Flames and Family IV: Intended Path

by madashes2ashes

Sequel to Flames and Family III. Tsuna runs away from home in order to start a new life away from the Mafia. Tsuna-centric as always. Rated M for Blood, Violence, and other Adult themes.

37. Chapter 37 Itadakimasu

He remembered.

He remembered everything about Kyoko's murder. He'd been there. He'd sat there and watched it happen. He hadn't done anything to stop it. Why hadn't he done anything to stop it? Had he been that much of a monster? Had he really become so much of a monster that he'd been capable of sitting back and merely watching as they'd raped and beaten his beloved Kyoko? He'd heard her screams. He'd heard her pleas. He's listened to her terrified voice but he hadn't lifted a finger to help her. Even...

Even when they'd cut off her head, he'd merely sat there. He couldn't remember what he was thinking at the time and he had no clue what his reasons were, but he'd just sat there like a cold-hearted bastard. Was he really capable of that kind of thing? Was he really capable of doing nothing in the face of his most precious person being hurt?! What kind of No-Good loser was he?!

Stop thinking about it, my pet, Mukuro-sama ordered. You cannot change the past.

"But Kyoko..." he murmured painfully. He'd gotten sick as soon as he'd woken up with the memory bright in his mind. That had been expected. What hadn't been expected was that he couldn't find it in himself to cry. It scared him. To remember such a horrific thing and not feel anything over it made him wonder what kind of monster he really was. He'd just sat in dumb shock after that while the memory replayed in his head over and over again. "It hurts and my stomach twists, but why can't I cry, Mukuro-sama? Kyoko's dead and I can't cry!"

You've already accepted it, he answered quietly. That was two years ago and you've faced the same memory countless times since then. You've already cried enough, my dearest.

"I've already faced it...?" Tsuna asked slowly. Then understanding dawned on him. "Oh. The dreams. Was this what I couldn't remember?"

You weren't ready to remember, he murmured. You probably still weren't ready, but all the blood you saw last night forced it to come loose. One trauma has summoned the memory of another.

"What am I supposed to do, Mukuro-sama?" He inquired quietly.

Nothing, he replied simply. You cannot change the past. You can only continue to live your life in the fashion you chose. You have already accepted her tragic end and mourned. It is enough, my dearest.

"It doesn't feel right," he mumbled. "How am I supposed to--"

"Suoh...? Is that you?"

"Good morning, Autumn," he replied with a forced smile that he managed to keep up for only a few seconds. Autumn looked at him for a moment as she sat up in the oversized hotel bed with a yawn. "Do I want to ask why you were sleeping next to me?"

"Someone had to keep an eye on you last night," she grumbled in return. "And Poe wouldn't let me leave."

"Try again," he countered without moving from his padded chair. "You realized that there was vampires in the building, you were scared out of your wits, and Poe wouldn't let you leave last night."

"H-How--?" She gaped.

"Lucky guess," he shrugged. "You're not the type to stick around because I got a few wounds."

"D-Do you remember anything about last night?" She asked hesitantly.

"Not a thing," he answered with a wide smile. "After I drank the stuff Poe gave me, I blacked out." It was a lie and he knew it. He remembered almost everything. There were a few parts that were fuzzy toward the end, but he knew what part Autumn wanted to know about. He'd be damned if he'd let her know that he remembered. If he remembered, she'd hold it against him. He still wasn't quite sure what he was thinking. He was going to have a hard time facing Snicker now. He really had cheated, even though it'd been because Autumn had gotten an unreasonably large sum of money. It was a sum of money that she'd obviously needed and wanted. It was a sum of money that she wouldn't have gotten without his agreement to go along with everything. It was a sum of money that he wouldn't have to loan her now.

He'd seen how everything had been going. He'd realized that he had been hurting Poe by denying his instincts. He'd been making Poe look bad in front of his own kind. So, he'd decided to just keep his mouth shut and do what they all wanted. He thought he'd made the right choice. Everyone had won that way. It'd hurt like hell when they'd bitten him. It'd taken everything he had not to scream out or react. There were a few moments that he'd blacked out from the need not to feel the pain. In the end, he thought that they'd all been satisfied, however.

"I... uh... I didn't do anything embarrassing last night, did I?" He asked, knowing that he had.

"Nope," she blurted. "Those vampires just bit you a little and then let you go."

Liar, Tsuna grumbled in his head. He didn't say it, however. It was the answer he wanted because it meant that he could pretend that the previous night hadn't happened. If Autumn was going to keep her mouth shut about it, then so be it. He hadn't slept with her because he wanted to anyway. Admittedly, he'd gotten off because of her. Snicker was better in bed, though. Autumn had just satisfied him because the smoke had made him enjoy it.

"Do me a favor and don't tell anyone about last night," he mumbled. "Snicker and everyone would probably be upset if they knew how many times I'd gotten bitten. No one I knew was supposed to be there and Poe promised that the bites would be gone by the time I went back home."

"I signed a contract not to talk about it," Autumn snapped as she jumped out of the bed. "So, I should be the one telling you that since you're the one talking about it. Since we are talking about it, though... Why the hell were you there?!"

"Because Poe is my friend," he answered simply. "I agreed to be his blood-slave and this was one of my duties. It could have been a lot worse. At least now, I don't have to worry about them attacking me on the streets or killing me."

"Blood-slave...?" She repeated slowly as she sat down on a corner of the bed.

"Poe drinks my blood," he explained with a small smile. "He didn't want to at first, but I managed to talk him into it."

"You talked him into it?!" Autumn gasped.

"Well, he didn't want to," Tsuna shrugged. "But it was hurting him not to. I can deal with a little biting. It usually feels just like a pinprick because he's got something in his teeth that numbs it. I couldn't just sit back and watch him starve. Speaking of starving, are you hungry? Poe told me before I came that I could get all the room service I wanted. I don't know about you, but my stomach feels empty. I was too nervous to eat before I came."

"Y-You don't feel strange, do you?" She asked hesitantly. "Like, you're not craving a rare steak or anything?"

"I was thinking waffles," Tsuna chuckled. "Don't worry about the bites, Autumn. Poe said that he can't turn people. He's been inoculated. The same goes for the rest of the Council."

"Still..." she mumbled in doubt. "You're not hungry for something bloody, are you?"

"No," he sighed with a roll of his eyes. "I'm not craving blood. I'm craving real food. You know, the kind that people eat? Go ahead and order whatever you want, but get me something, too."

"If you say so," she replied. "What do you feel like?"

"Just order some of whatever that is that I'm smelling," he answered, feeling his stomach growling over the scent that had been teasing him all morning.

"W-What are you smelling?" She asked quietly, pausing with her hand on the phone.

"I'm not sure," he answered honestly. "I was hoping you'd recognize it."

"I-Is it blood?"

"No," he laughed. "Will you drop that already? I'm not going to turn into a vampire. It's something else. Can't you smell it? I think it's something with cinnamon in it. Cinnamon...and pepper."

"Oh," she murmured with a faltering chuckle. "Cinnamon and pepper. I'll call down and see what they have. I can't smell anything, but it's possible that they have cinnamon rolls and peppered bacon."

"You can't smell it?" He asked in surprise. "It's really strong. It's been driving me nuts since this--" Tsuna broke off at the sound of a hesitant knock at the door and started to automatically get up. Even the slightest movement hurt, however, which was the reason he'd gotten stuck in the chair after stumbling out of the bathroom.

"I'll get it," Autumn offered upon seeing his pain-filled movements. Tsuna nodded and relaxed back in his chair, more than willing to let someone do it for him. His stomach growled audibly when she opened the door and let more of the smell in along with their visitor.

"You're looking better," Poe grinned as he stepped into the room. "How are you feeling?"

"Worn out and hungry," he admitted with a soft smile. "Autumn was just about to order room service. Do you want anything?"

"Sure," he nodded as he walked over to inspect Tsuna's bandages. "Order me up a salad, half a dozen raw eggs, and a soda."

"Raw eggs?" Autumn blanched.

"They're good energy boosters," he grinned. "I didn't get much to eat like everyone else last night. I had to hold back to make sure that he had enough energy for the others. Just tell them that I feel like practicing juggling if they're curious."

"If you say so," she murmured doubtfully.

"Suoh," Poe continued as she started dialing the number for room service, "I'm going to lay you on the bed and check your wounds over. To get them to go away like promised, I've got to... uh..."

"Lick me," Tsuna supplied with a bright blush. "I know. I kind of figured it out. Nothing ordinary could get them to go away and your tongue has weird abilities."

"Please, don't say it like that," Poe groaned as he lifted Tsuna up and placed him on the bed before he could try to move on his own. "You make it sound like I'm a freak like you and Snicker."

