Title: Blood of the Snake, a Get Backers fanfic

By: retroelectric

Warnings: Mature Themes, Vampirism, Horror/Supernatural, Strong Language, Yaoi, Alternate Universe

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Get Backers. This is a Get Backers fan fiction, ideas purely fan-made speculations based off the relationship between the Get Backers duo and infused with several elements inspired – and not stolen off the Vampire Chronicles Universe by Anne Rice. It is also important to note that this does not contain ANY of her characters, thus this is strictly NOT a Vampire Chronicles/Get Backers crossover. In this way I do not breach any of Anne Rice's policies regarding fan fiction on her work.

Chapter 20

"How is his condition, Gen-san?" Kazuki asked the pharmacist with a glimmer of hope in his voice. The old man's face remained dispassionate as he shook his head, signaling no improvement for Juubei, and the little hope he had was dashed.

Feeling defeated, Kazuki sat down on the chair beside Juubei's bed, glancing at the man who'd once been his best friend – and maybe, his lover? He sighed, brushing away the stray hair falling into his face. Without knowing it the long-haired man fell deep into thought, something he noticed he constantly seemed to be straying into.

Sometimes he thought about himself, and reminiscing of times long gone and times when Juubei and Toshiki were together with him. The other times he thought about his ex-leader Ginji, how happy he seemed with the Get Backers, with Ban and Cadmus. And speaking of Cadmus, everything about that man eluded him.

He didn't seem like a native of Mugenjou nor Japan. His Japanese had a slight accent to it, an accent he couldn't quite place but it was still evident. Cadmus's poise and elegance was something out-of-place between the Get Backers – Ginji's clumsiness and Ban's rudeness, but it seemed to fit somehow.

Kazuki suddenly remembered of that time, a few months ago back in Mugenjou when Cadmus took several daggers in the back, but him walking away with not a scratch on his marble-like skin. That was unnatural, and so very wrong that a normal human being not die after being stabbed like that, but Ginji and Ban had not reacted in the way he'd expected them to. They didn't panic and neither did they move to attack the person who'd done it to Cadmus. That had to mean they knew that Cadmus wouldn't die even if he was to get hurt. And that speed he possessed was inhuman. So what was his nature, exactly?

Then a sudden realisation hit Kazuki out of nowhere, and everything dawned upon him.

Cadmus walked with a normal pace to the Honky Tonk. He hid brilliant violet eyes behind dark tinted glasses and concealed his glassy fingernails in leather gloves. He placed a hand in his pocket, checking that the keys were still with him.

Cadmus walked into Honky Tonk sedately, waving slightly at the cafe owner Paul. The middle-aged man had been apprehensive at first of Cadmus's nature, but he'd gotten used to it as time passed. The familiar spiky dark hair and blond bobbed in one of the booths, sounds of bickering coming from them over sushi and Cadmus couldn't help but to smile at it.

"Cadmus-san!" Ginji's cheery voice sounded, and Cadmus seated himself across them, grinning.

"What's with that grin? You up to no good again?" Ban said, voice filled with good humour.

"Probably."

"You can shove that to one side because we have another mission waiting for us, Vampire-sama!" Ban said, smirking as he took a sip of coffee. Ginji nodded, beaming.

"The job can wait." Cadmus stated, with a hard look.

"What?"

"You heard me," Cadmus said. "I have something to show both of you."

A silence passed. "You sure seem eager," Ban muttered. Cadmus nodded, and gestured for them to follow him. He heard Ginji saying goodbye to Paul as he stepped out of the cafe. Ban looked around the walkway, locking an arm around Cadmus's waist, satisfied that there was no one around except for him, Ginji and Cadmus.

"So what is it?" Ban asked, curious.

"You'll see soon enough, cherub." Cadmus replied, walking around a bend, the lively sounds of traffic and people engulfing any other notions to talk.

The trio were ensconced in a comfortable silence as they walked past noisy streets and quiet neighbourhoods. Finally, after only several minutes they arrived at the destination. It was a small building which looked inconspicuous amongst the other tall and looming buildings. Cadmus walked into the building, disengaging Ban's hold on him and digging out the keys from his pocket.

He walked up to one of the doors, and before he could open it, he turned to Ban and Ginji. "It isn't as luxurious as my mansion in Iriomote, but I hope it is comfortable enough for a home," Cadmus said, as he unlocked the door.

Cadmus stepped in and waited for his two partner's response. Ginji went forward and looked around excitedly, peeking into each elegantly decorated room whilst Ban stood there and stared.

