Wow...you people are smart! Shang Di does mean God! What gave it away, or are you just smart?
-mibu ronin- Not revealing who ShangDi is at the moment, but excellent guess(that doesn't mean it's correct...Heehee)...Hm...HaoYoh...I'll think about it...Thanks for the review!
Nadare-chan- You were right too! Smaart!
Just your imagination- O.O Updating!
" How do you know my name?" The girl took a wary step back from Horohoro.
" Er…well...I'm in your class!" Horohoro lied.
" Really? Which one? I don't remember you…" She narrowed her eyes.
" No, I'm not in your class – well, I am, but – " Horohoro wished Ren was here. The sneaky saffron-eyed boy was excellent at the Vampyre art of scraping another's thoughts. " I was in your grade one class!"
" What? In Hokkaido?" Pirika was still unsure.
" Yeah! In…um…what – er…in that person's class…" Horohoro fumbled.
" Takeda–sensei?" Pirika supplied.
" Yeah!" Horohoro smiled nervously.
" What's your name?" Pirika questioned. Horohoro almost gasped with relief. She believed him!
" Us – " Horohoro cut himself off. He couldn't say his real last name! " Horohoro."
" Us Horohoro?" Pirika's forehead creased. " That's…" Suddenly, Horohoro saw a bit of a wistful sorrow in her eyes.
" What's the matter?" He pressed gently.
" I had – I had a brother named Horokeu. He died at birth. I always…I always thought I'd call him Horohoro. It's really silly; I mean I didn't even know him! I sometimes talk to him…I know it sounds really silly but…" Pirika fell short, her mouth open as if she were still to talk.
Horohoro nodded, not knowing what to say. He desperately wished he could tell her who he was. " I lost my sister."
" Really?" Pirika looked up, her dark eyes filled with the kinship one felt when they found someone who had suffered like they. " I mean, that's awful!"
Horohoro nodded again. His throat was constricted somehow, and he couldn't speak.
" Um, you wanna get a coffee?" Pirika suggested shyly, breaking the awkward silence.
Horohoro felt protective brotherhood rising up in him. " Coffee stunts your growth."
Pirika looked at him, and laughed. " Come on, 'Mom'." She teased.
Well, actually, Horohoro thought as he followed her, it's 'bro'.
The smell of frying eggs filled the air, the sound of the sizzling bacon mixing in to create the perfect morning atmosphere.
Ren carelessly flipped a pancake, checking the time on the microwave. It was seven. He bent down and removed a tray of freshly baked muffins from the oven, humming. Oddly enough, he was in a good mood. He pushed back the stray purple hair that had fallen free of his white bandanna, and tightened the strings of his apron. He hated this apron, and rarely wore it. It was pink with frills, and 'kiss the cook' was emblazoned in purple italics. Horohoro and Yoh had gotten it for him as a gag gift.
He finished turning off all the stoves, and began scooping the food onto plates when the doorbell rang.
Ren put down his ladle, complaining about early morning visitors. He opened the door – and came face to face with a drenched, shivering Horohoro.
" H – hey, Ren." The Ainu smiled weakly.
Instantly, Ren started clucking irritably like a mother hen. He ushered Horohoro in, closing the door and locking it.
" Where've you been?" Ren demanded, forcibly plonking Horohoro in a chair and throwing a towel on his head. He then started roughly scrubbing Horohoro's hair dry, ignoring the Ainu's muffled protests. Then he slung the towel around Horohoro's neck, and dashed into the kitchen. Ren came out shortly with a plate piled high with sausages, bacon, pancakes and eggs.
" Th – thanks." Horohoro's voice was sincerely grateful. Ren poured a cup of warm milk, and left the room. He soon returned with a thick robe, and commanded Horohoro to change out of his wet clothing.
So the Ainu stripped off his soaked garments, and wiped himself down with the towel before eagerly putting on the robe, while Ren busied himself with the breakfast.
Horohoro returned to the table, and immediately dug his fork into the food heaped on his plate.
Ren allowed him some time to stave his hunger, delicately eating a muffin while Horohoro shoved eggs in his mouth.
When the Ainu's eating motions had slowed down a bit, Ren put down the muffin he had been picking at and folded his hands before him.
" Where were you?"
