Being able to sleep in a real bed again was nice. Even better was the feeling of having someone in ones arms, thought he wondered about that.
Even after the alcohol wore of he didn't regret last night. Shuichi was still deep asleep, laying with his back to him while Itachi had his arm around the younger man's small waist.
It was already past dawn, the sun was shining through the cracks of the thick curtains. They should really get up, but Itachi decided it wouldn't hurt them to stay here for another night and lay back down. He was nearly asleep again, face nuzzled against Shuichi's neck as…
Piep…piep…piep…piep…piep…
Itachi jolted awake and hurriedly reached over Shuichi's body to turn off the alarm clock on the bedside table. But it was already too late, Shuichi groaned glaring at the clock in Itachi's hand.
"Damn, I totally forgot to turn off that thing."
Itachi let himself fall back into the mattress and closed his eyes again.
"If you want, we can stay here a while longer. Somehow I'm not in a hurry to get back to my city anymore."
Shuichi rolled onto his belly and looked at Itachi sideways grinning, his head propped onto a pillow.
"I see, no objections to sharing the room with a vampire anymore. Or do you like the hot spring this much?"
"Very much. And it's nice not to have to think about 'work', you said so yourself."
"I did."
Shuichi sighed.
"But I have to disappoint you, by nightfall this place will be buzzing with drunken soldiers enjoying their free time. I want to be gone before they get here."
Now it was Itachi's turn to sigh.
"Honestly, I had hoped for another relaxing night."
It took some more minutes dozing before they stood up and went to the kitchen for breakfast. After they took a shower and cleaned up the room, Shuichi lead Itachi to a shed on the outside of the metal cage. Inside were bicycles.
"This way we will reach the city within the next two hours."
The closer they got to the city the more activity Itachi saw. Again they were passing grain and rice fields as well as orchards, but this time no buildings where left standing. Now and then those fields were mixed in with far stretched meadows, where cows and horses and on the mountainous terrain sheep and goats were browsing. Each meadow had a shed, big enough for the animals to house in for the night, and sometimes herdsmen where watching over the herds.
They waved to them, some even were children accompanied by busy looking hounds. More and more people came their way, on bicycles, horses, even scooters and tractors. Farmers watching after their fields or people bringing in goods or hunting. Halfway to the city they had to stand to the side of the way as a large convoy with soldiers drove past them.
In the end nearly only meadows with animals could be seen, just before Itachi could make out the protecting walls of the former city Fuji near mount Fuji.
Itachi watched the high wall with astonishment as they approached the gates. If it wasn't for the walls and the guards on watch with their riffles he wouldn't had thought of the world living through a catastrophe right now. Outside the city, everything looked absolutely normal. He was curious about the inside.
And something else had stung him nearly every time they met someone on the streets.
"For a supposed vampire city you do have a lot of humans living here."
"Ah, that. Well, it started with a handful, but now over 1/3 of the cities occupants are humans. So far, we get along well."
"Really?"
Shuichi nodded smiling.
As they stepped up to the gates he noticed the guards questioning a man wanting to go out about his business and writing down in a book before letting him go. Shuichi noticed him watching.
"It is a safety measure. If you go out alone anything can happen. This way by nightfall we know if someone is still missing and can immediately conduct a search for them. Some people are annoyed by it, but it's safer this way."
"Is this why everyone here seems to have a dog tag?" Itachi had already studied Shuichi's tag. It had his name, age, some distinctive features, blood type and a number printed on it as well as his status of command and the fact that he is a vampire.
Shuichi nodded. It was their turn to step up to the guards.
Shuichi showed his dog tag to them.
"I'm Tomoya Shuichi, returning from a longer mission outside. My companion is Uchiha Itachi from Okasaki, visiting on short notice. Could you get Suigetsu to meet me at the quarantine as soon as possible?"
Shuichi turned around to Itachi, a rueful smile on his lips.
"I'm sorry, I know you want to see the city in full, but everyone gone for a night or longer with possible reaper contact has to stay in a separate section, called quarantine, for 3 days. You can either stay here and wait out that time before seeing the city or I can bring you back home sooner."
While Shuichi had been explaining the guards were talking to someone over a radio set. They seemed a little distressed over their orders.
