Tokyo Babylon Fan Fiction / X/1999 Fan Fiction ❯ Even in Death ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter Three

It had been a supposedly routine job. The fax from Kyoto had come with the instructions; Subaru was to investigate a haunted house. There were suspicions that several missing people visited it just before their disappearances, but a search of the premises revealed nothing. Yet, everyone who'd visited the place reported feeling as if they were being watched, even though the house was supposedly unoccupied. The city police had requested the Sumeragi household to send someone to check if there was any truth to the rumors.

And so, diligent as ever, Subaru had gone.

Thinking back, it had been a mistake to go in the early evening. In fact, it was just after sundown when Subaru crossed the doors of the large mansion. His mind had been preoccupied with frustrations at his usual futile search the previous night and he'd not gone to bed until late morning. By the time the fax arrived, he was unwilling to delay the job for the next day. Anything would be preferable to stewing over his hopeless situation and his inability to find Seishirou-san after all these years.

Entering the house, Subaru cautiously extended his senses. A quick check told him that there were no restless spirits. Ironically, the house was deathly quiet. He walked from room to empty room, half-bored and thinking to himself that this wouldn't be the first time he was sent on a wild goose chase.

But just as he was about to give up and leave, he became suddenly aware that he wasn't alone. A shadowy figure was standing at one end of the hallway, silently observing him

"Who are you?" Subaru called, squinting. The light was dim, with only the faraway streetlights sloping through shaded windows illuminating the corridor.

"I thought I'd ask the same of you, for you are the one invading my home," a man's deep baritone rang out. Slowly, he stepped from the shadows into the slender beam of moonlight streaking in from the tattered drapes.

He was tall, dressed impeccably in a black silk shirt and tie. His dark brown hair was cropped short, in a cut that flattered his oval face and deathly white skin. He smiled broadly, revealing long, pointed fangs.

"You have power in you, boy," he said, before the Sumeragi could get in a reply. "I feel it buzzing inside of you like a hot electric current. I've never felt anything so potent from a mortal."

Subaru blinked at the strange creature. He'd never encountered anything like him before. "Your home?" he asked, his eyes narrowing while he tried to figure out what was going on. "You… you're not human."

Even after he said it, he cursed himself for stating the obvious. The creature was obviously supernatural. He wasn't afraid of it. There was little in the city of Tokyo that he couldn't take care of...

"Give me your name, boy," the creature said before darting quickly across the room in a quick blur and grabbing hold of Subaru's throat. He didn't grip terribly hard, but just enough to send the message that the grip would tighten should the onmyouji try to escape. The warm pulse throbbing below the surface of the Sumeragi's skin nearly drove him mad, but the creature was determined to wait to see if this one would be more than just food.

Subaru tried to stop his heartbeat from naturally accelerating, an adrenaline reaction to being suddenly threatened. Doing his best to sound calm, he introduced himself. "I am Sumeragi Subaru. I was hired to see if there were any spirits haunting this place. Are you the person responsible for the people who've gone missing here?" he asked, unaware of his danger. He was still confident he could overcome this person the moment he chose.

"Of course," the man grinned. "I killed them myself. And I do believe I've killed a man by the name of Sumeragi before." He leaned close and flicked his tongue over Subaru's earlobe, very much tempted by the sound of blood flowing through the onmyouji's body. "Although that was a good three hundred years ago…"

Subaru's eyes narrowed as he heard that. While what the man said sounded like boasting, it also held the ring of truth.

"You're a vampire," he concluded intelligently. These were creatures of folklore and he hadn't expected that they would be in Tokyo. But Subaru had encountered enough strange things in his work not to be too startled. Still, it was time to put some distance between the two of them.

He brought his hand up sharply to pull the other's grip from his throat.

And failed.

This creature was stronger than he'd anticipated. The understanding brought his breath to rise faster from his lungs. He reached his other hand into his pocket to grab his ofuda. However, he didn't have time to do anything with it.

