Song lyrics belong to Nine Inch Nails, not me.
Once again I would like you all to know this story is dedicated to Angel-Belle and Kitsune Hashiba.
There will be one minor pairing mentioned in this chapter and also one implied (you blink, you miss it). I can't say whom it involves however. It's a big spoiler. Story from Jounouchi's POV, in case you didn't know already.
Chapter Two: His Creator
They keep calling me
Keep on calling me
They keep calling me
Keep on calling me
I knew I had to leave Seto before I died completely inside. I'm sure if we were ever to meet again, he'd understand why I left. I didn't want him to see me changing. I suppose you could say I wanted to spare him the pain.
So one night I told him I was going out to hunt. I left him then and never came back. It wasn't a lie exactly. I did hunt. I just with held the fact that I would never return to him.
It sounds cruel, I know. But if I had told him, I don't believe I would've left. They say that goodbyes are always hard and I believe it. So I just left. I didn't want him to tell me how much he loved me, or forbid me to go. I'm not strong enough to resist him and would've ended up running right back into his arms.
Part of me still regrets leaving him. That's the part of me that's still human; the part that clings helplessly onto him. Once I realized that I would not be able to grow as a vampire (that I would truly only weaken), I left him and everything I owned in that small apartment of mine with no intention of ever returning.
Would I ever be returning to Seto? Even I don't know the answer to that question. I might return to him if he were to ever approach me again. Like I've mentioned before, I don't believe I would be able to turn him away. The question I often ask myself is: when will we meet again? Perhaps in a year, maybe tomorrow, it could take millennia before he and I catch up again. I just know it's going to happen sooner or later.
As of now, however, the only things I am concerning myself with are other vampires. Both the human and vampire part of me alike wanted to know exactly what it meant to be a vampire. Seto hadn't taught me anything. It was very rare that he actually would pull himself out of his small little cage to talk to me, or kiss me (the latter being the more frequent one).
His actions left me craving for the knowledge. The answer to some of the things I wonder above most others. Was every vampire like him? Would I become like him? I had to know. So I began my search.
It didn't take me long to pick up on something. Kyoto records showed files on a Seto Kaiba dated back to the late 1700's. He had a younger brother named Mokuba that died at age fourteen. He had bled to death from two puncture wounds on the side of his neck. Seto had mysteriously disappeared within a week and became the main murder suspect.
I didn't need flashy signs or lights to tell me that's where I needed to be heading. I took the next possible flight to Kyoto. Now that I was there, I didn't know what to do. Where did one start looking for vampires anyway? The only place I could think of was Seto's old house. The only thing is, I didn't know if it would still be standing or not but it was the only lead I had.
I headed there. Even though it was my first time in Kyoto I found it with out much trouble. Vampire instincts. I suppose you could call it that. Or maybe I could sense lingering energy from when Seto used to live there; something around the lines as 'I'm pulled to my master' sort of thing. Then again, he's probably more of a mother then a master. Master is just less disturbing.
My eyes laid upon the traditional style Japanese-mansion that used to belong to Seto himself. Looks like it's still standing. Still standing but from the looks of it, I could easily say that Seto and his brother were the last people to live in it.
I push open the sliding door as carefully as I can. It looks like if I were to put too much force on it, it would crumble instantly. The room I entered, which I assumed was the living room, was in just as bad of a condition as door was. Every inch of it was covered in dust, curtains and furniture were worn with age, not to mention the floors looked as if they would give way with the smallest of steps. I was going to have to be careful getting around this place.
As I walk through the wrecked house I come to one conclusion, this place is huge. Most of the rooms look like they were never even lived in; though they are still worn and rotten like the rest of the house. In fact, I haven't come across even one room that looks like someone spent more then two hours in. That is aside from the dust and such. I sigh deeply, opening one of the near by doors.
I had spoken too soon. Pushed against the far back of room was a bed and a rather small bed at that. I knew that it couldn't belong to Seto, because, well, to be frank, Seto's a giant. It had to be his younger brother Mokuba's room. Aside from the bed there wasn't much else in the room. There are some worn books, a Goban (1), a dresser full of worn clothing and a desk with a small wooden box on top of it.
The only thing that seems really appealing is the small wooden box. I approach the desk and look at the box. I can see that it has some kind of marking on it, but the dust covers it. I sweep my hand across it to reveal the character "rei". I laugh, shaking my head. It wasn't "rei" as in "zero" or "rei" as in "bow" but the character clearly stated "rei" as in "spirit" or "ghost" (2). Suddenly the contents of the box seem less appealing. I mean, who in their right mind would want to own a box that said "ghost" on it?
