Chapter Two: An evening out

(Two days earlier)

The radio hummed gently in the background, adding to the serene state of mind of a man who had just taken his daily hit.

Shinji sat half slumped against the wall, his drug-soaked brain only just able to allow him semi-coherent thought as the glass slid from his hand to shatter on the floor. The sound was muffled, failing to break through his tranquil paradise. There were other sounds, too. He could hear his colleague scolding him and the buzz of the aquariums, the filters working as normal and the sound of the traffic below him. Shinji always came up onto the roof to get high. There was something appealing about taking his drugs in potentially what could be a lethal situation should he stumble too close to the edge. However, his road to self-destruct was coming to a swift end. Shinji's debt was mounting up and dimly he was aware of angry voices in the room behind the balcony and, as anticipated, seconds later two of Chan's goons burst out onto the roof.

The first one was tall and was wearing a tie-dyed tight shirt and a pair of torn jeans. Multiple scars on his arms and face were clearly visible and an ugly gash ran from the top of his cheek, breaking only at his left eye, to run into his hairline. His hair was greasy and black. It was cut short and slicked back with gel.

The second one was shorter and was possibly one of Chan's newest recruits for he bared none of the same scaring as the first. He was dressed in similar clothes, although his shirt was long-sleeved. His hair was dark brown and was cut just above his ears. His face was narrow and his eyes blue-green, suggesting his Gaijin origin. This would have surprised Shinji a few weeks ago but it was common knowledge now that Chan was recruiting all foreigners who were prepared to listen to him. It was part of his scheme to dominate the City and Shinji was well aware that the Japanese gangs didn't like it one bit.

The taller one grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and hauled him to his feet, whilst the other knocked the remains of his using from the small table and onto the floor whilst swearing in Mandarin.

Shinji was not in the state of mind to be afraid by these actions and allowed a lazy smile to spread across his face.

"You're late with your payment." The taller one snarled, shaking him for good measure. "Again."

"Ah…" Shinji nodded, barely understanding these words. "Well… things have been a little slow around here lately and--"

"We've taken what's in the till." The other one snapped impatiently. "But Xiong wants the rest. Tonight."

Xiong was Chan's right hand man and the very mention of him would have struck fear into Shinji's heart, had be been clean.

"Screw Xiong. I'm broke." He swore in Japanese. The men, only vaguely understanding him, were angered by his lack of respect and seconds later a fist connected with Shinji's lower jaw.

They released him as he was hit and he went sprawling back onto the ground. This pain did register, although he was unable to follow the movement of the men above him. A second blow followed the first, this one aimed at his stomach. Gasping, Shinji curled into himself; coughing painfully as a third kick caught him in the chest.

"That's just a warning." The shorter one snarled. "If you don't have the money then Xiong will do a lot worse to you."

"Tonight." The taller one landed one last kick to his stomach before the door clattered, indicating that they had left him alone.

Shinji sighed painfully, feeling unable to move just yet. Their ultimatum should have frightened him but right now his drug high was blotting out any fear and, for this, he was grateful. He wasn't sure how long he was lying there until he heard the balcony door open again.

"Nii-chan!"

Shinji had expected his co-worker to come out and give him grief over the loss of takings but he wasn't altogether surprised to see Sho either. His younger brother was always coming to see him, mainly to plead with him to let Sho help him with his addiction. Addiction… Shinji didn't like that word. It seemed dirty and somewhat inappropriate. Escapism was what he sought and drugs gave it to him. If he were given a true reason for living in this world then he was sure that he could find it within himself to give up. As it was he couldn't so he continued. Shinji wasn't stupid, despite what Sho thought. He knew that the drugs could very well kill him but death would be a release and Shinji secretly longed for it. He felt as though he had nothing. When he was growing up he had envisioned that he and Sho would run the City by the time they were in their twenties. This might have been an unreachable dream but it had been something for them both to hold onto whilst living in the gutter.

Then Kei had come into their lives.

Shinji's lip curled slightly at the thought of Kei. Even if Kei hadn't have been a vampire, he probably still would have hated him for Kei had taken Sho away from him. Kei had been the brother to Sho that Shinji never could be. Kei could protect Sho, could look out for him and Sho had clung to the vampire, even as a young boy. He had looked up to Kei whilst growing up and it had been Kei whom Sho had gone to every time he needed advice or help. Shinji had been made to feel useless, cast aside and that was what had sparked his drug using.