Faster than a striking cobra, the vampire bit into Subaru's neck, drawing just a small sip of hot blood. This was enough for him to exert his power over the young man, causing him to go as limp as a rag doll. Subaru was dismayed to feel himself picked up easily and carried from the corridor.

"So many people have stumbled upon my home, all lured by the thrill of a haunted house. You are the first that hasn't been a troublesome child. Perhaps you are the one I need," the vampire informed him as they descended the stairs down to the basement.

The basement was dramatically different from the rest of the desolate house. It was one spacious room decorated with dark red carpeting. There was a large bed in one corner, while a desk and bookshelves were arranged on the opposite wall. It was completely enclosed and windowless, not even a vent in the walls. The vampire gently laid Subaru down on the bed and examined him with eager eyes.

"You may call me Kosarou," he said. "That is the name I chose for myself upon my death many centuries ago."

The onmyouji had been struggling with all his might to move his suddenly useless limbs. His eyes held just the trace of panic, but eternal optimism allowed him to think that he could somehow manage to work himself free.

"What have you done to me? Why are you doing this? What do you mean I'm the one you need?" he asked, seeking refuge from panic in questions.

"Patience," Kosarou replied with a smile, patting his head. "Everything will become clear to you after the embrace. I'll teach you many things…many things you would have rather not have known." He slowly brought his hand up and unknotted his tie. "Tell me, what do you know about vampires?"

Subaru shivered to hear Kosarou's words, even though he didn't understand any of it. He didn't like that confident tone, that and the term `embrace'. It implied a level of intimacy he had no wish to get into with this stranger. He made another attempt at freeing himself, but it was to no avail; he was completely paralyzed.

"Not much," he admitted in reply. "You drink blood?" He knew he had to keep Kosarou talking, just to buy more time.

"Of course," the other said, while he busied at removing his tie and unbuttoning his shirt. "And you will too…"

Kosarou sat beside him on the bed and leaned over the still body. "Are you frightened? You have to die before you can be born anew and live eternally." He brushed cool fingers over Subaru's face, caressing the pale flawless skin eagerly. "So lovely. I won't regret preserving you in ice for all time."

Subaru flinched to feel the tips of those fingers touching him. "I don't want to die! At least I'm not going to be killed by you!" he cried. His death belonged to his special person. No stranger was going to rob him of it. With an effort of sheer will, he wrenched himself from the strange paralysis of his limbs and rolled off the bed.

He fell heavily to the floor and started to scramble away.

The vampire was far too fast for the Sumeragi. He was in front of him in half a second, blocking the way between him and freedom.

"Do you even have any idea of what I'm going to give you?" he asked, his voice deep and almost seductive. "This is eternal life. You can have all the time in the world, incredible power and a perfect body, only at the cost of your soul." Kosarou shrugged off his shirt and tossed it aside. "Come now. It's much more pleasurable if you don't fight me."

As if there was a chance in hell that Subaru wasn't going to fight. Summoning all his courage, he boxed at Kosarou, hoping a physical attack would surprise him while he bought time to launch a magical attack. He didn't intend to spend years training to be strong enough for Seishirou-san and then end up too weak to save himself from a mere vampire.

He clawed desperately at Kosarou, knowing that he had to stop him from biting. He'd figured out that that was how he'd gained control of him earlier. To lose now would mean his life. "Get away from me!" he yelled kicking out.

"You don't have a choice in the matter," Kosarou said in a low, threatening tone. He was starting to lose patience with the young onmyouji. Dark magic crackled at his fingertips. "I will make you scream…"

Hundreds of tiny threads flew from his hands, striking the Sumeragi squarely in the chest. The force of the magic was so powerful; Subaru was literally picked up by it and thrown into the concrete wall, stunning him momentarily. Kosarou loomed over his prone body, cracking his knuckles.

Subaru knew he had to move fast, despite being dazed by the impact. He shook his head, trying to regain his senses quickly but his vision wavered and the floor swum before his eyes. Blood dripped from a cut on his arm and his chest ached as his breathing grew shallow. However, these were small injuries. He would cope.

