Shinya bolted up, gasping and his hand going to his neck immediately, looking around wildly for the insane young man who had bitten him. He sighed, realizing he was safe in his room, in his bed. He lay back down slowly and stared up at the ceiling, unable to believe the kind of dream he had just had. It was so vivid, so real, everything about it was terrifyingly real that he could almost still feel the pain of that last bit…his blood mixing with the vampire's.
How had he let Kyo get to him like that? The little man was so convincing when he had been to the blood bar, it must have just snuck into his dreams. Maybe it was an internal warning from his mind, something in his subconscious telling him 'Hey, going to see this guy is not such a great idea'. Good thing, he must have fallen asleep before it was time for him to go visit the man.
Why had he been so inclined to see him? Maybe he was just one of those guys, the kind that just attracted everyone to them. And God! How frustrating it was that he wasted his first kiss on him! Well, he wasn't really at fault there, Kyo had kissed him. Still…he was waiting for someone that he had actually liked, not some random creepy guy who filed down his teeth.
A knock came at his door. "Shinya, come on! We're gonna be late for school," came his brother's voice through the door.
"Comin'," he groaned, sitting back up and rubbing his eyes to clear the sleepy haze from them. He stretched his arms above his head and rolled his neck, trying to loosen up his body. He walked passed the mirror, grabbing his uniform and putting it on as quickly as he could. He swung his backpack over his shoulder and opened the door, seeing Die standing there with an impatient look on his face.
"For the first time in three years, I'm up for school before you are," he said, shaking his head. "It's almost shameful."
Shinya shrugged. "I'm not feeling well," he said, lowering his head as he recalled the look on Die's face when he had been caught beneath the mysterious man in the bar. "Let's get going."
"Right," Die nodded and pulled out his car keys. He began walking towards the front door and turned around, walking backwards. "So you're still coming to the bar today, right? You said you would."
Shinya was caught off guard. He was hoping to avoid that subject all together. "Uh, I don't think so," he said, opening the door for his brother and trying to avoid his brother's eyes. He moved out to the car in the driveway and grabbed the handle, tugging on it. All he wanted to do was get into the car and avoid the subject of the bar and Nishimura Kyo all together. It was locked.
"Why not?" Die asked, clicking the small remote to unlock the car as he walked around to the driver's side.
Shinya sat down in the passenger seat and put on his seat belt, shifting uncomfortably as his brother eyed him oddly. "I just don't feel comfortable there, it's too strange and foreign for my liking," he shook his head and stared straight ahead of him at the road as Die drove. "It's creepy.
"Aw, but Kyo seemed to take such a liking to you. He wants you to come back, and there is a common saying that 'Nishimura gets what Nishimura wants'," Die laughed. He then fell quickly silent and glanced at Shinya a few time, his expression a mixture of concern and confusion. "Shin?"
"Yeah?" he looked at his brother, thrown off by the expression on his face.
"Why didn't you tell me you were gay?" he asked, looking quickly back towards the road and appeared as though he were concentrating on it intently. Shinya knew he was doing the same thing he did, trying to avoid eye contact in uncomfortable situations.
"I—I don't know," Shinya sighed and stared downwards at his backpack. He felt his face turning red and his grip tightened on his bag, trying to do everything but look at the probable judgmental eyes of his brother.
"You know you could have come to me about anything," Die began. "I mean, you don't have to be embarrassed about that sort of thing with me. You could have trusted in me. Really, you could have."
Shinya sighed. It was so hard to hear his brother talk that way, as though he was hurt. He knew very well that he could have gone to his brother about it, Die being as gay as they get, but he could not do it. He could not admit to him about his own sexuality, it was like he himself was ashamed that the only two boys in the family were gay. He could not let his dad find out about it—he was so torn apart when Die came out of the closet and began openly dating Toshiya. Shinya could not break his dad's heart like that.
