Chapter Nine: Bittersweet Surrender

*Where was she? He slammed his fist into the wall again. Darien was frustrated. He had spent over two hundred years chasing after the ghost of girl who called herself Serenity. God he wanted her back. In all of the two hundred years he had been searching for her, he had never found any woman that even closely matched Serenity's spirit and attitude. No one else had made his stolen blood boil the way she had, no one else had sent shivers up his already frozen spine.

Then, last night, he had received word that one of his subordinates had not only found her, but also made it away with his damned life. Of course, the minute he had heard that, he had called the airport and arranged for his transportation. He thought would catch her this time; he thought she would be his.

Now he wasn't so sure. He had been up and down the main street of Tokyo four or five time now, and one sign of her had made an appearance. He assumed that she had burned the outfit he had left her, so tracking it would be out of the question. And there were so many people, who could find anyone in this city?

He slammed his fist into the wall again, then caught a whiff of something on the light breeze; something that he had not smelled in over two hundred years. He smelled Serenity. He would know that delicate smell of clean soap and roses anywhere. Quickly heightening his sense to there maximum capacity, he raced down the street and off to find his run away mistress.

*

"Look at us! We've just been sitting here all day talking! It's nearly seven o'clock!" Serena exclaimed, standing to look at the great grandfather clock next to the entrance.

"Hey, yeah. Wow. Is anyone else hungry?" Duo asked the group.

"Yeah, I'm starved. I could go for some food right about now." Said Quatre, standing and stretching along with the rest of the group.

"There's a burger place down the street from here, why don't we head over there?" Trowa said. When no objections were made, he assumed everyone was in favor of the idea. "If we leave now, we should be able to get a table before the afternoon crowd comes in."

"Fine. Let's go then." Wufei agreed.

"Would you all mind if I joined you? I would rather not be alone." Serena asked quietly.

"Sere! We thought it was a given you were invited. No matter what you eat or don't eat, you're still one of us don't you know!" Duo laughed happily. Hiiro watched Serena beam in response. Every time he saw that smile, he wanted to jump. What was that all about? So suddenly last night he had started feeling strange about her.

He didn't want her alone with anyone other than himself, he didn't want her smiling at anyone else but himself, but at the same time, he was happy when she was happy, even if it was when she was with a different guy. Where had this feeling of possession and jealousy come from? He shook his head, trying to make sense of the new emotional turmoil that was churning within his heart.

"Thanks guys!" She said. Serena was so happy they still thought of her as one of them. Then she caught a glance at Hiiro's face. She knew he had accepted her more than any of the others, but he was acting so strange. Not that she wasn't. After last night, she hungered for something she couldn't fathom.

She knew she wanted Hiiro near her. She knew she wanted more than that. She just didn't know what exactly she wanted. After she had bit him, she felt connected to him in a way she couldn't logically understand. Though she was trying to, she couldn't come to a solid conclusion about what her feelings meant. It was strange, but at the same time, felt good and warm inside. Slowly, a vague memory of a lost feeling was resurfacing.

As the gang of six walked down the street to the burger restaurant, they talked and laughed and joked as if they were the most normal people in the world. Their conversation was light and full of harmless insults to each other. As soon as they sat down and had ordered their food, things change slightly. Hiiro noticed the color loss in Serena's face and knew what was coming.

"Guys, I'm going to use the lady's room. I'll be right back." She said.

"I'll come with you." Hiiro said in monotone voice that left no room for arguments.

"Hiiro? The lady's room? That's uncharted territory man. Do you really have that many guts?" Duo joked with him.

"Hnn." Was his response the braided boy. He knew full well Serena wasn't going to the lady's room, but going out to feed instead. As he and Serena stepped out the back door of the restaurant, she turned to him.

"Hiiro, you didn't have to come. You probably don't want to see this anyway." He watched as she tilted her head down towards her chest in shame and crossed her arms over her chest as if she were cold.

"There's a woman in the corner over there that should hold you for a short while." He said with a slight smirk. He grabbed her lightly by the shoulders and spun her around in the direction of the woman. "And when you've finished with her, you can have some desert."

"Desert? But I don't eat…"

"Go feed." He lightly pushed her forward, then stepped back to watch her stalk her innocent and unsuspecting victim. After a brief struggle, he saw her sink her long sharp fangs into the woman's soft neck and shuddered.

He remembered the delicious feeling of her soft lips upon his neck, and the coolness of her breath. He remembered the slight pain that became a overload of sensations that made his adrenaline pump and blood rush. By the time she was done with the woman, he was completely gone within his mind.

As Serena finished the small life-giving snack, she turned to look at Hiiro. She noticed his glazed over eyes and vague expression. She wondered what he was thinking about. Then she walked up to him and gently touched his cheek with her frosty hand. She gasped as he grabbed her hand and turned it palm up, then brought it to his mouth and kissed it.

"Hiiro?" She breathed. He wrapped his warm arms around her cold body and bent down to kiss her shoulder.

"Bite me." He whispered into her ear. His very proximity to her was driving him mad with an insatiable hunger for her to be that close with him again.

