This chapter is also posted in Immortal Moon S

Sapphire had his arm draped around his beloved Naru as they walked through the park looking at the stars. He was floored over how content he felt just having her by his side.

Just yesterday, he'd spoken with Usagi about what he knew of Beryl's movements. He smiled down at Naru. "It shouldn't surprise me. You were right that it helped to begin working with the good guys."

She smiled wide in response and said, "and I have lived a fraction as long as you have. Shouldn't you know better?"

He chuckled. "To be fair, common sense wasn't something I was raised with or have experience with. Evil, now that I was trained to understand. Evil and backstabbing."

That made Naru frown and knit her brow. "And that hurts me for you. Buuut," she said with a slight smile, "that just makes you, my love, all the more amazing. You're so sweet and fantastic to me, and you didn't have experience with love before."

With a concerned look on his face, he said, "maybe you just lack the common sense to know better. Maybe you should be wiser than to be engaged to me."

She rolled her eyes dramatically and bumped him with her hip. "I don't put up with other people's crap. I learned at an early age how to value myself. My father forced that on me. I either had to learn my worth or wonder why my daddy left me."

"He divorced your mother, not you." He held her tightly to his side.

"He left for England and never came back or saw me again. He gave up complete custody of me from the beginning. Sure, he calls and sends me weird gifts, but I haven't seen him in person since the moment he walked out on my mother eleven years ago."

Sapphire stopped and pulled her into his embrace. "He's a fool."

"I know, and that's my point. I figured out he didn't define me. But even more than that, my stepdad was huge in my life. He adores my mother, and it's taught me how a man should treat a woman. But he loves me too. He never had to see me as a daughter or love me as one. He chose to be there for me." She shrugged, "maybe I didn't learn my self-worth on my own. Now that I think of it, he taught it to me."

"I have to admit, I already liked the man, but now I like him even more."

She made a contemplative face and said, "I vividly remember him saying that he'd had prostate cancer before he met my mom, and because of the treatment, he couldn't have children. I had no clue what it meant at the time. His focus was the children part. He told me he was glad he fell in love with an amazing woman who gave him the perfect daughter, one he never dreamed he could have."

Teasingly he said, "and yet you still fell in love with a fool like me."

She playfully shoved him and then took his hand in hers. "I decided I'm okay with you saying I'm too good for you. I like the position of power it puts me in."

"How so?"

She got up on her tiptoes and kissed his chin. "If you feel lucky to have me, then you won't leave me." She grew thoughtful. "It's the difference between my father and my stepfather."

"Naru, my fierce little kitten, you need to understand a Vampire's love, especially if you're going to become one. We aren't like frail, frivolous humans. I tell you, you're too good for me, but don't get the wrong idea. I love you completely, and I only leave if you demand it."

She glared at him, "you're saying my love isn't good enough!?"

He shook his head. "I was generalizing. You love so strongly. Don't think I doubt your commitment to me. Most humans nowadays are narcissists and only really love their own comfort. Not you —never you."

As she clung to him, he held her pressed to himself as tightly as he dared. It was then he heard a sound that made him feel ill. "Well, hello there, Sapphire. Fancy running into you in the park. And with a human woman."

He moved Naru behind him so quickly she got disoriented. "Rubeus. What brings you to Japan?" He didn't want to hint at what he had found out through tracking him.

"Awe. Don't be rude. Introduce me to this lovely lady." He looked at her finger. "One who's wearing a sapphire ring on her ring finger. It seems congratulations are in order. You found a blood whore willing to marry you."

Sapphire wanted to rip Rubeus apart for that comment. Still, he reminded himself that Usagi never believed that about him. Rubeus was just trying to anger him.

"Oh, Rubeus," he said calmly. "As always, your powers of deduction are sorely lacking." He didn't bother denying the engagement —it was incredibly obvious, after all. "It's why Diamond referred to you as being all brawn and no brains."

"And yet he's dead, and I'm not."

"True. But don't get too far ahead of yourself. Yes, you're alive —for now."

"Is that a threat, you piece of shit!?"

"Yes," Sapphire answered. "Mess with anyone I value, and I'll make sure you don't live long enough to have time to regret it."