"I'm sorry, I just…I wasn't ready. What happened yesterday…I didn't want that to happen, he just kinda' jumped on me," he sighed. "I just thought he was really nice, I didn't think he was gay or anything. And the next thing I know…he was on top of me. It really threw me off guard…"
Die nodded and looked at Shinya. "Well, I won't tell Dad or anyone at school, don't worry. It's just, Toshiya and I were really surprised, and I think Kaoru was really hurt by what he had seen. I mean, you guys have been best friends forever and seeing his best friend making out with another dude is kinda' hard on a friendship, you know?" he explained. "I won't push the issue, but I think you should talk to Kaoru today about what happened at the bar. And I think you should come with us to the bar again."
Shinya smirked, trying to pull himself out of the slump he had just mentally put himself in. "You just want me to go with you again so you can get in the 'in crowd' with that creepy guy," he said half-jokingly.
"Maybe," Die said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a pack of cigarettes. He placed one between his lips and pulled out his lighter, lighting it as he flipped open the lid of it. He puffed a few times to light the cigarette and flipped the lid closed over the open flame. "So, what happened to your hand?"
"Huh?" Shinya looked down at his hand and saw a deep gash down his palm. "I…I'm not sure. I think I cut it on accident last night, you know, one of those weird things that happens in your sleep."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. This one time I woke up with my socks on my hands and face the foot of the bed," Die laughed.
"Yeah," Shinya said softly, staring down at the gash and stroking it with his other hand. In his dream, Kyo had cut him with a knife to form a contract… No, this was the real world, not the crazy world of the vampire enthusiasts. He must have done something silly in his sleep, simple as that. Nothing to worry about.
Die pulled into the school parking lot and looked around. "This is fucking ridiculous. No matter what time you get here, some asshole is always in your spot. It's like they watch you or some bullshit," he said. He pulled into the nearest open spot and turned off the car.
Die reached in back to grab his backpack and pulled it between the two front seats. He paused and cocked his head to the side, moving Shinya's hair to the side and furring his brow. "What happened here?" he asked, touching the area.
Shinya flinched. "What are you talking about?" he asked, pulling down the mirror and scooting up in his seat to get a look at the sensitive spot. There were four puncture wounds, surrounding by purplish and red speckling, like he had a hickey around the area. He froze. Again, the vivid dream popped into his head and he looked at Die, searching quickly for something to say. "There were some spiders in my room last night, and I think I'm having a small allergic reaction to their bites."
Die stared at him for a while, as if he was trying to see through him into his mind. "Those must have been some big ass spiders," he said.
"They were, I'm surprised you didn't hear me yelling for Dad to come kill them," Shinya faked a laugh and a grin and got out of the car, pressing his forehead to the cool metal of roof. What happened to him? Was all of that real? Was it a memory and not a dream? Or was he just experiencing a strange set of events.
His stomach growled and he shut his eyes. He had skipped breakfast and now he would not get anything to eat until lunch. Great.
He walked with Die up to the building and stood in front of the doors, waiting for Toshiya and Kaoru like they did every day. There was an awkward silence between them, like Die wanted to say something but not over step the bounds that Shinya was used to; Shinya hardly noticed the awkwardness, unable to process why his hand was injured and he had the strange marks on his neck.
Surely it was a bug or spider or something and the reaction of the poison was causing the speckling of his skin. That was it. He had not been bitten by the crazy man nor had he had his hand cut open for the purpose of a blood contract. It was all a coincidence coinciding with his awkward dream.
"Hey, sexy boy, how much?" came a familiar voice, followed by an all too familiar laugh.
"More than you can afford," Die said to Toshiya as he walked over to them. He gave him a quick hug, looking around and making sure no one was giving them strange looks. Despite their open relationship outside of school, they had to pretend they were just friends inside of the school. Their area was not known for wide spread acceptance of homosexual relationships.
The three of them were suddenly thrown off guard as a motorcycle came roaring up to the school, right in front of them. There was a shorter man driving and awkwardly thin young woman riding on the back in the school uniform. She stepped off the back of the bike and took off her helmet, shaking her hair out of her face.
