Chapter 10: Heed my Warning

Name: Kaiba Seto

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I was in my bedroom/office, working on a couple of extra files when you came home from your 'outing' with Jou. You came running up the stairs, yelling for me, while Jou jumped the two floors and managed to sit on the ledge outside my window. I opened the window so he could listen in and nodded in greeting. He nodded back but, other than those simple motions, we ignored each other. We always did until you left. Once you were gone either Jou would leave as well or we would talk for a while.

We never really had a set topic, and sometimes the conversations were just a couple of grunted words here and there. Sometimes they were really in depth, though. Those conversations were often really scary--terrifying, even--but we learned a lot about each other. Sometimes, I wonder if we didn't learn too much.

The one I remember best, one of our first conversations, was perhaps the most terrifying and, for no real reason, I was thinking about it that night.

See, I used to wonder why Jou never asked to be invited inside. Never, not once. He always sat on the windowsill, even of buildings that we were only visiting. If he couldn't enter by himself, Jou didn't go in. So, this one time I asked him about it.

"No I don't! Not always," he sort of snorted, as he brushed his hair out of his face.

"But you never ask, or allow, anyone to invite you in. Why?"

"Because."

"That's not a good reason."

"I'm a vampire."

"Your reasons suck."

"I'm dangerous."

"Hn. You saved my brother's life, didn't you? How dangerous is that?"

"It's the blood addiction. I don't know what it is, but I've never been able to fight it very well. Maybe it's the fact that I used to be HIV positive."

"What? Used to be?"

"Yeah. I got it in '89… '90, right around when the doctors were first learning about it. It's actually why I became a vampire. Of course, now my bloods as pure as it used to be." Jou paused for a moment, but I didn't say anything. What could I say?

"My little sister died when I was eighteen, you know. My dad was a doctor, but after her death, he sank into depression. He always felt that he should have been able to diagnose her brain cancer. So when I found out I had gotten HIV from a one-night stand, I knew it would crush my father. He wouldn't have been able to save me. What doctor wants to lose both his children to diseases? So, I brought my boyfriend home, and let my father find out that I was gay."

"How'd he take it?"

"Awfully, like I planned. The bastard threw me out on my ass, but I figured it was best that way. I'd just disappear, and he'd never be any the wiser. And then I met Marik at a bar, after I'd broken up with my old boyfriend."

"And he changed you?"

"Yes. But soon after I became a vampire, I took up with this boy, Rex. He was really nice, but one night he started bleeding and I… I just couldn't resist. I knew I was draining his life but I couldn't stop," Jou sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"He managed to escape, and he ran to a friend's house like I told him to during my only bout of sanity that night. But… I followed him… into the apartment because I'd already been invited inside. I killed Rex… and his friend… and his friend's girlfriend. And the worst bit is that I don't really remember it… at all. I just blacked out once I managed to grab Rex. I woke up lying next to Rex's friend's girlfriend and her pale, dead face was just staring at me in horror. I found Rex and his friend in the bathtub, lying naked next to each other. I had drunk them all dry.

"A couple months later I saw a security tape that had captured the whole thing. It was disgusting. I played with them and not just before I killed them. I played with them afterwards. I made them do sickening… things… in order to save their own lives only to kill them later.

"I… I don't want to talk about it anymore. I just… I don't want to go inside a human's house ever again. They need all the protection they can get, and I don't want to ruin that for them in a moment of weakness."

I've never forgotten what Jou told me, or the revolted way he looked at himself when he talked about it.

I heard the door to my room/office burst open, jolting me from my thoughts and I turned to face you as you ran into my room. I opened my arms slightly and allowed you to grab me around the waist in a fierce hug. You stumbled in your haste to get to me and we ended up sprawled in my swivel chair, laughing. I helped you get to your feet and at once noticed the bloody strips of cloth that you had wrapped around your hand.

"Mokuba, what's this?" I asked, cutting you off before you could tell me all about your newest adventure. "You're bleeding. What happened?"

"Huh? Oh, that," you shrugged. "Jou took me to a funeral! And we each cut our hand to show respect for the dead!"

