Tyson moaned in agony as he flung himself upright, panting as his lungs fought for air, slowly becoming aware that he was awake, and that he had been trapped in nothing more than a vicious nightmare.
A pale hand reached for his shoulders and pulled him into a comforting embrace, which he gratefully sank into while he waited for his breath to regain its rhythm.
"Shh, it's O.K." The soft, husky voice whispered in his ear soothingly, and the exhaled breathe cooled the flushed hotness of his cheeks.
"I thought you wouldn't come." Tyson clung to the muscular chest, feeling the hot wetness of his own tears soaked into the white cotton shirt.
Kai hugged Tyson closer to him but said nothing.
Eventually Tyson looked up with accusing eyes. "Rei's right isn't he? You did murder Hillary!"
"Yes." Kai replied, not looking him in the eye.
Tyson nodded and snuggled closer.
"You're not mad?" Kai raised an eyebrow.
"I could never stay mad at you." Tyson replied, gazing up at him.
Kai smiled and kissed his forehead gently, then laid his chin on his shoulder.

"There! That's where the bastard sleeps!" Rei yelled to Max, pointing at the weather worn walls of the ruined Tokyo Presbyterian Abbey.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's burn the damn thing!" Max yelled back.
"First we find the crates." Tala insisted.
The three friends stared up at the ruins for almost an hour, all aware of the mammoth task ahead of them.
Rei's cat-like eyes flashed menacingly, and he pulled his sleeves up, determined not to lose his strength until he had trampled every last particle of Russian soil under his feet.
Max cowered uncertainly behind Tala, who simply stared up at the old building, his face expressionless.
Finally, as if on a silent signal, they started towards the building, striding purposefully, each looking hell-bent on murder.

Kai, arched his back, and groaned in ecstasy, gripping Tyson's shoulders until he inadvertently drew blood.
Tyson barely felt the pain, much less the ticklish feeling as the warm red liquid trickled down his back.
The dull ache in the lower part of his back was bearable enough; the hot stinging sensation at Kai's first touch had long since faded into pleasure as their passion guided them.
What Tyson couldn't understand, was a strange new feeling that started just below his stomach, spreading both down towards his thighs, and upwards, making his neck feel hot and tingly.
As the strange new sensation continued to come over him in slow, tantalizing waves, he whimpered slightly, and clung to Kai, pulling him closer, causing the older boy to gasp while he fought to control his breath.

Rei smiled in satisfaction, clenching and unclenching his fists rhythmically as he looked around at his handiwork.
He looked over to the priest Tala had recruited to aid them, and smiled.
Ha! The old man is scared shitless, well he should be!
The priest was currently looking at the chaos around him with a stupefied expression plastered onto his aged face; he scuttled around like a frightened mouse, avoiding the tainted soil like the plague, and repeatedly crossing himself, as if being a man of cloth was not sufficient to safeguard him.
Suddenly a firm grip on his shoulder drew Rei's attention to Tala.
"We're done here, perhaps it would be best to stay with Tyson now."
Rei nodded, smiling genuinely for the first time at the red-head in gratitude.
"You think he'll go to Tyson?" Max looked fearful; his eyes darted about every few seconds, never resting on one place for too long.
"He knows Tyson won't turn him away." Tala replied, his heart feeling heavy at the look of hurt shock in Rei's face.
"We'd better get a move on then." Max jumped up to lead the way, eager to get away from the ruined building.

Tyson sighed contently, his warm breath tickling Kai's chest where his head rested on the taught muscles.
Kai yawned and opened one eye, giving Tyson a lop-sided grin. "Wanting more already?"
Tyson blushed and snuggled closer.
"O.K maybe not, but you want something, I can tell." Kai sat up, and Tyson whimpered as he felt the cold air touch his flushed skin. "What is it that you want?" Kai tilted Tyson's chin with his fingers, gazing into the dark doe eyed depths.
"Sooner or later I'm going to die, and you'll always stay young." A solitary tear formed in the corner of his eye.
"I don't have to stay young; if you wish it, I can grow old just like you."
"Why can't I stay young? I'm afraid to die."
Kai stroked his hair absent mindedly, deliberately ignoring the thinly disguised request.
"Kai? Why won't you let me be like you?" Tyson kept at it, turning on his puppy-eyed look full force.
After about two minutes even Kai had to give in. "You know I'd never deny you anything koi, except this."
Tyson's heart sank.
"It's not all a bed of roses you know," Kai continued. "I have to kill to stay alive, could you honestly forgive me if I condemned you to that existence?"
"I'd forgive you for anything." Tyson's face was set with determination. "What happens when I die?" He persisted. "You have to wait for God knows how long for me to come back, and what if I don't remember you? What if I won't love you again?"
Kai's eyes darkened. "I never thought of that; it always seemed to me that so long as your soul came back, somewhere in your mind you'd always remember me."
"You can't predict the future, and what if after I die, I don't come back?"
Kai looked at him, suddenly afraid as he realised the possibility that he could be right.
"What if this is our last chance?" Tyson whispered, shuddering at the thought of never being with him again.
"Then I suppose we have no choice." Kai replied.
Tyson looked at him uncertainly.
"If you really want to do this, we must do it now; I can sense your friends returning."

Rei squinted uncomfortably. "Where the hell did this damn fog come from?"
Tala's disembodied voice answered, twisting eerily through the dense mist. "The Nosferatu knows what we've done; he's trying to slow us down."
"Why?" Max's voice floated through the air.
"Perhaps he has found your precious one." Tala's voice mocked Rei.
"Then it's going to take more than a puff of steam to keep me away!" The neko-jin retorted, growling as heard Tala's amused laugh.

Tyson winced as he felt the sharp canines pierce the tender flesh of his neck.He gripped at the blanket, feeling slightly dizzy as Kai settled into a rhythm with his pulse.Gradually he felt his pulse weaken, until he could barely hear it.He sighed contentedly at the pleasurable sensation of Kai retracting his fangs and looked up at him lazily through half closed eyelids.
"Oh no you don't." Kai grabbed the boy as he began to faint. "You're no good to me unconscious koi."He pulled Tyson up so that they were both kneeling, and supporting Tyson with one arm; he used a sharp fingernail to make a small cut at the base of his throat, just above the collarbone."Hurry before it heals!" He pulled Tyson's head up and pushed his lips towards the cut. For a few terrifying seconds he thought it was too late, and then he relaxed as he felt Tyson's pulse quicken, growing stronger with each drop of blood that slid down his throat.
Finally, having taken all he could, Tyson collapsed against Kai, smiling as he slipped into unconsciousness.
Kai gently laid him down, tucking him under the blanket. He stretched out beside him and waited for sleep to claim his mind. Just as he was halfway between awake and dreaming, he heard voices outside the door…

...all the same, take me away,
we're dead to the world…