Last chapter for now.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. All that goes to Takanaga-sensei.
Beta: elyrian
Warnings: language
Rating: R
Characters: Morinaga, Souichi
Note:It's an AU fic.

Chapter 10

After opening the door then slipping inside the bathroom and finally seeing Souichi Tatsumi again, Morinaga's resolve wavered. He knew he had to bring the human back to his own world, but he just couldn't.

'He's staying. For as long as I can get away with it.'

He wanted the human to stay forever even if he knew it was impossible. Not only because of his brother, but mainly because humans had a short life span. He wasn't all too keen on the thought of turning Tatsumi into a vampire. He wouldn't be as powerful as Morinaga was, resembling more an infant with his powers and senses, and would be easy prey if not taken care of by his maker. Morinaga wasn't ready to have fledglings so he would have to let go of the human soon.

If Souichi had been born as a vampire then by the time he reached adulthood he would have been powerful like the rest of the full-blooded vampires. The Morinaga brothers were vampires born into the Demon World, where even the undead and immortals could have their own offspring. They were the lucky ones. They had centuries to grow into adulthood and their power.

The vampires that were turned from humans were always heavily protected by their makers. Unfortunately, if the Maker stopped caring and abandoned a fledgling vampire they wouldn't survive for very long, even now when vampires were protected and thought of as valuable. Morinaga didn't want to devote his life to one person; he had tried that before and it had only led him to misery.

True, he might bring the human-turned-vampire to the Human World again if he grew tired of taking care of him, but that would lead to said vampire's death, too. The Demon Hunters spread all over the world would find such a vampire sooner or later. The few turned vampires that still lived in the Human World were very lucky to survive. The native born vampires and other demons that were living in the Human World would have better chances of remaining alive. Even so the turned vampires, if given the chance after their maker's abandonment, usually chose to return to the Human World. Even with the Hunters, they would have a lot more likelihood of surviving there than in the Demon World.

A demon's life was tough and for quite some time in the past a vampire's life was even tougher. That was why so few vampires were alive now in the Demon World. Vampire blood had been highly desirable some centuries ago. It had been rumored that vampire blood gave power like no other, and more than half of the vampire population had been wiped out for their blood. The rumor was false, but by the time the inhabitants of the Demon World came to their senses and listened to reason, the vampire population was smaller than was healthy.

Even demons understood that the world should be balanced, and they needed vampires to ensure that balance. Having so few vampires left made it essential to bolster the population and take care of the remaining vampires. Unfortunately vampires procreated very seldomly, and they turned humans into vampires rarely, too. As a result, all the vampires still alive started to grow in power, having the opportunity to consume rarer blood types in exchange mostly for sex, but also for other favors. It was highly desirable to have a vampire living in the neighborhood, so all of demon society started to go out of their way so that vampires would reside in their towns. More powerful demons gave their blood in exchange for staying in one place for a while, and so vampire power grew. Nowadays it wasn't so easy for vampires to obtain blood from more powerful demons, but many were cunning enough to manage that now, too.

During the time when the demons had tried to restore the vampire population, the vampires had become more and more powerful and started to have a lot of influence on the whole Demon World. More and more vampires started becoming Lords and reigned over the places they lived. Now even with still too few vampires living in the Demon World, more than half of it was ruled by vampires. They were powerful enough to have their way in a lot of important matters. What had started out as Demon society humoring the vampires so that they would start procreate ended up as Demon society being overruled by vampires. Even in places where they didn't rule they were influential enough and everyone danced to their tune. In some places it escalated to the extent that some were whispering that it was the vampires themselves that had started the rumors about their blood being so powerful.

Now it was known that only vampires could take power from the blood they sucked. Only other vampires could benefit from feeding from another vampire. Demonic society knew that now and left the vampires alone. Some demons liked vampire flesh and hunted them for that purpose only, but that was not a problem. They had hunted the vampires before the rumors so they had the right to continue doing it. There were some attempts to overpower this or that Vampire Lord, but due to their potent blood and power they were unsuccessful.

All in all, it was actually a lot safer for Tatsumi to stay human than be turned into a vampire. 'Even safer for him is to return to his own world, but I'm not ready to let him go. I'm not done with him yet,'thought Morinaga while gazing at the figure relaxing in the tub. It was clear that Tatsumi was dozing off and didn't realize that he wasn't alone anymore.