Of course now that they were older, Shinji had hoped that Sho's feelings towards Kei might change, that he might see Kei for the monster that he really was. This, however, had not happened and instead they had become closer still. Sho had even chosen to live with Kei rather than Shinji and this had hurt him deeply, even if he hadn't outwardly displayed any signs of it having done so.

Kei's feelings for Sho, however, had changed. Shinji had seen the way that the vampire occasionally looked at Sho. He wasn't exactly sure what he was seeing in Kei's eyes, but it certainly went beyond brotherly affection.

"Nii-chan!" He was drawn from his thoughts when Sho knelt down at his side and tentatively reached out to touch his shoulder.

"Get off." Shinji growled, making a half-hearted attempt to brush him away. "I'm fine."

Speaking in this rough tone caused him to cough again. Tasting blood from his jaw in his mouth, Shinji grimaced and spat, a sticky trail of salvia and blood dribbling down his chin as he sat up.

"You don't look fine. Have you been using again?"

"What do you think?"

"That you're in trouble. I saw Chan's men leaving. Why did you get mixed up with them, Nii-chan?"

"The return is good." Shinji replied wearily; they had been having this conversation time and time before and he was growing tired of it.

A few months ago he had first struck a deal with Chan's men. Buying from them was less risky than buying the shit that the Japanese gangs sold. Chan knew where to get the good stuff, although it carried a hefty price tag. Up until a few weeks ago, Shinji had been able to keep up with the payments but, he hadn't been lying, and business at the store had been slow. He was too proud to ask Sho for help and had begun bargaining with Chan instead. Chan had supplied him with drugs to sell on to pay off his debt but Shinji had started to get withdrawal and had taken some for himself. Of course he had not been able to account for the missing stash or pay for it so Chan grew impatient. He had been expecting today's visit for a while now, although he hadn't realised that things were this serious.

"Screw the return." Sho was saying now, clearly angered by Shinji's dealings. "You could get yourself into serious trouble."

"I know what I'm doing." Shinji growled. "Now did you just come to bitch to me about my affairs that do not concern you in the slightest, or did you actually want something?"

Sho looked so hurt at this that Shinji almost felt guilty. Almost.

"We're going out tonight, the entire gang that is. I wondered if you were perhaps going to be in a fit state to join us?"

This was unexpected, especially after his harsh words and Shinji frowned, squinting up at Sho in disbelief. "Why?"

"Because I'm worried about you. All you do is sit up here getting high."

"Perhaps I like getting high."

"Perhaps." Sho allowed softly, "But you don't."

This hit a nerve and Shinji choked down a sharp retort and said instead: "The whole gang?"

"Yeah."

"Including the monster?"

"Don't call him that. If you actually bothered to get to know him, you'd see that he's nothing of the kind." Sho looked genuinely hurt and Shinji relented slightly.

"Fine, count me in."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Shinji grumbled, not really realising what he was saying. At this moment he would say anything to get rid of Sho for his younger brother was stubbornly chipping away at his drug-induced euphoria and Shinji didn't like it one bit.

His ploy appeared to have worked and Sho, looking satisfied, stated that he would be by to pick Shinji up just after eight. Shinji nodded, not really having much sense to say anything else and he was simply keen on getting Sho to leave at this point. The concern that his younger brother displayed was irritating at times and Shinji also hated to be pitied. Especially by Sho.

"I'll see you tonight then." Sho prompted him.

"Fine." Shinji waved him away with a hand.

"Take care, Nii-chan." Was his soft reply but Shinji didn't bother to answer him.


When Kei woke it was dark. His body clock habitually woke him just ask the sun was going down but lately, because of his lack of blood, he had sometimes been sleeping well into the night. Despite what Sho thought, Kei didn't need blood to survive; he needed it to be strong and, provided he rested, he could do without it, although he was dangerously weak. The craving was ever present but Kei chose to ignore it as he sat up. His clothes were soaked with sweat, a product of reliving Luka's death over and over in his dreams, he thought bitterly, as were the near dried tears on his cheeks.

He could hear Sho moving around in the kitchen so Kei got up quietly and padded the short distance down the hall to the bathroom. He felt a little stronger this evening and, heartened at the prospect of going out and doing something other than killing, Kei felt his sombre mood quickly lifting.

He shut the bathroom door behind him with a click that did not go unnoticed by his companion.