"Is that…Tsuki?" Toshiya asked slowly, staring at the girl.
"Yeah, I think it is," Die said in disbelief. "I didn't know she went to our school."
"Neither did I," Toshiya said.
Shinya simply stared at her, remembering her voice vaguely from his dream. Something was not right about that girl, there was something twisted and strange.
"Hey, Tsuki," called the man on the motor cycle, feeling his pocket as she placed the helmet securely onto the back of the motorcycle.
"Yeah?" she looked at him, adjusting her bag on her shoulder.
The man reached up and took off his helmet, running his fingers through his hair as he placed his helmet with hers. "You took my cigarettes," he said, holding his hand out.
"Holy shit fucking balls!" Die exclaimed, looking wide eyed at Shinya and Toshiya. He looked to the side and saw Kaoru, having stopped mid-stride to stare at the blond haired man. "That's Nishimura Kyo!"
"I know…" Shinya said, staring ahead at him in awe. There the insane man was, giving what he thought was Kyo's maid, a ride to school. The man from his vivid dream…
His heart jumped up into his throat, making him feel nauseas.
"Come on, can't I keep this pack? I don't get paid til this afternoon and I'm out," she said, pulling the pack of cigarettes out of her backpack.
"You need to learn the value of a yen, missy," he said, grabbing the pack from her and pulling out a cigarette. "Light me."
She pulled out a lighter and lit his cigarette, rolling her eyes. "You're an ass," she said.
"I love you too, sweetie," he said with a grin, taking a drag and handing the cigarette to her. "Puff, puff, pass."
"What the hell is he doing here?" Kaoru asked, running up to them.
"I have no clue," Die shook his head.
"Hey, don't get your slobber on the cigarette," Kyo snatched the cigarette from Tsuki and took a drag. "Now, get to class, I'm sure you still have some homework to do. God knows you didn't do it last night."
"Whatever, that was your fault anyway," she grabbed the cigarette and took another drag before handing it back. She kissed him on the cheek. "Love you, Dad. Behave yourself."
"Love you too, and right back at ya," he laughed. He watched Tsuki go into the building and then looked right at Shinya with smile.
Shinya froze, unsure of what to do.
"Hey you four, come here," he called, waving his hand to motion them over.
"Holy shit," Die mumbled, looking at Toshiya and Kaoru uncertainly.
"Come on," Toshiya grabbed Die's arm and pulled him towards Kyo. "You too, Shinya, he said four, not three."
Shinya took in a deep breath and stayed behind Toshiya and Die, trying to hide behind them and remain unnoticed. A bad feeling gripped him in the pit of his stomach, knowing that just approaching the man was a bad idea. Yet he could not help himself, something made him move forward instead of running—like there was a string attached to him and someone was pulling on it ever-so gently.
"I remember you boys from the bar," Kyo said. "You three have been coming around for a while now, and Shinya came by yesterday. I would like to have you guys come to the bar after school today, because you guys are getting free drinks for the night. As a show of my appreciation."
"Really? Well, that would be an honor, Nishimura-sama," Die said, bowing slightly to show his appreciation.
Kyo laughed. "Just call me Kyo, everyone does. If you see my daughter, tell her I said to stay awake in class today," Kyo said, placing the cigarette in his mouth and revving up the engine on his motorcycle. "And Shinya, I expect to see you today at the bar with your brother and his friends. It simply would not be a wondrous get-together without you."
They watched in astonishment as he zoomed off on his motor cycle, turning at the corner and speeding off at a dangerously fast speed. Die and Toshiya glanced at each other and then to Shinya and Kaoru. "Fucking awesome," Die said, high fiving Kaoru.
"Definitely," he said.
The bell rang, sounding the five minute time limit they had to get to class. As his brother, Toshiya, and Kaoru took off to go to class, Shinya stood there, staring at the spot that Kyo had been at and wondered to himself…
Was it really a dream?
