Okay, sorry to clutter up all of my followers' e-mail boxes, but IU needed this story posted all at once so I could post it to LJ. There's only six chapters. Please bear with me.

Again, I don't own P3.

Our Story
Chapter 2

Shinjiro

I sit in the room on the upper floor of our hideout, Club Escapade. I toss some cards across the table and the guy across from me curses before throwing down a wad of yen and walking away. 'Bout time. That damn cigar was driving me insane. To outsiders, Aki, Mitsy, and me are just regulars. But to the manager, we're boss. We funded this place so we could have a safe haven.

That angel girl is downstairs in the backroom; in our home. She fell asleep soon after the bracelet fried her out, so I left her down there. Mitsy's down there with her, just in case. She and Aki still don't know she's an angel and nor do they know that she knows we're vampires.

That's how I want it, though. She'll suffer soon enough. My next opponent sits down across from me and a friend of his starts to shuffle. I still have to decide how to punish her. Maybe humiliation. Maybe physical pain. Maybe a cross between the two by fucking her.

Oh, the possibilities.

"Damn it!"

I look up to find I'd won the hand. Huh. The things you do when you're not paying attention. Oh, well. I stand up and scoop up the yen in the middle of the table, waving over my shoulder as I walk down the stairs. Not a great night, but I did win a fair amount.

I slap Aki on the back as I walk past the bar where he sits and head to the back and downstairs. Now, then. What to do…

Two voices reach my ears and I follow them to find Mitsy sitting on a chair and the angel girl on the floor in front of her while she messes with her hair. Koromaru lies on the couch, sleeping comfortably in the girl's bedding. I lean against the door and watch them for a moment. They're talking, but I'm not really listening. Then the weirdest thing happened.

The girl laughed.

Well, that wasn't so weird. The weird part was what it did it me. My stomach clenched and I have no idea why. I raise a hand to my mouth and clear my throat, making the girl jump up and hide behind the chair Mitsy was sitting in. I roll my eyes and Mitsy reaches down to her, easing her before glaring at me. "What did you do, Shinjiro?"

I don't really know how to answer without giving away what she is, but I'm saved when she peeps, "Shin… jiro…?"

I cross my arms and raise an eyebrow at her. "Yeah. Shinjiro. My name. What about it?"

She cringes and whispers, "N…nothing… I just… I've heard your name before…"

"That so?" I sit down on the couch and pat the spot next to me. "C'mon. Sit down. I won't bite."

Mitsy shoots a glare at me as the girl slowly climbs up, curling against the farthest end of the chair. Geez. I hold out my hand and say, "So, I'm Shinjiro. What's your name?"

Her voice is a whisper as she squeaks, "Hamuko…"

"Huh. Well, you met Mitsuru and Akihiko's upstairs."

Mitsy tries for decent conversation and asks her, "Where are you from, Hamuko?"

She shifts uncomfortably, obviously not wanting to talk about her home. Her small voice mumbles, "…Around."

Heh. So, that's how she wants to play it, eh? Ah, well. Like I care. It's not like she means anything more to me than revenge. I slap my knees as I stand. "Well, I'm going back upstairs. Can you get her settled on the couch?"

Mitsy nods and I walk towards the door with the stupid beads hanging in the way. "Wait!"

I glance over my shoulder to see the girl, Hamuko, standing with a hand over her heart. "…Take me with you."

I raise an eyebrow. "Why would I do that?"

"Because Mitsuru-san said that I'm not your prisoner. I mean, I'm thankful you guys helped me out back there, but I want to see what's out there."

You know, this probably is her first time to this world. Whatever. It can't hurt, right? "Fine. Come on. Don't touch anything."

She nods solemnly and follows after me. I wonder if her burst of courage came from having Mitsuru around or what. Once we're in the hall, she whispers, "Shinjiro. You don't want to hurt me."

I raise an eyebrow. What's this? "Oh? Why not?"

"Because you know that princess of yours that was defeated during the war and disappeared?"

"Princess Mikiko. Yeah. What about her Highness?"

"Well, when my ancestors defeated her, they sealed her in a vessel. I am that vessel. They sealed her in my mother, who, in turn, passed her to me."

I stop in my tracks and turn to her. "Mikiko…" I grip her shoulders and shove her against the wall. "Mikiko! If you're in there-!"

