A/N: That was quicker than expected. :) And look, I even managed to splash some Hyoutei in! Anyway, thank you very much for your reviews. They made me very happy (particularly the long ones, but I'm happy with any)!

Special Thanks: To all reviewers, and my beta, Asami-chan! (I tried to explain 'it' the best I could- added a few sentences there; it was more of a pent-up energy thing. o.o;)

Warnings: Vampire, BL

Pairings: Thrill, Golden, Imperial, Endurance (InuKai), and there's a hint of Silver in this chapter!

Chapter 5

"Truth is beautiful, without doubt; but so are lies."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Nanako stood outside her cousin's room, staring at the door in front of her with a frown of concern. It wasn't lost on her - or, indeed, any member of the Echizen household - as to what mood Ryoma was in when he came home yesterday. The boy had said not a word, his face studiously blank, before going straight up to his room and not coming out since. She suspected he snuck out near midnight for a shower but she had been dead asleep, as well as her uncle and aunt.

His foul mood had filtered over to the next morning. When she had come up to wake him for school, he had curtly informed her from behind his closed door that he wasn't feeling well. The lie was obvious but her uncle had told her not to push it; Ryoma would come out when he wanted to. Her aunt went in for work early so she remained ignorant on the latest turn of events.

But Nanako could not just leave it at that; she deeply cared for Ryoma. He was like a little brother to her and she adored him with every fiber of her being. She would not push him to go to school - it was clear, at least to her, that that was what he was avoiding - but she would just like him to eat some food. It was past lunchtime already and he had not come out from his domain for either food or drink.

"Ryoma-kun?" She asked, tapping lightly at the door, her other hand balancing a tray of food, "I've brought you some food. Oyako-donburi, as you missed breakfast." Her voice was gentle and sweet. A smile came upon her lips as she heard the click of the lock being unfastened.

A disheveled boy greeted her vision; dark hair spiky and unkempt atop a head boasting tired golden eyes. The bags under his eyes were more pronounced than she had ever seen them, which was quite a feat considering the tired demeanor he had been sporting for awhile now. His bedclothes were wrinkled, the shirt buttoned up wrongly and from what she could glimpse of his room, the bed was untouched.

So he hasn't slept all night, Nanako surmised but still she forced her smile to stay in place. Ryoma did not budge from his position in the doorway, clearly implying that she was not to enter. With a gracious nod, she handed the quiet boy the tray and he took it with a low whisper of thanks.

"Ryoma-kun," she said, catching his attention before he could shut her out again.

He gazed up at her with tired but respectful eyes. She didn't understand why so many people thought he was rude; he had been nothing but kind and respectful to her. In fact, she had only seen him acting obstinately with her uncle but from what she could observe of the two's relationship, it was their expression of familial love.

Nanako paused. She had wanted to tell her cousin of what she had witnessed today but the words had caught in her throat. She didn't know why; it was not like she had seen anything especially horrible but something about all of this - Ryoma's behavior, Fuji-kun, this self-imposed isolation - unsettled something inside her she could not interpret into rational thought. It was like an animalistic sense, something that prowled deep inside her, warning her, halting her once unthinking actions.

Earlier in the morning, after Ryoma had refused going to school, Nanako was left with the responsibility of informing Momo as he came to pick up the freshman for the usual routine. The junior boy had been parked outside their front gate, his usually energetic manner missing; even stranger was that he was not alone.

Fuji Syuusuke stood next to the junior boy, his eyes - for the first time Nanako had ever seen - wide open and staring. His gaze rested on Ryoma's window but his face remained closed, not giving a hint as to whatever he was feeling.

Nanako had gone out, bowed, and politely told them that Ryoma was not feeling well. They did not glance at each other nor back at Ryoma's window in doubt; they merely thanked her for telling them and walked away. Even after they had disappeared from her sight, Nanako could not shake away the feeling that something was amiss among the Seigaku Tennis Regulars - and whatever it was, it had hurt her dear cousin.

Deeply.

"So you finally told the brat?"

Tezuka stared, but the minuscule furrowing of his brow was all the indication he gave that he did not appreciate the other's nickname for his protégé. All around them, various couples dined - well, 'dined' wouldn't be the exact word, as everyone only sipped at little wine glasses filled with blood. Vampire restaurants in Tokyo varied and the one the Seigaku captain was currently at boasted the "finest blood" in the whole city.