* * * * *
Shinya sighed, staring down at his tray of food from the cafeteria and finding it all repulsive. He was so hungry that he was getting dizzy and losing his vision every time he stood up, yet every time he thought about eating his food he felt even sicker to his stomach than he did before. Maybe he had the flu?
He picked up his sandwich and brought it to his mouth…then he put it down. He could not eat. There was something wrong with him.
"You know you can't really eat people food, right?" came a voice from behind him.
He jumped, turning around and seeing Tsuki standing behind him with a tray of food and a thermos. She sat down next to him and unscrewed the cap on her thermos, taking a drink from it. "You want some?" she offered.
"What is it?" Shinya asked, trying to peer into the metal container.
"Blood and vodka," she said, taking another drink.
Shinya swallowed hard, looking at her in confusion. "Are you a--?" he began.
"A vampire? No. But people assume I am because I work at the bar and I'm close with Nishimura Kyo. Truth is, he's just my dad, nothin' special," she said. She then laughed. "You know, I've had people ask me if he is my lover. Gross huh? That's my dad!"
Shinya just stared at her, unsure of how to respond. Was she as deluded as Kyo was? There was no way he could be her dad, they seemed as though they were the same age. He looked back down at his food, poking it around on his lunch tray and wishing he could bring himself to eat it. "How is Kyo your dad is you're both the same age?" he finally asked, trying to take his mind off of his growling stomach.
"He adopted me…kinda'. Truth is, when I was five, he broke into my house and killed my real family and took me in as his own kid. I guess he saw me on the street and thought I would make a good daughter," she shrugged. "Honestly, he is a hell of a lot better parent than my old parents were, so I really like it. It's a distant memory, I barely remember it myself. And he is the one I see as my dad."
Shinya stared at her in disbelief. There was no way that was true, and even if it was, how was she not angry with him for murdering her family? How could she be so nonchalant about it and not care? He picked up his sandwich and took a bite out of it, chewing it quickly and swallowing it. There. He finally got some food in his stomach.
Suddenly, his stomach churned and he got up, running over to a trash can as the stomach acid and sandwich bits came spewing forth out of his mouth. He gasped and tried to catch his breath, his nose burning as stomach acid leaked out of it into the trash can.
Tsuki appeared next to him and handed him a napkin. "Told you that you couldn't eat people food," she said.
Shinya wiped his nose and mouth, looking up to say something to her, but she was gone.
* * * * *
Blinking repeatedly, he stared down at his desk, his vision fading in and out of focus. He was dizzy even sitting down, his throat burned as it yearned for moisture, and his stomach was growling painfully, filling his chest with a burning feeling. His palms were sweating and his body was breaking out into spasms. He felt like he was dying.
The bell rang and he stood up, trying to steady himself by grabbing his desk and making sure he could feel the ground beneath him. He felt as though he were floating to the parking lot, each step confusing him as he had no recollection of the previous one or how he did it.
What was happening to him?
He finally made it the car and leaned against it, closing his eyes and just wanting to fall asleep where he stood. "Shin, are you okay?" Die asked from a distance.
"Yeah, I'm okay…just…ill," he said, climbing into the car when he heard it unlock. He leaned back into the seat and closed his eyes, feeling as though he were on a rollercoaster.
"I'll take you home before we go to Club Kamisori," Die said.
Kaoru and Toshiya finally showed up, climbing into the backseat and talking between them. Shinya lurched forward, feeling as though his body were being pulled by that invisible string again. His eyes opened as a voice echoed in his head. You need me. Come to the bar, don't go home. You feel ill because you have not had a good meal. Come to the bar, dearest Shinya. Come see me.
"I'll just…go to the bar with you guys and lay down there," Shinya said, swaying his seat as though he were in a daze. That voice, the voice that was controlling him in his dream. What was happening?
He stumbled into the bar, his vision fading and coming back every couple of seconds. Shinya did not want to go into the bar, he wanted to do anything but go into the bar and have to deal with the strange people and Tsuki and Kyo.
