Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or InuYasha, both copy-righted to their rightful owners. My own characters do belong to me however.
Secrets laced themselves within everything, and often movements, words, glances, or even ones own heartbeat could at times give these away. No matter how hard one tries to never reveal the hidden horrors they lock inside that void deep within their hearts, it always manages to come out. Everyone has this kind of secret. Whether it was a murder they committed, a filthy deed, or even something as simple as borrowing an item by accident and sneaking it back before the owner notices it's missing. In any case, the keeper of the secret never wants anyone else to ever know, and so they continue keeping it under lock and key.
Unfortunately, it slithers its way out of the concealed chest inside that void and runs free in the open… at the most inconvenient moment. Whether it was a hidden crush, when under trial… or in a tournament. A tournament meant to give pleasure to the sadistic and hateful, along with a shining chance of hope to those who wish to free those condemned or trapped. Everyone has their secrets, and everyone keeps these secrets to themselves for different reasons. Alas, in a large coliseum throbbing with all types of creatures and gossip, it's only a matter of time before secrets are let out… one by one by one… just like the deaths.
It was the next day after that match, and Yamaki had said he wouldn't be leaving the confines of their temporary room for at least an hour. Ruki didn't wish to mingle herself with them, saying she preferred silence to their consistent speaking. Not to mention she was annoyed by their 'overly-compassionate' personalities, and they couldn't understand why she herself was so cold. Tomoki ever since yesterday had been shaking, and on the verge of tears and so Takuya wouldn't go anywhere he couldn't keep an eye on his young friend. Not to mention Junpei was still feeling alarmingly guilt-ridden, so it was determined that talking of yesterday's events would be foolish. But then, they didn't want to talk about it either.
Izumi and Takuya both agreed that Junpei and Tomoki needed to get out and have some fresh air, whilst Kouji didn't care either way. Izumi walked next to Junpei, holding hands with him and trying to cheer him up. Takuya did his best to try and comfort young Tomoki, but the boy kept a semi-blank face, and Kouji wore his cloak beneath the suns rays nearby them; watching. Takuya did his best to at least get a small smile from Tomoki, but to no avail. Each time he failed, he worried more and more. And he began to question Yamaki, whom he had blindly trusted until now. Yamaki should have had known better to let Tomoki fight his first battle against allies! While yes, Kisei's group did look tough… it just… it bothered Takuya.
"…Takuya onii-chan…" Tomoki began softly. The older brunette instantly looked up from the sand beneath his feet he was glaring at to pay attention to his younger friends words. "…have you ever locked away certain memories, and then without warning they just… appear again?" The young boy asked him, a voice so quiet if his older companion didn't know any better the words could be whisked away by the wind.
"No, or at least… not yet if I do have any memories locked away." Takuya replied truthfully. The younger boy looked at him, bit his bottom lip, and looked away.
"I remembered something yesterday… during the match." Tomoki said in a far-off voice. "My real parents… until then, I didn't know I was adopted. I remembered what my father did to my mother and my unknown sibling… and then I remembered what I accidentally did to my father." He continued, the last part was where he choked back a sob. "And because I didn't listen to Yamaki-sans words… I… I did that to Daisuke… and he didn't do anything to deserve that!" He said, and fell to his knees sobbing. Takuya immediately went over and pulled the young boy into a comforting hug, and hushed him.
"Tomoki, you didn't mean to. It's okay. Sshh… besides, Daisuke still has a chance that when he wakes from the coma, that he'll be perfectly functional. Or at least, mostly functional… they don't know what part of his brain got damaged, so he has a chance to not be a vegetable." Takuya explained in a soothing voice. "I'm sure he's not mad at you." The brunette said. Tomoki just sniffed some, before more tears fell. Frowning in worry, he just held the young crying teen in his arms, just being there for his friend. Takuya knew that Tomoki was trying to stop crying, but the tears wouldn't stop spilling. It was okay though, because this was something worth crying over.
"Hey! We're heading back!" Izumi called over to them, and Kouji nodded to show they heard her. She and Junpei started to the coliseum's bulge, which was were the residential area was. Nudging Takuya with his foot, the human sighed getting what the vampire was trying to tell him.
"Tomoki… we need to head back, all right?" Takuya asked, looking Tomoki in the eye. The boy hiccupped and nodded, wiping his tears away with his shirts sleeve. The two stood up, and together all three walked back to where they needed to be.
