Satoshi admired the painting for a few more seconds, then picked up the chains he had removed himself and wound them carefully over Black Wings.
As he let them go, they glowed with a new seal and the Hikari smiled, and then went upstairs to do something he should have done when he first arrived.
It took three full days (or nights, as they were by human standards) but he managed to paint over the hideous image of the werewolf family attacking the Hikari family, scraping out the curse and effectively giving them back their humanity. But once they were human they still had the ability to turn wolf and it was completely painless and voluntary. Even more surprising, they wanted to stay with him and continue to be guardians of a sort. He was able to watch Takai and Keibara grow into an old couple, although they were still incredibly spry. Shiki even got married and asked Satoshi if it was alright for his wife to move in with the family.
He of course agreed, (the house had well over 20 rooms, and most of them were empty) and became both nervous and curious when his wife announced her pregnancy to the family.
But everything turned out fine- in fact he quite enjoyed his study interrupted by the 'pups'. They had the same abilities as their father and would often run down the enormous halls as fast as their chubby wolf cub legs could carry them, sliding on the rugs and tracking in dirt. Kiokure was inseparable from them, and Kaen finally had playmates, even though by then she was a young woman. Yet Satoshi continued to tick off the years as they passed and becoming increasingly troubled as every statement Krad made before his absence came true.~…you will be much stronger, with more followers.~ He became a great influence on vampire and human society, involved in both business and politics, although he was rarely seen in either. His closest allies(the emperor of Japan, admiral and vice-admiral, to name a few) often pressured him about creating a fledgling as a backup, which irritated him. They seemed to doubt his actual fighting abilities.
One of them even offered to be the other sire if he wished to create a pureblood. But he was too busy watching over the well-being of his former enemies and monitoring Yagari's movements against them.
And the years passed ~Yagari's followers will threaten…~ and he sent his own to deal with them, but he miscalculated and let one of them live.
He'd begged Satoshi and the others to let him live, and Satoshi had thought that the jail the emperor provided would hold him.
But it did not, and he- misinterpreting his masters orders, attempted to kill all the Niwa's when they would not give him the information he required and nearly succeeded. ~…and assassinate the entire Niwa family…~ Perhaps he would have if Satoshi hadn't arrived when he did, crashing through the window and draining him before he could finish the last two Niwas. His casual jeans and white tee and trench coat were splattered lightly with red and even he- who had seen much in his lifetime, had to avert his eyes and concentrate on Daisuke, limping over to him. They were… they had been kind people and did not deserve this.
And it was his fault.
His and no one else's.
God, damn it.
Shards of glass that stuck out of his chest and forearm stung but there was no time- he picked up his delicate human friend so, so gently off the carpet.
Bubbles of blood formed around the redhead's mouth as he began to speak. "Daisuke…" He could tell that he had come too late for him, that even turning him was impossibility with the extent of his wounds. " Please, Hikari…"The stench of the liquid was overwhelming, everywhere, and inescapable.
"My boy, Ai." The vampire prince felt his eyes turn red with the thirst and he gritted his teeth, turning in the direction Daisuke was looking. A teen in a maroon sweatshirt and jeans, both articles torn in long strips as if from nails. He could see his ribcage moving and hear his heart from here- he might yet 'live', if he was turned soon.
"Help him, change him…" Daisuke insisted, his red eyes wide with pain and fear that this request would be denied.
"I cannot-" Satoshi began, but his human friend grabbed his collar with a strength he didn't expect and gargled "You must promise me…" his red eyebrows narrowed, almost angered. Satoshi began to shake with hunger- to be surrounded like this; he was usually in control…
The Niwa smiled as he heard Satoshi's soft, defeated, "Alright."
