Chapter 3
The smell of terror greeted his nose as he chased down his prey. Foolish creature. It let its fear control it, and now it was running down an alleyway, with no exit. It was times like these that he was glad he was no longer human. He now had nothing to fear that would make him make rash decisions. No, he had control over his every thought and movement unlike his prey who was now whimpering in fear when they saw they were blocked by a brick wall.
Deciding to play with his meal he hid in the shadows and made noise. All of the sounds were soft, but when fear overcame a human even the slightest sound was like a gunshot. His prey tried to make a run for it, but before they could escape he grabbed them by the wrist and pinned them up against the wall.
A gasp of fear and pain was the only sound they made before he sank his teeth in their neck. Sweet copper tasting liquid filled his mouth and he drank it greedily. He could feel the body of his prey grow limp and instinctively wrapped his arm around its waist to hold it in position. Not until every drop of blood had been drained from the body did he let it go.
The body fell to the ground with a thud. Lifeless eyes looked up at him. The mouth of his prey hung open in a silent scream, as if right before it died it tried to call out for help. He looked away from the sight. It was times like these when he wished he had never become the predator and stayed prey.
X.X.X.X.X.X.X.
Kai's eyes opened slowly. A weight settled over him as he remembered his dream, that is if it could be counted as a dream. It was more like a memory. How many times had he hunted down his prey like that and then kill them the exact same way? He'd have to do it again tonight too.
Crimson eyes set in a hard glare. Tyson has been pestering him a lot lately, so it would be hard to sneak out of the house for blood. Then again, maybe he should just drink the boy dry? No. While the idea was tempting, the boy, while annoying, had grown on him. Maybe if the boy actually lived to be an adult he'd offer to turn him.
"Kai?"
As the old saying went, "speak of the devil and he will come." Tyson was standing in front of him with a sad look on his face, and holding a bag, pillow, and a sleeping bag, Kai instantly knew what was going on. The little bluenette was going to sleep over at his friend's house, and was now going to tell him that he wanted him to come too. "No Tyson."
"Why Kai?" Tyson whined and pouted at the vampire. "You never want to come. Maxie will love you. Please?"
"No Tyson." Kai said again this time more firmly. "I'm hungry so I have to leave tonight. Also this is supposed to be time for you and Max to be together. How do you think Max will feel if you bring another," Kai paused to think of the right word, "… friend?"
Tyson only pouted more. "Max won't mind. I keep telling him I want him to meet my other friend, and he wants to meet you too. Please Kai? Please?"
Kai rolled his eyes at the pathetic sight before him. He could tell at any second Tyson was going to try and pull the puppy dog eyes out on him. "No. I'm hungry."
"Then drink my blood!" Tyson shouted, dropping all of his sleepover stuff. Small tears were forming in his eyes. He just wanted Kai to be there and meet Max. Was it really so wrong? Didn't Kai love him enough to do that?
"You don't even know what you're saying." Kai stated. Tyson was about to protest but Kai pressed his finger against the boy's lips instantly quieting the child. "You say that you'll give me your blood, but what if I take you up on your offer. The only reason why you offered in the first place was because you think I won't ever drink from you or hurt you."
Tyson huffed and placed his hands on his hips. "I did mean it. I'm not afraid of you drinking my blood."
"Really?" Kai asked, and placed his hands on top of Tyson's shoulders and pulled the child closer to him. Already he could feel the boy tensing. To add to the affect he let his canines grow out and pressed them lightly against the boy's neck. Tyson's breath had become heavy, and sweat formed on the child's forehead. The essence of fear poured out of Tyson's body, and if it weren't for the fact that Kai had self-control he'd probably would have bitten the child.
Pulling back Kai smirked down at Tyson who stood with a look of horror on his face. The boy's heartbeat echoed in Kai's ears and he knew he had just proven his point to the child. "You still sure about not being afraid?"
Becoming defensive Tyson stuck his nose high in the air trying his best to look like those snobby people he saw on TV that were always acting like they were better than everybody else. "You just took me by surprise."
Kai shook his head at Tyson's comeback. The child was only five and already he was too stubborn to admit he was wrong. Standing up Kai grabbed Tyson's sleeping bag. "Come on kid, let's put this stuff near the doorway so when your grandpa takes you to Max's you'll be able to find it easier."
Tyson smiled and picked up the other two items. "Okay Kai." The two walked down the dojo hall, Kai keeping to the shadows, and Tyson following behind Kai like a little duckling.
X.X.X.X.X.X.
"Got any threes?"
"Go fishies!"
Rei looked at Max in confusion. "Fishies?"
Max nodded his head. "Yup, I like that word better than fish. Fish is boring and dull. Fishies is fun to say and is more prettier."
Rei smiled at the blonde and patted the boy on the head. Sometimes the boy was too cute for words. "Okay. Now it's your turn."
Max pouted. He didn't know what to ask for. Maybe he should ask for a seven, but didn't he ask for that a while ago? Rei would've asked for it if the older boy had gotten it.