Trust Atobe Keigo to take him there for a casual dinner.

The Hyoutei captain was sipping daintily at his blood, pausing to swirl it around with a fine-tuned aristocratic air. He was dressed impeccably in a white suit - "It complements oresama's hair, na, Kabaji?" - over a black vest, in contrast with Tezuka's own dark blue suit and white vest.

"Did he scream?" was Atobe's question, but after knowing the other man for centuries, Tezuka could easily discern the eagerness in the inquiry. Again, Tezuka's brow furrowed.

Atobe backed off but the smug smirk he wore made Tezuka doubt the other boy's inquisition was over. With a nearly silent sigh, Tezuka sipped at his own blood. It wasn't that long ago that Ryoma had drunk some... He could still remember the glazed look in those eyes...

Sometimes, if he let his mind wander far enough, he could remember the agony in them too.

Setting his cup down, he gave his lover a solemn look. "He did not react...as we had expected him to," Tezuka murmured lowly. The statement itself was vague but he didn't know how else to characterize the interaction - after being told all of his friends, even his boyfriend, were vampires, it should not have reminded the boy that he had to buy food for his cat. (At least, that was the reason Ryoma had given the four after curtly telling them he was going home.)

"Was he scared?"

Tezuka's gaze narrowed but not enough to form a glare. Atobe was deriving too much amusement from this; he likely found the image of a frightened Echizen Ryoma amusing. Tezuka could easily follow the other's train of thought: even if Ryoma was scared, he would eventually come around and when that happened, it wouldn't take too long for him to be Turned into one of them. Atobe was probably looking forward to rubbing it in Ryoma's face that he was a mere fledgling compared to Atobe's centuries-old status.

Had it been any other person, Tezuka would have been amused by Atobe's obvious glee.

But it wasn't.

If it had been anyone else - anyone but Echizen Ryoma. Anyone but the stubborn, bratty boy with the golden eyes. Tezuka was able to clearly picture those challenging sunlit orbs, the gleam in those eyes when the owner was on the court. He was also able to picture them in a face that hid no emotion, the way those same eyes shone in the unpolluted sunlight.

When those eyes had belonged to a different boy.

"Oresama can't believe it. The brat is afraid of vampires," Atobe scoffed. It seems he had taken Tezuka's silence as a yes and had not been paying any attention to the Seigaku captain's facial muscles. When he did turn to look, he set his cup down with a benign smile.

"Of course, Fuji-kun has his work cut out for him."

When Tezuka's gaze did not waver, Atobe continued on diplomatically.

"Oresama is sure he'll come around soon, Kunimitsu. The brat is oddly...adaptable."

Tezuka decided to spare Atobe his ire, instead returning his eyes to his half-drunk cup of life. He should not take it out on the other boy; it was not Atobe's fault he was ignorant on the matter. They had all sworn never to speak of the incident, especially to anyone they had Turned. Atobe could not be blamed; the events involving Kin were too painful for any of them to bear. Even with the boy's reincarnation, Tezuka could see the wounds re-opening - they were already being torn apart.

"Though Oresama does not understand why he acted that way. When Oresama found out you were a 'vampire', Oresama was more than delighted to be Turned by you," Atobe continued, smirking as he reminisced.

Tezuka decided not to point out that Atobe had been terminally ill. And on the verge of death. And really couldn't put up much of a fight, even if he had wanted to. Really, after almost three centuries of being alone (with the occasional regrouping of his current regulars; they liked to split every now and then just so they wouldn't get tired of each other), Tezuka had been rather bored.

It was late in the Meiji era when Tezuka took sanctuary in a rich merchant's house with his sickly, egotistical son. He couldn't help but become attached to the silver-haired beauty with the untapped talent and vicious tongue. It was in the moments - nearly ten months after Tezuka started lodging there - when Atobe Keigo couldn't even stand anymore that Tezuka Turned him.

Even to this day, he could still remember the others' reactions when they found out he had Turned someone else. Syuuichiro had been in shock, as well as Momo and Eiji; he had a feeling that the latter two didn't believe he could become that emotionally attached to someone. Sadaharu had already begun his descent into the science field at that point - "Ii...data..." - while Takashi and Kaoru politely congratulated him. Syuusuke...

Syuusuke had said nothing, Tezuka remembered. The fair-haired boy had said nothing; merely turned and walked away.