Finally, he managed to dig an ofuda out and with a chant; he cast it at the vampire. He hoped for the best.

Kosarou grinned smugly when he saw the talisman transform into a white dove and fly straight at him. He batted it away with a wave of his hand and it disintegrated into ashes. However, the vampire's hand was burned and smoldering from where the shikigami had struck him.

Bringing his wound up to his lips, he licked the burn. "I'll make you regret that," he snarled, lunging forward.

Subaru was braced for the vampire attack. He raised his legs to kick out, connecting squarely in the shin. "Don't make me hurt you!" he said. His job wasn't to get rid of supernatural creatures but to exorcise spirits. But if Kosarou left him no choice, then he would do it.

He hurried to scramble out of the room, hoping that if he fled the house, the vampire would let him go. He could always come back later-- with reinforcements.

With supernatural speed, Kosarou recovered and grabbed Subaru by the waist, wrestling him to the ground. A heartbeat later, he was on top of him, using his weight to pin the smaller man in place.

"You're just making things harder for yourself. When this is over with, you will be grateful to me," he murmured as his fangs pierced Subaru's neck and hot blood flowed into his mouth. The vampire drank deeply, knowing that after consuming most of this man's blood, he wouldn't have to eat for days after.

At this point, Subaru didn't care about dignity. He screamed.

There was no rescue, not that he expected there to be any. The pain from the bite was nothing to the desperate fear when he felt his body grow limp. He didn't know if he could break free a second time.

But moments later, he no longer cared. Waves of pleasure coursed through his body as his blood drained from him. His head swam with confusion.

"Please… stop," he was reduced to begging.

Kosarou couldn't have stopped even if he wanted to. He was consumed by the act, drawing more and more of Subaru's life-blood into his mouth, drinking at an almost frantic rate. The sounds of Subaru's screaming and begging only fueled his desire to change him, to make this beautiful creature immortal.

It was too late. Subaru could feel his life slipping away as the blood loss made itself evident. He couldn't hyperventilate even if he wanted to. His enervated head lolled back and his eyelids slid closed as he reached the end of his tether. With one last spurt of energy, he moaned. "No." How could he possibly die? His last thoughts focused once more upon the two people in his heart-- Hokuto and Seishirou. He wondered when he died, whether he would see Hokuto again.

When the flow of blood slowed to a trickle, Kosarou stopped and wiped his mouth. The next hour was critical in transforming the newborn vampire into a strong and healthy being.

He took out his pocketknife and made a shallow cut on his forearm, drawing a thin line of blood. That was all that was needed to complete the transformation. He held the dripping arm to Subaru's lips.

"Swallow this if you want to live. If not, I will force it down your throat," he said with a low growl. He wasn't going to take no for an answer. He wanted this young man so badly, his blood nearly burning in his mouth.

Subaru barely heard Kosarou but his lips worked when the liquid splashed on them and slid inside his mouth. Initially, he gagged before his throat worked slowly. It tasted odd, salty and warm. Little did he know this flavor would be all that he would taste henceforth. An extraordinary hunger suddenly blossomed within his belly, prompting him to crane his neck forward, reaching up for more. His open mouth was an instinctual gesture of survival, feeding greedily like that of a fledging chick. All he knew was that he wanted more of this blood.

Then consciousness overpowered instinct and with a huge effort, he wrenched himself away in horrified dismay. No! If he was going to die, then he would do so. To become the same as his murderer was too abhorrent.

Kosarou was undeterred and slashed at his arm again, making the cut deeper and longer with the knife. Gripping his jaw open with irresistible strength, he forced Subaru to continue drinking from the blood flowing freely from his arm. After he was satisfied that the Sumeragi had drank enough, he got up and cleaned himself off. He watched the cut rapidly close, reflecting idly about this benefit of being among the living dead.

