was taking everything in him to not turn bright red and die. He was so glad when Yagyuu didn't comment.

"The golf team keeps trying to convince me to rejoin," he instead said.

"Don't let them. You've come over ot the dark side and we're more fun." Yagyuu probably would go back to golf. Niou wouldn't blame him in the least. It only made sense.

"The tennis team is more unpredictable." Not a yes but not a no.

"You mean me, don't you?"

"Last I checked, you were part of the tennis team."

"So are you." At least, Niou hoped he was still part of the tennis team. No doubt this was about to change and that part sucked.

"So I am."

Okay, as much as he liked Yagyuu, he kind of hated the guy. When he heard stuff like that, the twelve year old could feel his heart start pounding so hard it was liable to break his ribs. This crush could go away any time now. It was making life annoying.

"Are we all alone?" Niou asked. They'd reached Yagyuu's house and the place was dead silent.

"It appears so." Yagyuu shook his head, obviously unamused at how Niou had just made himself at home on Yagyuu's bed. "Am I interrupting your plans?"

"Nah, I just said that so they wouldn't drag me along," Niou answered. He stretched out on the bed. "You have an awesome bed." It was so comfy. If he were tired, he could easily see himself just falling asleep. The pillow smelled like Yagyuu. He felt like dying for thinking that. Rolling onto his stomach, he hugged the pillow. "So I was thinking that we should go golfing sometime since I dragged you to the tennis side."

"Is that what you're calling it now? Earlier it was the dark side."

Was that a joke? Niou hid his grin in the pillow. "Same difference. So, golf?"

"If you can behave," Yagyuu gave in. "Could you stop? That's my pillow."

Rolling his eyes, Niou let got of the pillow and shifted so that he was sitting up. "You're twelve. Stop acting like you're fifty." He stood up, walking around the room. The bookshelf looked like it could be interesting. He went over, inspecting it. "What you want to talk about?"

There were over a dozen books on golf. Niou hadn't even known there were that many books on the subject. What could they even be about? It was all the same. Ball sits on the ground, you swing at it, if you hit then it went off in the distance and if you missed, you tried again. "Ghosts, right?"

"Not everything is about spirits," Yagyuu replied. Niou could feel the brunet's gaze on him. "Don't mess up the books."

Niou groaned. "You ihave/i to realize that you're practically begging me to do just that now, right?" There was only one possible alternative. He bounced over to Yagyuu, invading the guy's personal space. "Unless you had some plan to distract me."

What was it about Yagyuu that made him same all these horribly embarrassing things? He reached over in an attempt to steal Yagyuu's glasses. He failed once more, Yagyuu reaching up to block the intruding hand.

"Do you have a crush on me?"

Niou completely froze. He forgot how to breathe. He'd been caught and Yagyuu was going to hate him. Their weird friendship thing was going to be over and he was about to lose the one person in the world who wouldn't think he was crazy for seeing ghosts. Niou forced a laugh. It sounded fake even to his own ears. "What makes you think that?" His hands were at his sides, clenched into painful fists. He willed Yagyuu to not look down because if the guy did, he'd be able to see just how bad Niou's hands were shaking. The urge to run away was strong. It was only due to the fact that his legs physically wouldn't move that Niou was even still in the room.

"You keep coming onto me," Yagyuu answered. "Am I right?"

"What do you think?" Niou stared the brunet in the eye.

"I think you do."

Yes. Niou was going to die. He'd been found out. World, be kind. Just swallow me whole so I don't have to deal with this horror. Those thoughts repeated through Niou's head. Yagyuu was going to hate him and it would get out at school. Everyone would laugh and make fun of him. He'd probably be forced into taking up a stupid Onee persona and that was not him. Changing schools would be easier.

Niou blinked.

A pair of hard, chapped lips were pressed against the corner of his own mouth. There was a pair of familiar glasses poking him in the face. It took an embarrassingly long time for his brain to process what was happening. And when his brain did catch up, he stayed frozen in place.

This wasn't a dream, was it? Because he'd had a dream that started out this way about two weeks ago and he'd woken up before it finished. To say the least, that day sucked.

Yagyuu pulled away, cheeks an adorable shade of pink. His glasses were slightly askew. "Perhaps I was mistaken..."

Spying his one chance, Niou reached over and snagged the glasses. He put them on and was able to see just how bad Yagyuu's eyesight really was. His cheeks burned as he reached over and grabbed the brunet's hand, lacing their fingers together. "I do...I just...didn't think you..." He was dead. So dead. This was what the afterlife was like and Niou was entirely okay with that. He could live a dead life if it was going to be like this.

"Do you honestly think I would have left golf if I didn't have a good reason?" Yagyuu asked, reaching over with his free hand to take the glasses back.

Niou didn't bother hiding the goofy grin on his face this time. "I told you we'd be good together."

Rolling over, Niou laid on his stomach and watched Yagyuu work. University entrance exams were coming up and the studying for them kept Yagyuu constantly busy. Niou hugged the pillow, pouting a the back of the brunet's head. A little attention from his boyfriend would be nice. Sure, they'd been together for roughly six years but it was still annoying when Yagyuu ignored him.

Niou crossed the room, giving Yagyuu a hug from behind. He rested his chin on the brunet's head. "All work and no play makes Hiroshi a dull boy," he said, hoping he wouldn't get scolded. That had happened a couple of times before. He knew it was just because of the exam stress so he tried to not take it too personally. Just about everyone in their year was going through the same, stressing about the all too soon future.

"Do you need something?" Yagyuu asked, attention completely on the notebook full of notes from cram school.

"You," Niou answered. He dipped his head down, kissing the one spot on Yagyuu's neck that he knew was one of his boyfriend's weak points. "Just a little bit and then I'll let you do your work in peace." They both knew Niou meant it too. He wasn't going through the same stresses, having decided to not go straight to university after school. Maybe in a year or two but he hadn't decided about that part yet.

Yagyuu spun his desk chair around, coming almost face to face with Niou. "Door locked?"

Niou nodded. "No repeats of last month," he assured as he sat on the brunet's lap. That incident, while not the first, was possibly the most embarrassing. Usually they were good about locking their respective bedroom doors but that one time they'd forgotten. They'd been at Niou's house, fooling around. One minute Niou was on his bed, mouth full of Yagyuu's cock in an attempt to help his boyfriend de-stress some. The next? He was staring at his mother and friends with a mouth full of cock. The guys had dropped by and she'd been leading them to Niou's room.

Their friends were only just now able to look the two of them in the eyes again. Niou's mother still wasn't quite able to do the same, at least, not whenever she saw the two of them together. It it hadn't have been so mortifying, it would have been hilarious.

Experience had taught Niou a few things. Among those was the fact that it was far easier and more comfortable if he took Yagyuu's glasses out of the situation. The things had a tendency to poke him in the face in the most uncomfortable ways. Plus, it was one less thing for his boyfriend to fuss about. No matter how many times they'd done this over the past few years, it didn't get any less boring. A hand found it's way into Niou's hair, tugging off the string that held it in check. Niou's only response to that was to bite Yagyuu's lip. The guy knew he hated his hair loose. The only reason he hadn't cut it yet was because that just felt wrong.

Niou's phone, all the way across the room on the bed, started ringing. "Shut up Bun," he muttered, far more ready to keep his attention on Yagyuu. The megane could do magical things with his mouth and right now, they were focusing on Niou's earlobe. As it was, Niou was having a hard time not melting in his boyfriend's lap.

"Ignore it," Yagyuu murmured, his voice low and sexy. It caused a chill to go through Niou. Apparently he wasn't the only one who was more than ready to have some fun.

Easier said than done. The moment Niou's phone stopped ringing, Yagyuu's started. Niou glared at the thing. It was sitting on the desk, looking all innocent and normal. He knew Marui wouldn't stop. "What do you want, Bun?" Niou growled, answering Yagyuu's phone.

"It's me." Instead of Marui, he heard Jackal's voice. Strange but not unusual. Niou bit his lip to keep from making any embarrassing noises while Yagyuu did his best to distract him.

"I'm...something's happened," Jackal continued, not seeming to notice he was interrupting them. His voice sounded odd. Niou's gut feeling was that something was wrong. He squeezed Yagyuu's arm, shifting the phone into a position where they could both hear. "We're...at the hospital near the school," Jackal continued. "Come done. Please."

Yagyuu answered for them. "Who was hurt?"

Niou shifted, going to stand but found himself frozen in place at Jackal's response. "Bunta."

After that, Niou's ears seemed to just stop working. Marui was in the hospital? And it was serious enough that Jackal had the redhead's phone. Niou's stomach dropped and he couldn't move. Marui had to be okay. They'd been together since the very first day of primary school. Marui was fine and it was just something stupid and minor. It had to be. If it were something else, something more serious...Niou didn't know. No Marui was almost as horrifying of a thought as no Yagyuu. His grip on Yagyuu's arm tightened.

A pair of familiar arms hugged him close. "It's...not good, I know," Yagyuu's voice murmured in his ear. "He's a fighter so he'll make it through this. As soon as Jackal sends the information, we'll head over."

Niou nodded, still feeling numb. His limbs didn't want to move. He wanted to run and see Marui for himself but he couldn't. And Kirihara. This was going to crush the kid. He idolized Marui, practically following him around like a little duckling or puppy or whatever that bullshit saying was.

He had no clue how they actually ended up at the hospital. Yagyuu, obviously. But the actual process of getting there was a blank. The waiting area was full of familiar faces. Jackal, obviously, and Marui's parents. No twins but it was getting late so maybe their parents had decided morning would be a better time to break the news. Kirihara's family was there too. No Kirihara though. If something happened to Marui, why were they here?

"No word?" Yagyuu asked, leading Niou over to where Jackal was sitting. He was off on his own, the others sitting with their families.

The half-Brazilian shook his head. "Nothing yet. Right now, we're all just waiting."

"What happened?" Yagyuu held Niou's hand. It helped Niou to feel grounded and he gave an appreciative squeeze.

"To be honest," Jackal admitted, "I'm not entirely sure. I was still in the conbini when it happened."

A nurse walked in. She looked around the room, giving the small group of teenagers a disapproving look before going to Marui's parents. "You still know more than us," Niou replied, sticking his tongue out at the nurse.