"Kei?" Sho's voice echoed from further down the hall, tinged with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Fine… just taking a shower." Kei replied; his voice stronger than it had been yesterday.

Satisfied at this, Sho moved further away again and back into the kitchen.

Kei discarded the clothes he was wearing in the linen basket and showered quickly, knowing that Sho would want to leave to pick up Toshi soon. Normally, Kei liked to have a bath afterwards, but today there wouldn't be time.

He hurried and as he stepped out of the cubicle, he could already hear Sho calling him. Kei sighed and dried himself off. He wrapped the towel round his waist and exited the bathroom. As he went into his bedroom, Kei caught sight of Sho coming out of the kitchen again. He seemed apprehensive but Kei didn't read too much into this; he assumed that Sho was merely worrying about him again.

He selected his favourite red tank top and baggy black trousers to wear and then slung his red jacket over his shoulders. It was a warm night but due to his lack of feeding, Kei felt even the tiniest chill in the air.

"Kei?" Sho called from outside his door and then the door swung open; Sho was never one to knock.

His blue eyes were, for once, full of seriousness, and he came to a stop just in front of the petit vampire, studying him carefully before continuing. "Are you sure you're okay? If you don't feel up to tonight then you don't have to come…"

"I'm fine." Kei reiterated. Evidently his early words of reassurance hadn't been enough as he had assumed.

"Really?"

"Really." Kei reached out to touch Sho's arm in a bid to offer further reassurance but the younger man discreetly shied away from this gesture. He had been like that for a while now, Kei had noted, always moving away. Of course guys rarely even embraced but when Sho was growing up and all through his teenage years it had been the norm between them and Kei didn't know quite what to make of this sudden change in attitude.

"Kei." Sho now appeared apprehensive, a lot more so than before. "I saw Nii-chan today. He's not doing so great so I invited him, too. I thought… I thought if he saw that there were other more important things than getting high then it might get through to him."

Kei inwardly groaned at this. As far as human beings went, Shinji wasn't the nastiest that Kei had ever met but he was certainly one of the only ones who could invoke such dislike inside of him. It was very hard to believe that Shinji and Sho were brothers for, in Kei's eyes, they couldn't be more different and the very idea of spending an evening with Shinji and putting up with his snide remarks when Sho wasn't listening was almost nauseating.

However, no matter what Kei's feelings for Shinji, he was still Sho's brother and was important to him and thus Kei put up with him.

"It's okay isn't it?" Sho prompted, well aware of their mutual distaste for each other.

"Of course." Kei answered, nodding at the same as though to doubly confirm this to Sho.

"Thanks." Sho brightened again. "If you're ready then shall we go? I said to Toshi that I'd pick him up at around eight. He'll get mad if we're not on time."

Without waiting for a reply, Sho turned round and hurried towards the door. Kei smiled, a genuine smile, and moved quickly after him. Even with Shinji tagging along, he was still looking forward to tonight.


The ride to Son and Yi-Che's house was fairly uneventful. Sho had sensibly suggested that Shinji sit in the passenger seat and that had left Kei and Toshi with the backseats. This was fine by Kei and most of the talking was done by the pizza delivery boy anyway.

When they arrived at the house, Son greeted them, explaining that Yi-Che was still 'slaving away' in the kitchen.

The apartment that the two of them lived in was a little more spacious than Kei and Sho's own. It had the same number of bedrooms but a small study as well. The front room doubled up as a dining room and Kei noted that a place at the table had also been set for him. It was a kind gesture on Yi-Che's part despite them all knowing that he wouldn't be joining them.

The others immediately parked themselves in front of the television. Toshi, Sho and Son sat on the royal blue sofa whilst Shinji claimed possession of one of the armchairs. Kei hung back; content to listen in amusement to their conversation.

"Hey Sho." Toshi said after a few minutes, a hint of mischievousness entering his voice. "Have you ever thought of becoming a racing driver?" He nodded to the motor racing that was currently on the television.

"No." Sho frowned, missing the intended humour. "Why?"

"Well you drive just like them and you're always crashing into things."

"Oi!" Sho pouted and reached over to get his friend in a headlock.

"Argh! Sho!" Toshi flailed about, narrowly missing hitting Son in the face with a hand. The Taiwanese laughed as Toshi finally managed to work himself free and said:

"Don't take it so offensively, Sho. Driving a racing car actually requires a lot of skill, quite the opposite from what Toshi was saying."