"You're already beginning to transform," he said at last, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "You can flee now… though you would most likely be killed either by the sun or by some punk who fancies himself a vampire hunter. Or, you could submit to me, so that I can feed you and teach you how to survive."

Subaru could only moan softly. His mouth hung open, the remnants of Kosarou's blood dribbling out and splashing to the floor. He hurt with an intense ache he'd never experienced before, not even following Seishirou's ill treatment of him in the maboroshi. Then at least he knew he could recover. But now, he knew he was dying.

Or rather, he was already dead. A sudden stillness where his heart was, sharply hammered the fact home to him. The silence roared in his ears. Desperate to break the terrible stillness, he whimpered. A tear fell from his eyes to join the red of the blood on the floor. He stayed in the position where he lay, curled up in misery.

"You're going to get very hungry soon," Kosarou warned, getting up from his seat and walking over to a small mini-fridge near the desk. Inside he had bottles of various sizes filled with dark red blood. He selected one and removed the top.

"When you feel like you can move, drink this. All of it." He set the bottle on the floor next to Subaru and went back over to sit and watch him. "And if you don't drink what I give you, you'll either go insane or have to drink from a live victim."

Subaru contemplated rebelling. This entire situation sickened him. How could something like this happen to him? He was the Sumeragi clan leader, the most powerful onmyouji in Japan. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. He was supposed to find and meet Seishirou. Little whimpers continue to sound from his mouth as his dreams crumbled away.

Then the hunger struck and all sensible thought fled. It wasn't a hunger of the stomach, but an intense need. And it narrowed and focused on the bottle before him. His heightened sense of smell told him that he wanted what was inside, needed it.

Much as it appalled him, Subaru found himself drinking from the bottle ravenously, as a thirsty man does when he is given water after a drought. He tried his best to ignore the taste, which was easier from the chilled beverage. Slowly his hunger eased and eventually he was able to stop and set the bottle aside. Feeling a bit better, he crawled up to sit in a huddle against a wall. He began to contemplate getting away from this place and Kosarou.

Kosarou smiled, knowing this was the first step to making this beautiful creature his. He walked over to that corner and crouched beside him. It delighted him to see the man cowering in the corner. He could taste Subaru's fear and misery.

"Listen to me carefully because you'll need to know a few things in order to survive," he said, leaning very close. "For the next five hours or so, you'll need to drink enough blood to replace what you've lost. Once your body has fully adjusted, you'll need to consume blood regularly. You'll know when you're hungry."

"Next, stay out of the sun. You won't burst into flames or anything, but your skin will burn and if you don't quickly find shelter, you will die. Think of it as extreme sunburn." Kosarou reached forward to wipe a smear of crimson from Subaru's chin. "I wouldn't want any of this lovely skin to burn. You are beautiful with this stain," he said in a low voice, licking his finger clean.

The touch made Subaru jump like a frightened rabbit. He was too distressed to pay much attention to what Kosarou was telling him, but some part of his mind filed the information away for mulling over later. Right now, he just wanted to get away from here and be alone in his misery.

"Leave me alone," he said, his voice raw with pain. He batted at the hand away from his face and tried to shuffle from the man he saw as his tormentor. If only he were stronger, then he could leave, he thought to himself.

"You will learn to obey me," the older vampire frowned, his mind going over his usual methods of dominating his offspring. Kosarou would fuck him again and again, both in body and in mind. He could nearly hear the piteous screams filling the air and the feel of pliant flesh below his body. Reaching out, he touched Subaru's cheek in an almost tender caress. Subaru was very pretty. The process of breaking the beautiful man would be most enjoyable.

Abruptly, he grabbed hold of Subaru's wrist and yanked him to his feet. Kosarou's supernatural strength was far superior to that of the weak and recovering newborn vampire. It was a simple matter to pick him up and throw him face down on the bed.

"If you move from that spot," he warned, "I will deny you blood for the next two hours and watch you writhe in agony while the hunger consumes you. Do you understand me?" Kosarou was already stepping out of his pants, his mind racing at the pleasures to come.

