Kakashi awoke. A seductive scent of licorice hung in the air, which he inhaled deeply. He was lying on a soft surface that reminded him pleasantly of home, soft, comfortable. His left hand rested loosely on his slowly rising chest, his right hand just as relaxed at the side of his hip. He sighed and opened his eyes. A soft orange ray of sunlight on the ceiling told him that it must be early morning. What had happened to the night?
A movement drew his attention to the side. Next to him, her head resting on one arm, wearing only a leather thong and fishnet tights, bloodied, smiling faintly and breathtakingly beautiful, laid the Countess. No, Elizabeth. That was her name, she had told him yesterday – or today? – after she had.. He opened his eyes wide in shock and grabbed his throat with the hand that had been lying on his bare chest. There, under a thick crust of dried blood, he clearly touched a swollen scar. No open flesh could be felt, no pain. „Am I... dead?" he asked softly, feeling a little ashamed of his childish naivety.
Still smiling, Elizabeth shook her head. „No. I killed you and afterwards I saved you." She ran her index finger, which had previously been covered by that dreadful pearl glove, over his jaw. „I couldn't let you die."
Kakashi blinked in confusion and massaged his itchy neck. „I don't quite understand..."
Elizabeth giggled cheerfully. „That's comprehensible. But first – what's your name?"
„Kakashi Hatake."
„I'm pleased, Kakashi. I understand that this might be too much for you right now, but I want to explain it to you. Donovan and I lured you here to feast on your blood." Fragments of the previous night flashed through Kakashi's mind – images of arousal and pain. He nodded as if to confirm that he could follow her, even though she hadn't said much. Or maybe it was just meant to be a silent forgiveness. „Normally, we let our victims die as soon as they have served their purpose. But you... I thought there was something different about you." She chuckled. „Be it that your own murder brought you to a climax."
A little embarrassed, Kakashi's eyes darted to his crotch, where his own semen was sticking to the blood next to his navel. Crap. It wasn't just a hallucination.
„That amused me," Elizabeth continued. „I have to admit that I didn't plan to save you until the very end, but that convinced me otherwise."
„Um," Kakashi began, struggling for words. „Thank you? I guess." He cleared his throat. „But... how?"
He didn't need to elaborate on his question, after all, it was more than clear in context.
Elizabeth tilted her head. „Do you believe in mythical creatures?"
Kakashi raised his eyebrows in surprise. „Are you trying to tell me that you're some kind of vampire?" His eyes widened at her smile and he stammered, unsure of himself, „That.. That's.. Are you.." But his brain knew. He had already suspected it, after Donovan had licked his wound on his back. It had become clear through Elizabeth herself. The way she had pounced on him like a predator after she had torn open his throat... He briefly shook his head to banish this memory and the accompanying feeling of arousal. He didn't want to get hard again now, it was inappropriate given his situation. Instead, he addressed something else. „What's going to happen to me?" It wasn't irrelevant, was it?
„Well, you're one of us now," said Elizabeth, smiling. „A chosen one, and a beautiful one at that."
She thought he was beautiful? „Does that mean I'll burn up in the sunlight, need human blood to survive and have to be staked in order to be killed?" Kakashi joked, trying to calm down a little. At the same time, he unnoticeably confirmed with the tip of his tongue that, like Elizabeth and Donovan, he didn't have elongated canines. Fine, at least that cliché wasn't true.
„The blood part is pretty self-explanatory," replied Elizabeth, her tone almost maternal. „You can be in the sunlight, it just weakens your powers, and the–"
„What powers?" Kakashi interrupted her and pricked up his ears. As if every fiber of his body wanted to absorb the following information, he let go of his neck for the first time, where he had been absent-mindedly plucking until then.
Elizabeth sighed, sat up and looked at Kakashi. „You know the legends about such creatures, don't you?" To his nod, she simply said, „Most of them are true. But you'll be able to see for yourself. I'm going to wash." She rose elegantly from the large bed and disappeared behind a door to her left, leaving only a hint of licorice.
Kakashi's thoughts were racing around in his brain and he was trying hopelessly to organize them. He was supposed to be a vampire... Was something like that even possible? As Elizabeth had said, vampires were creatures of myth, the product of the imagination of frightened people, and nowadays nothing more than a tool for shallow-minded teenagers and horny housewives with a penchant for socially unacceptable smut. And yet here he was, covered in blood and with a clearly torn throat and spine, but alive. His heart was beating, his breathing was pumping oxygen through his body. He was tired, of course, but goddamn it, he was alive, even though every memory he had should contradict that. The pain of his own death was something he would gladly do without – and especially the shame associated with it. How could he have been turned on by that?! He really was a disturbed bastard, this was the final confirmation. But hey, this sick disposition had at least saved his life. Or something like that.