"He's right!" Toshi agreed, nodding vigorously. "We've finally found something you're good at! You could make a lot of money!"

"What do you mean by 'finally'?" Sho rounded on Toshi, although it was all intended in good nature.

"Yeah don't be so hard on him." Shinji spoke up from his chair, his voice tinged with an underlying bitterness and Kei could tell that he wanted to make trouble. "Sho could do anything he wants to… if it weren't for certain obligations holding him back."

Kei knew what Shinji meant by 'certain obligations' but he chose wisely not to act upon it.

An awkward silence ensured and the vampire deemed it best if he simply removed himself from the situation.

Explaining that he was going to see if Yi-Che needed a hand, he only caught part of the conversation that followed. Sho was rounding on Shinji and Toshi was trying to diffuse the situation by making out that he hadn't understood what Shinji was implying.

"Of course Sho can't go off and be a famous racing driver. If he did, what would happen to us? We still need Sho to bail us out of trouble all the time!"

Ignoring the words that followed, Kei went into the kitchen.

Yi-Che was a pretty girl; he had noted this from the moment he had first laid eyes on her that evening in the park. However, all too often her face was marred by a sadness that was only truly lifted when she was painting. Her smile could light up her face were it only given more of a chance to. Of course, Yi-Che had, had much pain in her life and Kei sometimes marvelled at how well she had dealt with it considering.

Kei knew that Yi-Che had a crush on him and that his coming to help her would only fuel that crush and irritate Sho who had feelings for her, but Kei had thought it best so he cleared his throat and made his presence behind her known.

Yi-Che gasped for she had not heard him come into the kitchen. The china plate that she was holding slipped from her grasp as she whirled around and would have fallen on the floor had Kei not caught it.

He was slower than normal, although to a human he would have moved as no more than a blur, and the plate almost hit the floor but his fingers closed around it just in time.

Yi-Che had never seen any display of the abilities that his curse granted him, but she wasn't easily fazed and she gave him a shy smile and dipped her head in a silent 'thank you' as Kei handed the plate back to her.

"I'm sorry." He apologised in Mandarin, feeling bad for having frightened her. "I wondered if you needed a hand in here, that's all?"

She smiled gratefully and nodded to the rice that she had been stirring. He stepped up and took the spoon that she offered him and began stirring the rice. He hadn't prepared food in a long time. Occasionally he had cooked for Sho and Toshi when they were growing up but mostly they managed to look after themselves in that area. Even when he was human, Kei had rarely prepared a meal.

They worked in silence but it was not uncomfortably so. Kei found that he kept having to check with her whether the rice was ready and when it was he helped her serve it onto the plates.

Yi-Che had prepared a curry and the table was set in Western style, with knives and forks rather than chopsticks. Kei helped her to carry the plates into the front room and set them down on the table. She then gestured to the boys that they could come over and sit down.

Sho must have alerted Son that Shinji would be joining them, as the right number of places had been set. Kei found himself sitting with Yi-Che on his left and Sho on his right. Shinji was the other side of Sho and then Toshi and Son was the other side of Yi-Che.

Shinji's snide remarks of before had been forgotten as the others started to eat. Kei helped himself to a glass of water from the pitcher in the middle of the table. He felt a little left out as they all complimented Yi-Che on her cooking and the conversation stayed on the topic of food for a while.

"This certainly makes a change from the takeout that Toshi usually brings." Sho was saying, teasing his friend a little.

"What's wrong with my pizza?" Toshi challenged in reply, but knowing it was all in good humour.

"Well for one thing you usually pick up the drugged ones by mistake and then we all go hungry!"

Kei smiled, amused by this banter but also sensing Yi-Che's eyes on him still. She was obviously concerned that he was not joining in and Kei winced; the last thing he wanted was for attention to be drawn to him again.

"Does Yi-Che cook for you every night?" Kei asked Son, trying to make conversation now.

"Most nights." Son replied to this. "She's learned a lot of different recipes from all round the world. She's a great cook as well as a great artist."

"She is." Sho had finished riling Toshi and caught onto Kei and Son's discussion instead. "We should come and eat round here more often."

Yi-Che smiled and nodded, indicating that she would like that very much.

Very soon everyone had finished eating and Kei helped Yi-Che clear the plates away. The only one who hadn't eaten, apart from Kei, was Shinji. Kei suspected that his lack of appetite was a side effect from his drug abuse combined with simple bloody-mindedness. Shinji could be making a point for all Kei knew and this annoyed him if this was the case; after all he was only going to upset Yi-Che who had done nothing to him at all.