"Tomoya-san, we have been ordered to forego quarantine and bring you directly to headquarters."
Shuichi looked at them bewildered at first, but soon got his bearings.
"Oh, well I will have a talk with them about breaking the rules, but bear with it for now please."
The guards mood seemed to ease a little and they nodded. From a watch room a pair of other guards came to accompany them. Taking the bicycles they led them through the wall.
"Why are you so strict about the quarantine?"
Itachi was whispering to Shuichi as the new guards watched them silently. Shuichi whispered back just as quiet.
"We once had some problems with people that got infected, if they knew or not we can't tell. Well, they turned into reapers inside the walls. It wasn't nice. Since then we normally have everyone undergo a quarantine to prevent something like this."
"Even humans?"
"Suddenly turning into a vampire can be very distressing and they might lose control of their blood thirst easily. So yes, even humans. And normally we don't make exceptions, even for higher ranked people, which is probably why the guards are so uneasy about it."
They reached the end of the wall. There was a second wall some hundred yards away from them. Between the two walls there were chicken crops, sheds for rabbits and the like as well as bigger sheds, probably for cows.
"You seem to have a lot of animal stock."
"Well, the people want to be feed. The place between the first two walls is solemnly for the animals. At night only the people who care for them are allowed to be here."
They followed the plastered way up to the second gate. This time the guards let them pass without so much as looking at them. Behind the gate two boys who seemed to be around 14 to 15 years took the bicycles from the two guards accompanying the two men to store them away.
Behind this wall seemed to be the soldiers area. Itachi could see barracks, a mess hall and training grounds. There was a sturdy looking, high metal fence with another gate and more guards further ahead. There also was a water channel. They walked through that gate and over a bridge, again without any resistance from the guards. Behind it were even more walls.
"Just how many walls do you have here? Mind telling me a little about the cities layout?"
"Well, the whole city is encircled by three walls: The outer wall, the inner wall and the metal fence we just passed. Between the outer and inner wall are our animals. Between the inner wall and the metal fence is the soldiers terrain. Behind it are the quarantine and the 'civil barracks' and the main city is in the middle. To the left you can see the sturdy stone wall that is separating the quarantine from the other sections."
Itachi looked around Shuichi, seeing grim looking guards on a wall that was nearly as high and sturdy as the outer and inner wall. A second low metal fence, not as sturdy as the first was continuing to his left, separating another section. There were more gates in it and no guards watching. There were big containers stacked over one another and with stairs and windows cut into them to make makeshift homes.
"This area is called 'civil barracks'. It also nearly circles the entire city, but for the quarantine section. It is for the new people who don't have any money yet or for those who can't work, haven't found work yet or simply refuse to work. They have running water, even warm, and energy for cooking and other things. Some containers have futons, a cooking area, toilets and even a shower. For the others, well they have to share the cooking areas, showers and toilets. There are enough of them though. They also get enough money to buy food and the like, just enough to live good with. If they want a better life or live in a real house they have to work and earn their money like everyone else."
Itachi nodded. "Sounds fair enough."
There were children playing in front of the containers and mothers hanging out their wash. It looked peaceful.
They followed the way past this area to the actual city. Here where normal houses as well as small stores lining their way. Many of the buildings had been repaired, some were completely new. On the outskirts none were higher than two stories. The height increased towards the cities middle. Itachi guessed they were heading to the biggest building right in the middle of the city, he could already see it looming over the other, smaller buildings. People were buzzing about minding their own business and occasionally greeting them.
As they crossed a market place half way to the building Itachi could make out two more walls. A sturdy looking stone wall far to his left as well as one that looked similar to his right.
"What are those walls for?"
Shuichi saw where Itachi pointed.
"Oh, those. Well the one on the right is a separate all out human area, there are no vampires allowed in there. Some humans don't feel comfortable living with vampires as neighbors, but don't want to be transferred to another city. Of course they have to give us a good reason to living there, like a traumatized child. Otherwise, if they don't want to deal with living next to vampires, we bring them to other cities where only humans live. This is after all still a vampire city."
"I never heard of anyone that once lived here."
"Well, we erase their memory of the location of this place. Guess they didn't want to talk about it with other humans. I can understand that, since they might be looked down upon because they let themselves be helped by vampires."