"I knew you were rich, but this?" Ban said, after several moments, gesturing at the opulence of the room that resembled the mansion's. The walls were painted in muted colours which matched the atmosphere. Cadmus grinned. "You've outdone yourself again!"

"You haven't seen the half of it, cherub." Cadmus said. "There's also an adequately equipped library. Go on, check it out."

Ban's eyes widened slightly, and grinned. "Wow. Like I said, you've outdone yourself again." Ginji walked into the living room beaming and he aimed a flying hug at Cadmus.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Ginji cried, hugging the blond vampire tightly. "This is so awesome!"

"You're welcome," Cadmus replied, hugging him back.

After a few moments, Ginji spoke again, looking up at Cadmus. "Ne, Cadmus-san? Why'd you buy a new house?"

"Because I'm sick of living in a hotel, and because I love both of you." Ginji sparkled happily and let go of Cadmus. He beamed up at the vampire. Unbeknownst to Cadmus and Ginji, Ban's face changed slightly as he heard the blond vampire's admission. "I'm going to check out the library," he said, leaving the living room with that small comment.

Cadmus looked at Ginji, a question at the tip of his tongue. "Do you want to take a walk with me?" The blond boy nodded, smiling.

Cadmus flicked a glance at the closed door of the library. "Ban, we're going out for a while," Cadmus called out as he closed the front door. They walked into the cold night air, Ginji tightening his coat around his body.

"Gin-chan," Cadmus said quietly, using the nickname he had for Ginji when they were alone. The light from the street lamp illuminated his skin.

"Yes?" Ginji replied, looking at Cadmus's pensive face. He subconsciously recognised the park that they were headed to. He distractedly thought to himself how long it'd been since he'd gone here. Cadmus hesitated for a moment, then plunged forward. Ginji needed to know about him.

"Do you really know what it means to be a vampire? It's not about sucking blood and killing people. It's a matter of survival for people like me. I'm going to show you... and I'm not going to hide the fact that it's not going to be pretty."

Cadmus pointed to a familiar spot in the park. Ginji recognised the place in slow horror – it was the place where he'd found his Ban-chan deathly pale and on the brink of death. "Do you remember this place? This was where I first revealed myself to Ban," he said, Ginji nodding gravely.

"Why are you telling me this?" Ginji asked trustingly as he gazed into Cadmus's eyes.

"Because you need to know. It is time that you start seeing that I'm not all wonder and nothing else. Gin-chan, I'm telling you that I'm a killer, and I want you to accept that," he said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"But I already do," Ginji whispered, and Cadmus was silent.

An unknown woman walking in clacking heels a few metres away broke the silence between them. "You don't. I can see from the way Ban shields you all the time from seeing me kill." Cadmus gestured to the figure. "Do you see that woman walking? I'm going to kill her right now, in front of you." Ginji gasped silently.

"N-No..."

"If you say no, that means you haven't really accepted what I am. I have to make you see, Gin-chan." Cadmus moved closer to the unsuspecting woman with a backward glance to Ginji, and with a swift motion he had clasped her around her waist as though he was her lover, and was moving his mouth closer to her neck. Ginji's eyes bugged out as Cadmus proceeded to sink his teeth into her jugular, and he closed her screaming mouth with a palm. It hurt him to see people being killed but he couldn't take his eyes away from this scene.

After a few moments, he released her and Cadmus walked up to a shocked Ginji. "Do you see, Ginji? I kill not because I want to spite you. I do this out of necessity, because I have to live. If I didn't kill that woman tonight and drunk her blood, I might not look like what I do right now. You would be able to see my veins and bones through my skin, and I'd look like a real horror. It is a matter of survival for us vampires. You have to accept this fact, Ginji... because one day, you may become like me. And I don't want you to suffer because of your conscience when you become one of my kind."

Cadmus flicked his wrist and the dead woman disappeared. Ginji felt stunned for a moment before he spoke. His face held a disturbed expression. "I understand, Cadmus-san." Cadmus held Ginji's gaze.

"You and Ban are my chosen ones, chosen to be my fledglings and you are going to carry my legacy on well. You must be in control of yourself and of your fate. Live forever and never die. That's all I ever ask of you."

"Yes." That was the only thing Ginji could say at that time and Cadmus accepted it.

As he looked at Ginji, Cadmus noted with curiosity that his eyes appeared glassy and his body seemed to be inanimate all of a sudden – he could see Ginji's muscles growing oddly lax, and he sensed that Ginji could fall to his knees anytime. Even with his preternatural hearing, he couldn't even hear Ginji's breathing. Something was amiss; he knew it.