"I can't. It wouldn't be fair to you." She whimpered. He was so close…

"I asked for it. Don't you want desert?" He asked her, sending chills up and down her back.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Were her last words before she kissed his neck gently, then opened her mouth to make the incision. As she drank his dark red blood, she felt warm. She had never felt so warm in her entire life. As the warmth flooded her blackened veins, she knew she had to let go or he would pass out.

As she kissed his neck, he felt the hairs on the back of it stand on end. Her icy lips barely brushed up against his neck, then came down harder in what should have been a bruising bite. He felt the blood drain from his body like it was being soaked up by a sponge. Then, just as quickly as the sensation had begun, it ended.

"Keep going." He commanded her. He needed to feel her, to be one with her again.

"I'll kill you." She whispered, her breath raspy and her lips trembling.

"Then I'll die a happy death."

"No." She pulled away from him and looked into his eyes. By now the moon had risen and was glinting over the roofs of the buildings that loomed over them. She could see how the moonlight highlighted his hair, face and eyes, giving him the appearance of something divine. Pulling herself back into his warm embrace, she strung her arms around his back and snaked them up into his hair. The messy strands slipped softly through her fingertips as she continued to stare into his eyes.

"Hiiro. I can't kill you. You don't deserve it. No one does, but you least of all. You're too innocent. Don't let me corrupt your soul anymore than I already have."

"Serry, you haven't corrupted me. Long before I ever met you I was damned."

"That's not true. Hiiro, you are never damned until you deny what you believe deep within your heart."

"Then why are you damned? You know you don't believe that just because you're a vampire means you have to kill. Why does that save me from damnation and not you?" His voice was growing cold and harsh.

"I… I… I don't have the answer to everything Hiiro. Why ask me a question I can't answer?" A lone tear began to trickle from her eye- a tear of blood. Hiiro bent forward and kissed it, drinking in the copper tinge of the crimson liquid.

" I'm sorry." Was all he whispered.

"Let's go back in. The other must be wondering where we are." Just as they pulled away from each other's arms, the back door swung open.

"Yui, Serena. Where have you been?" Wufei said bluntly, obviously not taking notice of the compromising position they had just moved out of.

"Sorry Wufei. I got hungry and need to find a snack." Serena told him quietly. She watched as his eyes widened, then blinked and opened again.

"Oh." He stammered. He hadn't expected that. Well, who was he to stand in the way of the vampire nature to need to drink blood? "Well, come in now. Yui, you're food is getting cold." He spun around and went back inside, followed by two very quiet friends.

*

This was it. Darien was sure that this was the place. It positively reeked of her scent. He looked around the rooms again. He found her coffin in the bedroom. The very same coffin he had given her. He ran his hands over the soft, smooth and well-polished wood. Then he looked in the boxes that were sitting all around the room.

He found dozens and dozens of candles. So she liked candles did she? Carefully, he began unpacking the candles from the boxes and setting them up all around the room. Once he was done, he threw the box of wooden stakes out the window for good measure. Nothing was going to interrupt him tonight. Nothing.

Walking around the rest of the apartment, he found her kitchen was well stocked with food of all kinds. He briefly wondered why she would need food if all she drank was blood. Then he shrugged the thought off and explored the balcony. While he stood under the moonlight, he took a deep breath, then sighed. Suddenly, his ears perked up. He heard her voice, her laughter. She was on her way home. Soon she would be his again. He quickly went back inside and shut the balcony door. He wouldn't want her suspecting anything, now would he?

*

"Serena? Earth to Serena? Are you there space cadet?" Duo bugged her as they walked up the stairs to their apartments. Serena heard him and began laughing at his phrase.

"Roger that mission control. Space cadet here. I read you loud and clear." Everyone began laughing, except Hiiro, who merely smirked. She caught his eye and knew the look he shot at her meant that they needed to talk, and soon.

" I was going to ask if you wanted to come to our place for some coffee. Then I realized you don't drink coffee." Duo said, still laughing.

"Well, I'd like to come anyway." She grinned at him.

"Great!" Quatre said as he waited for Trowa to unlock the apartment door. As they all entered the apartment, Quatre and Trowa went to make the coffee. Duo sat down and turned on the radio. Wufei just sat down at the kitchen table watching Quatre and Trowa.

"Serena, can I speak to you outside?" Hiiro asked her quietly.

"Sure." She answered, her voice equally as solemn. She allowed Hiiro to lead he out to the balcony and close the door behind them from prying ears. Then she saw Duo walk up and press his ear against the glass door, as if he were trying to here what they were saying anyway. Quatre and Wufei came up behind him and while Wufei dragged Duo off, Quatre closed the heavy drapes on them so they could have some privacy.

Hiiro, too, watched the episode with Duo, Wufei, and Quatre and had to smirk. Then when he caught Serena's eyes again, he straightened his composure. He lost the slight smirk he had been wearing and his eyes grew darker. After the incident in the ally, he knew what was plaguing him, and thought that if he told her, she would know how to cure him.

"Sere." He began. Then he stopped. He couldn't do it. He was afraid. For the first time in his life, Hiiro Yui was afraid.