"We're not freaks!" Tsuna squealed.

"Tell that to me when your energy spikes wake me up in the middle of the night," Poe teased. "Now sit still. I'll try and make this quick, but some of these are pretty nasty. They weren't very gentle in tearing into you."

"Alright," he groaned in agreement, slipping off his robe in order to get it out of the way. Someone had thankfully put his boxers back on him during the night, but he was afraid to ask who. All that he cared about was the fact that he wasn't completely naked once his robe was off, unlike how he had been the previous night. As long as he had his boxers on, he wouldn't get embarrassed in front of Poe and Autumn. He wasn't a kid anymore where seeing a little skin gave him nosebleeds and showing his own made him embarrassed. It'd be different without the boxers, but the boxers made it a difference between being naked and being dressed. The grey area in between didn't exist anymore. He had to smile to himself about that. He guessed that noticing that was a sign of maturity.

Of course, that maturity didn't matter at all when Poe jumped onto the bed and positioned himself between his legs. He felt himself turn red over Poe's choice of positioning, which got an amused grin from Poe in return.

"It'll go faster this way," he explained. "I won't have to shift sides as much."

"If you say so," he fidgeted. "Just get it over with." Poe nodded and grabbed his ankle, obviously deciding to deal with the bite on Tsuna's calf first. In response, Tsuna grabbed the pillow from under his head and covered his face with it. Maturity or not, this had to be the most embarrassing treatment that he'd ever gotten. Poe was gentle in pulling off the bandages, but the embarrassment continued to get worse. It got worse because of the sound of Poe's small, pleased moan when he reached a particularly big one on Tsuna's thigh and the wound broke open slightly despite Poe's attempts to be careful.

"That's kind of hot," Autumn commented callously. "Are you two enjoying yourselves?"

"Yes," Poe admitted as he continued his efforts to cover Tsuna's wounds one-by-one.

"No," Tsuna blurted, having completely forgotten that she was in the room.

"You're body is saying something different," she countered. Tsuna squeaked and lifted the pillow off his head in order to look down in dismay at himself. He'd forgotten to tuck himself back and his reaction to the licks was all too visible as it strained against the thin material of his under-shorts. The pillow that had been hiding his face quickly got thrust elsewhere in order to hide something much more embarrassing than his expression.

"Don't worry," Poe soothed without a trace of laughter. "I know it's nothing personal. Some of these bites are in sensitive spots and I can't go faster without hurting you."

"Just hurry up," he mumbled through clenched teeth, not happy with himself for even a moment due to the unexpected erection. "The faster these get healed up, the faster I can go home to Snicker."

"I talked to Mukuro last night," Poe commented in effort to help Tsuna keep his mind off of what was being done to him. "He said you remembered something."

"I don't want to talk about that," Tsuna growled while Poe leaned forward with the pillow separating them in order to start on the wound on Tsuna's side.

"He said it had to do about your--"

"Don't," he said, gritting his teeth at the memories that the words brought up. "I'm serious, Poe. I don't want to talk about that. Mukuro-sama is right. It's in the past and nothing can change it. I'm not that person. I'm not someone that could just sit by and watch while--"

"Calm down, Suoh," Poe ordered gently while Tsuna clenched his teeth even harder. "I don't know what happened, but you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay."

"I'm fine," he lied, purposely looking away from Poe's expression of concern. "I've known that she was dead for a long time now. Remembering just..."

"Just what?" He asked quietly, hovering over a bite on Tsuna's stomach.

"It just lets me know how much of a monster I really was," he answered as he slung his arm over his face to hide it. "Just hurry up and finish already," Tsuna begged pathetically, trying to block out the memory as it began circling his mind like a hungry shark. "I said I don't want to talk about that."

"I'm sorry," Poe murmured. "I didn't know it would be so painful."

"It doesn't matter," he gasped into his arms. "I'm not that person anymore. I'm Suoh and I'm nobody else. That's not my memory. My memories are of us going out to festivals and--" Tsuna froze as Poe started on one of the wounds on his chest. The smell from before was stronger. Much, much stronger. It was so strong that his mouth began watering in hunger. "When did room service get here?" He asked curiously, trying to peek over Poe to see where the cart was.

"It's not here yet," Autumn called from her quiet seat in one of the room's lounge chairs.

"It has to be," Tsuna objected as he tried to prop himself up on his elbows despite the pain the maneuver caused. "I can smell the--"

"Suoh?" Poe asked in worry while Tsuna choked in realization.

"Never mind," he said hurriedly while he silently denied himself. "I forgot to eat yesterday and I'm probably just getting excited. I remember how good the food was here the last time I stayed."

"If you say so," Poe mumbled doubtfully, returning to his task once Tsuna settled back down once more. Tsuna shut his eyes and tried to settle himself. He knew what he was smelling now, but he couldn't explain why he'd been smelling it all morning. He guessed it was Poe's shampoo since the smell was definitely coming from him. Maybe the hotel had picked up a new brand and he'd smelled it on Autumn? No, that couldn't be right. Autumn didn't look like she'd showered yet. Plus, the smell hadn't been coming from her. It had simply been hanging in the air.

"Um... Poe..." He said hesitantly as the scent got even stronger when Poe started working on his shoulder.

"What?"

"Y-You... um..." He said as his stomach rumbled and his mouth watered even more. He wasn't sure why, but the combination of cinnamon and pepper made him extremely hungry. Far hungrier than he could remember being. It sent hunger pains through his abdomen, a feeling he couldn't remember having since returning to the city. The smell coming off of Poe left him dizzy with want. It was so strong. Poe's long hair was like a waterfall of scent that crashed across his face due to Poe's attempts to keep it out of his way while he worked.

"I'm almost done," Poe murmured against his skin, tossing the waterfall away from Tsuna in order to turn his head to focus on Tsuna's neck. That didn't make the smell go away. Far from it. The smell seemed to get stronger once Poe's face grew so close to his own. Tsuna absently wondered if it was a lotion instead of a shampoo before turning his mind toward controlling the sudden urge to lick his lips. It made him feel intoxicated by his hunger. So much so that he had to grab two fistfuls of blanket in order to control himself while he mentally repeated that room service would arrive soon enough. "I know it hurts," Poe murmured with misunderstanding for the motion. He paused to look up and speak directly to Tsuna, leaving off of his neck for a moment. Tsuna took a sharp breath and held it. Poe's breath was overwhelmingly strong with the smell that was making his stomach twist with need. Every word he spoke seemed to drive Tsuna closer and closer to an invisible cliff. "Just try to bear with it. After this, I still have your arms and then I'll be done for now. I'll have to come back and do th-- What are you doing?"

"Sorry!" Tsuna gasped and pulled back with a wide-eyed blush. He-- He hadn't meant to! The smell had just been too strong! He'd just wanted to get closer to the source! He hadn't meant to lick Poe's bottom lip! What was he thinking?!

"Are you feeling alright, Suoh?" Poe asked worriedly. "I didn't think you'd get this turned on. I can get off and--"

"Suoh!" Autumn shrieked as Tsuna succumbed to the scent again. He couldn't help it. It was too strong. It made him too hungry. It made him so hungry that he found himself trying to find the invisible source of the be-damned smell that was driving him crazy. It was inside Poe somewhere. He could smell it. The scent was strong on his breathe, so it had to be in his mouth. Since that was where it was coming from, that was where Tsuna searched in effort to find the taste that would satisfy the craving that was controlling him. Even when Poe sat up and tried to pull away, he latched on and sat up with him in effort to keep him from getting away. He wanted it. He needed it. "What are you doing, Suoh?! What about Snicker?!"

Tsuna broke away from Poe's lips, confused and disoriented. What was he doing? He was hungry, but Poe wasn't food! He'd done something horrible. He'd just kissed Poe full on the mouth with Autumn watching. Why? Was his self-control so lousy that he didn't even need alcohol to get himself going anymore? He thought he'd gotten better about that! Ever since Snicker had accepted him fully, the thought of being with someone else hadn't even crossed his mind! Why would he go and kiss Poe like that?!

No! No, it wasn't that kind of kiss. Poe was handsome, but he wasn't attracted to Poe. Poe was just like Eric, Gigi, Ore, and Ollie to him. It hadn't been a kiss. It--

Tsuna took another sharp breath when the smell almost made him black out with how strong it suddenly got. Staring unblinkingly at Poe, he saw that Poe had taken off his trench coat and his shirt while Tsuna had been sitting in a confused daze. That wasn't why it got so strong, though. It got stronger because the source of the smell was out in the open. Tsuna clenched his eyes shut and looked away from it, trying to deny the hunger in the pit of his stomach. He tried to deny the desire and the need.