That threat meant nothing to Subaru. He stared at Kosarou uncomprehendingly, his mind unable to process why the other man would suddenly start undressing. What other torture was he planning to inflict on Subaru? The Sumeragi certainly didn't plan to stay around to find out. That Kosarou had been able to toss him about like a kitten told him how weak he was but he wasn't going to let that hinder him from trying to escape.

With a huge effort, he scrambled up to his knees and backed away. Desperation brought the name of his special person to his lips,

"Seishirou-san…" he whispered, as if saying it was a talisman that could protect him from harm. The Sakurazukamori had after all protected him so well during their year together. But now, it proved to be a vain hope.

The vampire lord's eyes narrowed as he finished undressing himself. Kosarou leaned over the bed and struck Subaru with the back of his hand, forcefully enough to raise immediate bruises on that beautiful face. He watched with a morbid fascination as the skin began to turn red before his eyes.

"Who is that?" he demanded. "Your lover perhaps? You'll never see that person again, do you hear me!" Kosarou hated the mere idea of competition. He was determined to be the only man in the newborn vampire's life. He then proceeded to grab Subaru by the throat and rip at his shirt, flinging the shredded fabric aside. "You are mine and mine alone. I will make you long for me. I will have you begging me to take you again and again…" Kosarou tongued Subaru's neck, the marks from the transforming bite still fresh.

"No, no, no!" Subaru protested, uncaring about the blows he sustained. No matter what, he would never give up his search to see Seishirou again. Death would be no barrier, he decided.

"I will never beg for you!" he insisted willfully. "Don't do this! Leave me alone!" He tried to push his attacker from him but the older vampire was too determined, pressing down hard to hold him in place. Subaru was practically sobbing from a mixture of fright, anger and frustration at his helplessness.

Again Kosarou backhanded him across the same place. "You will be mine!" he declared, deciding that he had no choice but to forge a blood bond with the Sumeragi.

Once more he bit, but this time there was magic in it. He was invoking an ancient spell that was the main trigger for the vampire mating ritual. The power surged within him, hot and hungry with the anticipation to claim this one as his own.

But there was a wall standing in his way.

The barrier of unknown power met Kosarou's advance and the vampire jerked backwards in surprise, making deep gashes in Subaru's skin as he did so. He watched in awe as the Sumeragi's hands lit up with twin pentagrams glowing brilliantly.

Kosarou was furious. "I will still have you," he growled fiercely, all but ripping the rest of Subaru's clothes from his body. His eyes flashed red with a maddened expression, consumed with the desire to harm, maim and defile. Forcing him to lay on his stomach, the older vampire violently raped him, and ignored all cries and pleas for him to stop.

~~

Subaru sat up with a start, his breath coming in short pants as he recalled that traumatic time. It was an automatic reflex action from when he was alive, since he didn't need to breathe at all now.

It had been a terrible year and a half that he spent with Kosarou. Time and again, the older vampire had taken his body, although after the first time when he had ripped Subaru's virginity from him, the Sumeragi had stopped fighting back, at least not too hard or too often. Subaru couldn't remember how many times he wished for true death, but something always held him from going out into the sun.

Now, he knew why.

It was all for the chance to see Seishirou again. Now that he had done so, Subaru was at a loss. Seishirou was hard to deal with. He wasn't the man he'd known when he was 16. And even though Subaru's heart told him it was the same man he loved, no matter what profession he was in, the immediate problem of getting through to him, of letting the other man know this, was a tougher problem to solve than Subaru was capable of.

He crawled out of bed, his hunger rising once more. Somehow, he'd spent the whole of his sleeping and daydreaming. He shuddered as he took and consumed another glass of blood, easing the immediate hunger pangs. But it wasn't enough. It was never enough to satisfy him. Now that he'd tasted it, he wanted Seishirou's blood.

It was time to visit the Sakurazukamori again.