"You what?! You mutilated yourself for a stiff? And why are you still bleeding?! No, forget that! You opened up a wound around a mess of vampires?!" I've since decided that I was hysterical, but I didn't realize, at the time, that I was shaking you so hard.

"OW! Seto! It hurts!" You cried, and I let go instantly.

"Sorry."

"You don't need to worry so much," Jou offered, from his seat outside the window. He turned to look at me and held up his hand, which was also still bleeding. "We cut ourselves with silver blades. We bleed longer, but no vampire would touch a wound with silver in it. Besides, every vampire feeds before attending the funeral, in case they're sent over the edge and the addiction takes hold. We may be incurable blood addicts, but we aren't stupid or irreverent."

I shot him a look to tell him we'd talk later, but soon looked back at you because you were tugging vigorously on my arm.

"But guess what, Seto! It was totally cool! We went to a war council!"

"A what?" I asked blandly, your words not fully sinking in.

"A war council! We're gonna declare war on those hunters! And we all get to fight! Even me! Isn't that cool, Seto?!"

"I think it's past your bedtime, Mokuba," I quickly snapped in response. I finally could grasp what you were saying… and I wasn't happy in the least.

"Huh?"

"You heard me. Go to bed."

"But I…"

"DIDN'T I TELL YOU TO GO TO BED?!" I shouted angrily. "I AM YOUR OLDER BROTHER, SO YOU WILL LISTEN TO ME!"

"Seto…" you whispered, sounding hurt. "All right."

I heard you shuffle over to the door and I let out a long sigh.

"Wait up a little and I'll tuck you in," I sighed and I could hear your steps pick up a bit, though not much. Jou didn't say anything as I made my way over to the window, so I didn't say anything either. We just stood there, silently regarding each other.

"Well?" Jou finally asked. "What do you have to say to me? Better make it quick; I'm a little hungry."

"Look, Jou, what's the big idea? How irresponsible are you? You took my brother to a mutilation feast and he cut himself! I'm not going to stand for that type of shit."

"Not your choice. He needs to learn vampire customs now, not when you're dead and can't have your say anymore."

"Couldn't you have taught him without hands-on training? He doesn't need to know this bull anyway!"

"He does if he outlives me! There are plenty of customs he can blow off, but never a funeral. If he's the closest relation to the twice deceased, or he is within the death radius, he must come! Funerals are a big deal for us vampires, get it? It reminds us of our own mortality," Jou shouted, smacking his hand against the window in anger. "I'd say that ninety-nine percent of my lot don't become vampires on a whim. We do it to escape death. I did; Mokuba did; my master did. Hell, even our leader, Yami, did! We're the guys that want to outrun death, and funerals for our kind remind us that, wow, sooner or later, we're as screwed as you mortals are. So we remind ourselves and grieve in our own way."

"Why do I get the feeling that I shouldn't be surprised that your 'grieving' involves self-mutilation? I mean, my brother just told me that not only did you let him cut himself, but you also took him to a war council. WAR! That's when people kill each other."

"Glad you know your language so well."

"Stow it! There is no way in hell my brother's going off to any type of life-or-death battle!"

"You don't really have a choice."

"He's a ten year old boy! Not a warrior!"

"He's a vampire! A vampire, Seto, and that makes him a warrior, whether or not you actually like the idea. And someday there's going to be a battle, even if it isn't tomorrow or the next day. The vampires are angry, very angry. My master, Marik, was old, powerful and influential, not to mention he was killed without a chance to fight back. Things have been heating up for a while, so there's nothing anyone can do to stop it! I'm sorry that your brother's going to have to fight; really, I am. He's a nice kid, and I like him a lot, but life sucks. So, he's screwed. You're screwed. I'm screwed. We're all fucking screwed!" Jou spat, angrily, his voice slowly growing angrier and louder with every word.

I blinked at him in shock and surprise. I'd never seen him so worked up. Seeing my look, Jou hung his head and ran a hand through his hair.

"So let's just… call it a day. God, I need a dose to relax with," Jou sighed, his tongue darting out to lick his lips.

"So there's nothing I can do?" I asked, a plan forming in my mind.