That night Naru lay in bed naked and trembling with desire. Sapphire knew exactly how he wanted things to go down, and he was currently going down on her.

SssssssssssssssssS

He was nearing his orgasm and hers, and he almost jolted in surprise with the odd sensation he felt in the last bit of her blood. As he drank to drain her dry, he felt like her blood vibrated. It didn't distract him from his orgasm. They came together, and thirty seconds later, he fully drained her dry.

Sapphire was not okay. He knew that wasn't how it was supposed to feel. His brother had made him make expendable vampires almost forty years ago. When he bled them dry, their blood didn't feel like that. Of course, he reminded himself, he wasn't having sex with them.

Still, as Naru lay there pale and very dead, he was terrified, shitless, that she wouldn't wake up.

Usagi had warned him about the feeling of dread, but she hadn't mentioned a weird sensation. He racked his brain, trying to think if he had heard of her ever making a vampire before. He hoped she hadn't mentioned it because she just didn't know it was strange.

All he was sure of was a deep overwhelming regret. He couldn't believe he took this irreversible chance over fear of Rubeus.

Sapphire held her tightly, clinging to her. For the first time, her skin felt as cold as his, and tears came to his eyes.

He was in hell.

It had been forty-five minutes, and she was still not moving. He knew Usagi had mentioned it was the longest ten minutes of her life. It had never taken this long before for him either when he turned someone.

He held her lifeless body and cried. His whole world imploded, and even being Diamond's errand bitch hadn't ever made him feel this hopeless.

Sapphire caressed her face and vowed, "I will help Usagi. You believe in me so much, and you were so excited about just that. I promise that I won't make it through this battle alive. I will be wise when I sacrifice myself, but I will die. I refuse to live without the only one who brought me hope and the strength to fight. I love you."

That night he lay there, clinging to her cold body, for hours.

It felt like it had a huge gaping wound that was bleeding. The amount of physically manifested pain he felt shocked him –he didn't know how he could function with the devastation of losing her.

It was around midnight that he realized how wrong she had been. He was a terrible monster, after all. He had killed the most loving and wonderful woman he had ever met. He ended her life.

Still, he clung to her. The idea of letting go and figuring out what to do with her dead body wasn't even something he could process.

He covered her face in kisses as he wept bitter tears.

Around three in the morning, a warm, dry wind blew through his bedroom, and he didn't even care to wonder why until Naru's skin began to become translucent. His eyes widened in terror as he begged, "no. Please. Please don't leave me! Naru. Please stay. Please don't leave me here without anything to hold onto." He couldn't bear to lose her lifeless body. He knew he needed to cling to something.

"You look sad."

He turned to look at the woman speaking, and instead, there was a tan cat sitting, what could only be defined as primly, on his bed, staring at him. He didn't react. He had nothing left in him. "I lost my reason to live."

The cat cocked her head, "and what does her name mean?"

He glared at the feline. "Don't ask stupid questions that don't matter. She's dead."

"Of course she is," answered the cat. "You killed her. I can promise you that." She then twitched her tail.

Sapphire gazed at Naru. "I know."

The cat shifted, blurred, and then turned into a woman wearing a white dress. She was still sitting on the bed. "Naru means 'to become.'"

"I fucking know that! It changes nothing! I killed her. You even admitted that!" Tears welled in his eyes as he spoke.

She didn't appear even the slightest put off by his yelling. "You drained her dry. I don't know why you're so upset. It's not like it was an accident."

He looked at her with sorrow in his eyes. "She was supposed to become exactly like me!"

"She can't –obviously. That's not something she was to become."

He looked at her with desperation in his eyes. "If I had understood her name, I would have known she would die?"

She looked at him with a puzzled expression. "She was supposed to die. You did that on purpose. I don't understand your reason for the question."

"Don't be dense! She's not supposed to be dead dead!"

"But you killed her."

He was more than pissed by now. "Are you trying to make me angry by being so incredibly stupid!? Go the hell away from me!"

She ignored his anger and smiled. "My name's Bastet."

"I. Don't. Give. A. Fuck. What. Your. Name. Is!"

"But you should." The whole time she maintained a sweet even tone of voice.

"I don't care about anything anymore."

Bastet cocked her head, "but you care about her."

"Yes, I do care about her, and she's dead. She's all I ever cared about."