"I'm sorry, Suoh," Poe murmured while Tsuna trembled in effort to control himself. "You weren't kissing me. This is what you were looking for. Wasn't it?"

"No!" He blurted in denial of both the words and the dripping cut that Poe had lanced across his own chest.

"The smell is heavy in my breathe since the walls of my mouth is thinner than my skin," he murmured. "You smell it. Don't you? You smell my blood and it's making you hungry."

"No! No, it's just--" Tsuna broke off in bliss. Two fingers swiped across his tongue, having been shoved in his mouth while drenched with the crimson liquid that was making Tsuna's gut clench in hunger. He couldn't have pushed them away, even if he'd wanted to. It was heavenly. So quickly, the mere taste made his stomach loosen and the tension run out of him. It was thick, yet smooth. The texture reminded him of the inside of a chocolate truffle. No. It was like the chocolate soup that the girls had made for Valentines Day so long ago. The taste was heavy with cinnamon, but not so heavy that it became unbearable. It was the exact amount of rich flavor to make him crave more with a peppery aftertaste that made him feel like he'd eaten a large piece of jerked beef instead of just a few drops of--

Tsuna broke away, coughing and spluttering while he shoved the hand away. What was he doing?! That wasn't candy and it wasn't a meal! That was blood in his mouth! Not just any blood, it was Poe's blood! He didn't understand it at all! He'd taken a few drops of Poe's blood in the past as a method of fortifying his own blood, but it hadn't tasted like that! It'd tasted normal like his own blood! Why was he getting images of such strange things?! He didn't understand! He didn't understand that nor why his stomach was starting to tighten again! Why? Why?!

"What's going on?" Autumn asked quietly while Tsuna doubled over from nausea. Not just nausea from knowledge, but the nausea that came from his hunger pains. "Don't tell me that he really turned into a vampire."

"No," Poe replied solemnly. "He's not a vampire. For Suoh to be drawn to me instead of you tells me that much. Plus, vampires aren't attracted by the blood of their own kind. We can smell it, but it doesn't trigger hunger."

"Then what's wrong with him?!" Autumn exclaimed. "You just saw his face! He was completely into your blood! What did you do to him?!"

"Like Mukuro said, his body was too weak for him to withstand bites from even inoculated vampires," Poe answered calmly. "He was already using everything he had. When I gave him my blood, his body absorbed it too well. It triggered the Change."

"I don't understand!" Tsuna exclaimed, lifting his head with a grimace for how his stomach was clenched inside him. "I thought you were all inoculated! You said that you couldn't turn me!"

"The inoculation works like a temporary, reverse type of AIDs," he replied with a flinch. "In my body, it suppresses the agent that spreads the curse and creates a medicine that can be passed to those that we feed off of. Once it's in your body, it alters your immune system to withstand the infection and duplicates itself within your white blood cells. For a person with a healthy immune system, the infection is destroyed before it can take over. Without the infection present, your body just continues functioning like normal and your white blood cells return to normal like neither the infection or the cure was ever present."

"You're not making any sense!" Tsuna yelled.

"Normally, I give you both the vampire's curse and the anti-curse when I bite you," he said slowly. "The same goes with all vampires that are inoculated. The anti-curse kills the curse by using your own body without you knowing. The anti-curse is spread through our saliva and our blood, just like the curse is. You should have been fine this time, just like the other times I've bitten you. The anti-curse is typically so strong that there's only a one in a trillion chance that you could still be turned. Something went wrong this time."

"Obviously!" Autumn exclaimed.

"Shut up," Poe hissed through clenched teeth. "I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to Suoh."

"What happened to me?!" Tsuna cried, doubling over as his stomach clenched tightly once more. "If I'm not a vampire, why is it hurting like this?! Why do you smell like that?!"

"I only have one answer for you and you're not going to like it," he answered.

"Tell me!" He shouted, lifting his head up once more.

"I want you to eat first," Poe replied, making Tsuna turn pale.

"I-I'll eat when room service gets here," he mumbled, biting his lip in effort to control himself. It was hard. It was hard to control himself and it was hard to ignore the crimson drops running down Poe's chest.

"I know the pain you're feeling, Suoh," he said in a low rumble. "Stop trying to control it. You'll only tear yourself apart by trying. If you fight it too long, you can end up hurting yourself or someone else. Just drink, before your instincts start to take over."

"I won't," Tsuna said firmly. "I can deal with it."

"Don't underestimate it," he snapped.

"I'm not!" He yelled. "I'm not going to... to... to do that!"

"You leave me no choice," Poe growled. Tsuna stiffened, automatically expecting that Poe was going to force him. He was surprised, however, when the man didn't. Instead, he got off the bed and walked over to the balcony. Once there, he opened the doors and stepped outside. Before Tsuna could even think of stopping him, he was gone. Tsuna and Autumn both stared at the spot that he'd disappeared from while wondering about the sudden exit. Tsuna could tell that he was still alive, whether he'd jump down or had somehow magically teleported up to the roof. He could tell because his scent was still strong, but it began to grow fainter and fainter as he went farther from the building.

"What the hell?" Autumn mumbled in shock, walking over to look over the railing to see if he was laying dead several stories below. "He's gone."

"He's alive," Tsuna replied. "He--" Tsuna paused as the scent seemed to blink out of existence, leaving only the lingering aroma in the room. "He must have went inside somewhere. I can't smell him anymore." Tsuna sighed once it was gone, thinking that his hunger pains would go away. He gave Autumn a faltering smile. It should be okay. Something had obviously went wrong since he had the strange craving, but he could control it until it went away.

He could control it.

He could--

"S-Suoh...?" Autumn asked hesitantly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he smiled. "Why?"

"You're tearing your pillow up," she answered slowly.

"O-Oh," he mumbled, absently throwing the pillow to the side and out of his hands. He felt tense. The hunger pains weren't going away, even though Poe was gone. He had the inexplicable urge to chase after him. Not to eat him, of course. No. He didn't want to eat Poe. He wasn't a vampire. He wasn't! He just... He just liked his smell. His instincts were crying out to chase after him. He had to chase after him or else he might lose him. He couldn't lose him. If he lost him, he'd lose the smell. If he lost the smell, these pains wouldn't ever go away. He suddenly knew that without a shadow of a doubt. Poe was the only one that could make the pains go away.

No! He could make the pains go away himself. He could and he would! He didn't need blood. He didn't need that sweet aroma of cinnamon nor the hearty tang of pepper. He didn't need that rich texture nor the all-too-satisfying taste. Truffles were a luxury that he could live without. He didn't need cinnamon toast or cinnamon rolls when normal, simple bread would work. He didn't need peppered beef or peppered sausage when normal, unseasoned meat was just as filling.

"Where's that room service?" He growled, feeling his stomach twisting even worse than before. He was so hungry. He was so hungry that the thought he might die if he didn't eat soon.

"It's here," she gasped after rushing out the door to check for him. She yanked the laden cart inside and barely managed to get out of the way before Tsuna was at her side. Blindly, he knocked the warming lids off in order to grab the first thing that came to hand. He didn't care what it was. He had to find something to satisfy his stomach. It was hurting. It was hurting. It was hurting and nothing that he crammed into it seemed to make the knot in his midsection loosen.

Poe could. It wasn't too late to go after him. He knew what direction he'd went in. He could follow him and track him down. Tsuna could tell from how long it'd take Poe to disappear from his senses that his range was large. As long as he got close, he could figure out where Poe had went. He could figure it out and find him. Once he found him, he'd be able to make this hunger go away. Poe could make it go away. If Poe wasn't willing to make it go away, he...

He'd make Poe make this pain go away. It was unbearable. It was worse than the pains in his wounds. It was worse than the punch Isaac had hit him with. It was worse than anything he could remember from living on the streets. It was worse than even the sharpest bite from Hibari's tonfas. He felt as if the hunger was driving him insane with pain and need. He had to find Poe. He had to chase after--

"Where are you going?" Some woman gasped, slamming the door shut before he could manage to do more than crack it open. Tsuna started to ruthlessly shove the strange woman out of the way, but stopped himself when recognition belatedly hit him. He stared at her with his hands poised to rip her away from the door. She stared back, openly trembling before his raised hand. "Y-You're scaring me, Suoh. What's wrong with you?"

Tsuna stumbled backward in shock, staring at his own hand. He'd almost hurt Autumn in order to chase after Poe--

Poe.

He could smell Poe again. Tsuna spun in place, tensing up in preparation. The smell was getting stronger at a horrifyingly fast speed. He was getting closer. Tsuna could smell his scent on the wind. He could tell that he was rushing to return. He was coming. He was coming.

He was coming.