"…has anyone seen Kouichi?" Kouji asked suddenly, just now noticing the odd silence. Takuya looked confused, and looked around. Nope, no ghost that before the tournament had a bit TOO much fun waking him in the middle of the night. Tomoki said a soft 'no', and the three decided it as their mission to find Kouichi. The search began! Walking the hallways trying to locate a ghost that looked identical to a vampire was a bit complicated, especially seeing as before now they never realized how many ghosts actually haunted this place.
"What are you three up too?" A familiar voice asked. Twirling around, there they saw Yamaki looking down on them with Kouichi floating behind him with his arms crossed. They must've been gone far longer than an hour if Yamaki and Kouichi were looking for them… and the three knew that the blonde man and ghost were looking for them because Kouichi had a relieved expression on his face.
"We were looking for Kouichi." Takuya explained. The poltergeist grinned hearing that they actually worried about him.
"And here I thought you hated me!" Kouichi said, wiping away a nonexistent tear from his eyes. "It warms my… soul knowing you care!" He stated, twirling around in the air. He was a bit too pleased about this. The brunette had to do something to crush the poltergeists happiness before it bloomed into something so horrible as to bringing 'gifts' (actually items from his brother that resulted in Takuya getting yelled at by their mom that always managed to get Kouichi to crack up for a few hours).
"No, we just had to find you so that we could ensure you weren't spilling secrets about us." Takuya said off handly.
"Why are you so MEAN to me?" Kouichi whined, and floated over to his twin in a sulking manner. "At least SOMEONE loves me…" He pouted.
"And that's because they have to." Takuya said nodding.
"Kouji! Takuya's being mean to me." Kouichi cried.
"We're sorry." Tomoki muttered, shifting from foot to foot.
"It's all right, so long as you're safe." Yamaki said, nodding. Some shouts and yells were heard, and further ahead in the hallway one could see an unknown figure pushing people aside, followed after by two others. Glancing up, the five watched this disturbance and after a moment could finally see whom it was. Ken was the one all but charging through with an angry expression, with Miyako following worried and Yamato rather peeved. When they finally reached the group, Ken stopped with his eyes narrowed. "May we be of help to you Ichijouji Ken?" The blonde man asked. The teen growled.
"What were you thinking?" Ken snapped, immediately asking what he came to.
"Calm down…" Miyako said meekly, probably in due part being still hurt from the previous day's events.
"You brought a mere child into this tournament! And to add onto that, you made him fight against us knowing full-well he didn't want to!" Ken continued, ignoring Miyako's attempts at calming him. Yamato shook his head and crossed his arms, knowing this would take a moment.
"Is that all, Ichijouji?" Yamaki asked, raising a brow at the younger male. Said younger man looked ready to explode.
"IS THAT ALL!" Ken hollered, startling passer byers. "I can't believe you." He hissed out. "I don't know what's going on in that mind of yours, but I sure as hell don't trust it to make the proper decisions in order to ensure that the members of your team survive the remainder of this tournament. I believe that they can handle themselves; I know they're strong enough. But I don't trust you to not send them in a battle against an attacker they can't fight. If you were any other Sponsor, I'd have faith in their success." He ended, eyes glaring daggers.
"Ken, it's not like we're given much of a choice." Yamato grumbled, before casting Kouji a rather abhorrent glare. It appeared someone still felt bitter, despite their knowledge of the circumstances. The vampire couldn't hold it against him; Kouji would feel the exact same way had Yamato killed Takuya. His eyebrow twitched at that thought; no one was going to kill the brunette. Not while he was around anyway.
"Ken, just calm down. We can go visit Daisuke, if it makes you feel better." Miyako tried, giving him a weak smile. He just growled, before his stinger-like nails grew in length and he reached forward as if aiming to stab Yamaki. Right before his extended 'nails' plunged into Yamaki's flesh, the man grabbed the wrist of Ken's hand and threw him to the side, both unharmed. Except for Ken's pride, who just got up and glared.
"None of the Sponsors are someone you'd want to face in a match." Yamaki said simply. The now pride-injured Ken just turned away, saying nothing and trying to quell the rising anger.
"…I'm sorry." Tomoki said quietly. The blue-haired teen blinked, calmed somewhat and shook his head. Walking over to the young boy, he put his hand on Tomoki's shoulder.
"You didn't intend for what happened to have happened, and I'm not going to get upset over it. In any case, at least Daisuke still has a chance… quite unlike the other two." Ken said softly, and flinched when he felt Yamato's rather angry glare hit his back. "No offense, but it is the truth." He explained himself, immediately feeling guilty for the rudeness of his comment.
"Whatever." Yamato snapped. Miyako sighed sadly, saying nothing at all.