Because there was Kin, and after Kin, Syuusuke could never touch another. Not until Echizen Ryoma came. And that was sad, Tezuka knew; because he knows - all of them know - that that secret is as fragile as glass.

And Ryoma is anything but soft.

Ryoma was tired.

He was very, very tired. His eyes hurt from being open for so long that they throbbed against his skull as if threatening to pop right out of their sockets. His body ached after having been in the same position for hours but Ryoma couldn't bring himself to care about it. He was used to pain, used to physical exhaustion, and even now, used to sleep deprivation.

Vampires were a whole different story.

Ryoma was not child brought up on fairy tales and myths; ever since he could remember, his reality had been his grip on the tennis racket and his eyes on a greenish-yellow ball; his fantasies had been centered on beating his father and topping the tennis world.

Nothing like this, for Ryoma did not believe in mythical creatures. What was real was what was in front of him; before, if it did not involve him being on the court, it would be ruled inconsequential. After he had entered Seigaku, his horizons had expanded, had started to incorporate people.

"Echizen...we're vampires."

Ryoma stared at the opposite end of his room. Karupin was scratching at the door but he did not want to move and let her in. He was just so tired and his head hurt, and somehow, even after thoroughly scrubbing himself last night, he still felt the blood on him.

His senpai drink blood. His friends drink blood.

Syuusuke drinks blood.

Ryoma was tempted to brush his teeth a hundred times.

With a glance, he checked the time: 5:30pm. School was over and if practice had been kept on normal schedule, it would be over too. His eyes trailed to the window; he could see the sunlight through his closed curtains. He was filled with an uncontrollable urge to go outside; taste something on his tongue other than the stale air of his room and the memory of blood on his lips.

Standing up, albeit shakily, he threw on some clothes - jeans and a dark blue tee - before opening his door. Karupin stared up at him with her wide, adoring eyes and he paused to give her a gentle scratch behind the ears.

"You'd never hide anything from me, ne, Karupin?" he murmured before continuing downstairs.

Nanako was nowhere in sight but Nanjirou was sitting on the couch and looked up as his son entered the room. With a yawn, the ex-pro turned back to the television, one hand holding up his head as the other flipped through the pages of a dubious magazine.

"Looking oddly spry for a person under the weather."

Ryoma ignored him, tugging on his shoes. The freshman was an athlete, first and foremost; that he had managed to sit still in the same position for hours on end was awe-inspiring. Now, his body thrummed with pent-up energy, ignoring the wiser parts that told him to get some rest. Instead, he could feel the energy pumping in his veins, telling him to move, to get out, to-

Run. Run. Run. RUN!

"Ittekimasu!"

The door slammed shut behind the youth and Nanjirou's eyes moved to his own tan, calloused hands.

"Hmph. What an uncute brat I have."

It was only when he was out of breath did he stop running.

Ryoma collapsed onto a bench, situated near some public tennis courts. He didn't know how far he had run but he couldn't bring himself to care either, so it all worked out. His entire body throbbed, his muscles screaming at him; drastically changing from one position to marathon running was something it did not appreciate.

Still, he felt more relaxed now than he had for a while.

The sweat on his skin heightened his senses so he could feel the breeze against his body, cooling it; could hear the sounds of people, some playing tennis, others just walking along; could taste the air. He had closed his eyes, but he opened them now, after merely enjoying being for a few moments.

It was the sound of footsteps that alerted him. He didn't bother thinking about how he was so attuned to the sound - or maybe he just didn't want to think about it - but now he could see them as they approached, grouped together, and one after another had their eyes on him.

As Atobe Keigo manned the front, Ryoma thought he really hated Hyoutei and their stupid jerseys.

"Well, well. If it isn't the brat," Atobe greeted coolly, all confidence and smirks. Ryoma wasn't in the mood to beat the guy down; his will to crush him in tennis wasn't powerful enough to rouse his aching, sleep-deprived body into action - besides, he didn't even have a racket.

Ryoma glowered up at him. "Monkey king."

Atobe's brow twitched.

Smirking, Ryoma continued on. "Go away."

Atobe stared down at him, affronted now, but it was Mukahi Gakuto that jumped up for the defense. Then again, 'defense' was a term that could loosely describe it, as the redhead merely popped up next to Atobe, pointing at the freshman while grinning maniacally.

"You're afraid of vampires!"

Ryoma stared at him.