Kei still wasn't feeling very social and so he volunteered to clean the dishes away. Evidently Sho was keen to impress Yi-Che and he decided to help, too. Toshi smirked and elbowed him in the side when Yi-Che silently thanked him and went to join the others in the front room. Sho looked annoyed and went to swat Toshi over the head but his friend quickly moved away laughing.

Sho claimed the washing and left Kei to dry up the utensils. They were quiet for a few minutes and then Sho broke the silence between them as asked again if Kei was feeling all right.

"Fine." Kei assured him, although in reality fatigue was beginning to creep up on him again.

"We thought we'd give that movie a miss." Sho then said, far from happy but not as determined to push Kei on the subject as he was before. "Son wants to go for a drive instead."

Kei shrugged, stating that he was indifferent to the change of plan. He actually preferred the idea of going for a drive but he wasn't about to voice this preference.

Again silence followed this until Sho scooped up a handful of bubbles from the washing up and threw them in Kei's face.

"Oi!" Kei complained as he tried to brush the bubbles out of his hair with one hand whilst reaching over to retaliate with his own handful of soapy water.

Sho jumped backwards in a bid to avoid this onslaught and laughed when Kei's aim fell short and bubbles landed on the floor. "You missed." He declared, "But for even the attempt, I'm going to have to make you pay."

Kei chuckled as Sho lunged forward to tackle him but he slipped on the wet floor. Sho yelled out in surprise his legs slipped from under him but at the last minute he caught hold of Kei's jacket and pulled the vampire down with him.

Sho landed on his back and Kei sprawled halfway on top of him. Immediately pushing himself up, Kei was concerned for Sho but he needn't have been. Sho laughed and propped himself up on is elbows. For a brief moment Kei was so tempted to lean forward and close the small gap between them and to press a kiss to Sho's lips. This urge was so strong that Kei really had to fight with himself and, after a few moments, he managed to move away.

Acting as though nothing had happened, Kei scooped up some of the fallen bubbles and rubbed them into Sho's hair before returning to the washing up. The younger man complained at this but Kei only smirked as he watched Sho trying to brush them out of his fringe. Kei's smirk softened at this action and their eyes met, Sho's own irritated look turning confused and searching.

"Hey guys?" Son suddenly appeared in the doorway, dispelling any awkwardness soon enough. "Are you done yet?"

Sho shook his head. "Not really."

Son smiled at the mess and then shrugged, "Why don't we leave it until we get back?"

"Okay." Sho agreed before snatching the tea towel from Kei to dry his hands on. The moment between them was all but lost and, for this, Kei was glad. Had he done anything then he knew that Sho would have probably never forgiven him and he didn't want to risk their friendship for unrequited affections.

Putting all such feelings to the back of his mind, Kei followed his friends from the room.


Kei knew where they were heading well before they reached their destination. He knew as soon as they reached the edge of Mallepa and left the busy city behind. He was sandwiched in the back of the car between Toshi and Shinji; Yi-Che and Son were rather crushed in sharing the passenger seat beside Sho. Shinji had remained silent whilst Toshi, Son and Sho talked rather animatedly. Kei, too, had been quiet. He was starting to wish that he had gone home. He had never gone this long without a feed before and his body temperature had plummeted since they had started their drive. He was shivering and had pulled his jacket tighter around his body, trying to retain some heat even though the night was warm. The curious thing was that he didn't even feel hungry now; just exhausted. His eyes were drifting closed and it was only by sheer willpower that he had kept himself awake for as long as he had done.

Although he must have given into sleep at some point for when he awoke they had arrived at their destination; the ocean.

For Kei, visiting the beach always brought about mixed emotions. It caused him pain because it was here that he and Luka had shared their final moments together but also he felt some happiness for he had also shared a lot of good times with Sho and his friends and Luka, too. In fact, the first time he had ever been to the beach was with Luka back when he was still human.

Sho knew the details of Luka's death; the nightmares hadn't been something that Kei was able to hide for too long, but he somehow knew that going to the beach did not cause Kei any more pain than he was already feeling. Even after all his time, he still missed Luka terribly.

They parked on the sand and they all got out of the car. Yi-Che and Shinji hung back with Kei as Toshi produced a Frisbee from the boot of the car and then Son coaxed Yi-Che to join them a little further down the beach as they started their game.