"Well… I came here for what I wanted, although I didn't get my answers." Ken said, the last part of his statement coming out in an angry buzz-like growl. Moving away, he started off in the direction he came in, Miyako running after worriedly and Yamato looking set to kill as he went after them.
"Hey! You know… uhm… let's go check on Izumi and Junpei. Maybe start a fire and roast some marshmallows?" Kouichi tried, and yipped when his brother's arm went through him in annoyance because 'fire' was apart of his suggestion.
"That's… a great idea?" Takuya asked, looking at his companions to see if they thought so too. Kouji shrugged, and Tomoki still looked rather upset. Yamaki had a blank face, but headed off for their room in answer so the brunette followed after. It took them some odd minutes to reach their room, and as they walked in they weren't too surprised to see Izumi sleeping on her bed, and Junpei inside his stereo resting. Yamaki walked over to his chair, and picked up a notebook that he preceded in looking through. Tomoki wandered over to his bed, and flopped on it facedown. Takuya cast him a concerned and sad face, and then turned to Yamaki. Sitting cross-legged next to the man's chair, he formed his question inside his mind. Kouji quietly went over, and wrapped his arms around Takuya's waist like he randomly always did. The brunette noted how much clingier Kouji was since yesterday.
"…Yamaki?" The brunette asked. He stopped going through the pages, and glanced down at the human. "…what were you thinking?" Takuya asked finally. He felt Kouji's grip tighten around his waist, and then the chin of the vampire resting on his shoulder.
"At that moment… I was thinking Tomoki would figure out to use his illusions to trick Daisuke into thinking that the boy killed him, and thus Daisuke's body would think it had been damaged, and shut itself down. In that duration, Cursed would announce Tomoki the victor, and after his body got carted away there'd have been enough time for his body to realize it was not fatally injured. After that, then Daisuke would get up angry and annoyed, not to mention perhaps a bit disturbed by the dead carcasses around him. Unfortunately, no one had decided to mention to me of Tomoki's blocked memory and I didn't know it'd make itself known in the fight." The blonde man explained, and sighed. "And right now I have no idea what the hell I'm going to do. Tomoki is in no shape to go into another battle, and if my guess is correct we need his abilities next battle." He went on.
"…what do you mean, we 'need' his abilities if you're assumption on our next battle is correct?" Takuya asked, giving Yamaki a sidelong look.
"Trust me on that one. But if he's in no shape to fight, then he's in no shape to fight. I'll have to see if they'll let me get another fighter as his replacement." Yamaki sighed. "And now I'm not so sure about my resolution either…" Both vampire and human gave him a quizzical look. "…fine, I'll tell you. Izumi's agility, flexibility, and not to mention senses make her the only one capable of standing a chance against Villiyan. Kouji's vampiric speed might make him an equal in that manner, but he lacks the instincts to predict where she's planning to strike, or what her plan of action is. I know more than anything Junpei wants to kill Eimin as vengeance for Kagami, and I can't do anything to change his mind. Ruki won't fight anyone other than Kaishi, and from what I know it's best that way. Hinshi… I know for an absolute fact she's the one Kisei will choose first if he gets to. She may be a shape-shifter, but she's only fighting because Eimin is. Thus if we can't get a replacement for Tomoki, she's the only one I can hope he'll manage to survive against." He explained.
"…that's your resolution?" Takuya asked him, giving him this look as if he lost his mind. Yamaki said nothing, before a thought found it's way to the brunette's mind, and he felt horrified. He couldn't mean… "Are you saying you want me to fight Kisei?" He asked skeptically. His answer was a nod. "…why?"
"…both Kouji and Kisei are vampires, but Kisei is a much older one so he can overwhelm Kouji with his abilities easily, and more. Kisei likes to play cat and mouse in matches, and thus he'd manipulate Izumi's were cat form to where he can easily finish her off without trying. I'm not risking Tomoki's life in a match like that either. As I already said, Ruki refuses to fight anyone aside from Kaishi. Junpei… won't stand a chance either. I biggest hope lies on you, and your flame manipulation." Yamaki explained to the brunette.
"He's not fighting Kisei." Kouji stated in a factual manner, eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Would you prefer fighting him?" Yamaki asked, and the vampire cursed him under his breath. "I thought so. But then, you have an alarmingly good reason not to." He said, sighing. Takuya was confused… was there something he didn't know? The two never talked mysteriously like this before!
"As I said though, I'm not so sure about it now. I already screwed up, and I don't want to risk anything happening to you guys again." Yamaki added on, and then resumed flipping through his notebook showing he wasn't speaking any further. Growling, Kouji immediately let go of Takuya and left the room, alarming the brunette. Getting up, Takuya quickly followed after. Once out in the hallway, the vampire turned around.