"There was a truck," Jackal started. "I didn't see what happened but...well, I know it hit Akaya and then...then that made him hit Bunta." That explained all the families. But Kirihara was hurt too? Niou had missed that part. "Bunta...he seemed okay. A little out of it and in pain but he was talking. Akaya though..." Jackal's voice trailed off as he looked over at the boy's family.

They watched as Marui's mother walked over. She had a smile on her face. That was a good sign. Niou let go of Yagyuu's hand so he could stand. He gave her a hug. Marui's mother wasn't his mom but she might as well have been. He and Marui had been friends since they were little and he'd spent a lot of time with the family. She was definitely his not related by blood aunt at the very least. "Is Bun okay?"

She put an around around Niou, hugging him and using him to help steady herself. "Nothing too serious thankfully," she told the group. Niou could feel her shaking. "He's going to have a lot of bruises though."

"Anything else?" Jackal and Yagyuu asked in unison.

She nodded. "A few broken ribs and a mild concussion but that's it. He'll be able to recover from all of it soon." The trio of teenagers all let out a collective sigh. It was true. All of those injuries, while painful, weren't the worst. She glanced over at Kirihara's family. "Bunta's awake. The nurse said they'll allow a couple of visitors if you boys want to see him. Only two at a time at most."

Niou gave her another hug. "We'll go after Uncle and Auntie see him," he told her, speaking for the group. She nodded, her expression grateful. It only made sense anyway. They were his parents so they should see him first. She gave Niou one last hug before going back to her husband. They spoke for a moment before disappearing down a hallway together.

"Can I see him first?" Jackal asked as Niou sat back down. He didn't say a thing as Yagyuu answered for them. Niou didn't mind waiting so long as he got a chance to actually see Marui.

For a while, nothing happened. Marui's parents returned and told them how to get to Marui's room. They apologized for not staying longer but visiting hours were almost over and they had to get home to the twins. It was understandable. Jackal vanished off to Marui's room while the other two waited. It was during this wait that something happened. A doctor entered the room, making a beeline for Kirihara's family.

Niou watched, trying to hear what the guy was saying. He couldn't though. Everyone was far too quiet for him to eavesdrop. Niou curled up in his seat, waiting for something interesting to happen. Yagyuu had his textbook but Niou didn't see how the guy could study in this situation.

Akari came over. She was Kirihara's slightly older sister and the family resemblance was strong. It was probably for the best that Jackal wasn't with them at the moment. For some reason the guy thought she was pretty. In Niou's opinion, she looked like Kirihara but with slightly longer hair and boobs. Not exactly his definition of pretty.

"Hey," Niou greeted, giving a little wave. "Any news on the kid?"

"He's out of surgery," she answered. Even her voice sounded like her brother's only higher pitched. "My parents are the only ones they're letting see him for now."

"We're sticking around to see Bun," Niou told her. "If Jackal every gets back anyway."

Yagyuu closed his book and nodded. "How bad is Kirihara?"

"They don't think he'll be paralyzed."

Silence. What could either of them say to that? One thing immediately jumped to the forefront of Niou's mind. As soon as he thought it, he felt physically nauseous. "No more tennis."

"Not..." Akari looked like she was going to cry. "Not like he was planning."

They were all well aware of Kirihara's plans. He was a second year in high school and 17 years old. He was one of the top players in their age group for the entire country, especially when it came to singles which was his specialty. Scouts had been trying to recruit him for almost two years, especially after how he did in last year's singles tournament. The kid hadn't won but he'd come in second to a guy that announced he was going pro less than a month later. That, added with the fact that he'd always made it to at least the quarterfinals since the third year of middle school, made him highly sought after. The only reason he hadn't been snapped up by a scout and pushed to train seriously for professional tennis was his parents. They refused to let him drop out of high school. Once he graduated, they'd said they wouldn't stop him from pursuing his tennis dreams.

And now...if Kirihara managed to make it through this, the knowledge that everything he'd had planned was now gone...this had the potential to kill the kid.

"What are you doing?" Yagyuu was giving him one of those looks. The brunet probably didn't realize just how seductive of a pose he'd manage to put himself in. Niou fought the temptation to curl up in his bed with his boyfriend.

Instead, Niou slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Going to sneak into Akaya's room. I'll be back in a couple of hours."

Yagyuu kept giving him that look before shaking his head and signing. Laying down, he replied, "don't get caught."

"I never do," was Niou's answer. He bent down for a quick kiss. "Go to bed. I'll be back before you wake up."

Niou had years of experience slipping out his house. It wasn't a difficult task for him to sneak out unseen and unheard. The night was dark, dawn still a little ways off. It took a fair amount of time to reach the hospital, even with using his little brother's bike. On the bright side, it being so late helped when it came to sneaking around the hospital. Only a few people even appeared to be working and the ones who were, well, they looked like they were zombie people. They didn't notice anything at all.

When he reached Kirihara's room, the door was closed. Odd. The only times it was supposed to be closed were when he was changing. Niou knew. He'd heard the kid complain about it plenty of times. He opened the door slowly. It only took a couple of steps for him to realize that something was very, very wrong. Looking around, he froze when he spotted someone curled up on Kirihara's bed with the kid.

Immediately Niou was struck with the thought that the person was pretty. Movie star gorgeous. The guy, because he was a guy, looked almost feminine but there was something wrong with him too. Niou didn't look him in the eyes not out of politeness but this strange sense of fear. And the ghosts...

"You must be Niou-kun." Yeah, the person was definitely a guy. That voice couldn't only belong to a male even if it was soft and melodic. "I'm Yukimura."

Niou took a couple of more steps into the room. He went to close the door but stopped, leaving it open just a crack. "You're real."

He couldn't believe it. Lately Kirihara had been doing better. The kid's general attitude had changed and he'd been acting more like his pre-accident self. It had been a relief even if it meant listening to the kid talk about this weird 'Mura' person. None of them had actually believe the guy was real. Not until now. "We thought you were just some drugged up hallucination of Akaya's."

Yukimura chuckled. It sent chills up Niou's spine. They were not good chills. "I'm as real as you or him. Sneaking in for a visit?"

Next to Yukimura, Niou noticed a ghost trying to get his attention. Looking at the ghost, he noticed there were actually two there. The room was full of the things but these two seemed the strongest. One was old. Really old. Possibly even samurai era old which if so, meant he was the oldest ghost Niou had ever met. From what he'd learned over the years, most ghosts faded with age and after a few decades, they faded to wherever it was that ghosts went. The samurai ghost was watching Yukimura, a sad expression on his face. The other, the one that was more insistent on getting Niou's attention, was also old but definitely far more modern. Most ghosts of his age were at the fading point but not this one.

"Prank," Niou corrected.

A strange buzzing filled Niou's head as he heard Yukimura's answer. It was painful and annoying. "What a great friend."

The ghost who was trying to get his attention finally spoke. "You can see us, can't you?"

Niou nodded. The ghost continued. "I thought so. I was like you once until I met this one." He motioned towards Yukimura. "Listen to me and what I'm saying. We were once this creature's victims." The samurai ghost frowned.

The human focused on the word 'creature' and took a closer look at Yukimura. Now that he was, he noticed something odd about the guy. He looked weird. He was faded, the colors he was wearing looking like they'd been partially drained away. Actually, it wasn't just the colors on him but the ones around him too. "What are you?"

Yukimura's expression didn't change. He put an arm around Kirihara and answered with a question of his own. "I think the better question is 'what are you?' You're not human, are you?"

Niou shifted, feeling uncomfortable with the accusation. He was human. Just, well, one with an extra set of ability. Still not superpowers like he'd hoped for as a kid.

"As for me," Yukimura went on, "I'm a friend of Akaya's."

"He's not a friend," the attention-seeking ghost shot back. He adjusted his glasses, adding, "he's a killer." The statement caused the samurai to glare and the other glared back. At least, that's what it looked like to Niou. It was hard to tell thanks to the ghostly glasses.

"And I'm his sempai," Niou said more to finish things off before the ghosts fought. They seemed to know something and Niou wanted to know just what that was.

"My associate is Sanada. I myself am Sadaharu," the glasses ghost said. He appeared to have regained his composure.

Niou moved towards the television stand, keeping it so that his back never faced Yukimura. The...thing was watching him closely as Yukimura said, "so you're a trickster."

It almost sounded like the guy was trying to start a conversation. Niou bent down to fiddle with the stand. At this point, it was more to make his story look believeable because he couldn't and wouldn't actually do anything while being watched. The only one who was allowed to observe Niou when in prank action was Yagyuu. "That's my nickname," Niou admitted. Sadaharu came closer. "There was reason you're here?" He asked, not sure if he was speaking more to the ghosts or Yukimura.

Niou's stomach turned as he watched the expression on Yukimura's face change. "I was telling Akaya some stories." He was about to yell at Yukimura to stop and go away but Sadaharu took advantage of Yukimura's distractedness.

"From what I've been able to put together, he's a vampire as odd as that may sound." Sadaharu adjusted his glasses. What purpose they served for a ghost Niou had absolutely no clue.

Yukimura's hand moved, now resting on Kirihara's thight. Niou's eye twitched. Sadaharu didn't seem to notice, continuing on. "My death, all of our deaths," he motioned around the room. It once more reminded Niou of the sheer number of ghosts. "He killed all of us, feeding himself on our deaths."

"Our lives," Sanada corrected. "Seiichi...wasn't always this cruel."

"For you, perhaps," Sadaharu shot back, voice sounding almost snippy. "I believe he plans on taking your friend away."

Sanada nodded, looking at the two on the bed with an almost sad expression. "Seiichi's decided to make your friend his companion. The years...they've made him lonely."

"He's going to kill him."

It was plain to see the two had very different and disagreeing feelings about Yukimura. The vampire...okay, really? Vampires? It was only the fact he was getting this information from a ghost that made that even a little believable. Anyway, the vampire's hand slid further up Kirihara's thigh and Niou couldn't stand watching this display anymore.

"Yeah, could you not do that?" He asked, giving the vampire a dark look.

Yukimura scowled and Niou felt momentarily pleased. That feeling disappeared the moment he saw the vampire nuzzle Kirihara. It was such an intimate gesture and made him feel absolutely sick to his stomach. The urge to throw up was strong.

"You could leave."