He coughed, and as the blunette closed his eyes the blood painted a red mask across his eyes and cheeks. And he felt Daisuke relax in his arms, heavy now and heard the horrid sound as his heart sputtered and stopped. When he opened his eyes again he was gone, and he laid him on the floor and turned away, not ready to deal with his death just yet. Then he dragged himself over to the boy and cupped his bloodstained round face. "Ai, can you hear me?" Occasionally he had visited the Niwa's and had met the boy once or twice, so at least he wouldn't be in complete shock... Of course he didn't know he was a vampire but that was of little consequence.
He leaned down and hesitated, then lapped at a particularly vicious slash in the boy's chest and Ai groaned slightly. A pale hand reached up and touched Satoshi's head.
"What…" The bluenette trembled with the knowledge of what he was about to do. But he couldn't let the boy die. Daisuke had wanted him to live even if it meant their perversion of life. He didn't need to drain him as his wounds had already done that, making it easier for his body to accept blood. Letting his fangs extend he bit into his wrist, watching as it dripped down his light blue veins and marble flesh. He could still turn back now, chicken out, and leave this boy to a normal death.
Right now.
Maybe Daisuke would forgive him…~ Promise me. ~ No. His friend would never forgive him if he let the boy go.
That thought alone made him place his wrist against the boy's chapped lips and mutter,"Drink this. It is…what your father wanted." Just in case the boy tried to sit up he covered his eyes and red hair tickled his palm.
He didn't need to see this… this massacre. Satoshi felt those lips move against his split skin and the Niwa boy swallowed weakly, his lungs stilling and his heart jerking to a stop. For one grueling second he was truly dead to the world, and Hiwatari hovered above him nervously. Then it started to a new beat, slower and deeper.
He swallowed again stronger this time and held Satoshi's wrist to his mouth. The blunette had forgotten what it felt like to be drawn from and his heart thudded, head beginning to spin from loss of fluids and a kind of excitement. He hung on until the last moment then snatched his wrist away, uncapping a metal vial he had stuffed in his coat this morning and poured Krad's blood into his mouth slowly. He had taken the blood while it was still fresh from his cast-off body just in case he had ever been forced to make a fledgling. Somehow, he didn't want to make one with any other vampire- it just…wouldn't mean anything. The vial emptied and he took it away, watching as the teen reached up to wipe off his mouth. He grimaced slightly at the horrid taste and Satoshi felt a smile lift the corner of his mouth. He lapped at his wrist until the skin drew together and lifted his other palm, still blocking Ai's view of the living room. His eyes were Daisuke's eyes, round and ruby and sleepy.
Ai looked at Satoshi whose eyes were framed in a dried red mask and whose fangs hung atrociously over his bottom lip calmly.
."Are you…I'm…scared…" So he did know what had happened to his parents then. ~So why aren't you afraid of me? Why do you seem to trust…?~ And it hit him somewhere in his chest, the same way it had struck Krad soon after he'd saved Satoshi. This boy in front of him… He needed to be protected, and Satoshi placed his arms around his creation and whispered "It's alright. I'm going to take care of you." The feeling in his chest was indescribable. It left no room for hesitation, and burned and he knew that he would do anything- give his life for Ai Niwa if it meant he would be safe. Ai closed his eyes, relaxed against his chest and fell into the last human sleep he would ever know. The blunette waited to make sure he was asleep and then picked him up under his arms and knees. He summoned his wings and sneaked out of the window, his neck throbbing as the connection between the Hikari and the Niwa thickened. As he flew, Ai groaned in his sleep and his hand reached out, digging into the fabric of Hiwatari's shirt. Without a second thought he held him closer and rested his chin in that ruby part of hair. After a moment Niwa relaxed and Hiwatari eyed him, still wondering if this was truly the right thing to do, hoping that later…The redhead wouldn't hate him for what he'd done.
Touching down, he went to the sinks and washed as much blood off both of them as he could. Then he tried his best to sneak in and managed to get all the way to the cellar before the pups pushed their way in behind him, one of them whispering, "Ooh! Who is that? Satoshi kun-" and the other yipping excitedly. "Shh, Bankara, Miken." Luckily, he'd left Krad's old coffin here in pristine condition, just so if he ever created another vampire, he wouldn't have to share coffins with him the first night.