"Stay in the room." Kouji grumbled. Well, that certainly was a mood swing. The brunette said a few rude things under his breath and ran up to Kouji, glaring.
"That's certainly a switch." Takuya commented in an angry tone of voice. "What brought this on?" He demanded to know.
"Shut up." Kouji snapped. He was going about this the wrong way, he knew that but… he couldn't help it.
"What's your deal?" Takuya asked. "Is there something wrong in your brain? We were in there not two minutes ago and perfectly fine! And then Yamaki mentions Kisei and you get all bent out of shape! Then you tell both of us what I can and cannot do, and leave! I follow you worried, and you tell me to shut up!" The brunette ranted. It was true though, which was exactly why he was saying it. The vampire growled and stopped, the brunette doing so as well minus the growling part. The hallway was practically empty, most the contenders either sleeping, training, or watching the current match. Turning to face Takuya, Kouji held this narrow-eyed expression that wasn't angry, it was an emotion the brunette couldn't think the name of at the moment. But it caused him to tense up and freeze in place, unable to move and be held in those blue eyes. Kouji roughly grabbed and pushed him against the wall.
"Do you want to die?" Kouji asked, the look still on his face and his hands pressed against the wall next to Takuya's shoulders. The demanding question wasn't a threat, merely something said to make the brunette think.
"No, but-" He started, but found himself immediately cut off.
"Do you think I want you to die?" Kouji asked, his expression slowly softening. The brunette couldn't find is voice to say anything to that. "I don't. I don't doubt your abilities, I know… I know you can protect yourself. But I still want to protect you either way…" The vampire went on. "Kisei isn't well-respected because of his discovery in how vampires can live without drinking human blood, or his desire to destroy all humans. He's a powerful vampire, well over eight hundred years old… and I can't protect you from him." He said, looking down at the ground. His fist clutched at the wall, crushing some of it in the process. The brunette glanced at the vandalism the vampire committed to the coliseum, and was slowly reminded that despite how gentle Kouji was… he was a hazard to the brunette's health if ever angered (although Kouji was never angry).
"…Kouji…" Takuya said softly.
"And I don't want to watch him kill you too." Kouji whispered, the last part of what he said confusing Takuya completely. "I… got 'bent out of shape' because I knew that. And because I don't think you realize how much I need you." He further explained. The brunette's eyes widened some, and then softened. "When I was fighting Taichi, I really did think I was going to die. And all I could think about, was what would happen if I did. If you pulled another stunt like that time you took on those robbers, what would have happened if Kouichi wasn't there because I wasn't." Takuya just listened to him, and let his words sink in. It was true though. Had Kouichi not found the brunette, he would have been dead (and without his fire ability). Kouji and Kouichi were almost always were the other was, and the brunette knew that if Kouji ever… died, then Kouichi would probably stay behind long enough to comfort Takuya, and then he'd leave as well.
"Hey, Kouji…" Takuya tried, and when getting no response he sighed. Choosing another method of saying what he wanted to say, he pulled Kouji into a hug that was soon returned.
"I don't want you to go." Kouji said in a soft voice, and he held the brunette tighter. Takuya blinked, feeling something warm on his shirt.
"Kouji, are you crying?" He asked, concerned for his friend. "I'm not going anywhere." He reassured the vampire, a bit scared to see his friend in such a… what was the word? Ah yes, depressing manner. "Listen, I'm not going to die. Don't worry. And if you die… I'll harass Serlio to bring you back when she comes for Kouichi." He said, and heard Kouji laugh slightly. "By the way, can she get him early? You know… before you die." The brunette said, making them both laugh. Kouji pulled away, and sighed deeply. There were no signs he had possibility been crying, but then the guy always had bags under his eyes, and he could have easily wiped the 'tears' away on Takuya's shirt.
"I love you." Kouji said in this warm, soft tone that for some reason made Takuya blush. Perhaps it was because it was how he said it… how it had this strange promise to it. Or maybe because a vampire just said it to him and meant it, making the words both reassuring and flattering.
"You'd better. Otherwise you would have had my first kiss before all this screwed up stuff started." Takuya huffed, getting a grin from Kouji. The two started walking, in a fashion almost as if what happened never did. As they walked, they'd joke around or just talk about something. They'd give the other a warm smile, or hold hands every now and then. This had been what Kouji was talking about back then… just being a normal, happy couple. Or, at least as normal a couple being a vampire and a human who could create fire. He couldn't help but wonder, if by some chance… that heaven forgave him for being a damned creature and showed it's forgiveness by putting Takuya on this planet, and permitting fate for them to meet. 'Wow, I'm sounding cheesy… oh Romeo, oh Romeo…' He thought in a sardonic manner. Then, Takuya bumped into someone and Kouji stopped realizing that there was another creature in that hallway and his brunette just smacked into him or her.