He was coming.

He was--

Tsuna lurched forward with a howl of fury, propelling himself across the room with a single lunge. Poe was prepared for him, sending him flying into the opposite wall with the momentum from his own attack. Without taking the time to shake off the impact, Tsuna lunged forward again the moment that his hands and knees hit the ground. He needed Poe. Nothing else mattered. He had to satisfy his hunger before it drove him to death. Poe wasn't a friend. Friends wouldn't make him hurt this much. Poe wasn't a person. People weren't something that made him hungry.

Poe was simply his prey.

"Damnit, Suoh!" His prey screamed, tossing him off of his back when Tsuna finally managed to grapple him for a moment after a fourth lunge. "You're too far gone already! Pull it back! I thought you said that you could control it better than this!"

Tsuna momentarily froze at the words as if they were a bucket of cold water. What was he doing? Wait. He knew what he was doing. He was trying to make the pain stop. He was trying to make the hunger twisting inside him go away.

"Suoh!" His prey yelled when Suoh lunged forward again and sent them both tumbling onto the ground, rolling around as they both tried to gain the upper hand. For Tsuna, he wanted to upper hand in order to sink his teeth into whatever part of his prey that he could manage to rip open. For his prey, he had the simple wish not to be ripped apart. "Calm down, Suoh, and I'll let you feed!"

No, he wouldn't. He'd run away again. Tsuna knew he couldn't let go. His instincts were screaming not to let his prey get away. Even if it meant killing him, he couldn't let his prey get away. He'd die if his prey got away. He didn't want to die. He wanted to eat and survive.

"Get control of yourself, Suoh!" His prey cried. "What would Snicker think of you like this?!"

Snicker.

The name made him freeze like nothing else could. Poe took full advantage of the hesitation. He didn't take advantage by tossing him away, however. Instead, he took advantage by slamming Tsuna's face into his chest. Instinct took care of the rest. Poe let out a sharp hiss as Tsuna's teeth ripped through his skin. Blood sprayed instantly, filling Tsuna's mouth with his prize. Letting out a small moan as the knot inside him slowly unfurled, Tsuna mindlessly pulled his teeth out and set to licking up the blood as fast as he could. It was good. It was so incredibly good. He wanted more. He needed more. His stomach was begging to be filled.

"There you go, Suoh," Poe murmured, reaching out to run a soothing hand through Tsuna's hair while he continued to take in the blood. "Take as much as you need. I'll be fine as long as I'm not drained dry." Tsuna barely heard the words, focusing only on his stomach while Poe relax on his back in the middle of the floor. He was messy. He didn't have the experience or talent that Poe had in managing blood. As it was, he was barely managing to stay ahead of it before it leaked out onto the carpet. He only managed that by completely forgetting that he had to hold his prey down. Using his hands, he dammed up the flow so that it could pool up and Tsuna could finally suck it away quickly enough to actually be considered a mouthful instead of a mere taste. Thanks to that, he was able to inch his way back toward the blood's source.

He was in mindless ecstasy when he finally managed to clamp his lips over the wound. With every small suck, he could feel his hunger ebbing away in satisfaction. It was tricky to manage swallowing, breathing, and sucking all at once. If he stopped sucking, the blood welled up and leaked out past his lips. If he stopped breathing, he got dizzy. If he didn't swallow, the sucking would be pointless.

"Next time, keep your teeth in the wound," Poe murmured. "That way, you can control the blood flow better."

Tsuna gasped and choked in the middle of a swallow, coming back into his right mind in a flash. What the hell was he doing?! He'd injured his friend and he was drinking his blood! Coughing harshly from the blood he'd choked on, Tsuna pulled away to stare at his hands in shock. They were covered with blood. His mouth was filled with blood. He could feel it covering his chin and dripping down his chest. He's been eating his friend!

"Don't panic," Poe snapped, seeing the expression growing on Tsuna's face. "It's okay, Suoh. I told you to do it and I knew what you were going to do when I left. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I--I--" Tsuna shuddered. "I'm s-so--"

"Don't apologize," Poe said firmly, pressing a wet hand down on his wound. "If anything, I should be apologizing to you. I didn't check your health out before having you take part in the Feast. More than that, I didn't think before I gave you my blood. You didn't do anything wrong, Suoh. You were just following your instincts."

"M-My... instincts...?" He repeated slowly, trying to think of how he could possibly have the instinct to drink blood.

"Yes," Poe murmured. "You were following your instincts as a werewolf."

"What?" Tsuna gasped.

"Don't worry--"

"What do you mean, don't worry?!" Tsuna howled in panic. "I just attacked you and... and... Am I going to--?"

"No," Poe blurted hurriedly, gesturing to tell Tsuna to stop with his assumptions. "Not that kind of werewolf! You're not going to shape shift! That's just Hollywood's version!"

"Then..."

"Just calm down and listen and I'll explain," he soothed, sitting up in order to speak. "It might not be the tale you know, but the original story goes something like this...

Once upon a time, there lived a man in a nice, quiet village. This man was in love with a woman who happened to be a vampire. The vampire bit him repeatedly during their hidden trysts together, but he was never turned. This man was the source of what was later studied and turned into the vampire vaccine. After several years together, the vampire woman received word that she was to wed the Count who controlled the lands. The man, upset over the news and distraught, refused to eat and stressed constantly over the upcoming loss of his beloved vampire mistress. The night before she left, they had one final tryst in which she bit him repeatedly. Due to his poor care of himself, his body was unable to fight off the vampire curse completely.

At first, the man didn't know he had been Changed. He continued his life with the forlorn hope of seeing his lover again and even managed to wed at his neighbor's prodding. Years passed and the change slowly began to show itself. He ate less and less of what his wife served. He took to hunting at a frenzied pace as if trying to find the source of his dissatisfaction. His stomach began to feel a different, unidentified hunger growing stronger and stronger.

He stopped shaving. He stopped tending to civilized notions such as bathing and changing his clothes. He spent more and more time away from his home until finally he simply did not return. He began living in the woods, surviving simply off of instinct and satisfying only the most basic of his needs. In his lucid moments, he would fabricate cloaks and warm wrappings out of his kills in order to protect himself from the cold. Little by little, he became little more than a cave man or a hermit with nothing more in mind than finding the source of his cravings.

Rumors began to spread. Wolf-man, they called him due to his fur-covered wrappings and from the expression that became etched on his face. Just like a lone wolf, his eyes held nothing but primal fierceness and the desire to hunt. People began to fear him, even though he never showed even the smallest amount of aggression for humans. They were afraid of what they didn't understand. The wolf-man's wife, unhappy with how he had changed and disappeared, went to the Count and begged for him to send someone to rid her husband of the demon that tortured him into acting so strangely. She told the Count that it had been as if he had changed overnight, which quickly turned into the belief that he had changed overnight. Stories and fear spread, making the man who dressed in wolf-furs out to be someone who was half-man, half wolf. Rumors of the woman's pleas were added to the story, making people believe that he had been possessed by a wolf overnight. Gossip changed and altered the story, turning it into a tall-tale of a man who had got bitten by a demon wolf and had become one himself.

It all came together about six months after he gave into his desire to find what he was craving. Rumor told that he tended to howl at the moon. The truth was that he still loved his vampire mistress and would sometimes mourn her loss at night, crying out "Aula" in his distress. It was an argument between two men who'd heard the cries that reached the vampiress' ears. Frightened that it was indeed her former lover that was creating such a stir, she went out on a night with a full moon to look for him and managed to find him.

At first, their meeting was a joyous one. It was joyous right up until he realized that it was her scent that he was craving. Frightened by the realization, he sent her away. She went unwillingly, but she still went. Less than ten minutes after she returned to her husband's manor, the man came for her. His hunger knew what it craved after having identified her as the source. You see, he wasn't changed completely into a vampire. He had withstood the Change to a certain point. It was instinct that said that more of what had brought him to that point could further the Change so that his hunger would end. So, he hungered for her instead of hungering for simple, undefined blood as sustenance like a vampire would.

His instinct got the better of him. Like I said, it took a mere ten minutes for him to go hunting. Like a wolf that had found his prey, he broke into the manor in order to go after her. He was like a mindless beast, destroying anything and everything in his path in order to reach his goal. She was surprised when he appeared and was completely unprepared for him. He attacked her and she fought back. In the end, he killed her, ripping out her throat in order to feed. He was found as his hunger was sated and injured with an arrow. He managed to escape into the woods, where his victim's vampire brethren hunted him down in secrecy.