Niou wanted to punch the vampire. That would be far more satisfying.

"So could you," he shot back. "But seriously, could you stop molesting my friend? It's disturbing." It really was. Kirihara was one of his oldest and closest friends so seeing anyone acting all lovey-dovey with the kid was weird. He sent a brief mental apology to his friends for any displays he and Yagyuu might have done over the years that had made them uncomfortable. It probably would have been one thing had Kirihara been awake for this but seeing Yukimura acting like a horny, possessive lover to a sleeping body just made it more and more creepy. Even worse was the fact that Kirihara was starting to react unconsciously.

"Is it truly molesting him if he enjoys it?" Yukimura kissed the side of Kirihara's neck. Niou tasted bile.

"Yeah, you seriously need to stop that."

Yukimura's eyes flew open, giving Niou a look that was both a scowl and a glare. How that was possible he had no clue. It took every fiber of Niou's being to not flinch. Those eyes...they were freaky. And the mix of lust and jealousy in them was disgusting at best. "Don't tell me you like him."

"Be careful with your answer," Sadaharu spoke up. "That was his reason for killing me."

The idea of liking Kirihara was laughable and so, Niou chuckled as he stood. "Bakaya? He's more like a little brother." Because if he held any love for the kid, it was in that sort of way. He loved the kid in the same way he loved Marui and Jackal. "Which means I really, really would rather not see you doing that to him."

It was interesting to watch both Sadaharu and Sanada relax. Apparently that was the right answer and Niou had passed some sort of test. That was the only thing he could take away from their reactions. The vampire kept kissing Kirihara on the neck, working his way to nibble on the boy's earlobe. The taste of bile was back in Niou's mouth and he gagged upon hearing his friend moan. Yukimura shifted, placed the two on the bed int a position that was entirely too lewd for Niou's tastes.

"There's nothing wrong about love."

The urge to smack the smirk off Yukimura's face was strong. And love? Niou wanted to laugh. The display in front of him? That was not love. Calling Yukimura's lust for Kirihara love was like a slap in the face. "When it's creepy and one-sided like that, yeah, there's plenty wrong," Niou shot back. It was hard to stay where he was. All he wanted to do was go over and rip Kirihara away.

Only one thing was in his way. And by thing, Niou meant ghost. Sanada stood there, hand held out in a sign for Niou to stay put. "Don't," he commanded. The way he said it, Niou couldn't help but listen. "Seiichi wasn't always this way," Sanada added, apparently trying to justify the vampire's behavior. Only the tone of his voice kept Niou from completely blocking out the ghost's words. "He was in love once but ever since..."

The ghost closed his eyes. It surprised Niou how much the mournful expression on Sanada's face affected him. He was almost lulled into a state of acceptance but then the ghost's eyes flew open. His eyes were full of fire that Niou was not used to seeing in a ghost. "You need to stop this monster. He's no longer my Seiichi."

"And hasn't been for a long time," Sadaharu added. "If I had been able to put it together sooner, I could have stopped this all from happening." It was hard to tell but Niou was fairly sure the younger ghost was looking at Niou with a look of regret on his face.

All of that was a lot to take in. Niou sighed, trying to process as much of it as he could in the few seconds allotted in a conversation. He was already pushing it to respond to Yukimura. So he looked over at the vampire, locking eyes with the guy. Don't shudder or flinch, he told himself. "Okay, here's the deal. I'm going to pretend I never saw you here and you're going to leave him alone from now on. Deal?"

He didn't expect the vampire to take it and Niou certainly didn't plan to live up to his end of the deal. But if he was going to try and attempt to take out the vampire...did he seriously just think that? Niou was starting to wonder if this was all some messed up dream. Or that he'd gotten conked on the head while on the way over to the hospital and he'd been given some really weird drugs that were doing things to his head. Because was he really thinking about how to slay a vampire? His life was reaching the beyond weird limit. Still if that was something he was going try, Niou realized he was going to need some time to figure it out. As it was, he was fairly sure he was going to need some time just to process the weirdness of this trip.

It was hard for Niou to keep from exploding as the vampire continued to lavish Kirihara's neck with attention. After what felt like forever, Yukimura finally stood.

"Happy?" For a moment, Niou almost expected to see the vampire curtsy.

"A little," Niou admitted, shouldering his bag of tools. He hadn't actually done any of what he planned but that wasn't the issue here.

Yukimura sauntered past, army of ghosts following in his wake. "I bid you adieu," he said, giving a little bow and blowing a kiss in Niou's direction.

"Puri~" Niou muttered to himself, more so he could have the last word than anything else. He stayed in the room for a few minutes. It was surprisingly hard because all he really wanted to do was run home. He wanted to crawl into his warm bed with his warm Yagyuu and convince himself that this was all just some messed up dream. Instead, he went over to Kirihara's bedside, fixing what he could of the bed to try and erase any signs of Yukimura's visit. There was a hickey on Kirihara's neck. Niou's eye twitched but there was nothing he could do about that. Time forced him to leave.

His mother was awake when Niou arrived back at home. He gave her a little wave and she replied with a sleepy yawn. Niou loved his mother. Any other parent would have gotten on his case but she just accepted him for who he was, no questions asked. Going into his room, Niou was glad to see Yagyuu was still curled up in bed. Just seeing the guy lifted a weight off Niou's chest and he happily crawled into his bed. He didn't even care that he was still fully dressed. Instead, Niou threw an arm around his boyfriend and snuggled close in at attempt to get a little sleep before the official day was supposed to start.

Life settled back into a normal-ish pace. Niou lucked out, never running into Yukimura again. He was more than a little relieved because even though he'd done some vampire research, no one thing popped out as a method he could reliably use. Sunlight was apparently good but it wasn't like Niou could exactly carry that around in his pocket. And any weapons like a wooden stake? Yeah, that was out too. First of all, it would be really weird. He knew he had a reputation for being odd but a stake would be pushing it. As for anything else? It'd be used against him. Niou had no clue how to actually use any weapons so he'd just make a fool out of himself.

It was easy to push that night to the back of his mind. As time went on, Niou was able to convince himself that maybe it was all just some strange, demented dream. Kirihara was in the middle of recovery, now in the midst of an intensive physical therapy routine. It was all in an attempt to help him regain some of his lost mobility. Niou did not envy the kid at all. He looked to be in constant pain whenever they visited him. Thankfully he stopped talking about Yukimura too. The stories started to vanish which only made it easier to forget about that strange night.

Everything started to change. Yagyuu and Marui took their university entrance exams, both getting into the schools of their choices. Jackal left, heading overseas to Brazil. For some strange reason, the guy wanted to attend a school there. Niou didn't understand the appeal. Then again, he had trouble understanding why Yagyuu and Marui were so keen on heading straight to university schooling after high school. It wasn't until after he realized he hadn't seen, let alone spoken to Marui in almost two weeks that Niou saw what had happened.

Since he was a little kid, Niou had always had his core group of friends. It had started as a duo, just him and Marui. Then Kirihara started worming his way in and Jackal soon followed. A few years later, Niou had all but forced Yagyuu to join. They'd been this tight-knit group for years and now? Well, they were scattering. It was an unsettling feeling. At least he had Yagyuu.

And then Niou met Shiraishi Kuranosuke.

"You want to what?" Niou stared, not entirely sure he'd heard correctly.

The guy leaned back. Looking at him, Niou had trouble believing Shiraishi was almost a decade older. He looked barely out of his teens, like he could be one of Niou's peers. It was handy though at work. "I'm leaving that place," Shiraishi repeated. He was referring to the host club they both worked. Niou hadn't wanted to take a job at the place but it paid good and the hours were decent.

"I'm opening my own place and I want you to come with me," Shiraishi repeated. "A couple of friends and I have it all planned out."

"And you want me to come with?" Niou stared in disbelief. It wasn't as if he had any real skills. He'd been hired to do basic grunt work around the host club. For some reason, Shiraishi had taken Niou in as a little brother figure. Niou didn't mind that part. What he did mind was working at the host club in general. He tended to feel uncomfortable there. It wasn't exactly his scene and while the money was good, everyone's fakeness was gag-inducing.

"That's what I said," Shiraishi confirmed.

Niou took a drink. "What kind of place is this going to be? Because if it's another host club, I'm out." As it was, he'd been debating leaving the one he was already at.

"Just a bar," Shiraishi answered. "With a dance floor. No more host clubs, I can promise you that. I just really want someone I'll be able to trust there with me."

Niou raised an eyebrow. Had he really just heard that? "And you think that person's me?"

"So what do you say?" Shiraishi ignored the question. He flashed a smile and leaned forward again. "My friends and I have things started. I've got a few more months and then I'll be able to open the place up."

He had to admit that Shiraishi's enthusiasm was catching. The guy was cool too. They'd been working together for awhile and he was Niou's closest work friend. Shiraishi was definitely the only person from work that Niou spent any time with outside of the host club.

In that moment, Niou made a decision that would change everything. "Sure," he agreed. If Shiraishi's place failed, he'd be back in the same position he was already in. If it succeeded, even better. Bartenders made some good money.

Niou's phone went off, indicating he had a message. He checked and sighed. Of course that's what it was. He shouldn't have been surprised.

"Bad news?"

"Boyfriend's stuck at school. Apparently his group is crap and they're stuck working on their project for whatever stupid pre-med class they're in all night." Niou hated that group. He'd never met them but he'd been stood up by Yagyuu so the guy could spend his time with them. It just made a sucky situation even worse because between Niou's work schedule and Yagyuu's school, it felt like they barely got to see each other anymore.

"Come over to my place," Shiraishi offered. "My friends are supposed to come over. It'll be good for you to meet them."

Niou couldn't find an argument against that. So it was no shocker when he found himself in Shiraishi's small apartment with a couple of guys he didn't know. The place wasn't huge and they were four adult men which made things cramped. No one seemed bothered by the fact. Apparently Shiraishi and his friends, a blond and a tall guy, had few if any personal boundaries.

The blond was stretched out in the middle of the floor. "You decide on a name for the club yet, Kura?"

Shiraishi nodded. Niou wasn't quite sure what to think of his friend half laying in his lap. "It's going to be iEcstasy/i," Shiraishi told them. The way he said it should be criminal because a word should not sound that erotic.