"Are you sure you're going to be alright, Shin?" Die asked, moving forward to help him.
"I…" Shinya felt himself begin to fall back, as though he were in slow motion and watching the world slowly turn upside down. Suddenly, it stopped, and a strong arm came across his back to support him up.
"I've got him, no worries boys," came the distinct voice Kyo. "Tsuki, remember, free whatever for Die, Kaoru, and Toshiya."
Shinya felt the ground return beneath his feet and he looked at Kyo, his eyes rolling around wildly as he tried to focus them. He knew the awkward man was going to try to take advantage of him, to hurt him or do some other strange things to him. "Don't…don't touch me," he groaned as Kyo led him towards a curtained room.
Don't speak that way to your owner. That voice was in his head again. Kyo set him down on the couch and Shinya's body practically sunk into the cushions. He was unable to hold even his head up, let alone the rest of his body. "What did you do to me?" Shinya asked, another hot flash taking over his body and making him sweat even more. "Am I dying?"
"Yeah," Kyo said casually, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. "But I have the antidote for your sickness." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the same pocket knife from before.
"Are you going to cut me?" he asked, dazed as confused.
"Nope, I explained this all to you last night. You drink from me to stay alive, remember?" he reminded him. He held the cigarette between his teeth and cut his wrist.
Shinya's stomach growled as he watched the blood rise to the surface of the wound. His eyes suddenly focused and he stared at the blood, his mouth watering and all his signs of hunger become even more apparent. Why was he feeling this way towards the blood? Then he heard Kyo's voice. Drink. He tried to pull his body back, his mind screaming out against his urges.
"I don't want to—" his words were stifled as his lips connected with the wound, the sweet, sugary tasting blood becoming his only concern. He sucked at the wound, uncertainly and slow, looking up at Kyo for reassurances. Shinya wanted to pull away, to spit out the blood and be repulsed by his own actions, but he felt like he needed it…like he wanted it.
"You're cute, trying to resist all the way," Kyo said, stroking his hair with one hand and holding his cigarette in the other. He groaned and smiled down at the teenager. "You have a very soft tongue, I wonder where else that softness can be felt."
Shinya's cheeks turned red, but he continued to suckle at the mouth of the wound, enjoying every moment of it. His body was becoming stable, the sweating and the dizziness fading. He felt like himself again. But something else was happening, and he could not quite place his finger on it.
He pulled away, wiping his mouth and looking at Kyo. "Well, I must say that you are the first non-vampire I've seen that happen to," Kyo said, pointing to his lap.
Shinya looked down horrified to see that he was hard and bulging out of his pants. He placed his hand in his lap and looked away from Kyo. Why had that happened? He did not feel turned on at all by drinking the blood, which in itself was a disgusting act. "Last night…that wasn't a dream, was it?" he asked slowly, refusing to look at Kyo.
"Nope, sorry, but that whole first time thing can seem like a dream," Kyo said. He then pointed to Shinya's crotch. "Don't be embarrassed about that, it happens to all vampires. Now, come closer so I can feed. I've been quite hungry all day long and I must say your blood is by far the most exquisite I've had in all my years of existence."
His eyes widened at Kyo and he looked down, unsure of what to do. Kyo rolled his eyes and grabbed Shinya, pulling him close with an incredible amount of force. Shinya shuddered and tried for a moment to squirm away, but knew he would be unable to. Kyo licked his neck. "Don't worry, it gets better over time. A lot of blood lovers actually learn to enjoy this feeling, it turns them on," he whispered into Shinya's ear, scraping his fang gently over his earlobe and drawing another shudder from him. "And trust me, I'm going to look forward to the day you get turned on by the feeling of teeth beneath your skin."
Shinya shuddered, but not out of discomfort. It was something else—arousal. Something about Kyo was making him horny, making him want to give himself up the strange man. Kyo bit down and he cried out, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to keep himself from pulling away; he did not even want to imagine the damage it would cause. Then, without realizing it, a soft moan escaped his lips. Despite the pain…it felt good.