And so, no one knew of what had become of him. The legend of the wolf-man, which was later turned into the legend of the werewolf, became a tale handed down throughout history. Over time, it was edited and altered, becoming more and more fantasy than that of the actual story. From time, another werewolf would appear in the ranks of blood-slaves, which added to the stories of vampires enslaving werewolves. There was one in particular up in the snowy north who wrapped himself in white polar bear fur and became the legend of the abominable snowman. There was another who used coyote fur in the hills who started the legend of big-foot since the man had been the size of Ore. There was also one occasion of a werewolf attacking a vampire in a public place, which got tossed into history as vampires and werewolves being at war with one another.

The only real thing tying all the incidents together is that they all hunger for vampire blood and will search ceaselessly for it until they find it. They can't fight it or help it, no matter how hard they try. Their bodies are half-Changed and instinct craves for the unfinished business to be finished. They hunt like wolves until they catch the scent and then they will go to any lengths in order to satisfy their Hunger. In the end, one vampire realized the cause and found a treatment for it so that the victim didn't go running off into the hills."

"There's a cure?!" Tsuna exclaimed, finally breaking out of the listening spell that Poe had caused with his story.

"I wouldn't say a cure," Poe grimaced. "But it's a treatment so that you can keep living normally."

"What is it?!" Tsuna and Autumn cried in unison.

"The vampire that you're craving gives you blood whenever you're hungry," he answered with a flinch.

"T-That's it?" Tsuna gaped, staring at Poe in shock. Autumn stared, too, before beginning to pace in worry. "I-I have to-- You can't be serious!"

"I'm sorry," Poe murmured with his hand still held down over his wound to keep it from bleeding. "No matter how much blood you drink, the Change can't be progressed again once it's stopped. You fought it off enough to keep yourself from being a vampire, but not enough to keep yourself from the Hunger. You're stuck and I'm afraid I don't have any way to fix you. Werewolves and Vampires were always the same race, which is why we have many of the same weaknesses. The only difference between us is what we crave. Me or you, both of us would become nothing more than mindless beasts driven by instinct unless we feed."

"That can't be true!" Tsuna exclaimed. "Nadine said that you didn't eat for a long time!"

"Che," he spat. "Nadine needs to keep her mouth closed. I might not have fed off of blood, but I've still been eating. Vampires devour the energy that runs through humans alongside blood. We don't have to drink the actual blood anymore. Actually, I can survive off a fresh salad just as easily as I can off of a human."

"T-Then why...? Why did you bite me?" He mumbled in disbelief.

"Because you offered yourself!" Poe snapped in frustration. "I might be able to survive off of a salad, but it doesn't mean I like it! Son of a-- I've went forty years without biting something and I've always eaten enough of what my body craves in order to stave off the Hunger so that I don't devolve. Then you walk into my life, prancing around like a meal on wheels, and tell me to bite you! Don't get my Hunger mixed up with yours! I can do perfectly fine without you!"

"So, this is my fault?!" Tsuna yelled, feeling as if he was being blamed for everything. "You never warned me that there was a chance of this happening! I sincerely remember you telling me countless times that you couldn't turn me! Never once did you ever say 'I can't turn you unless you fucking aren't in perfect health!'"

"It's rare," Poe flinched as the shout struck home. "I didn't think there was a chance. There hasn't been an incident of a werewolf in eighty years. Not since Lord Nephriam bit his nanny while she was asleep with a fever. You seemed perfectly fine."

"How can I be fine?! I've been stressed out from work, stressed out from everything going on at home, plus I passed out the other night thanks to both you and Mukuro-sama! Then I spent two days stressing out about this event so much that I couldn't eat! Then I got here and you made me drink something that tore my body up before I got bitten even once! If I'd known that there was a chance that this could happen, I wouldn't have come and I would have just taken my chances by hiding!"

"I think you were screwed from the first bite last night," Poe grimaced. "And I was the first one that bit you. I was too focused on how you were controlling the Heaven's Fire to notice and you were too distracted by other needs to feel it. Suoh... I really never meant for this to happen. Never in a million years did I think that you would get turned in any way."

"On a side note, all of your wounds are gone, Suoh," Autumn interjected, pausing for only a moment before she continued in her pacing. Tsuna squeaked and looked down at himself in unison with Poe. It was true. All of his bite marks were completely missing.

"That's..." Tsuna mumbled in shock, staring at the circles of clear skin where his wounds had been. It was shocking in more ways than one. Not only had they healed so quickly, but they'd healed without the scar tissue or discoloration of the space around it. There were dozens of the round circles dotting his body.

"Nice," Poe commented, reaching out to touch the spaces. "You managed to Change enough that you got our healing ability. Your body can transmute my blood in order to enhance your own regenerative powers. It's usually Sun energy that is best consumed for healing, but it looks like you can use Cloud just as easily. It propagated your tissue until it covered the damaged areas. Just think. If you let me bite you enough, we can eventually get rid of all your scars."

"That's not funny!" Tsuna squealed when Poe let out an amused chuckle. "I never asked for this! I just want to go back to being normal!"

"I can't make you normal again," Poe replied sadly, his laughter falling to a quick halt. "Don't worry, though. I'll take responsibility. This is the modern age, Suoh. I can have my blood injected into capsules for you. You'll have to take them regularly to stave off the Hunger and you might have to occasionally feed, but there's perks to being a werewolf."

"Like what?!" Tsuna exclaimed.

"Fast healing when you consume my blood for one," he answered, pointing at the healed wounds on Tsuna's flesh. "Pop a Poe Pill whenever you get so much as a scratch and it'll heal itself. There's also your sense of smell. It'll take a while to control with me around, but you'll be able to track others just as well as you can track me once you're used to their scent. I'm not sure if you had it before, but you're really strong, too. You fought on par with me and you were able to keep up with my speed. If I remember right, you couldn't even see me move before."

"T-That's true," he admitted hesitantly.

"So what if you have to drink a little blood," Poe continued with a faltering smile. "I'm sure there's other benefits that will show themselves in time. I can already tell you that your blood is actually more appetizing than less. Not only do you have Sky and Giotto's mark, but there's an earthy hint to your smell now. If anything, I'd say you smell like 'Heaven on Earth'."

"That's not funny either," Tsuna growled when Poe chuckled at his own pun again.

"Come on," he laughed, patting him on the knee. "It could be worse. Which, speaking of smells, I'm curious. What do I smell like to you?"

"Why?"

"I'll tell you what you really smell like to me," Poe said teasingly.

"You first," Tsuna mumbled, curling up around his knees as he tried to come to terms with his situation.

"What a person smells like and tastes like differs from vampire to vampire," Poe murmured with a smile twitching along his lips. "For me, you smell like spiced pumpkin pie. You've even got the aftertaste of whipped cream and the texture of cotton candy. That's to say, cotton candy when your first take a bite and it starts to melt, not after you've already turned it to sugar. Now, what about me?"

"I shouldn't have asked," Tsuna groaned. "Fine. You smell and taste like fresh cinnamon rolls and peppered beef. As for texture, I'd say chocolate truffles."

"Not the most appetizing of combinations," Poe grimaced. "But, I guess it can't be helped. At least I've got a good texture."

"For once, you're easy to swallow," Tsuna commented with a grudging smile.

"That's the spirit!" Poe laughed.

"How's your chest?" He asked, nodding toward the gash under Poe's hand.

"I'm already healing it," he answered. "That's why Autumn is so quiet. She was starting to get on my nerves with her pacing." Tsuna looked over his shoulder in order to see that Autumn had quietly passed out into a chair. Raising his eyebrow, he looked back at Poe in curiosity. "She'll be fine. I just vamped her aura a bit. She had energy to spare."

"What are we going to do about her?" Tsuna asked worriedly. "Even if I can manage to control my Hunger with blood pills, she's probably going to tell her father and everyone about my problem. I... I don't want anyone to know about this. Snicker and Gigi and everyone might look at me different. Even worse, her dad is my Boss. If he finds out that I slept with her last night, I'm a dead man. Who knows what he'd do if he found out that I'm drinking blood. He might shoot me or something."

"You're taking this better than I expected," Poe commented.

"No, I'm not," he corrected with a tremble. "I'm shaking inside, but now isn't the time to let it out. It'll hit me later when I'm alone. I think I got that from hanging around Snicker so much. No matter what happened to us, he always thought about the next step before letting himself feel. Right now, all I can think about is what to do next."

"Plan while you can?" He asked with a crooked grin. Tsuna nodded, unable to deny the words. Some things couldn't be put off until later, but this was a big enough shock that his mind was still processing it. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that it'd truly hit him later. He'd probably spend the night crying instead of sleeping. That was later, though. In this moment, his mind was looking ahead at the consequences.