The tall guy leaned back, letting out smoke rings from the hookah he'd pulled out of the bag he'd brought with. "Anyone?" He asked, offering the hose to the group.

Niou stared at it, feeling like he was being put on the spot. Sure it'd been offered to the group but Niou was the group newbie so it felt like a kind initiation. And it wasn't like he didn't know what was in the hookah. He'd seen the tall guy fill it with weed. Where he got it, Niou had no clue but he was starting to suspect this guy might be Shiraishi's dealer. Niou knew his work friend smoked a little from time to time and had been offered some before.

"Not Baby here," Shiraishi told the others, putting an arm around Niou's waist. "He has no tolerance when it comes to mixing it and beer."

He felt gratified at Shiraishi covering for him. Niou wasn't exactly thrilled with having been called Baby but he let it slide. Shiraishi sat up to take the hose. It put him practically sitting in Niou's lap. "Senri, you need to give me some clippings," he said after taking a long drag.

"And lose one of my best customers?" The tall guy, Senri apparently, asked. He laughed and added, "if I did something like that, Kip would kill me."

"You still with that guy?" The blond leaned over to take the hose next.

"This week," Shiraishi answered first. "You know how those two go." He handed the hose over, still staying in the same position that put him basically in Niou's lap.

"Do you realize how much fun make-up and break-up sex is?" Senri tried to defend himself.

Shiraishi ignored the question. "So iEcstasy/i talk. It's me and Kenya here and we're getting Baby too."

Niou felt like he was on display at the blond studied him. "Does he even know what to do?" The blond asked, voice skeptical.

"He's a fast learner," Shiraishi assured, patting Niou on the cheek. "Besides, you should be worried about yourself first."

After that night, the next couple of months passed by in the blink of an eye. Niou found himself constantly busy between his work schedule and helping Shiraishi and Kenya with iEcstasy/i. The place was small and in a seedier part of the city but Niou loved it. It just had this vibe that made Niou feel like he was home. He basically was too. He spent enough time at the place. They only had three people working at it so nights off were few and far between. On the nights Niou went home, he crashed until it was time to start his night over. Still, a lot of times it was far easier to crash at Shiraishi's place with his boss and coworker.

Niou wouldn't have minded if it weren't for one thing. He was barely getting to see Yagyuu. While Niou's new group of friends were tons of fun in a way none of his high school group understood, he missed Yagyuu. Friends were great but they couldn't compare to his boyfriend.

"Want a job?" Niou was serious about it. Somehow he, Marui, and Kirihara had managed to get the same time free. It was the first time Niou had seen the two since iEcstasy/i had opened. Yagyuu was supposed to be here too but he'd canceled last minute. Again. It pissed Niou off more than he cared to admit. "The pay's okay and it'd only be a couple of nights a week."

The other two looked at him like he was crazy. "Isn't that something for your boss to decide?" Marui asked between bites of the ice cream sundae he'd ordered.

Niou shrugged. "Probably. Shiraishi's pretty chill though and honestly, we've only got the two of us and his friend Oshitari so one more person? Big help. Oshitari and I get about a day a week off and I'm pretty sure Shiraishi's been going non-stop since iEcstasy/i opened. So if one of you guys are interested, let me know and I'll bring it up with him."

A week later, Kirihara was working at the place. Having a fourth person helped with the stress and it was nice when Shiraishi decided to hire his dealer-friend Senri a couple of months later. Niou's life settled into a steady rhythm after that. He went from home to the bar to friends places. It was nice having a group of friends who were all a bit older. Shiraishi's friends were a chill bunch and being around them helped Niou forget about how busy Yagyuu was. Shiraishi's place became their unstated place to go after work or even just on days off. The only one who didn't join them was Kirihara. He came over a few times but almost always declined the standing offer, claiming schoolwork.

Niou could tell Yagyuu was disappointed about that. When they'd graduated high school, Niou had declared he was taking a year off and would look into continuing his education. That had been a few years ago. Yes, all of his friends from high school were studying at universities and some were almost done. Being out in the real world and working had shown Niou that school really wasn't the place for him. He was having far more fun doing what he was doing now. The money was great and the people were fun. His new group of friends were showing him that it was okay to not have gone onto higher education. They'd all went and Niou knew Shiraishi had a degree in business but Niou found he was learning just as much from them and from working. Still, it sucked to see that look of disappointment in Yagyuu's eyes whenever Niou had the chance to actually see his boyfriend.

Everything seemed normal. Then the vampire walked in. At first, Niou wasn't even sure what the guy was. He had the same drained color issue Yukimura had but there was a lack of ghosts that disturbed Niou. The vampire didn't seem too threatening though. He sat at the bar, drank a little, and left with some guy Niou'd seen around a few times. Just to be safe, Niou memorized both their faces. If there was something funky going on, he wanted to be as caught up as possible.

"Looks like Saeki-kun found a date," Kirihara commented from beside him.

"You know that guy?" Crap. What was it with Kirihara and knowing weirdos? Did the kid sprinkle himself with weirdo attracting powder or something?

"He was on one of the teams we played a few times," Kirihara replied. He was giving Niou a look like that was common knowledge.

All Niou could think was 'really?' Mostly because neither of them had looked at all familiar but partially because high school had been a few years ago. Did Kirihara really expect Niou to have had all of their rival teams memorized? Niou hadn't even bothered doing that during high school.

The human kept showing up and so did the vampire. Niou kept an eye on the vampire, finding the continuing lack of ghosts more and more disturbing. All he could think was how did the vampire get rid of them? Niou had never met a ghost who would leave involuntarily. From everything he'd learned over the years, that just wasn't possible. Ghosts only left when they felt like it. So this vampire was either a really nice guy or a terrible one. From what Niou knew of vampires and had seen in the past, he was leaning towards the latter.

Everything was okay until the vampire decided to start paying attention to Kirihara. And Kirihara, damn him, the kid seemed to like the vampire back. They were always hanging around each other at the bar.

"You should invite your friend out with us," Jackal suggested. He was back in the country for the first time in what felt like forever. It sucked that Niou and Kirihara had had to work but Jackal and Marui hadn't minded holding their gathering at iEcstasy/i. Yagyuu had promised to come but he'd canceled last minute. Again. Schoolwork that desperately needed him and couldn't be put off for even a couple of hours.

"Yuuta? I guess I could ask," Kirihara replied.

So the vampire had a name. Yuuta. Niou wondered what it was with vampires and Yu-names. He'd met two and they both had them. Kirihara walked away, heading over to speak with the vampire.

Niou hated the expression on Kirihara's face. The kid looked happy in a way Niou hadn't seen in years. Not since the days of Yukimura. Niou's stomach turned at the thought of that particular vampire.

"So, no Yagyuu?" Marui asked, taking a drink of the fruity martini he'd convinced Niou to make. The white-haired guy had no clue how the thing worked because it smelled and tasted like strawberries but nothing even close to strawberry even went in. Niou didn't want to know how Chitose had thought it up or why. "I feel like I haven't seen him in forever," the redhead continued. "What's his deal now?"

"Join the club." Niou shook his head. "I think its been almost a week." A very long week at that. He missed Yagyuu and definitely hadn't expected life after high school to be this hard. In school, it'd been easy to see each other but now? That was not the case at all. Lately it felt like life was split between work or spending time with Shiraishi. Those two held a lot of overlap. At times, Niou found himself wondering if the situation with Yagyuu would change if they had their own place. It was just a stupid thought that kept popping into his head though, nothing to act on.

Marui took a drink. "Getting cranky?" He shared a look with Jackal, adding, "someone needs to get laid."

"It's not that," Niou growled. Sure this was one of the longest stretches they'd gone without sex since they'd started but it wasn't sex that kept them together. At least, that's what Niou had always thought. They had a bond that had been created into the countless number of hours spent together over the last decade or so. Yagyuu was the one person who didn't think Niou was a nut and had never thought he was crazy. Niou liked that there was someone he could be completely open and honest with, someone he didn't have to hide from.

Thank whatever spirits were out there because Kirihara came back. Niou moved to give him space. Looking around, Niou couldn't believe how dead the place was tonight. He sent a quick text to Shiraishi, asking if it'd be a big deal if they just closed early.

"So, funny story," Kirihara started while Niou was texting. "He kind of asked me out instead."

"But Jackal's in town and Jackal's never in town," Marui whined.

Niou looked up just in time to see Jackal wave his hand. "It's fine. Akaya can go on his date."

Kirihara turned a bright pink. Niou didn't like it. If the kid wanted to date and have crushes, that was fine. Niou wasn't going to stand in a friend's way if the guy liked someone. But a vampire? No. Hell no. An image of that night he'd met Yukimura flashed in Niou's mind. Even now, a few years later, it made Niou sick to his stomach just to remember it. And that wasn't counting in the shards of guilt he felt for never going through and doing as Sanada requested. Still it wasn't like it was Niou's fault that Yukimura had just vanished one day. Hell, maybe that Sadaharu ghost had figured out a way to kill the vampire. He'd definitely been bitter enough.

Niou found himself back at Shiraishi's. It was just the two of them, everyone else having had the night off. It'd been a good night at iEcstasy/i. They'd kept busy but even better was the pile of tips sitting on Shiraishi's counter. If Niou were being honest with himself, he wasn't sure why he'd come over tonight. He knew what the smart thing to do was. It would have been to go home and add what he'd made tonight to the stack of money he'd been saving. After tonight, Niou knew he had more than a enough for a down-payment on a place with Yagyuu. It wouldn't be a pretty place but it'd be theirs. Maybe that's why he'd come over. The idea of getting out and living with Yagyuu made Niou want to celebrate and that's just what he was doing.

Grabbing the bottle of wine they were sharing, Niou drank and tried to avoid looking at Shiraishi. It was hard though. The guy was laying in a position that was entirely too sensual looking. He kind of hated himself for thinking that but it was true.

"Baby, you are the best." Shiraishi's face was a cute shade of pink. All Niou could think was that Yagyuu never turned pink. Niou took another drink of the almost-empty bottle. "There's no way I could have done all of that," he kept talking, motioning towards the pile of money on the counter, "without you. iEcstasy/i wouldn't be where it is if it weren't for you."

