Chapter Eleven: Aftermath

"What have you done?"

Sho struggled to withhold a gasp of pain as he was slammed back into the wall opposite. His stomach was churning at the slaughter that the vampire had left in his wake. Never before had Sho seen such brutality and it sickened him to the core. He had seen so many men die, and been responsible for a number himself, but this was different. Sho killed knowing that the men he shot would show him no mercy. This was cold-blooded and almost torturous. Chan's chest cavity had been completely smashed under the force that Kei used.

Kei… had Sho not seen the murder with his own eyes he would not have believed his friend capable of such a thing. True, Kei was a killer but never before had he taken pleasure in what he had to do to survive and he had seen pleasure in the vampire's eyes. It wasn't his friend that Sho had seen but a glimmer of the monster that Kei was so afraid of, the monster that lurked just beneath the surface. Before he had been so weak and now he was strong. Sho's back still hurt from the force that Kei had applied when pushing him out of the vampire's path and Sho knew it was useless to go after him now. It would be dawn soon and Kei would be looking for shelter.

Sho also knew that he could not be found here. If he was then he might well be implicated in what had taken place. He could hear the sounds of a woman's sobs but he ignored these as he hurried quickly down the corridor. In the distance police sirens wailed; the woman must have called them, Sho thought to himself.

He made his exit hurriedly and, thankfully, unhindered. Once outside he debated what he should do next. A part of him wondered if he should go over to Toshi or Son's but another part of him just wanted to be alone with his thoughts. One thing was for sure, Sho would not tell his friends what had taken place tonight.

But what if he tries to hurt them?

Sho did not want to think of that possibility and again doubts flooded his mind. Perhaps he should go after Kei after all?

The sirens were getting louder now and Sho did not wish to linger. His foot kicked something lying on the ground and on closer inspection he realised that it was a mobile phone, most likely belonging to one of Chan's men. Sho pocketed it before hurrying down the street.

He put a good two blocks between himself and the apartment before stopping to make his call.

"Hello?" Toshi's voice was hesitant for he had not recognised the number that Sho was using.

"Toshi, it's me."

"Sho! Where are you?" The relief was very much evident in his voice and it brought Sho some comfort to hear it.

"In the Chinese quarter. I was able to escape. Where are you?"

"We're at Son's place. Shinji's here too."

I don't want anything more to do with either of you. Ever

Shinji's word still hurt but Sho had forgiven him for them. He was just glad that his brother was safe.

"How is he?" He asked tentatively.

"Not great. Jian's guys roughed him up quite a bit. It's the withdrawal too. He says he wanted to stay clean but I don't know. He's said this so many times before."

Sho had heard this before too and so Shinji's words did not mean much to him. His brother had a habit of making such empty promises after all.

"Do you want to talk to him?" Toshi asked next.

"No," Sho replied quickly, "I'll be over in the morning so I'll speak to him then."

"In the morning?" Toshi echoed.

"Yeah, I've got some stuff to take care of first."

"Are you sure that's wise? Jian's men will be looking for you."

"No they won't," Sho murmured, thinking back to the scene he had just left behind.

Toshi paused for a second before asking next, "Have you seen Kei?"

"No," Sho answered, a little too hurriedly and he could tell that Toshi knew he was lying. However, his friend knew not to push the matter and merely said that they would wait for him at Son's apartment.

Sho was only too glad to get off the phone. Now that he knew his friends were safe he felt a weight being lifted from him. He did not have to worry about them at least.

I've got some stuff to take care of first

This was not necessarily true but he wanted some time to himself so that he might think about what he was going to do next. There was also the matter of Jian, and Chan's murder. Who was to say that Jian wouldn't decide to blame his father's death on them? This was a possibility and Sho considered making contact with the man himself.

But it was Kei that he came to the agreement with.

Perhaps he should try to find the vampire after all?

"How did this happen?" Jian's question was calm, despite the inward fury he felt. He fisted his hands as he paced up and down the small room. There were still a couple of hours to go before dawn and still no word from his men.

"He… I was careless," Dr Huang admitted softly, "I believed him to be unconscious."