"I think I got the part covered about me sleeping with her," he murmured in thought. "She thinks that I can't remember anything after I drank the Heaven's Fire and is playing along like nothing happened but me getting bitten a lot last night. The part about me turning into a... uh... a werewolf. That part is going to be a lot harder to cover up. Autumn's really noisy and she's horrible at keeping her comments to herself. If it's not her own ass on the line, she'll let the cat out of the bag without caring. I'm guessing that she doesn't want me to know how she used me and that's why she's playing along about what happened last night. This is a different story, though. She won't think twice about spilling the beans."

"I'll remind her of her contract," Poe said in thought. "The contract states that Mistress Drake can repossess every single thing she owns as well as every penny she has if she speaks about what happened last night. She can also be sued for up to thirty million for breach of contract by merely mentioning that someone else was present. Your Change should fall under that. She was pretty scared last night. I can probably use some scare tactics, too. I'll tell her that I made you forget about your condition with vampire magic and that I lied to you about the purpose of the blood-pills. I can threaten her and tell her that I'll send an army of vampire slaves to suck her dry if she even hints to anyone that she knows the truth, even to you. That should keep her quiet."

"I hate the thought of scaring her," Tsuna murmured with a small grimace, looking over at her sleeping form. "But I hate the thought of anyone finding out, too. Go ahead and do it. Scare her, but don't give her a heart attack. I just want her quiet. I don't want to give her nightmares."

"I can't promise, but I'll see what I can do," he replied. Lifting his hand, he looked over the wound on his chest. It was closed, but it wasn't seamlessly like Tsuna's had healed over. If left alone, it looked as if it scar over. On Poe's unblemished skin, allowing such a thing would be a crime. The wound was still disfigured and Tsuna could still see the shape of his teeth in the closed-off section of skin.

"Y-You should bite me," Tsuna murmured. "That'll go away if you have fresh blood. Won't it?"

"If it's yours, then yes," he confirmed quietly. "How is it that you're still offering yourself? Aren't you afraid now?"

"The worst has already happened," he shrugged. Then he paused as a sudden thought hit him. "Unless my blood isn't any good anymore?"

"It's borderline," Poe answered with a quirky grin. "Depending on who's looking at you, you could be considered half human or half vampire. Our kind could never figure out which world your type fit into, which is why we simply used the human's name for you. Instead of naming you ourselves, we just call you a werewolf to differentiate between our Hunger. Your blood doesn't smell that different from before, which is why I didn't notice at first. So, it's still drinkable to me. A vampire that met you now, who didn't know you before, might have a little more problem, but I don't."

"In that case, go ahead and bite me," Tsuna said with a firm nod. "I'm all healed up and I don't feel tired or--"

"How's your Hunger?" Poe interrupted. Tsuna paused beneath his knowing look. "You stopped when your mind caught up to what you were doing. That doesn't mean that you're satisfied. If you're going to live with this without running for the hills or trying to kill me, you're going to have to learn to not fight your stomach. That means that you're going to have to learn to feed while you're still in control of yourself. You don't want a repeat of what just happened. Do you?"

"N-No," he admitted with a shudder. "But I don't think I can--"

"Would you prefer to kill me?" Poe asked bluntly, his face completely without expression. "You'll try to whether you want to or not unless you satisfy your cravings. If that happens, I won't hesitate to kill you. I came close when you weren't controlling yourself before. If you hadn't paused when you did, I was already thinking of how to make it quick. It comes down to survival, Suoh. If it's between my life and yours, I refuse to hand mine over. You'd fall into instinct and insanity without my blood to drink whereas I can survive without you. I won't give up and let you kill me to satisfy yourself because you were too stubborn to drink while you still have a mind to work with. I said that I'd take responsibility for what was done to you, but I'm not a romantic fool that will let feelings get in the way of reason. You can either learn to feed or you can die. Those are your only two options."

"Can you give me some time to--"

"No," he snapped, making Tsuna's eyes widen. "I want you to do it now, before your Hunger grows again. You've got to satisfy it completely for the moment or else you'll fall into instinct as soon as I leave again. Don't underestimate the Hunger, Suoh. Humans are hunters, just like wolves. Vampires are no different. We both have become civilized beings, but we can't ignore our primitive natures. Human feed on the physical bounties of nature. Vampires feed on the spiritual energies. You are a werewolf now, so you feed on both while unable to be completely satisfied with only one or the other. To feed as both at once, you must consume blood. There is no other way to appease your Hunger, Suoh. In time, you might be able to do as other werewolves have in the past and learn to control your instinct so that any blood will suffice. I've only met one in my lifetime that had managed that and it took years of feeding regularly in order to train his body to accept more than simply his vampire prey."

"S-So, there's hope," Tsuna gasped with a tremble.

"There's hope," he nodded. "Before he died of old age, he was able to live off of blood drained from his livestock and the juices from rare steaks. Others have tried to repeat his feat and have failed, but I believe that you might be able to manage. You are the man who could control Heaven's Fire, after all."

"T-That was only because I've been hit with the Dying Will Bullet in the past," Tsuna flinched. "I'd felt that instinct before."

"Regardless of why, you were able to control it," Poe said firmly. "With practice, your Hunger will be no different. Now. Come and drink or else you won't last long enough to even think of training yourself. There is a long and hard road ahead, but you cannot reach the end unless you take the first step. That first step is accepting your need and feeding."

"Only if you promise to bite me after I'm done," Tsuna murmured after a moment. "I can't do it if I know you'll be hurting afterward."

"Alright," he agreed solemnly. "Just get over here. I know that you're still Hungry. I can hear your stomach growling from here." Tsuna paled, but couldn't argue. His stomach wasn't painfully tight like it had been before, but there was a hollow space inside him that he knew normal food wouldn't fill. "Remember how it feels," Poe ordered as Tsuna slowly crawled forward. "The level of Hunger that you're at right now is when you need to come to me and feed. Until then, just take the blood pills that I'll give you whenever you're feeling even a hint of craving."

Tsuna nodded in understanding as he came to a stop in front of Poe. He could feel his Hunger responding with the distance closed between them. His stomach was crying out to be satisfied in a way that he couldn't explain. It wanted to be satisfied and Tsuna knew that nothing other than Poe's blood could silence it.

He was damned.

Such was he only thought that he could manage to think of as he stared at Poe's neck. He'd run away from home to keep himself from turning into a monster, only to find himself turning into a different kind of one. He couldn't help but wonder who it'd be this time. Kyoko had suffered because of him before and now Poe was going to have to suffer. Who else was going to have to suffer because of his curse?

"You can do it, Suoh," Poe encouraged, reaching back to pull his hair out of the way. "Move closer and you'll be able to smell out a vein. Go slowly and take your times. I'm not in any rush." Tsuna grunted in response and lowered his head so that he was hovering over Poe's neck. Poe was right. He could smell it. It was like there were different balances of Poe's unique flavor combinations. Where his chest muscle had been an equal balance of cinnamon and pepper, his neck had more pepper. Curious, he continued to smell over to his shoulder and down his arm. His arm had more cinnamon, although it was only concentrated in small doses around his muscles. "Blood from fatty tissue is sweeter," Poe explained in full knowledge of what Tsuna was curious about. "Blood from an artery is heartier and will fill you up more. Blood from muscle is balanced. People don't tend to have a lot of muscle in their necks, so that's why we prefer to eat there. It's much more filling than anywhere else, even if the taste is a bit strong."

"Is there always method to the madness?" Tsuna asked as he headed back up to Poe's neck.

"It wouldn't be civilized if there wasn't," he replied. "Ah! Hold on," he gasped, pushing Tsuna away from him for a second. "I forgot to check. Open you mouth."

"Open my mouth?" Tsuna repeated in surprise over the sudden order.

"I need to check your teeth," he replied. "You didn't paralyze me before, but I want to check and make sure that your teeth didn't change. I don't like the idea of not being able to respond, especially when someone is drinking from me. It'll just take a second."

"Okay..." He agreed hesitantly, opening his mouth in order to let Poe do as he wanted. It took much more self-control than he expected in order to not react to the fingers the probed around his incisors. Every time that Poe gently pressed on one of the two teeth, Tsuna had an overwhelming urge to bite down.

"They don't feel swollen," Poe murmured as he continued to feel around the gums around the two teeth. "I don't feel the poison sac for the paralytic, either. Honestly, I can't really tell a difference. I don't think you got that far in the Change before it stopped."

"They're a little different," Tsuna corrected, feeling them for himself once Poe pulled his fingers away. "They're a little longer than I remember, now that you point it out. I didn't notice because they're not getting in the way of my other teeth."

"They shifted a little," he agreed. "Not a lot, but enough that the difference in length won't damage your lower teeth. It could be worse. Chaldien's Change ended before they could shift. He ended up having to get his bottom teeth ground down to make room for the fangs. Yours shifted, but they didn't grow out enough to be noticeable. Not like mine are, at least."