"Nope."

"So, I guess, I have no choice then," I shrugged, as I bit my lip, nervous about my next step.

"Seto? What are talking about?" Jou asked, shifting so that he could look at me more comfortable.

"You're going to have to change me too."

"I'm sorry, my Japanese must be worse than I thought. Can you repeat that?" Jou frowned, confusion written clearly all over his face.

"Turn me into a vampire, like you and Mokuba. At least, I can protect him then."

"But…"

"Come in, Jou," I invited him. He didn't move for a second and I was afraid he would refuse to even come inside. Grabbing a letter opener off my desk, I made a small incision on my neck. There was a second's pause, then a heart beat, and blood began to trickle out of the wound. I looked Jou in the eye and I knew I couldn't turn back anymore. "Well? Aren't you coming in?"

Before I could really figure out what was happening, Jou had launched himself through the window and was flying towards me. Knocking me over, Jou and I fell onto my bed in a large lump. Before I could catch my breath, Jou was straddling me and had my shoulders pinned against the mattress.

You should note that I dislike being pinned or trapped in any way. I hate the feeling that I'm losing control. Without control, I'm just a slave, and that will never happen to me again, I promise you that, Mokuba.

I tried to shake Jou's grip from my shoulders but he remained firm and he firmly settled his weight on my hips, forcing me to remain still.

"Jou?" I asked, when Jou wouldn't stop staring at me. He had this unexplainable light in his eye. I hadn't ever seen it before, but I knew enough to be nervous. I could feel my forehead begin to sweat, and I tried to brush it away, but I couldn't reach that far up.

"You're really stupid, you know that, right?" Jou whispered, as he finally moved to press his lips to my neck and lick at the blood, stilling the flow of blood for a second. For a couple seconds, Jou continued this process, while speaking with me. "Shedding blood around a vampire is insanity, Seto. And worse still, shedding blood around me. Don't you remember what I did to Rex?"

I didn't say anything; I was too scared. I hadn't imagined it would turn out like that. I don't know what I thought was going to happen, but it wasn't that. I could feel him kissing, licking, sucking at my neck and I bit my lip out of fear.

Of course, my silence only served to make Jou even madder. He pulled his face away from my neck and looked down at me. His fingers tensed around my shoulders and his eyes narrowed. Pulling my torso up by my shoulders, Jou shook me roughly and slammed my head back into the bed.

"Tell me, Seto! What did I do, eh? What?!"

"You killed him."

"After torturing him and his friends. Foolish, Seto. Just plain stupid!" Jou growled. "And do you want to know what I'm going to do to you?"

"No…" I began, but Jou quickly kissed me full on the mouth so I couldn't speak. Finally, he pulled away and I gasped for breath, as Jou began to talk.

"First I'm going to kiss you." Jou grinned, before kissing me again. I tried to protest, but Jou managed to slip his tongue into my mouth instead. My eyes flew open as I realized that I wasn't tasting Jou; I was tasting my own blood! I tried bucking my hips in a futile attempt to get his body off mine, but all Jou did was grind his hips against mine and stop kissing me for a second.

"Not just yet, Seto," Jou winked, before he began to kiss random places on my jawbone and neck.

"Jou. Stop," I tried to command him, but he only laughed.

"Rex said that too. Than I killed him," Jou told me as he started to undo the buttons of my shirt with his teeth and tongue. Slowly, his hands stroked my arms and made their way to my wrists. Pulling my hands above my head, Jou kissed me again and before I knew it my hands had been tied to the headboard with my own bed sheets. I tugged lightly on the bed sheets, and when I realized they were really holding my wrists back, I began to panic.

I don't think I had taken Jou's threats really seriously until that moment. I had been frightened, and nervous, but I hadn't really believed it was happening; I hadn't believed that he meant me harm. But with my arms restrained, it hit home; I lost any calm I had had before.

"Get off me, now. Right now, Jou! This isn't funny, Jounouchi," I gasped as Jou nipped at my right nipple. "I me-AH!"

"Shut up, Seto," Jou growled, glaring up at me. His hands quickly trailed down my sides, stroking my skin and setting it on fire with his touch. His left hand tweaked my left nipple and his right hand slipped down my stomach towards my pants.