She shakes her head. "She can't hear you. She's dormant inside of me."

I step back. "If you're lying, I'll kill you even more painfully than I was planning."

She looks up at me, suddenly completely comfortable with me. "And if I'm not?"

"If you're not… Once I get her Highness out of you, I'll let you go back to your home as thanks for keeping her safe. Assuming Mitsy can wipe your memory of our existence. I can't have you going back and telling your kind that there are still some of us alive."

She nods slowly and turns back towards the door. "That's where I've heard your name. Mikiko passed it to me."

I raise an eyebrow. "I thought you said she was dormant?"

"She is. It's hard to explain. I can't actively communicate with her, but she passes me information now and then, almost as if she slips with her guard."

"Huh. Fine. I'll leave you be for now." If Mikiko's alive… If she is, then these last six hundred years may not have been a total waste. But what are the chances that the one shit-pixie that falls is the one carrying Mikiko? Gah… Thinking never was my strong point. That's what older brothers were supposed to be for. Damn it.

What the hell'd you all have to die for?

Hamuko

Oy. I really, really hope he bought that… Thank goodness he said her name first. I couldn't remember it for the life of me. Hopefully I can keep this up without blowing it… I can't ask for too much, though. You know, that Shinjiro guy is really tall. I glance up at him out of the corner my eye and, man, I'm not even as tall as his shoulder. Are all vampires tall? I mean, Mitsuru-san is tall for a woman, but I don't know in comparison to humans.

I walk with him up a set of stairs and up to a dark room with brightly colored tubes that don't really give off any light. The place is packed with people and, judging by his earlier comment of there being only three vampires left, I guess they're humans. I've never seen one before. I wonder if it's true that humans once live in my world.

And I wonder where Mikiko is really sealed.

I swallow my spit as I look at all the humans. What are they doing? Some kind of… mating ritual? They're all swinging their bodies around, almost throwing themselves at one another. I squeak in surprise at a touch on my shoulder and turn to find a human with a disgusting smile standing there.

Next thing I know, he's on the floor and Shinjiro is shaking his fist out after punching him. I blink. What just happened?

He grabs my upper arm and pulls me through the crowds to a dark corner. Stopping suddenly, he twists and pulls me against him while hissing in my ear, "This isn't the safest place and I don't want anyone touching what's mine, so pretend you're here with me, 'kay?"

I blink, still not really sure what happened back there. It doesn't help that he's holding me against him very tightly and breathing in my ear. Man, he smells nice. Too bad he wants to kill me. Darn it! I met a real vampire and he's handsome and tall! Why does he have to hate me? Hmph.

"Yo, you listening?"

I look up at him, having no idea what he just said and shake my head slowly. "Something about… being together?"

He rolls his eyes. "If some sleaze asks you to go somewhere, just say you can't and you're here with your boyfriend. Come find me then." He leans down again to whisper in my ear and I feel myself freeze up. "Just know that some of the things these people will do to you is worse than what I have in mind."

I nod slowly, having no idea what he has in mind and he grabs my arm again, pulling me over to the long table with just two people behind it and several more on our side. Shinjiro grabs the backs of two people's shirts and throws them to the floor before taking one of their seats and gesturing to other for me to take. I hold my skirt down and step over them to take the seat as Shinjiro waves to one of the people behind the counter and shouts, "A round of drinks for me an' the lady, eh?" The man nods and turns to some machine behind him and starts working with it.

"How're you feeling?"

The voice comes from Shinjiro's other side and I look to see a man a little older than me, but pause when I see the cross on his neck with a sapphire jewel in the center. This must be the third vampire. I smile slightly and say, "Not too bad. I'm feeling a little better. Shinjiro's been taking good care of me."

God, that lie burned coming out.

He nods. "I'm Akihiko, Shinji's brother."

I raise my eyebrow at that. "His brother? You two don't look a thing alike…"

He chuckles softly and says, "Well, almost-brothers. You see, my si- Ah!" He glares at Shinjiro, who I guess just kicked him under the table. He forces a smile at me again and says, "We grew up together."

I smile back and nod. "It's nice to meet you, Akihiko-san."

He shakes his head. "Just Akihiko."

"Oh, I'm Hamuko. Sorry about that."