"Gin-chan?" he spoke, with a question dying at the back of his throat.

Dead brown eyes turned its gaze on him. Cadmus was taken aback at the image. His mind was screaming at him to run away from this unnatural manifestation. The warmth and happiness usually reflected in those eyes were gone and Cadmus frowned at it. He wondered for a second of what he should do. He considered grabbing Ginji by the shoulders and shaking him, hard, but something stopped him.

Ginji stuck his arms up skywards. Cadmus fancied that the clouds would gather in the sky and rain would fall onto his immortal skin – but he noticed that all the light from the lamp posts were flickering. A certain sort of energy was gathering near him, and suddenly all the lights were gone, ensconcing them in darkness. Cadmus's vampire eyes adjusted easily in the darkness.

Electricity seemed to clump together like iron filings to magnet in mid-air and he could even see the crackling slivers of it enter Ginji's skin with his vampire eyes. Ginji was absorbing the electricity into his body like a sponge. The light from the accumulating energy gradually grew even more blinding and Cadmus shielded his eyes.

He could feel the air growing hotter around him, and it reminded Cadmus of an incident where he'd been careless once and had let the sun rays burn his skin. What he felt now – the heat from Ginji – didn't even come close to that time when he'd been burnt; but to feel such a spike in temperature on such a cold night like that alarmed him.

"Raitei." The word was spoken, and then it seemed to flit in the air moth-like and it disappeared into the crackling noise the electricity was making. Cadmus waited for several moments, still shielding his eyes from the glare and finally put his hand down as the bright light died down.

The sight he was met with as he let himself see was nothing he ever expected. Ginji's body was glowing with inhuman energy and the warmth and laughing eyes (1) were gone. This man – even though he had the very same body as Ginji – was cold featured, and exuded a proud poise, something which could be associated with a certain arrogance from knowing he had power over other people.

Cadmus had heard of Raitei through Ginji's bumbling thoughts, though only at times when Ginji was in a dark mood. He'd even caught a glimpse of him several times. He'd come to acknowledge that Raitei was something destructible and dangerous, and when Ginji even had a fleeting thought of him Cadmus had learned to distract him. But now it was too late – and he never got a warning that Raitei was about to surface. Copious amounts of electricity spluttered and hissed about his body and as Cadmus took one hard look at the man before him, he began noticing something was amiss.

Cadmus noticed dark purple and ugly bruises from what little he could see of Ginji's body. His neck was a mottled red as though his body had a bad reaction to something. Cadmus stood there, silent and unmoving despite the stray electricity jolting his skin. He waited for the other man to speak.

"I finally get to meet you," Raitei announced, with Ginji's voice but it contained no cheer nor warmth.

"And likewise," Cadmus replied calmly. His posture was tense, and he kept his heightened senses on guard.

"So, Cadmus-sama," Raitei said, spitting out his name as though it were something poisonous, "You've managed to seduce my weaker half and made him fall in love with you, haven't you? I can see why." Raitei's crackling hand moved forward to caress Cadmus's smooth marble-like cheek. "You look cute and delicate, like a rose. You have a beautiful face and you look as though lovely words will spill out of your mouth once you open it. And this body that you possess can make fools fall in love. I can see why."

"Fine compliments, thank you," Cadmus replied blithely, and with it Raitei's calm disposition totally changed.

"You son of a bitch, Cadmus," he hissed. "Ginji might've already fallen for you but I think you're despicable. Do you want to know why he's been holding back? It's not because of Ban or you. It's because of me. I've been feeding thoughts into his brain that you're evil and that you should die, which you should. Ginji's just accepted your nature a few seconds ago, hasn't he?" He let loose a humourless laugh. "What a weakling. That's why I had to intervene."

Raitei rolled his sleeves and held his bruised arms for Cadmus to see. "You did this to me, you bastard. Your blood and my power don't mix. It fucking burns and boils my insides. Ginji might've had a real fun time drinking it, but it's poison. And before you can even try to kill me off by feeding him your blood, I'm going to do it first."

Cadmus remained dispassionate as he filled the silence. "You can't kill me. You'd have a hell of a time trying."

"Cocky, are we?" Raitei mocked, and moved swiftly towards him. Cadmus caught a momentary glimpse of the hardened features, and hoped never to see it on Ginji again. But Raitei was attacking him with a loud, lusty cry, sending a hard wave of burning electricity.