Morinaga knew that humans weren't able to detect a vampire's presence if the vampire didn't want them to. It was only possible when one of his kind made a mistake or deliberately wanted the human to know that he was there. Right now Morinaga wasn't so sure which one he wanted. It was very pleasurable just standing and looking at the slumbering human, although he would rather pull Tatsumi out of the tub and lick the water from his skin. Judging from the smell, his Thorny Rose had used one of the bath oils and Morinaga couldn't wait to bury his nose into the warm, soft skin and inhale the mixed scent of Tatsumi and the oil.

'And bury my fangs in that delicate flesh,'he thought but quickly let go of the idea. It wouldn't be healthy for the human if he took his blood so soon after the last time. His body might not be able to function properly if Morinaga gave in to his desires.

Feeling disappointed that he wouldn't be able to taste Sou-chan's blood right now, Morinaga came to a decision. He was going to wait and see how Tatsumi reacted when he finally noticed his presence.

'Might be entertaining.'

So he remained unmoving by the door, admiring the delicious human through the mirrors. The chambers they were in were now used as a secluded meeting place, but before that they had been used to hold valuable hostages or secret lovers of the family. Tetsuhiro didn't think that his brother had ever brought someone here, in comparison to himself who brought a lot of lovers to these chambers, although none of them had been human. They also hadn't looked as good inside them as Sou-chan did. It was as if the human belonged right there, just waiting to be pampered, teased, and taken.

'He's meant for pleasure, for love,'Morinaga thought, looking hungrily at Tatsumi's naked body, or at least those parts that were sticking out of the water. It was really hard not to just go over there, pull him out, and bend him over for the taking.

Tatsumi stirred in the tub, clearly disturbed by something, although Morinaga was quite sure that the human didn't know yet that he was the source of the disturbance. Tatsumi stirred again and his brows furrowed, trying to sense without opening his eyes what had interrupted his soak. Morinaga watched in the mirror as Tatsumi's eyes opened and sought his own. He smirked, noticing how fast those beautiful pools cleared from sleep and widened.

"Holy shit!" Tatsumi screamed.

His first reaction was to bolt right out of the tub, but that made his whole body visible to Morinaga's hungry eyes so he hastily dove under the water, making himself as small as possible. That made it hard for Morinaga to admire his body properly.

Morinaga chuckled. "What a peculiar combination of words," he said, walking slowly nearer to the human hiding in the water.

He kneeled down and chuckled again as Tatsumi scrambled away from him to the furthest corner of the tub. The glare he sent Morinaga wasn't very impressive although Morinaga admitted that he hadn't thought that Tatsumi had so much fight still left inside him.

'If not for the fear that hid deep down in his gaze he would have really looked like an enraged and dangerous opponent.'

"You look like a pouting kitten, Sou-chan," Morinaga smirked, making sure his eyes gleamed dangerously. He noticed that Tatsumi's cheeks pinked at his words but there was still a lot of defiance and denial in them.

'It looks like he still doesn't want to embrace his sexuality.'Morinaga didn't want to fight the human and he knew that if he didn't subdue him right away he would be wasting far more time than he was willing to. His gaze had the expected effect. Tatsumi's own glare wavered slightly and Morinaga saw him hesitate for a moment.

"Don't come anywhere near me or - !" Tatsumi threatened, but they both knew that every threat that came from him was false. The human couldn't back them up with anything: no skill, no strength, no knowledge of how to handle a vampire.

'The perfect victim.'

Morinaga regarded Tatsumi with calculating eyes, deciding what to do next with the fierce human. He loved a challenge and Tatsumi was clearly full of challenges. Morinaga wouldn't be the least bit willing to let him go anywhere before he won them all.

"Or what?" He moved faster than the human eye could follow and in the next second was leaning right into Tatsumi's face, trapping him in the corner with his hands on either side.

The surprised and clearly spooked human squeaked and tried to lean back as far away from him as possible, but since he was already plastered to the wall and tub he didn't have anywhere to go. Morinaga looked into his prey's widened eyes and marveled at their beauty. Unfortunately he wasn't able to look into them for too long because the human suddenly shot his arms out of the water and tried to shove him. The water splashed around them as Tatsumi tried with all his might to push Morinaga away.

The vampire looked down, noticing that his clothes were getting quite wet. He smirked. "Or you'll get me wet? Was that what you wanted to say?" Morinaga chuckled, leaning in and whispering into Sou-chan's ear, "You're a naughty little pet and I'm going to punish you for it, but first -"

"I'm nobody's pet, you sick pervert, and I'm not letting you touch me!" Tatsumi yelled, still struggling.