"Do you think Snicker will notice?" Tsuna asked worriedly.

"He shouldn't," Poe soothed. "As long as you don't go pointing them out, your secret should be safe. The Change affects your body in order to compensate for the Hunger, but few of the differences are visible. Your eyes didn't change color and your teeth aren't that noticeably different. You'll have to trim your nails more often to compensate for the increased rate of bone growth. The same goes for your hair. You won't grow out a beard overnight, but it'll take work to keep yourself from looking shaggy after a week. You might think about filing down the backside of your fangs to sharpen them into a hidden weapon to make up for their short length. As it is, it's going to be hard for you to break the skin without getting the rest of your teeth into the biting."

"What do I do?"

"Let me worry about breaking the skin for now," he answered with a small smile. "Just know that you'll have to do it for yourself eventually. Now, are you ready?" Poe didn't wait for an answer. Reaching up, he used his sharpened thumb nail in order to pierce the skin at his neck. Tsuna's stomach rumbled in response from the moment that Poe's aroma hit him. His mind told him that it should be churning at the thought of drinking from the cut that Poe slowly expanded, but his gut had other things in mind. It smelled too good. It didn't smell like blood. It didn't taste like blood. It was as if his taste buds had grown a strange new section. Instead of just the basic four tastes of sweet, sour, salty, and bitter, there was that fifth taste. It was a type of taste that he could only think of as "Umami", as in savory. That sense of taste had been altered so that the taste of Poe's blood made his mouth water in anticipation. It brought out the true flavor of Poe's blood so that he couldn't even sense the metallic tang that his human senses had found prevalent.

"Drink," Poe urged when he was finished, gently reaching out to guide Tsuna's head to his neck. Tsuna trembled in his arms, still trying to deny his need for such a thing. He didn't want to drink, no matter how much his stomach begged him to. The smell was intoxicating, though. The closer he got to it, the more that his gut begged until it finally clenched tightly as if ruthlessly commanding him. The painful spasm broke his self-control, making him blindly dive for the wound with a shudder. Tears welled up in his eyes while his lips clamped over the shallow cut. They broke free at the same moment that his pitiful excuse for fangs dug into the fresh break in order to rip the skip open even more. As the blood began to run into his mouth in answer to his probing, he could only think of one thing.

He was a monster.

---

"It burns," Tsuna hissed.

"It's supposed to," Poe replied callously as he pulled the needle out of Tsuna's arm. "It'll go away in a little while once the inoculation spreads through your system. Be careful not to kiss anyone or let your blood get on anyone until the burning wears off. If you do, you'll turn them. The vaccine you get when I bite you isn't the same as what I just injected you with. This stuff won't go away like what gets transferred. It'll stay in your system and allow you to pass the vaccine to others so that you don't spread the disease. I would have given it to you before the Feast if I'd been thinking any at all. Typically. meals at banquets don't get bitten more than once each, so I wasn't thinking ahead to the consequences. Vampires usually don't like eating after another. It's like sharing the same plate. Occasions like yours, where one person takes more than one bite, is rare. I didn't think--"

"Stop trying to make excuses," Tsuna grumbled. "What's done is done. You were probably just as worried about the Feast as I was and you had too much stuff to think about. You've already apologized, so just stop it. I already told you that I forgive you. I know that you didn't mean for this to happen and you're not leaving me to suffer, so stop thinking about what you can't change. I don't regret what happened, even though it didn't turn out like plan--"

"What?" Poe asked worriedly when Tsuna paused with a grimace.

"Snicker told me before I left that I have the worst luck when I'm alone," he answered. "It looks like he was right."

"I'm sorry," Poe said quietly. "I was there and--"

"Apologize one more time and I'm going to bite you!" Tsuna exclaimed in exasperation. Poe grinned at the words and nodded, finally accepting that Tsuna wasn't going to hold anything against him. Smiling, Tsuna continued packing away what clothes that had actually gotten pulled out of his bag. Once that was done, he set to rearming himself with his retractable knife and his fingerless gloves.

"Don't forget these," Poe said, tossing Tsuna's two sets of gold manacles on the bed.

"I can't take those," he objected. "I didn't--"

"I know you didn't come to get paid," Poe interrupted. "But it'd make me feel a little better. I did turn you into a werewolf, after all. A few trinkets isn't going to make up for that."

"Is the silver going to hurt me?" Tsuna asked worriedly, carefully picking them up by the gold plating so as not to touch the silver signets on them.

"It'll give you a rash, but it won't kill you," he replied with a knowing grin. "Garlic won't do more than throw off your sense of smell a bit and give you indigestion, too. Indigestion can be scary, though. Especially if you get it as bad as Count Duwold did. That poor man used to run from the sight of a clove."

"And the whole thing about not being able to go in a building without being invited inside?" Tsuna asked, throwing out another piece of vampire myth.

"That's Madame Sarah's fault. She always was overly-mannered. A lot of the time, what one vampire does can get noticed and spread around as if it holds true for everyone. Just think. If vampires couldn't go indoors without getting invited, how would we go shopping?"

"Servants?" Tsuna guessed.

"Nice try, but not all of us have a ton of servants. Just look at me. I'd go nuts if I had people tying me down. I like quiet too much."

"What about holy water and crosses?" Tsuna asked, continuing in his curiosity.

"Now, that's a tricky one," he answered. "Crosses don't affect us. They're just symbols, after all. Holy water does, but only if it's prepared a certain way. Water is still just water even in the hands of a priest. Even the right mixture of rose water and salt won't affect us. However, I've met a few, rare priests that added something into their holy water so that it actually gave me a rash. That's why I always dip my fingers in the urn of holy water at the entrance to churches. If it stings, I know that the priest isn't a phony. If it doesn't, then I know that I'm wasting my time."

"You go to church?" Tsuna asked in awe.

"Just for business," he replied with a grin. "Believe it or not, I'm actually pretty good friends with several priests. Most priests start hitting me with their exorcist mumbo-jumbo as soon as they figure out that I'm a vampire, but there are others that are more sensitive in nature. They're willing to sit down and talk to me in a civilized manner. Almost all of them misunderstand my nature at first, but it's nice to meet those that are more focused on saving me than destroying me. It's from them that I get stories that I can use as motivation."

"Motivation?" Tsuna repeated slowly. "What do you do for work, Poe? You never told me."

"I write," he answered with a wide grin. "Guess what I specialize in."

"Horror?" He guessed.

"Wrong!" He laughed, slapping a hand up against Tsuna's back. "I write modern day bible stories."

"EH?!"

"I take old tales and I rewrite them," he grinned. "Have you read the story of David and Tyke?"

"David and Tyke?" Tsuna repeated.

"It was one of my first stories," he explained. "It was a best-seller, too. I took the story of David and Goliath and turned it into a modern-day tale. There was David who was a little kid in a neighborhood, who went up against Tyke who was a bully leader of a gang. David won, using a single marble that he threw. There's a lot more to it than that, but that was the premise. I've done a lot of others, too. There's 'Jonas and the Fat Wife'. I also wrote about 'Neal and the Yacht'. I've also dabbled a little into Greek mythology. My favorite was the modern-day story of Medusa and--"

"You're joking," Tsuna stated in shock. Poe blinked at him in surprise before giving his biggest grin yet.

"Nope," he laughed. "I might be a vampire, but I'm not evil. No matter what popular culture wants to think, I'm a lot more ordinary than you might think. I have special needs, but I'm not so much different than regular humans. I still need to eat, bathe, and find shelter like anyone else. I'm a little better at being able to survive alone, but that doesn't mean that I prefer it that way. I still have to work and get a paycheck to supply for my comfort. I'm not like those on the Council. I don't have centuries of built-up wealth and an ancestral manor to fall back on."

"So that's why you always bring me such weird amounts of money," Tsuna murmured in thought.

"I figured giving you cash was easier than finding a new nursery for my plants," he shrugged. "Speaking of, I need to go check on them. My marigolds weren't looking that good when I left. Do you have everything?"

"Um... yeah," he answered after looking around to ensure that he didn't forget anything. "I've got the pills you gave me in my pocket and all of my clothes together. I think that's everything."

"Take these and let's go, then," Poe said, holding out a pair of sunglasses. "I need you out of my hair so that I can tend to the Council. They're still going to be in the city for another week and a half."

"Why sunglasses?" Tsuna asked curiously, accepting them automatically out of trust in Poe's judgment. "I thought sunlight didn't affect vampires or werewolves."