The sound of Rei yawning caught Max's attention. The vampire was covering his mouth with one hand, but the other hand, the one holding Rei's cards, was tilted off to the side just enough so that Max could see half of them. Smiling to himself Max saw that Rei had a queen. The same card Max had. "Rei do you have a queen?"
Rei stopped yawning and looked at his cards. Fake shock covered Rei's face, but Max didn't notice, he was too happy that he'd gotten a card out of Rei. "Are you psychic Max? I swear you must be reading my mind."
Max giggled at Rei's comment. "No, I'm just good at playing Go Fish."
"Max!" Judy called from downstairs. "Tyson's here!"
The blonde smiled. "Did you hear that Rei! Tyson's here! Now all three of us can play together!"
"Sounds like fun," Rei encouraged Max. "You better go downstairs and get him, or else he might think you don't like him anymore."
Max's eye widen in horror and in a spilt second he was out of the room and running down the stairs screaming at the top of his lungs, "TYSON! I LOVE YOU! DON'T LEAVE!"
Rei burst out laughing at Max's antics. He swore one of these days Max's parents were going to think the blonde had gone crazy or was actually in love with his best friend when really it was only brotherly love.
Loud footsteps and childish voices could be heard coming up the stairs and smiled to himself. Tyson was going to be shocked to see him. Especially when he told the bluenette that he was a friend of Kai's.
The door to Max's room burst open and Rei was surprised to get tackled by two blurs of color, which he guessed were the two kids. "Whoa! Okay you two, you guys got me. Now get off me."
The two kids jumped off him in an instant. Max was beaming with happiness, but Tyson was looking Rei over with a puzzled look on his face. "Are you a friend of Kai's? Max says you're a friend of my friend, and other than Max Kai's my only friend."
"Yes," Rei answered and waited for the boy's response, but was shocked when the boy started to throw a tantrum.
"I hate Kai! He said he couldn't come, but his friend can! I want Kai! I want Kai! He's mean! He lied! I hate him! Where's Kai!" Tyson's tantrum was scaring Max. The blonde was slowly backing away, and Rei was positive he heard a whimper come from the boy. "Why'd Kai lie! He doesn't love me! Stupid Kai!"
"Oo, you said the s-word," Max said in a childish teasing voice.
Tyson's tantrum ceased and he began running around the room. "Oh no! I said the s-word! I don't want my mouth washed out with soap! I heard parents do that! Please Max don't tell anyone! I don't like the taste of soap!"
Rei watched the scene unfold before him in stunned amusement. Did this always happen when the two are around each other? If so he better bring a helmet the next time the two were together.
"Hey Tyson where'd you get the hat?" Max said pointing at the blue and red cap sitting on his friend's head.
"My brother gave it to me." Tyson answered with a smile that could light up a room. "I love my brother. He's the bestest brother in the whole wide world."
"Hey boys!" Judy called from down stairs. "I have a movie for you two down here. Do you want to watch it?"
"Yes!" the two boys yelled in unison, and ran out of the room with Rei following behind in the shadows undetected.
X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.
Kai wiped the blood off his mouth with the back of his hand. A frown was etched in his features. He didn't know why but he couldn't stop thinking about Tyson. The little boy had wanted him to come so desperately, and as much as hated to admit it he felt guilty for not going with the boy.
Growling in frustration he stomped off in the direction of blonde child's house. Why he decided to comply to Tyson's request he'll never know, but he couldn't fight the urge to see the bluenette.
X.X.X.X.X.X.
"Oh I know this song!" Max shouted as they watched the Disney movie his mom had given them.
"I know it too! It's really pretty!" Tyson said excitedly, and hummed some of the song.
Rei sat on the couch still cloaked by shadows, but if you looked closely you could see the smile on his face as he watched the two kids. Too bad Kai hadn't decided to show up. Even though the cold hearted vampire would probably never admit it Rei was sure Kai would love to see Tyson this happy. You don't spend five years watching a kid without growing attached after a while.
"Kai!" Tyson shouted suddenly and before Max or Rei knew what was going on Tyson was running to the back of the house and opening up the door to the backyard. Without warning the mentioned dual haired vampire stepped into the house and swept Tyson into his arms and closed the backyard door.
Max was up in an instant to examine the new visitor. "Are you Kai, Tyson's friend?"
Kai glared at Rei, who smiled sheepishly at the other vampire. Not even looking at Max he answered the boy's question. "Yes."
Carrying Tyson back to the spot the boy had been sitting at before Kai put him down and continued to glare at Rei. "Don't you know how to mind your own business?"
Rei smiled and answered simply, "No."
X.X.X.X.X.X.X.
Akira: Rei you're mean.
Rei: No I'm not. I just wanted to spend time with Max.
Akira: In case anyone is curious as to how Tyson knew Kai was there, it's because Tyson has grown up with Kai hiding in the shadows all the time, and after a while he kind of developed a sixth that lets him know when Kai's there. I'll probably explain this in later chapters, but I just wanted to make sure in case I forget.
Oh and Mimiko I updated Forbidden Wish before I looked at my e-mail so I didn't see your review, but yes that does sound like a fair trade. X3 Yay! More updated fics from Mimiko.