Horohoro looked up, a shameful grin on his face. " After I – er…stormed off, I got lost." He decided to omit his encounter with Pirika from the telling. " I eventually found my way back to the café, and from there I headed home. Halfway there though, I though you might still be mad, so I decided to stay outside for a bit. I fell asleep on a bench so I didn't come back until now."
Ren shook his head. " You could've been robbed! Or gotten hypothermia! Don't you dare be so stupid again!"
Horohoro shivered. " Don't worry, I won't."
" Horo!"
Both boys at the kitchen table turned to see a grinning Yoh, still clad in orange pajamas.
" You're back!"
" Yep." Horohoro chuckled. With a squeal of joy, Yoh tackled him.
Ren shook his head again, filling a plate of food for Yoh. Really, the brunette was like a child sometimes.
" Eat before it gets cold, Yoh." He ordered. As Ren sat down himself, Horohoro caught his eye. The Chinese boy studied what he saw in those icy depths, and nodded in acceptance of the apology. Horohoro flashed a grateful smile, and everything was all right again.
Ren sank his razor-sharp fangs into the soft, waiting flesh, guzzling the spouting red liquid. As he drank greedily, his pupils contracted to paper-thin slits, and he lost himself in the motion. ShangDi ordered for a full body's worth of blood, so he didn't need to watch himself as he usually did. His eyelids lowered in sinful rapture, and he clutched his victim tighter, his long nails drawing blood.
It was almost always like this when he fed. The blood made him feel alive, it excited some long-sleeping glands that shot endorphins to his brain.
He was losing himself, sinking deeper and deeper into a pit of velvety black, with only the sweet, coppery taste of blood in his mouth to indicate that he still existed in the material world.
Ren took another gulp, his hazy mind churning out thoughts at the speed of a snail running. He hated to admit it, but ShangDi was right. The blood of children was more satisfying than the weak animal's blood, or the polluted blood of adults.
After a long, long while, the rush of fluid to his mouth dwindled, and thinned to a small trickle. Ren sucked hard one last time, and let go of his victim. The body of a small girl no more than five fell to the ground with a soft thump. Ren fought back feelings of guilt, and turned away.
He pulled his long black coat around his body, put up his large hood, and stepped out of the dark alley to join the crowd of civilians streaming past.
Contrary to popular belief, Vampyre did not turn into dust and die in the sun. Certainly, their pale, dead skin was sensitive to light, and some burned more easily than others, but actual death was a rare occurrence.
Ren kept his head down, and in quick, silent strides, headed for the other side of town. He seemed to be moving at a regular, if fast, pace, yet he arrived at his destination in fifteen minutes, when it would've taken a human forty-five.
The Chinese boy paused outside a large, glass-panelled building that had 'Tao Enterprises' in gold italics above the entrance. After a few moments, he stepped forward into the spacious lobby, pushing past the protesting doorman. The concierge came from behind the front desk, having seen the doorman's displeasure. He rushed forward importantly, smoothening his tie.
" Excuse me sir, but you are not allowed – " Began the concierge pompously. After all, all he saw was a scruffy teen in a long black hooded coat.
Ren raised his head, his golden eyes flashing. The concierge paled. He knew who this was now.
" I'm sorry! I apologize for obstructing your way sir, I didn't recognize – " The concierge babbled nervously, but Ren just ignored him, and pushed past to the elevators. He impatiently jabbed the gold button on the wall, and soon enough, the golden grill next to him clanked as an elevator slid into view. The grill pulled back, and the elevator doors slid open soundlessly.
He stepped inside, and gestured to the uniformed man inside. The man nodded smartly and pressed the topmost button in the elevator.
The minutes passed in silence, Ren's eyes trained on the flickering numbers above the doors. Finally, the last icon, PH, remained illuminated. The doors opened again, and the grill rattled back.
The uniformed man doffed his hat as Ren oozed out, his coat making him look like some poisonous gas.
He entered the lobby of the penthouse, and shivered involuntarily. The very place gave him the creeps. He tried to ignore the twisted pictures on the wall, knowing they got worse further in.
He reached the other side of the lobby, and hardly daring to breathe, raised his hand and numbly knocked on the dark oak door.