"Our only bargaining chip and you let him escape," Jian's voice rose slightly, allowing a glimmer of his anger through. "Do you realise what you've done?"

"We still have the other, perhaps--"

"No we don't!" The last of his restraint snapped and Jian lunged forward, withdrawing the gun concealed in the lining of his jacket. He slammed the doctor hard into the wall and pressed the barrel between his eyes. Dr Huang gasped, the colour draining from his face.

"Please… I beg of you."

Many men had been in Dr Huang's position now and Jian had never permitted them mercy and he wasn't minded to do so for the man whose incompetence had most likely killed them all.

Shaking his head, he put enough pressure on the barrel to force a grunt of pain from Dr Huang's lips. A tear slipped free and rolled down his cheek, yet this act failed to penetrate through Jian's fury. Only the crash as the door being thrown open did that.

He recognised the man as Hui, a newer recruit to Jian's gang. Hui was only eighteen and yet he had a skill for firearms and promised to be a great ally, given time. However, at the moment he was young and naïve to the gang-politics that Jian involved himself in. He was also new to the horrors that they faced and this horror was clear to see on his face.

"Sorry," he stammered when he saw the situation that he had interrupted, "but I… I have some terrible news," he blurted out at length.

At this, Jian lowered his weapon and took a step towards the younger man. Even though he knew what Hui was about to say he had to act as though he knew nothing.

"What is it?" He demanded, feigning anger, "We are in the middle of discussing something of utmost importance."

Dr Huang shrank back a little at these words. The relief that Hui had interrupted their 'discussion' was evident in his eyes but Jian was not prepared to allow him to get away with his mistakes.

"It is your father… he's dead," Hui answered and he winced slightly, as though expecting a blow for delivering such terrible news.

"Dead?" Jian repeated, his tone suggesting that he did not quite believe Hui's words.

"Y-yes. I just received a call from Li. He wasn't there when it happened but the police were called to the apartment and so he knew…" Hui trailed off at this and waited Jian's reaction. Li was their man on the inside of Mallepa's police force. It was Li who prevented the police looking into too many of Chan's affairs.

"How did this happen? Was it the Taiwanese?" Jian demanded.

"No," Hui shook his head, "Li hadn't seen anything like it before."

"How did he die?"

Hui's face twisted in a grimace as this question forced him to recall just what Li had told him. "Horribly," he managed to answer at length.

Jian moved over to the sofa and sank down onto it, placing his head in his hands as he feigned distress when in actual fact the emotion that he was feeling was nearer to relief. With his father dead he could take his rightful place as leader of the gang.

"There's more," Hui ventured when Jian failed to provide any further reaction. "Your mother survived. She was the only one but what she saw… it sent her into madness. Li was only able to speak with her briefly before she had to be sedated but… she said that the man who attacked them wasn't human. She spoke of oni."

"Demons?" Jian looked up, putting on anger now, "Such talk is nonsense."

"I know," Hui lowered his gaze and shifted his position a little in nervousness, "but she also gave a description of the man. Li didn't recognise him but I do. I've seen him before. I've seen him…" Hui trailed off and shook his head, "I'm sorry, sir."

"It's okay," Jian motioned for him to continue. "What is it?"

"There was a raid on one of our warehouses about two months ago. All the men inside were drugged but I escaped as I was stationed outside. Someone hit me and I blacked out for a while but when I came to it was too late. They were Japanese I think. There were two of them. One was tall with dark hair in braids and the other was shorter with dyed blonde hair. The taller one was looking for money but the blonde one…" Hui shuddered, "He was…"

"What was he doing?" Jian demanded.

"He had one of the unconscious men and was… it looked as though he was drinking his blood."

A curl of panic tightened itself into a knot in Jian's stomach and he hid this with more anger as he sprang up from the sofa. "How dare you lend life to madness with such tales?"

"It's…" Hui stammered, clearly not expecting this reaction. "I know what I saw."

"Get out."

"Sir--"

"My father is dead and you have the cruelty to speak to me of oni and creatures that cannot exist. A rival gang must be held responsible for my father's murder and make no mistake I will find the culprit and ensure that they pay dearly for it. Now get out."

