Disclaimer: Hisaya Nakajo would give me Hana-Kimi if she was really a nice person.

Sorry for disappering off the face of the earth for a while. I had other stuff to do. I didn't forget my fan Gin-Ryuko though. Your reviews always make me laugh so I saved one. You scare me, but I scare people too so I find it refreshing. Other readers, learn from this girl! She leaves nice long reviews! More OC in here. Hope you like him. He's cute.

Ch. 12: Predator Becomes Prey

Ryoichi stalked angrily through the emptiest part of downtown. He needed a chance to clear his head. His black eyes gleamed like jewels and he clenched and unclenched his fists again and again.

"Dammit! Stupid Ichijo—he's such a brat!" he clicked his teeth, pretending he was breaking Ichijo's neck. "What the hell did Hokuto think when he—UHG! I could kill that twerp for telling him anything! If only I'd—" he trailed off, furiously pounding his fist into the wall adjacent to him. The bricks and cement cracked under his strength. He jerked his head and looked around to see if anyone had caught that. No. No one was there. No one ever came to the decrepit, bankrupt business half of the city anymore. Ryoichi inhaled deeply to calm himself—and his stomach dropped as he realized for the first time that he was not alone. There was a distinct—disgusting smell there with him that went beyond human scent. The vampire stood still as a statue and listened. He couldn't hear anything, but the deeper he inhaled, the more he felt like he was suffocating. He racked his brain urgently—what had Ichijo told him? Other vampires? No, it couldn't be. Wait—wolf.

There was a werewolf close by.

And werewolves existed for one reason—to kill vampires.

Desperately now, Ryoichi ran. If he could just make it to a more populated part of town with humans around, he would be safe. For once, things didn't go as Ryoichi Kijima planned, for in the next instant, something as powerful as a train hit him head-on, sending him careening into a wall.

Ryoichi growled and opened his eyes to see a wolf the size of a bear and the color of sand lash out towards him. He held out his hands in last second defense, hissing as the dog's fangs lacerated his palms and wrists.

"Scram, mutt!" he groaned in pain. He pulled back and tried to scale the wall behind him, which would have been an easy task for him, were it not for the hand he felt grab his ankle and throw him to the ground. Ryoichi gasped; he hadn't met anyone aside from Ichijo who could match his strength since his rebirth almost seven years ago. He was in total shock.

This shock increased further when he opened his eyes to face a human. A young man sneered down at him with light blue eyes. His hair was the same sandy color as the wolf's fur, and he laughed at the look on Ryoichi's face.

"Too bad I have to kill you," he spoke calmly, "you're way cute."

Ryoichi snarled in response and leapt at him, white teeth bared. In the time it took him to reach the werewolf, however, he had transformed back. He dodged the vampire's deadly teeth and sank his own long, sharp fangs around Ryoichi's shoulder.

The only way we vampires can be killed is to be torn limb from limb—literally—and then having the remaining pieces burnt. Ichijo's words pierced Ryoichi's ears as he remembered a conversation they had had years ago.

"No," Ryoichi whispered, realizing that in seconds, he was going to become left-handed—and left-armed. "No, don't kill me!" his voice rose in hysteria. The wolf growled a throaty laugh. "No." begged the vampire, wincing as the wolf's jaws closed slowly, agonizingly. A tendon snapped. Next would come his cement-like bones. The wolf released his arm, only to throw him back against the wall. Ryoichi didn't' growl this time. He looked away, unable to face his attacker.

"Aren't you going to fight back?" Ryoichi jerked his head up, surprised to see the human boy again.

"I don't know how." He admitted softly. The boy looked confused and crouched down beside him. Ryoichi curled into a tight ball, glaring coldly. The werewolf held up his hands, showing he meant no harm.

"But…I thought you all know how to fight. How else did you kill my pack?"

"What the hell are you talking about, dog?"

The wolf glared. "Don't play stupid. My pack was a group of nomads. A violent gang of vampires came by, wiping out countless innocent humans near our last home. We chased your gang about 400 miles south of here. They stopped running and met us head-on. We were all separated… my brothers and sisters all perished." He paused, his pained blue eyes flitting up to meet Ryoichi's coal-black ones. "Aren't you part of that vampire clan?" he asked.

"Hell no!" Ryoichi exclaimed. "I didn't even know vampires lived in clans. There are two of us in town here, and we never even leave a 100-mile radius!"

"You WHAT?" the wolf gasped "DAMMIT!" he slammed his fist into the ground, making the asphalt crack. Ryoichi instinctively drew back. Even if the wolf wasn't after him, vampires and werewolves were still enemies, and without Ichijo, he didn't stand a chance. The wolf met his eyes again.

"I—I didn't realize you weren't one of the bloodsuckers who killed my family. I came north hoping to find them and tracked the first vampire scent I could find. My bad."

Ryoichi's eyes narrowed. "Yeah. Your bad."

He laughed childishly, nervously. "You all smell the same to me. Well, Ok. Up close, you do smell a little different." He leaned forward, sniffing Ryoichi's black hair and bloody shoulder.

"Ack!" Ryoichi's nose crinkled. "GROSS! Back off!" he kicked the dog's stomach. The wolf hadn't seen Ryoichi fight back yet, so the sudden burst of strength made him gasp out as he fell forward—right on top of the vampire.

"You're heavy." Ryoichi noted.

"Sorry."

"What's your name, anyway?"

"Kippei. You?"

"Ryoichi Kijima. You're really hot."

"Well thanks. Looks do run in the famil—"

"No, stupid, I mean like, burning."

Kippei jerked up, holding himself above Ryoichi with his hands on either side of his head. The combination of cold air from Ryoichi's heartless body mixed the heat of over 39°C coming from the werewolf. Together, they formed a warm, pleasant feel neither of them had ever experienced before.

"How old are you?" Kippei ventured.

"27."

"Ah. 24."

"You know," the dark-haired man purred, "you're not too bad. I heard werewolves were savage monsters."

Kippei met his eyes. His sandy bangs brushed over the vampire's face. "Apparently not all vampires are bad, either. You know, this is still really taboo."

"In a world like this, out kind doesn't have the luxury of being so sure we'll see tomorrow." Ryoichi replied softly, his gently voice enticing Kippei to lean closer. "Live each day to the fullest." He whispered, closing the space between them.

In this chapter, you can really see the Twilight influence the way I describe the werewolf. Hope you like Kippei. Ryoichi is a cheating sonuvabitch. Review and I'll update soon. Hasta!