A moment passed…two…and the door opened. By itself. Ren knew it was horribly cliché, and he knew the door was mechanical, and he'd seen it before, but it still unnerved him.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped inside. It felt like crossing over some great void, like now he was in a place not quite human. The door closed behind him with a click, and he was swallowed by the velvety dark.
He stayed there a moment, carefully composing himself. He'd hardly relaxed when a drawling, languid voice came from the other side of the room.
" Well, aren't you coming in?"
Ren's head snapped in the direction of the voice. He could see in the dark, but in this satin black he could only make out a slight form stretched out on a sofa.
" Can you see me? No? Too bad." The form got up, and slowly walked over to a tall thin pole. Somehow, doing something Ren couldn't make out, the person made the tallow candle on the pole flicker into light.
Although the person stayed well out of the candle's wan flare, Ren could now see the curves of their face. He allowed his eyes to linger over smooth skin and thick lashes, delicate features that he knew too well…and with every fibre of his being, Ren hated the shadowy shape.
The form chuckled, running long white fingers through thick hair. " I can feel your hate…taste it…it's delicious."
Ren's fists clenched, and he trembled in rage.
" So, what have you for me, my pet? A yummy treat, perhaps?" The figure idly walked over to one of the paintings lining the walls. In the faint light Ren could see the indistinct shapes of a priest sodomizing a young boy on the canvas. Ren shuddered, but the figure ahead stroked the paint lovingly. The walls were lined with paintings like this. Some were worldwide horrors, like the tragedy of 9/11, while some were less known, like a man beating his wife. Each was a memento to the twisted figure; a precious reminder of the brutality and disgust human beings could generate.
" Let's get it over with." Ren's first words in the other's presence, and they were rough and hard.
" Eager, aren't you? All right. After all, I need the nutrition." The form shrugged carelessly, but it's own gold eyes, a purer gold than Ren's saffron, gleamed. The figure came closer, until it was right in front of Ren, barely a centimetre between them. With a longing sigh, their cold, slim fingers cupped Ren's jaw. Ren tensed, but didn't move away.
In one swift motion the shorter stranger bent forward, capturing Ren's lips with their own. Ren didn't resist, didn't do anything but open his mouth and allow blood to stream from his mouth into the other's. Vampyre exchanged blood this way. Each Vampyre had a small sac that could be filled with blood, much like the food reservoir of wolves.
The other lapped the blood urgently, licking and nipping Ren's lips. Their tongue swept harshly in the Chinese boy's mouth, probing every crevice. They moaned softly, their hands tightening on Ren's face until their long nails made marks on the other boy's cheeks.
After what seemed an eternity, the stranger broke away, reluctantly.
" Thank you." The form breathed, licking their stained lips.
Ren said nothing, but turned and walked away. He could hear snickers of increasingly insane laughter behind him, but he ignored it. He stepped into the waiting elevator silently, and the man inside pushed the floor button. The uniformed man made no mention of Ren's mussed hair, his bloody, bitten lips, or the red fluid that oozed from cuts on his cheeks. It wasn't his job to wonder. Ren however, irritably pulled his hood back on, not wanting the other's discriminating stare.
He remained in a moody daze all the way home, and he stomped up the apartment stairs violently.
He flung open the door, ignoring Horohoro's and Yoh's exclamations. He slammed the front door and in a few steps, had entered his own room. Treating this door much like the first, he locked it.
In his room, the anger seemed to drain out of him. He slumped against the wall, lightly touching his cut face. Slowly, but surely, dry, hacking sobs shook his thin frame. There were no actual tears, as he was one of the undead, but his eyes became rimmed with red nonetheless.
Abruptly he stood and, with trembling steps, entered the adjoining bathroom. He ripped the clothes off his body and stepped into the shower. He turned the water on scalding hot, hoping it would purify his frame. He scrubbed at his skin until it was red and a little peeling, trying to remove all traces of the dark stranger's touches.
And he screamed. He howled his pain from under the cover of the shower, sobbing his violation.
Horohoro and Yoh waited outside, just like every other time, fearful that this time Ren would break, this time they would find a limp body with red fluid swirling about it.
Finding his sister seemed to have given him new strength, because this time, Horohoro's eyes were icy with anger, and he silently vowed vengeance.
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