Itachi nodded in agreement. He pointed to the other wall on their left.
"Than this wall is probably separating an all-out vampire area, isn't it?"
Shuichi grinned at him.
"It is, you got the concept of this place quite fast. That place is for those vampires who lack control of their blood thirst and those who fear they might lose control. There are no humans allowed and the place is guarded. Some of those fellows aren't allowed out alone or don't want to go out alone. They are given watchers, which are stronger than them in case something happens, to accompany them. Some are even living there together."
"And it works out?"
Shuichi sighed.
"Well, more or less. There are always problems with thieves and the like in every city. Here isn't any different."
"How did you manage to build all this walls and the like up in such short time?"
Shuichi looked at Itachi thoughtful.
"We are vampires. Some of us can move the earth or heavy things with ease. We can do things in just moments without any machines, where humans would need days or weeks."
Itachi wanted to slap himself. He could have thought of that one himself. They had nearly reached the building.
"Say, what do you do with vampires or humans that don't stick to the rules?"
Shuichi looked down and then away.
"Well, the humans get transferred to another city. The vampires, if they go against some rules they are confined in the all-out vampire area with a watcher till they've come to their senses again. But if they hurt humans, without any regret…well, we can't just send them away to another city and we can't simply throw them out, they would come back as reapers. So…"
Shuichi continued looking at the ground.
"You kill them."
Shuichi nooded.
"Well, there is no way around it. We don't have the place, nor the people and time for a prison. If we could take away their vampire powers it would be different, but we can't."
Itachi laid his hand on Shuichi's should lightly squeezing it before letting go again. He understood Shuichi's point just too well. Even though his own city did not give itself the luxury of ruling over criminals with morality, as it had been before the reapers. They had reached the building.
The two guards that had led them here were replaced by another set that now lead them through the building. They stopped in front of a room.
Shuichi shortly knocked on the door and then entered. At a desk to the side a silver haired man was sitting, reading trough files. He looked up at them and grinned.
"Shu, so you're still alive."
He stood and went over to Shuichi, they hugged each other shortly.
"And I see you brought something back with you."
The silver haired vampire glared at Itachi, who only gave him a short nod. The glare intensified.
"Couldn't you have left him out there, he…ouch!"
Shuichi had slapped the other vampires head, hard.
"Stop it, you're rude. Itachi this is Suigetsu. Don't mind his behavior, seems he was brought up in a chicken coop."
Suigetsu rubbed his sore had and sat back down at his table.
"At least I could eat eggs every day. Why aren't you in the quarantine, have they changed the rules or something without notifying me again?"
Shuichi had sat himself on Suigetsu desk, squashing some papers and earning a glare from the older male.
"I don't know myself. I thought you had ordered that, since we were to be brought to your office?"
"It wasn't me, I didn't even know you were back yet, till…"
The door suddenly opened interrupting Suigetsu. Two men and a woman, all past their forties, walked in. The oldest of the men spoke.
"Tomoya-san, we would like to have a word. Now if you don't mind."
He pointed towards a door in the back, probably a meeting room. Shuichi's face was sour, but he followed them in. They didn't do more but shortly glance at Itachi, before shutting the door with an audible bang.
"Uh-oh, he's going to be lectured again."
"Again?"
Itachi looked at the other male. They were alone now, the guards had already left them. At first Suigetsu glared at him, but then he sighed and offered Itachi a seat in front of his desk who gratefully took it. Suigetsu made a short phone call. A young vampire woman entered the room shortly after, carrying a tray and looking annoyed.
"You know I'm not your serving girl."
She put the tray down between the two men.
"But I like you serving me, Karin-chan."
The comment earned Suigetsu a buffet on the ears.
"Uchiha-san, please serve yourself."
Itachi nodded and poured himself some coffee. The girl looked at him now.
"Uchiha? Does that mean Shuichi is back."
Suigetsu continued munching his cookie and pointed his thumb back at the door Shuichi went through.
"Yep, he's back in there with the hyenas."
"Excuse me, but who were those people?"
The woman, Karin, sat down in the chair next to Itachi regarding him with eyes alight. She answered his question while Suigetsu continued munching cookies.
"They are the human part of our council and help leading the city and stuff."