"Oww… sorry," Takuya apologized, and then looked at whom he bumped into. "Or not." He growled, jumping back away from them. Kouji immediately moved between the brunette and the other creature in a protective manner.
"Kaishi." Kouji said in a low, threatening growl. The demon raised a brow at him, but said nothing. "What are you doing?" He hissed, immediately assuming the worst. Kaishi looked over to his left, and Kouji looked as well. The training room. Okay, so maybe the demon was just leaving the training room and didn't intend to do anything to them. Whatever. Shut up. He was the enemy!
"Don't help an injured person here." Kaishi said in a low voice, before moving to the side and walking around the pair. Takuya watched him horribly confused, and Kouji just ensured he didn't try anything as he walked away.
"…should we trust him?" Takuya asked curiously. The guy had silver hair, so he couldn't have been all bad. Like Inu-Yasha. Although, Inu-Yasha was a hanyou. His brother Sesshomaru had silver hair too, and he was a youkai. So Kaishi must've been evil! But Sesshomaru wasn't all that bad, he saved Rin. The brunette shook his head, reminding himself that he was at a tournament, and he shouldn't waste his time thinking about anime.
"I'd rather not." Kouji mumbled angrily under his breath, and turned around. The two proceeded on in walking, but this time without that playful atmosphere and instead one of people on their guard.
"…I think we're lost." Takuya noted.
"I'm glad we're on the same page." Kouji sighed.
"…I know! We can just, turned around and…" Takuya began, turning around and seeing… four hallways. There weren't four hallways leading to this one! "…or maybe not?" He said dubiously.
"That's odd…" Kouji commented.
"Help me!" A far-off voice begged. The two boys flinched.
"Kouji…" Takuya began, and the vampire growled.
"I bet that Kaishi guy told us to not help a hurt person because they're taking down one of their opponents before the next match." Kouji said in a low voice.
"You're probably right. Sneaky bastard…" Takuya grumbled. The two then quietly went in the direction of the voice, and found a young girl with reddish-brown hair lay bleeding on the floor. She had pained brown eyes, and cuts were everywhere on her paling skin. She was wearing a torn green dress with straps holding it up, and a lighter green short-sleeve shirt beneath it. On the left side of her head she had her hair up in a ponytail, and her green sneakers were not too far away from were her twisted feet were. Stepping back in shock at what he saw, Takuya immediately wanted to find that Kaishi guy and send him up in flames as an early gift from hell.
"…I'll get her shoes, you… tend to her wounds." Kouji said, finding himself overwhelmed by the scent of blood. Damn he was hungry. Takuya nodded understanding why Kouji was saying all this, and ran to her. Kouji shakily went over to her shoes, and when he bent down to pick them up, they disappeared. Shocked and horrified, his hand recoiled away before his attention was obtained from a startled shout from Takuya. The girl was no longer looking like she was in pain, and her arms turned into vines and wrapped themselves around the brunette's arms.
"Wh-what the-?" Takuya gasped, trying to escape from them. Kouji moved to go help Takuya, but froze when two icy-cold hands grabbed his wrists and refused to let go or permit Kouji to help the brunette.
"You were right." A cold, silky voice said near Kouji's ear. He froze. "Kaishi did tell you not to help a hurt person because we were taking down our next opponents." The voice drawled. Takuya looked over, and made a small sound recognizing who was restraining Kouji. "You." They finished.
"Kisei." Kouji hissed, and immediately attempted to get away again, only causing the older vampire to laugh.
"What a friendly greeting." Kisei laughed, and glanced at the girl. "Hinshi, you talented ol' girl. Let Zanshi take over, will you?" He requested, and as the vines let go of Takuya, the brunette right away felt strong hands grab him and push him against the wall, knocking the air out of his lungs. Gasping trying to regain the lost breath, it was then the hands forced his arms behind his back and pinned his arms down on his mid-back.
"Take over I did." Zanshi announced proudly, the one who had done all this to Takuya.
"Tch, so you had one of you warn us so we'd think the opposite of what they said and end up here." Kouji asked, unamused. Kisei frowned.
"No, Kaishi actually did that against what I said. Zanshi, I told you to keep a better eye on that brother of yours." Kisei said disapprovingly.