"Nii-chan? Kei?" Sho called but Shinji only scowled at him and lit a cigarette, feeling the effects of withdrawal no doubt.

Kei shook his head in disgust and Sho took this to also be a decline and went back to his game. For a few minutes, the two remaining stood in silence, Kei leaning back against the car slightly as he fought off the fatigue that was creeping up on him again.

"He doesn't need you, you know." Shinji muttered, breaking the quiet between them. "He only lets you stay out of pity."

Kei sighed wearily at Shinji's attempt to rile him. He had heard it all before from the younger man. When Shinji wasn't high he was speaking these nasty little comments. Over the years, Kei had learned not to let them get to him but tonight he felt almost fragile and they penetrated deeper than they would normally. He had contemplated it more than once, that Sho pitied him. Kei knew that Sho pitied what he was and his lonely existence, but did he only make Kei feel wanted out of a sense of obligation? Kei had wondered from time to time. Despite his protests to the contrary, Sho was a very compassionate person, deep down, and perhaps he did feel in some sort of debt to Kei? The vampire desperately hoped that this wasn't the case for Sho was his everything. Without Sho he had nothing and Shinji knew it.

"You should do us all a favour and just clear off." Shinji continued to needle him. "We don't need you."

Kei snorted haughtily to this and shook his head. "If I leave then who will watch his back? You?"

"Yes. Me" Shinji answered quietly and without thinking. "I'm his brother."

"And a lot of use you are to him, too. You're usually so doped up on drugs that you can hardly stand. Sho and the others would be dead within hours with you watching his back." Kei had sworn he wouldn't rise to the bait but he couldn't help but fire back a retort to this. The lack of blood always made him tetchy and this evening was by no means the exception.

"Fuck you, Kei." Shinji eloquently replied, throwing down his cigarette and, surprising them both, by reaching out and grabbing hold of Kei's arm. Usually, Kei could twist free but right now he doubted that he had the strength.

"Leave Sho alone." Shinji threatened in a low voice. "You'll only end up hurting him."

He dug his fingers painfully into Kei's arm to accentuate his point, some merriment in his eyes as he assumed that he had one up on the ailing vampire.

This irritated Kei and he, against his better judgement, made eye contact with the younger man, as he said: "Let. Me. Go." After speaking, Kei let his mouth hang open ever so slightly so that Shinji could see his fangs that had fully unsheathed themselves, reacting to Kei's anger.

Shinji, as anticipated, was quick to release him. He had never seen Kei's fangs before and, as Kei knew would happen, he was scared into backing off.

"Monster." He hissed under his breath as he moved away, placing a good few metres between them. Kei only smirked at this.

They held an uneasy gaze between them until Sho broke through that by calling out: "Kei! Catch!" The vampire looked round to see the Frisbee sailing through the air towards him.

Recalling Sho's concern for him, Kei pushed away from the car and easily caught the blue disk in mid-flight and tossed it back in Sho's direction.

"Ow!" The younger man complained as the disk hit him in the stomach and he doubled over, grimacing a little in pain. "You don't have to use your strength you know!"

"I didn't." Kei called, the heaviness on his heart lifting momentarily. "That was a normal throw."

Son and Toshi burst into laughter at this whilst Sho only scowled. Even Yi-Che smiled at this.

"Why don't you join in then?" Sho recovered himself a few seconds later and asked.

"Okay." The vampire surprised them all by agreeing but as he moved to follow them back down the beach, it was suddenly as though the ground had been snatched from under him.

Kei let out a small gasp as the weakness in his limbs caused his legs to give out completely and he crashed to his knees, struggling against the relentless tide of dizziness that overcame him.

Kei knew that he was shaking and his fingers dug into the sand as though trying to grasp hold of something, anything to keep him from succumbing to it. He drew a racking breath but this ended in a hiss as his fangs dropped again without him consciously willing it.

"Kei!" He scented the human beside him and his head shot up, his neck arching backwards as his eyes opened wide with a combination of pain and starvation. His stomach began to knot up painfully as his severely weakened body began to fail him. Kei reached out and grasped Sho's shoulders, his fingernails digging into the young man's flesh until blood was drawn. Yet Sho did not flinch away. He steadied the vampire as Kei continued to convulse and hiss until dark spots began to blot his vision.

All he could feel was some momentarily relief as well as fear before he was falling limply into Sho's arms and unconsciousness stole him away.