He nods. "Nice to meet you, Hamuko."

Just then, the guy behind the counter turns and holds out two glasses towards Shinjiro and me. He takes one and raises an eyebrow at me. "Well?"

I guess the other one is for me… I take it and smile. "Thank you!" The guy doesn't respond, but disappears down the counter. Shinjiro takes a drink from his and stands, nodding his head for me to follow him and I stand up, smiling in Akihiko's direction before running through the crowd after Shinjiro. I don't really know why I'm still following him, but I guess it's safer than trying on my own for now. I mean, like he said, I know absolutely nothing about this world.

For all I know, these people haven't ever seen the sun. It could be a dark and desolate world down here and as long as he believes me about Mikiko, I should be okay with him. At least… I don't think he'd try to hurt his princess.

But maybe he would.

He seems like an okay person so far. I mean, I can totally understand his pent-up anger at my people for mass-murder. He starts up a set of stairs and sits on a couch near the side, propping his feet up on the table in front of him. I walk over and sit next to him, not really sure what the hell I'm doing here.

He shifts his drink to his left hand and raises his right, dropping it over my shoulders with a heavy thump. I sigh and look down at my drink, whispering, "Shinjiro."

A grunt comes from his direction, "Hm?"

"I… I wanted to say… I'm sorry. I didn't know anything about… about the end of the war and your people. If I could've done anything, I would have."

His reply comes slow, but it comes. "What do you mean?"

"I… I grew up listening to stories of your kind. I can't even imagine that my people would be capable of hurting so many, but… but now I've seen the proof. I can't argue with that."

He nods slowly. "That must be Mikiko inside you."

"It's possible. My brother would probably say it's childhood folly, but still, even after meeting the three of you, I still want to believe that you aren't the cruel species my brother made you out to be."

"Heh. I'd agree with your brother, then. Face it, I ain't the nicest guy."

I shake my head slowly. "Maybe. But I don't think that's a trait of all vampires."

"Well, it's a little late now. Don't think I'll go easy on you just 'cause you're a sap."

I nod slowly and turn to face him. "But… If you wanted, I might be able to repair the missing link between our kinds. I know it's a long shot and kind of sounds like a fairytale, but maybe it's because Princess Mikiko is inside me. Maybe I was born to be a mediator."

He glances at me out of the corner of his eye. "Not likely. If you haven't noticed, there're three of us to the hundreds of thousands of you. It'd take a handful of your shit-pixies to wipe us out forever."

I turn to look back at my shoes. "Shinjiro. You know as well as I do that as long as you hold onto me, the more at-risk you are. My people will come looking for me. We don't leave our own behind."

"But if you're housing the vampire princess, are you sure they might not care?"

I shake my head. "My brother might not be the most affectionate angel, but he's still my brother."

"But…" He raised his glass to his lips for a quick drink. "He's still only one angel."

"He'll come. I know he will."

"Maybe so. But if he's alone, then the three of us can defeat him. Just because we've been the only vampires for six centuries doesn't mean we're out of touch with our powers."

"I don't doubt you."

"Good."

Shinjiro

Oh, god… Her smell is driving me insane! Dammit… She's so delicious… I haven't fed on angel blood in centuries. And even then, hers is a rare specimen.

I can't help myself as I slowly lean closer. Damn… My arm wrapped around her pulls her closer and I lean closer to her. Her eyes widen as I pause with my lips hovering over hers. It's been several centuries. I've gotten used to feeding in public without freaking humans out. The easiest way is by biting a female's tongue while making it look as though I'm kissing her.

When I'm right in front of her, I slowly slip my tongue out to taste her lips. Mm… I can taste her blood on her lips. She's still frozen and I make my move. I pull her lower lip between mine and suck for a moment. Damn, does she taste good…

It's taking everything in me to hold back… Fuck this. I suck her lip closer to my fangs and bite down. Her blood spills into my mouth and I drink on my feast. Oh, sweet ancestors. I haven't tasted anything this good in centuries…

She seems to gather her senses and wrenches back in shock, blood dripping down her lips. I lick her blood off my lips and lean closer to lick the rest off of hers. She pulls back further and raises her hand to wipe the blood off, spoiling my meal. Damn… I lean closer again and she shoves back against my shoulders. As if that'll stop me.

"Shinji!"