"We make a great team," Niou agreed. He'd long since learned to ignore the fact that Shiraishi continued to call him 'Baby'. At first it'd been weird but now it was just what the guy did. He passed the bottle of wine over to his companion's outstretched hand. Shiraishi took it, his fingers brushing the back of Niou's hand. It made Niou feel ashamed of how wonderful that little touch felt. Just a simple brush of a hand and he was practically ready to melt.

Sometimes Niou really hated life. Things with Yagyuu were so beyond fucked up at the moment. Even with the money to get a place, Niou didn't know if his...fuck, could they even be considered together at this point? Niou didn't know if Yagyuu would live with him. In the last month, Niou could remember actually seeing the guy maybe half a dozen times and most of those were just brief moments in time before one of them had to run off to somewhere else. Even if they were still considered a couple, Niou knew it was simply out of the sheer amount of history between them.

Ever since Yagyuu started at his university, that was all he ever seemed to care about. Was it really that bad that Niou wanted more? And what sucked was that Shiraishi was here. Niou could see the look in his boss' eyes. They said the guy was up for fun, that he was interested in Niou. It wasn't a huge secret and it'd never been that hard to deal with until now. Sure they'd flirted before. They both had those types of personalities.

Niou took the bottle of wine back, taking a moment to actually look at Shiraishi. He knew the guy was pretty but damn, he hadn't realized his friend had the body of sex god. Finishing the bottle off, Niou made up his mind.

"Wanna do it?" He asked. Because fuck it, why not? If they wanted an easy out later, they could blame the now empty bottle of wine. Besides, it would feel good and it wasn't like Yagyuu would care. The guy was too lost in his own world nowadays. To not think about the fucked up situation with Yagyuu or the fact that Kirihara was screwing around with a mutant vampire would be nice.

"Boyfriend?" Shiraishi asked. He licked his lips. They glistened and Niou couldn't help but wonder what they'd feel like.

"Not anymore," Niou decided. Because even if they weren't broken up, they were certainly headed that way. He leaned over, kissing his boss on the lips.

Shiraishi responded immediately, pulling Niou on top of himself. There was no turning back now. Not that Niou particularly wanted to. Shiraishi tasted of sweet wine, it almost as intoxicating at the man himself. Somehow they made their way to Shiraishi's bed in the corner of the room. Along the way, Niou lost his shirt. Shiraishi probably would have lost his too if he'd been wearing one to begin with. It was hard not to shiver under the new, unfamiliar touch.

"You ever do it with anyone else?" Shiraishi murmured in Niou's ear.

"I can think of other things you could be doing with that mouth right now," Niou replied.

"You mean something like this?" The other asked, capturing Niou's mouth to keep the younger from talking. Hands explored Niou's sides, the touches light enough to make Niou feel ticklish. He squirmed, trying to keep from making a fool of himself.

Shiraishi chuckled. "Someone's sensitive." Niou wasn't sure if he heard or felt the words. Shiraishi's lips were stupidly good at seeking out Niou's weak spots.

It was beyond strange to be doing this with someone else. With Yagyuu, he knew where the touch and how to touch. There was no exploration like Shiraishi was doing now. Niou was having trouble figuring out where to put his hands. Where in the world was he supposed to put them?

Niou settled on undoing Shiraishi's belt instead. "You're wearing too much," Niou told him. There was a hint of desperation that was obvious even to his own ears. And then Shiraishi found a new spot, one Niou had never known about before. After that, Niou decided to just shut his brain off and to enjoy the moment.

When he woke, he was naked in Shiraishi's bed. He was alone in the bed but not the apartment. His friend/boss was making coffee. In the nude. Niou whistled in appreciation at the naked ass presented to him.

Shiraishi laughed and it was absolutely beautiful. "You should sleep," he advised. "You've only got a few hours until you're supposed to open."

"Sleeping with the boss doesn't get me a few brownie points?" Niou rolled off the bed. To figure out where his clothes had gone...

"Sorry Babe, doesn't work that way." Shiraishi turned, watching Niou with an appreciative look in his eyes.

Niou did his best to appear not to notice. His shirt was the easiest to find. It'd gotten thrown on the table apparently. "Babe's a new one. Have I finally upgraded from Baby?"

"Seems appropriate," Shiraishi answered. "Going home for a bit?"

"Yeah. If my mom doesn't see me after a certain amount of time, she starts freaking out and thinking I've died or something." It was really annoying, especially now that Niou was a grown adult. He loved her though so he tried not to complain too much. His pants were easy to find too but his underwear had vanished.

"Want some coffee before you go?" Shiraishi offered.

Niou shook his head. He was kind of afraid that if he stayed for coffee, it'd be easy to just stay until it was time to head to the bar. Checking his phone, Niou winced. "Better if I don't. Mom's already blown up my phone so the sooner I get over there, the better." He'd say hi and then crash a few more hours. The nap he'd just had was nice but Niou was sore and wanted to sleep in his own bed for a bit.

When Niou reached his house, he gave his mother a sleepy yawn. "Sorry," he apologized. "It was late so I ended up crashing at a friend's place for a bit. Still really tired though."

She had this strange look in her eyes. If he didn't know better, Niou would have called it concern. "Do you need me to wake you in a few hours?"

"Nah. No need to bother," he assured. Niou went up to his room. It was a surprise to actually see Yagyuu. Stepping into his room, Niou stopped and stared. The brunet was actually sitting on his bed. Not a mirage or a hallucination but the actual living, breathing person.

"You live." Niou kept his tone neutral but that was a challenge. Seriously? He was pissed that Yagyuu appeared now. One night of actually enjoying himself was apparently what it took to summon the megane bastard.

Yagyuu met Niou's eyes. "I've been here all night waiting for you." He also kept his tone neutral. There was no accusations stated but Niou could practically hear them in the tone.

"I crashed at Shiraishi's," Niou answered. He took last night's money out of his pocket, throwing the small stack of money in the box with the rest of what he'd saved up. He yawned, unable to hide just how tired he was. Pulling off his shirt so he could sleep comfortably, Niou immediately realized just how big of a mistake that was.

"Not all you were doing apparently." Yagyuu's gaze was focused on Niou's chest.

Looking down, Niou swore and immediately understood the pissed off expression in Yagyuu's eyes. Niou's entire torso was covered in hickeys and love bites, all of them obviously recent. "What do you expect?" Niou asked, trying to take control before Yagyuu did. "You've been flaking out on me for years."

He turned his back on Yagyuu, searching threw his drawers for the softest pair of pajama bottoms he had. There was a pair of green ones he'd had for years that would be perfect right now. He still wanted to attempt to sleep but he didn't know how possible that was going to be. "I don't want to do this now."

Right now, Niou had a headache. He was tired and sore. All he wanted to do was take a nap because in a few hours he'd have to be back at iEcstasy/i. "After my shift," he added, crawling over Yagyuu to lay on the bed.

"Masa..." Yagyuu growled. Niou mentally swore. It should not have sounded so freaking sexy. Even as tired as he was, his body wanted to react and reach out.

Niou silenced his...good question actually. Last night, he'd been certain that things were done between the two of them. Now? It was a lot harder to actually say that. Placing a finger on Yagyuu's lips, Niou gave the megane a choice. "After my shift. You can stay and nap with me or leave. Those are the options right now. We're not doing this talk now."

He knew he shouldn't have been surprised to watch Yagyuu leave. But Niou was. When the door closed behind the brunet, it hurt far more than Niou thought it would. If he was lucky, Yagyuu would actually show up after tonight's shift. It fucking sucked but Niou wouldn't blame Yagyuu if he didn't show. Just the thought of Yagyuu with someone else was enough to get him pissed.

Niou didn't sleep.

Instead, he showed up a few hours later at iEcstasy/i. Thank whatever spirits were out there that he was working with Kirihara tonight. Niou wasn't sure if he could have worked with Shiraishi after the mess the last 24 hours had turned out to be.

It was a stupidly slow night too. Niou wished the place was busier so he wouldn't have to be think. Instead, there was practically no one around and one of the few in the place was Kirihara's stupid vampire. Niou wasn't sure why he did it but he decided to finally speak to the vampire when Kirihara was distracted.

Niou leaned against the bar, amused to see the vampire jump when he asked if the two were friends. Putting on his default smirk, he waited to see what the response would be.

The vampire took a drink. Which begged the question of why was the vampire drinking alcohol? Niou remembered that vampires were bloodsuckers. That was kind of their thing. "Why do you ask?" The vampire seemed suspicious. It was almost cute.

The human shrugged. "Bakaya's an old friend. Got to look out for his well-being and all." He'd been doing it for years at this point. It was basically a second job at this point.

"Bakaya?" The vampire looked like he was about to laugh. It made Yuuta seem almost human. "Is that what your group calls him?"

"Maybe. Or maybe I like giving people names."

There was a pause and then, "so what is this? Are you trying to threaten me to stay away or something?"

Yes. Not that Niou would say that. Instead he laughed. "If I tried to do something like that, the brat would come after me with his crazy face on." Niou needed to be sneaky if he was going to threaten someone.

"Crazy face?"

Niou shook his head. That was not for him to explain. "I think that might be enough for now." He nodded his head towards the other end of the bar where Kirihara was watching them. "We don't want Bakaya throwing a fit after all." And it was hard to keep track of the conversation. Stupid lack of sleep was making him feel dumb.

What the vampire said next made Niou almost like the guy. "He might not throw fits, as you put it, if you didn't keep calling him that."

It made Niou chuckle. "Puri~" he answered, moving away before Kirihara came after him.

Niou wasn't laughing when he got home. Yagyuu was back. At least there was going to be some sort of finality which was a relief. Niou just didn't know how this was going to end or if he'd be okay with the end result. He doubted that would be the case.

They walked away from the house in silence. It was late and if they had this out at Niou's house, there chances were very real they'd end up waking up Niou's entire family. And Niou really didn't want his entire family to know all the complicated crap that had happened. Instead, he almost laughed when he saw where they'd ended up walking. "It's gotta be a reflex," he joked, looking at the gates of their high school.

It was absolutely deserted which shouldn't have been a surprise. It was the middle of the night. If Niou were the sort to be easily scared, the place would have terrified him. There was something creepy about being at school at night. Right now the school looked like something out of a horror story. He almost hoped a zombie would pop up. Dealing with some of those would have been easier.