"Gakuto, not so loud," Yuushi reprimanded gently, smiling at his partner. Ohtori looked guilty and was subtly attempting to hide himself behind Kabaji, shooting Ryoma 'kicked-puppy' looks as Shishido was quietly telling him to ignore "stupid jerks who don't know anything."

"Atobe's a vampire too, you know. Your captain turned him some odd centuries ago!" Gakuto continued, this time in his 'whispering mode', which was much like Kikumaru's 'whispering mode' in that it was actually quietly shouting.

Atobe smirked lazily. "Now, now, Mukahi. Don't go scaring the boy," the diva drawled.

Ryoma was turning his stare so that it involved all of them.

Atobe was preening (of course), whilst Gakuto jumped around like some kind of undiscovered energy source harping on about the "scary traits" of vampires; Oshitari was watching with the vaguely interested air of a tensai; Shishido was guiding Ohtori out into the open and lecturing him about pride; Kabaji stood off to the side, a dead-asleep Jiroh hanging over his shoulder; Hiyoshi stood next to the muscled teen, arms crossed and glowering at the ground, looking annoyed that he was even there.

Ryoma had wondered about that feeling stirring within him. He couldn't place it at first, his mind so muddled with lack of sleep and food that it was amazing he was still conscious. But he recognized it soon enough and he was more than ready to act upon it.

"You're all annoying."

Dead silence met his announcement.

The freshman prodigy stood, a smirk on his features, and if he had thought to wear his hat, he would have tugged at the brim. His golden eyes took in their stares and as his shoulders straightened, he felt the familiar arrogance that usually cloaked him wind around him again.

So they were vampires? Why should he care? Looking at them, he knew there was nothing different about his perception of them: Atobe was still a vain monkey king, Gakuto was still a hyperactive idiot, Oshitari was still a wanna-be tensai, Shishido and Ohtori were still so far in the closet - with each other - that it hurt, Kabaji was still a wall, Jiroh was still asleep, and Hiyoshi was still 'gekokujou'.

What difference was there?

"Monkey king," Ryoma drawled, arrogance and biting words all rolled together. "I'm not afraid of vampires."

And Ryoma knew he wasn't. He quite possibly never was. That day, when he realized what his senpai were, he knew that was terror coursing through his body. There was horror and it choked him, but it was not because they were vampires - he knew that now.

There was something else, something that caused him to freeze, to run-

To dream.

With a smirk still in place, Ryoma turned his back on the Hyoutei regulars, walking away with steady feet.

He was going to go home, and eat dinner, then take a shower and go to bed. He would dream again, and this time, he'd be looking for it; it had to be there, the cause of this fear, somewhere twisted in the net of his mind.

Then tomorrow, he would go to school.

"Kaasan! Kaasan!"

Bright golden eyes situated on a flushed face twinkled as the eyes caught on the woman dressed in native garb. A soft smile lit the woman's features as the child ran up to her, dark hair tied back in a low ponytail. Dressed in the earthly tones done in cloth, he reached her with his small hands cupped as if they held something within their tiny grasp.

"Look! I caught a dragonfly!" the child cried, delighted. Opening his hands with pride, his face crumbled when saw what he held.

The dragonfly lay dead within his hold, half its body crushed by careless hands. The left wing fidgeted postmortem and the child could only stare at it. What had happened? He had caught it so nicely!

"Oh, Kin," his mother sighed, taking a leaf and scraping the insect onto it. She knelt down to the ground, Kin following suit, and dug a small hole before placing the mutilated corpse inside. Burying it, she looked up to see the boy crying quietly.

With a soft smile, she enveloped him in her arms.

"Kin, all life is precious," she murmured as small hands fisted her garb, "That is why we give thanks when we catch animals and do not waste a single gift given by them. When we are so much bigger and stronger than something else, it is too easy to hurt another. Never forget, Kin; there is a reason for us to kill." She soothed her darling child with a soft kiss to his forehead.

"It is when we do so without knowledge or care," she murmured, holding her child close, "That we are truly monsters."

END...Chapter 5.

A/N: You know, originally it was supposed to be Rikkaidai that teased Ryoma about it ('cause I have a secret soft spot for Kirihara), but then I realized that that wouldn't make as much sense as Hyoutei doing it. So therefore...reason won. Rikkaidai may make future appearances, if only because I'm a Sweet Pair (MaruJi) fan. :)

Thank you for reading so far, and please review.