Hui would have been a fool to protest further and once the door clicked shut Jian turned around to face Dr Huang again.

"You begged for another chance and now I am giving you one. He knows too much. Make sure he never leaves the apartment block."

"Jian?" Dr Huang's face registered some shock before the desire to live overcame it. Still Jian could understand his hesitation; doctors tried to save lives, not take them. However, Hui could not be allowed to repeat his knowledge to anyone. Dr Huang swiftly followed in the younger man's tracks and Jian was left alone again.

It looked as though he was drinking his blood

Although he had given the vampire his word that no harm would come to him and his human companions, Jian was now considering breaking this promise. His hold on the gang leadership would be tentative at best until he had proved himself and what better way to do that than to prove himself by killing the immortal? He had learned a lot from Sho's brother indeed, including the one way that a vampire could be killed; by sunlight.

At these words, Kei sprang away, slamming the younger man into the wall before taking flight. He raced along the corridor until he came to a window at the end. The glass shattered around him as he jumped and sirens wailed in the distance.

However, Kei remained oblivious to this. As soon as his feet touched solid ground again, he broke into a run; even failing to notice the four dead bodies slumped outside the apartment block.

Somewhere deep down inside of him, the humanity was screaming in protest at his actions but for now the vampire was fully in control.

It was past dawn when he sensed the movement that drew him from sleep. His eyes slid open a fraction to observe the man standing over his cot-bed. He detected the humanity, even over the scent of blood, and also the fear. A flicker of annoyance entered his mind at being disturbed so early in the day but this quickly passed and he longed for sleep to reclaim him. He had fed and so the blood lust did not enter his mind. There was something familiar about the human, something that bothered him. Humans could not harm him but he would not allow himself to sleep in one's presence and he pushed himself up into a sitting position. His head tilted up as he considered the human. He did not attempt to conceal his nakedness from the man, even when the blue gaze looked him up and down several times. His clothes had been discarded on the floor at the end of the bed; the amount of blood on them was too much for him to get clean and he had not bothered with changing for he was in his home and had assumed that he would not be disturbed.

Now, however, as his perception heightened, he realised that he could smell the human's scent in the apartment too and all over the furnishings. They shared a home? He had not shared a home since his sire… He flinched, as though thinking of the man physically hurt him and this action did not go unnoticed by the human.

"Kei? Are you hurt?"

Kei…

His gaze settled on the hand that gently touched his shoulder and from there it travelled up to the young man's face. He was familiar and something told him not to hurt him.

"I'm fine," his voice came out strained and he managed to shrug off this contact, but his confusion remained.

"Are you sure?" The human asked, his doubts heightening the vampire's own. "You don't look too good."

"I…"

Somewhere in the back of Kei's mind, he felt the human side protest as he pounced on Chan, grabbing him by his shirt and slammed him up against the corridor wall. Tears poured down the man's face as he begged for mercy. Chan's pleas fell upon deaf ears as the vampire struck. Kei's fist connected with Chan's chest and his screams reached a new pitch as Kei's hand shattered bone. Then, as suddenly as they began, he fell silent. Chan's legs collapsed and Kei withdrew, allowing him to fall to the floor.

Blood… all around him, coupled with the scent of other humans. Kei could smell the unconscious woman inside the apartment and he took a step towards the door. He was almost there when he detected another scent. Snarling, Kei whirled around at the sound of someone calling his name.

The human who dared approached him did not flinch as they locked gazes and somewhere deep down Kei recognised him, even though he could not awaken enough of his humanity to recall the man's name.

"No…" it all came back in a rush and Kei felt more self-loathing and hatred for himself in those few seconds than he had in an entire lifetime.

"Get away from me!" He pushed Sho away as his friend tried to reach for him. Whereas Kei felt no grief for Chan, for he had killed him to ensure Sho's safety, he felt sickened at the recollection of the manner of Chan's death. No human deserved that. He should have shot him, that had been his intention and somehow the monster had risen to the surface again.

Kei bolted for the bathroom. The fresh supply of blood in his system meant that he was but a blur racing passed Sho. He slammed the door as tears of despair threatened to overcome him.