Niou sat on the grass just outside the fence that separated the tennis courts from spectators. The actual courts were locked and where Niou once had a key, he doubted it would work now. Dew hadn't quite formed yet and for that, Niou was grateful. All he really wanted to do was sleep but that would be impossible so instead he motioned for Yagyuu to sit on the grass beside him. Even without looking, he knew what the expression on the megane's face was. Still, the guy had shown up and he did sit next to Niou so at least he was giving Niou that much.

"What happened?" Yagyuu was the one to break their silence.

"Do you mean with us or just last night?" It was a stupid question. Niou already knew the answer was both.

"Start with last night."

Of course last night was the answer. It was the night that felt like it would never fucking end. Still, Niou was glad. Explaining last night was by far the easier of the two options. "We had a really good night at work. Shiraishi invited me over to his place to celebrate a little and we ended up drinking a bottle of wine."

"And having sex."

"Yeah." Niou wasn't going to deny it. He took a deep breath and went on. "Was it smart? No. I will fully admit that. But I'm not going to lie to you and say that it didn't happen either." Even if Niou felt like it, he couldn't. Not when the evidence covered his body. And that didn't even count in the fact that Niou wasn't sure he wanted to deny what had happened. It had been fun at the time and Shiraishi was a good friend. The guy was interested in Niou and if this fell apart, Niou knew he had options.

"Have you cheated on me before?"

Niou just stared. Of all the shit that had been going on, that was the part Yagyuu had chosen to focus on? "No. Last night was the first and only time."

Because it was and they had far more important shit to discuss than Niou's fidelity. It was actually pissing him off that that was the only part of the situation Yagyuu seemed concerned about. Niou looked over at his...yeah, still didn't know what to call the guy. "Do you trust me?"

"Should I?" Yagyuu responded. "I thought I could however I have to admit that now I am not so sure."

"Because of one fuck-up?" Niou asked. One stupid fucking mistake and he wasn't even sure if it was one because, well, "are we even still together?"

He hated to asked it but Niou knew it needed to be asked. The look on Yagyuu's face almost broke Niou's heart. Definitely not the best thing to have asked. "I'd assumed so since I'd never received word you considered us anything different."

"Do you realize just how impossible it is to get a hold of you?" Niou shook his head. "I don't want to make excuses but it's fucking impossible, Hiroshi. And it feels like whenever I do manage to see you or talk to you and we make plans, you cancel on me last minute."

"My school work is a priority," Yagyuu admitted.

"No, it's your only priority," Niou corrected. "It's all you seem to care about now. I'm honestly surprised you managed to find time in your busy schedule to even come tonight. Hell, I think I'd almost feel better if school work was your code phrase for fooling around with someone else."

If Niou were going for maximum damage, he'd found the perfect weak point. The look on Yagyuu's face said everything. There was no one else. For Yagyuu, there had never been anyone else.

Finally Yagyuu said it. They were both thinking it though. "We're only together because of our history."

"Sometimes I think so." Niou hated to admit it. "I mean, there are times when I want to take the next step with you." The box of money in Niou's room was a testament to that.

"And just what would be the next step?" It was cut how Yagyuu sounded so confused. "I do believe we've covered all the bases."

Not all. Niou remembered a position Shiraishi had showed him last night. Yoga did wonders for a person's flexibility, that's all he was saying. "I didn't mean sexually," Niou replied. "I meant...okay, don't laugh and just listen before you say anything, okay?"

Niou waited for a moment to see if Yagyuu would say something. When the brunet stayed quiet, Niou continued on. "Here's the deal...I've been saving money and finally got enough to get a place of my own. It wouldn't be the best place but it's enough to cover the first few months. Basically it's just a stupid idea but I was thinking about us living together."

"My parents wouldn't allow it."

Ugh. Did Yagyuu have to be so frustrating? "Okay, fine, it'd officially be mine anyway and you'd just end up spending all your time there until you were basically living there too. It's a really fucking stupid idea so no need to tear it apart. And fuck it, even if we were living in the same place, it's not like we'd end up seeing each other anyway. All you do is school, school, and more school. That's why I've never mentioned it."

Yagyuu was quiet. Niou didn't look over to see the other's face. As it was, Niou could barely deal with looking at the tennis courts.

"You've put some thought into this." What that wasn't the worst response.

"Some, yeah," Niou agreed. "I think I started saving about a year ago." He hated that it had taken so long but it was expensive to live even in a crappy apartment.

The megane sighed softly. "How long do you see us lasting? Right now, I'm not sure."

"I know the feeling." Niou shrugged, still avoiding looking at Yagyuu. "It's hard to imagine life without you because it's been so long." The thought of being alone scared Niou more than he cared to admit. But fuck, the thought of being in a suffocating relationship was just as bad. Maybe worse. They were also at a tipping point. Niou could sense it.

"So, living together?" Yagyuu's tone was inquisitive. Interesting. Niou made himself focus on the net out on the court. There was a gentle breeze that made it move a little.

"It was just a thought," Niou finished. "I can't be the only one making changes though. You have to make this more of a priority." He wondered if Yagyuu was going to comment on the present and future tense. Right now, the present was a mess and the future was unknown. But speaking like there was a future had to be a good sign and he hoped Yagyuu would interpret it that way. Niou knew what Yagyuu was going to ask if they were going to have a future and it sucked because Shiraishi was a friend and Niou loved his job at iEcstasy/i. Working with his friends was a blast and leaving iEcstasy/i meant giving all of that up. Sure, it'd be for Yagyuu but it didn't seem fair if Niou was giving up everything for crap to stay like it was right now.

"You'd have to quit working for Shiraishi," Yagyuu said, speaking what Niou was thinking. Niou looked over, staring in shock. Had he really just heard that? The expression on Yagyuu's face was serious though. "That part is non-negotiable."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Niou was still trying to comprehend what he'd heard.

"Not right away," the megane replied. "In a few months though..."

"It's a possibility," Niou finished. Still, there was one part of this that he needed to say. "You have to change too."

"I will do my best," Yagyuu answered.

Niou stood up. "Sorry. That's not an acceptable answer. If you're serious, I'm going to need more than that because how else am I going to know that things aren't just going to end up back as they are now? If you want it to work, I'm going to need some kind of a promise."

It was a dirty thing for Niou to request. Yagyuu was a stickler for keeping his word to those he liked and respected. Niou knew that for him to make that request meant Yagyuu would go to any lengths to keep his word. But it was true. Niou knew he needed to hear more than a promise of change, that he needed actual change to happen. "If you can do that, I'll call Shiraishi right now and give my notice."

Yagyuu stood as well. He was quiet until he finally said it. "Call him."

Niou turned, eyebrow raised. "Is that your way of promising to change?"

"Yes."

He never knew one little word could sound so wonderful. Niou pulled out his phone, scrolling through his contacts until he found Shiraishi. He stood close to Yagyuu so they could both hear in keeping with the idea of no secrets.

"Never gotten a call from you this late, Babe," Shiraishi practically purred. "Ready for another round?"

"About that..." Niou started, not entirely sure how to explain everything.

Luckily he didn't have to. "Masaharu will be working for until the end of the month," Yagyuu answered for him. Niou was almost amused to see the brunet's eye twitch. Apparently his boyfriend, because yeah that was the right name for Yagyuu, was capable of jealousy. It was a good look on Yagyuu.

"What?" Shiraishi sounded confused, not that Niou blamed the guy one bit. "Who is this?"

"His boyfriend," Yagyuu replied.

The silence that followed was heavy. Niou slipped his free hand into Yagyuu's. "I'll be at iEcstasy/i until the end of the month," he repeated. Glancing over at the brunet, he added, "and until them, I'm only working with Akaya and Oshitari. If it's you and me, Akaya's has to be working too."

That was hard for Niou to say. He was really restricting himself and he didn't want to put Shiraishi in this complicated position. Yagyuu hadn't asked for Niou to not work with Shiraishi and if Niou felt like being honest, he said that more for his own benefit. After what had happened, Niou wasn't sure he trusted himself alone with Shiraishi even if they were working. The tiny smile on Yagyuu's face said it all though.

"Nothing I could say or do is going to be able to tempt you otherwise, is it?"

"Afraid not." Niou knew what this meant. He was going to lose all of the friends he'd made over the last couple of years. And he needed to look for a new job, the sooner the better. That apartment? Niou was smart enough to realize that potential plan was going to have to be put on hold and for more than just a few months.

He was giving up whatever could have been between himself and Shiraishi. Everything was now being left in Yagyuu's hands and that was a slightly terrifying feeling.

The next few days ended up being a whirlwind of activity. Niou barely noticed that Kirihara's vampire friend vanished. Sadly he was back a few days later but it was harder to see him as a threat. Well, up until Kirihara disappeared.

Niou was laying in Yagyuu's bed, curled up with the brunet. They were doing the whole 'spending more time together' thing. It was a strange feeling, one that was strange in a nice way. This was something they hadn't done in a long time. And then Niou heard his phone ring.

"It's work," he murmured. "What do you wanna bet Bakaya's bored?" Niou knew his friend was working tonight which was the only reason he answered the thing.

"What do you want, Brat?"

"I didn't know I was a brat."

Niou's eyes widened. That was not Kirihara's voice. It was Shiraishi. "...why are you calling?" He asked, trying but failing to not be suspicious. Yes it had been roughly a week since that mistake of a night and Niou had kept himself distanced from his boss. Shiraishi had returned the favor but for how, Niou really didn't know. Apparently a week was the limit to the guy's patience.

"Kirihara-kun's not here and I can't reach him," was the answer Niou received. "This place is slammed and I need a third here. Senri and I are barely able to keep up."

"That's not like him," Niou admitted. Kirihara had been kind of unreliable as a teenager but he'd gotten a lot better as he'd grown. The kid kept his commitments now. Because of that, Niou couldn't help but grow a little more suspicious of Shiraishi's motives. This was the first time they'd spoken and he hadn't seen the other either. Kirihara had mentioned Shiraishi wasn't exactly in the best of moods since. Was a week the guy's breaking point? That's what Niou was starting to wonder.

"Can you come in?" There it was. Niou just knew that question was going to pop up.

"Call Oshitari," Niou answered. He'd be working with Shiraishi and Chitose if he went in. That just wasn't doable. "I'll bug Akaya and see what's up." Niou hung up, not giving Shiraishi a chance to reply.