Raitei noticed that Cadmus wasn't attempting to defend himself and he snarled, baring his teeth.

"Respond, you coward!"

"No," Cadmus breathed, and he stumbled forward a bit as another bout of searing electricity jolted him, sending throbbing pain through his body. Cadmus hissed a little, an acrid smell of his own burnt hair meeting his senses.

"DO IT!" Raitei screamed, balling his right fist.

"It's not in my nature-" Cadmus gasped, "-to fight in useless battles." Another wave of stinging pain.

"Why, Vampire Man? Is it because this is Ginji's body and you don't want to scar his 'beautiful' skin?" Raitei snarled. "Bloody martyr! Fight me!" Raitei then stopped his attack, panting as he recovered quickly from the strong electrical attack he'd just released. Wild brown eyes stared at Cadmus.

"Do you really want to see me fight that badly?" Cadmus asked, his voice a low whisper. "Because I can't fight anyone in the true sense, you know. No mortal can last so long before I give them my death kiss."

With that final softly spoken sentence, Cadmus disappeared out of Raitei's line of sight. His brown eyes widened, and he looked around for signs of the vampire.

"Coward, filth," Raitei taunted, half-expecting Cadmus to come lunging at him from above. His posture was tense, and Cadmus sighed a little as he lifted a hand and commanded his Spell Gift upon Raitei, rendering him immobile.

"No one can truly kill me – not unless some mortal has a gift of repelling my superior mind powers," Cadmus whispered into Raitei's ear as he reappeared beside him. "And not even Ban who is frighteningly powerful has that. So what more could be expected of you, especially outside of Mugenjou?"

Cadmus could feel Raitei trashing about angrily in his invisible bonds, but it was futile. "This is about as far as you go, Gin-chan," Cadmus murmured wistfully against Raitei's ear. Raitei stiffened and commanded his strongest electrical attack on the vampire but only sparks flew.

Cadmus braced himself as he loosened his control on Raitei, and was met full force with another strong attack. He gritted his teeth together, concealing the effect on him. Moving swiftly, Cadmus grabbed the nape of Ginji's neck forcefully and sunk his dagger-like fangs deep in his jugular. He heard Raitei scream and he felt like screaming, too – the lightning-laced blood absolutely burned his throat; and his skin, vulnerable to the electricity felt as though it was exposed to the sun once more.

It was liquid fire in the most roaring painful sense that he was tasting and Raitei's attack gradually grew weaker and weaker, puffs of breath now shallow. Cadmus's eyes burned and he could feel blood tears leaking from his eyes. The blinding light from the electricity gradually faded away.

Cadmus extricated himself from Ginji's now limp body. Raitei was gone, and all was left was a severely weakened and pale Ginji in his arms. Ginji's eyes fluttered open slightly, peering exhaustedly. His face held an expression of confusion.

"C-Cadmus-san... W-What..." Ginji spoke, his voice a harsh whisper and Cadmus placed a finger on Ginji's lips, shushing him. Ginji wobbled on his feet and Cadmus went and pick him up, carrying Ginji fully in his arms effortlessly.

"Be quiet, and go to sleep." Ginji nodded weakly and closed his eyes.

Cadmus arrived home only to be met with silence and a total lack of Ban's presence. He ignored it for a moment, concentrating on carrying Ginji into his room and then tucking him into the large bed. Ginji did not stir as Cadmus covered him with a soft quilt, and gave Ginji a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth.

Walking into the living room, Cadmus noticed there was a note on the coffee table. It was a note from Ban, and he proceeded to read Ban's elegant script.

"Vampire-sama:

I'm going out for a bit, and I'll only be back during the day so don't wait up for me. Tell Ginji to meet me at the Honky Tonk around 6.

Ban"

Cadmus left the note on the bedside table where Ginji was still sleeping. He was beginning to feel the first signs of lethargy slipping into his body, and sensed the sun beginning its dreaded rise. It was time to retreat into his coffin.

He lifted the heavy carpet on the floor of the living room and spotted the concealed entrance to his chamber. Cadmus lifted the heavy stone door leading to his underground chambers, stepped in and closing the door after him, latching the heavy deadbolt on the inside. His secret chamber was sufficiently concealed that he knew no one, not even Ban or Ginji would be able to notice.

As he lay in the darkness, a tumult of memories of Raitei and a certain worry for Ban ran through his mind before he succumbed to the death sleep, engulfing him in nothingness.