Groaning, he sat up. The blood on his back had dried as well, and the silk sheet stuck to his skin. With tense arms, he pulled it off and tried to feel the wounds on his back. They had also closed by themselves, but were still significantly swollen. He followed Elizabeth with unsteady knees. As expected, a huge bathroom tiled in various colors opened up behind the door. Elizabeth was standing in front of the mirror, which took up the entire length of the room, wearing a thin dressing gown and brushing her wavy, white-blonde hair, which fell over her shoulders. She was no longer wearing any make-up and her face and the rest of her body seemed clean. Both facts made her even more beautiful. She was truly a apparition.
Kakashi joined her at the mirror and slowly raised his head. He, on the other hand, looked terrible. His hair was still the freshly built bird's nest at the top, but at the back of his head it stuck to his skull from sweat and blood. His eyes were red and surrounded by dark circles. His skin was pale, if you could even recognize it under all the blood. Dying made one fucking ugly.
Elizabeth didn't make a sound as she approached him, wet a sponge in the sink and ran it over his tired face. Their eyes met. A fire flared up in Kakashi that he could barely suppress. This woman... Yesterday he had been high and she had, as he had concluded, deliberately turned his head to lure him into her trap. Today the situation was quite different. Despite unanswered questions and general confusion, he had never been so clear. Whatever she had done, it was irrevocable, and the expression in her hazel irises, which shimmered greenish in the dim light, only strengthened his conviction: he loved her deeply. She was the one woman he wanted to die for, and through her indeed he had.
Kakashi bent down and kissed her deeply, wetting her full lips with his overwhelming love for her. She returned the touch, just as tenderly and just as greedily. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and the sponge landed with a dull splash in the sink. Kakashi lifted her feather-light body, sat her on the edge of the porcelain and pressed himself between her legs, which wrapped themselves around his bare buttocks. He could clearly feel her excitation against his shaft, which, however, remained limp. Strange. Maybe he was missing something. He pulled away from her and whispered, „Where is Donovan?"
„Forget about him," Elizabeth whispered back. „He's no longer important." She wrapped Kakashi in another intense kiss, which he only half-heartedly returned. An unknown emotion spread through him, which he could only name when he opened his eyes and saw his own reflection next to Elizabeth's head: a mixture of disappointment and indifference chased acid up his stomach. His gaze had become cold, as it had so many times before. She didn't love him. To her, he was just the next bedfellow. At some point, he would become Donovan himself, and a new one would come to replace him. He didn't want that for himself. It just wasn't his thing. He had never wanted to commit, probably couldn't even do it, so why make an exception for Elizabeth? For this beautiful, unique, remarkable, perfect...
Snatching himself from his heart's fatal admiration, he turned her around and penetrated her from behind without warning. Something about this sudden realization that he was worthless to her had spurred him on. They might never be together, never live the life he had secretly always wanted, but at least he wanted to take her the way she wanted and deserved. Elizabeth answered each of his thrusts with a lustful moan. She watched their rapid, jerky play in the mirror with half-closed eyes, while she feverishly clung to the cold sink and the tap.
Kakashi, on the other hand, observed himself extensively. Honestly, he had never noticed what he looked like when he was fucking, what expressions he made. The two or three times a camera had been running during sex, his face had not been on it, since he had been filming. He had to admit: he liked it. The few beads of sweat on his forehead, his slight grin. He could come from that alone. Only occasionally did his eyes dart down to Elizabeth's red cheeks in the reflection.
After a few sweat-soaked minutes, Kakashi poured into Elizabeth, withdrew from her without comment and turned his back on her. „W-where are you going?" she asked out of breath. Despite the short act, he had fucked her to two orgasms. Hell, he was a God.
„I have to get ready," said Kakashi as he slipped into his boxer shorts. „My flight to Japan leaves in a few hours and I don't want to miss it, even though I died today and I'm sure they'd forgive a delay."
„What, you want to go back?" Elizabeth asked. She had followed him out of the bathroom and only closed her dressing gown half-heartedly, so that her sweet nipples were still clearly visible.
Kakashi paused and let the elastic of his underpants snap against his skin. „Of course. Did you think I'd stay?" He liked the look on her face, that hint of desperation, the slight arrogance in her well-formed eyes. He felt pure satisfaction. „Elizabeth..." He took a step towards her. „I have a life, even if you took it from me and gave me another one instead. I like it that way, I like my job, my friends..." He put his legs into his jeans, but didn't close them yet, instead taking up the entire distance between him and Elizabeth. „I'm sorry if I'm not what you expected. That night with you was the best that ever happened to me in my life. I will never forget you, believe me." He laughed. „How could I?" he whispered and breathed a kiss on her lips. „You are the most wonderful being that will ever walk this earth. And I am grateful to you that you did not let me die." He smiled. „But please don't ask me to give you my life as well as my death. What you have with Donovan is not for me. This is not my country, my world. I could never stay here forever, not even for you. I'm sorry. But I promise you, I give you my word that I will come back one day – if you still want me then."