He thought he'd want to be alone.~ Krad didn't 'forget' to get me a coffin.~ He realized with sudden certainty.
~ He just wanted… to be close to me. Like I want to be there for Ai…~ He pushed the lid off with his foot and laid Ai down in the velvet, catching the little werewolf by the scruff before he jumped on top of the redhead. "Bankara, no." He curled his tail between his legs and hung there, his grey and pepper coat glowing dully in the light from the single bulb in the ceiling. The little pup whined, and his brother translated "He says the new guy's feeling kind of lonely…" Hikari sighed and let Bankara down onto Ai's chest gently, and as the wolf cub curled up Ai's arm came around and held him, and his expression softened. "You two will have to leave soon."
Satoshi told them and brushed a stray strand of hair on Ai's face out of the way. "Why?" "Woof…?"
"Well, first of all its way past your bedtimes, and Ai's going to be in a lot of pain in a few minutes." They both stared up at him with wide innocent eyes."Why?" The Hikari felt a migraine beginning. "Because he's turning into a vampire, like me." Bankara nuzzled Ai's neck with his muzzle and Miken looked into Satoshi's blue eyes. "Did you uh, make him?" He blushed furiously- but Satoshi had seen no harm in explaining when they had asked a few weeks ago, how vampires were made. The blunette smiled despite himself. "Yes." The Niwa shuddered and he picked Bankara up off his chest, saying softly,
"Alright, off to bed. I'm sure he'll want to visit with all of you tomorrow." He locked the door after they left and went back to Ai, staying with him as the throes of the transformation took hold. Soon enough he was awake again and clutching to his sire. He was shivering so violently it was hard for Satoshi to hold him still, and asking feverishly "Why does this… what's happening to me, Hiwatari?" Even as he watched his clear ruby eyes were becoming stained with the orange-red of their kind, and he smoothed his garnet hair back from his forehead.
"You're becoming one of us." He seemed confused, and he clarified "A vampire." He went strangely still and said softly "Am I…going to have to… kill people?"
He held him tighter. "No. No, not if you fight it." Another few hours passed in silence and he was aware of a gradually increasing rasping noise. He glanced down at his fledgling- his eyes were fully the color of hot metal and his mouth was half open. Even from here his lips looked dry. "I know what you want to do."
He said and the Niwa looked up almost hopefully. "It's alright." He unbuttoned the top button of his shirt and moved the fabric down, exposing two fang scars. He really needed to stop wearing white- it always stained. "Go ahead. Please, try not to spill too much." But Ai shook his head. "I don't want to-" He jerked forward clutching his chest and Satoshi saw a glimmer of fang, and as Ai hissed against his instincts he said quietly "You don't have to fight it now. It doesn't hurt me very much."
He struggled a little while longer and finally Satoshi felt cool lips against his throat. But… he also felt tears. "Ssshhhh…"He found himself saying as the sharp teeth sank into him and Niwa drank greedily, spilling crimson over his shoulders and neck. When he was finished he clung to Satoshi's shoulders, staring at the ground and whispering,
"I'm so sorry… I'm sorry…" He laid the boy back down in his coffin, crooning and comforting until the Niwa was asleep. Then he pulled the lid down slowly and curled up next to the polished oak. After all, he didn't want him to wake up alone. It was nice just to lay here and listen to the sound of his little fledglings heartbeat, even though the cold stone was uncomfortable and the oil Takai used on the coffin felt slick against his skin. As his undead body relaxed, and his ivory hands semi-curled, he remembered the last part of Krad's premonition.
~He will become your lifelong companion.~
For the first time in years he was able to fall asleep with excitement for tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and on and on until the end of all things…
The End.
Bankara means 'scruffy' and Miken means 'three different colors of fur.'