I sigh and turn to find Aki standing at the top of the stairs, anger in his eyes. I lean back against the couch and pull a blood-stained handkerchief from my pocket and hand it to her to clean up her lip. Damn it, Aki… What the hell kinda timing do you have?

He walks over with a glare and looks down at me. "Shinji, you know the rules. We're not supposed to feed on live humans."

I scoff. "As if you could stop me."

He grabs the front of my shirt and pulls me closer. "I know I'm not as strong as you, but I'll do what I have to to stay alive."

I smirk as he rams his face right in mine and I say, "Mikiko's alive."

His eyes widen and his grip loosens on my shirt. I knew that'd get his attention. His grip tightens again and he shakes me with enough strength to knock a human's brain loose, but it doesn't even bother me. "What the hell are you saying? Do you know how cruel a joke like that is?"

I turn to look at Hamuko and grin. "Isn't that right, Hamuko?"

Aki turns slowly to her and drops me completely. I sit back in my seat and shrug nonchalantly. "You don't think I picked up a random human to coddle for nothing, do you?"

His eyes don't leave her as he says, "That's not even funny, Shinji. She looks nothing like her!"

"Don't be stupid." I kick him in his shin for good measure. "She isn't Mikiko. She's Mikiko's vessel. Some damn shit-pixie sealed her in a human at the end of the war and she was passed down through the human's family until now."

"…How do you know this?"

I shrug. "Just spend some time with her. You'll feel it."

"I…" He turns away and marches down the stairs. "I can't take this."

I grin and sit back. I win again.

"Why did you tell him that?"

I turn to look at Hamuko, who's holding my handkerchief on her lap. I can't help but smile a little when I look at her. What the hell is wrong with me? It… It's just her taste! Yeah. She just tasted so damn good. I shrug again and say, "Because it got him off my case."

"But you don't even believe me."

"Not entirely, no, but I'll roll with it."

She's silent for a moment before asking, "Shinjiro? Can I ask you something?"

This could be interesting. "Yeah?"

"Who is Princess Mikiko to you?"

My brain hits the brakes. "What?"

"Her Highness seems to be important to both you and Akihiko. Why?"

I shrug, hoping I still look casual. "She's our princess. Why wouldn't we be glad to know she's alive?"

Her adorable eyes shift to look back at her hands. "If you say so, but I have this feeling that she's more than that."

"There's nothing."

She nods firmly. "Okay." A moment's pause and she whispers, "Shinjiro?"

I sigh. "Yeah?"

"Why did you just bite me?"

"Because I haven't fed on an angel since the war and your blood smelled damn good. I'm only sorry I didn't get more."

"I see. Why did Akihiko stop you? Why did you call me a human when talking to him?"

"Because you're my private snack. I'm not the kinda guy who likes to share."

"But you wouldn't even tell your brother and friend that an angel is on the planet?"

I shrug. "You'll be dead before there'll be any need for concern."

"But I'm hosting your princess. Would you kill me so quickly?"

I smirk and lean closer. "You said so yourself that you inherited her from your mother. Did it ever occur to you that I might make you pass her on to a new being—maybe a vampire, even—to be raised my way?"

She blinks, a slight fear spreading her eyes. "You… You'd…"

"I might." I lean back against the couch and cross my fingers behind my head. "If you don't cooperate. Besides, I have to admit that it sounds kinda fun."

Her eyes widen even larger and she leans away from me. "I… I…"

I can't hold it back anymore and snort out a laugh. "Geez. Relax. I'm only kidding. I'll only take you to my bed if you turn out to be really disobedient."

She's still staring at me as if I slaughtered her family in front of her and I feel a second round of laughter coming. This little thing has absolutely no sense of humor. What a boring tool. Oh, well. This is the least she deserves for her ancestors sins.

…Fuck.

Why does she have to smell so good? And why aren't my fangs hungry like usual? This… This isn't right! It's almost like I want her, not her blood! Shit! This is so fucking wrong; I don't even know where to start. Oh, wait, wait, wait… I got it. It's because of Mikiko. That's the one I'm attracted to. Not this pitiable angel. There. That's better.

So, then. I guess it doesn't really matter. I mean, I was supposed to marry Mikiko. It's probably a good thing I'm attracted to her.

Please review!

-Valk