"It doesn't," he laughed. "If it did, I wouldn't be giving you sunglasses because they'd be useless for protection. I'm giving them to you because your eyesight is a lot more sensitive now. You haven't noticed because you're indoors, but I could tell since you could track my movements. Let's just go. You'll understand when we get outside. You'll need the sunglasses until you can get used to it."

"What's 'it'?" Tsuna asked, snatching up his backpack in order to chase Poe out the door.

"You'll see," he answered as they stepped into the elevator. "It's faster to just let you figure it out on your own rather than trying to explain it. With it being sunny outside, you won't be able to miss it."

"If you say so," he replied doubtfully. Walking through the lobby, Tsuna couldn't help the small smirk he sent when the same doorman who'd worked on the first night he'd arrived was present upon his exit. The man gaped at him for a moment, obviously shocked that a poor-looking person like him had been in the hotel for three days. After the smirk, Tsuna erased the man from his mind and stepped out onto the sidewalk alongside Poe. As soon as the sunlight hit him when he was no longer under the entrance's awning, he immediately saw what Poe had been warning him of.

First of all, the sunlight was strong. It was so strong that Tsuna backpedaled into the shade with his eyes clenched shut so that he wouldn't be blinded. Secondly, it seemed to reflect off of everything. What would normally only be a small shine on streetlamps, cars, and other reflective things seemed to be ten times as shiner as usually. The light seemed to bounce straight for his eyes, sending spasms to his eyes whenever he tried to look around. Finally, there was the level of how he could see anything in itself. He hadn't noticed when he'd been shut in the hotel room, but he could see more than ever before. The world was full of so much more activity and movement than he ever expected. Whether it was birds perched on windowsills or dust motes dancing in the air, he saw a level of detail in the world that he'd never paid attention to before. It was as if his eyes were focusing at three distances at once.

It gave him a headache.

"Look at the sidewalk," Poe hissed. "And put the glasses on. You'll get used to it."

"I can see how the rumor got started that vampires are scared of sunlight. It's enough to make me consider heavy drapes and seclusion," Tsuna groaned, pulling off his eye patch in order to slap the lenses in place. He heard Mukuro-sama cry out in his head when he looked around without the eye patch on, making him snap his possessed eye shut and freeze in panic. "What's wrong?" Tsuna gasped.

That hurt, Mukuro moaned into his mind. Warn me next time you take that off. I can't shut you out without it and my eyes aren't made to see like yours, my pet. You just gave me a wake up call from hell.

"Sorry," Tsuna grimaced. "I'll keep it closed for now. I can't wear both at the same time."

See that you do, he grumbled before fading away.

"What was that about?" Poe asked as Tsuna stuffed his eye patch into his backpack and slung it over his shoulder.

"I hurt Mukuro-sama," Tsuna answered before slowly attempting to brave the sunlight again. "He's not used to my eyes any more than I am."

"It serves him right," Poe muttered under his breath. Tsuna simply shrugged at the words, figuring that Mukuro and Poe just weren't capable of becoming friendly with one another. They seemed to have settled their differences, but that didn't mean that they liked one another. Some people just weren't meant to get along, he supposed.

"Why don't we take the alleys?" Tsuna suggested after only two blocks of walking in the sun gave him a splitting migraine. "There's more shade and it's less crowded."

"Alright," Poe agreed. "I go by rooftops mostly, so I never learned the ground routes outside of the main streets. If you know the way, then let's go." Tsuna nodded and ducked down into the first alley he saw. He sighed in relief once he was hidden away between the two buildings. With the narrowed perspective and the dingy nature of the hidden brickwork, the blinding glare was reduced incredibly. On top of that, the shade killed the light reflecting off of the dirt hanging in the air so that it was unnoticeable. "Better?" Poe asked curiously.

"Much," Tsuna confirmed.

"Have you thought about what you're going to tell them?" Poe asked as he followed Tsuna down the alley.

"A little," he replied. "They're probably going to be pissed that I didn't call when I promised to. I'll tell them that I just overslept and I didn't want to wake anyone. Then I'll tell them that I spent all day Friday and Saturday getting health treatments at the hotel's spa. They shouldn't complain too much. They've been telling me to pamper myself more even though we can't afford pointless luxuries like that."

"And the pills?"

"Herbal energy supplements," he supplied. "The coating you put on the capsules hides what's inside, so they won't know that it's blood. They look just like normal pills, even though you made them so freaking big."

"Remember to break them open in your mouth before you swallow," he responded. "That's why I made them a decent size. There's enough in each one to give you a satisfying mouthful without spilling over. Just bite down and chew. The capsules skins are tasteless, but they're edible and they double as a breath mint. Just don't let anyone else take one. It won't hurt them, but the taste will give you away."

"I'll remember," he promised. Tsuna looked down at his hand as he walked, still unable to fully believe what had become of himself. He was a werewolf. Poe had warned him that his Hunger would settle into a cycle. Some found it peaking around the time of a full moon while others got it on the same day every month. Poe had even had the poor humor to joke that Tsuna might seem like he's got PMS to people. Pre-Mastication-Syndrome as he called it. He'd also been warned to never consider himself a vampire. Some true vampires found it insulting and would kill him over the attempt. It was the same reaction that a human would have when faced with a cannibal. Rather than admit that they were the same, vampires preferred to name him differently and claim that he was something else entirely. That wasn't to say that vampires hated werewolves. They simply disliked to see their own true natures exposed and preferred to pretend that they were unrelated.

There were other reason why they were labeled differently even though they had the same curse. The main one was how they were Changed differently by it. Werewolves had more of the primal instinct inside them that Poe's kind had disposed of through evolution. It was still there, but it wasn't strong enough to control them outside of their Hunger. Vampires had culture and breeding as their defense. Werewolves relied on instinct and their primal senses. Where Poe bit for pleasure and taste, Tsuna bit for survival and necessity. Where Poe could vamp anything with a life force and was allowed to be picky in choosing his likes and dislikes, Tsuna only had the choice between vampire blood or starvation that would lead into madness.

They were alike, but they were different. It was the differences that defined what they were. Tsuna knew that better than anyone since he knew the truth that Poe didn't want to point out. Poe said that true werewolves didn't shape shift, but Tsuna already had. He might not have physically turned into a half-man, half-wolf, but his mind had. He'd lost his humanity when his Hunger had taken over. He had a feeling that Poe would still be Poe, even if he was starving. He'd seek out food mindlessly, just like Tsuna, but he wouldn't be brutal about it nor would he ever turn on a friend without consent. On the other hand, Tsuna would turn on his friends and the people he loved in order to fill his needs if he allowed his Hunger to grow too much. He would shift into a hunter again with Poe being his prey.

"Hey, Poe," Tsuna said softly. "This is real. Isn't it? I'm not just in some weird nightmare."

"This is as real as it gets," Poe murmured unhappily. "Like it or not, there's no turning back."

"That's what I thought," he sighed quietly.

---

Omake:

Ashes: So, what do you think?

Tsuna: You HAD to go and turn me. Aren't I screwed up enough already?

Ashes: But, but, but--

Tsuna: I thought you were trying to make me seem normal!

Ashes: You're not allowed to be normal. You know that.

Tsuna: I know, but damn! Povery, Perversion, Possession, and now you're turning me into a Poe-Pill-Popper! What's next?

Ashes: You'll get over it. It's not like it'll change you THAT much. You'll just be a little more touchy.

Tsuna: I've got Gokudera for that. Oh! That's right. You took Gokudera away.

Ashes: Sarcastic much?

Tsuna: It's from hanging around Autumn. Really. Could you have made her any more of a bitch?

Ashes: Yes.

Tsuna: I shouldn't have asked. At least she's starting to gain some sense of responsibility for others. That Vampire Feast really must have shocked her for her to have worried about me.

Ashes: I think her own helplessness shocked her. I doubt she'll take that laying down.

Tsuna: Too true. I just hope she doesn't take it out on me.

Ashes: I doubt it. She kind of owes you for making her notice it before she became a Boss.

Tsuna: So, is she really going to win? I'm not sure if having her as my Boss is really better than having Gabriel.

Ashes: Shh! You don't know about the race for succession! Remember?

Tsuna: I'd remember if you gave me my memories back.

Ashes: Nice try. You're not ready yet. There's still a long way to go before that happens. We have to see what your limits really are. This is the last F&F fic, after all.

Tsuna: Don't remind me. I get a happy ending at least. Right?

Ashes: ...

Tsuna: Right?

Ashes: Do you?

Tsuna: I shouldn't have asked. I'm going to go lay down now.

Ashes: I just like scaring you. You'll figure out how it's going to end when it ends, just like everyone else.

Tsuna: You're too cruel.

Ashes. It's more fun that way. Until next time!