"Sorry, guess I got a little too excited about tonight's game." Zanshi said, grinning sadistically. Takuya's head was whirling… so wait, one of them wasn't evil? That didn't make sense!
"So Kouji, how have you and your brother been?" Kisei asked casually, watching Hinshi revert to her original form. She was no longer a small girl, and instead a full grown woman with gray skin, red hair, a black dress, and blue eyes. The younger vampire growled deep within his throat and then made further attempts at escape. "Not going to answer I assume? Ah, well then let's just recap on the good ol' days." Kisei said, smirking devilishly. Takuya gave him an untrusting look, and then looked at Kouji worriedly.
"I'm going to leave now." Hinshi said softly.
"Make sure the room is ready in that case." Kisei ordered. She nodded, and left. "Oh, I love the night. Don't you? It was night when we first met." He said to Takuya, the 'we' a reference to Kouji with how the elder vampire used his spare hand to motion at Kouji. He was only using one hand to keep both of Kouji's hands tied. "Ah, I'd say somewhere around… oh… eighty-seven years ago. My, that makes you around one hundred and four years old! My, how time flies!" Kisei said, laughing. Kouji rolled his eyes, and made small grunts as he continued trying to get away to help Takuya. The brunette was having a mild concern with breathing, because it was hard to being sandwiched between the wall and Zanshi pushing him into the wall.
"I love stories." Zanshi said, giggling. The brunette felt like attempting to puke on her. She was rather revolting, personality-wise. Trying to act cute when she was far from it.
"Let's see, it was in the year 1918. I was bored, having nothing to do, and so I decided to stalk these two twins. You can already guess they were Kouji and Kouichi of course." Kisei began, telling his story to unwilling listeners. "It wasn't often you could see a human control light, and the other one create darkness. They were freaks of nature you could say." He said, nodding to himself. Takuya could already see just what Kisei was telling him. He at the moment really wasn't sure how to react to it. "Having a vampire that could create darkness was… unbelievable. The possibilities were endless! Of course, that's the funny thing about twins, you can never tell them apart! So, by accident I ended up turning the wrong one." He went on, looking down and running his tongue over his back teeth as if something was stuck back there. "You've no idea how stupid I felt." Kouji by about this time was shaking with pent up anger.
"Well, it was a simple mistake." Zanshi said, giving him a lopsided grin.
"Oh, but my mistake didn't end there! No, once I realized I turned the wrong one I snuck off to try and retrieve my damaged pride. Later, I figured I best kill the one I turned because they were useless, and ended up killing the one still human! The one I wanted to turn. Again, I felt… alarmingly stupid. Twins really are annoying with their similarities." He concluded. Takuya looked from Kouji, to Kisei still unsure how to react to this information. Kisei was the one who turned Kouji into a vampire?
"You made three mistakes with them!" Zanshi said, a mock-gasp added in for effect. So she was just playing along with what Kisei was doing. That bitch. "You didn't take care of you young vampire, so then he grew to hate you more and more! You stole his humanity, killed his brother, and condemned him to hell against his will." She elaborated, laughing. Kisei feigned crying.
"It's true. But the twin I turned mustn't forget at the same time I did him not one, but three favors. Had I never turned him, he wouldn't have lived long enough to meet his precious little Takuya." Kisei said, winking at the brunette who blushed at the words used when being referred to, and realizing that their opponents knew they secret they tried to keep even from their friends until this whole thing was over. "And then, had I not killed his brother then there would have been no ghost to save said brunette." Kisei went on, and Takuya was now worried. How'd they know about that? "And finally, there'd be no one to try and save all humans." He finished. "Which is silly, because really… all humans are good for are some fun in bed, and a snack or two." He said, shrugging. Takuya turned a deep shade of red from both anger and embarrassment. Well, it was embarrassing being referred to as a sex object, whether you were one or not.
"And your point?" Kouji retorted, looking ready to kill. The older vampire merely smirked.
"My point is, you have two choices my little childer(1)." Kisei said, his voice suddenly business-like and serious. "Our only real hindrances are that small child, Tomoki, and your boyfriend over there." He began. "But I'm sure you won't be willing to let anything happen to the brunette, now would you?" A glare from Kouji. "Thought so. We thought so, thus we came up with this nifty little idea. You just… kill off the little one, and we keep that brunette locked up nice and safe, and you don't have to worry about him getting hurt. We don't want his blood to spill, after all we all know what would happen if it did." He said, grinning slyly. Kouji froze. Takuya was confused. Would that really be such a problem(2)?