Yagyuu's voice was loud in Niou's ear as he asked what was going on. Niou turned so he could look at the other. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "Apparently Akaya did a no-show and Shiraishi wanted me to come in." The arm around Niou tightened. Jealous Yagyuu was a strange thing. He liked it but at the same time, it was new and he wasn't sure how to handle it. "Chill," Niou reassured as he pulled up Kirihara's number. "You heard what I told him."

"I'm not allowed to be upset that you're first on his list?"

Niou could hear the challenge in the question but ignored it as he listened to Kirihara's phone continue to ring. Eventually it went through to voicemail. "Call me," Niou ordered, starting to wonder if something had happened to the kid.

Going through his contacts, he finally answered Yagyuu's challenge. "There are only four possibilities. One's with him, the other's missing. I don't know why I was called first. Maybe out of habit?"

Once he found Marui's number, he called. "What do you want?" The redhead was cross sounding when he answered.

"You hear from Akaya?" Niou was really hoping the kid had gone over to Marui's and just forgotten he was supposed to work. It was stupid and unlike him but a possibility he didn't want to rule out.

The crossness was replaced by confusion. "No. Why?"

"No clue," Niou admitted. "Boss called looking for him. Apparently the kid did a no-show." He gave a little sigh and sat up. "I'll try his sister but if you hear from him, tell him to call me."

"Yeah, no problem."

Niou was really starting to not like this. It didn't help that the last time he could actually remember seeing the kid, he'd been hanging out with that vampire again. Things only went from confusing to worse after he called Kirihara's sister. He'd never come home. They'd been hoping he had been with Niou. It wasn't exactly an unreasonable assumption. Kirihara did that from time to time, usually when he was upset with someone in his family.

So he lied and told Kirihara's sister to not worry. Niou told them that Kirihara would probably show up soon. Did Niou believe this? No, if he were being honest, he didn't. His gut was telling him that there was some supernatural tomfoolery going on.

In that moment, Niou made a decision. "I need to tell you something and you have to believe me no matter how crazy I sound," he started, his expression uncharacteristically serious.

Yagyuu's eyes darkened. "Masaharu..."

"It's not that," Niou assured. He knew exactly where Yagyuu's mind had gone, thinking about the recent mess with Shiraishi. "It's...something happened years ago when Akaya was in the hospital."

Yagyuu did not relax. Niou curled up, hugging his boyfriend tightly. He could still remember the way Yukimura stared and how disturbing it had felt. It was sheer reflex how he ended up clinging to Yagyuu. "Remember how he'd always talk about that 'Mura'?"

"Vaguely." Niou admitted it was a huge comfort to feel the word rumble through his boyfriend's chest.

"I met Mura one night when I went to set a few booby traps in Akaya's hospital room."

"Why is this relevant now?" Yagyuu sounded almost amused. He hadn't relaxed any but at least he seemed amused.

"This Mura, actually his name was Yukimura. He introduced himself to me. He just had this really creepy fixation on Akaya. And..."

Niou sighed. There were times he'd wished and hoped that he'd just dreamed the entire encounter. "And?" Yagyuu prompted.

"He had an army of ghosts. Well, not an actual one because none of them would listen to him." Except for possibly the samurai one. "The room was full of them. He'd killed them all."

Yagyuu sounded amused as he asked, "a mass murderer with a fixation on Akaya and you never thought to mention this?'

Niou nodded. Shifting, he rested his head on Yagyuu's chest. The steady beating of the other's heart helped. "Yukimura wasn't human."

"Obviously." Yagyuu stroked Niou's hair. It was a comforting gesture. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because he was a vampire." Niou's face burned, embarrassed to actually say that out loud. "I didn't say anything because I didn't want you guys to think I was crazy." It was the simple and honest truth. Yes, Niou had done some vampire research years ago. His friends had figured it was phase and Niou never mentioned why he'd been so interested. Besides, ghosts were one thing. Vampires? A whole new level of crazy.

Yagyuu's hand paused for a moment. Closing his eyes, Niou went on. "There have been times over the years where I'd wondered if I'd dreamed it. A lot of times. I just wanted it to be all some bad dream. And after Yukimura...after he disappeared and Akaya got all depressed, it all just seemed to go away. The less Akaya brought it up, the easier it became to just forget."

"Masa, why are you bringing this up now?" Yagyuu sounded confused. Niou didn't blame him.

He took a deep breath. This was somehow both easy and hard to say. "Because Akaya's apparently vampire bait. A new one's been hanging around him lately."

"He's vampire bait?" Amusement replaced the confusion.

"It's the only logical conclusion," Niou shot back. "The new one's weird. He's got not ghosts."

"Then," Yagyuu paused. Niou knew the question that was about to be asked. "How do you/I know he's a vampire?" They asked at the same time.

"He looks weird. They all do." It was the only tell Niou had. He didn't understand why they looked the way they did but it was noticeable. "I don't know how to explain it. They've all got this weird faded color thing. And colors around them get all drained looking."

Now that he was thinking about it, Niou really wished that Yagyuu had managed to make his way over to the bar. He could have pointed out the vampire to Yagyuu and see if he'd noticed anything strange about Yuuta. After all, his boyfriend was unique too. Yagyuu couldn't see ghosts but he could sense their presence.

"You think this new vampire is somehow connected with tonight's vanishing act," Yagyuu summed up.

Niou kept his head resting on Yagyuu's heart. "How crazy do you think I am?" He didn't know how to feel when the guy didn't answer. It felt like forever. The only positive was that at least Yagyuu wasn't running away, screaming and yelling that Niou had lost his mind.

"Anyone else would have you committed," Yagyuu admitted. "I believe you."

Niou lifted his head to stare. "Really?"

Yagyuu nodded. "Yes, really. Do you want to get dressed and look for Kirihara?"

"You read my mind." Because honestly, yes, Niou wanted to go out and look for the kid. Maybe this was all some weird misunderstanding. Or maybe there was something weird and supernatural going on. Niou didn't know and didn't like that he didn't know.

And somehow, that's how Niou found himself at iEcstasy/i with Yagyuu for the very first time ever. His stomach kept turning over. Even though this was practically his second home, Niou felt uncomfortable doing this. It had been Yagyuu's idea to come though and Niou stuck close to his boyfriend. Yagyuu had insisted they come though, saying it was the last place that they knew for sure where Kirihara had been. The fact that the vampire frequented the place only made it more of an obvious starting place.

"Anything?" Yagyuu murmured. Niou shook his head. He tried to avoid looking at the bar where Shiraishi and Oshitari were working. No Chitose though which was odd. He'd been around earlier. Unfortunately, one of them would probably be their best lead about if the vampire had been in yet or not. Niou really did not want to go anywhere near the bar though. Coming in to not work on his night off because Kirihara was MIA and the whole situation with Shiraishi? It was like an invitation to what could only be Niou's personal hell.

Yagyuu sighed, resting a hand on the small of Niou's back. "We'll talk to one of the two at the bar then."

Niou leaned back. "You realize one of them is Shiraishi, right?" The situation was only getting worse. Only because this was for Kirihara. The kid was one of just a few people Niou would put himself in this sort of a situation for.

"Which one?"

"And the other is his childhood best friend."

"You just love to make a situation complicated, don't you?"

"You love me anyway." Niou took a deep breath and straightened up. This was the first time in the last few days that either of them had mentioned the word love. Just saying it out loud made Niou feel better. The fact that Yagyuu wasn't disputing the use of it made him feel even better. Reaching down, he took Yagyuu's hand and led the brunet over to the bar.

"Working after all?" Oshitari asked. Niou had felt he was the safer of the two options. "We could use you. Senri had to duck out because of some family thing."

"Sorry," Niou replied. "Actually we're working on tracking down Akaya. No one's seen or heard from him in about a day and the kid's not answering his phone for anyone."

Before Oshitari could answer, the situation took a turn for the worse. Shiraishi had noticed Niou and came over. He and his friend shared a look. Taking that as his cue, Oshitari retreated to the other end of the bar. The place wasn't packed like it apparently had been earlier. The lack of a busy crowd made Niou wonder just what Shiraishi's earlier motivations had been.

"Niou." His boss' tone was strange. And if felt weird to hear Shiraishi say his actual name instead of a pet name. For that alone, Niou was grateful. The way Yagyuu had been lately, Niou had no doubts that hearing someone call Niou a pet name would have pissed him off. Not entirely helpful to their Kirihara search. Niou tried to avoid looking at Shiraishi's face. It was obvious the other was trying to figure out this situation which was honestly what Niou was trying to do too.

"Shiraishi." Niou greeted back. He felt Yagyuu press up against him, the weight of a familiar pair of hands resting on Niou's waist. That was just enough to give Niou the confidence boost to act like himself. He relaxed against Yagyuu. "Akaya get in contact with you?"

It would have been hard to miss seeing Shiraishi's expression tighten at Yagyuu's possessive display. "I have heard from him." Shiraishi's voice was clipped and it was obvious this was going downhill fast. Niou shifted to lean on the bar.

"What about his regular, Yuuta?" Niou continued. "Has he come in?"

"Not yet," Shiraishi answered. "You cut your hair."

It was true. Niou had decided to cut off the ponytail a couple of days ago. He was still trying to adjust to it being gone but he was finding that he really didn't miss the hair. "Not the topic," Niou replied. He didn't feel like going in to his reasons why he'd made that decision, especially not with Shiraishi. "I'm not surprised. It's early for that guy. Do me a favor though? If he comes in, I want you to give him my number. Tell him to call me."

Niou could not stress that part enough. "He's been hanging out with Akaya lately so I want to talk to him."

Yagyuu pulled Niou back towards him. "Want out of here?" He murmured in Niou's ear.

"Just a moment," Niou answered. He reached over the bar in a move that would have gotten anyone else thrown out immediately. Not that Niou was grabbing any alcohol. He was after one of the many random pieces of paper Kirihara had scattered around the bar. The kid had a horrible memory for orders so he wrote anything more than two drinks down.

When it came to Yagyuu, there was no such thing as personal boundaries. It didn't bother Niou to just reach into his boyfriend's jacket to get a pen. "Here," he said when done. Niou had written his name and number on the paper as well as a brief message to call him immediately. Hopefully it would be enough. "This way if he shows up, you can just give him that. We'll be out for a bit but can be reached at that number."