Still, it might have something that can answer what I came here for. I lift up the lid and look inside. There's a journal, a worn portrait, and brown hair taped to a piece of paper. It didn't take a genius to figure out the hair was Seto's. I figured the portrait had to be of Seto too.
I picked up the lid the lid to place at back on. It's knocked from my hands and not too gently either. I turn to look around the room, but find that was no one there. Must have been my imagination, though I don't quite see how.
I looked at the lid on the floor and shook my head. You've lost it Katsuya. I bent down to pick it up only to drop it again when I heard someone laughing from behind me. "You should pay more attention to the shadows," someone said to me. The voice was deep, defiantly one of a males. There was also a chilling tone to it, like the person had died inside. Reminded me a bit of Seto's.
"Seto?" I ask, almost expecting him. The man laughs again.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not Seto," he replies. I turn around, though I still can't see him. This guy is good. He has himself completely cloaked in the shadows.
"Then who are you?" I ask another question, almost expecting him to laugh again.
He doesn't. I'm glad he decides not to. The laugh he has is creepy, like that of a cold-blooded murderer standing over his next victim. "You can say I'm a close friend of his," he replied. I couldn't seem him, but I knew he was smirking. I could practically hear it as it appeared on his face. "Very close."
"Hn." That was the only thing I could manage to say. I suppose I was jealous just about then. Someone else had been close to Seto. I couldn't help but wonder; exactly how close Seto had gotten to this man.
"You're very pretty for a man," he whispered making his voice even lower then it was before. There was the sound of footsteps, but I still couldn't tell where he was. I just glared at the spot before me even though I could feel the little blood I had in my coloring my cheeks.
He put his hands upon my eyes, blinding me even further to what was going on. I shiver at how cold they were, just as I had done when Seto had first touched me in the library. When had he gotten behind me? "Who are you?" I ask him for the second time.
"You will find out soon enough." He's whispering into my ear close enough to where I can feel the brush of his lips against the shell of it. "It's a shame you're a vampire, Katsuya," he laughed into his ear, "I bet your blood tasted sweet."
Whatever breathing I was capable of stopped right then. He did not just say that. "How the hell do you know my name?" I snapped at him, trying in vain to get away from his grasp. He just tightened his grip around me, pushing my body full up against his.
"I know many things about you." I could feel the sadistic pleasure he got out of the words. He knew everything about me, and I knew nothing about him. At that moment he had more control then I could hope for. Quite honestly, it scared the shit out of me. "Some things that I am sure that you do not know about yourself, but we will discuss all of that later."
I felt his fangs through the lips he pressed up against the side of my next. "We will undoubtedly meet again," he laughed before pulling his hands away, "and remember I will be watching you."
I collapsed to the floor, and didn't bother to look back at his retreating figure. I don't believe it would've done any good to do so. I hadn't been able to see him any other time I had tried, so this one would be no different then them. After all of that I decided that I had enough of Seto's house. I didn't want to risk more crazed vampire's sneaking up on my like that guy had. Who exactly was he anyways?
The visit for the most part could be considered successful. I however was not very satisfied with results my search had given me. Indeed I had found a vampire, but I didn't know what he looked like, what his name was, or where I could find him. I simply knew the fact that he was close to Seto (I felt the pang of jealousy rise in my chest at that thought) and he knew a lot about me.
Neither of those facts seemed even the slightest bit appealing to me. So I was basically back at square one with a little bit of knowledge. There was a vampire that lived inside Kyoto and I would find him.
Of course that sounds much easier then it really is. All that I could rely one was the streets for rumors. That's exactly what I did too. When getting into the heart of the city of Kyoto I began to notice something, people talked a lot. People do normally have the tendency to gossip to one another, but everyone had said the same thing.
All that I had spoken to had told me the same thing; there was what seemed to be a serial killer on the loose and a sick one at that. The killer would create two puncture wounds in next then drain the victims of blood until they died. It was obvious it was a vampire. However it seemed that no one knew anything about the murder himself (or herself) but only the murders.
I sighed resting my elbows against a counter in a local bar. Tracking down vampires wasn't as easy as one would think, not that I had actually believed it would be from the start. It was still tougher then I expected.
A strange shiver suddenly ran over me. I turned my head to see a silver haired person walk past me. I couldn't quite tell if it was a man or a woman. The silver haired person, who I now figured to be a man seeing how they were flat chested, had sat down right next to me.