"…I'm not killing Tomoki." Kouji said finally, and Kisei gave a false sad sigh. "Oh, that's a shame." He said.
"Because obviously if only he and Takuya are your concerns, then killing him will end our chances of killing you." Kouji grounded out through his teeth.
"Ah ah ah, but removing two fighters from a team will knock you guys into the side tournament, and by default make us win. Guess how many fighters we have right now?" Kisei asked, a dark grin. Takuya immediately tried to get away, and when failing a small spark of flame appeared near Kisei who moved. "Whoa there! Don't forget, we're both vampires here." The old vampire said laughing. "Unless you don't mind killing Kouji, then by all means!" The brunette froze. Kisei laughed. "Guess you do. What do you say… let's take them to the special room I asked Eimin to set up for us." Kisei suggested. Zanshi grinned and nodded, before the two started dragging them away.
Takuya and Kouji couldn't escape from the grips Zanshi and Kisei had on them, despite how much they struggled. And they had to fight them later on? Dragging the two silenced ones, Kisei held Kouji down while barking orders to Zanshi who followed without question. Takuya attempted burning the demon girl but Zanshi had him by the wrists, and his fingers couldn't reach. There was a metal table to one side, and the brunette felt panic rise in him. Struggling further, he began to kick at the demon but then she had a tail come from nowhere tail wrap around his legs, alarming Takuya further. From the corner of his eye, Takuya could see Kouji fighting madly against Kisei who looked like he was barely holding him down.
Feeling his back press against the cold metal of the table, Takuya made a small noise that crossed between alarm and fear. A loud hiss of anger from Kouji followed his noise soon afterwards, and the brunette didn't want to think of how badly this was pissing Kouji off. Zanshi grabbed two metal cuffs and placed Takuya's wrists in them, making the brunette's bells of alarm ring off so loudly in his ears all he was hearing now was a buzzing noise. Were they allowed to do this? Oblivious to the small noises that were similar to whimpers, Takuya continued to fight against the restraints now holding him to the cold slab beneath him.
"Good, now get that sewing needle and give him a small cut on the side of his neck." Kisei ordered, and Kouji's eyes got wide. He knew what they were doing now, they weren't going to kill either of them. But they were going to carry out the situation Yamaki had warned him about from some time ago(3). Hissing ferally, Kouji let his fangs outstretch themselves and attempted to attack an annoyed Kisei. Fearing for Takuya, Kouji ended up unknowingly making the lights in the room go mad, with some areas dark and others bright. Growling in annoyance, Kisei turned to Zanshi. "Do it already, I can't hold him down much longer!" He snapped.
Nodding her head, Zanshi grabbed the sewing needle and looked at the brunette. Takuya had figured out what they were doing now also, and feebly attempted to try and touch some part of his restraints. No such luck with that. Zanshi held it, then took one side of his left arm and pressed it against Takuya's chest, to try and make him hold still long enough to do as she was told without stabbing the brunette. With a quick flick, a line was on Takuya's neck, which reddened slowly and a small bit of blood gooed down his skin. Shivering from it, Takuya silently begged to himself Kouji could control himself. He could do it, it would just be very hard. For some reason he found himself no longer believing when his vampire friend said he found Takuya's blood undesirable, mainly because Kouji was trying to get as far away as possible. If he really did find the brunette's blood unwanted, he wouldn't freak out.
"Good, now help me." Kisei hissed, right before Kouji got one arm free and slammed his knuckles into the older vampires face. The hit knocked him into the door, and he growled. Zanshi sneaked up and grabbed Kouji, who fought against her until Kisei also grabbed hold of him. Dragging the struggling vampire over to where Takuya was, Kouji's attempts were beginning to become more and more desperate to get away. He didn't want to get near him, he didn't want to go nowhere near Takuya now. It wasn't safe. The last thing Kouji ever wanted to do was hurt Takuya, or see the brunette hurt. And they were about to make him do just that. Throwing Kouji right into Takuya, they quickly left the door and the door clicked signaling it was locked.
It was faster than it ever was before. The scent floated down into Kouji's nostrils, and before he even had the chance to stop or restrain himself the fog rolled in. In the distance he heard someone's voice cry out. He was so far away, Kouji didn't even know what it was, all he knew was inside he hurt. It was like nothing existed, except whatever it was that flowed into his mouth. But where did this come from? Who did it belong too? Why couldn't he find out? Something wasn't letting him find his way through this fog, this darkness. He was a vampire, lost deep in a fog of shadow and loneliness. It was how they were meant to live, wasn't it? So why couldn't he feel comfortable with this? What was so wrong with it? Then he heard a soft moan of pain, and a whispered word that brought reality and understandment back. "Kouji…" It was Takuya! Running wildly through the darkness Kouji had to find his way out of here and stop this.