"But you meant to ki-"

"Shut up! Stop saying that! I didn't want this!"

She reached out quickly and combed her fingers through Naru's wavy red hair. "She's very special."

He nodded sadly. "I can agree with you on that."

"She loves you very much." She then sassed, "even though you're quite dumb."

He gave her a side eye, "and how is insulting me necessary right now?"

"Wrong question —Baaaaka. You should be asking why I'm here."

Sighing, he asked, "and why are you here? Other than to torment me in my grief."

"Because of what her name means and what she is to become."

He blinked at her and waited. When she didn't say anything, he said, "and what is she to become?" Other than very dead, he mentally added.

He watched in surprise as the woman slowly morphed and turned into a lioness. "Do you know who I am?"

"Confusing and annoying?" He snapped. "Someone who I wish would leave me alone?"

"I am Bastet," she said proudly.

"You said that already!"

She laughed. "You need to expand your knowledge. I am Bastet-"

"You. Keep. Saying. That!"

She rolled her eyes. "Bastet, I am the Egyptian goddess of protection."

For the first time, he looked at her, well, the lioness, with interest. "Aaaaand?"

"Naru –you call her kitten."

"Yes, I did."

"You aren't wrong." She morphed back into a woman and touched Naru's forehead with her pointer finger. "She is becoming."

"You said she's dead!"

"Yes. And so are you." She looked at him as if he was dense.

"I don't understand."

Bastet smiled down at Naru. "Some special things just take more time."

He jumped a bit when he felt Naru shift. She then blurred a bit and morphed into a lioness. To his surprise and immense joy, he watched her shift her body and move on her own. Then Naru, as a lioness, opened her eyes and looked at him.

He wept with relief. As he did, she buried his head in the soft fur of her cheek.

He felt her shift again, he pulled back, and he watched in amazement as she slowly changed back to his precious Naru. She then wrapped her arms around him. Naru asked, "why is there another woman sitting on our bed? We're naked."

He laughed in relief. "She's calling me an idiot and being as confusing as hell. But apparently, she's an Egyptian goddess. Therefore I'm tolerating her right now since you're alive."

"Of course I am silly…." she trailed off when she saw the heartbroken look in his eyes. "What? What's wrong?"

"This is the first time you've moved in six horrible hours. It was supposed to take ten minutes. I was sure…." Tears sprang to his eyes. "My life was over. I had nothing to live for anymore, not with you gone. And then you…" he choked back a sob. "And then you woke up." Tears ran down his cheeks, "I'm so happy right now."

She caressed his damp cheek, and there was sadness in her eyes. "I hate that you had to go through that."

"You're here with me. Whatever you are, I don't care. All that matters is that I have your back. I got you back."

Bastet stood. "As for what she is, she's a vampire –duh. Baka."

Sapphire looked at her in exasperation. "She turned into a lioness like you! How is she a vampire!?"

"She's an Egyptian vampire. I know you've noticed her fierceness –that came from her very being. She's an acolyte of mine from before she was ever born. The dramatic shift in her nature triggered what she was to become." Bastet cupped Naru'a cheek. "And you turned into a lioness instead of a cat first. I approve of that very much."

"What does that mean?" Naru asked.

"I am the goddess of protection, and my usual form is a cat. I protect women and children, people from disease, and I guard against evil. But I also protect in times of strife. When I do, I go to war in the form of a lioness. It seems you're made to protect in battle."

"I don't understand what an Egyptian vampire is," Naru said.

"A vampire with a connection to one of the Egyptian gods of old –in your case, me. Your transition took longer because of that very link took time. You are fully a vampire, but you can shapeshift into a cat or a lioness too."

Naru, although interested, felt a shift in her current priorities. Her vampire lust was kicking in. It helped that she knew he needed to feel their connection after he had been terrified that he thought she was gone. She locked eyes with Sapphire and yet spoke to Bastet. "Bastet. It's time for you to go and let me act on my new vampire desires."

Bastet smiled and said, "have fun."

Naru smirked, "I always do with him. And now he promised he would go full force. I find that exciting."

He fed her some synthetic blood once Bastet left. And his blood while he let loose and made love to the woman he believed he had lost forever. The one he could now make love to for the rest of his existence.