"You are the going around asking everyone about rumors, are you not?" Yup, defiantly a guy and if not I was dealing with one deep voiced, flat chested woman or possibly a hermaphrodite.
"Do you have something you would like to tell me?" I asked him knowing that he would get that the answer to his question was 'yes'. He turned his head to look up at me, locking my eyes with his own.
I shuddered. They were brown, almost black and held an intensity that could rupture one's heart if they gazed into them for too long. It's a good thing for me ruptured hearts isn't exactly something I need to worry about. "The murderer that everyone is talking about, I have seen him," he said to me. It took all of my restraint not to jump up and down with joy. "He comes out of a large mansion, larger then any other in Kyoto, but only at night then returns in the morning. He does this once every two or three nights, but never more or never less. It's the only time the man ever leaves his house."
If I had any doubts about the killer being a vampire, they had vanished then. I just wondered if it really was the guy I was looking for. "Thank you," I muttered heading out the door. All that was left to do was find where the house was located. If it was the largest mansion in Kyoto, it shouldn't be too hard.
It took me three days to find the house. Once I did I wondered why it hadn't been so obvious to me before. The yard was covered in red roses, dark as blood. The house itself was a deep brown and covered in stain glass windows displaying various demons, almost like those out of cheap horror movies.
To me it looked as if this guy wanted to be picked out easily. I approached the door to have it open before me. That was defiantly high on the creepy-as-hell factor. I approached the door to meet similar surroundings to the one outside. The only light provided was that of the candles lit in corners around the room. Everything was either black or blood red. I don't see how someone would want to live in a place like this.
"Welcome," some said to me. Instinctively I turned around to come face to face with the very same man from the bar. "Honestly Katsuya, I was expecting it to take you longer to find me. How foolish of me to underestimate the lengths of your ambition."
My eyes narrowed at him. He had some nerve playing around with me like that. "Do come in," he motioned his hand towards a couch pushed back in a nook, "have a seat, get comfortable." I didn't trust him, but I did what he told me to anyways.
"What is your name?" I asked him. I wasn't in the mood to be messed around with anymore, nor was I going to waist any time.
He laughed, throwing his head back so his long silver hair fell from his face. "You're quick with the questions," he shook his head, "You can call me Bakura."
"How do you know Seto?" I asked another question. He laughed again. This time he approached me, sitting down a little too closely for my personal tastes.
"He is to me as you are to him," he replied. I blinked at him letting what he just said settle in. This man vampire was the one that had turned Seto into what he is. Funny, I had never really thought of Seto as having a creator. I suppose all of us have to have one in one way or another.
I looked up at him, he was smirking at me, satisfied with the surprise I had shown from his answer. I hadn't really looked at him before then. He was quite… breath taking. He had pale ivory skin, perfectly flawless in ways that my own could never be. His nose was fine, slender and pointy showing a man of great pride, as I would've have taken him to be. He had coffee brown eyes, umber from the dead expression on his face. The silver hair atop his head fell over his face in a waterfall of gray, framing his face to complete the masterpiece.
What was it about vampires that made them so beautiful? Was I as stunning as Bakura and Seto? I don't believe I will ever know the answer to that. You always look different when you see yourself then when others see you.
"What's wrong, shock too much for you?" He asked my suddenly. I had been silent for a few minutes, lost in the way he looked. He was grinning as if he were amused, so I believe it would be safe to say that he knew exactly what I was thinking.
"Uh… sorry," I muttered foolishly. Honestly couldn't I come up with something better to say? Couldn't I at least tell him what was on my mind?
"It's fine," he replied nonchalantly. He shifted his body to get more comfortable, his leg brushing up against my own. I looked into his eyes to see if he had done it on purpose. I found nothing so it must have been an accident.
"Could you tell me about Seto?" I asked him suddenly. I myself had not known where the question had come from. I suppose it was my desire to found out what exactly him and every other vampire were like. I didn't really know much aside from the little he told me. Bakura might be the one who could change that.
~*~*~
(1) Board in which you use to play Go. Wooden, generally 19x19 sized and has containers that hold black and white glass marbles.
(2) Rei can be used five ways. First as a name, then as the words 'zero, bow, example and spirit/ghost'. Each one is written a different way.
So as you probably figured out the implied pairing is Bakura/Jounouchi and the one you'd miss if you blink is Bakura/Seto. I choose Bakura because well, it made more sense then anyone else did. As for the way he was acting, well, vampires are sexual creatures by nature. Bakura, being the already sexual being he is, would be the type of vampire to use his sexuality to get what he wanted. Hence why he acted that way with Jounouchi.
I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter! Tell me what you think!