"They are a bunch of stuck up, greedy old idiots, who think they have control over the city and but their heads into anything we vampires do trying to rule us. We should just throw them out already."
Karin kicked Suigetsu's shins, earning a muffled groan.
"That hurt."
"It was supposed to do so."
They glared at each other.
"Is Shuichi in trouble?"
Suigetsu leaned his head on his hand giving Itachi a weird look.
"So you're already calling each other by first names? Nah, he can handle them."
At this moment the door to the other room opened. The three humans walked past them without any notice, a sour look on their faces. Shuichi too looked sour, he closed the door and then stuck out his tongue at their retreating backs. The office door closed with a slam.
"It seems you had fun being reprimanded?"
Shuichi snorted and let himself fall into the seat previously occupied by Karin. The woman had left the room hurriedly as she heard the phone ring in her own office.
"Like I'm a child they found stealing cookies."
He gave Itachi a rueful look.
"I'm sorry, again, I said I would let you have a closer look at the city, but the human council objects. See, I have to stay on their good side for now. Their annoying but we need them. They want you to leave immediately. At least I could change their mind about having your memories erased."
"Well, thank you for that, I guess. When and how do I have to leave?"
"We will be bringing you back with a helicopter today, I fear they will have it ready in about an hour."
Itachi nodded.
"Say, are you short on medicines or anything? I'm sure we have some to spare, right Suigetsu."
Suigetsu grinned, shuffling through some files.
"Is it wise to piss them of anymore? Not that I would mind, their funny when they throw a tantrum. I will have Juugo organize something in a hurry."
"As of right now, I could give a damn. If you don't mind, have Karin make a summary of our researches on the blood pills and so on for Itachi to take with him. And tell her to give some samples too. Come on Itachi, I can at least show you around a little during the remaining time, though you are forbidden to talk to anyone. They surely will have us guarded."
And he was right. As Shuichi opened the door a squad of five human guards awaited them. Shuichi glared at them, but the guards didn't seem to be bothered, the leader actually grinned right out back.
"You know, if you wouldn't be doing so many things they object to we wouldn't be sent to babysit you so often and would have way more free time. That would be quite nice, wouldn't it guys?"
The other men chuckled.
"I'm sorry to cut into your free time so often. Am I allowed to have a walk through the city or will I be confined to my rooms now?"
The leader shook his head.
"The city is no good. And you really might want to retreat to your rooms. Since we aren't allowed in there you can have a talk. Otherwise we are ordered to, well, muzzle you and confine Uchiha-san in headquarters till the helicopter is ready. You won't have a chance to see him off then."
Shuichi gazed at the ceiling thinking.
"And please don't try to slip out the window again."
He glared at the grinning human and sighed.
"Allright then, let's go to my rooms."
Itachi silently followed them outside. They were at the back of the building, closer to the sea. After a quiet 5 minute walk through the city they reached an apartment complex. They went up to the first floor and down a corridor. Shuichi stopped at a door that had his name printed on it and glared one last time at their human guards before opening the door and shooing Itachi inside. He closed it with a sigh. Before he could say anything a child, Itachi guessed around the age of 8 or 9, run past him to crash into the vampire.
"You're back."
"So I am, what are you doing here anyway."
The boy seemed to remember something important as his eyes got huge. He let go of Shuichi and run back the direction he came from, screaming over his back.
"Playing games."
Itachi gave Shuichi a discerning look.
"Is that your brother or…"
"No! He's not my child. He's only some annoying little freeloader who comes by from time to time."
"Am not!"
Itachi could hear the child complaining from the living room.
"Well, you could call him my little brother. You want something to drink?"
Shuichi lead him past the living room to the kitchen. The boy was sitting in front of a TV playing some game. Itachi sat down at the kitchen table watching Shuichi buzzing around the kitchen while trying not to step on a small cat with mostly white fur and some gray markings.
"If you have any questions so far just ask. DAICHI!"
"WHAT!"
"There are some guards outside the window, want some real fun?"
Shuichi was getting a bag of water balloons from a cupboard and giving them to the boy who, with an eager look on his face, went to the bathroom with them. Itachi barely hide a grin.
"Is it alright to be annoying the guards? They're just doing their job, you know."