Morinaga caught both of Tatsumi's hands and slammed them none too gently into the mirror-covered wall. "And what gave you the impression that you had a say over what I'm going to do with you?"

He saw the human wince in pain from the force with which Morinaga gripped his hands, and he loosened his hold. The way Tatsumi rebuffed him made Morinaga forget that he was dealing with a vulnerable and delicate human. True, he enjoyed the struggle but he never caused any permanent damage to his partners, no matter what species they were from. It didn't sit well with Morinaga that he had just now done something so uncharacteristic. He started to feel slightly guilty, not noticeably at first, but when he looked into the frightened eyes of the strong willed and frail human he strengthened his resolve to from now on treat Tatsumi with more care.

He wasn't a rapist, not really. He was just equipped with the ability to know what would make a person happy, what a person desired. This ability was normal for vampires and they used it to get what they wanted. The stronger the vampire was the less difficult for him to see what desires were hidden in another's soul. It didn't really work with stronger creatures unless the vampire had time to get to know the other being, but the weaker the creature the easier it was to find those desires and act upon them to get his own way. With Tatsumi, it was a lot of work because Morinaga couldn't see his desires; it was as if the human wasn't aware of them himself. Now after their night together it was clear to Morinaga that Tatsumi had homosexual desires inside although they were still so well hidden that he didn't think Tatsumi realized them himself yet.

The vampire had thought that now, after the ecstasy the human had experienced, he would realize his homosexual tendencies. Unfortunately that wasn't the case.

'He's so stubborn.'

Morinaga really thought that the human wouldn't fight him that much anymore. Maybe he'd be a little frightened because of what Morinaga was and fight a little at the beginning, but would be unlikely to deny himself the ultimate pleasure. An initial fight would have been nice in Morinaga's eyes, but only if the human knew that he would feel pleasure in the end.

'I didn't get to him. I need his cooperation to make him realize, to make him crave. But right now when he's so spooked that might be quite the challenge.' Morinaga smirked. 'I love challenges.'

"Shh… Don't fear me. It's all right. You are at my mercy but you don't need to be so frightened. I will not hurt you, and any pain I bestow will only strengthen the pleasure I give," Morinaga assured, looking into Tatsumi's eyes. He saw how the fear drained away from them, replaced by anger.

"I don't want anything from you," Tatsumi said through clenched teeth, clearly trying to hold on to his temper while still looking into Morinaga's eyes. "I just want to go home."

Morinaga sighed and let go of Tatsumi's hands, backing away a little and letting the human regain his peace. Or at least as much of it as possible considering his current situation.

"I'm not ready to return you to your world yet," Morinaga admitted then added, "And you're not ready yet, either." Morinaga watched the human sit in the water, unmoving and clearly unwelcoming.

"What the hell does that mean now?" Sou-chan asked, annoyance slipping into his voice. There was also a sliver of fear there, too, but now small enough not to pay any attention to it anymore.

"You'll get it soon enough," Morinaga waved his hand in dismissal. He avoided giving Tatsumi a clear answer knowing that the human wouldn't like it one bit.

Tatsumi looked at him with a question clearly visible to Morinaga, but the vampire ignored it even if it left Sou-chan silently fuming at him. Instead he reached out for one of the smaller vials situated near the tub and took one of them.

"Wha – what are you doing?" the human asked suspiciously, tracking all of Morinaga's movements with his eyes, clearly ready to bolt if something Morinaga did alarmed him.

Morinaga poured some of the contents on his hand and put away the vial. The whole time Tatsumi watched him mistrustfully.

"Relax. And turn around," he commanded and waited for the human to obey. When it became clear to
Morinaga that Sou-chan wouldn't obey he sighed. "I just want to wash your hair."

"Sure you do," Tatsumi bit out, not moving from his spot.

"The oils you poured into the water took care of all the dirt and other fluids that were on your body but it's not good enough for your hair. This one," he showed the human the oil in his hand, "is the right one to wash it."

"I don't need you to…" Sou-chan started to argue.

Morinaga didn't let him finish. "I want to and that's final. Now turn around," Morinaga instructed again.

The human didn't move, staring defiantly into Morinaga's eyes. The vampire could tell that Souichi was trying to gauge his next move now that he had refused to do what Morinaga wanted him to do.

"I won't repeat myself, Souichi. If you want to go home you'd better please me or I simply won't take you back," Morinaga threatened.