"OH GOD!" I cried, again trying to buck him off. "STOP! DON'T TOUCH ME! Please! Please; oh, God! STOP!"

"God isn't going to help you, you know," Jou smirked. "It's just me and you here. Even Mokuba isn't going to help. He knows better than to get involved in his master's business. You're all alone. And you know what? You're all mine."

I looked up at him and tried to breathe properly. I tried to regain my mind and figure a way out, but I couldn't see anything, no matter where I looked, and I was looking REALLY hard. I was so scared, a little part in the back of my mind was praying. Hell if I didn't pull out the stops.

I closed my eyes as I felt Jou's hands roam over my stomach and unbutton my pants. I tried to kick at him, but I couldn't reach him and he wouldn't budge. I bucked wildly, whimpering and close to crying. I just wanted him to stop. I almost wished I was dead.

"My! Seto, are you scared?" Jou asked. I shook my head, no, but I wasn't terribly convincing. I was like a cowering child, for God's sake! "I think you are. I can smell it on you. You reek of it. I think… you're just scared enough."

I cracked one eye open and watched as he leaned closer to my neck, his fangs exposed.

"No." I tried one last time. "Don't! DON'T!"

But he didn't listen. He roughly plunged his fangs into my neck, and I cried out in surprise. I could feel the ripping as my body jerked away and the skin was sliced open by Jou's fangs.

And that was about it.

I woke up about ten minutes later to a blinding light shining in my eyes.

"Ugh." I muttered. "What the hell…?"

"Good, you're up," A loud voice boomed at me. I blinked a couple times, and finally decided I was going to have to squint to see properly. I felt a slight weight on my chest and found a pair of sunglasses lying on my naked chest. "You should wear those until your eyes adjust to indoor lighting. Keep the glasses though; sunlight's going to burn your eyes for the rest of your…. unnatural life."

I put on the sunglasses and looked over at Jou, who was sitting next to me on the bed.

"Why do I ache all over?" I whispered. "Did you rape me?"

"No, damn it. If I'd raped you, you'd be dead. Well, more dead than you are now," Jou sighed, but he dropped his voice to a whisper. "You ache because I changed you. The strengthened muscles and senses are putting your brain and body into overload. Don't worry though. I'd say that within a few days you'll build up a tolerance for light and noises. Until then, just consider yourself hung-over. Now, Seto… JUST HOW FUCKING STUPID ARE YOU, ANYWAY?!"

"Ow." I moaned, as I covered my ears in an attempt to protect them from Jou's shouting. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play stupid, you idiot! Of all the thoughtless things to do in the world, that had to be the stupidest. Don't you have ANY self-preservation? Let's face it, you are so frickin' lucky that my master died recently! I've heard of one man's pain being another's joy, but this is ridiculous!" Jou continued, more to himself, than to me. "If I hadn't had a couple doses all ready tonight, I probably would have killed you. You know I don't have much will power when it comes to the addiction! You heard about what I've done! Even with a couple doses earlier, I still drank quite a bit of you."

"But it worked, right?"

"Hell yeah, but you might have been killed, stupid! Damn it, can't you remember even an hour back? You thought you were going to die, too!"

"So what if I could have died, and so what if I was scared out of my mind for a bit. It worked, right? Why do you keep hounding this issue? You're like a dog, I swear," I muttered, as I tried to sit up and get out of bed.

"Whatever. Where do you keep your shirts?" Jou asked, as he got off the bed and went over to my dresser, leaving me to sit up on my own.

"Top drawer. No, the other one. Yeah, that one. Why do you ask?"

"You're going to need a new shirt; your last one is ruined."

"But…"

"Do you want to run around outside with out a shirt on?"

"Outside?"

"You're a new vampire! You're going to have to be educated!"

"Like with Mokuba?"

"Yep. Hurry up; there isn't much time to strengthen and teach your muscles and senses before the war."

And so, I 'trained,' as Jou called it. I ran for miles without stopping. I listened to loud music and stared at bright lights for hours on end. I learned how to handle a sword, because I could already handle a firearm, and lift weights four times my own. I learned random facts about vampire culture until I thought my head would explode.