Shuichi waved his hand at Itachi lazily as he sat down opposite him after putting drinks and a cake on the table.
"They're used to it by now. So, any questions?"
"There has been something bothering me. You said you have a blood shortage. Are the humans here, well, giving their blood to be allowed to stay here?"
It would make sense this way. Shuichi nodded.
"They have to give a blood fee when they want to live here. It's only once a month and only adults are required to do so and they get money for it. Children over 14 may do so, if they want to, but we don't take any blood from younger children. The people you saw earlier, they tried to change it. But this is after all still a vampire city. We need the blood and most humans are alright with it, if it means living as comfortable and safe as they do here."
"But there are some that object?"
"Yeah, the more humans we had in the city the more people started to be against it. It is mostly the new humans, that haven't lived here for so long."
"But you can't change it now."
"No not yet, we do need the blood. We had an open debate about it some weeks ago. Those people who are against it lost, because they didn't had an answer about how to keep us vampires alive, if we wouldn't get any more blood."
"Well, that's that. You can't live without blood and they should accept that or go live somewhere else. At least that's my opinion."
Shuichi smiled back at the human.
"You know, one week ago you probably never would have said something like that and side with vampires."
"I'm not on anyone's side, it is simply logical reasoning."
"Sure it is. Unfortunately the voices that are supporting the other side are getting louder each day. Any idea how to deal with them?"
Itachi shook his head no.
Suddenly someone banged at the door.
"Tomoya-san! It's time!"
"Oh drat, they're really fast."
Together they stood up. After saying goodbye to Daichi the guards lead them through part of the city again into the soldiers area on the sea side. Here the helicopter waited for them.
"I'm going to accompany you back."
"I fear that won't do Tomoya-san, we are ordered to prevent you from leaving."
Shuichi turned towards their guards, crossed his arms and glared.
"Do you really think you will be able to hold me back?"
The guards grinned.
"Didn't you have a burn out? Right now you're as weak as a kitten in comparison to us."
"Damn you. I still will be going."
The leader just shrugged his shoulders and waved of his men.
"Do as you please. If you ask me, those council members are getting a little over themselves. I would have set them straight long ago."
And with that he left them. Itachi leaned towards Shuichi to whisper in his ear.
"Aren't they supposed to be supporting the human council?"
"That's real soldiers for you. Those people have been in service for a longer time now. They see us vampires work and fight just as hard as them. They understand us, so they are actually supporting us as long as we are fair with our leading and so on."
Itachi nodded. They went into the helicopter. It was filled with the medications Shuichi had talked about. Just before they took of Karin came running.
"I'm sorry, I didn't had time to prepare anything but here is a short summary of things so far."
She handed a file of papers to Itachi who thanked her. Off they took.
"I will make sure to send the rest of our researches to you some other time."
It was hard to understand Shuichi's voice with the wind blowing fiercely.
In silence they passed over the areas Shuichi and Itachi had hiked through these last days. Itachi recognized the places even from high above. He thought about their journey till they reached Osaka, it was nearly evening. The sun would be down in about an hour.
Itachi gave the people of his town a call over the radio set, so they would come pick him up outside the city walls. He understood the vampires not wanting to risk their lives by setting him down inside the city. He wouldn't trust his father either in this situation.
Carefully the helicopter landed onto a nearby hill. Itachi and Shuichi jumped out helping to unload the medicines.
They were nearly done as they could see the gates being opened and a convoy with heavily armed men leaving in their direction.
Shuichi and Itachi looked at each other.
"This was a very educative experience."
Shuichi smiled.
"I guess we will see each other again sometime. Hopefully not in an emergency."
Itachi nodded, he grabbed Shuichi by the forearm and gave a half hug which the vampire returned. One of the men from the helicopter whistled at them and got a rude gesture from Shuichi in return.
Itachi had to smile.
"Se ya."
Shuichi waved as the helicopter ascended into the air again watching the cars approaching Itachi.
Itachi too turned towards the soldiers, which were regarding him with guns raised. He sighed, knowing his father would be questioning him throughout during the night.
Perhaps he would keep the vampires location to himself for now and play at having his memory erased, like he had expected it to happen. Just to piss of his father.
After all, he needed to rethink his view on vampires.