While out of Kouji's head, the brunette was trying to talk, but all he got out was the vampire's name before he couldn't find his voice again. The feeling of his blood being drained out was part soothing, and part painful, it never stayed constant for him to understand what he was supposed to feel. Then he felt something wetland on his neck, and it felt warm much like blood. Though it couldn't be, unless Kouji was bleeding. 'No… he's crying.' Takuya's eyes widened for a moment, then went back to being half-lidded. Kouji was crying because he couldn't stop himself. Things got blurry, and before Takuya blacked out he heard banging on the door. That was around the time Yamaki ran inside with Kouichi.
Ruki ran in behind them, but stopped and watched in horror what they saw. Junpei came in and rather then stare at what he saw, he sent waves of lightning at Kouji who shrieked in pain when feeling the volts of lightning attack his body and fell over limp on the ground. Yamaki ran over to Takuya, and managed to get the manacles off of him, and pick up his weakened body. Kouji shakily lifted himself up, before dropping back down and retching noises were then heard.
"Is… is he okay?" Junpei asked, in reference with Takuya.
"If you mean will he live, yes. We came in time." Yamaki sighed, before walking quickly out to find a nearby doctor. "Someone stop Kouji before he throws his insides up too." Ruki went quickly over to the vampire, and nearly regurgitated herself. Blood stained the floor, and every few moments she watched Kouji force it out.
"Kouji, you need to stop." She said, shaking him by the shoulders.
"I don't want it!" Kouji hissed, which was followed by some coughs making blood splutter out.
"Can you at least wait until they get some other blood for you to refill on?" Ruki asked.
"I said… I DON'T WANT IT!" Kouji hollered, making Ruki jump away from him in fear. Red tears flowed down his face, and he continued to force whatever supply of blood was in his body. What he had just done was tearing him up apart both mentally and emotionally, and even though his body was protesting against what he was doing… he did it still. He didn't want it. He didn't want the blood, or this feeling inside ripping him up. He had almost killed Takuya. He was going to, without meaning to or wanting to! Slamming his fist down, he continued sobbing. Ruki was unsure what to do, and looked to the poltergeist for help. He gave her a sad look, and floated over to his brother.
"Kouji… you need to stop, or else you're going to get hungry and hurt someone else." Kouichi said sadly. Kouji didn't, he couldn't. Not after what he had done.
A/N: Damn I'm evil. I hate myself now. You guys know how long I've been waiting to type this chapter? Anywho... it might have been written crappily (as always, I can't write anything good) but I'm pleased with it.
(1): I asked my friend about this, and they said childer was used. They might be wrong. If they are, feel free to correct them.
(2): Amany chapters ago this was a secret Kouji hid from Takuya - Kouji is attracted to Takuya's blood over everyone else's because he loves him. It's a vampires curse. Takuya doesn't know that. Yet anyway. Poor Takuya, his boyfriend not telling him all this crap. T.T
(3): Cripes! That was ages ago! See Chapter 3: Learning and Training.
SomeoneInThePastOfEarth: Actually it was maybe five hours after lol. This update is a day took a day though! Glad it wasn't as bad as I thought... thank you!
Largo-sensei: You're so nice. -Hugs- Really? Thankies. I proofread half of this, so hopefully it's better but rememer, I'm a crappy proofreader. Gomen! No prob, 'tis my fault for not putting friendly reminders.
MilliKilo: Glad the updates weren't bad! Yay! Ah yes... these past few chapters have been sad, haven't they? Sorry. T.T You liked Kouji's fight? Thank heavens, I was so scared people would throw things at me for that one.
Takuya: I'm so sorry you cried! Gomen gomen gomen gomen gomen gomen! -Grovels-
GemmaniGirl: Poor everyone just about. XD Glad to hear you're working on 'RealityCheck'! I really look forward to the next chappy! How'd Destiny get out of the closet?
Silverkaze013: Are you okay? I'm sorry! Gomen gomen gomen! Don't be sad! Yes... this fic is getting pretty sad. -Hugs- I'm sorry!
Bonnie Mizuhara Asakura: Yes, his hell broke loose. o.o I'm sorry... yes, Daisuke ish a veggie. Creepy. Originally Kouji was supposed to notice how similar Taichi was to Takuya so I could make this nifty conflict... but then I got tired and completely forgot. Yama versus Kouji? Yeah, that might have been more appropiate. -Bows in apology- Gomen!