Shiraishi hesitated for a moment before taking it. "Before you go...can I ask one question?"

Yagyuu answered for Niou. "Go ahead," he said. Niou felt the hands on his waist tighten. The brunet might have been saying one thing but his body was betraying how he actually felt. Once more, Niou was hit by the thought that a jealous Yagyuu was strange but cute.

"Why?"

The simple question made Niou pause. Shiraishi wasn't hiding how he felt either. The hurt was very clearly seen on Shiraishi's face. Niou was hit by a feeling of guilt that he'd managed to mostly avoid until now. What had happened hadn't just affected Yagyuu and himself. Niou hated to admit it but he'd taken advantage of his friend's crush. And after they'd had sex, Niou had completely shut the guy out of his life. It was a really shitty thing to do.

Niou didn't know what to say or do. He leaned against Yagyuu, trying to absorb some sort of strength from the brunet. Yagyuu had frozen, obviously curious to hear Niou's response. The brunet knew some of it but not all. Niou didn't even know all of why he'd done it. "It was...fun," he tried to explain. "Hiroshi's my other half though."

Yeah, he'd definitely screwed that up. Niou tried again. "You're an awesome guy but I've already got the best person for me. I mean, if things had turned out different, then yeah there could have been something but that's not the case and it's not going to be."

Niou turned around so he didn't have to see whatever expression was on Shiraishi's face. "Come on, there's a few more places I want to check," he told Yagyuu. "Let's go."

"He's pretty," Yagyuu commented once they were outside.

"And if he knew even half the stuff you know about me, he'd run away screaming and trying to get me put in a mental asylum," Niou replied. "Akaya tends to park at this place a few blocks from here. It's a long shot but since we're close it wouldn't hurt to take a look."

They did find something. Kirihara's bike was where he usually parked. The vehicle was cold. Niou went just as cold inside. Even worse, Yagyuu had turned pale. That scared Niou even more than finding Kirihara's bike. "You okay?" Niou asked, reaching over to take the other's hand.

"Something bad happened here," Yagyuu replied, gripping Niou's hand so tightly it hurt. "I can't tell what but...it was bad." He shivered. It was strange to see something affecting Yagyuu so much. "I think someone died here recently."

"How recent?" Niou's voice sounded distant even to his own ears.

"Within the last week." They didn't have proof but Niou just knew this had to do with Kirihara. "We need to leave, Masa."

"Yes, Masa, you really should."

Niou knew that voice. He didn't bother hiding the shock on his face as he slowly turned towards the voice. He knew he who would find but it was still surprising to come face to face with "Yukimura."

The vampire gave a little clap in delight. "You remembered me."

Behind the vampire, Niou spied all the ghosts. He gave an acknowledging nod in Sanada and Sadaharu's direction. Sanada didn't respond but Sadaharu drifted over. "You're hard to forget," Niou decided to admit. "Believe me, I tried but the brain likes to remember things like meeting vampires."

It was dark in the parking garage but Niou was sure he'd seen a flicker of displeasure flash across the vampire's face. "You know," Niou kept talking, "I've had a few years to think and have a bunch of questions. Mind if I ask?"

"Go ahead, Niou Masaharu," Yukimura answered.

Except it wasn't Yukimura who spoke. Yagyuu's grip had tightened even more. Niou glanced over, seeing his boyfriend's eyes glazed over. He'd been the one to speak but Niou knew, he just knew, that Yukimura had done something. The hand holding his felt suffocating and Niou tried to pull away.

"No, no, Masa," Yagyuu's voice told him. It was mocking him.

"What'd you do to Hiroshi?" Niou meant it to come out as threatening but even to himself it just sounded afraid.

"You two are an odd pair," Yukimura replied, speaking with his own body. "You have a strange mind I cannot enter and he's managed to make anything about you impossible to find out."

"You're in his head."

Sanada nodded. Sometimes it was good to have a couple of additional sources. Thank you ghosts. And apparently Niou was somehow shielded from the vampire. It was news to him. Then again, so was the fact that vampires could freaking enter peoples heads and make them do things. Niou started to wonder if that was how Kirihara had become so obsessed with Yukimura. That idea pissed Niou off even more.

Niou shifted, stretching his arms above his head. "Want to move this talk somewhere else?" He suggested. "I know of a cafe not too far from here."

"Do you really think witnesses will make you any safer?" Yukimura sounded almost amused.

"Tell him you speak for me."

The human stared at Sanada. "Really?" This was a first. He'd never had a ghost want to use him as a mouthpiece before.

Sadaharu was staring too. "Breaking your silence after all these years?"

"Tell Seiichi that you speak for me," Sanada repeated himself.

"Who are you to be that important?" Niou asked, genuinely curious. The confusion on Yukimura's face was just the cherry on top.

"Making up a conversation just makes you appear as if you've lost your mind," Yukimura said, trying to gain control of the situation.

Niou smirked and started walking, putting all his hopes that this would work. He still needed to figure out how to free Yagyuu and find out what had happened to Kirihara. Hopefully this wasn't the world's biggest fuck-up. He looked back. "So, coming or not, Seiichi?"

Not even a fool or a blind man could have missed seeing the effect that name had on Yukimura. Niou kept talking. "Sanada says he wants to talk so if you want the chance, you might as well come."

The vampire looked around for a moment, eyes wide and hopeful. When he saw only himself, Yagyuu, and Niou, his eyes darkened. "You lie," he hissed. If looks could kill, Niou knew he'd have died several times in the last few moments.

"Sometimes," Niou admitted with a shrug as he turned back to leave. "But what purpose would I have for lying to you right now? You've got Hiroshi." And potentially Kirihara.

Yukimura relaxed, even smiled a little. "I do, don't I?" He purred, resting a hand on Yagyuu's arm.

Niou led the way to a little 24 hour cafe a few blocks away. He'd been here before. It was close to work and stayed open all hours. It was wonderful, at least, usually. This time was a tad more stressful. Yukimura's ghost army stayed outside, the two exceptions being Sanada and Sadaharu. Niou wondered what was so special about these two, that they were still so vivid looking compared to most ghosts and had retained so much of themselves while being tied to the vampire.

"What's the deal with you two?" Niou murmured as Sadaharu sat next to him. Yukimura and Hiroshi sat across from them, Sanada standing between Niou and the vampire. Strangest group ever, Niou thought. He tried not to laugh and only just succeeded.

The ghost adjusted his glasses. "We're closely tied to Yukimura, Sanada even more than myself."

"Seiichi, not Yukimura," Sanada answered.

Did these two ever stop? Niou rolled his eyes, wishing for a moment someone else could hear to two bickering ghosts.

Niou was almost glad when Yukimura spoke. "I will admit I have only met other like yourself, he a few decades ago."

"Myself," the ghost sitting next to Niou replied. "Sadaharu Inui. I had the same ability as you, to communicate with the dead."

"Inui," Niou repeated, saying it more to himself. Why did that name sound familiar? It seemed important but he couldn't place from where.

"What are you?" The vampire asked, repeating his words from their first meeting years ago.

Niou shrugged. "As far as I know, I'm human." He glanced over Sadaharu. "You?"

"I am myself," Yukimura answered.

"I wasn't talking to you." Niou dismissed the vampire. "Well?" He prompted the ghost.

"All of my data indicated that I was human," Sadaharu replied.

Yukimura huffed in annoyance. "You really have lost your mind, haven't you?"

"Some might say that." Niou stretched, glad they were being left alone. It was probably the vampire's doing though so he wasn't entirely glad. "So, why'd you kill him?"

"I've never killed in my life."

Niou burst out laughing. No one looked their way. Yep, the vampire was definitely doing something and that was scary to know. "I'm the wrong person to try and pull that with," he managed to choke out being between laughs. "You don't seem to realize it but you've got this huge crowd of ghosts that follow you around."

The vampire's eyes widened in surprise for a fraction of a second. And then Niou could almost see the pieces clicking into place.

"You see the dead."

"And speak to them. Well, anyone can do that to be honest. I just get to hear their answers." Niou ignored the annoyed look Sadaharu was giving him. Obviously the ghost had wanted that to be some big reveal. Doing that would have been boring though and it was going to come out soon enough anyway.

"Genichirou?"

Who knew a vampire could sound so almost heartbreakingly sad? Niou almost felt sorry for the vampire. Almost being the key word. The vampire still held Yagyuu captive and Kirihara was missing, possibly dead. Those two things were huge sympathy killers.

"He's right there," Niou replied, gesturing to the old ghost's spot. "You answer my questions and I'll be your go-between."

The vampire's eyes flashed black for what felt like a very long moment in time. "Acceptable," he finally agreed. "However I will answer three questions."

"Are you going to let Hiroshi go?" Because getting Yagyuu free was the first and biggest priority. Sorry Kirihara, Niou mentally apologized to the kid.

Yukimura took a moment to answer. "I haven't decided yet," he finally answered. "Next."

Niou felt like cursing. He'd already guessed that would be the outcome and that the vampire would play like this. Instead of acting impulsively, Niou took a deep breath before he asked his next question. "Do you know what happened to Akaya?"

The expression in Yukimura's eyes said it all. "I'm afraid that he's one. Another vampire's taken our sweet Akaya away from us."

So Niou's guess was right. He frowned, hating himself for guessing that. Niou took a few moments to collect himself. He closed his eyes before continuing. "My next question has two parts," he warned. "Let me ask both before you answer."

He met the vampire's eyes. "Will you help me find Yuuta and avenge Akaya?"

On his own, Niou wasn't sure of his ability to track down and kill a vampire. He hated working with Yukimura but it was his best option.

Yukimura laughed. "You are a very interesting person, Niou Masaharu." He leaned back, eyes twinkling with amusement. "I just might like you after all. The answer to both of those is yes. I had already planned on taking care of him but I could use an assistant or two."

The vampire stroked Yagyuu's hand. Niou bristled, hating to see someone else touch his boyfriend. "Reckless children like that boy need to be controlled," Yukimura finished. He held his hand out.

As Niou shook the vampire's hand, he couldn't help but feel as if he had made a deal with the devil.

-ifin/i-