And after two days of working without rest, Jou decided that I wouldn't get any better without increased time.

That was when I learned that vampires have a strength level that they are created with. This level increases as a vampire ages; however, the initial level is based on the vampire's emotional stress level at the time of changing. I asked Jou if that was the explanation for his actions in my room. When he admitted it was, I attempted to kill him. Sometimes, being stronger than your master has its perks.

A few days after my change, Jou came to my house a bit after eight. It was dark out, but he insisted that you and I come with him to a council meeting. I was tempted to tell the lot of them to shove it, but Jou seemed to feel that that wouldn't be a bright idea. To cut a long story short, you and Jou dragged me along. For the record, I wasn't happy, but I'm sure you already knew that.

When we finally arrived at the large building, Jou quickly introduced me to the vampire leader, a short man with odd hair. He obviously had been born into a privileged family and carried himself as if he had a stick permanently wedged up his damn ass. To this day, I maintain that Yami needed to be taken down a notch or five.

Once I was introduced, I sat down in a corner near the back and kept an eye on you because you'd gone off to talk with Ryou and Honda, who I could now tell were hunters. My new instincts were telling me that they were a danger, and I apparently wasn't the only one. Everyone, even the hunters with Ryou and Honda, was on edge.

Finally, when he had received some sort of signal, Yami began the meeting. There were many big words and long sentences exchanged between Yami and Isis, the leader of the group of hunters, but I soon figured out that, because of some internal disputes, the group of hunters were leaving their own and wanted to join with us.

There were a few who protested and Yami heard them out, but you could tell that he wasn't terribly interested in their opinion. He soon agreed to the hunter's request, saying that allies shouldn't be refused. I was a little wary of the new fighters, mostly because I was generally adverse to teamwork, but I didn't protest because I didn't care about the battles. As long as you were safe, the rest of them could have taken a nice trip to hell for all I cared.

The council was just finishing with the business presented by the hunters, when a blond vampire crashed through the doors of the building, ran through the crowd and into Jou. Falling into Jou's arms with a gasp, the woman tried to regain enough of her breath to speak. I step back, defensively, but quickly noticed she was not a threat because she was bleeding profusely from several wounds in her back.

"Mai!" Jou grunted as he tried to help her stand. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Hunters!" She finally managed, her voice strained. She closed her eyes, in obvious pain, and pressed her face into Jou's chest. "Coming. Were… ever-!"

"Jou! What's going on?" Yami yelled over the clamoring vampires.

"Mai!" Jou exclaimed as her body suddenly became dead weight in his arms and he was forced to his knees. "No!"

I inhaled sharply, learning that the woman vampire had died from several silver bullets and that a large group of hunters was making its way towards the building I was in. I pushed against the mass of vampires that had also discovered the approaching army and were preparing themselves. Some carried weapons, such as swords and staffs; others were pushing against each other to find a good weapon from one of the large displays. Scanning the crowd, I realized that, because of your short height, you were impossible to find.

There was a large crash as scores of hunters, all wearing hoods to obscure their faces, smashed through the floor-to-ceiling windows and glass doors. Raising their guns so that they could aim at the vampires that were on the upper level, they opened fire at our group, taking out a good number of the unprepared. Hitting the floor, I grabbed a sword from a fallen vampire and waited a few seconds for the element of surprise to be lost and the hunters to abandon their guns.

Standing, I looked around the battlefield and took quick notes. Fortunately, the room we were in was enormous and there was a lot of space for the sword fighting. I finally spotted a flash of your hair as you avoided a sword swipe from a hunter. There were three of the cloaked assholes and they seemed to loom over you, even though you were obviously unarmed. I began moving forward as you tripped backwards and hit your head against the steps. The leader of the attacking trio simply shrugged and drew back his silver sword, preparing a deathblow. Breaking in a full out run, I slid across the glassy-marble floor and managed to block a blow that was aimed towards you.

"Touch him and I'll kill you," I warned the hunters as I stood and held my sword in a defensive position. "I won't hesitate, either."