Tatsumi frowned upon hearing Morinaga. The vampire had thought that despite being threatened about not being returned home that Tatsumi wouldn't move, but the human finally shifted after all. Slowly he edged towards Morinaga and he turned around even slower, presenting his back and his hair to the vampire. Morinaga saw how tense his muscles were even in the relaxing water. The vampire didn't like that. He understood that the human thought that he might get attacked but it still touched something inside him that made him want to make Sou-chan relaxed again, and fast.

"Do not worry. Although I am a predator and quite dangerous I give you my word that your life is not in any peril," Morinaga reassured his skittish human. He rubbed the oil into both hands and then touched Tatsumi's hair. The human flinched away but Morinaga's touch remained gentle and slow. The vampire patiently rubbed the oil into Tatsumi's hair, waiting for the human to relax under his ministrations.

"It's not my life that I'm worrying about," Tatsumi murmured, still a bit tense despite the slow and gentle rubbing of his hair and skull.

"Oh? And what do you worry about then?" Morinaga asked curiously, washing Sou-chan's hair. He suspected what the human's answer was going to be but he still wanted to hear him say it.

'I can work with him from there.'

"None of your business," Tatsumi answered curtly. He clearly didn't intend to say anything more.

"Aww, come on, Tatsumi. I'm trying to be nice. Why won't you return the sentiment?" Morinaga asked.

The hair he was working on was clean but he didn't withdraw his hands. He wanted to remain in contact with Sou-chan for now until Tatsumi realized that his hair was clean and didn't need Morinaga washing it anymore.

"What the hell do you want?" the human asked, annoyed, but he relaxed a bit more. It looked like Souichi was irritated at Morinaga for interrupting his savoring the feeling of having his skull massaged so wonderfully.

"An answer. What are you worrying about now?" Morinaga asked quietly. His hopes rose as Tatsumi started to speak.

"You know very well what has me worried!" Sou-chan said antagonistically.

He was accusing Morinaga and pouting. The vampire smiled, grateful that the human couldn't see him. He was sure Tatsumi would become angry if he saw Morinaga's smile.

"I haven't got a clue. Tell me?" he asked, trying very hard to suppress the smile and not let it show in his voice. He should appear curious and interested in Sou-chan's answer and not amused. Since Tatsumi hadn't blown up yet, Morinaga assumed that he managed to do it.

Why are you doing this?" Sou-chan asked, puzzled. He was still suspicious but relaxed enough to allow it not bother him too much.

That was exactly what Morinaga wanted. Now he would have a chance to talk with the human and hopefully get the answers he wanted so much.

"Doing what?" Morinaga asked, proud that the bounciness he felt didn't show in his voice. He actually sounded curious and confused.

"This," he answered shortly then elaborated, "washing my hair." Tatsumi sighed pleasantly, relaxing even more into Morinaga's touch.

It made Morinaga feel funny inside. He couldn't believe that something as small as a sigh could make him feel so warm inside. It was exactly what he wanted but he hadn't anticipated that Sou-chan's reactions would be so important to him.

"Does it feel nice?" He wanted to know. He didn't let the importance of Tatsumi's answer to his question show, but Morinaga really wanted Souichi to feel content in his presence.

'I forgot how nice it is to please a lover.'

Morinaga shook his head as if to clear it from those types of thoughts. Tatsumi wasn't going to stay with him in the Demon World and he shouldn't become attached to the human. He didn't want any emotional bonds between them.

"Hmmm…" Tatsumi moaned pleasantly, clearly stating how much he was enjoying himself right now, and Morinaga forgot that he shouldn't get too close to the human for both of their sakes. The only thing he wanted right now was to make Souichi realize that he didn't have anything to fear.

"See? You don't have anything to worry about," he assured Tatsumi. Morinaga reluctantly took his hands from the human's hair. "All done. You can rinse your hair now."

"Just you going all perverted on my ass again," Sou-chan mumbled and ducked his head into the water.

Morinaga watched him getting rid of the foam and dirt from his hair.

"Would that be really bad?" Morinaga asked when Tatsumi ended his rinsing.

That made the human turn around swiftly and glare at Morinaga.

"Of course! I'm not a homo!" Tatsumi screamed at the vampire, switching into defensive, or rather offensive, mode again.

"And yet you enjoyed yourself when I took your virginity not so long ago, not to mention that you reached completion," Morinaga countered.

"You forced me! You…" Tatsumi didn't seem to want to admit anything yet and tried to talk his way out of truths that were disturbing for him.