The vampire wanted to take Sho's humanity

He felt a chill at this and this took a further hold on him when the bathroom door opened. Sho stood uncertainly in the doorway as he took in Kei's form, which had slumped against the basin for in his misery he lacked the will to stand. Sho's hesitation lasted mere moments and he entered the room without a thought for his own safety. He reached Kei's side and slipped the robe that he was holding around the vampire's shoulders. Kei offered no protest until he cast his mind back to the events leading up to Chan's death.

Kei felt a rush of fear pulse through him as he noticed straight away the change that had started to overtake him. Before Luka had turned him, his hair had been black rather than blonde. It had been a side effect of the transformation, Luka had assured him. It was perfectly normal but this, Kei knew with certainty, could not be normal. The changes had completed themselves over a century ago so this could not be possible and Kei ventured closer to the mirror to make sure. His eye colour had changed from its usual moss green to a pale yellow.

A gasp escaped him and his head snapped up to glance in the mirror hanging over the basin. Relief surged through him when he saw the usual green staring back at him.

"Kei?" Sho's grip on his shoulder tightened to the point when Kei winced. "What's going on? For a moment… you acted as though you didn't even know me. The apartment's a mess. There's blood all over the floor, over your clothes… over you."

Kei closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. He forced Sho to wait another few minutes before replying. "Chan's dead."

"I know," Sho answered, a hint of anger entering his voice as he spoke, "I was there."

"What have you done?"

"Sho… I…"

"I don't care that he's dead. He would have killed us given half a chance," Sho murmured as he led Kei back into the front room. As though he was seeing himself for the first time, Kei saw splashes of blood on his bare skin and a shiver ran through him. He also suddenly felt conscious of his nakedness and pulled the robe closed as Sho guided him over to the sofa.

"But…" Sho continued after Kei had sat down. He paused for a moment, struggling to find the words it would seem, "not even Chan deserved to die like that," he said finally.

Kei raised his head and detected more than just pity in Sho's eyes; there was disgust also, although his friend tried to hide this as best he could.

"Why did you do that?" Sho asked when Kei failed to reply.

"I…" Kei hesitated, thinking back over all that had happened and how he had been fighting against what he was for so long, too long perhaps.

You can't love a monster

If there had been any lingering doubts in the back of his mind they had vanished that night and with Chan's death, Sho was safer and no longer needed Kei's protection. Of course, living in Mallepa no one was completely safe but Chan was a major threat and now that threat had been removed. Sho had the potential to become someone now. The Chinese had dominated the city for too long and Jian lacked the strength or leadership to continue this. The Japanese would start to take back the quarters that the Chinese had overrun. The world was ever changing, Kei knew this more than most, and he could no longer see a place for him in it. He could still feel what it was like to lose control completely and the liberation that came with this was overwhelming. Surrendering himself completely to the vampire's instincts had been a relief in part and Kei did not know if he would have the strength to come back from it again. Once the balance had been tipped, he did not know if it could ever truly be restored.

"I lost control," he admitted softly when he saw that Sho was still waiting for an answer.

"It's okay," Sho sat down beside him and tentatively drew Kei to him. Kei sighed and allowed himself to return Sho's embrace for it was offered in comfort this time and he trusted himself enough to accept it.

The daylight hours made Kei feel fatigued and he did not try to fight off the sleep that quickly overcame him. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against Sho's chest, taking further comfort from the steady beating of Sho's heart. It was too late for them and he hoped that Sho realised this too for the last thing that Kei wanted to do was cause his friend any further pain.

He knew that Sho had further questions and was grateful that the younger man did not choose to voice them now. For the first time since his ordeal began, Kei felt at peace and he fleetingly wondered if Luka had felt this way too. Of course he must have done, for Luka had lived in torment for far longer than Kei wished to be.

His grip on Sho tightened as his body relaxed and Kei was vaguely aware of his friend gently moving out from under him and then laying him on the sofa.

I love you

Kei might have imagined these sentiments being uttered but he hoped not, especially when he heard the apartment door click shut a few minutes later. Then all that was left was silence.