"Hiiro. I need to ask you something." Serena took over. She saw he was hesitating, and thought that now would be as good a time as ever to tell him.

"Hiiro, last night when I asked you if you could love a dead person, you asked me how do you love a person if they are dead. I never answered you. Well, I can't answer that question either. But you never answered my question. Could you, would you, love a dead person?" She held her breath, waiting, hoping, he would understand what she was trying to tell him.

"Could I? Would I?" He said, unsure of what she was asking him. How could someone love a dead person? A dead person was buried under six feet of the earth. But Serena wasn't buried, and she was dead… his heart skipped a beat.

"I could, I would, and I do." He took her hands in his and placed them around his neck. "Serenity." Was the only word he could manage to say. She was so close to him that it was messing with his mind. He could barely think straight.

"Hiiro?" She questioned him, trying to make sure he understood what she meant.

"Serena. I love you." He whispered into her ear. He felt her pull in closer to him and hug him with all of her strength. They just stood there for a long while, hugging and holding onto each other, drawing strength from each other's solid bodies. Soon, he felt her draw back slightly and kissed his ear.

"I love you too, Hiiro Yui." Slowly she trailed butterfly kisses down his cheek to the corner of his mouth. Then she stopped, unsure of what to do. He settled that problem by sliding his head towards hers and meeting her lips with his own.

An innocent and chaste kiss soon became heated and full of passion. He deepened the kiss with his strong and solid kisses, so full of desire that it almost overwhelmed her. She too, kissed back with as much pent up love and passion as she could possibly muster. As they broke breathlessly, they stared into each other's eyes. Love could be found in both sets as they just stared.

"Let's go in, you need to sleep." Hiiro told her.

"I don't sleep. It is you who needs your rest." They smiled lightly. As they walked back into the apartment, Hiiro snaked his arm around her waist and she rested her head upon his shoulder. They fit so perfectly together… They walked in to see the four other boys sitting around the kitchen table drinking the strong black coffee Trowa and Quatre had made.

"So how were things on the balcony?" Duo pressed them. "It was pretty cold out there, but I'm sure you were able to heat things up." He snickered along with the three other boys. Hiiro shot him a death glare and Serena stuck her tongue out at him.

"I'd be quiet if I didn't want bite marks in me neck, Duo." She said sweetly. She watched as he squirmed, then gulped and backed his chair up.

"You won't be biting anyone unless it's me." Hiiro growled possessively.

"You let her bite you?" Trowa asked, his full of wonder and slight fear.

"Hnn."

"Are you crazy Yui?" Wufei asked him.

"No, he is not crazy. Incase you've forgotten, I don't kill my victims, I simply take enough of their blood until they faint. And I didn't even take that much from Hiiro." Serena said, defending herself.

"It doesn't hurt. It feels... incredible." Hiiro said quietly.

"It does? Asked Quatre.

"Can I try it?" Duo asked.

"No." Serena and Hiiro said simultaneously.

"Sorry!" Duo yelped again.

"I'm going home. Good night guys!" Serena said with a huge yawn. A chorus of 'goodnight' was heard and she opened the door and went across the hall. Hiiro sat down and grabbed a cup of coffee. He was ready for Duo's teasing to begin. He even had enough bullets this time.

Serena walked into her apartment and knew something was amiss. It was one of the perks of being dead, she could always tell when something was wrong, or different. She noticed a soft glow coming from underneath her bedroom door and raised her hackles. Someone was here. And she had a pretty good idea of who it was.

Seeing her sword laying on the couch next to her, she picked it up and unsheathed it. Holding it out in front of her, she walked towards her bedroom. Kicking the door open, she saw that all of her candles that had been packed were set up and lit. Blood red rose petals were scattered about the room, and her wooden stakes were missing.

"Like what you see?" Came a cold evil whisper from behind her. Strong cold arms surrounded her, causing her to gasp and drop her sword. Now she was unarmed and defenseless.

"I've missed you so much my vicious lover. I've been looking for you."

"Well, if anything, you smell ten times worse now, and I've been avoiding you." She spun around, twisting out of his grasp and facing him. "Count Darien. I'm giving you till the count of ten to get out of my apartment, or you'll regret it."

"I will, will I? Do you remember what happened last time you said that to me? You became a vampire. I certainly don't regret that. Do you?"

"Bastard! Get the hell out!" She screamed at him.

" I can't very well do that, now can I?" He smirked evilly. Then he advanced on her slowly, as if to build an even greater fear in her. "I could smell you a block away. Now I smell you, and something else. Who have you been with?" he asked her darkly.

"None of you god damn business you undead monster!" He grabbed for her arms and held them tightly, pinning her against the wall right above her cross and next to her coffin.

"Tell me!" He screamed in rage. She looked into his eyes and saw red. Blood red.

"Serena?" Came an enraged yet calm voice from the doorway. She looked to see Hiiro and Trowa standing in the doorway, one with a gun, and one with a wooden stake. *

~~~More of that sappy romance I love! Anyways… PLEASE REVIEW! Much Love, Vixen~~~