Kakashi was surprised to see tears glistening in Elizabeth's eyes. She could only manage a short nod. He kissed her goodbye, laid his forehead against hers for a brief eternity, smiled at her one last time and left.
On the way down, he closed his trousers. The shreds of his shirt were no longer usable, so Elizabeth could just dispose of them. On the fourth floor, he got out of the elevator and ran into a scrawny person. „Oh, sorry," he said automatically in a friendly tone. He was taken aback. „Liz? Good morning." Liz Taylor was standing in front of him, today she was not wearing a headscarf and a rather subdued coat without sleeves. He immediately realized what Elizabeth had meant by „powers". As if by reflex, he scanned Liz's neck and crook of the arm for thin spots in the skin. He clearly heard the pulse in her veins. It was calm, had only accelerated minimally at their collision. Smelling the lotus in her blood made him hungry.
Liz let her heavily made-up eyes glide along his bare and dirty torso and seemed to understand immediately. „Good morning. Are you staying here?"
Kakashi shook his head. „No, I'm going to take a shower and then head to the airport, I have to go back to Japan today."
„Mm," said Liz, and again you could see the light bulb going on in her androgynous face. „Then I guess the night with the Countess was an interesting experience."
„Indeed," Kakashi agreed with her. He couldn't help but smile. „It was vitalizing."
Liz laughed, but quickly stopped and eyed Kakashi again. He was aware that he still had a fair amount of blood all over him and the fresh scars on his neck and back – although Liz couldn't see them – made him look like a walking corpse. She didn't say anything else about his appearance, but just smiled slightly uncertainly. „I can well imagine that. How.. do you feel now?"
Was she afraid of him? Did she think he might do something to her? She had been very nice to him and somehow he had this queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach that Elizabeth would not like it if he killed her here and now. It was almost like a supernatural premonition. „To be honest, I'm tired and feel a bit dirty." He nodded down briefly. „So I'd better hurry, or I'll miss my flight."
„Elizabeth allows you to go?" Liz asked, visibly astonished.
Kakashi raised his eyebrows. „I don't think she has much of a choice." He smiled at Liz and walked past her towards room 28. „I'm sure we'll see each other again."
He had not been three steps away from Liz when she said quietly but very clearly, „You may be immortal now, but you can still be killed. Darling, you have no idea what is still to come." It did not sound like a threat, but rather a warning. Kakashi stopped, then he broke out of his short stupor and entered his room. There he didn't waste another minute, showered the blood off his body and hair and then stood naked in front of the mirror to look at himself, now finally cleaned.
Maybe he was just imagining it, but he did look better somehow. Of course, his face was still pale, as if he was missing a lot of blood, the skin under his eyes was as dark as his irises and his cheekbones were more prominent. It was his body that had changed. He hadn't had much time to train lately, so he was a little surprised that his abs were as defined as they had been eight months ago, when he was at his peak. His biceps also seemed bigger and his butt firmer. He squeezed his buttocks a few times, which stung a little from Donovan's penetration, grinned at his reflection and now examined the wounds on his back more closely. Just like the cut on his throat, the five long, wide notches on his skin didn't look like they had been open recently. He moved his upper body a little and felt his muscles working around the vertebrae and ribs without any problems. Nothing was broken anymore, everything was in place.
Kakashi pulled himself back into an even posture. Would the injuries disappear completely? He hoped so, otherwise people would surely start asking questions about why he looked as if he had been mauled by a bear. He leaned close to the mirror and ran his finger over the fine, pale scar that ran vertically across his left eye. He had always hated this part of himself the most. And it had been so pointless. He liked to tell stories about how he got the scar, embellishing them to make it sound like he had almost lost an eye. It was all bullshit. As a child, he had chased after a goddamn bird as if he were a fucking dog, and, as befitted stupid children like him, he had ended up on the ground with a nasty gash. That was all, that was the whole truth behind the wound that disfigured his face. Banal. Stupid. Would it fade too? Hopefully, then he wouldn't have to constantly think up new lies about its origin. He just hated that abysmally.
He touched his chin, just next to the small birthmark. Did Elizabeth really think he was beautiful? He had never thought of himself as bad-looking and his success with women spoke for itself, he had never had any problems there, but to be described as „beautiful" by someone like the Countess gave his ego an unexpected boost. A yearning spark in him wanted to go back up to the penthouse, to revise his decision and to place himself in her arms for his immortal eternity, but he stayed where he was. He had made his decision, he would leave her, as he had left everyone. Crap, he had always found that so easy, even if it hurt him a little with Elizabeth. Just the night before, he had wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his life with her. Had it been the drugs and the seduction? Surely they had played their part. On the other hand, he had been close to her until the moment of his death. It was undeniable that he had died just a few hours ago. So he should show no remorse. A new life lay ahead of him.
His cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his jeans, which were draped over the toilet seat, looked at Naruto's name and answered the call. „Naruto-kun, why are you still at work? Isn't it past closing time?"
„Oh, thank goodness you're awake," Naruto sighed with relief. „I was afraid I'd wake you up. Good morning. It's almost five a.m. there, isn't it?"
Kakashi grunted an affirmative „Mh".
Naruto hesitated. „Have you even slept?"
„A little," Kakashi replied, and it actually wasn't even a lie.
„Oh," said Naruto. „Am I keeping you from getting some sleep?"
„No, Naruto-kun, everything's fine. I had a good night and feel like being reborn." He already loved these puns.
„Okay, great," Naruto said. „Listen, why I'm calling so early, or late for me, you can see it either way... I was just going through the documents, you know." „Mm-hm." Kakashi hadn't thought about that anymore. „And I didn't notice any mistakes at all. I checked it several times, even had Sasuke-kun look over it to see if I had missed something, but your plan was perfect, Kakashi-senpai. The client just wasn't ready for us yet. But Tsunade-sama has cleared that up, you know her. They've retracted their rejection and want some time to think it over, but if they decide on us, they want you as their agent again. So you really didn't do anything wrong. Things are moving forward, Senpai! Nevertheless, you should take your flight tomorrow. Or should I see if I can change it to today?"
„No, no, it's fine," Kakashi replied hastily. „I'll stay at the Cortez for another night. I like it here, you chose well." He smiled impudently. „But now go home and see your wife."
„Don't worry, Hinata went to bed early tonight anyway, the baby is with her parents. She says she really needs toget some proper sleep. Enjoy the rest of your time, Senpai."
„Thanks." Kakashi hung up. „I sure will." He sighed with a smile and ran his hand over the scar on his neck again. It really looked well healed. He pulled the old-fashioned razor from his wash bag, detached the blade from the handle and set it to his forearm without further ado. He inflicted a cut on himself. It stung a little, but not unpleasantly, and bled immediately, although the cut was not particularly deep. He licked it, it tasted like usual, nothing special. No more red drops came out. He held his arm under running water and dabbed it dry with the towel. Nothing. The wound was no more than a tender shadow on his skin, as if he had scraped himself some weeks ago. He looked up again. This was definitely something he could work with.
He dried and styled his hair and put on a fresh suit. The shirt and tie covered his neck neatly. He also concealed his dark circles under his eyes with sunglasses, which amazingly did not obscure his vision, and armed with his briefcase and trolley, he locked the door to number 28 behind him. At the far corner, opposite the elevator, Sally's mane peeped out. She watched Kakashi suspiciously. Once again, she was wearing her wild leopard-print combo and looked as scruffy as usual.
Kakashi tilted his head. He noticed that she had no detectable pulse and that he couldn't scan her like he'd done with Liz before. That was strange. He raised his hand with the room key, smiled and turned away from Sally to take the elevator to the lobby, where he stood with his luggage in front of the reception desk. After several rings, Iris, the receptionist with the grim face, appeared again. Her pulse was racing in her old body and her blood smelled of flag. Perhaps he had not been able to perceive Sally because of the distance, he would have to explore that further. „Are you leaving already?" the woman asked. She too scrutinized Kakashi intently, and he wondered whether the news of his transformation had spread among the staff, or whether he now simply had a vampiric aura, which the receptionist, like Liz, was probably used to from Elizabeth.
„Yes, there are some problems and my boss is asking me to come back as soon as possible," Kakashi lied and put his company's credit card on the counter.
The woman merely nodded, inserted the card into a reader, had Kakashi sign the touchpad and then returned it to him. „I hope your stay at the Hotel Cortez was to your satisfaction. Please come again soon."
Kakashi smiled. „I'll do so." He straightened his sunglasses and stepped out into the early morning of Los Angeles. Taking a deep breath, he laid his head back. No coughing bothered him, no headaches despite his consumption yesterday, he was simply feeling awesome. Who would have expected that he would have to die first to feel this good?
Only his thirst was bothering him. He looked around. At this time of day, there were only a few people on the streets, and they all seemed to be in a hurry and didn't pay any attention to him. Elizabeth had been right that the sun was weakening his powers, because with every minute he stood in front of the hotel entrance, he had more and more difficulty scanning the people. Although he was able to smell that old man across the street. Port wine, yikes.
Kakashi took one last look up at the building behind him. There he sensed Iris, Liz, a faint signature at the very top that could be Elizabeth, but otherwise the Hotel Cortez was dead. No Donovan, no Sally, no one else. „Fascinating," he murmured to himself, put on one of his masks to protect his face from the direct sunlight, and set off for downtown. He still had something to do before he flew back to Japan tomorrow.