"There is no way you would have come if you hadn't been enjoying yourself! You would have gone soft if you felt disgusted or repulsed by what I did to your body! You didn't. You remained hard," Morinaga wasn't relenting. He wanted Souichi to admit that he had enjoyed sex with Morinaga. "Hard and begging me to take you!"

"You forced me to…" Souichi tried to shout but Morinaga interrupted him again by grabbing his head and bringing it towards himself, leaving only an inch or two separating them.

"You cannot force pleasure on a person who isn't interested in it! A person who doesn't like another man's touch, who doesn't feel anything when a man touches him, who can't get hard, wouldn't have been able to scream in ecstasy the way you screamed," Morinaga pointed out then took Tatsumi's lips in a forceful kiss.

He licked the human's lips and forced his way into the human's delicious mouth. Tatsumi was once again wetting his clothes with his hands by trying to shove him away. He wasn't successful at all and finally gave up. Morinaga's kiss caused him to stop trying to get away and start gripping his shoulders. He didn't try to draw Morinaga nearer, but the vampire thought that with such a stubborn person it was still a success. When he finally pulled away the human was flushed, his eyes unfocused, lips swollen and breathing in pants. He looked delicious.

"Now tell me, why are you panting like that, Sou-chan? Why are you flustered?" Morinaga asked, very satisfied with the outcome of that kiss. He didn't let go of Tatsumi. He couldn't. The human looked too good to pass up this opportunity.

"I – I – I don't… t – this…" Tatsumi was clearly out of it and was only now starting to regain his senses. He didn't even try to force his way out of Morinaga's hold.

Morinaga chuckled. "Your brain shut off?" He leaned in right to Tatsumi's ear. "Or are you starting to realize that you do enjoy my touch." Morinaga bit lightly on Tatsumi's earlobe and the human gasped.

Tatsumi was once again trying to pry himself away from Morinaga's embrace but the vampire had other plans. He moved his mouth from the human's ear to the delicious column of his neck where he started to suck lightly on the skin. He didn't intend to break the skin and taste the blood that was so near and so tempting, but that vulnerable neck drew him in too much to hold back.

"No. No! Stop!" the human screamed, his heart hammering in Morinaga's ears. He wasn't trying to pry himself out of Morinaga's embrace anymore, clearly afraid and slightly shaking at the thought of Morinaga biting into his neck again.

"Shh… I don't intend to take any more of your blood," Morinaga reassured, kissing the exposed neck. "At least not until you're up to it again," he added playfully.

"Monster!" Sou-chan bellowed, trying to shove Morinaga away again.

Morinaga tensed.

"Monster! You're such a monster!"

He remembered the shouts and the cruel laughter those shouts had triggered. 'No! I don't want to remember! I won't!'

Morinaga let go of the human so fast that Tatsumi lost his balance and fell into the water again. The vampire tried to regain his composure and not fall apart right then and there.

'I vowed that I would not let him have power over my life anymore. I won't let what happened hurt me anymore.'

To distract himself from all the bad memories that Tatsumi had reminded him about, Morinaga turned around and took one of the towels. He turned back again and looked at the human. Tatsumi was again trying to gain as much distance from him as possible. Morinaga winced internally. That was not what he wanted.

'Looks like we're at the starting point again.'

"Come on. Out you go." When Tatsumi didn't move Morinaga winced. "Look, I'm sorry I reacted like that. You just made me remember something I'm trying very much to forget," he apologized. 'I'm trying to forget it with a passion, desperately even, and it always comes back to me, to haunt me.'

"What are you talking about?" Tatsumi asked, puzzled and mistrustful, keeping his distance from the vampire.

Morinaga stood there for a moment and thought. He knew he didn't need to tell Tatsumi anything. He also didn't feel comfortable spilling his guts out about that event, no matter who the person who asked was. If he has been different, then Kunihiro would have found out a long time ago what his younger brother has gone through. Morinaga knew that the truth would serve no one, and might end up causing something that he would rather avoid at all costs. He didn't really think that his brother was strong enough to win and he didn't want him to die or blame himself for anything. Despite his anxiety about revealing his inner-most feelings, Morinaga found himself answering Tatsumi's question.

"I was deceived by a person I loved and thought loved me in return, but he was only playing a cruel game meant to shatter me. He almost succeeded," Morinaga answered with a trembling voice.

Note: I hadn't intended for Morinaga to say anything about his broken heart but he had other plans and said it a lot faster that I wanted him to. XD I hope you liked this chapter. ^-^ Tell me what you think? ;)